James's movies

• American History X — Whoa. This movie is intense, very, very intense. At times it is often hard to watch the bigotry and racism portrayed so vividly on the screen. You can feel the sheer hate in this film. It is a great lesson though, it shows how power and corruption really affect people. But on a different note, Edward Norton is a complete physical distraction in this movie. He is so damn hot in this movie, it just isn’t fair.
• Band Of Brothers Boxed Set [rating N/A] — Now I know that this really is a mini series TV show, and should probably have gone under that, but it doesn’t belong to me, and for good reason. I don’t like war, and I don’t like to watch war. I know that James loves it though, and that is enough for me.
• Body of Lies BR [rating N/A] — James started watching this on TV, and couldn’t finish it. Then, I saw it on sale at Best Buy, so I bought it for him. I’m a sweet boyfriend, aren’t I?
• The DaVinci Code — While technically, the movie subject is interesting, I found this movie to be very boring, and with Tom Hanks, completely distracting (in a bad way… his hair!). James loved it though, so here it is in our collection!
• The Departed HD — While it was hella violent, and way more intense than I was expecting, it was a great example of great film making. And, I was right, it was worthy of the best picture Oscar. I got this for James for Valentine’s… it was a winner!
• Escape From Sobibor — I remember seeing this in 8th grade, when we were learning about Anne Frank and the horrible Nazi-driven genocide known as the Holocaust. This film made a lot of people cry, due to its violence, but it was necessary to watch. James ran across this recently at Best Buy, and I recommended it.
• Flags of Our Fathers [rating N/A] — Haven’t seen this, it was a gift for James for Valentine’s day.
• Gettysburg BR [RP] — James loves these war/history movies, so I buy them for him; here’s another one, one that I have no interest in seeing!
• Girl With The Dragon Tattoo BR — James absolutely LOVED these books, and when the movie came out, he went to see it and told me simply, “it wasn’t as good as the Swedish movie”, which I actually saw and did enjoy. Well, that means I never got to see it! Cut to now, and we have a buy one get one free deal at Best Buy, and James decides it would be best if we did own it, even though it isn’t as good as the Swedish one. Very gripping and intense; not for the faint at heart! Soundtrack was amazing as well!
• Gladiator — I bought this for James for Christmas, and I must admit, I do like this movie a lot, and that may have been at least some of my motivation. I say this because The Last Samurai was the same price, and I didn’t get that one. Anyway… This movie is so well acted and directed, and very beautiful. A must.
• The Green Zone BR — A little bit Bourne, and a little bit The Hurt Locker, with a lot of espionage and Alias type action thrown in. James enjoyed this more than I did, and as such, I picked it up for him. The real key here, is Matt Damon; he makes an amazing action star, and is very believable in this role. Great gulf war movie.
• The Hurt Locker BR James got this super cheap, and he really liked this movie. I thought it was very intense, but not necessarily Best Picture worthy; despite the fact that it won. I did think Jeremy Renner was fantastic in it, and the movie was very gritty and felt more like a documentary than anything.
• Inglorious Basterds BR Very violent, and very Tarantino, this was a great “could have been” WWII movie. While it was pretty gory, and while I wasn’t paying much attention because I was distracted the first time I watched it, I really loved the attention that Tarantino pays to all of his films, and the elements that he brought forward into this one. This was a gift to James for Christmas, and was very happy to get this on blu-ray.
• Kingdom Of Heaven — Now, I am not going to say that this movie is bad, so much as that it wasn’t really good. The movie is a depiction of the crusades (at least a part of them), and the fight against Muslims and Christians for the occupation of Jerusalem. It is done pretty well, but it honestly comes across as quite boring; which I think is its major weakness. Orlando Bloom is pretty decent looking, so that makes things better, but it doesn’t have enough power to save and carry the movie on its own. It is worth watching, if you want to see it, but I doubt you will come away loving it. You may like it; but that is probably it. Obviously, James loved it… So I bought it for him.
• Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World BR — This movie was the longest movie I have ever seen. It was about 15 hours long, and it was about 14 hours and 58 minutes TOO long. I really did not get into this movie, but I have to say it was well directed, and many of the scenes were well acted. This movie just wasn’t for me, but James loved it. That is why I bought it for him. I am so nice, that way.
• Munich — This one is a long drawn out historical retelling of an event which took place at an olympics several years ago, when Isrealis were killed, and then sought vengeance. While it is very good, it is very emotionally intense, and James just loved it, so I got it for him. Me, it wasn’t a movie I really want to watch that many more times, to be honest, I’m just sensitive to the violence (especially because it really happened), that’s all.
• Nacho Libre — Yeah, I didn’t make it through this movie because it was pretty stupid. James’ brother sent it to him for his birthday, so now we own it. YAY.
• National Treasure BR — Now, this isn’t a bad movie by any means, but Nicholas Cage is insufferable. The story is cool, and the movie is actually quite enjoyable. James watches it EVERY SINGLE DAMN TIME IT IS ON TV, so I bought it for him on blu ray; so I can at least skip the commercials.
• Pearl Harbor [rating N/A] — I must admit that the reason this movie has no available rating, is because I have never seen it. It just doesn’t jump out at me, so, in a way that is very unlike me, I am judging a book by its cover, and rating it anyways. Maybe when I finally do sit down and watch this one, I will give it a real rating and review.
• Slumdog Millionaire — While I definitely liked this movie, and even quite enjoyed it, it was James who really loved it, and wanted it. So, for his birthday, he got it!
• Snatch BR — Valentines gift! About the same as other Guy Ritchie movies, really. Nothing to complain about.
• Syriana — This one is actually one of James’ that is pretty good, albiet kind of slow. I honestly don’t understand how Clooney won an Oscar for this, but so be it. It focuses on the oil cartel in the Middle East, and offers an interesting glimpse at our part in it all. Honest and interesting. Worth seeing.
• The Thin Red Line [rating N/A] — I have never seen this, but since it is a war movie, and I don’t like war movies, I can say that I most likely will not like it. But that is why it is James’!