Milk

Rating: 8.5 (almost 9) out of 10 stars
I saw this on January 7th at Coolidge Corner

This was a pretty good movie. It was touching at times and I liked the setup of Harvey dictated a memoir in case of his death.

Didn't much care for the love interest story (at least Rick, Scott was pretty good) but then again it was based on a true story so you can't really do much with that.

Haven't seen all the movies to make a completely informed judgment but I would think that Sean Penn deserves a nomination for best actor. Milk should be in the conversation for best picture but it wouldn't be outrageous if it got snubbed. I also think Josh Brolin should get some consideration for supporting actor. His part wasn't that big but I thought he played Dan White excellently.

This is definitely worth seeing.

Slumdog Millionaire

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars
I saw this on January 5 at Coolidge Corner

This was an excellent movie. I loved the story and they used the flow between game show and life very well. A well crafted plot that tugs at your heart strings and some very tense moments.

There was no outstanding performance in my opinion but it was extremely well done and solid all around. The Indian backdrop was excellent and the story arc reminded me of an Indian Scarface.

The end seemed predictable but I think the movie overall gave you reason enough to doubt a happy ending so the suspense was still there.

This should be in high contention for some oscars and get serious mention for best picture.

MIT: Iron Man

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars
I saw this on December 26th

I'm actually sorry I missed this one in theaters because I'm sure it would've been better on a big screen but it was still pretty good.

Action sequences were good, Tony Stark was a fairly interesting character and the story itself was decent. Should make way for some sequels with more interesting villains (this was really just the origin story and original bad guy fighting).

Worth seeing for action fans and it's nice to see Robert Downey string a few good ones together but other than that, eh, it's ok

MIT: The Fall (yes, I finally watched it)

Rating: 8.5 out of 10 stars
I watched this on 1/2/09

This movie was quite interesting. I thought the visuals were breathtaking and inventive and I really enjoyed the storytelling aspect.

I also applaud the movie for a nice balance of story telling and real life. I think there could have been a more well thought out and/or longer story even if it meant a longer movie but overall it was well done.

I found the movie hard to follow at times and there could have been more character development but the last scene(s) are excellent.

Should win some oscars for visuals and such but I don't think this is a best picture candidate and I'm not sure if any of the performances were strong enough to warrant consideration either.

MIT: Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story

Rating: 9.5 out of 10 stars
Watched this on November 17th

Ok, new idea, from now on if there's a recent movie that I miss when it's in theaters but I see it soon after (well, I guess in the same year) I'll review it and classify it as Missed In Theaters. So anytime you see MIT before a title I didn't see the movie in a theater but still it's a recent-ish movie.

First of all, I absolutely loved this movie. Lee Atwater was as fascinating as he was deplorable and the man himself made this movie worth watching. With my politic fix mostly gone after the elections this was a great view.

For those less fascinated with politics and Karl Rove and such this may be much less exciting. Overall it's a good but not great documentary if you're not interested in the topic but if you are, it's amazing and enthralling.

Worth a view either way but don't get your hopes up if politics doesn't tickle your fancy.

Next on my list, I'd like to see JCVD in theaters (maybe tomorrow night) and I'll probably watch The Fall in my MIT series.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars
I saw this movie on November 18 at Coolidge Corner

This movie was very interesting and I'm glad I didn't miss it before it left town. I found all of the characters amusingly shallow and fun to pull your hair out while watching. I'm not sure that I would want to spend time with any of the characters but the twisting, changing plot and the characters reactions to it was hard to turn away from. A great follow up performance for Javier Bardem to show his versatility.

Not the best movie I've seen but a decent, fun watch.

Man on Wire

Rating 7.5 out of 10 stars
I saw this on September 17th at Coolidge Corner

The story was really good and really suspenseful and a lot of the camera work was fairly interesting and it's probably about as good as you could have done with this but at the end of the day it was about a tight rope walker and there's only so much you can do with that type of story.

It was made very artistic and I'm glad I saw it but it's not the most memorable thing ever.

Hopefully I'll pick up my movie viewing again pretty soon