September Summary

September Summary

04/10 - Role Models
06/10 - Quantum of Solace
08/10 - Gladiator
03/10 - Blood Beach
08/10 - Sunset Blvd.
02/10 - The Rock
07/10 - Heat
06/10 - The Boondock Saints
08/10 - Taxi Driver
08/10 - Paths of Glory
06/10 - Big Trouble in Little China
09/10 - Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (Amélie)
08/10 - Office Space
03/10 - Vampire Hookers
05/10 - Funny Face
09/10 - Drag Me to Hell
08/10 - Zombieland
06/10 - The Big Lebowski

The rating links to my review and comments while the title itself links to the IMDb page for the movie.

Quick Facts:
Movies seen in September: 18
Time spent watching movies in September: 1978 minutes (32 hours, 58 minutes)

Best Movie Seen (Overall):
Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (Amélie)
Amélie was a joy to watch. It was whimsical and fun and had so many great qualities. It far exceeded my expectations. It was the perfect length and Audrey Tautou was perfect as Amélie
Runner-up: Drag Me to Hell
[Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (Amélie) and Drag Me to Hell were first time viewings.]
[Note: These two films will not be included in the next two rankings.]

Best Movie Seen (First Viewing):
Taxi Driver
This is a great character piece. Travis Bickle is a flawed and very real character and all this shows up in great detail on the screen. It's complicated, very deep, and still extremely enjoyable.
Runner-up: Zombieland

Best Movie Seen (Repeated Viewing):
Gladiator
Though Gladiator was somewhat long and somewhat dull in parts, the character of Maximus and the overall great acting coupled with an amazing story make this movie a classic.
Runner-up: Office Space

Worst Movie Seen:
The Rock
Wow. What a disappointment. I was expecting a highly enjoyable action film and instead got a total bummer that was boring, predictable, stupid and unenjoyable.
Runner-up: Blood Beach

Most Surprising Film Seen:
Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (Amélie)
A total surprise to me, I was expecting Amélie to be a really girly movie with some funny elements in it. Instead I got a great movie that was fun to watch and, though somewhat girly being a romantic comedy, still was enjoyable to me.
Runner-up: Paths of Glory

Most Disappointing Film Seen:
The Rock
Pretty much what I said above. This is the definition of a stupid action movie with nothing but explosions and stupid characters. It could've been so much more, too, which is what makes this even a bigger disappointment.
Runner-up: The Big Lebowski

Most Enjoyable Film Seen:
Zombieland
This movie is nonstop laughs and action. It doesn't let up from minute one to minute eighty. And being only eighty minutes it's a perfect length for this roller coaster ride of thrills and laughs.
Runner-up: Drag Me to Hell

The Film More People Need to See:
Sunset Blvd.
This is an old, old movie so I don't think it's really known to a lot of people my age anymore. I checked it out for a look into what the original film noir movies were like and was intrigued. Besides being a great story with an amazing plot, I was treated to probably the best lead actress performance I've ever seen in Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond.
Runner-up: Paths of Glory

Best Scene Seen:
Taxi Driver - the scene with "Late for the Sky" by Jackson Browne
Though a lot of Scorsese is hit or miss for me, I will never claim he doesn't have amazing soundtracks. Including "Late for the Sky" here is a perfect example of that as we are treated to a chilling portrait of Travis Bickle as he watches his television with his gun in his hand. It's the perfect song for an extremely tense scene.
Runner-up: Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie - when Amélie gives the box back to Dominique Bretodeau

That was it for September. School is picking up very quickly so I don't know what exactly October will bring. I want to watch as many horror movies as possible this month for it being Halloween and all that but I don't know exactly how well that's going to work out. Overall, this month was okay. I saw some good movies but also quite a few disappointments.