I love my brother Jon.
Stating one’s love for a family member shouldn’t be particularly unusual. But in my family, it is just one of those things that is left unsaid between adult males. I’m not sure why…I feel like I learned it from my dad, who I’m sure learned it from his. The last time I told my father I loved him, I was under the influence of Vicodin immediately after having my wisdom teeth removed. He later confessed that he knew I was drugged up just because I said it!
Jon is the only sibling who I grew up in the same house with, so there in no one who I have shared more experiences with. Those of you who have met Jon know that he is very cool, the epitome of the old school definition of the word. He is relaxed, intelligent and hilarious (a much, much funnier writer than I could ever hope to be). He is a tremendous friend, fiercely loyal, dependable, and always up for a good time. It is weird to say that I look up to my unemployed little brother, but I truly do. Jon lives his life exactly how he chooses and doesn’t bother with anything he doesn’t want to do. I really do respect that.
So Happy Birthday, Jon. I really can say I love you…even if it is only in print.
On to the films of 2009, # 60 - 41
Movies with Only a Few Redeeming Factors
60) Post Grad – Matt Saracen plays the love interest, and I am such a Friday Night Lights fanboy that I sat through this. Pleasant enough if you don’t expect to laugh or care too much.
59) The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard – Worst title of the year? Weird movie that teetered on the line between funny and offensively bad. A couple funny scenes.
58) G-Force – Yes, the guinea pig secret agent movie. How could the studio not buy that pitch! I’d probably rank it lower, but I saw it with my youngest brother Cole who loves it. I’m a sentimentalist at heart.
57) I Love You, Beth Cooper – Believe it or not, this was actually a really funny book. The book satirized the typical teen movie, while this movie just glorified it. Very disappointing.
56) Give ‘Em Hell Malone – This was a movie that was so, so close to working. As a satire of the film noir genre it was clever and funny, but the tone shifts often and without reason and Doug Hutchinson gives possibly the most ridiculously awful, over-the-top performance that I have ever seen.
55) Weather Girl – A dull, inoffensive romantic comedy that you have probably never hear of. And you can now promptly forget.
54) The International
Intriguing Movies Whose Potential Aren’t Fully Realized, and A Sandra Bullock Movie
53) Push – This was a movie with a dense world and tons of back story. Everything was pretty original, but the acting was pretty weak and I couldn’t bring myself to care about the characters. I felt that there was enough creativity here that a talented showrunner could make Push this generations Buffy the Vampire Slayer…a mediocre movie remade into a great television series.
52) The Invention of Lying – Such a fantastic premise that I am amazed that no one had ever thought of it before. The movie wasn’t nearly as funny as it should have been.
51) Watchmen - This is a legendary graphic novel. This movie was brought to life visually, but I found myself wanting to like it more than I actually did. Sadly, it was pretty boring.
50 ) Public Enemies – Here is what I wrote about this movie when I saw it in July – “This is one of those mediocre movies that probably had a great movie lurking inside. It could have been more.” Yep, that sounds about right.
49) Taking Woodstock – Ang Lee told the story of Woodstock from a very unique perspective in a way that I never would have expected, but somehow still came away with clichéd scene after clichéd scene. Also, it was amazing how poorly the music was used in a film about the country’s most famous music festival.
48) The Proposal- Very predictable, but sweet and funny romantic comedy.
47) Pirate Radio – Plenty of ridiculous scenes and stock characters, but I was charmed by this movie. I never really believed anything that was happening on screen or cared about the outcome, but I found it pleasant throughout.
46) The Great Buck Howard- Small movie about a character who thinks he is taking a job but somehow finds his life becoming his work…for better and for worse. Amazing that I might identify with that. The movie is hamstrung by an unlikeable character who I never quite found myself feeling sympathy for.
45) Bruno – Again, I’ll go back to what I wrote in July – “Any movie that targets the intolerant can’t be all bad and there are a few classic scenes (such as the stage parent interviews), but overall I was pretty underwhelmed.”
44) The Informant! – Great reviews for this film, but while I was watching I continually found myself checking my watch. An seemingly made-for-Hollywood story, solid performances, and some hilarious voice-over work from Matt Damon, but I never found myself caring.
Movies That I Was Surprised To Like As Much As I Did
43) Extract – The newest Mike Judge movie has some fantastic scenes, but I was bothered by how uneven it is and how underdeveloped some of the principle relationships in the movies were. I am guessing that this movie will age well with multiple viewings, just like Idiocracy and Office Space.
42) Bandslam – This movie probably surprised me more than any other on this list. It was marketed as this Vanessa Hudgens-led Disney Channel movie-of-the-week-style vehicle, but I decided to give it a chance after reading some surprisingly positive reviews. Sure, there were a few ridiculous plot contrivances and it Hudgens’ character spelled her name "Sa5m" to show her originality, but I found myself really liking the characters. Everyone was just odd enough and situations were confronted in enough unorthodox ways that I found myself charmed. I never felt like it insulted my intelligence, and sometimes, that is all I ask.
41) The Damned United – A small British soccer movie that is more to do with board room politics than winning the big game, it is not surprising that this movie wasn’t seen at many multiplexes this summer. Michael Sheen is fantastic as an egotistical soccer manager. Sheen has a string of great performances (The Queen, Frost/Nixon)…for a relative unknown in the states, he is truly one of our best working actors.
What I'm Listening To: I Knew - Lightning Dust, Floating Vibes - Surfer Blood, Write On - Sleeping in the Aviary
1 comment:
Thanks Glenn. Also, feelings are for gays.
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