2000s

6/4/22 "American Psycho" 2000
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote, "I have to return some videotapes."
I can understand why this film is so heavily memed. The scenes are so crazy and out there that it makes prime meme potential. This sets itself a part from other memed movies by actually being really good. I love how Christian Bale portrayed Patrick Bateman, it's completely over the top but it works so well. I also loved how open ended the ending was. You truly don't know what was real and what was fake. I feel like this film being directed by a woman adds a lot to the story. I love how she portrays '80s men that shallow because it reflects the time so well. I would highly suggest this film

8/26/23 "Traffic" 2000
3/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "If there is a war on drugs, then many of our family members are the enemy. And I don't know how you wage war on your own family." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This won Best Directing in 2000? This film? I understand how people could like this film, it is one of the most pretentious films I've seen in a while. It's six different stories in six different areas all coming together to give the profound message of "Drugs are bad, m'kay". We only needed the Michael Douglas one, since that one was the most interesting. The actors are great, but the characters are pretty flat. This film also has a nasty habit of cutting away once a scene gets interesting. It was so obnoxious to sit through these long scenes and then the second they start getting good we're onto another scene with new characters. They also randomly have scenes that are just blue-tinted for no reason. It happens at random moments. They also use a yellow tint at some points, but mostly whenever the characters are in Mexico. Can we please just stop using the yellow tint for Mexico, I'm so tired of seeing it in film and television. This film is also two hours and thirty minutes when it really didn't have to be. Overall, just an Oscar bait film that thinks it's profound but doesn't say much of anything.

7/13/22 "Gladiator" 2000
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "I think he knows what Rome is. Rome is the mob. Conjure magic for them and they'll be distracted. Take away their freedom and still, they'll roar. The beating heart of Rome is not the marble of the senate, it's the sand of the colosseum. He'll bring them death - and they will love him for it."
Yes. I am entertained. Another Oscar-winning movie on the list and this one is a great one. It's a nice mix of drama and action that made it really stand out. I feel like I was hooked the entire time, although the beginning dragged slightly it was very important for the film. The ending was very sweet and done very well I thought. The shots were great in this one, I can't even imagine how hard it was to get the action scenes in the movie. Russell Crowe was amazing in this film, it was so weird going from Thor: Love and Thunder Russell Crowe to Gladiator Russell Crowe. Also, Joaquin Phoenix was great in this film naturally, he's always great. This film deserved the Oscar win and earns its place in film history as one of the greats

2/22/24 "Requiem for a Dream" 2000
9/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "How come you know more about medicine than a doctor?" "Believe me, Ma: I know." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
Probably ranks up there as one of the saddest films. We follow four different people, Harry Goldfarb (Jared Leto), his mother Sara (Ellen Burstyn), his friend Tyrone (Marlon Waynes), and Harry's girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly) as their lives get ruined by drugs. Harry, Tyrone, and Marion all become heroin dealers to achieve their dreams. Harry and Marion want to open a clothing store while Tyrone wants to make his mom proud of him. Meanwhile, Sara got an invitation to appear on her favorite game show, but she can't fit in her old red dress. This inspires her to try to lose some weight before the show. She tried a regular diet, but it just didn't work for her, so she went to a physician who gave her Amphetamines to control her diet. Everyone gives a great performance in this film, even Jared Leto?! This might be the one film I can confidently say that he gives a good performance in. The clear winner though it Ellen Burstyn as Sara. She brings such an element of sadness and loneliness to Sara that makes her feel real. While the other three meant to join the world of drugs, she didn't. You can see Sara's story happening to anyone. I'm pretty mixed on the direction of the shots however, because on one hand, they can lead to very innovative sequences, and on the other, they can be sort of tacky. I love the split screens and how they film some of the drug sequences, but some of the transitions are pretty dated (e.g. the seasons' title card falling and making a crash sound). It's clear to see why so many people list this as one of the best films. It's very powerful

4/25/22 "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" 2000
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Damn! We're in a tight spot!"
This was a fun movie. It's a really creative retelling of Homer's "Odyssey" set during the 1920s in the South with three prisoners. The soundtrack is amazing in this movie, I loved all of the songs because it has such a great old-time vibe to them. Unpopular Opinion, but I'm not a fan of the colors in this movie. I love how stylized the yellows are, but I feel like it gives it a really ugly look. It's best if you watch this movie knowing the Odyssey because of how charming the adaptation is. It's cool to see how they make the Greek Novel more modern. Not the best Coen Brothers, but it's still a solid movie

10/19/24 "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" 2000
6/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "Because of your love, I will never be a lonely spirit." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This film was sort of hard to rank. Storywise, I felt like this could've been better. We follow two warriors as they try to track down a mystical sword that was stolen. On their way, they find a nobleman's daughter who's extremely skilled in the ways of battle. The fight scenes in this movie are really great with some wonderful cinematography. Ang Lee does an incredible job directing this, I just wish there was a better story connecting the wonderful fight scenes.

10/9/25 "In The Mood For Love" 2000
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "As though looking through a dusty window pane, the past is something he could see, but not touch. And everything he sees is blurred and indistinct." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
Ever since I got into film, I've heard people absolutely gush about this movie. After watching it, I completely understand. This is an absolutely beautiful movie, both visually and story-wise. The film uses these LUSH reds and warm colors that really make this film stand out. The film follows two neighbors who find out that their spouses are with the other's spouse. The two see each other to discuss the details of this horrible situation, and while doing it, the two start falling in love, but they're nervous to do anything about it due to how taboo the relationship would be. It's really directed well and the main two give a really great performance. As a whole, this cements itself in film history quite easily.

1/13/23 "Dinosaur" 2000
1/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "I always liked big girls!", do they say the title of the movie within the movie: I don't think so
This is the worst Disney movie ever made. The animation is horrid, the script is somehow worse. No likable characters in the bunch, all of them are forgettable and never do or say anything of substance. There's a reason barely any celebrities agreed to do this film. It feels like the directors saw Jurassic Park and yelled "LET'S DO THAT!"

7/19/23 "Amores Perros" 2000
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "At the time, I thought there were more important things than being with you and your mom. I wanted to set the world right, and then share it with you. I failed, as you can see." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
Alejandro G. Iñárritu's first feature film and he starts his filmography with a bang (or rather a crash). Alejandro G. Iñárritu is the man who directed films like "Babel", "Birdman", and "The Revenant". This film is about three separate stories that are all linked to a car crash. What's really cool about this crash is that the director crashed the car once, but just got multiple angles of the same crash, meaning all of the actors had to be in the right place and do the right things since they only had one take. The three stories are all very compelling and all very sad to see. The characters have horrible things happen to them (and their dogs). Seriously, if you like dogs, this is a very hard watch. It's an incredible debut that really set him on the map

4/12/24 "Cecil B. Demented" 2000
6/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "Family is just a dirty word for censorship." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This second-most recent John Waters film, and it's not too incredible. It's a pretty alright movie, but it feels a little like a parody of a John Waters film more than an actual John Waters film. It's about a famous film actress named Honey Whitlock (Melanie Griffith) getting kidnapped at her film premiere by a group of rebel, underground filmmakers who want her to be in their new movie. They show her a new world of filmmaking where she doesn't have to be restrained by the studio system. It's a funny idea, but this just lacks a lot of the charm of earlier John Waters charm. I do appreciate how the film they're shooting is reminiscent of his early films like "Multiple Maniacs", "Pink Flamingos", or "Female Trouble". As a whole, there are some laughs there, but not the best Waters film.

6/28/24 "X-Men" 2000
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "You know, people like you are the reason I was afraid to go to school as a child." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This feels like such a subversive superhero film, which is crazy because it was before the whole superhero boom of the 2000s. I feel like I really don't need a plot summary because we're all pretty aware of who the X-Men are. This film is so well-cast, there's a reason why Hugh Jackman will be playing Wolverine for 24 years after this film came out. The best have to be Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. They have such great chemistry, which is perfect for the complicated relationship between Professor X and Magneto. What truly makes this film great though is its commentary. The original comics were written as a commentary on racism with Professor X and Magneto being based on Martin Luther King and Malcolm X respectively. It does a really great job with this subject matter and really elevates this above an average superhero movie.

7/18/22 "Almost Famous" 2000
3/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "And you can tell Rolling Stone magazine that my last words were … I’m on drugs!”
I should've liked this movie... but I didn't. I love the '60s-'70s style of music and I normally love indie films but this wasn't it for me. I liked the indie aspects but I feel like the humor could've been tighter and the drama could've been more dramatic. Kate Hudson was great In this movie, it's crazy to think this is her breakout role. It's funny how much she reminds me of her mom. Patrick Fugit as William Miller, I can understand why it's his breakout role... and only role really. He's just not that good in this movie. I find that most of his lines were really flat and he didn't give a great performance. There were many points in this film where things got really weird. When the three groupie girls try to have the 15-year-old William Miller lose his virginity despite him saying how he's not up for it... they still go through with it and it's really awkward. Later in the film, William Miller kisses a girl on drugs because she won't remember it... yikes. Also, there are homophobic jokes which aren't funny. Almost Famous... more like Almost a good movie.

1/5/22 "Best In Show" 2000
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "We both love soup... and snow peas"
This movie is hilarious. It focuses on the world of dog shows and how obsessed people can get. The cast works so well together, they all have such unique and funny characters that never seem boring. 60% of the movie is the actors just improving and making up weird lines. Of course, the best part of the movie was the late Fred Willard. Every line he said was perfect and he knew just what to add. Would highly suggest

7/23/23 "Bamboozled" 2000
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Feed the idiot box. Feed the idiot box." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes!
I would say this is Spike Lee's most satirical movie being a perfect mix of "Network" and "The Producers". It's about Pierre Delacroix (Daman Wayans), the only African American writer at a struggling Tv channel who tries to pitch several shows about the African American experience only to get turned down. He wants to quit, but his contract forbids it, so he decides to go another route. He decides to create the most racist show to get himself fired, a modern minstrel show for the new millennium, with blackface and all. His plan fails however when it becomes one of the biggest TV shows. It truly is an exercise in making the audience feel uncomfortable. I watched this film because it was in my high school film teacher's recommendations, so I always wondered why she didn't show it in class, and after watching it I understand why. The film is a little too long for my liking, after a while it felt very repetitive and didn't really offer anything new. Also, Spike Lee made the baffling decision to shoot this film on Camcorders, making it look like a web series, but he still managed to sneak in a dolly shot where the character looks like they are floating in the air. Not the best Spike Lee film, but it's hard when he has such a great filmography

7/2/24 "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" 2001
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "They threw a lot of tomatoes, so I made a salad." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This was a very interesting movie-musical. It's not very conventional in its execution, which leads to it being a very interesting musical. It's a rock opera about a German immigrant who got a sex-change to escape Berlin during the wall, but the doctor botched it. Hedwig becomes a rock star, and he tells his story through the rock songs. The songs are really well written and the music video style really adds to the film's rock n' roll feel. This is a really stylish movie that's clearly important.

10/22/23 "Donnie Darko" 2001
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Why are you wearing that stupid bunny suit? "Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: yes!
This is one of those movies that everyone on Letterboxd wouldn't shut up about, and after watching it I can somewhat understand because this film is pretty compelling. I totally didn't need to look up a video explaining the film! No sir, no ma'am! I understood 100% of what happened. Obviously, I'm kidding because this film is a little confusing. Jake Gyllenhaal and Seth Rogen agreed at the cast party that even they had no idea what the movie was supposed to mean. The thing is, that sort of adds to the intrigue of the film itself. It's about a teenager named Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) waking up one morning to find that he's sleepwalked all the way out of his house. He's also found a demonic bunny that tells him the world is going to end in 28 days. He uses this information and changes his life. I'm not going to say anymore, because that'll cause spoilers (which are never fun). I would suggest this film to people, and it's an indie which makes it 10x more impressive.

8/22/22 "Wet Hot American Summer" 2001
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Before we start, I'd just like to say the campers you're about to see suck! But nevertheless, please welcome them."
What a surprising movie. This movie tricks you in a way because the movie starts off like every 80s camp movie but as it goes on it gets more and more absurd and odd, ending with an extremely climatic ending. This was the start of many comedy legends like Molly Shannon, Amy Poehler, Michael Ian Black, and more. I can't say a lot because I don't want to spoil a thing, everything is done with such satire and absurdity, it's so amazing

5/18/23 "Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure" 2001
2/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Heeeeyyaaa scaaaAAAAMMMPPP" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No.
Honestly, just a complete waste of time. The animation is definitely better than others, the songs weren't completely horrible, and they had a nice Don Knotts homage character in there but the story is utter dog water (pun intended). The motivation of the characters is all over the place and the script is pretty bad. Also, they brought Mickey Rooney into the film only for him to say three lines.

4/9/24 "Freddy Got Fingered" 2001
1/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "I wanna eat chicken burgers." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
(*Removes Glasses*) never in my many years of comedy viewing have I seen such a horrendous film, but maybe that was the point? This is often rated as one of the worst comedies of all time (it absolutely is) but many people believe that this was the point. Tom Green directed and starred in this trainwreck, but people who know the work of Tom Green knows that he's a prankster and connoisseur in anti-humor. This just might be the intent of the film, to be as unfunny as humanly possible. There are a lot of cliches in this film that might be being satirized or might just be lazy writing. It's about a man child named Brody (Tom Green) who's a slacker and has never made anything of himself, much to the dismay of his father (Rip Torn). This is a very Adam Sandler/Jim Carrey set up that doesn't really have a grand twist... that's it. There's a bunch of gross-out humor (which was also very prevalent in the time) along with a girl way out of the protaginist's league falling head over heels for him (to the point where she's not a character). Tom Green obviously improves a lot in this movie, but it's never funny and it normally resorts to him yelling nonsense. It's Razzie win was absolutely deserved.

10/23/23 "The Devil's Backbone" 2001
6/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "What is a ghost? A tragedy condemned to repeat itself time and again?" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes!
This is the third Guillermo del Toro, and it's really interesting to see how this would inspire Pan's Labyrinth. Del Toro said that this is the older brother to Pan's Labyrinth, because of the similarities in the stories. They both are about children dealing with supernatural forces during the Spanish Civil War. The Devil's Backbone however focuses on ghosts. It's about a young boy who becomes an orphan after his father dies in the war, so he has to move to a haunted orphanage. The story is pretty engaging with interesting beats and great characters. This is leagues better than his debut film.

7/24/22 "Amelie" 2001
9/10 Stars, Favorite Quote, " At least you'll never be a vegetable - even artichokes have hearts."
This is such a weird movie and I love every second of the movie's manic energy. It feels like a mix between Wes Anderson and Tim and Eric. The story is so endearing and the whole presentation of the film really makes it feel like a Wes Anderson movie. It has a lot of surrealist humor which makes it so good. It gives me Annie Hall vibes because of the way they use editing and graphics to craft jokes. The main love story is really cute, it's probably because the chemistry between the two leads works so well. They are both awkward dorks who somehow make it work. Great film.

7/19/22 "Mulholland Dr." 2001
2/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Silencio..."
ugh. UGH!!! This film was easily the biggest disappointment. I'm sure you all know how much I love "Eraserhead", it's one of the best films ever made. The problem with Mulholland Drive is how Lynch abandons his previous style to try to make the next "Pulp Fiction". Many of the aspects that made "Pulp Fiction" a big movie, you can see here. Several storylines that all link up, a crime film centered in Los Angeles, and the lack of a chronological story. The problem is David Lynch isn't good at that type of movie. He does a poor job in this movie replicating this. The plots don't make sense because they don't link up that well and there are too many characters. I cannot tell you a single one of their names there are too many. Also, most of them give very flat performances. Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, and Justin Theroux aren't doing the best in this. In Eraserhead, some of the supporting characters weren't the best actors but of course they weren't, it was an Indie Film. It was shot on a shoestring budget and he had to get whatever actors he can get. It's astonishing to think how "Eraserhead" was an indie film made almost 25 years before this one because it accomplishes a lot more. You had no idea what was going on in a fun way, since the story was so simple and the execution was so complex, you were intrigued from the start. In this movie, you had no idea what was going on in an angry confused way. The story isn't clear here and it drags on for the entire 2-hour and 30-minute runtime. It made me mad however because the last five minutes of this film were everything I wanted the movie to be because Lynch embraced his horror roots. I feel like this was a misstep for Lynch. Hopefully, if he makes another movie it'll be more Lynch and less Tarantino. A waste of time.

1/22/23 "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" 2001
3/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "I came down the chimney... Ho... Ho... Ho", Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: sort of (not "The Lost Empire" part)
Many people believe this film is "an underrated gem" but it really isn't in my opinion. The animation is all over the place since this movie went over budget left and right, some shots are incredibly well animated while others feel like a computer game from the '90s (if anyone out there knows "Cluefinders" this movie looks like it). The character designs are also all over the place, the characters simply don't look like they belong in the same film. Take their pupils, some of their pupils are detailed while others are just the classic cartoon black dots. The story is also all over the place. They try to have so much world-building for Atlantis, but they simply overcomplicate things. There's no way they could share a story that complex in an hour and forty minutes... and to children. Also... what was the point of the movie? What did our protagonist Milo learn? What was his flaw in the first place? Milo starts and ends the film the same way.

8/27/24 "The Others" 2001
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "Death of a loved one can lead people to do the strangest things." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This feels like a perfect mix between the films "The Innocents" and "Carnival Of Souls". The filmmaking seems like a call back to classic 60s horror. This follows Grace (Nicole Kidman), a wife of two kids moving to the English coast during WW2 while waiting for her husband to come home from the war. Her daughter believes that she is seeing ghosts, but Grace thinks it's just the staff playing tricks on her, she soon finds that things aren't exactly how they seem. The atmosphere is very gloomy, and the house they're staying in matches the tone perfectly. This is probably my favorite Nicole Kidman performance (besides the AMC commercial).

3/22/24 "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" 2001
6/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Not again." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This is a pretty alright stoner comedy. The jokes are somewhat hit-or-miss with a lot of fart jokes and swearing being the joke. This is a shame, because there are a lot of really funny jokes and sequences, but some of them fall flat. It's about Jay and Silent Bob, the two stoners from Clerks, finding out that the comic book written about them is becoming a feature film and they're not getting any money off of it. They have to travel from New Jersey to Hollywood in three days to stop the film. The story gets complicated funnily with all the different people they meet and how the plot changes over time. As a whole it's a pretty funny spin-off, but not as great as Clerks

1/9/25 "Training Day" 2001
9/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "It's not what you know, it's what you can prove." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This is an absolute powerhouse of a movie. The acting, directing, and writing all come together to make such an amazing film. We follow Jake (Ethan Hawke)'s first day as a Narc with a veteran officer, Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington). As the day goes on, Jake learns some hard truths about being a policeman. Denzel Washington won Best Actor at the Oscars for this performance, and rightfully so. This was an incredible performance from him. Maybe even his best? It's an action film, but it also has a lot to say about the police force and how easily corruption can slip in.

12/26/24 "Gosford Park" 2001
5/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "I'm the perfect servant; I have no life." Do they say the title of the movie: Yes
I thought this would be a lot more interesting of a movie. I normally love murder mysteries, but this just didn't grab me at all. In murder mysteries, normally a proper goal is to make each character stand out, here, however, they all just blend together. The setting of the film certainly doesn't help because it's such a cliche having it set in an old British mansion during the 20s. I'll forget most of this movie by next month, I'm sure. It's crazy this won over Amelie, the Royal Tenenbaums, and Memento for best screenplay.

4/3/23 "The Fellowship of the Ring" 2001
6/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "One does not simply..."
Phew, this was a long one. The problem with his film in my opinion is that it felt like the beginning of a story. I know it is because of the two sequels, but that shouldn't be how they structure the first film. This doesn't end, it stops. I feel like movies should stand on their own and not be defined by their sequels. You can see the Godfather 1 and that'll be a satisfying ending to the story but Godfather 2 makes it a more complete story. It's a beautiful movie though and the effects were good at the time. I enjoyed some of the story aspects if they weren't shoving exposition down my throat so I can watch 6 more hours of this movie. I can understand why this is such a big franchise though, I just wish we traveled farther than 1/3 of the story wheel.

2/21/23 "A Beautiful Mind" 2001
9/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "I need to believe, that something extraordinary is possible.", Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No (but they do in a deleted scene)
This won the 2001 Oscar and man did it deserve it. Such a heartbreaking story with such realistic characters due to it being based on a true story. This movie is very clever in the way that it was shot and told. Without getting into spoilers it tells the story in such a fascinating way. Many people don't like this film winning because it's not Lord of the Rings... cope. This is clearly a better film because they didn't stop this film in the first act and have two other sequels where they actually continue the story

5/24/23 "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame II" 2002
1/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "I could kiss me, but I'd fall in love." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
Look how they massacred my boy. This film is so bad it almost ruins the first movie. They totally ruin Esmerelda and Phoebus by sidelining them, but thank goodness we got the very funny and never-annoying gargoyles! Seriously though, is it a Disney rule that the gargoyles can't have a good song? Speaking of the songs, all of the songs were really terrible. The villain of this film was also terrible, they went from the incredibly grounded and menacing Frolo to the silly and over-the-top villain from this film. Just watch the first one, don't waste your time

12/25/24 "Talk To Her" 2002
2/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: " Love is the saddest thing when it goes away" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
I'm so disappointed with this film. The premise seems like a really interesting concept, where two men find an odd friendship while they watch over two women who have had comas. One of the men is in a relationship with one of the women, while the other one doesn't know her. The relationship between the stranger and his fascination with this woman is creepy, but it gets creepier throughout the movie. This would be okay, but we're supposed to sympathize with him. There's an event that happens in this film that ruins the entire movie. There are random silent movie parts that are well shot, but out of place. I really expected better out of Pedro Almodovar. This won the Best Original Screenplay, especially against it's competition.

4/18/23 "Insomnia" 2002
6/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "There are two kinds of people who live in Alaska: the ones who are born here and the ones who come here to escape something else. I wasn't born here." Do they say the title of the movie: No!
A disappointing Nolan film, especially thinking about how this film came out right after Memento (his best movie). The whole hook of this movie is how Al Pachino can't sleep since he's in emotional turmoil, and it's Alaska and the sun doesn't set there at certain times of the year. They build up how he's going to go crazy and he barely does, he does a few odd things, but nothing like it was building up to. Also, I'm sorry, I couldn't really see Robin Williams as a villain. He gets very little screen time and doesn't get used to a lot, despite being an excellent actor. A dud in the nearly perfect Nolan filmography (hey, it's better than Dark Knight Rises)

7/10/22 "Bowling For Columbine" 2002
8/10 Stars, "If more guns make people safer, then America would be one of the safest countries in the world. It isn't. It's the opposite."
I've always had sort of a stigma with documentaries since they can be quite a mixed bag. This isn't one of those documentaries. This feels like an actual movie since Michael Moore pushes a consistent message. Moore is a very controversial figure since he's known to ambush people with interviews which can be seen here slightly but he's always very calm with his interviews. The message in this film is such a powerful one with Moore arguing the 2nd Amendment should be regulated. As educational as it is, it is little propaganda since this film was made by Michael Moore and Michael Moore alone meaning that his Ideology is number one in this film. It can be a bit biased in some of his interviews on who should be treated with respect and who should be ridiculed. This movie has some great sequences that use comedy and satire to make fun of the hypocrisies in our country. There was one segment that went too far when it came to satire when they made an animated segment for the history of the US which came off a little too big, but other than that this was a very powerful film. You may or may not like this one, it just depends on your political beliefs

12/30/23 "City of God" 2002
9/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "A kid? I smoke, I snort. I've killed and robbed. I'm a man." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This is a remarkable film that feels like you've lived the events it's told so well. We follow two young kids growing up in an impoverished part of Rio De Janeiro. One of them turns into a photographer trying to get out of his hometown while his friend becomes a drug dealer who uses the photographer to take photos of him. It's a really tragic film seeing how these lives turn out. I also love how the story is told, they would get into little tangents behind characters and show us a little part of their life so we can understand them better. It's often listed as one of the best movies and I could definitely see that.

7/16/24 "Punch-Drunk Love" 2002
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "I have a love in my life. It makes me stronger than anything you can imagine." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
I've been watching some more Paul Thomas Anderson films recently, and I'm starting to really get the hype. This feels a lot like a Coen Brothers film mixed with a Safdie Brothers film. It's about a shy, lonely businessman (Adam Sandler) who called a sex line to try to find someone to talk to, only to find that they were scamming him. He soon finds the love of his life, but these scammers won't leave so easily. It's a really odd premise that Anderson does a lot with. This film is very well shot, it has some really cool abstract transitions. Adam Sandler does an incredible job in this film. This film really proves that he's a great actor and can venture into drama quite naturally. I almost forgot that I was watching the same man who made Jack and Jill or Eight Crazy Nights. A really great film.

1/19/24 "The Pianist" 2002
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "Spielmann? That is a good name, for a pianist." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: sort of
A very powerful film made by an awful man. For those of you who don't know, this film was made by certified creep Roman Polanski, which is a shame because this film is quite great. It follows the real-life story of Władysław Szpilman, a Polish pianist who survived the German occupation of Warsaw. The film has such a realism to it that can be seen throughout, which is exemplified in Adrien Brody's incredible acting. I also appreciate how they didn't sugarcoat anything. We saw in full swing the cruelty that Szpilman experienced along with his response. All he did throughout the film was struggle to survive as the whole world was seemingly against him. A great film that deserves the praise it got.

5/26/23 "Tarzan and Jane" 2002
1/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Remember the last time Tarzan danced!" (*Hard cut to WW1 dogfight) Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This is another failed pilot where they just strung together the first three episodes lazily. This would've made an awful series because all the bits boil down to "British person goes to Africa, runs into the couple, and causes trouble". It's so dull and not a single funny joke was said. This is easily the worst direct-to-DVD sequel

4/2/24 "Road To Perdition" 2002
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "Because it's all so funny!" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This is Sam Mendes' very next film after "American Beauty" and it's definitely an interesting next step. This is a neo-noir film about a son finding out that his dad is a hitman, so he has to run away from the mob because the son saw his dad kill a man. It's a really amazingly shot film that looks like an Edward Hopper painting. The plot is very interesting and keeps you on the edge of your seat. I would highly suggest this film, but it also makes sense that not a lot of people talk about this film. It's both underrated and equally rated at the same time (if that makes sense).

7/19/23 "Hero" 2002
6/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Deadman begs you to remember; a warrior's ultimate act is to lay down his sword." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
A really solid Samurai that tells the story of a nameless hero describing to the king of China the assassinations of three of his biggest enemies. The film is shot beautifully and had such great fight choreography. This is such a pretty movie to look at, but the plot is a little all over the place. It's a pretty slow movie and after a while, the fight scenes got really repetitive

12/12/22 "The Master Of Disguise" 2002
1/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Am I not TURTLY enough for the TURTLE club"
It's funny how Dana Carvey feels miscast in a movie that was written specifically for him. I don't even know where to start with this film. This film is an hour and ten minutes but had to add fifteen minutes worth of credits to qualify as a movie. The story goes that Dana Carvey is part of an Italian family whose main trick is to be able to disguise themselves as anybody they want to be. All of the various characters that Dana Carvey plays are equally unfunny and this whole movie just feels so messy and disorganized. Looking behind the behind-the-scenes, they were so confident in this movie that they just filmed random scenes. Many of the disguises didn't even make it into the movie. This killed Dana Carvey's film career and I see why

4/16/23 "Frida" 2002
6/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "I had two accidents in my life, the trolley and you. You were the worst." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Oh boy yeah!
This really shouldn't be called Frida. This film feels more like "Diego and Frida" because of how much they show the two. That's fine that they show the two, since Diego was a huge part of Frida's life, but we barely see her paint. It would've been nice to devote some time to seeing her develop some of her most popular paintings and maybe hear what she thought of the paintings. Even when Frida's separated from Diego, they spend that time in a montage which feels wrong. There are also some fantasy sequences, which makes sense since she's a surrealist, but they happen too little to be a part of the style. Every time it happened it felt weird since they didn't do it enough to make it seem normal. That could be because Julie Taymor (Director of Across the Universe and Spider-man: Turn Off The Dark) worked on this film and we need a little Taymor flavor. I gave it six stars mainly for the fantastic performances of Salma Hayek and Alfred Molina who fit their roles just perfectly.

5/8/24 "Swept Away" 2002
1/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "Run, my little vixen... run, run!" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
The funniest part of this movie is a piece of trivia found on IMDB. So, this was originally an Italian film from the 70s and was a commentary on Communism vs Capitalism. When this remake was screened with the original director there, she started crying and yelling "What did they do to my movie? Why did they do this?". I don't blame her. This "Romantic Comedy" isn't romantic or funny. Most of the time while watching this film I had to ask "So what's the joke?". Also, the random point in the movie where Madonna lip-syncs to "Come On-A My House" was pretty weird. Madonna as a whole wasn't good in this film, she only got the role because her husband directed the movie. The romance also seems very forced and aggressive. As a whole, this was worth its Razzie sweep.

5/26/23 "101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure" 2002
7/10 stars, Favorite Quote "SAVE ME THUNDERBOLT!" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No.
I was not expecting this film to be good at all, but it actually was. It's basically just a better "bolt" where one of the 101 Dalmatians, Patch, meets a TV hero of his thunderbolt. Thunderbolt needs press attention so he can get back on his show, so he uses Patch who was an encyclopedic knowledge of his show to prove he's a hero in real life. The problem is, Patch actually thinks he's a real-life hero and Thunderbolt goes along with it. It's interesting since they explore what it's like to be one in 101 which is a nice continuation of the first one. Also, since this was made in the 2000s about the '60s vs the '60s about the '60s, there are a lot more jokes poking fun at that time, like Cruella falling in love with a mod painter who paints spots. This film is oddly funny. Normally you'd expect at most a nose exhale but my sister and I actually chuckled at some points. One of the only good straight-to-DVD films

9/8/25 "28 Days Later" 2002
6/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "That was longer than a heart beat." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
I respect that this movie was shot for so little, but I wasn't the biggest fan of it. It just sort of felt like your average zombie movie that we've seen multiple times before. The dedication of this movie is obviously seen though. For instance, the cast and crew had to wake up at the crack of dawn to film London without tourists in it, so it can appear desolate and dystopian, which you can definitely feel that effect. I just feel like this doesn't really stand on it's own compared to the decades of zombie films that have come before it.

12/19/22 "The Rapsittie Street Kids Believe In Santa" 2002
1/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "Doh hoohawhawhawsnorthehehehooheeheeehooseehoohaw Christmas!"
This is the worst thing I think I've ever seen. I don't even know where to start. The animation is awful, it looks worse than the first VeggieTales (which came out like 7 years before). The story is so all over the place, my friends and I were wondering who the main character was since they decided on the Rapsittie Street kids. They also treat the previously mentioned kids like an IP we should know despite them making up all of them for the special. The songs (yes this is a musical) are awful and go on for far too long and none of the characters are likable. The voice cast is made up of voice-over legends, which makes me wonder what sort of blackmail they had on these celebrities to do this. Jack Angel (voice of Optimus Prime), Nancy Cartwright (Voice of Bart Simpson), Paige O'Hara (Voice of Belle), Jodie Benson (Voice of Ariel), Clint Howard (He was in Austin Powers and the Ron Howard Grinch), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker and the voice of the Joker), and Grey Griffin (Voice of Vicky from Fairly Odd Parents and Daphne from Scooby-Doo). It's only 40 minutes and all of it is on YouTube, so I highly suggest you check it out. It's truly awful

1/25/23 "Treasure Planet" 2002
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Dang it, Jim. I'm an astronomer, not a doctor! I mean, I am a doctor, but I'm not that kind of doctor. I have a doctorate, it's not the same thing. You can't help people with a doctorate. You just sit there and you're useless!", Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This was a pretty underrated Disney movie. Is it one of the best? No! It was just charming and a pretty well-written story, although I can't tell if it's well-written because of how much they take from the source material or just because of what they add to it. Fun fact, this movie was pitched all the way back in the 80s by Musker and Clements, this was pitched at the same time as "The Little Mermaid". The casting for this movie is insane, they all portray their characters so well. Huge shoutout to Long John Silver for being such a deep and multilayered character. The combination of 2D and CG actually looked good here! It didn't look like a hunchback where the CGI stuck out like a sore thumb. Not the best, but still pretty good. Would've been better without the character who talks through farts (I wish I were making that up)

12/16/23 "Eight Crazy Nights" 2002
1/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "THAT'S A technical foul." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
I'll be honest, this whole movie was a technical foul. Let's start with the good, the animation is done very well because the Iron Giant team did it. The problem is, this doesn't matter because of WHAT they had to animate. They animate some of the grossest things you'll see on screen. The script is one of the worst I have seen, you hate all the characters and they never do anything funny. Adam Sandler voices four characters; the only one he does well is his self-insert character. Whitey is one of the most grating voices you'll ever hear. The songs are all terrible and very poorly written. There's a song that's supposed to be a serious moment in the film that keeps getting interrupted by other characters adding unfunny quips throughout that don't land and are very mean-spirited. This film aged as well as fine milk. For instance, Rob Schneider plays the double role of the narrator as well as a Chinese waiter... yikes. This film has no redeeming quality. "Mr. Sandler, what you've just written is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever seen. At no point in your rambling, incoherent script were you even close to anything that could be considered a funny joke. Everyone who's here is now dumber for having watched it. I award you 1 star, and may God have mercy on your soul." (from Billy Madison, a good Adam Sandler movie)

4/8/23 "Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind" 2002
9/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "When you are young, your potential is infinite. You might do anything, really. You might be Einstein. You might be DiMaggio. Then you get to an age where what you might give way to what you have been. You weren't Einstein. You weren't anything. That's a bad moment" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: no
I loved this film and I didn't know why until the end. Watching the film, there was something oddly familiar about it. Not that it's ripping something off, but the style was very familiar. It wasn't until the credits that I found out this is a Charlie Kaufman film. It makes so much sense since the whole film has the Kaufman mystery to it. It's all about Chuck Barris (the creator of the Dating Game, Newly Weds Game, and The Gong Show) and how he made all those amazing shows. There's more to the premise though, Chuck Barris has insisted that he was working for the CIA at the same time. The whole mystery, since the film is based on his autobiography and personal interviews, is if he could've actually been in the CIA. The film is shot really well and really fits the story, and the screenplay is absolutely brilliant. It works if Barris was in the CIA and if he was lying. It's almost a more complete movie if he was lying about being in the CIA since it paints a sad picture of his life. It feels a little Scorsese in the way they portray Barris (this is how you do it American Hustle). Sam Rockwell does an amazing job as Barris. This was one of his first roles and he's Rock-in it. Since George Clooney directed, he got some of his friends to make brief cameos. I'm going to keep them a surprise since they're used in such a fun way. This was snubbed hard at the Oscars and deserved at least a nomination

9/9/24 "25th Hour" 2002
3/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "Let the waters rise and submerge this whole rat-infested place." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This film felt like a knee-jerk reaction. This was released nearly a year after 9/11 happened, so it felt sort of rushed so it can still be topical. This is a Spike Lee film, but I don't really see a lot of his style in this film. Except for one dolly shot, the rest of this film feels like it could've been done by any director. We follow a drug dealer (Edward Norton) in the 24 hours before he gets taken away by the cops to face a 7-year jail sentence. It's not really that engaging except for maybe the "f you" monologue where we can see how the anger from 9/11 has affected him. Other than that, this is a pretty forgettable film that falls flat.

2/23/23 "Two Towers" 2002
6/10 Stars, Favorite Quote " there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
The second installment in this very long and drawn-out story, this time it feels like "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" but without the comedy. I feel like the plot seems a little scattered between three different events and they don't really link together (the C-plot with the trees took up way too much time and didn't amount to much). I think this might be better than the first one since... things happened. Although this one doesn't really have a proper beginning (that was the point of the first one) nor a proper end (that's the point of the last one). Gollum tagging along was cool for a little bit, and then I realized how annoying he was. I'm sorry, I think it's just the PTSD from all of the cringy "my precious" impressions I've had to live through, but it just rubs off as cringy, which to the film's credit isn't its fault. It's like when someone who's new to Borat watches it and cringes at the "MY WIFE" and "VERY NICE!". I don't really get why they speak Elvish for a sentence and then switch back to English. I understand Elvish's importance to Tolkien (he made up the language before the books) but it felt out of place here. This movie is shot extremely well and looks gorgeous of course, but I feel like the story is lacking in my humble opinion. If you have a three-hour-long movie, make it worth those three hours. This didn't win the Oscar in 2002 going to the far superior film "Chicago" (yes, I am ready for the Lord of the Rings fans to come after me in the comments). The thing is, in a way it did win the Oscar since Return of the King won and all of these are just one 9-hour-long movie with bathroom breaks in between. I'm sure the next one's going to be better (it's the finale to these films) and maybe will make the previous two feel more whole and more of a full film instead of just fragments

6/1/23 "Atlantis: Milo's Return" 2003
2/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "The brightness light is worth nothing if hidden in a cave", Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
Another direct-to-DVD sequel that was intended as a TV series. The series got canceled due to the box office failure of the original movie. This film really feels like it was three separate episodes lazily shoehorned together, but I feel like it has the exact same writing as the first film where there were really cool ideas that were never fleshed out really bad jokes, and really annoying mole character. The other film at least has better animation, this looked terrible. The characters were all so rigid and weren't fluid whatsoever.

3/12/24 "The Room" 2003
1/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "I fed up with this worl" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
I started this when I was younger, but never finished it. I was too tired, and this led to this glorious day when I finished Wiseau's masterpiece. This is the hardest film to rank because it's such an incredibly bad film that it loops around to becoming excellent. The script is so odd and the performances are so interesting that it needs to be taught in a film class. This is the most famous, bad film of all time and that's for a reason. I really don't know what else to say that hasn't already been said about this piece of cinema history. It's one of the best, worst things you'll ever see.

5/9/24 "Gigli" 2003
1/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "Gobble, gobble." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes!
There's a reason why this is often listed as one of the worst movies. It seems to be deadset to upset everyone. Not in a clever, satirical way, the characters are very stereotypical and unfunny. It's about an Italian gangster, Gigli (Ben Affleck), who kidnaps the mentally challenged brother of a prosecutor, Brain, to use as leverage. His boss was nervous that he wouldn't do a good job, so he sent a woman named Ricki (J-Lo) to keep an eye on him. I was so disappointed when watching the movie to find out that Justin Bartha plays Brian. Let's just say the filmmaker didn't exactly put the time into making Brian a real character and just made him a very harmful stereotype. Also, there's one scene where Brian starts listening to rap music and yells the n-word a lot, yeah... it's not good. Also, Ricki in the movie is Lesbian, and Gigli spends the whole movie trying to convince her otherwise which is such a cringe-inducing aspect. Besides these very dated depictions, the movie's just not funny and just drags on.

4/19/22 "Lost In Translation" 2003
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "What kind of restaurant makes you cook your own food?"
You know how I love my Indie films. The comedy is very existential and the pacing is very slow. There isn't much story, but you're not supposed to care about the story. This story is supposed to follow Charlotte and Bob Harris (Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray). Bob Harris is basically just Bill Murray in the movie, a washed-up actor from the seventies who goes to Tokyo to film a commercial. Bob's character is a sad reflection of a celebrity, seeing him on the talk show is funny but also shows us his situation. Bill Murray is great as always, he's the movie's highlight when it comes to comedy. Scarlett Johansson is great in this film as well. She plays a newlywed who goes to Japan with her husband, only to find that she's never with her. It's nice to see the friendship between the two main characters. The movie does have some low blows when it comes to comedy, especially when it comes to Japanese stereotypes. Sofia Coppola also tries to make the American characters stereotypical, but it's not nearly as bad as the Japanese stereotype. It's funny how different Sofia Coppola is from her father regarding directing. I previously made fun of her acting, but she can really direct a movie. The shots in this movie are so beautiful and tell us so much. If you like Indie films, give this one a chance

3/31/24 "Windy City Heat" 2003
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "I would do anything to be an actor or a star, more a star than an actor" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This film was utterly mindblowing. So, this film is a real documentary of a fake film set. Everyone is in on the joke except one man, Perry Caravello. He believes that he's on a real film set making the noir film "Windy City Heat" where he plays the tough "Stone Fury". At first, you feel really bad for Perry, but your opinion changes once Perry opens his mouth. Throughout the film, he's narcissistic, aggressive, homophobic, racist, and very misogynistic. There were also so many clues that the film was fake. One of the main clues? All of the fake people in the film are named after historical figures. The producer's name is John Quincy Adams and he talks in a very over-the-top British accent, the receptionist is Susan B. Anthony, and the Limo driver shares the name "Travis Bickle" with the Robert De Niro character from Taxi Driver. Perry even compares himself to De Niro earlier in the film. It's almost beautiful how everything works so perfectly just to upset him. The situations they write for Perry to get into are fantastic. For instance, his weed-smoking, idiotic friend is really just playing a character and only acts that way to make Perry angry. It's such an interesting rollercoaster of emotions because sometimes you feel bad for Perry but then he acts like a complete jerk and you no longer feel bad. Such an amazing film that's perfect for April Fools Day

11/13/23 "Oldboy" 2003
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "My sister and I loved each other, despite everything. Can you two do the same?" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This is a Korean thriller that's really engaging throughout. It's about a man getting bailed out of jail only to wake up in another cell and spend 15 years of his life with TV being the only thing he could watch. He breaks out and tries to find who captured him. It has a lot of twists and turns and it's really well directed as a whole. They have really innovative shots and some fun graphics to help get a few ideas across. This feels like a film that Tarantino wishes he could make.

2/24/23 "The Return of The King" 2003
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "I am no man" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: sort of (they say "The Return of the King")
This is of course the best film in the franchise, but not the best picture of 2003. I feel like the best part of the entire franchise happens in the last 40 minutes of the nine-hour journey, but was it worth it? Not really. This film had 90% fight scenes that seemed like they stretched on forever. I mean the full series is beautiful and well-shot, but I feel like the story didn't need all nine hours to tell. I feel several side stories shouldn't have taken as much screen time as they should. The end made me realize how much I liked these characters, but the story didn't really let them shine as much. I feel like most of this film was them shoving special effects down our throats, but I just wish we had more character-focused quiet moments. Anytime they're in Shire it's great to get to know these characters. I feel like these films are alright, but they are not the best franchise in film history. IMDB and Letterboxd put these films near the top of their top 250, but I feel like I could name 250 films off the top of my head that are better than these. In my humble opinion, Lost in Translation should've won since it was nominated, but Big Fish (which wasn't even nominated) clearly should've won in my humble opinion.

2/15/22 "Something's Gotta Give" 2003
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "It's Soap"
I LOVE JACK NICHOLSON. Okay... now that we got that out of the way. This was a really good movie. Diane Keaton was great in this along with the king himself Jack Nicholson. Both of them deliver their lines so well and were perfect for the role. The story is also engaging and had a lot of fun twists and turns. Definitely has that 2000's Rom-Com vibe but in a good way. Great watch

5/27/22 "Mona Lisa Smile" 2003
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote, “Art isn't art until someone says it is.”
This is such an underrated film in my opinion. This is one of the films that my art teacher showed me and it's not really about art. They use the art as a metaphor for the struggle between Liberalism vs. Conservativism in the '50s. Everyone gives a great performance in this movie, they're really truthful in their interpretations of these characters. I don't gave a lot to say about this one, it was a good watch

8/04/23 "Before Sunset" 2004
9/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Even being alone is better than sitting next to your lover and feeling lonely." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This might just be one of the best sequels of all time. Not only is this of the same quality as the first one, I believe it's better. Jesse (Ethan Hawke) has written a book on his experiences in Vienna with Celine (Julie Delpy) and is going on a book tour in France. In France, Celine goes to the book signing and they get together for an evening until Jesse has to go on the plane ride home. The two have a long conversation in Paris, but it's a very different conversation compared to the first film. The first film had hints of optimism and what this relationship could be, whereas this film is pretty pessimistic and discusses what should've been. Both of them are in a relationship now that they are not happy to be in and are generally not a fan of how their lives have gone since 9 years ago. It seems like such a natural spot to be in, and it's really sad learning the details of these two lovers who can't be together.

10/22/24 "Head-On" 2004
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "Punk's not dead!!!" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This was a pretty alright movie. It's a German film about two people a Turkish woman living in Germany asking a Turkish man to marry her, despite the two never meeting before. She does this in an effort to get away from her strict family. The relationship between the two is very toxic, but that's sort of the point. I enjoyed seeing the two slowly get better with each other. It's a little long, but I enjoyed the characters and some of the plot.

1/28/23 "Home On The Range" 2004
3/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "I quit clown college for this!" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes!
"What? Huh? Why?" those were the thoughts that were swirling around my head during this film. It's clearly trying so hard to be Emperor's New Groove but fails on all fronts. They just add random jokes that don't add anything to the plot or the world. An example of this is the quote from the movie. Does the fact that this character went to clown college add anything to the film? No. Does it add something to his character? No. Does it make sense? No. This was the vibe of this whole movie. It's clear to see why this is ranked as the worst Disney movie on Letterboxd

1/25/23 "Fahrenheit 9/11" 2004
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "It's not a matter of whether the war is not real, or if it is, Victory is not possible. The war is not meant to be won, it is meant to be continuous." Do they say the title of the movie: No
Another powerful Michael Moore documentary. Last year I watched "Bowling For Columbine" which I feel is the better of these two, but this is still very powerful. I was nervous going into this seeing how Moore would handle 9/11 since it's a very delicate topic that has to be handled in such a way. He never actually shows 9/11, instead, he cuts to a black screen as we hear the screams and fear of the public which was really powerful. In this whole documentary, Michael Moore treats the situation very respectfully and makes sure to aim dark humor at Bush rather than the situation. He knows when to joke and when to be serious. Although he uses real facts, it is very biased which is understandable for a Michael Moore documentary, so you should take it with a grain of salt, but what he does show is just heartbreaking. Seeing how 9/11 led to America blindly stepping into the Iraq war and sending several teenagers to die in the process

7/24/23 "House Of Flying Daggers" 2004
5/10 Stars, Favorite Quote " We belong to two opposing sides. If we meet again... one of us will have to die." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This film was sort of messy. The visuals were beautiful with bright pastel colors and nice backgrounds but the plot and the characters were all over the place. It's about two police officers investigating a blind girl because she might be a part of the rebel resistance. The problem is they both fall in love with her. The characters weren't that interesting and the fight scenes got really repetitive. Do yourself a favor and just watch Hero, it's by the same director and is just a better movie

12/3/24 "Harvest Time" 2004
Favorite Quote: "*Hums the can-can*" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
2/10 Stars, This was a film that I had to watch for class, and honestly, I really couldn't get into it. We follow a mother who's also a hard-working farmer and how she dealt with WW2. The characters fall sort of flat and I found the whole plot to be pretty uninteresting. It was only an hour and 7 minutes, but there wasn't really anything to this film. I just counted down until it was done. There's a reason less than 200 people have seen this on letterboxd.

9/26/24 "Night Watch" 2004
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "You want to be human? Then act like a human." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This was the first film I watched for my European film, and this was a really interesting one. This has a really cool plot, however it can get a little too muddled at times. The story goes that at the beginning of time, there has been a battle between the forces of light and dark. Light governs the day while darkness covers the night. There are people with powers called "Others" who can choose either light or dark. We follow Anton as he tries to adapt to recently becoming an Other. The visual style can be a little disorienting, but it leads to some really cool visuals. It moves like Amelie does if that makes sense. It's not as meticulously set up, but it has a similar movement style. I had no idea what this movie was going to be, but it really surprised me with how great it was.

6/7/22 "Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle" 2004
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Never mind. Forget it, I really don't feel like gettin' stabbed tonight."
I had pretty low expectations for this film. It's a 2000s stoner comedy, so I was expecting something like Pineapple Express with having jokes just be either pot or something crude. This movie shattered all of my expectations. Sure it has its fair share of crude humor and an awful bathroom scene that just had me cringing the entire time, but there's also another layer of depth when it comes to this movie discussing race. I didn't expect this movie to have that theme throughout it, I was just expecting the bare minimum. Besides discussing racism, this film also has some jokes that were pretty well set up. These jokes would pay off later in the film which is something I always enjoy. I also feel like this movie progresses very naturally. Other comedy movies sort of feel like random scenes happening for the sake of the jokes, but with this movie, every location they go to builds off of the previous location. This is still an early 2000s comedy though, so be prepared for some pretty cheap jokes, but if you can get passed those the rest of the movie is a really fun watch

6/18/24 "Collateral" 2004
6/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "Think anybody'll notice?" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This is a kind of mid Neo-Noir film. It's about a Taxi Driver (Jamie Foxx) being paid 600 dollars by a mysterious man (Tom Cruise) who later turns out to be a paid assassin. Jamie Foxx does a good job and the film is well-paced for taking place in the span of a night, but as a whole, it just never really held my attention. It seems like there are other films with this concept that do it better. Not horrible, just not very memorable.

2/8/23 "Crash" 2004
1/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: You betcha!
A pure mess of bad ideas. This film tries to be something that it's not, which is a complex drama about an entire town's social climate. This is at best a Love Actually knockoff and at worst goes against the point they were trying to make. Horrid.

1/26/23 "Ray" 2004
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "You broke my promise" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes!
Jamie Foxx is incredible. Let's get that right out of the way. In some shots with Foxx, I thought I was watching the real Ray Charles. Although I feel like this movie sometimes hit a lot of the same beats and cliches as many other biopics. I can appreciate how this film also looks into the darker aspects of Ray's life and that he wasn't a perfect man. They didn't try to conceal parts of his life just to make him look good (Cough, cough Bohemian Rhapsody). Although the movie felt a little too long in some scenes and the constant flashing back to his childhood only worked about 75% of the time, this is an incredible movie with a once-in-a-generation performance that captures the essence of a performer in a performance

10/27/24 "Sideways" 2004
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "No, if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any Merlot!" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
I have quite the story with the screening of this film. I signed up for a 20th-anniversary screening of this film and got a ticket. I thought this was going to be a simple viewing of the movie, but when I got there, it turned out to be an official screening by Searchlight with the cast and crew. It was a truly wonderful experience, but the movie itself was worth all the hype. This is a hilarious, often somber, film that really surprised me. We follow Miles (Paul Giamatti) and Jack (Thomas Haden Church), two friends who are going to wine country in California right before Jack gets married. Miles is a depressed writer who's obsessed with wine while Jack is a high-action actor who's new to this wine world. Things get off course when Jack tries to set Miles up with a waitress, Maya (Virginia Madsen), and Jack falls in love with Stephanie (Sandra Oh), a wild wine pourer. The dynamic between Jack and Miles is very natural and calls back to Lemmon and Matthau but with an added dramatic edge. Alexander Payne does a wonderful job with directing and the screenplay. I personally think this should've won the Best Picture award at the Oscars, this was an amazing film.

8/29/22 "Team America: World Police" 2004
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Matt. Damon."
The satire in this film was so good. It really felt like an 80s spy show. The puppet work is really well done, they look so natural in the movie and whenever they don't it's for a joke. I love how whenever America comes to try and stop terrorists, they end up doing more damage. Also, the Michael Moore slander is admittedly funny. The puppet designs for the celebrities are great, they look exactly like their counterparts. I also love all the songs in the movie like the one about how much a guy misses a girl but not as much as Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor misses the mark.

6/25/22 "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" 2004
6/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Is this my espresso machine? Wh-what is-h-how did you get my espresso machine"
This wasn't the best Wes Anderson movie. I feel like the action didn't blend well with his style. Wes Anderson movies usually are pretty slow so we can focus on the characters and the picturesque shots and compositions, this one had a lot of action and not a lot of character depth (except for Steve Zissou whose arc I actually liked). Owen Wilson's character has a Tennessee accent half the time and Owen Wilson's normal voice for the other half which made it a weird little quirk. Do you know who kept their accent in check the whole film? WILLEM DAFOE. The film had this musical theme where they just used songs by David Bowie which is incredible but they didn't really go all the way with it. Sometimes it's Bowie himself singing while other times it's in Portuguese by a Portuguese singer. He does a good job but he's no Bowie. Overall I feel like this movie is the worst of his live-action ones, (although all I've seen up to this point is this movie, Rushmore, Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom, and Grand Budapest Hotel)

1/16/23 "Million Dollar Baby" 2004
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Is it like snap, crackle, and pop?", Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This movie won the Oscar the same year I was born! This definitely feels like Rocky in the 21st century. It follows the classic post-'90s Eastwood plot of an old-timer getting back into (insert profession here)—this time he's teaching Hilary Swank how to box. I feel like the direction of this movie is fantastic. Clint Eastwood does a great job not only behind the camera, but in front as well. This movie has very realistic characters that are written exceptionally well. I haven't seen the other nominees for 2004, but this definitely feels like it deserves to win

6/9/23 "Tarzan II" 2005
2/10 Stars. Favorite Quote "I have 20/20 hearing" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No.
Guys! Unpopular opinion... but this film might be bad! The animation was alright except for the occasional odd face or wrong proportion. This one does have an edge over the other ones because this could've actually happened (this is a stand-out, most of the films are pretty contradictory). George Carlin is in this film and he just isn't funny. He doesn't really have swear words to hide behind, so he's just meh. The plot was very contrived and the new characters weren't that fantastic

6/11/23 "Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch Has A Glitch" 2005
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Two eyes, my car, I'm driving!" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This was strangely really good! The writing felt exactly like the first one, down to the hilarious Pleakly B-plot in the film that makes fun of the "Jealous Partner" trope that so many sequels shove into their movies. Dakota Fanning is Lilo in this film... I don't know why! She does an alright job, but no one is a better Lilo than Daveigh Chase (The OG voice actress). One minor nitpick is the hula instructor doesn't deliver his lines the best. They also drag out the glitch part a little too much and it gets to a point where we get it. Other than that this is a good sequel to Lilo and stitch. Is it better? No. Of course not! Is it good? Yeah!

5/28/24 "Good Night, and Good Luck" 2005
3/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "I'm a little busy bringing down the network tonight, Bill." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This was such a dull and boring film experience. I feel like this film, when boiled down to it, has the bold claim that "the Red Scare was bad." It's based on the true story of Edward R. Murrow, the host of the show "See It Now" who wanted to talk about how bad the red scare is, but the censors wouldn't allow him. That's about it. It's directed by George Clooney, who does an alright job with the cinematography, the black and white adds to the film, but other than that this was a slog to get through. This film was definitely trying to reach for that Oscar, but failed.

10/20/24 "Capote" 2005
4/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
Look, did Phillip Seymour Hoffman deserve an oscar? Yes, of course, he did. He was an extremely gifted actor who was gone far too soon, but I don't think this performance deserved the Oscar. He did lose himself in the character of the famed writer, Truman Capote, but I just didn't like his portrayal. It got under my skin after a while with his pitched, nasal voice. The story follows Capote as he writes "In Cold Blood" after the Clutter Family murder in 1959. It's a rough process for him to write because he has to sort of sympathize with the killers to get both sides. This sounds like an interesting premise, but nothing really comes of it in my opinion. This film was just a slog to get through. Topic name

3/1/24 "Brokeback Mountain" 2005
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "I wish I knew how to quit you." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This might be one of the most important movies to come out in recent times. It's about two men who share a love affair in the sixties, but they leave on bad terms. They both go off and get married to two women and start families of their own, the problem is when they find each other again and their love rekindles. I feel like this film should've won best picture in 2005. The movie that won in its place was Crash (which any movie would be a better choice than Crash). Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal do a fantastic job as the two and really sell this relationship. This won Best Director at the Oscars, and this was the last film I needed to see to see them all. This was a great film to end on.

9/2/25 "Walk The Line" 2005
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "Well, they're not Christians, then." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
Although the legacy of this movie has been tarnished by the movie "Walk Hard", it's still a good movie. This tells the life story of Johnny Cash, and more specifically, his relationship with June Carter. Reese Witherspoon won an Oscar for her performance in this movie, which I would have to agree with, but one performance that I don't think anyone talks about is Waylon Payne as Jerry Lee Lewis. He genuinely nails his mannerisms and cockiness down to a tee. This film also has such a bad Roy Orbison performer, to the point where I thought it was supposed to be Buddy Holly. Joaquin Phoenix does a great job in the role as well, really nailing that singing voice. I can also appreciate how they don't sugar-coat Cash's more aggressive and selfish side. As a whole, this presents a really interesting portrait of the two lovers, but I would've liked to see a bit more about his career.

5/14/24 "Thank You For Smoking" 2005
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "Michael Jordan plays ball. Charles Manson kills people. I talk. Everyone has a talent." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
Such a great satire of lobbying in America. This film focuses on a man Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) who lobbies cigarettes for big corporations. He knows it's wrong and that it's killing people, but he has to keep defending cigarettes because it's his job. The script is really well written, it keeps the audience engaged the whole time and really has a lot to say about how the government will protect the companies that are releasing harmful products just because they make money. The ensemble cast for this film is incredible. Watching it without knowing who's in it is a treat because of what an all-star cast it has. This flew pretty under the radar, which is a shame because it's a really witty film.

6/29/24 "Waiting..." 2005
3/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "You know, we should probably feel guilty, but she broke the cardinal rule: Don't mess with people that handle your food." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This film aged as well as milk. I feel like, the problem is, this film seems outdated even by the time it was released. This film shares a lot with Clerks except for the tight writing and charming characters. With clerks, you basically had five to keep track of. The two main ones (Dante and Randal), Dante's love interest (Veronica), and the two stoner sidekicks (Jay and Silent Bob). This film has like 12 characters that are all basically fighting for top-billing it seems. This seems like it would make a better TV series than a movie. The first 30 minutes of this film are spent introducing the characters that don't amount to a hill of beans. Ryan Reynold's whole plot in this film is questioning whether he should sleep with a 17-year-old girl. We follow a day in the life of waiters at a restaurant called "Shenanigans" as they handle the dinner rush hour and rude customers. The one aspect of this film I enjoy is how realistic the restaurant setting is. My brother and sister both related to a lot of the situations they got into. I can get that aspect of it, it's just aided with really tired jokes and an "edgy for edgy sake" attitude that really leads to a poor watching experience. Just watch Clerks.

6/23/23 "Bambi 2" 2006
5/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Princes don't... 'Woo-hoo'" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No!
Okay, this might be better than the first one. I know that sounds like blasphemy to Disney fans everywhere, but try to look at Bambi 1 without rose-tinted glasses. It was far too simple of a story to be stretched that far, and though the animation was beautiful, the characters were pretty annoying and nothing happened. This film had shockingly good animation as well... except for the facial expressions of Thumper. I don't know why Thumper specifically suffered the most derps of the gang, but you couldn't get through a scene without him letting one loose. Other than that, the backgrounds and establishing shots are incredible with some great lighting and color palettes. The story is also really sweet and wholesome. This film drags a little too, but at least every scene seems motivated. It picks up the pieces immediately after Bambi's mom dies, and we see how he doesn't quite get her death while his dad is burdened with having to raise his child alone. Patrick Stewart is in this and honestly does a great job! One of the better Disney straight-to-DVD sequels

5/16/24 "Volver" 2006
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "Don't say that, Raimunda, or I'll start crying. And ghosts don't cry." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
I've been meaning to see this film for a while. It's a really interesting story about two sisters who recently lost their mother in a fire. Since then, their lives have fallen apart and their mother comes back as a ghost to mend their broken relationship. It's a great plot with great pacing. The story twists from there, but I want to leave that as a surprise. Penelope Cruz does a wonderful job and Pedro Almodóvar does a great job directing. Just a good movie all around.

2/18/25 "Red Road" 2006
5/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "Not really." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This was a somewhat interesting thriller, but it just felt like it took from other similar thrillers. We follow a security woman who watches the security cameras of her apartment, when she finds a man on the camera who she decides to stalk him and follow him. The film asks the question of why she's doing this. This feels like a mix of "Rear Window" and "In A Lonely Place" without suspense. This was film as a Dogme 95 film, where there are strict rules on how a film should be made started by filmmakers in Denmark during the 90s, but I'm just not a fan of this movement. I love the theatricality of film, the careful lighting, screenwriting, and editing, but this film doesn't really have that.

9/25/23 "The Host" 2006
6/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Hey, we should tape this and show it to Hyun-seo. Daddy's on TV." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This is my second Bong Joon-Ho film (after Parasite), and I like his style. This film is a lot like Godzilla in its premise, where chemical waste has caused a mutation in an animal which turns it violent and murderous. This has a little more plot than Godzilla since the monster takes a man's daughter, so his whole family teams up to try to track her down. This film drags quite a bit though, it really doesn't need to be 2 hours long. Some of the scenes feel like they repeat themselves and don't really serve a purpose. The writing is great though, the tone of the movie can be pretty funny or very dramatic. Overall, it's a pretty good monster movie, but nothing that I would go out of my way to see again.

3/27/23 "Clerks 2" 2006
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "Yeah, I've waited on your brother, too." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This is a pretty good sequel for Clerks. The rough part is how many people expected this to be exactly like the first one, which is a really hard task. This one has more shock humor but feels a little more put together. The original Clerks worked because of it's low-budget. This has a higher budget, so they do crazier things than the very grounded original. You can tell that Kevin Smith really has a soft spot for Clerks because there are little references throughout to the original movie without it getting annoying. For instance, the film starts in black and white with a filter to make it look like it was shot on 16mm, but once the film kicks off with the original store burning down, it transitions to color. Some of the jokes felt a little forced, but as a whole, I was surprised at how good this film was. Some jokes haven't aged well, but the point of the jokes was to make fun of Randall's stupidity and not actually support what he's saying. As a whole, it's a pretty good sequel. Not as good as the original, but it's still pretty good!

6/25/23 "Leroy and Stitch" 2006
2/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "I could ride in the backety-back." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
The worst way to end the Lilo and Stitch franchise. This film feels like a big old step back from the first film with the characters feeling (and looking) very off. The saddest victim of this was Pleaky who just wasn't funny at all. I don't have a lot to say about this film, just that it was a waste of time.

6/26/23 "Brother Bear 2" 2006
2/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "I am a hoof man!" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
The luckiest person was Joaquin Phoenix for not returning. The first film was my least favorite Disney film for a while (that was before I binged them all) but this is way worse somehow. This has a love interest awkwardly thrown in there which feels weird to see a relationship develop between a human and a bear. It also doesn't help that the new voice actor for Kenai doesn't really have any charisma, which is sad because Patrick Dempsey is normally good, he just didn't bring at all in this film. I mean, can you blame him? Also, they absolutely waste the talent of several actors by having them appear in such small roles. Wanda Sykes, Catherine O'Hara, Wendie Malick, and Michael Clarke Duncan were all used for like 3 lines and then disposed of, meanwhile, the two unfunny moose are even unfunnier. This was the movie Rick Moranis was going into retirement for (he got out of it though for a future project). I know a lot of you are ABSOLUTELY CLAMMERING to see this film, but I have to be the poor soul to tell you it's not good.

3/21/24 "The Wicker Man" 2006
1/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "NO! NOT THE BEEEEEES" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
"It can't be that bad", I thought to myself (spoiler alert, it was that bad.) I'm a big fan of the original film. I saw it two years ago and really fell in love. I'm going to compare the two throughout. It might not be fair, but they were the ones who decided to make a remake of the Wicker Man. Let's start our lead. Edward Woodward in the 70s gives a realistic, grounded performance that really stays with you, and then there's Nick Cage. Nick Cage gives one of the most over-the-top insane performances. I mean, compare the two "Wicker Man" scenes. In one Woodward cries out to god to try to have him stop this. In the other Nick Cage spits on old women. The writing is also very poor in this new one. They are far too literal and explain everything directly to the audience basically. The original had fear building through the pacing and suspense. This one has like 5 dream sequences that end in jumpscare for Nick Cage to quickly wake up from and breathe heavily. It was a good decision for this film to bring in Ellen Burstyn to be the leader (she was the mom in The Exorcist), but she's no match for Christopher Lee in the original. You believed that Christopher Lee could be the leader of a town, you can't say the same here. It makes sense that the original movie crew has such disdain for this one. It's not a good movie in any sense of the word. Jason Ritter's in it thought for like a minute! So that's neat!

9/11/23 "Idiocracy" 2006
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "I can't believe you like money too. We should hang out." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This is a scarily accurate film. This film is about Joe (Luke Wilson), the most average man on earth, who gets sent into a hibernation experiment for the American government. He gets paired up with Rita (Maya Rudolph) to get sent a year into the future. The project gets forgotten about, however, and when Joe wakes up he's in the year 2505 and is the smartest man alive since human intelligence has gone down to such a low rate. The jokes in the film are hit or miss, but when they hit they are great. Most of the jokes would've fallen flat if it wasn't for Luke Wilson's natural reactions and hilarious frustration. This film is well known these days for being exactly like the 2020s for reasons I won't spoil. As a whole, this is a great satire that overstays it's welcome a little bit but is a great story with great characters.

7/20/23 "Children Of Men" 2006
9/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "As the sound of the playgrounds faded, the despair set in. Very odd, what happens in a world without children's voices." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
What a masterfully done film. This film is set in a post-apocalyptic future where a child hasn't been born in 18 years. The film opens with the youngest human on earth dying, which is such an interesting opening since you wouldn't think about that during that world. The film is shot incredibly, it's all shot with very few cuts, so the film is shot almost like a documentary. The story is always engaging with clever twists and turns throughout, I highly suggest this film

5/28/25 "Inland Empire" 2006
4/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "I'm a whore!" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This was kind of a mess. This came at the end of my David Lynch class, being his last feature film, but I just couldn't really get behind it. Maybe it needs a rewatch, but I found it to be far too abstract and confusing to get something out of it this watch. Plus, the unforgiving 3-hour runtime doesn't help this movie any. There are definitely some highlights in the film (I'm just gonna say "Loco-Motion"). It was a sour note to end the class on.

8/3/22 "The Departed" 2006
9/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Don't laugh! This ain't Reality TV!"
Another Best Picture-winning movie and this one is definitely in my top 10. The plot is written so well and all the characters are so great. What's great about this is how it feels like a Scorsese movie while still having its own flavor. This is the first time Scorsese won the best director (and hopefully not the last time) the direction in this film is wonderful and the close shots aid the tone and atmosphere of the film. It feels like it can be two movies, but put together it makes one incredible film. My second favorite Scorsese (number 1 will forever be Goodfellas, sorry)

9/3/22 "The Prestige" 2006
9/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Now you're looking for the secret. But you won't find it because of course, you're not really looking. You don't really want to work it out. You want to be fooled."
Another incredible Christopher Nolan film. I love the characters in this movie and their respective actors (Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johannson, David Bowie, etc.). I feel like I can't say too much because I don't want to spoil the movie, but it has a lot of twists and turns you weren't expecting. Although one scene lost me a little bit, this is still an incredible movie

7/4/23 "The Fox and the Hound 2" 2006
1/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "That last note was flatter than a duck's footprint. Take it from the top, please." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: no
This was one of the cringiest films I've seen in a while. This is a midquel to "The Fox and The Hound" which, as a reminder, is about a fox and a hound who met and were friends for ONE DAY and then when they're grown up they're forced to be enemies. So after that one day of knowing each other, they rush off to the carnival to become a part of an acapella dog group? They basically learn the lesson that they learn from the first film but just forget it so they can learn it again when they're adults. It's really dumb and the musical numbers make you want to rip your ears off because of how contrived and cringy they are. That Reba number where all the farm animals sing along made me want to sink into my shirt and never come out. Stephen Root gets really underused, which is a shame since he's a remarkable actor. The only thing that kept me through was thinking about how there are only two more films left of the Disney sequels

1/10/23 "Dream Girls" 2006
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "It doesn't take a whiz to know that only a desperate man would drop his pants in living color on national television!" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: YES!
This was a really great movie. It really shows the dark side of the music industry from the 60s to the 70s. They also had great songs that reflect the time period, but I sort of have a problem with how they implemented some of them. They would do this thing where one person is just singing acapella while someone is just talking to them which got a little annoying, but that's just a small thing. Everyone was cast perfectly and had such great voices, especially Jennifer Huston who stole the show. She was incredible

2/20/25 'Epic Movie" 2007
1/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "White Castle? I feel like I've been there before." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This has the vibe of you and your friends sort of spitball different ideas in a conversation and then taking that and making it a movie. This film references a ton of movies, but there isn't really a through line of what they're referencing. This isn't like "Blazing Saddles" where they stick to a western theme or "Spaceballs" where they stick with a sci-fi theme. This film more goes for a "if it's popular it's in here". It sort of feels like they blended together a ton of various College Humor videos and made that a movie. When the jokes are random references, they resort to gross-out or out-dated jokes. It's a lot of fun to watch with your friends (that's how I did it and it was a lot of fun witnessing it with them), but I just wasn't a fan.

11/19/24 "4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days" 2007
4/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "We're never going to talk about this, okay?" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
I just don't understand why this is rated in the 250 best movies on letterboxd, I wasn't that much of a fan. It follows two college roommates as they try to organize a black-market abortion because they're not allowed to have one in Romania. I found the performances to be a little flat and the story to drag in a lot of places. I really don't understand the hype with this one, I feel like rating it as one of the 250 best movies is overdoing it.

8/20/23 "I'm Not There" 2007
3/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "I accept chaos. I don't know whether it accepts me." do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This film is a headache. It's a Bob Dylan biopic, but every word is used loosely. It consists of six stories inspired by Bob Dylan, but they sort of make no sense. The stories are based on IDEAS of Bob Dylan versus just Bob Dylan, which is a shame because I could see a universe where this works. The six actors that play Bob Dylan do alright jobs, but for some reason they change their names and time periods which gets odd. For instance, one of the stories is a Western (representing the film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid). I get what they were trying to do, but it just doesn't work for me and feels more pretentious than masterful.

7/13/23 "Hot Fuzz" 2007
9/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "I don't remember a time when I didn't want to be a police officer... apart from the summer of 1979 when I wanted to be Kermit the Frog" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
I'm not sure if it's an unpopular opinion to say that this film is better than "Shaun of the Dead" but it 100% is in my opinion. I feel like Shaun of the Dead was less a parody of zombie movies and more just a good zombie with very few jokes. This however is filled to the brim with amazing jokes. It's about Sergeant Angel (Simon Pegg), a no-nonsense cop from London, being reassigned to a small village in the countryside that has a very low rate of crime. However, as time goes on more and more people get murdered, so he has to go investigate what's going on. This feels like an actual mystery movie while also being jam-packed with hilarious jokes. The editing in this movie is incredible, you can tell when watching it that it's an Edgar Wright film, the establishing shots are done really quickly since that's all we really need in order to understand where we are. We don't need 10 seconds to establish it. I don't want to give too much away since it's a really fun ride, I suggest you watch this film where ever you can find it

8/05/23 "The Darjeeling Limited" 2007
6/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "How can a train be lost? It's on rails." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This a fun movie, but not the best Wes Anderson film by a long shot. It follows three brothers, Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrien Brody), and Jack (Jason Schwartzman) who go to India to try to find themselves after the death of their father. The three brothers have such specific personalities, that it makes this movie fun to watch. It's just lacking a really tight screenplay. The film's plot feels a little all over the place and sometimes dull. If this is one of Wes Anderson's less great films, then he's a great director

1/7/22 "There Will Be Blood" 2007
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "I'VE ABANDONED MY CHILD!!!..."
Wow. The performances in this film. Some of the best acting I've seen. Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano play off of each other so well. They both play crazy characters in this movie that are bitter enemies but are so similar. They don't lie about the title, there was blood. Lots of it. It was a little slow at some points, but the ending was so thrilling and creepy. I really liked his movie!

9/28/24 "Let The Right One In" 2008
4/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "I'm twelve. But I've been twelve for a long time." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
Besides the great effect, I wasn't a big fan of this film. Maybe I'm just not a big vampire guy, because this felt kind of meh. We follow an average kid, who no one understands named Oskar, who falls in love with a girl named Eli. Eli is a vampire, so she uses her powers to help Oskar with his troubles. It's a good premise, but the movie didn't really use it to it's full potential. Overall, I just wasn't a huge fan of this film.

8/2/23 "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" 2008
6/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "Dance on your own time, will you?" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
Unpopular opinion, but this was better than "The Temple Of Doom". The writing in this film is a lot closer to the first one than the second one. Indy and Marion are on point and I even got some chuckles out of Shia LaBeouf. It's very clear they were trying to make Shia LaBeouf the next Indy but things just didn't work out. I feel like it was weird that they killed off Sean Connery's character off-screen, but I sort of understand it. Sean Connery was retired at that point, and he was offered a cameo but declined. I have a theory though that he was originally supposed to be the John Hurt character. In the movie, they just randomly establish a character named Ox who has been friends with Indy since 1937 and who went crazy after looking into the crystal skull. I feel like they originally wrote the script with his dad going crazy, but when he decline they threw in John Hurt to play the character. The adventure in this one felt a little all over the place with an addition to the franchise I really didn't like. There were also some things that were done in the film that just wasn't really realistic. I need to talk about the fridge scene. In the film, Indy jumps into a fridge to shield himself from a nuclear bomb going off and he survives! There's no way. It's also nice seeing this film take place in the 1950s with the Red Scare going on instead of WW2, it's a natural progression for Indy. Overall, this was a pretty alright film, if not a little weird for Spielberg to make filmography-wise. I feel like once you make films like "Schindler's List", "Saving Private Ryan", and "The Terminal", you can't really go back to the simple blockbuster 2

10/21/24 "Synecdoche, New York" 2008
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "Written by a four-year-old?" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This is some classic Kaufman brand of oddness. We follow Caden Cotard (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), a struggling theater director as his life is crumbling around him. He can't seem to get his creative vision out there, and he has a hard time with the women in his life. He soon gets a large sum of money to make a play, so he finds this seemingly never-ending theater and builds a life-sized replica of New York with hundreds upon hundreds of actors playing different parts. This film is so surreal because at certain points you can't tell what's happening in New York or the constructed one. There are a lot of really interesting moments that made this pretty interesting. This personally isn't my favorite Kaufman film, but I still enjoyed it.

2/5/22 "Mamma Mia!" 2008
3/10 Stars, Favorite quote "Winner takes it all, the loser has to fall"
I love ABBA. ABBA is one of my favorite bands of all time. This movie is really bad. The Broadway show isn't my favorite but has its charm. There's nothing saving this movie. Someone said it best when they told me this movie was "Drunk celebrity karaoke" and it's very true. Also, the script of the movie makes changes, but the changes make the movie worse. Like they make Sophie's plan seem more egotistical and sociopathic. She just expects everyone to understand her plan and all the stress it brings to everyone. Also, Pierce Bronson is a terrible singer and not very good in this movie. Everyone acts like a cartoon character in this movie, especially the extras. Shout out to the four scuba guys doing that weird line dance. I loved that one scene in the movie when they just forgot that physics exists (during Take a Chance on Me). Verdict, bad movie

6/25/25 "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" 2008
4/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "We are meant for each other and not meant for each other. It's a contradiction." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
While this film has some good moments, as a whole, there were a ton of misfires. The most annoying aspect of the film is the narrator. The film opens with the narrator telling us everything we need to know about the character, when they could've just shown us. When people like Wes Anderson or Jean-Pierre Jeunet do it, it's to show how wacky the world is, and it's normally filled with their own odd charm, but Woody Allen plays it completely straight. Another problem with this movie is that I genuinely can't tell what this film is. It's not funny enough to be a comedy, nor is it dramatic enough to be a drama. Despite having a good scene or two here and there as well as a good Penelope Cruz performance, the rest of this film just feels empty.

7/10/23 "The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning" 2008
1/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Who's that?" "I don't know, but she scares me." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No!
THE LAST DISNEY SEQUEL! It's also one of the worst ones. This is basically footloose but with music instead of dancing. How dancing gets banned is so dumb, Ariel's mom got killed by running into a ship while trying to catch a music box, so King Triton puts one and one together and bans music to save Atlantica. He should've banned ships more than music, but I digress. The villain of this movie (which is played by an unenthusiastic Sally Field) adds literally nothing to the plot, she doesn't even have any beef against Ariel, she's mainly just salty at Sebastian. Also, I could not recapture my shock when I heard them perform "Jump In The Line" in the film. It's weird because they wrote two original songs (neither of the two are particularly good) and yet they just used a licensed song? The beatbox scene made me nearly fall over laughing because of how terrible it was. They also use Google slide transition which was really tacky. The CG-I was awful and just shouldn't have been in the movie. The best part of this film is Benjamin, I swear the whole film should be about him. As a whole, the Disney sequels were fun, but I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy. Most of them aren't worth it (except Cinderella 3, that one is actually pretty good!)

7/31/23 "Burn After Reading" 2008
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "I have a drinking problem? Screw you, Peck, you're a Mormon. Compared to you we ALL have a drinking problem!" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No!
This Coen Brothers film came out at a weird time in their career. It was after their 90's run which gave us some of their best films (Barton Fink, Hudsucker Proxy, Fargo, Big Lebowski), a little bit after their 2000's flop era (Intolerable Cruelty and The Lady Killers). It looked like the Coen Brothers were on the way out until they had an oscar worthy hit (No Country For Old Men). This is the movie after that where the Coen Brothers are deciding whether to remain the comedy writers or shift to more serious films like "No Country For Old Men", this is not a serious movie at all. It's all about John Malkovich, a recently laid-off member of the CIA, writing a tell-all about the government in his free time. The problem is, he accidentally left the disc which has all the information on it at the gym where Frances McDormand and Brad Pitt work and they now have a hold of it. It really feels like a modern Screwball Comedy with all of the different characters that really fit the actors, although not all of them were used to their full potential I feel. A pretty good Coen Brothers outing, but definitely not their best

2/8/22 "The Hurt Locker" 2008
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "War is a drug", Do they say the title of the movie: no
Ladies and gentlemen, in the 82 years of the Oscar existence, this was the first win by a female director... the first. This was a great film. It was shot like a mockumentary (or like The Office as several people pointed out). It makes it feel really realistic. Also, I'm starting to really like Jeremy Renner as an actor. You see, I only saw him in the MCU which gave him absolutely no personality, I thought that was just his acting style. Then I saw in "American Hustle", "Hawkeye" (where they actually gave him something to work with), and this film. The quote of the movie plays right at the beginning and is just the entire theme of the movie, to some people war is a drug they can't live without. It's really sad seeing how this is true for some people. This deserves the Oscar in my opinion

11/25/24 "Milk" 2008
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "All men are created equal. No matter how hard you try, you can never erase those words." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: yes
I dreaded seeing this movie because it seemed like Oscar bait. No one really talks about this film anymore, so I just assumed that's because this film wasn't that good, but I really enjoyed this film. Sean Penn does such a wonderful job playing Harvey Milk, he's so charming in the role while still having that serious edge. While this film won the Oscars for Best Actor and Writer, I feel like the director, Gus Van Sant deserves a special award for this film. He uses archived footage along with the recorded footage. It's a great film with a great message, especially now.

6/28/24 "Gran Torino" 2008
6/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "Get off my lawn!" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This felt like an SNL parody at times more than an actual film. It's a shame because it starts really promisingly with the old man, Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) losing his wife and having to deal with the onslaught of grievers and dealing with his emotions. That was really strong and got me really invested in the film, but then the main plot started. This film turns into Kowalski learning not to be racist. He finds a kid trying to steal his GRAN TORINO (that's the title of the film!) and he nearly shoots him, but he saves him from a gang that's trying to kill the kid for failing. He becomes attached to this kid and they form an unlikely friendship. I've heard this plot so many times. It does a somewhat good job, but nothing that really breaks this predictable story.

1/21/23 "Precious" 2009
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "who else was going to love me?", Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
Such a sad movie. It focuses on abusive relationships and poverty in a realistic way. It had some incredible actors that really shined through, like Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, and Paula Patton. Even Mariah Carey did a good job in this movie. It had some really creative shots and great sequences

5/20/24 "An Education" 2009
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "If you never do anything, you never become anyone." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
I really enjoyed this film. It's about a gifted teen named Jenny (Carey Mulligan). She lives a pretty sheltered life with overprotective parents (Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour). On the way home from band practice, she runs into David (Peter Sarsgaard) an older man who offers a ride to protect her Cello. They start to have a bit of a relationship and he shows her a new way of living, much to her parents' dismay. It passes the Indie Movie vibe check perfectly. The movie has a slow pace, but that is to its benefit. It allows you to get to know the characters intimately and really sympathize with their struggles. There are a lot of great performances in this film Carey Mulligan, Alfred Molina, Emma Thompson, etc. It's odd people don't really talk about this film as much. It's a pretty underrated gem.

7/17/23 "In The Loop" 2009
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "Well... maybe the brave thing IS to do the wrong thing! I mean, anyone can do the RIGHT thing but it takes a real hero to do something wrong!" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This is basically a prototype of VEEP. BACKSTORY TIME! So Armando Ianucci created a show called "The Thick of It" in 2005 for the BBC which does pretty well, so he decides to soft launch his type of humor to America by making this film, which is about the British and American governments trying to manipulate each other right before the U.N makes a decision about a possible war in the Middle East. This carries the same dialogue style from VEEP which is very witty and full of great insults. Especially from Peter Capaldi's lude-taking character, Malcolm Tucker (who originated in "The Thick of It"). Seriously, the F-bomb is dropped 135 times and 86 of them are from him. This is also where Ianucci met Anna Chlumsky, or Amy Brookheimer from VEEP. This is a great film that's filled to the brim with satire. One of my favorite scenes is the late James Gandolfini talking about secret war statistics with an official in the only place they can talk alone, his daughter's room, so throughout the talk he uses a toy computer to calculate how many men he has. It's hilarious seeing how serious he is as he's pressing small keys that make barking noises every time.

4/10/22 "The Boys: The Sherman Brothers" 2009
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "She was such a witch"
This is such an informative documentary. I'm pretty sure everyone knows the Sherman Brothers or at least everybody knows their songs. It's so amazing to watch this to see how different they are than you expected. They've put on a facade this whole time that they were great pals when really they hate each other in real life. It's also amazing seeing not only how great the songs are that they wrote, but also how many classic movie songs they wrote. It's so wonderful seeing them talk about a song that you grew up with. The Sherman Brothers are one of the best songwriting duos in the business, so it's nice to finally hear their story.

10/23/24 "Fish Tank" 2009
6/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "You're nothing to me, so why should I listen?" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
This was a pretty alright coming-of-age story. We follow Mia, a troubled teen whose mom doesn't really pay much attention to her. Her mom eventually gets a new boyfriend, Connor, who encourages Mia to follow her dream of dancing. Problems come when Mia starts to fall in love with Connor, so there's a love triangle between the three. The dialogue can be pretty bland at times, but the characters are endearing which makes up for it. It can get very bleak, which I can appreciate. I've just seen many movies with very similar plots that do it better.

8/14/22 "Bruno" 2009
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "Oh. My. God."
For those of you who don't know, this is basically Borat 2 in a way. Borat was so big at the time that he had to use another character from his Ali G. show, so they made a Brüno. This shows a different dark side of America than the first one. While Borat shows problems with a variety of issues, Brüno focuses on two main problems. Media and homophobia. Brüno wants nothing more than to be famous, so he does just about anything to be famous. Even in a segment that almost got the real Sacha Baron Cohen killed where he was messing around with a terrorist until the cameramen had to tell him to leave immediately. The character Brüno is gay, so he made sure to use that against a lot of homophobic Americans like joining a conversion camp or messing around with army men. This movie was pretty good, but just not as good as Borat. I feel like I would've liked this one more if Borat didn't exist and had a stronger story between the segments.

5/17/24 "District 9" 2009
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "When dealing with aliens, try to be polite, but firm. And always remember that a smile is cheaper than a bullet." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Oh yeah!
I really liked this film. It's a semi-mockumentary about aliens coming to Earth, not to take over, but to seek refuge from their dying planet. The humans put them in South Africa and set up a living district for them to live in District 9. The problem is, they don't really care about the Aliens, they're openly racist towards them, and they even came up with their own slur for the alien creatures. This all changes when a field agent finds an alien weapon and when he activates it, he gets an illness that slowly turns him into one of the aliens. The only place he could seek refuge is District 9. I love how realistic they treat the alien creatures. You just know we would do this with the Alien creatures if they came to Earth. I can understand the hype behind this film.

7/09/22 "Waking Sleeping Beauty" 2009
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "People always talked about Roy as the idiot nephew. That was his nickname. Nothing could be further from the truth. He was smart, unassuming and powerful. You could easily underestimate him, but you did so at your own peril."
This is one of those that you have to see to believe. This documentary is about Disney from the years 1984 to the year 1994 and man they couldn't have picked a better time frame to set the story. It starts from when Disney was at its absolute lowest point, The Black Cauldron, to its absolute highest point, the Disney Renaissance. Can I add that my favorite Disney Villain was Jefferey Katzenberg? He seems like such a bad person and he got all of the acclaim for the Disney Renaissance when really it was just him coming there by coincidence. It's also funny how wrong he was about most decisions, like how he wanted to cut "Part of Your World", or how he thought you can edit an animated film like a live-action film, or how he thought that Pocahontas would be a bigger success than Lion King and so on and so forth. It's funny because you never hear the animator's point of view on these issues which was a refreshing touch to the story, it's also funny seeing the animator's caricatures of what happened at the company during the time. If you like Disney, you should check this one out

3/21/24 "Jennifer's Body" 2009
8/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "You're a jerk." "Nice insult, Hannah Montana. You got any more harsh digs?" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: No
If you had told me the writer of Juno would write a horror movie and it would turn out this well, I wouldn't have believed you. The dialogue is very similar between the two, but they are completely different movies. This is about a popular high schooler named Jennifer (Megan Fox) getting possessed by a demon and she starts killing the guys around the school. Her nerdy best friend, Needy (Amanda Seyfried) tries to stop her and save her best friend. I love the relationship between Needy and Jennifer and how well they are written. They feel like a real friendship you would see in high school. This has some really tense moments with really funny lines, although they do get "Age of Ultron-itis" where they just randomly say a joke during a tense scene which removes all the tension, but as a whole, it's a really enjoyable watch.

12/16/24 "A Serious Man" 2009
7/10 Stars, Favorite Quote: "I don't want Santana Abraxis! I've just been in a terrible auto accident!" Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
This was a pretty good Coen Brothers outing! The plot is pretty simple, but that leads to more complex characters. We follow a physics teacher (Michael Stuhlbarg) as his wife leaves him, causing a strain on his family. All of this is happening while his son is preparing for a bar mitzvah. This strikes a great balance between drama and comedy that cements this as a pretty good Coen Brothers film! There are a lot better films in their catalog, but this is still a pretty good one!

6/28/24 "Avatar" 2009
6/10 Stars, Favorite Quote "I see you." Do they say the title of the movie within the movie: Yes
"Is this really it?" this thought frequented my mind while watching the world's highest-grossing film of all time. I mean seriously, this is the highest-grossing film of all time? The characters are all so flat. The point of this film is just to say their message while looking cool. Luckily it's a good message about conserving the earth using the beautiful Pandora. The CG-I is amazing for 2009 and the world is such a beautiful place. Unfortunately, these don't make up for the bland story and cardboard characters.

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