Four good ones!!
Despicable Me (2010) - "In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences with
flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst
to the neighbors, hidden beneath this house is a vast secret hideout.
Surrounded by a small army of minions, we discover Gru (Steve Carell),
planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to
steal the moon. Gru delights in all things wicked. Armed with his
arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle-ready vehicles for land
and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. Until the day he
encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at
him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad.
The world's greatest villain has just met his greatest challenge: three
little girls named Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and
Agnes (Elsie Fisher).
"
source: I own the DVD
I watched it because: I wanted a movie to make me laugh out loud
IMDB: 7.6/10 -
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 81% Audience: 83%
my IMDB: 8/10
notable quote: "He's so fluffy, I'm gonna die!"
MPAA rating: PG
directed by: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud
my notes: I've seen this movie several times, and it always makes me happy!
overall: recommended
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - "F.B.I. trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) works hard to advance her
career, while trying to hide or put behind her West Virginia roots, of
which if some knew, would automatically classify her as being backward
or white trash. After graduation, she aspires to work in the agency's
Behavioral Science Unit under the leadership of Jack Crawford (Scott
Glenn). While she is still a trainee, Crawford asks her to question Dr.
Hannibal Lecter (Sir Anthony Hopkins), a psychiatrist imprisoned, thus
far, for eight years in maximum security isolation for being a serial
killer who cannibalized his victims. Clarice is able to figure out the
assignment is to pick Lecter's brains to help them solve another serial
murder case, that of someone coined by the media as 'Buffalo Bill' (Ted
Levine), who has so far killed five victims, all located in the eastern
U.S., all young women, who are slightly overweight (especially around
the hips), all who were drowned in natural bodies of water, and all who
were stripped of large swaths of skin. She also figures that Crawford
chose her, as a woman, to be able to trigger some emotional response
from Lecter. After speaking to Lecter for the first time, she realizes
that everything with him will be a psychological game, with her often
having to read between the very cryptic lines he provides. She has to
decide how much she will play along, as his request in return for
talking to him is to expose herself emotionally to him. The case takes a
more dire turn when a sixth victim is discovered, this one from who
they are able to retrieve a key piece of evidence, if Lecter is being
forthright as to its meaning. A potential seventh victim is high profile
Catherine Martin (Brooke Smith), the daughter of Senator Ruth Martin
(Diane Baker), which places greater scrutiny on the case as they search
for a hopefully still alive Catherine. Who may factor into what happens
is Dr. Frederick Chilton (Anthony Heald), the warden at the prison, an
opportunist who sees the higher profile with Catherine, meaning a higher
profile for himself if he can insert himself successfully into the
proceedings."
source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: I've been writing about the movie
Manhunter a lot lately, and this is the best-known entry into that series
IMDB: 8.6/10 -
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 95% Audience: 95%
my IMDB: 7/10
AFI: 100 Years ... 100 Movies (1998) #65
100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th anniversary ed. 2007) #74
100 Years ... 100 Thrills (2001) #5
100 Years ... 100 Heroes and Villains (2003)
Villain #1
Hero #6
notable quote: "Put the fucking lotion in the basket!"
MPAA rating: R
directed by: Jonathan Demme
my notes: not as scary as I'd thought the first time I saw it, but still damned creepy. Ted Levine made the most of Buffalo Bill!
Academy Award winner: (note, this was only the 3rd film to win "the Big Five")
• Best Picture
• Best Actor—Hopkins
• Best Actress—Foster
• Best Director—Demme
• Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published—Ted Tally
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Sound
• Best Film Editing
overall: recommended
The Mechanic (2011) - "Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) is a 'mechanic' - an elite assassin with a
strict code and unique talent for cleanly eliminating targets. It's a
job that requires professional perfection and total detachment, and
Bishop is the best in the business. But when his mentor and close friend
Harry (Donald Sutherland) is murdered, Bishop is anything but detached.
His next assignment is self-imposed - he wants those responsible dead.
His mission grows complicated when Harry's son Steve (Ben Foster)
approaches him with the same vengeful goal and a determination to learn
Bishop's trade. Bishop has always acted alone but he can't turn his back
on Harry's son. A methodical hit man takes an impulsive student deep
into his world and a deadly partnership is born. But while in pursuit of
their ultimate mark, deceptions threaten to surface and those hired to
fix problems become problems themselves."
source: I own the DVD
I watched it because: I'd seen the second entry into the series but not this first one
IMDB: 6.5/10 -
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 53% Audience: 51%
my IMDB: 7/10
notable quote: "Good judgment comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment."
MPAA rating: R
directed by: Simon West
my notes: not the most clever movie I've ever seen, but entertaining and worth seeing
overall: recommended
Allied (2016) - "At the height of World War II, in turbulent 1942, the fearless Wing
Commander, Max Vatan, lands on the desert dunes of Morocco to meet with
the Parisian member of the French Resistance, Marianne Beauséjour. After
an attempt to eliminate an elusive target during a suicide mission in
the heart of Casablanca, Max and Marianne flee to England intent on
starting a family soon; however, heavy clouds of distrust and suspicion
will burden their already difficult relationship, when Max receives a
shocking call from the Secret Service Division. In disbelief—with a
terrible task in his hands, and crushed under a devastating dilemma—Max
must summon up the courage to seek for answers in the perilous streets
of a bombarded London, regardless of the outcome. Now, amid duty and
love, who shall live and who shall die?"
source: streamed on Dish
I watched it because: it was mutually agreeable
IMDB: 7.1/10 -
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 60% Audience: 64%
my IMDB: 6/10
notable quote: "We both know people fucked each other, and they fucked up, and now they're fucking dead."
"Actually...the mistakes people make in these situations isn't fucking. It's feeling."
MPAA rating: R
directed by: Robert Zemekis
my notes: it could have been great. It wasn't bad, but it didn't bowl me over as I'd hoped. The two leads did not seem to have special chemistry, even considering the soft-core scene in a car parked in the desert. I did like the ending.
Academy Award nominee: Best Costume Design
overall: recommended
[the title quotation is from The Mechanic)
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