A "Monster" Movie Marathon

I am so far behind on my movie "reviews", thus this will be a quick list of the past...almost, if not over 4 months worth. Jeez, Louise! I hope I didn't miss any along the way. Slacker! This is gonna be painful.

Monster--watched it tonight. Charlize was worth the hype. Her tranformation went beyond the physicality. Amazing, and so sympathetic. I believe I'll be thinking about this one for a while.
Meet the Robinsons--not brilliant, but in the tradition of most other Disney flicks, I was crying by the end, so something must have worked. The dinosaur "I have a big head and little arms" was worth seeing outside of the trailer. Goob (our hero's roomie and future villain) was so loveable. A good time.
I Am Legend--a major disappointment. Great first hour; very creepy. Great performance by Smith (as expected). Once the kid and the woman showed up, it went downhill very quickly. The monsters were knock-offs from the cheap effects of Boogeyman and The Mummy films. The dog stole the show. The ending was too abrupt. Maybe a 4 out of 10 stars.
The Legend of Hell House--friend David introduced this to us. A similar story to The Haunting. A great time and a fun performance from Roddy McDowall (who knew he was so cute when he was young?). Lots of great scares and a pretty fun payoff.
Spiderman 3--not as bad as everyone said. Too much going on though. The pairing up of Spiderman and Green Goblin to fight Sandman and Venom at the end was great fun...until they started shouting all of the one-liners. C'mon, you're better than that. Thrilled to see Theresa Russell in a bit part. I miss her. She looked great! On that note, so did Thomas Hayden Church...those arms, good heavens.
The Manhattan Project--I remember seeing this on the shelves at my video store as a kid. Lots of fun. Happened to catch it on cable. Frankly, I can't remember the details, other than I enjoyed it. There.
The Resurrected--watched this @ friend David's (over the Halloween season--that tells you how far behind I am!) Some really bad acting, but a great final sequence in the basement. Good effects, scares and awesome sets. Not terribly memorable, but fun nonetheless.
The Fountain--amazing performances and absolutely thrilling visuals. I ADORED this film. Hugh Jackman was beautiful as always, but his hot factor was overshadowed by his great triple performance. Loved, loved, loved this movie.
Isolation--another Halloween treat @ friend David's. Check this out! Low budget film from Ireland, this is claustrophobic, very intimate, and very chilling. A basic set-up about cows; and you're wondering where it will go. You won't be disappointed. I highly recommend this one.
Behind the Mask--Thought this was a great time. Sort of a Waiting for Guffman for slasher films. You know the cliches? You'll love this one. A film crew follows a killer (who wants to be the next Freddy or Jason) on his rounds; as he explains his reasons for certain actions, when it's best to kill; who is best to kill, etc. A very fun time. Highly recommended.
A Prairie Home Companion--Lovely. Incredible ensemble cast. I was left w/ a warm heart at the end. Plus, my wonderful Meryl is in it...what else do you need? Great music.
Disturbia--a great, scary fun time. Why does David Morse do so well in the psycho roles? In the end, forgettable, but still worth a watch.
Half Nelson--Ryan Gosling. So adorable and such an amazing actor. I kept wondering where this film was going, and it didn't disappoint. His interaction w/ Shareeka Epps was a thing to behold. Gosling was so worth the Oscar nom; if not an actual win. Another tear-jerker and definitely worth your time.
The Queen--on DVD this didn't hold up as well as in the theatre (then again, we saw it w/ director Stephen Frears in attendance @ the Chicago Film Festival). Still a real treat.
The Sweet Hereafter--three words...WATCH THIS MOVIE. The other half tried for so long to get us to watch this. We've had the DVD since we started collecting DVD's (oh, about 7 years ago). Worth the wait. Tremendously disturbing, brilliant performances (especially a young Sarah Polley--considering after dozens of viewings of Dawn of the Dead I find her performance there sometimes lacking); and the reveal of "the accident" at the 3/4 point was harrowing and so scary. Run, don't walk to your video store; and rent this movie...better yet, buy it!
Zodiac--fun, spooky, edge of your seat stuff, but I'm not expecting this to hold up in my memory. Good performances though.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind--amazing love story. Incredible performances and chemistry from the two leads. This made my heart ache. While I appreciate that it was able to do so, crying so much left me dehydrated. Loved, loved, loved this movie. (I already used this phrase, but if it works, it works.)
Ju-On--some things I liked about this more than the Sarah Michelle Gellar remake, other things I did not. In the end, not as memorable as the remake (my God, am I one of those pre-teen types that needs more style than substance?). However, I did like the story/timeline better in this one.
Legally Blonde: The Musical--Okay, not a movie, but something I wanted to make note of. The other half convinced me to watch this...after much coaxing. A great time. If you don't like musicals, avoid. A tremendous performance by the lead (Laura Bell Bundy). Catchy tunes (I still sing them every day; and I first saw this thing months ago...we also picked up the cast album). So much fun. I'm wondering how long before it takes the Hairspray route (movie to stage musical to movie musical)? What am I most happy with? The fact that this was shown ad nauseum on MTV...therefore introducing the magic of the live stage to millions of culture-less teens and pre-teens (and anyone else who had never seen a stage show before). Way to go MTV!
Sicko--Infuriating. I was ready to leave our country once this was completed. I'll admit that Michael Moore is a little over the top (okay a lot), but hell, there's clearly a great deal of truth in the tales he tells. Seriously, you need to take a look @ this for yourself. It's truly unbelieveable. Makes me mad just thinking about some of the stories and images within. Ugh!
Alpha Dog--I had problems w/ Emile Hirsch and Justin Timberlake using the "f" word every other sentence. Not that I have issues w/ language, just that I didn't buy them using those words...they're both very "queenie" to me. In the end though, I was impressed w/ Justin's work. Great performances all around. Of note; is Sharon Stone. She had a few bit parts throughout, but it was her final scene in the institution (and fat suit) that was a hard pill to swallow (in a good way). Forget the special makeup effects, Sharon was missing in that scene. I overuse this word...I admit it...but truly, it was HEARTWRENCHING. I don't believe I've ever seen Sharon (and I've always been a fan...since Deadly Blessing for Goddsake) give so much; and make it so tough to take. Kudos to you, my gal. The ending of this film was difficult. I prayed it wouldn't end up as it did. My tear ducts prayed it wouldn't end up as it did...but; it did. I really enjoyed this film.
Bug--what is with this film? Never had a clue as to where the journey would take us, but man, did I love it. Ashley Judd was phenomenal. Seeing her mental state deteriorate was hard, especially since I never knew where she was going, if she was crazy, possessed, how far she would fall, or if she was just imagining this. Of course, as I'm watching, I was thinking "this would be a great play", only to watch the closing credits to find, "based on the play" listed. I'm so smart. Harry Connick as a wife beater (and in a wife beater after showing his splendid naked torso--God that man is fine!) This is a very messed up film, but worth the time and aggravation (again; at not knowing what the f*** is going on!) you'll experience. Go Ashley!
28 Weeks Later--I like to say that this wasn't as good as the original, but for a great portion of the film, I had my hands over my eyes...cautiously peering through my fingers at those bloodshot eyes. I guess it gets harder for me to judge "zombie" films (I'm sure many will give me shit about calling it a zombie film), cuz if you give me zombies, you're gonna push my buttons. Of note in this one, is the horrifying scene of Robert Carlyle attacking his immune thought-to-be-dead wife. Nasty!
Hot Fuzz--Brilliant, spooky, hysterical, action-packed. Okay, I know this is only the second project I've seen by this group, but they can do no wrong. What great chemistry between Pegg and Frost. This was a great, great time. And who knew there was such a varied cast? Cate Blanchett in an uncredited role, Edward Woodward, Jim Broadbent, a cameo by Peter Jackson and a surprise in the appearance of Billie Whitelaw. She looked familiar and then I saw her name in the credits. Where would you know her from? The creepy nanny in the original The Omen. Who knew? So much fun!