This is just off the top of my head so maybe the #1 won't be as great as I remember it. I saw some good movies I just can't seem to remember them. Ugh, I really am getting old.
Well luckily I had my program from the 2009 SFIFF which helped to get the ball rolling
10. The Hangover - I was gonna make this my number one but although it was hysterical it wasn't as good as Old School. Still I love it and Alan character is amazing. You can be his friend on Facebook or see him on HBO's series Bored to Death; it is brilliant! The movie is good and totally quotable.
9. Sherlock Holmes I though it was excellent! Guy Ritchie did an awesome job and I am not saying that just because I love him. Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr were also excellent! Maybe there was a bit to much slow motion to tell you how Sherlock could defeat his enemies but it was well worth it.
8. French Girl staring Hafsia Herzi from The Secrets of the Grain was terrific and
the movie was a great feminist film about a girl who know what she wants and that is to return to France and make her own life.
7. This is it! Michael Jackson tribute with I saw with the director so we got to ask him questions about Michael Jackson vision for his final concert. It was very moving, creative and endearing. I really wanted to dance but behaved myself.
6. Whip It! Love this Drew Barrymore directed movie. Juno's star, Ellen Page, was the lead and she was terrific. I saw this a week after my roller disco party so I guess that really made me like it more. Also made me glad I don't live in Texas.
5. Small Crimes - set on a remote Greek island, it is a romance with a who done it twist.
4. 2012 - what can I say a John Cusack Movie with Woody Harrelson about the Mexican Calendar I am totally into it. Great special effect and a good conspiracy theory to boot about the government knowing that the world is heating up and coming to an end and making secret plans with other world leaders to save themselves and rich people who can afford to pay to get on.
3. Zombieland - great movie not totally a gore fest but completely funny and Woody Harrelson cracked me up. He is making quite a comeback. Playing these great character parts.
2. Sin Nombre - about immigration and gangs and how people get into the US from a cross the border but it was very good. The director actually rode the train for research and be friended gang members to get his story. Very touching.
1. Mid - August Lunch It is an Italian film and it is wonderful. They relationship dynamics are so interesting and it is so great to watch how other people live. It was like being a fly on the wall of someone's flat.
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Monday, December 29, 2008
Miss Olive's Top 10 flims of 2008
Yup! It is that time when everyone starts busting out their lists for 2008. I am not usually a critic as I hate to taint the experience for others, but what the hell. I am a joiner so I am jumping in and giving you my 2 cents worth which means this will be a short post.
10. Burn After Reading.It was good, if you actually sat through the whole thing it made sense. It was not the best Cohen brother's movie but it was entertaining. I realize as I type this that Wall-E was a great movie and should really bump Burn After Reading off the list.
9. Rachael Getting Married. When I saw this movie with Gret, four people walked out. I guess they were hoping for "Bride War/The Princess Diaries". What they got was Kim (Anne Hathaway) getting out of rehab and making an ass out of herself while making everyone else uncomfortable in the process. Sometimes it was hard to sit through but it was good to get to the heart of Kim's and her immediate families problems. Debra Winger was excellent as the detached mother. Kim's father played by Bill Irwin did and excellent job. He is a real talent. I couldn't believe that this was a Jonathan Demme film (Married to the Mob, Silence of the Lambs) it seemed so different for him so un-Hollywood yet with some stars. Bill Irwin may not be a household name but you've seen him and he is good in this (ps Gret he is not part of the Best in Show family). Another thing I could not believe was that the film genre was listed as Romance. The wedding scene was amazing and reminded me of my Cousin Bob & Amy's wedding but it was not a romance movie.
8. Loins of Punjab. What can I say I love Bollywoodesque movies and this was terrific. Indian version of American Idol but condensed down into one weekend put on by an Indian Butcher. Has a love story, dance number and is funny.
7. Pineapple Express. Seth Rogen and James Franco were hysterical. Great movie and remind me of my wayward past.
6. The Visitor. An economic professor (played by Richard Jenkins) whose wife has died and kid is grown gets a second chance at life in an unexpected way. All why giving the viewer a look into post 9/11 New York/USA. No happy ending but amazing story.
5. RocknRolla. Guy Ritchie need I say more. Love him and his movie rocked. Took my mom and dad (75 and 80 yrs old respectively) and they loved it. Can not remember if I loved the soundtrack but I think I did. I am really excited to see his version of Sherlock Holmes.
4. Tell No One. A great french movie. Loved it, good plot, such a good thriller. If you are really into French films, Lady Jane is also good.
3. Slumdog Millionaire. Definitely worthy of an Oscar nomination if not an award. It was such a good story and the sound track was excellent.
2. Transsiberian. It's an AWESOME movie! It had so many plot twists and amazing landscape. I haven't been on a train in ages and I really want to take one. Woody Harelson did a great job but Emily Mortimer, Kate Mara and Ben Kingsley really make this movie great. it is just a great Thriller.
Drum Roll Please.....
#1. La Zona. Filmed in 2007. I saw this at this year's San Francisco International Film Festival - terrific pick guys. The movie is set in a gated community in Mexico City but really it could happen any where. The movie is not just totally entertaining but a social commentary. It's totally worth going to your local arthouse and protesting/demanding that they show this movie. Daniel Gimenez Cacho is really cute as well as Carlos Barden and Andres Montiel...lots of Latin hunks but it's not a Y tu Mama Tambien.
I just looking over my list and it is very freaky...I've kind of become a movie snob but it is just my list. I did see a lot of mainstream movies but I guess doing this post on the fly these are the movies that stuck with me. Also no zombie movies this year and yet I know I saw some maybe this list will have to be amended or maybe I just have to write another list. This list writing is really addictive.
10. Burn After Reading.It was good, if you actually sat through the whole thing it made sense. It was not the best Cohen brother's movie but it was entertaining. I realize as I type this that Wall-E was a great movie and should really bump Burn After Reading off the list.
9. Rachael Getting Married. When I saw this movie with Gret, four people walked out. I guess they were hoping for "Bride War/The Princess Diaries". What they got was Kim (Anne Hathaway) getting out of rehab and making an ass out of herself while making everyone else uncomfortable in the process. Sometimes it was hard to sit through but it was good to get to the heart of Kim's and her immediate families problems. Debra Winger was excellent as the detached mother. Kim's father played by Bill Irwin did and excellent job. He is a real talent. I couldn't believe that this was a Jonathan Demme film (Married to the Mob, Silence of the Lambs) it seemed so different for him so un-Hollywood yet with some stars. Bill Irwin may not be a household name but you've seen him and he is good in this (ps Gret he is not part of the Best in Show family). Another thing I could not believe was that the film genre was listed as Romance. The wedding scene was amazing and reminded me of my Cousin Bob & Amy's wedding but it was not a romance movie.
8. Loins of Punjab. What can I say I love Bollywoodesque movies and this was terrific. Indian version of American Idol but condensed down into one weekend put on by an Indian Butcher. Has a love story, dance number and is funny.
7. Pineapple Express. Seth Rogen and James Franco were hysterical. Great movie and remind me of my wayward past.
6. The Visitor. An economic professor (played by Richard Jenkins) whose wife has died and kid is grown gets a second chance at life in an unexpected way. All why giving the viewer a look into post 9/11 New York/USA. No happy ending but amazing story.
5. RocknRolla. Guy Ritchie need I say more. Love him and his movie rocked. Took my mom and dad (75 and 80 yrs old respectively) and they loved it. Can not remember if I loved the soundtrack but I think I did. I am really excited to see his version of Sherlock Holmes.
4. Tell No One. A great french movie. Loved it, good plot, such a good thriller. If you are really into French films, Lady Jane is also good.
3. Slumdog Millionaire. Definitely worthy of an Oscar nomination if not an award. It was such a good story and the sound track was excellent.
2. Transsiberian. It's an AWESOME movie! It had so many plot twists and amazing landscape. I haven't been on a train in ages and I really want to take one. Woody Harelson did a great job but Emily Mortimer, Kate Mara and Ben Kingsley really make this movie great. it is just a great Thriller.
Drum Roll Please.....
#1. La Zona. Filmed in 2007. I saw this at this year's San Francisco International Film Festival - terrific pick guys. The movie is set in a gated community in Mexico City but really it could happen any where. The movie is not just totally entertaining but a social commentary. It's totally worth going to your local arthouse and protesting/demanding that they show this movie. Daniel Gimenez Cacho is really cute as well as Carlos Barden and Andres Montiel...lots of Latin hunks but it's not a Y tu Mama Tambien.
I just looking over my list and it is very freaky...I've kind of become a movie snob but it is just my list. I did see a lot of mainstream movies but I guess doing this post on the fly these are the movies that stuck with me. Also no zombie movies this year and yet I know I saw some maybe this list will have to be amended or maybe I just have to write another list. This list writing is really addictive.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
More Film Festivals
San Francisco loves their film festivals. Right now there are two going on -- the Short Film Festival at the Victoria and The Jewish Film Festival at various locations.
Later this month is the Crossing the Border Film Festival at the Roxie sponsored by the Goeth-Institut has 15 films about immigration and one I would really like to see is "The Short Life of Jose Antonio Gutierrez". He was the first soldier killed in the Iraq war. But it is not all somber and sad tales there is also "In July" and "Welcome Home" both German films.
Come November it is The International Latino Film Festival which will be held at various locations around the bay area including the Mission Cultural Center.
Later this month is the Crossing the Border Film Festival at the Roxie sponsored by the Goeth-Institut has 15 films about immigration and one I would really like to see is "The Short Life of Jose Antonio Gutierrez". He was the first soldier killed in the Iraq war. But it is not all somber and sad tales there is also "In July" and "Welcome Home" both German films.
Come November it is The International Latino Film Festival which will be held at various locations around the bay area including the Mission Cultural Center.
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