Recent movies I've seen in theaters

Hey it's Ben. No one's made a post like this in a while, so I decided to make one. I put the last few movies I've seen and the movies I'm most looking forward to for the rest of the year. (By the way, I did not see High School Musical 3, and I am not planning to. Sorry to disappoint anyone.)

Recent Films (alphabetical):

Appaloosa - 3 1/2 out of 4

Body of Lies - 3 out of 4

Eagle Eye - 3 out of 4

Miracle at St. Anna - 4 out of 4

The Secret Life of Bees - 4 out of 4

Transsiberian - 4 out of 4

Vicky Cristina Barcelona - 4 out of 4

W. - 3 1/2 out of 4

Movies I really want to see (no particular order):

Frost/Nixon

Changeling

The Road

Quantum of Solace

Curious Case of Benjamin Button

(Plus, I really wanted to see The Soloist, but they changed the release date and now it isn't coming out until March)

-Ben

Most Touching Movies

Most touching movies. Touching lines/moments

5. ET - "I'll be right here,"

4. Schindler's List - then end when he has to run away

3. West Side Story - the end

2. Life is Beautiful/Cinima Paridiso - the ends

1. Harold and Maude - "Harold: I love you, Maude: That's wonderful, go love some more."

Ever want to cry, watch Harold and Maude.

-Zach

Ben's favorite scenes

Hey. Ben here. I made a comment on Zach's favorite scenes post, but I didn't think anyone would read it so I decided to make my own post. So here they are:

Shawshank Redemption - opera in prison yard scene

Fargo - the scene where Marge is investigating at the crime scene for the first time ("So we got a cop pulls a guy over....")

Crash - Final Montage of what happens to everyone with "In the Deep" playing in the background.

The Shining - Hedge Maze Chase scene

The Searchers - shot at the end where Ethan walks off the porch

LA Confidential - Diner scene ("a hooker cut to look like......")

Witness - corn silo death scene

Terminator - ending gas station scene ("There's a storm coming" "I know")

Goodfellas - Copacobana scene with the long, uncut, 3 minute shot following Henry and Karen through the back entrance

Godfather Part 2 - "was it a boy" scene

The Untouchables - train station staircase scene

Philadelphia - silent ending scene with Andrew's family watching his old home movies

12 Angry Men - "He didn't change his vote - I DID!"

and my favorite scene of all time.............................................................

Field of Dreams - "Hey dad, you want to have a catch?" "I'd like that." *cue inspiring music*

BEST. SCENE. EVER.

-Ben

I Saw V

Dirty walls, static surveillance screens, and stupid cliches, it must be Saw V. I kind of liked the first three, but the plots of these new ones are just too stupid. "Oh, Jigsaw's dead but he figured out, before he died this cop was going to be assigned to his case and he is going to be at this building at this exact time." The plot twists don't really work unlike the other four installments. Also, everyone in all these movies is too dumb just to do what the dude says and live, they all die of stupidity. That doesn't mean this film isn't extremely entertaining and I won't return for the inevitable Saw VI.

Saw V - 2 1/2 out of 4

-Zach

Rachel Getting Inaugurated

This weekend I saw Rachel Getting Married and W.

Rachel Getting Married - Kim , a recovering drug addict with a past haunted by an incident she can't forget. Anne Hathaway is not a princess anymore. All the performances are amazing. The great thing about this movie is how Kim, even on her sister's wedding day, can only think about herself. This a movie that will keep you thinking a long time.

W - Josh Brolin is one of my favorite actors working at this time. His performance is so amazing as George W. Bush is so amazing he might just win best actor. Of course Oliver Stone did a great job at directing, and the funny thing is, that this movie can't seem to make up its mind weather is supports Bush, or not.

Rachel Getting Married - 4 out of 4

W. - 4 out of 4

-Zach

Some of My Favorite Movie Scenes

Kill Bill - Any violent scene, opening & closing scene from vol 2, closing line vol 1

Pulp Fiction - Any scene with Jules, the opening scene

Gone with the wind - 3 famous lines, I dont giva a damn, i'll never be hungry again, tommorow is another day

2001 - when Hal throws the guy into space, the star child

ET - the final scene, the bike scene

Big Lebowski - the scene when we first meet the rich Lebowski

Fargo - any scene with Marge or Jerry, the woodchipper

Death Proof - End chase
Clockwork Orange - the final scene

T2 - final chase/action sequence

Sin City - the yellow bastard car chase

Halloween - the final scene

Jaws - anything with the shark

There will be blood - the final scene, the confession scene

Willy Wonka - the final scene

Ratatouille - the anton ego judgment scene

Titanic - when the ship breaks in half, when Fabrizio gets crushed
-Zach

Body of Lies

BODY OF LIES! Trust me, this film is not what the title suggests; it is not about a cross dressing Leonardo DiCaprio falling in love with Russell Crowe while lying to him about being a woman. Body of Lies is a CIA movie about Iraq, that is entertaining wonderfully written and directed. The performances are also both great. I don't have too much time so ill keep it short, YOU MUST SEE THIS MOVIE IT IS ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! This is one of my favorite movies of 2008.

Body of Lies - 4 out of 4

-Zach

What People Don't Get About High School Movies

People don't get high school movies. Entertainment Weekly and Ben recently made a list of their favorite high school movies. What people don't get is that a high school movie actually has to take place primarily in a high school. The protagonist being in high school or being a high school teacher doesn't make it a high school movie. Ferris Bueller's Day Off is not a high school movie, the entire movie is about not being in school. Also in EW's list it mentions Back to the Future as a high school movie, the movie is not slightly about high school. At least a major topic in Ferris Bueller is high school. One of my favorite movies is Election. Election is about the student body president election, it is a high school movie. Ugh, people just don't get it.

-Zach

Favorites in Various Categories

In this post, I am going to tell you guys about my favorite films in various genres and categories. On our next podcast (which is coming, I promise!) Zach and I will talk about this, but for now, I'll give you a taste of what my favorites are, plus some honorable mentions for each. My favorites are in capital letters followed by my honorable mentions in lowercase.

Western: THE SEARCHERS. The Good the Bad and the Ugly.

Superhero Movies: THE DARK KNIGHT. Spiderman 2. Superman (1978, with Christopher Reeve).

High School Movies: FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH. The Breakfast Club. Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Sixteen Candles.

Gangster: THE GODFATHER. Goodfellas. The Untouchables. The Public Enemy.

Horror: THE SHINING. Halloween (original). Scream. (PS, I do not consider Psycho a horror film. If I did, that would be my favorite)

Animated: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. The Lion King. Finding Nemo. Snow White. Bambi.

Sports: FIELD OF DREAMS. Rocky. Raging Bull.

Sci-Fi:

ET: THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL. Star Wars Episode IV. Star Wars Episode V. Blade Runner. Back to the Future.

Romance: ANNIE HALL. Breakfast At Tiffany's.

Musical: THE MUSIC MAN.  GUYS AND DOLLS.  Singin' In the Rain. Oklahoma.  West Side Story. The Wizard of Oz.

War: PLATOON.  Saving Private Ryan.  Glory. Schindler's List.

Best of the New Millennium: CRASH. The Departed. Memento. No Country for Old Men. Million Dollar Baby. The Visitor. The Dark Knight.

-Ben

There was no Miracle at Zach's Theater

I won't write that much because Mr. Lee let me down during what I had high expectations for. Ben enjoyed this Miracle at St. Anna, I don't blame him or anyone else who liked this movie, it is rather well made, except the battle sequences which are lame and poorly directed. When I think about this film I think Spike Lee let himself down more than he let me down because when Spike Lee made this film he set out to tell a realistic account of an African-American squad in World War 2, he failed to reach this objective because of the amount of supernatural content and the high amount of coincidences and thing he just expects his audience to go along with it. If he wanted to make this film realistic he should have found a true exciting thing that happened to African-American troops in the war. If nothing exciting did happen, it is impossible to make a realistic film about it. Wow, I actually ended up writing a lot. What do you know?

Miracle at St. Anna - 2.5 out of 4

- Zach