Oscar Review

I was VERY happy with the turnout of this year's Academy Awards.

Why Miley Cyrus was on it, I don't know...but it was a great show.

I think we all predicted Avatar to sweep the board, so that's why I casted most of my votes for it. I loved The Hurt Locker, but I didn't anticipate it winning 6 awards including Best Picture + Director. Thankfully James Cameron didn't get the ego boost he had anticipated.

The acting awards were predictable, but I'm very happy with who won (except I never saw Crazy Heart). Sandra Bullock was great in The Blind Side, along with Cristoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds (wish it won more) and Mo'Nique in Precious (oh my gosh).

So glad Up won two awards. Such a great animated film.

I did wish Up in the Air had won for Best Adapted Screenplay, but I really can't complain with Precious.

I'd like to watch a few of these movies again so expect some reviews in the near future...

2007

2007 was another great year in movies. Lenny and I went to the movies almost every weekend this year as we both prepared to leave LA. I saw 33 movies this year and spent a whopping $251.

Before I give you the rankings, let me just warn you, No Country for Old Men did not make the cut. While this movie was great and definitely deserved its Oscar win, I just wasn't as amazed as I expected to be. After seeing it a few times now, I have definitely gained more respect for the Coen brothers' unique style of filmmaking (if you haven't seen Fargo, add it to your netflix now). However, the my top 3 picks for '07 go to:

1. Shooter
2. 3:10 to Yuma
2. The Bourne Ultimatum
3. Into the Wild

For me, Shooter is another classic action thriller. Every time I watch it, I am amazed at the storyline and how it manages to continually surprise me. The cast is perfect with the balance of known (Wahlberg, Glover) and unknown (Mara, Pena) actors. Mark Wahlberg is a pro, and I'm eagerly waiting for his first Oscar win.

Let's keep this short. Here's the rest for '07:

Funniest Movies:
1. I Now Prounounce You Chuck & Larry
2. Knocked Up (don't see this with your sister like I did)
3. Blades of Glory

Worst Movies:
1. Balls of Fury
2. Evan Almighty
3. Mr. Brooks

Biggest Disappointments:
1. Spider-Man 3
2. I Am Legend (sorry everyone...I expected much more out of this film. Will did great, but the storyline just didn't strike me as very engaging except for the one scene with the dog)

Meet Lenny

This blog wouldn't be complete without giving my cousin Lenny a proper introduction. I grew up going to the movies with Lenny. We started out with movies like Rugrats (first time I ever cried in a movie), then we moved on to more sophisticated cartoons, and then on to certain films my parents probably wouldn't have wanted her to take me to.

Lenny had been thinking about getting out of LA and when we decided to come to Nashville she decided she would follow us out and move to Phoenix. I only get to see her 2 or 3 times a year now, but we talk almost every week and most of our conversations consist of nothing but movies and TV.

Our big question now is...who's going to win Best Picture on Sunday?
I'm pulling for Inglourious Basterds. I think they can surprise us and win over Avatar. What do you think?

2006

As I entered high school, my movie watching became a little more sophisticated. I saw 34 movies this year and spent $251.25 :/
(I found out I was moving in '06--going to the movies was my release)

The top 3 movies of 2006 go to:
1. The Departed
2. Casino Royale
3. Little Miss Sunshine
honorable mention: Inside Man and The Guardian

Yes, the Best Picture winner is my favorite again. The Departed was so well done, from the casting to the acting to the directing to the impeccable storyline, The Departed is a must see. Jack Nicholson played a great mob man and Matt Damon did great concealing his true identity. However, Mark Wahlberg definitely had the best performance in this film (and best quotes).

Casino Royale wins over Little Miss Sunshine simply because of the surprise factor. Who really expected another James Bond movie to be good? Daniel Craig proved himself Bond-worthy (and Hollywood-worthy for that matter) through this film. Little Miss Sunshine became a classic the instant it hit theaters. With such a great cast and unforgettably hilarious scenes, it easily became the funniest movie of 2006. The car-ride scene with Alan Arkin made it 10x easier for him to pick up an Oscar. Not sure if I'd want my dad to give that kind of advice to my kids though...

While Inside Man and The Guardian receive my honarable mention, The Pursuit of Happyness and Stranger Than Fiction were greatly considered. I loved all of these movies, but some more than others.

Here's the rest for '06:

Funniest Movies:
1. Little Miss Sunshine
2. Talladega Nights
3. Jackass 2

Most fun movie experience:
Accepted
(We were the only people in the theater and I almost broke John's tooth with a lemonhead)

Biggest Disappointments:
1. Scary Movie 4
2. For Your Consideration
3. Click

Easiest movie to fall asleep in:
Pirates of the Caribbean 2
(I fell asleep both times I saw it)

Best Romantic Comedies:
1. Failure to Launch
2. The Devil Wears Prada
3. Last Holiday

Worst Movies of '06:
1. Date Movie
2. 16 Blocks
3. You, Me and Dupree

Worst Movie Experience

2005 was also the year I had my worst movie experience.


The morning of Friday, June 3, my friends and I all piled onto a bus for the annual end of the year junior high beach trip. What a great day to end the year, right? Well my friend Willy had the brilliant idea of building a huge sandcastle. Of course, I was all over this and spent 2-3 hours in the same place, shirtless, pale as ever, under the sun.......

I looked just like this guy when I got home

ok maybe a little different, but you get the picture. I was pissed.


I blame no one but myself. And now I really know why God invented sunscreen.

So Lenny (i'll give her the introduction she deserves later) and I went and saw Madagascar that night. I don't care how great of a movie it was (I don't remember much), it was the most miserable experience at a movie theater I have ever had. My back got burned so bad, I couldn't sit still or stop itching. I refuse to watch it again to this day because the memories just come poring back.

(for you psychology people, I just used described elaboration)

All in all, I had a fun day, a really bad evening, and a horrible night. I remember having my mom rub lotion on my back as I tried to go to sleep because I couldn't rest without itching it. Thanks mom :)

2005

Go back with me now to the year 2005. I started saving my movie tickets when I saw The Ring 2 on April 10 (guess I didn't feel like celebrating your birthday John). In short, The Ring 2 sucked. Don't see it.

how bout that for a first review? think I could make it on tv?

I saw 26 movies in 2005 after I started saving tickets and spent $169.75. Guess all that work mowing our 20' x 20' lawn paid off!

The top 3 movies for this year go to:

1. Crash
2. 40 Year Old Virgin
3. Mr. and Mrs. Smith
honorable mention: Red Eye

It's not often that I actually enjoy the Best Picture winner. Crash is a huge exception. I think movies like this are the reason movies exist. It was a small film with low publicity so the only people who saw it are those that wanted to. Do you think everyone who saw Avatar wanted to see it? NO. They felt obligated. Crash did a great job at addressing racism through focusing on various stereotypes. It shows how racism is still a major problem and not just something we see in textbooks. It also shows, however, that we can overcome this problem. I think this film solidified Sandra Bullock's role as a legitimate actress and also brought Michael Pena onto the stage. I've seen him in many other small films, but the unforgettable scene where his daughter runs out to give him the invisible cloak really put him on the map.

40 Year Old Virgin
Words cannot describe. I've never laughed so hard in a movie that I had to gasp for air. Yes, dad, I've seen this. Watch it next time I'm away (it's on the top shelf) and you'll understand.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Red Eye are my 2 favorite feel good movies. Mr. and Mrs. Smith grabbed #3 over Red Eye simply because its action and plot is slightly more interesting. In the end though, you really can't go wrong with any Brad, Angelina, or Rachel movie.

I can't give Batman Begins anything because we all know it's sequel may have a pretty good chance at being #1 in '08 (and let's face it...nobody cares about the first one anymore after Heath's performance). I'd like to also give a shout out to Wedding Crashers and Sahara. You guys did great, but others did better.

That's it for 2005.
here's a little more bloggage:

Worst movies of 2005:
1. The Ring 2 - just couldn't top the first
2. Zathura - remind me again, John, why you convinced me to see this?
3. The Fog - I think Tom Welling learned after this that he just needs to stick with Smallville.

Biggest Disappointment:
Flightplan

Best Romantic Comedies:
1. The Family Stone
2. Just Like Heaven
3. Fever Pitch

Preface

Happy Valentine’s Day! I did not give out this blog address to anyone today, so if you’re reading this on February the 14th, I am sorry that you are so bored that you surfed blogspot (did I mention today is Valentine’s Day?), found my newborn blog (on Valentine’s Day), and actually started reading it (on the day where picking out a loner versus a lover in a crowd is easier than spotting a cross dresser on the streets of LA). I encourage you, my new friend, to go outside, take a literal breath of fresh air, then a figurative one, and make a difference in the world. My name is Hunter and today I stumbled upon an answer to a question I’ve had for a while: What do I want to blog about? I have always been encouraged to blog as a sort of relief or reflection, but it seemed as if all the ideas were taken.

This past summer, my friend John came out to Nashville and managed to discover my copious collection of movie ticket stubs. His curiosity in the financial burdens that the movie theaters have placed upon me led to us spending over an hour sorting out my compilation of stubs and calculating how much money I have spent on movies in the past five years. The results left John in an odd state of disgust and me in an even stranger sense of pride and accomplishment. I love movies. It’s almost an obsession, and I’m fine in admitting that. Obsessions are fairly easy to describe – they result in a state of complete bliss that is unique to each individual. Some turn to partying for this satisfaction. Some turn to Farmville. Some 72-year-old grandmothers are obsessed with spending their grandkids’ inheritances at the casino (oops did that slip?) because it’s “justsomuchfun.” And some people turn to places like Sonic and McDonald’s. I, however, turn to movies.

(disclaimer: please disregard my subtle attempts at humor – I’m aware you probably aren’t laughing at points…[dad]…but this is me being creative and I’m enjoying it)

In this blog, I plan to explore this fascination I have always had for the film industry and provide a unique, personal review of each movie I see this year. I will discuss my movie-going experiences from the people I encounter (or don’t encounter—ever heard of people watching? It’s an LA thing, one of my favorite hobbies. There’s just some people that make you wonder about things so instead of interacting with them, the best thing to do is make up your own story for them and, well…blog about it!). Where was I? Oh yeah, on any given post I might discuss the people I am around that day, some past blogworthy movie-going experiences, some predictions and hopes I have for this coming year, and, of course…I will concoct my own individualized review of each movie I see this year and how each one enhances my worldview. I will impassionedly spew out whatever thought I believe needs to be recorded and shared with you all. Personally, I hope to enhance my writing skills, open myself up to new ideas, and provide a serene atmosphere for anyone interested in my ventures to Regal Green Hills 16.

PS have you figured out yet that I use dictionary and thesaurus.com to build a funner – excuse me – more vivacious vocabulary?

OK – Here we go…
I am Hunter _____ (no…creepers, I’m not giving out my last name) and this is my story:

On April 10, 2005, I saw The Ring 2 and since then have attempted to keep every movie ticket stub I receive. Brace yourself for these statistics:

Since the inception of my collection,

I have seen:
151 movies
(avg 30.2/year)

I have spent:
$1,110.75
(avg $222.15/year - excluding popcorn/drinks)

and created a lifetime of memories doing it…
(not into clichés? Then check out my sister Meghan _____’s [nope…still not giving out that last name] blog 730 Days In Photos at 730daysinphotos.blogspot.com)

I will begin by chronicling the past 4 years in movies with a post for each year including my top 3 picks and why or why not they are better than the Best Picture winner that year. Look forward to more statistics and even more extremely large and incorrectly used vocabulary words.


“Tik tok on the clock but the subtle attempts at humor don’t stop no. no oh oh oh. no oh oh oh”


trying too hard?