hot summer of movies

Dear dear dear.. I've spent many an evening watching movies I've meant to see. Here's the latest batch that I've burned through:
  1. Alexander Nevsky. The haircut that endures time and space. An operatic track is used in The Simpsons episode G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)
  2. First Blood. Yup, that one, drawling Stallone and all. Why are small towns given such a bad rap?
  3. They Live. I think I got this one so that I could experience the source material for Duke Nukem. The bubblegum line was the best part.
  4. Gran Torino. I very much enjoyed Eastwood's laying down of slurs.
  5. The Hurt Locker. Excellent, one of the best of 2009. The ending's a bit long/forced, but doesn't detract much from the rest of the film.
  6. The Outsiders. I would've loved this as a teenager. I'd be a greaser, definitely.
  7. Up. Wonderful prelude. My eyes watered.
  8. Who Killed The Electric Car? I'd avoided this one but it's quite informative, if a little biased/heavy-handed by the end. Interesting to think that we could be living in an electric-car (not hybrid, mind you) world.
  9. Arahan. A Korean martial arts comedy. Loses its focus at times. Promising but doesn't deliver.
  10. The Shootist. John Wayne knows how to go out in style.
  11. The Endless Summer. Inspires dreams of surfing.
  12. There Will Be Blood. Good movie, but hard to watch. Now I know where that milkshake meme comes from.
  13. A Frozen Flower. What a brutal history Korea has. The film more or less lost me by the end, but the final song did ease my dissatisfaction.
  14. The Chaser. Murder mystery, without the mystery. Lots of suspense, a little gore.
  15. Entre Les Murs. I thought it was good, but not Palme d'Or good. I will note that my enjoyment was much hampered by a very poor translation -- it seemed to have been translated into Spanish and then into English.
  16. The Apartment. Loved it, absolutely loved it. Why can't dialogue always be this good?
  17. District 9. Impressive. I never bought the idea of an alien slum on earth but my doubts were soon forgotten. Sci-fi needs more of these.
  18. kuro-obi. Entertaining martial arts film with plenty of authetic karate.
  19. The Night of the Hunter. Robert Mitchum at his most frightful. This would've given me nightmares as a child.

Whew! So yeah, a bunch of movies watched, still lots to go. Summer, it would seem, has finally reared its hot and stinky head.

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