The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)

20110320:
I didn't get into the movie completely at first, mainly because I didn't like the opening credits. The opening scene was alright. But after about the first 10 or 15 minutes, I was laughing at all the on-screen ridiculousness. For example, the pee scene and the scene with the car rolling down the hill.

There's a bunch of great lines. Without ruining the punchline to each scene:

[Jane climbs a ladder]
Frank: Nice beaver!
...

Jane: I've heard police work is dangerous.
Frank: It is. That's why I carry a big gun.
Jane: Aren't you afraid it might go off accidentally?
Frank: I used to have that problem.
...

[Drebin searches a drawer]
Frank: Bingo!
...

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20130501:
Having watched it before, I put this movie on in the background. As before I didn't like the opening credits with the police siren, but I loved just about every other ridiculous thing about the movie. Notable scenes include the scene where Drebin pays off the informant and the scene that starts with him escaping through a window, touching a woman's boobs, and hanging on to his dear life from a statue's penis.

Of the various funny lines, I'll include this one to this list of lines that stand out:

Ed: Doctors say that Nordberg has a 50/50 chance of living. Though there's only a 10 percent chance of that.*

*I read this line today (20190508) and it was funny because of what it implies. However, I gave it some extra thought and if the event of Nordberg having a 50/50 chance of living occupies a tenth of the event space, what's the remaining 90%? For example, it could be that he has a seventy percent chance of having an 80% chance of living and an twenty percent chance of having a 10% chance of living. His probability of living would then be .5*.1 + .8*.7 + .1*.2 = .63.

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Watched 20110320 (Netflix, Instant)
Watched 20130501 (Netflix, Instant)
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) David Zucker. 85 min.

Relevant Links:
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (IMDb.com)
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (Wikipedia.org)
The Naked Gun - From the Files of the Police Squad! (RottenTomatoes.com)

Being John Malkovich (1999)

20110319:
This movie was weird. I'm on the fence about whether or not I like it.

My favorite scene was when John Malkovich (being controlled by Cusack's character) performs the piece from the beginning of the movie.

The movie bordered on being deep, but strays from the thought of doing so.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) was much more enjoyable.

[20110320]

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Watched 20110319 (Netflix, Instant)
Being John Malkovich (1999) Spike Jonze. 112 min.

Relevant Links:
Being John Malkovich (IMDb.com)

The Producers (1968)

20110318:
I don't know which Mel Brooks movie I like more, The Producers or Blazing Saddles (1974). Both movies have a similar style of humor.

I don't know what else to say about the movie.

[20110320][20190508 Edit]

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Watched 20110318 (Netflix, Instant)
The Producers (1968) Mel Brooks. 88 min.

Relevant Links:
The Producers (IMDb.com)
The Producers (Wikipedia.org)
My The Producers (2005) post.

Sunshine Cleaning (2008)

20110317:
This movie was okay. There were parts that were uninteresting. There were parts that were interesting but didn't build up into anything. Perhaps the movie tried to go in too many directions.

Taking into account the plot issues, Emily Blunt played her role fantastically and Amy Adams did almost as well.

Alan Arkin brings the same fun to this movie as he did in Little Miss Sunshine (2006).

[20110320]

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Watched 20110317 (McNaughton Plan from Eisenhower Library) (Widescreen Version)
Sunshine Cleaning (2008) Christine Jeffs. 91 min.

Relevant Links:
Sunshine Cleaning (IMDb.com)
Sunshine Cleaning (Wikipedia.org)

The American (2010)

20110311:
I was satisfied with the movie up until the suspense was killed after George Clooney's character drops off the gun. Up until that moment I had good guesses as to what would happen, but I wanted to be surprised about it. Instead, the movie just plainly reveals it to me.

Aside from that, the very end of the movie was decent. I liked all the shots with the butterflies.

I don't mind the lack of action. But in that case, the movie should have gotten me to grip my seat in suspense. It was almost successful. It was good enough at what it did that I can't exactly say I'd rather watch Quantum of Solace (2008). I can say I'd rather watch the Bourne series or Casino Royale (2006).

I watched the "Deleted Scenes" special feature. Nothing particularly special.

I love reading about the differences between a book and a movie on Wikipedia.

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Watched 20110310 (McNaughton Plan from Eisenhower Library)
The American (2010) Anton Corbijn. 105 min [botn A Very Private Gentleman (1990) by Martin Booth]

Relevant Links:
The American (IMDb.com)
The American (2010 film) (Wikipedia.org)
The American (RottenTomatoes.com)

It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010)

20110309:
This movie is cute and feel-good. While I have definitely spent various moments in my life appreciating how fortunate it has been, it's nice to have that same message contained in a movie.

I didn't like some of the movie's delivery. Certain scene which delved into the character Craig's mind deviated too much from the main movie. For example, when they sing "Under Pressure," the movie cuts away from real life completely. I guess I felt the movie should have been anchored.

Overall the movie had it's moments, but certain flaws keep the movie from being great. I would recommend the movie to others, wouldn't watch it again by myself, and wouldn't mind watching it again.

Watched the deleted scenes. The call to the suicide hotline was terrible. The checking the messages one was good. Lol, I didn't hear all of the table conversation. Yoga was good. I guess the scene with his dad didn't fit the final direction of the movie, otherwise it was an alright scene.

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Watched 20110309 (McNaughton Plan from Eisenhower Library)
It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010) Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. 101 min [botnotsn (2006) by Ned Vizzini]

Relevant Links:
It's Kind of a Funny Story (IMDb.com)
It's Kind of a Funny Story (Wikipedia.org)
It's Kind of a Funny Story (film) (Wikipedia.org)
It's Kind of a Funny Story (RottenTomatoes.com)

Quantum of Solace (2008)

20110301:
I liked Casino Royale (2006) better than this movie.

I had seen bits and parts of this movie before, but I don't remember when or where.

I found the movie hard to understand.

Perhaps the most fundamental part I don't understand is the meaning of the movie's title.

I love the title song "Another Way to Die" by Jack White and Alicia Keys. In fact, I have the 7" (vinyl) single. See the Wikipedia.org page Another Way to Die.

[20110309]

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Watched 20110301 (McNaughton Plan from Eisenhower Library)
Quantum of Solace (2008) Marc Foster. 106 min.

Relevant Links:
Quantum of Solace (IMDb.com)