46 Movies for 2016

YouTube · #41

Movies: 40/46

The Fault in Our Stars (20 Mar): A-. Completely different than I expected.
Walk Hard (22 Mar): A.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

#42

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 01/04/2016 - 10/10
What We Do in the Shadows - 03/24/2016 - 9/10
Crimson Peak - 03/24/2016 - 3/10

'Shadows'---------really funny mockumentary about vampires. I like a good mockumentary.
'Crimson'---------well-made and well-acted, but relentlessly plodding and dull. Trailers promised a spooktacular thrill-ride; movie delivered a very slow, boring build-up to 'oh no it turns out the transparently evil people were evil the whole time, like who would have guessed it'. Avoid.

Spritedude · #43

Movies 17/46

Italic/bold - First time viewing
Yellow - Watched in theaters (in 2016)

The Hateful Eight - 8.5/10
Inside Out - 10/10
Kung Fury - 1000000/10
The 5th Wave - 3/10
The Finest Hours - 6.5/10
Big Hero 6 - 9/10
Deadpool - 8.5/10
Triple 9 - 6/10
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - 7.5/10
10 Cloverfield Lane - 8.5/10
Goosebumps - 8/10
Zootopia - 9.5/10

Allegiant - 5.5/10
Of all the young adult novel adaptions going around, the Divergent series has always been pretty low on the list for me, and this one wasn't really any different. Dull, incoherent... Go watch The Hunger Games instead.

Attack the Block - 7/10
Finn from Star Wars fights a bunch of aliens, except... on Earth, on the streets of South London, with baseball bats and fireworks. Pretty fun action movie, I'd recommend it, I just hope you can understand English dialects.

Batman v Superman - 6/10
Is there a name for that thing when a movie has so much action and destruction that it gets boring super quick? Like, Transformeritis? Well anyway, this was one of those. It could've been an hour shorter. Heck, it could've been two hours shorter.

Lazer Team - 6.5/10
I'm a huge fan of Rooster Teeth, so I was pretty excited to watch this, but honestly, it was just... alright. Not all of the jokes hit, and even when they did, nothing had me slapping my knees laughing, which is disappointing cause I know Rooster Teeth can be really funny. I don't know, it wasn't terrible, I just I know they can do better.

The Good Dinosaur - 8/10
Like I said before, good, just not one of Pixar's best. I still love the designs and the characters, particularly Arlo, so I kinda forgive the movie for not being as good as I want it to be.

#44

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 01/04/2016 - 10/10
What We Do in the Shadows - 03/24/2016 - 9/10
Crimson Peak - 03/24/2016 - 3/10
It's Such a Beautiful Day - 03/27/2016 - 10/10

Odd film. Apparently Don Hertzefeldt took his three shorts about Bill (i.e. 'Everything Will Be OK', 'I am So Proud of You' and the titular piece), combined and expanded them into one feature-length piece. It's really beautiful, and bizarre, and awful. I kind of felt upset after watching it. It was super good.

#45

[QUOTE="Booyakasha, post: 1590817, member: 17381"]Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 01/04/2016 - 10/10
What We Do in the Shadows - 03/24/2016 - 9/10
Crimson Peak - 03/24/2016 - 3/10
It's Such a Beautiful Day - 03/27/2016 - 10/10
Immoral Tales - 03/31/2016 - go to hell and get f*cked by the devil/10
Louis C K: Live at the Beacon Theater - 03/31/2016 - 10/10[/QUOTE]

'Immoral'-------...nevermind the fact that it's boring pretentious softcore porn. The third segment showed a baby girl, naked and crying. Absolutely unacceptible. You cannot put that in a pornographic film. It is not okay. Like what the hell, Netflix. How literally retarded are you people.
'Louis'-------Louis C K is pretty much my favourite comedian. He's so good.

Calamity Panfan · #46

oh i missed a month let me try to catch up as much as possible

1. Major League (David S. Ward, 1989) - 1/3/16 - B
2. Half-Baked (Tamra Davis, 1998 ) - 1/4/16 - B+
3. Spy (Paul Feig, 2015) - 1/5/16 - B
4. Trainwreck (Judd Apatow, 2015) - 1/5/16 - A-
5. Space Jam (Joe Pytka, 1996) - 1/7/16 - B
6. Bone Tomahawk (S. Craig Zahler, 2015) - 1/8/16 - B+
7. Vacation (Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley, 2015) - 1/8/16 - C+.
8. Piranha 3DD (John Gulager, 2012) - 1/9/16 - D
9. R.I.P.D. (Robert Schwendtke, 2013) - 1/9/16 - D-
10. Star Leaf (Richard Cranor, 2015) - 1/9/16 - D-
11. Pay the Ghost (Uli Edel, 2015) - 1/9/16 - D-
12. No Escape (John Erick Dowdle, 2015) - 1/9/16 - F
13. American Ultra (Nima Nourizadeh, 2015) - 1/9/16 C-
14. National Treasure (Jon Turteltaub) - 1/11/16 - B
15. Taken 3 (Olivier Megaton, 2014) - 1/13/16 - C
16. 2 Fast 2 Furious (John Singleton, 2003) - 1/14/16 - C-
17. Dope (Rick Famuyiwa, 2015) - 1/15/16 - A
18. The Revenant (Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, 2015) - 1/19/16 - C
19. The Ridiculous 6 (Frank Caraci, 2015) - 1/30/16 - F
20. Superfast! (Aaron Seltzer & Jason Friedberg, 2015) - 1/30/16 - D
21. Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark (Emile Smith, 2014) - 1/30/16 - D-
22. Shrek (Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jenson, 2001) - 1/30/16 - B
23. White Chicks (Keenan Ivory Wayans, 2004) - 2/6/16 - D+
24. Deadpool (Tim Miller, 2016) - 2/12/16 - B
25. 200 Pounds Beauty (Kim Yong-Hwa, 2006) - 2/13/16 - C
26. Hail, Caesar! (Joel & Ethan Coen, 2016) - 2/18/16 - A-
27. Gone in 60 Seconds (Dominic Sena, 2000) - 2/19/16 - C
28. The Babysitters (David Ross, 2008 ) - 2/19/16 - F
29. The Overnight (Patrick Kack-Brice, 2015) - 2/20/16 - B-

30. Big Trouble in Little China (John Carpenter, 1986) - A-
31. The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014) - A
32. Miami Connection (Richard Park & Y.K. Kim, 1987) - A+++++++
33. Sivaji (S. Shankar, 2007) - B+
34. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (Zack Snyder, 2016) - C-
35. Birdemic: Shock & Terror (James Nguyen, 2008 ) - D

this isn't even close to everything i watched but these were all i could remember

YouTube · #47

Movies: 41/46

Donald in Mathmagic Land (2 Apr) - B+
Easy to see why this was Oscar-nominated, but also easy to see why it didn't win (humans aren't rectangular).

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

YouTube · #48

Movies: 42/46

The Lion King (7 Apr) - A

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

YouTube · #49

Movies: 44/46

Pitch Perfect (8 Apr) - A-
Holes (8 Apr) - A

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

Valigarmander · #50

1. The Shawshank Redemption. My first time seeing it. Yeah, I know, pretty late to that party. Of course it's as great as everyone says it is. 5/5.
2. 10 Cloverfield Lane. Definitely not what I was expecting it to be. John Goodman makes a good villain, though. 3.5/5.

YouTube · #51

Movies: 45/46

Pitch Perfect 2 (9 Apr): B
Kinda all over the place, but better than the hype train had said. Probably helped that I waited until like a full year after the hype train had passed to watch it.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

YouTube · #52

Movies: 46/46

Tarzan [Disney] (11 Apr): B+.
Better than I expected, but the tree-surfing scenes & the Phil Collins vocals were both incredibly jarring.

[spoiler=That list again:]The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1 Jan): B-
Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back (2 Jan): B-
Easy A (6/7 Jan): A
Jersey Girl (7 Jan): B+
Behind the Waterfall (8 Jan): C-
Avengers: Age of Ultron (9/10 Jan): A-
Mirror, Mirror (13 Jan): C+
Ramona & Beezus (14/15 Jan): B-
Die Hard (16 Jan): A
Die Hard 2 (18 Jan): C-
The Lego Movie (22 Jan): A
Die Hard with a Vengeance (23 Jan): A-
Insidious (28 Jan): B-
Clerks II (29 Jan): A-
Howl's Moving Castle (30 Jan): A
Split Infinity (30 Jan): C+
Gamera (1 Feb): D+
The Martian (3 Feb): A
Gamera vs. Barugon (4 Feb): D
The Fifth Element (6 Feb): A-
Gamera vs. Gaos (8 Feb): D+
Aladdin (10 Feb): A-
Hairspray [original] (11 Feb): B+
Deadpool* (12 Feb): A
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (12 Feb): C-
Holiday in the Sun (14 Feb): F
Live Free or Die Hard (14 Feb): B+
Rise of the Guardians (18 Feb): B+
Kiki's Delivery Service (4 Mar): A
Gamera vs. Guiron (4 Mar): D+
Secondhand Lions (5 Mar): B+
Serenity (6 Mar): A-
Gamera vs. Zigra (9 Mar): D+
Pan's Labyrinth (10 Mar): B+
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (13 Mar): A-
Back to the Future II (14 Mar): A
Caddie Woodlawn (14 Mar): C
Allegiant* (18 Mar): B
The Fault in Our Stars (20 Mar): A-
Walk Hard (22 Mar): A
Donald in Mathmagic Land (2 Apr): B+
The Lion King (7 Apr): A
Pitch Perfect (8 Apr): A-
Holes (8 Apr): A
Pitch Perfect 2 (9 Apr): B
Tarzan [Disney] (11 Apr): B+

Bold = First viewing
* = Theatrical viewing[/quote]
And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"[/spoiler]

Calamity Panfan · #53

1. Major League (David S. Ward, 1989) - 1/3/16 - B
2. Half-Baked (Tamra Davis, 1998 ) - 1/4/16 - B+
3. Spy (Paul Feig, 2015) - 1/5/16 - B
4. Trainwreck (Judd Apatow, 2015) - 1/5/16 - A-
5. Space Jam (Joe Pytka, 1996) - 1/7/16 - B
6. Bone Tomahawk (S. Craig Zahler, 2015) - 1/8/16 - B+
7. Vacation (Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley, 2015) - 1/8/16 - C+.
8. Piranha 3DD (John Gulager, 2012) - 1/9/16 - D
9. R.I.P.D. (Robert Schwendtke, 2013) - 1/9/16 - D-
10. Star Leaf (Richard Cranor, 2015) - 1/9/16 - D-
11. Pay the Ghost (Uli Edel, 2015) - 1/9/16 - D-
12. No Escape (John Erick Dowdle, 2015) - 1/9/16 - F
13. American Ultra (Nima Nourizadeh, 2015) - 1/9/16 C-
14. National Treasure (Jon Turteltaub) - 1/11/16 - B
15. Taken 3 (Olivier Megaton, 2014) - 1/13/16 - C
16. 2 Fast 2 Furious (John Singleton, 2003) - 1/14/16 - C-
17. Dope (Rick Famuyiwa, 2015) - 1/15/16 - A
18. The Revenant (Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, 2015) - 1/19/16 - C
19. The Ridiculous 6 (Frank Caraci, 2015) - 1/30/16 - F
20. Superfast! (Aaron Seltzer & Jason Friedberg, 2015) - 1/30/16 - D
21. Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark (Emile Smith, 2014) - 1/30/16 - D-
22. Shrek (Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jenson, 2001) - 1/30/16 - B
23. White Chicks (Keenan Ivory Wayans, 2004) - 2/6/16 - D+
24. Deadpool (Tim Miller, 2016) - 2/12/16 - B
25. 200 Pounds Beauty (Kim Yong-Hwa, 2006) - 2/13/16 - C
26. Hail, Caesar! (Joel & Ethan Coen, 2016) - 2/18/16 - A-
27. Gone in 60 Seconds (Dominic Sena, 2000) - 2/19/16 - C
28. The Babysitters (David Ross, 2008 ) - 2/19/16 - F
29. The Overnight (Patrick Kack-Brice, 2015) - 2/20/16 - B-
30. Big Trouble in Little China (John Carpenter, 1986) - A-
31. The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014) - A
32. Miami Connection (Richard Park & Y.K. Kim, 1987) - A+++++++
33. Sivaji (S. Shankar, 2007) - B+
34. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (Zack Snyder, 2016) - 3/31/16 - C-
35. Birdemic: Shock & Terror (James Nguyen, 2008 ) - 4/1/16 D

36. The Art of Organized Noize (Q.D. III, 2016) - 4/2/16 - B+
37. The Warriors (Walter Hill, 1979) - 4/2/16 - B-
38. Batman & Robin (Joel Schumacher, 1997) - 4/7/16 - F
39. Tangerine (Sean Baker, 2015) - 4/11/16 - B+
40. The Jungle Book (Jon Favreau, 2016) - 4/14/16 - B

The Art of Organized Noize is super interesting, especially learning about the origins of the Dungeon Family and how "Waterfalls" was written. The Warriors looks great but I don't think it's aged the best. Batman of course is ****. Tangerine is an interesting watch since it's a largely-trans cast and shot entirely on iPhone. It's an enjoyable, funny film and more character-driven than actual plot. The Jungle Book is absolutely stunning to watch and has probably the best CGI I've seen, but I think it's hampered a bit by seeming having to force itself to incorporate stuff from the animated film. Like, I would've preferred if the songs stuck to the credits instead of having actual scenes for the songs in the movie.

YouTube · #54

Movies: 48/46

Kick-*** (13 Apr): B+. The eponym's origin story drags down the first act, but Big Daddy & Hit Girl keep the viewer engaged until Dave finally gains his "powers".
Camp Rock (16 Apr): C-. A better villain would've boosted that score to a C+.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

Calamity Panfan · #55

1. Major League (David S. Ward, 1989) - 1/3/16 - B
2. Half-Baked (Tamra Davis, 1998 ) - 1/4/16 - B+
3. Spy (Paul Feig, 2015) - 1/5/16 - B
4. Trainwreck (Judd Apatow, 2015) - 1/5/16 - A-
5. Space Jam (Joe Pytka, 1996) - 1/7/16 - B
6. Bone Tomahawk (S. Craig Zahler, 2015) - 1/8/16 - B+
7. Vacation (Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley, 2015) - 1/8/16 - C+.
8. Piranha 3DD (John Gulager, 2012) - 1/9/16 - D
9. R.I.P.D. (Robert Schwendtke, 2013) - 1/9/16 - D-
10. Star Leaf (Richard Cranor, 2015) - 1/9/16 - D-
11. Pay the Ghost (Uli Edel, 2015) - 1/9/16 - D-
12. No Escape (John Erick Dowdle, 2015) - 1/9/16 - F
13. American Ultra (Nima Nourizadeh, 2015) - 1/9/16 C-
14. National Treasure (Jon Turteltaub) - 1/11/16 - B
15. Taken 3 (Olivier Megaton, 2014) - 1/13/16 - C
16. 2 Fast 2 Furious (John Singleton, 2003) - 1/14/16 - C-
17. Dope (Rick Famuyiwa, 2015) - 1/15/16 - A
18. The Revenant (Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, 2015) - 1/19/16 - C
19. The Ridiculous 6 (Frank Caraci, 2015) - 1/30/16 - F
20. Superfast! (Aaron Seltzer & Jason Friedberg, 2015) - 1/30/16 - D
21. Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark (Emile Smith, 2014) - 1/30/16 - D-
22. Shrek (Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jenson, 2001) - 1/30/16 - B
23. White Chicks (Keenan Ivory Wayans, 2004) - 2/6/16 - D+
24. Deadpool (Tim Miller, 2016) - 2/12/16 - B
25. 200 Pounds Beauty (Kim Yong-Hwa, 2006) - 2/13/16 - C
26. Hail, Caesar! (Joel & Ethan Coen, 2016) - 2/18/16 - A-
27. Gone in 60 Seconds (Dominic Sena, 2000) - 2/19/16 - C
28. The Babysitters (David Ross, 2008 ) - 2/19/16 - F
29. The Overnight (Patrick Kack-Brice, 2015) - 2/20/16 - B-
30. Big Trouble in Little China (John Carpenter, 1986) - A-
31. The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014) - A
32. Miami Connection (Richard Park & Y.K. Kim, 1987) - A+++++++
33. Sivaji (S. Shankar, 2007) - B+
34. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (Zack Snyder, 2016) - 3/31/16 - C-
35. Birdemic: Shock & Terror (James Nguyen, 2008 ) - 4/1/16 D
36. The Art of Organized Noize (Q.D. III, 2016) - 4/2/16 - B+
37. The Warriors (Walter Hill, 1979) - 4/2/16 - B-
38. Batman & Robin (Joel Schumacher, 1997) - 4/7/16 - F
39. Tangerine (Sean Baker, 2015) - 4/11/16 - B+
40. The Jungle Book (Jon Favreau, 2016) - 4/14/16 - B

41. World of Tomorrow (Don Herzfeldt, 2015) - 4/15/16 - A-
42. It's Such a Beautiful Day (Don HeVzfeldt, 2012) - 4/15/16 - A
43. The Room (Tommy Wiseau, 2003) - 4/15/16 - A+++++
44. Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach, 2012) - 4/16/16 - A

YouTube · #56

Movies: 49/46

Goosebumps (23 Apr): B+
Waaaaaay better than it looked, with the kind of dialogue that I would write for a horror movie.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

Bomby · #57

1. Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey - John Little, 2000 - January 1 - Perhaps the best documentary on Bruce Lee available (and believe me, there are several). The inclusion of the uncut scenes Lee shot for Game of Death, which had never been seen before, is worth it alone.
2. Fearless Dragons aka Two for the Road - Lee Chiu, 1980 - January 1 - One of those cheaply made old-school kung fu flicks. I have only a semblance of an idea of what the plot was because it was an English dub with crappy sound quality, but the action was good.
3. Legend of a Fighter - Yuen Woo-ping, 1982 - January 2/3 - Now this is more like it! Leave it to the master Yuen Woo-ping to bring it to the next level. The story of Huo Yuan-Jia/Fok Yuen-Gap has been told several times, perhaps most recently in Ronny Yu's Fearless, starring Jet Li which, coincidentally, was actually choreographed by Yuen. The fights are top notch, and the simple "my school vs your school" plot is well served. Also, I love getting to see Yasuake Kurata in Hong Kong movies.
4. * Crippled Avengers aka The Return of the Five Deadly Venoms aka Mortal Combat - Chang Cheh, 1978 - January 3 - Let's get this out of the way: this movie is so not PC. That's fine though, because it's without one of the best martial arts films ever made. An evil lord disables four men in different ways - one blind, one deaf-mute, removes the legs from one, and perhaps most troublesome, turns one into an idiot. They combine what abilities they have left to form the ultimate team. How is that not an awesome plot? Add in top-notch action, and you have a certified classic. I had the pleasure of seeing a dilapidated print of an English dub of this film a few years back, and it still holds up with the campiness removed.
5. Vengeance - Chang Cheh, 1970 - January 4 - This is it. I finally got to see it. This is a certified classic on the same level as Chang Cheh's Crippled Avengers. This is the nascent of the "heroic bloodshed" genre later popularized by John Woo. The difference between this and most other Shaw Bros. martial arts films is that, while most of their films are classics specific to the martial arts genre, the plot and drama in Vengeance could actually appeal outside of genre fans. That's not to say it's necessarily better than their other films, but it's definitely on par with the best.
6. The Big Boss - Lo Wei, 1971 - January 4 - Bruce **** Lee. While with Vengeance, I finally got a chance to see it, with The Big Boss, I finally got around to watching it it. Or at least watching it the whole way through. For some reason the first time I tried to watch it, I just couldn't get into it, but now having seen the whole thing, it really gets better as it goes along. Better than Enter the Dragon (sue me, that movie is good but it's also ridiculously overrated), though not quite on par with Bruce Lee's best film, Fist of Fury. However, commits the cardinal sin of under-utilizing Nora Miao.
7. Born to Defense - Jet Li, 1986 - January 5 - Jet Li's much maligned sole directorial effort. Not as bad as I expected it to be. In fact, the fight in the middle of the film in the flooding bar is really damn good. But as an overall film, not that great.
8. Kids from Shaolin - Chang Hsin-Yen, 1984 - January 5 - Baby Jet Li! "Baby" as in "21 year old" I guess. He really shows his potential acting chops here that would lead him to a great career.
9. Martial Arts of Shaolin - Lau Kar-Leung, 1986 - January 5 - Sadly, the only time Jet Li and Lau Kar-Leung would get to work together. Apparently something about them not getting along... Shame, that. They would have made an excellent team.
10. * Lady Snowblood - Toshiya Fujita, 1973 - January 8 - Ah, an old favorite. I probably haven't seen this movie in at least six years, but considering that it was one of my favorite films during the beginning of my film studies, it's neat to see how many scenes influenced me that I almost forgot about. Definitely, definitely holds up almost a decade later.
11. The Hateful Eight - Quentin Tarantino, 2015 - January 9 - I can see why this movie has been divisive, and it definitely started off slow, but I found myself liking it more and more as it went on. Still not sure where I'd rank this among Tarantino's films, but definitely not at the bottom. Zoe Bell is always a welcome presence though.
12. Kung Fu Cult Master aka Evil Cult aka Lord of the Wu-Tang - Wong Jing, 1995 - January 9 - Typically ridiculous Wong Jing film. Mid-to-low tier Jet Li vehicle, especially considering that it was made during the height of his career. But hey, it had Chingmy Yau in it, and I'm always happy to see her.
13. Fruitvale Station - Ryan Coogler, 2013 - January 12 - Some movies are too powerful for me to coherently express how I feel about them. This is one of them. Highly, highly, highly recommended.
14. Last Hero In China - Wong Jing, 1993 - January 13 - Jet Li fighting Gordon Liu? Check. Jet Li performing drunken style? Check. Delightful supporting roles for Cheung Man and Anita Yuen? Check. This should be a great movie. But it's not. It's mildly watchable at best. This is low tier Jet Li. Low tier Gordon Liu. This is the film where Jet Li goes deaf and dresses up as a chicken. Take that as you will.
15. My Father is a Hero aka The Enforcer - Corey Yuen, 1995 - January 15 - Good action and direction from Corey Yuen elevates a pretty crappy screenplay into something pretty enjoyable. I still wouldn't put it among Jet Li's best films, but I wouldn't put it among the worst, either.
16. Flying Swords of Dragon Gate - Tsui Hark, 2011 - January 15 - Jet Li and Tsui Hark are both in "Hey, we're past our prime, but we can still have a bit of fun, right?" mode here. Given Li's age and his recent reveal of his health problems, it's no surprise that the action itself is very CGI assisted to its own detriment, and kind of sad that his second (and more than likely last) fight with the great Gordon Liu had to happen this way. That it was made in 3D is more than obvious, given the gimmicky 3D-type shots that plague the film even watching it in 2D. In the end, however, the film is redeemed by a top-notch supporting cast and expertly retold story (this is the second time Tsui has been involved in a remake of King Hu's classic Dragon Gate Inn) make up for the understandably lackluster action. Hey, how often do you get to say that about an action movie?
17. * Ugetsu - Kenji Mizoguchi, 1950 - January 15 - One of my all time favorite films, and one of the greatest ever made.
18. * Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Ang Lee, 2000 - January 18 - Also one of my all time favorite films, and also one of the greatest ever made. A lot of other dedicated fans of martial arts films would disagree with that second statement. They're wrong and stupid. I've seen well over 100 martial arts films. I've seen hundreds of movies, period. This is one of the best in both categories.
19. Once Upon a Time in China IV - Yuen Bun, 1993 - January 22 - My understanding is that there was some sort of dispute between Jet Li and Tsui Hark (who respectively starred and directed the first three Once Upon a Time in China films), which is why Vincent Zhao takes over the lead role in the fourth film. Also, Tsui just produces, and lets his flunky protégé Yuen Bun direct. Zhao is a fine actor and martial artist, but he's no Jet Li. Similarly, Yuen is a solid director, but no Tsui. This is still an entertaining film nonetheless, though I was getting tired of Lion Dancing by the end of it. Essentially it's a mix and match of elements of the first three films.
20. Once Upon a Time in China V - Tsui Hark, 1994 - January 22 - Rather odd addition to the series. One again, Vincent Zhao is in the lead role instead of Jet Li. Wong Fei Hung vs pirates. Huh. Good action, though.
21. Once Upon a Time in China and America - Sammo Hung, 1997 - January 24 - Jet Li's return as Wong Fei-Hung is more than welcome, and the action sequences from Sammo Hung are great. That's about all I can say about this terminally silly film. This is a film in which Jet Li bangs his head against a rock and becomes a member of a Native American tribe. Make of that what you will.

22. Thirst - Park Chan-Wook, 2009 - Not quite as good as I remember it being, but still a pretty good film nonetheless. Whatever happened to Kim Ok-Bin? She was fantastic in this movie. Should've been a breakthrough in her career.
23. Casino Jack - George Hickenlooper, 2010 - Not as bad as the negative reviews suggested, but not particularly memorable.
24. Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island - Hiroshi Inagaki, 1956 - While the middle section has uninteresting moments, the final quarter of the film is the best in the entire Samurai trilogy.
25. Ip Man: The Final Fight - Herman Yau, 2013 - Much different from the more popular Ip Man movies from Wilson Yip/Donnie Yen and Wong Kar-Wai, but surprisingly equal. Also, it's great to see Gillian Chung again.
26. Alien - Ridley Scott, 1979 - Lives up to the reputation, no doubt. One of the most intense movies I've ever seen.
27. Dark Star: H.R. Giger's World - Belinda Sallin, 2014 - Decent documentary on the creature designer from Alien.
28. Hapkido - Feng Huang, 1972 - Angela Mao, 'nuff said. She didn't really have that big a part until the end (in spite of being the starring role), but it was worth the wait. Angela Mao is the best martial arts actress, because not only was she a real trained martial artist, but she had the same screen presence and acting ability as non-martial artists known for being great actors who've acquitted themselves well to martial arts roles through choreography and a history of dance, i.e. Zhang Ziyi (who is still an incredible actress whom I would take nothing away from).
29. Dragon Inn - King Hu, 1967 - One of the most groundbreaking action films of all time, not just in the martial arts genre. Even if it seems dated today, it's a necessity for anyone interested in how action scenes are constructed.
30. The Fate of Lee Khan - King Hu, 1973 - Lesser known King Hu movie, with Angela Mao in a co-starring role. Angela Mao. 'Nuff said.
31. Broken Oath - Jeong Chang-Hwa - Cheap remake/ripoff of Lady Snowblood, with Angela **** Mao giving an equally fantastic performance to Meiko Kaji's in the original. This might actually be my favorite Angela Mao movie.
32. Lady Whirlwind - Feng Huang, 1972 - The Angela Mao movie that started it all. In spite of being the title character, she really plays a supporting role.
33. What Happened, Miss Simone? - Liz Garbus, 2015 - Really good documentary on Nina Simone. I barely knew anything about her outside of her music, so it was interesting to learn of her tumultuous life.
34. Blondie's New York - Alan Ravenscroft, 2014 - The making of one of my favorite albums, Parallel Lines. Entertaining, though pretty much a standard music documentary.
35. The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution - Stanley Nelson Jr., 2015 - Probably the most thorough examination of the Black Panther Party I've ever seen. Highly recommended.
36. F for Fake - Orson Welles, 1973 - This was quite a trip. Lives up to its reputation by far. The very end statement from Welles really makes it satisfying.
37. Grey Gardens - Albert & David Maysles, Muffie Meyer, Ellen Hovde - 1976 - Not my thing, personally. I can see why it's so well respected though.
38. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny - Yuen Woo-Ping, 2016 - Why does this movie exist? No one asked for a sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Ang Lee's direction and Zhang Ziyi's acting are sorely missed. Yuen Woo-Ping was the best replacement possible for Ang Lee, but it still doesn't hold a candle to it artistically. However, it does works better if you think of it as a lesser movie in Yuen's filmography as director, as opposed to a sequel to one of the greatest films ever made.

YouTube · #58

Movies: 50/46

Mulan (28/29 Apr): A

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

#59

[QUOTE="Booyakasha, post: 1590817, member: 17381"]Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 01/04/2016 - 10/10
What We Do in the Shadows - 03/24/2016 - 9/10
Crimson Peak - 03/24/2016 - 3/10
It's Such a Beautiful Day - 03/27/2016 - 10/10
Immoral Tales - 03/31/2016 - go to hell/10
Louis C K: Live at the Beacon Theater - 03/31/2016 - 10/10
The Jungle Book - 05/04/2016 - 09/10[/QUOTE]

I liked it a lot.

It's hard for me to look at it in a space outside of the original Disney movie, which I grew up with and is one of my favourites. It does different things.

About the only thing I could say against the movie is the musical bits. Like, musical numbers...if you're going to have musical numbers, have musical numbers. Otherwise, don't. It was a little jarring to have just the two. They didn't meld well with the rest of the movie, which, being a little darker and less cartoony and slapstick, seemed to have little use for musical numbers. I mean, tbe scenes worked, but they didn't work well in this instance. I certainly never particularly wanted to see the scary, off-putting, no-fun version of the 'Wanna Be Like You' monkey dance party of the original flick. 'Wanna Be Like You' is fun when Mowgli is dancing and playing along with King Louie-------when Mowgs looks scared and unhappy, that's kind of the end of the party, man, you know?

Also...this may be an unpopular viewpoint. But I kind of feel like the story would have ended on a stronger note if Mowgli had wound up returning to humanity, like in the original. Over and over again, Mowgs is singled out for his 'tricks' (aka opposable-thumb advanced-tool using biz), and they're how he beats Shere Khan---------it felt slightly a cop-out to have him return seamlessly to nature after the climax. I don't know.

Minor things, those two. The movie was excellent in general. Terrific voice-acting (Idris Elba is a worthy successor to the role of Shere Khan, believe me), great effects and all. I enjoyed the musical motifs taken from the original, the different takes on characters (Kaa in particular was fun and creepy). Saw it in 3D, and the 3D was really well-done. I recommend.

(EDIT:...incidentally. Not to stretch to connect this to dumb Star Wars Day or anything. But I was strangely put in the mind of 'Ewoks: Caravan of Courage', here (and I mean that as a sincere compliment.)

(EDIT2: Ugh. Boo the 'never shuts the hell up about "Jungle Book" or Ewoks' guy, right. I wonder if that's a diagnosible mental disorder.)

YouTube · #60

Movies: 54/46

The Mummy (1 May): A-
The Mummy Returns (3 May): B-
Ant-Man (5 May): B+
Captain America: Civil War (6 May): A

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"