The Year in Movies

For me, anyway. However, the caveat — movies I haven’t seen yet:

THE HURT LOCKER: the title kept me away, yeah. very undescriptive. or, maybe makes perfect sense afterward, but none before.
500 DAYS OF SUMMER: dug the trailer, did the actors, heard great stuff about it, but, being not-horror, it kept slipping down the list.
THE FANTASTIC MR FOX: I still trust Wes Anderson. will see this one before too long, here.
ANTICHRIST: man, the Green Goblin and some scene that’s supposed to scar me forever. maybe eventually.
THE ROAD: liked the book, but, I mean, it was sad enough that I don’t know why I’d want to experience that again, in a theater of people.
DEAD SNOW: nazi zombies? my only excuse for not seeing this was proximity (well, lack thereof). I think it’s DVD now, though. excited.
SHERLOCK HOLMES: so it’s Holmes as a Victorian John McClane. I can handle that.
THE BROTHERS BLOOM: the trailer doesn’t make me want to see this, but what people have been saying — sure. okay. maybe.
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and, my favorites, in something like descending order:

STAR TREK: very clever, letting these characters we know and love now unfold in a different universe. I’m there for all of what comes.
AVATAR: 3D IMAX. nothing not to love.
DISTRICT 9: I want a prawn tattoo. anyway, this just consistently, persistently escalates. so impressed.
17 AGAIN: I mean, it’s IT’S A WONDERFUL life, pretty much. only ridiculously funny. would watch it over and over and over.
WATCHMEN: Carla Gugino was cast perfectly in this — or, she played Silk Spectre as well as Maggie Gyllenhaal played Rachel in DARK KNIGHT. well, okay, almost.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: still scares me.
BANDSLAM: I don’t know why this isn’t higher on this list. I need to petition somebody. I mean, if only the music in here had been as heavy as in SCHOOL OF ROCK, man: perfect.
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS: if I’m mis-spelling that close to correctly. and, Brad Pitt’s southern Italian at that premiere, man. it was SNATCH-worthy.
ALIENS VS MONSTERS: so well-written. unlike UP, yeah, which traded dynamic writing for heart-string pullery. which, I mean, that’s effective, sure. but not a story.
SORORITY ROW: red herrings haven’t been used this well in a slasher for quite some time. well, I mean, not since the MY BLOODY VALENTINE remake anyway. but this is cleaner.
JENNIFER’S BODY: Diablo Cody’s dialogue, I’m completely in love with it. also the device which turns Jennifer demonic was about excellent as well.
DRAG ME TO HELL: nothing but a good time, and, I mean, the big reveal/ trick which ends it, I didn’t see it coming at all.
RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN: have watched this I-don’t-know-how-many times already. the story’s so clean, so balanced, paced so well. very jealous.
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so, guess that’s thirteen instead of the usual ten. so it goes. it would be fifteen if I could count 2008 movies I’m only just now catching on DVD (ROLE MODELS, IN BRUGES, and I mean, I’m only, who knows why, just now watching 2007’s DIARY OF THE DEAD (and loving it)).

and yeah, no indie-stuff, right? reason: Boulder’s got no indie cinema, except on the shelves, months later.