Blue Chips was a movie that I hadn't seen in years and so when I saw it on DVD for $9.99 at BestBuy I thought, why not pick it up. It was a pretty decent movie and it was good to see it again after so many years.

Sideways - (Payne;2004;USA) - ****
Before one is to be married, two friends take a weeklong trip through wine country, meeting two women along the way.
Another excellent film by Alexander Payne. About Schmidt was better IMO, but this is not far behind. The dialogue is in top form, and Payne is great at blending drama with subtle humor. The character development is one of my favorite things about it. The cast is also up there, with great performances from Giamatti, Church, Madsen, and Oh. Alexander Payne is easily one of the three best directors of today.
#29

Best of 2004
01. Million Dollar Baby
02. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
03. Kill Bill vol.2
04. Sideways
05. Closer
06. The Passion of the Christ
07. Collateral
08. The Aviator
09. The Woodsman
10. Finding Neverland

House of Flying Daggers was another movie that I saw in theaters and again when it came out on DVD. 2 of my friends who saw it in theaters (1 with me), when I asked them if they wanted to see it again said "NO!". In fact the guy who went with me to see it said he hated it. I liked it and will be purchasing it when it comes out on DVD on the 19th. I didn't think it was better than Hero but it was still good. I think towards the middle and definitely towards the end of the movie it just slows down and I think that's what some people have a problem with it.

I think Ocean's Eleven was far better than Ocean's Twelve. I watched both of them with the latter being released on Tuesday on DVD. I hadn't seen the original in quite sometime so it was nice to see it again, but the sequel was good, just not as good as the original.

I was wondering what to bring back to school this week to watch. I was thinking about Seinfeld Seasons 1 & 2, but Sunday morning I popped in An Evening With Kevin Smith just to watch a scene of it. I guess it captured me because yesterday I watched Clerks. and I brought back, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl with me this week to watch. I've started to like Clerks more and more upon viewings. I wish the 3-disc DVD that came out last year would have had a version of it in color, but other than that it's still a good movie for the budget it was shot for. I also plan on watching the entire An Evening With Kevin Smith as well as the Clerks. animated show, which I have never seen before.

Saw Forrest Gump last night for the first time in a long while. I actually cried at the end of it.

Aww... how cute, Ryan!

Well, I saw That Was Then, This Is Now yesterday (with Emilio Estevez) and it SUCKED! What a boring movie! I loved the book, I've read it like 80,000 times, as I've read all of S.E. Hinton's books. But this movie dragged so long, and the acting was so bad!! At least The Outsiders and Rumble Fish were good movies.

I don't know if this sucked because of the absence of FFC, or the absence of Matt Dillon. Probably both. Well FFC didn't do Tex, and that was still good because of Dillon... Anyway, this one totally wasn't worth it. 20 minutes into it, I was like, WHEN is this movie gonna END?!

Any thoughts?

Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin - (Schickel;2003;USA) - (Not decided)
This documentary examines the career of comedic genius Charlie Chaplin.
A prime example of how a documentary on one's life should be. This and the Cary Grant one shown on TCM are both great. Informative with very good interviews from Martin Scorsese to Johnny Depp. The rare home movies footage of Chaplin in his later years are very interesting.

The Great Dictator - (Chaplin;1940;USA) - ****
Charlie Chaplin satirizes Nazi Germany and even more, Adolph Hitler.
One of the best satires ever. This film is up there with Dr. Strangelove, although the latter is superior. Charlie Chaplin's energy is amazing. His improvised lines for the speech scenes are hilarious. His double roles slightly reminded me of Peter Sellers' trio of roles in Dr. Strangelove. My first Chaplin film and definitely not my last. Chaplin was excellent in the final speech.

The Paleface - (Keaton;1922;USA) - **1/2
Buster Keaton joins a tribe of Indians and helps them against oil barons.
Another first, my first Keaton film. It's a nice little short, but not very good IMO. I look forward to getting the TCM DVD set to see some of his longer films.

Again I saw Sin City for the 2nd time this weekend and I f'n loved it moreso it that was possible. I didn't drink this time around so I was better to able to follow the story more. Have you seen it yet DV?

No, I haven't. I haven't been to the theaters since The Woodsman.

Tonight's movie was Mallrats. I don't know why, but upon multiple viewings it seems that I'm liking Clerks. more and liking Mallrats less. I don't know why that is but oh well. Tomorrow's movie is Chasing Amy, which I've only seen a handfull of times, so I'll be looking forward to seeing it again. Any other Jay & Silent Bob fans on this here board??

Jay and Silent Bob is the worst of Smith's movies. It's the closest to mainstream and does not nearly have the dialogue of his past films. I didn't see Jersey Girl though.

Great film and soundtrack.

My least favorite out of his 5 movies (not counting Jersey Girl) would be Chasing Amy. It just wasn't as funny as his other movies. My favorite Jay & Silent Bob movie was probably Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back with Dogman right behind that

I saw "Fever Pitch" this weekend, and I LOVED it. It was such a cute movie, and really funny too! Made me want to go to a baseball game.

Sideways - (Payne;2004;USA) - ***1/2
Before one is to be married, two friends take a weeklong trip through wine country, meeting two women along the way.
Wow, I expected this to possibly go up in my favorites list, but it surprisingly left me less impressed with it. While I still agree with what I previously said, I feel the film didn't give the impact it should've. It's still a great film, but not as good as some other films of the year. The main problem I felt was that it seemed to be a little like About Schmidt, which was much more effective as a whole and in it's final scene.
#47

Best of 2004
01. Million Dollar Baby
02. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
03. Kill Bill vol.2
04. Closer
05. The Passion of the Christ
06. Collateral
07. Sideways
08. The Aviator
09. The Woodsman
10. Finding Neverland

Hey DV, what's The Woodsman about? Does it have Kevin Bacon in it? I don't remember seeing trailers for this movie but I think it's coming out on DVD soon

The Woodsman is a character study about a pedophile trying to reenter society after being let out of prison. For 2004, Kevin Bacon was the best actor IMO. It's a shame he didn't get a nomination in the least, but then again, the subject matter is too hard for the Academy. The DVD came out today. Me and Omar loved it, although Capo didn't think it was as good as we thought.

Read my review for more on why I thought it was great.
The Woodsman

Trailer

Grazie! If I have the time and can get my hand on a copy, I might check it out this weekend

Remember it's a short film too at 87 minutes, not much longer then Christopher Nolan's Following.

I had trouble deciding if it was better or worse over The Aviator. While the former's acting is better, the latter's direction is also better. Both have great music, but due to Scorsese's recreation and technical flair in the film, I put it over.

Chasing Amy was funnier tonight that I had remembered during past viewings. However, I still feel it's the worse Jay & Silent Bob movie. It just seems so slow and boring in parts

It's only a partial comedy. Jay and Silent Bob is a full comedy.

I just read this at IMDB

"Movie star Mel Gibson is reportedly planning to follow his controversial The Passion Of The Christ with a movie about the Pope John Paul II - who died this month aged 84. The deeply religious actor/director is the member of a strict Catholic sect called the 'Holy Family'. According to American website Pagesix.Com, Gibson dispatched a film crew to the Vatican City on Friday to capture crowd scenes at the late pontiff's funeral for future use. The Passion Of The Christ scored massive success at the box office - despite allegations it is anti-Semitic - taking a reported $604 million at movie theatres worldwide. Gibson was recently reported to be planning another religious epic - about three children who claimed to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917. "

I12, they both sound interesting. Now I do know they have a very old "Our Lady Of Fatima", made in the 40's I think. I saw it many years ago and can't remember who starred in it. Of course, when you're at Catholic school, you see all the religious movies. :p But, it was a good movie.


TIS

Dogma is a good movie and it's definiely my 2nd favorite Kevin Smith movie. I was a little disappointed because I didn't laugh that much at the jokes. I haven't seen it in a while but maybe I've seen it too much already. Who knows? Tomorrow I got Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back

Heat *** (5th Time; 2nd this year)
1995, Mann, US
A work-obsessed cop and professional thief go head to head and cause an uproar in LA.
Immense crime epic which shows two obsessed loners on opposing sides of the law; it seems desperate to make a simple plot convoluted with perhaps irrelevant sidepoints, but noone can deny its technical achievements.

Mick

I've just whored Fight Club for the second time, figuring a second chance was the least I could give it (Scarface, meanwhile, awaits its fourth chance).

Fight Club * (2nd Time)
1999, Fincher, US/Ger
An insomniac businessman tired of his dull life devises a club in which men can compete in bare-knuckle fighting and anarchy.
A fantasy film which is supposed to be a feel good treat for the thinking man; full of ideas and no conviction, though it does look and sound good, even if it isn't.

Mick

I don't think I ever posted that I watched Taxi Driver about a week ago; I really enjoyed it, as expected.

Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back is by far my favorite Kevin Smith movie. I'm totall disappointed this week because it was good to see all the movies again, but I didn't really laugh that much. I did somewhat enjoy them, but I know the jokes already and it just doesn't seem as good of an experience as it once was. I hope to be able to squeeze in Jersey Girl sometime tomorrow

Watched Jersey Girl for the 2nd time and I did enjoy it. Again, I don't like Ben Afflect whatsoever but the movie is a sweet comedy (especially coming from Kevin Smith). Not his best stuff, but a lot better of a movie than I thought it would have been