The Blind Side (2009)

20100327:
Sandra Bullock's performance in this movie was great. I've only see part of Miss Congeniality, but I didn't remember that being too great. As such, somehow Bullock is a big star that I haven't actually seen much of. It's been too long since I've seen Speed to remember her being in it.

In any case, I think I might have missed something when it came to the plot. But in any case, an important note was that the actor who played the football player didn't seem as good looking as the actual player. This is a statement I agree with, not one that I made. Still a good movie, generally stories like these are hard to screw with.

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20100818:
Seeing this movie for a second time, I came to understand the beginning. The beginning sets up the importance of protecting the quarterback's blind side. But some of the other viewers had the same confusion I had when I watched it the first time. Not knowing who the movie was about, I thought the clip implied the movie was going to be about the player who made the tackle on the quarterback.

A comment was made that the stories focus was less about the football player, and more about Sandra Bullock's character. After all, a beginning of a movie says a lot about a movie, and the beginning of the movie was just Sandra Bullock narrating. It also basically ends with her. I thought this was an interesting point. I didn't think about it that way when I first watched the movie.

Oh, also, I didn't realized when I watched Fried Green Tomatoes, but I realized it when watching The Blind Side for the second time. Kathy Bates played the role of Miss Sue.

Tim McGraw played the husband, Sean Tuohy.

I didn't know whether or not I thought about it when watching the first movie. But the first two or three times I heard S.J.'s name being said, it didn't click right away what his nickname actually was. But then somehow it came to me and I was like, that makes sense... (Sean Junior).

Anyhow, some of the emotional impact was reduced after having seen the movie before. Nevertheless, many lines and scenes in the movie remain powerful.

Oh... also, I just read the snippet above about on how I haven't seen Speed in a long time, but now that I have seen it more recently, I have to inform any readers that Sandra Bullock definitely helped that movie along. I didn't know she won the 2010 Oscar for "Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role," but I agree with my opinion when I watched the movie the first time, Sandra Bullock's performance in this movie was great.

previous Movie post (Step Brothers) : next Movie post (The Hurt Locker)

[20100818]

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Watched 20100327
Watched 20100818
The Blind Side (2009) John Lee Hancock.

Relevant Links:
The Blind Side (IMDb.com)
The Blind Side (RottenTomatoes.com)

Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)

Plot Summary:
Deuce Bigalow (Rob Schneider) is a pool and aquarium cleaner. One day he's asked to house watch a gigolo's apartment. While doing so, he breaks the guy's fish tank and decides to pay for the damages by going into the gigolo business. Comedy ensues between Bigalow and his customers as he manages to get through each without having sex. All the while, a cop (William Forsythe) is onto Bigalow's activities. And, to top off the plot, Bigalow falls in love with a client.

[20151017 Edit][20191005 Edit]

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20100325:
The plot isn't bad.

How funny was the movie? It had its moments.

[20100430][20191005 Edit]

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20100513 Comment:
Watching the credits today (the remaining four minutes), I found the following: Adam Sandler was an executive producer, Adam Sandler's wife (Jackie) was in the movie, and Rob Schneider's mother (Pilar) and daughter (Elle) were in the movie.

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Watched 20100325 (Instant, Netflix)
Watched credits 20100513
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999) Mike Mitchel. 88 min

Relevant Links:
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (IMDb.com)

No Country for Old Men (2007)

Anton Chirgurh (Javier Bardem)

20100313:
Wow, No Country for Old Men was great; the suspense, the violence, the beginning, the end... it was all great. Oh, and I loved Chigurh's choice of weapons.

The critical point of the movie happened at the 1 hour 15 minutes mark (a little over halfway through the two-hour movie).

I was curious what caused Llewelyn (Josh Brolin) to return to the scene of the drug deal. Was it his sense of compassion? Was it some sort of guilt?

Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin)

In any case, the killing part of the story reminded me of The Departed (2006), but darker. Of course the stories are completely different and The Departed (2006) is a remake of a Hong Kong film called Infernal Affairs (2002), while No Country for Old Men is based on the novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy.

Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones)

The idea of flipping a coin was too similar to Two-Face's style of justice. However, I learned from Wikipedia that there's an entire concept which revolves around flipping coins to determine one's fate: it's called Flipism (Wikipedia.org)

Chigurh tends to his own wound.

Out of the bonus features, I watched 'The Making of No Country for Old Men' and listened to 'Working with the Coens.' I decided not to watch or listen to 'Diary of a Country Sheriff' today. Though I should have done that instead of repeatedly listening to the (short) Bonus Features menu sound clip. Eventually I decided to listen to the sound clip that loops over the main menu; that one was longer and had some meat to it.

Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson)

In any case, if you haven't seen this movie, you should definitely watch it.

On a side note, I eventually realized that Kelly Macdonald has a Scottish accent; I couldn't tell from her performance in the movie. That's as amazing as Hugh Laurie's American accent in House M.D. (Laurie is an English actor).

Carla Jean Moss (Kelly Macdonald) and Llewelyn

[20100314 10 12:51 AM][20150918 Edit][20161017 Edit]

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Watched 20100313 @ Home (DVD)
No Country for Old Men (2007) Ethan Coen, Joel Coen. 122 min [botnotsn (2005) by Cormac McCarthy]

Relevant Links:
No Country for Old Men (IMDb.com)
No Country for Old Men (RottenTomatoes.com)
No Country for Old Men (film) (Wikipedia.org)

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"Sailing to Byzantium"

William Butler Yeats

I

That is no country for old men. The young

In one another's arms, birds in the trees

- Those dying generations - at their song,

The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,

Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long

Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.

Caught in that sensual music all neglect

Monuments of unageing intellect.

II

An aged man is but a paltry thing,

A tattered coat upon a stick, unless

Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing

For every tatter in its mortal dress,

Nor is there singing school but studying

Monuments of its own magnificence;

And therefore I have sailed the seas and come

To the holy city of Byzantium.

III

O sages standing in God's holy fire

As in the gold mosaic of a wall,

Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre,

And be the singing-masters of my soul.

Consume my heart away; sick with desire

And fastened to a dying animal

It knows not what it is; and gather me

Into the artifice of eternity.

IV

Once out of nature I shall never take

My bodily form from any natural thing,

But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make

Of hammered gold and gold enamelling

To keep a drowsy Emperor awake;

Or set upon a golden bough to sing

To lords and ladies of Byzantium

Of what is past, or passing, or to come.

The Princess Bride (1987)

20100312:
This is another one of those movies which I've seen most of, but not all of. I don't have too many comments, especially since the movie is a classic.

The Princess Bride (Robin Wright) and Westley (Cary Elwes)

While one of the scenes wasn't as great as I remembered, there was another which I didn't remember and was great.

I'm a little ambivalent on the scenes between the grandson and grandfather. Part of me thinks the scenes add to the movie, and part of me thinks the scenes detract from the movie.

Remark: I totally didn't recognize Billy Crystal as Miracle Max.

Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin)

Actors/Actresses I've Seen Before:
Cary Elwes from Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
Fred Savage from The Wonder Years (1988-1993)
Billy Crystal from Analyze This, Analyze That, When Harry Met Sally (1989), ...

[20100314 11:31 PM][20160510 Edit]

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20160509, 20160511:
Although I momentarily thought I must have seen this movie between 20100312 and today (20160509), I realized it has been a long time since I've seen this film.

Vizzini (Wallace Shawn)

In any case, I definitely enjoyed how the pacing of the film and this time around I fully believed that the scenes between the grandson and grandfather somehow properly frame the moving.

Overall, I would highly recommend The Princess Bride to almost anybody, though especially to romantics.

Actors/Actresses I've Heard Before:
Chris Sarandon from The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Wallace Shawn from Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3

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Instant Comments:
2a: "As you wish." = "I love you."

Count Tyrone Rugen (Christopher Guest)

2a: "Is this a kissing book?"
2a: "Inconceivable."
2a: "He's climbing the rope. And he's gaining on us." "Inconceivable."
2a: "He didn't fall!? Inconceivable."
2a: Two honorable fighters.
2a: "Inconceivable."

Fezzik (Andre the Giant)

2a: Haha. "Truly you have a dizzying intellect."
2a: Huh. He sniffs the vial and says its iocane and bets his life on it. If its odorless, how would he know.
2a: Rolling down the hill. "As... you... wish..." She haphazardly tumbles after.
2a: R.O.U.S.'s = Rodents of Unusual Size.
2a: Haha, that change of voice was surprising. "The pit of despair."

The Grandson (Fred Savage)

2a: "Yes, you're very smart. Shut up."
2b: Haha. Knowing Miracle Max is played by Billy Crystal, I can hear his voice, but the make-up does a great job of making him physically unidentifiable.
2b: "Think it'll work?" "It would take a miracle."
2b: Oh, they have to wait 15 minutes for the pill to have full potency. But they don't wait the full 15.

The Grandfather / Narrator (Peter Falk)

2b: Hahaha. A wheelbarrow.
2b: Haha. A cloak.

Credits:
2b: Swordmaster
2b: R.O.U.S. Performers
2b: Cliff Climbing Effects
2b: Read the Del Rey book
2a=20160509, 2b=20160511

Miracle Max (Billy Crystal)

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Watched 20100312
Watched first 60 minutes 20160509, last 38 minutes 20160511 (Netflix, Instant)
The Princess Bride (1987) Rob Reiner. 98 min [aftnotsn (1973) by William Goldman*]
*Goldman wrote the screenplay for the film.

Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon)

Relevant Links:
The Princess Bride (IMDb.com)
The Princess Bride (RottenTomatoes.com)
The Princess Bride (film) (Wikipedia.org)

Gladiator (2000)

Maximus (Russell Crowe)

20100311:
Gladiator was introduced to me as a must-watch movie which I should have seen earlier. As such, I had high expectations going into it.

Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris)

Unfortunately, and in part because I was studying and not paying full attention, I didn't exactly enjoy the film.

Joaquin Phoenix's character Commodus was overly whiny. One scene where he was all by himself and whiny set him apart from the protagonist Maximus (Russell Crowe); Caroline and I laughed at him.

Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix)

Another difference between Maximus and Commodus came about when Commodus was being disgusting.

At one point during the movie I heard the Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) theme and this observation was not unfounded.

Lucilla (Connie Nelson)

While Klaus Badelt was the composer for The Curse of the Black Pearl, apparently Zimmer (the composer for Gladiator) was asked to work on the film, but was busy with The Last Samurai and recommended Badelt instead while contributing various themes.

Proximo (Oliver Reed)

[20100315 3:41 AM]

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Watched 20100311
Gladiator (2000) Ridley Scott. 155 min.

Relevant Links:
Gladiator (IMDb.com)
Gladiator (RottenTomatoes.com)

Juba (Djimon Hounsou)

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

20100311:
I love Tim Burton's work, and Edward Scissorhands is no exception. I've seen bits and parts of this movie whenever it shows on television, but prior to this viewing, I hadn't seen the movie all the way through. Especially not the beginning, which really sets up the character of the community, in particular the characters Peg and Edward Scissorhands. Another part I failed to appreciate before now was Edward's two costumes: the leather suit, and the slacks, shirts, and mended suspenders which go over the leather.

Johnny Depp plays the role really well and this role might have just been the one that put Depp on the stage. In addition, it would be the first of his collaborations with director Tim Burton. Elaborating on Depp's role: the voice, the facial expression, it really fit into the character Edward.

I hadn't realized that Winona Ryder, playing Kim in Edward Scissorhands (1990), also played Lydia in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice (1988).

[20100314 9:29 AM]

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Watched 20100311
Edward Scissorhands (1990) Tim Burton. 105 min

Relevant Links:
Edward Scissorhands (IMDb.com)
Edward Scissorhands (RottenTomatoes.com)

The Ugly Truth (2009)

20100309:
This movie isn't long (96 min), I thought the story could have been shorter, or somehow done differently. It seemed to me that Gerard Butler's character Mike showed signs of liking Katherine Heigl's character Abby too early. And the time between that and them getting together was too long. Also, the climax was sort of done in steps, which makes it less climatic than other romances. There was a situation between both, then Mike, then Abby, then both again to finish it off. At least with Four Christmases, starring Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn, there is one moment where it just connects and comes together after something of a climatic return. ::shrug::

IMDb is great! I learned that Gerard Butler was the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera (2004). In any case, his character was likable in a funny way. The movie seems to end with a small twist in his personality. Well, I wouldn't expect a comedy romance to become emotionally deep.*

But Heigl is great actress, I just think the character or story was a little off. I like her in Grey's Anatomy, I haven't seen 27 Dresses, and I totally didn't realize she was Isabel Evans in Roswell, that was a great show.

Originally, I considered The Ugly Truth better than Four Christmases. But then I remembered the plot of Four Christmases, and I came to the conclusion that The Ugly Truth suffered the same problems as Four Christmases except worse. Thus it could be said that The Ugly Truth is actually worse than Four Christmases. Note: Both movies ended by making a reference to an earlier part of the film.

For a great romance there is Enchanted. Good romances are The Wedding Planner, Maid in Manhattan, and Shall We Dance.**

*This paragraph didn't tie together really well, and perhaps it doesn't even make much sense, but I'll leave it as is.
**20190922: I previously listed American Pie as a recommended romantic comedy. While it is a romantic comedy, it is also raunchy and I found it best to remove it.

[20100309 Assumed Entry Date][20190922 Edit]

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Watched 20100309 (Netflix, Instant)
The Ugly Truth (2009) Robert Luketic. 96 min.

Relevant Links:
The Ugly Truth (IMDb.com)
The Ugly Truth (RottenTomatoes.com)

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)

20100308:
Seeing this movie for the second time, I definitely knew what scene I was looking forward to watching: Battleshit! Haha. And then there are the scenes with Neil Patrick Harris. But apparently I forgot a lot of great scenes. (1) I totally didn't remember the cheetah scene. Lol. (2) Anthony Anderson's Burger Shack scene. (3) Next would be Bobby Lee starring as Kenneth Park. (4) And then Ryan Reynolds's scene as the male nurse. (5) Jamie Kennedy's appearance in the movie.

[20100313]

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Watched once before (prior to 20100101)
Watched 20100308
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)

Relevant Links:
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (IMDb.com)
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (RottenTomatoes.com)

Don Juan DeMarco (1995)

20100305:
Johnny Depp and Marlon Brando.

Short Review:
Great funny. You don't know what to believe. Romantic.

Long Review:
The introduction is great, and in hindsight, it sort of parallels the rest of the movie. Romantic turns funny, funny turns romantic, on and on. Like Son of Rambow, I had no idea what to expect from this movie, but enjoyed thoroughly. I was a little confused with part of the ending, but I think I must have missed something. In any case, it wasn't a big deal and I liked the romantic ending.

[20100312]

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Watched 20100305
Don Juan DeMarco (1995)

Relevant Links:
Don Juan DeMarco (IMDb.com)
Don Juan DeMarco (RottenTomatoes.com)