PROJECT 365: 190 - 209

Only made it to 209, ah well, shit happens.

190. Capitalism: A Love Story - typical Michael Moore fare where a lot of it is about himself rather than the problem at large. This is a lot more personal than Farenheit 9/11 or even Sicko and I think it weakens what could ahve otherwise been a very powerful film. Nonetheless it's quite entertaining whilst still delivering an important message, although he really does bang on the drum of "Capitalism is evil" a little too hard. 2.5/5

191. New World Order - absolutely pathetic pile of crap supposedly documenting the NWO that controls the world. In reality it's a half dozen absolute nut jobs spouting lies and filth about the most inane things with not a single "fact" even explored for accuracy - they just spout it off as truth and expect you to believe. Actually fascinating to watc in a way but still quite ridiculous, I fast forwarded the last 45 minutes or so. -50/5

192. The Answer Man - a quirky rom com about a reclusive author (Jeff Daniels) who wrote a book where he was in conversation with God and received all the answers to the big questions, it became a sensation and he fled all publicity. 20 years later he's a crotchety old dude trying to become one with the universe and not quite succeeding. Not your typical romantic comedy and for this I reason I quite liked it. Good performances and a relatively tight script, and although it goes into cliched areas it does it well enough that it's n0t a problem. Good Sunday arvo flick. 3.5/5

193. The Thaw (aka Frozen) - great idea, poorly executed and atrociously acted yet it still has an interesting take on what it could take for Humanity to finally wake up and smell the rotting mammoth. Quite ridiculous but amusing nonetheless. 1.5/5

194. *Moon - watched it again as made the housemate watch it and the ending didn't piss me off as much as the first time. Still an awesome film.

195. *Kill Bill (Vol. 2) - great film, better than the first, loved the confrontation with Bill at the end. 4/5

196. Pandorum - gave up a third through, truly awful film that had me angry after 5 minutes. DETESTED IT. -10/5.

197. The Informant - rather funny film where Matt Damon gets to really shine as a corporate whistle blower - but is he telling the entire truth? Fantastic music throughout and some real guffaws. 3.5/5

198. The Taking of Pelham 123 - I haven't seen the original but this was good, dumb, fun. 3/5

199. Where The Wild Things Are - I'd been waiting for over 2 years to see this film and apart from some minor soundtrack quibbles (I am not a Karen Oh fan) I absolutely loved it. 5/5

200. 9 - beautiful animation, great voice cast, intriguing story, quite a good script, I'd say this is one of the top animated films of 2009. 4/5

201. Up In The Air - George Clooney is great in the lead and for once Jason Bateman doesn't go over the top. The real stand outs are the two female leads with Vera Farmiga looking absolutely stunning (and she can act to boot!). Slightly depressing film but well worth it. 4.5/5

202. Avatar - stunning visuals, pedestrian but not boring story line, quite good acting. Cameron's restrained use of 3D (nothing charges out of the screen at you, it is used to give the visuals an added depth) is a big plus. 4.5/5

203. Downloading Nancy - 3 stunning performances - especially, I thought, from Rufus Sewell - give what could have otherwise been a sadistic torture-porn film a real edge and quality that was refreshing. When a woman can't stand to live her life and be in the body that has been damaged by past traumas, can she find some stranger to help her end her suffering? Based on an extremely sad but true event in the US, I was mesmerised from start to finish. Can be difficult to watch but worth it. 4.75/5

204. Ils (Them) - French thriller done quite intelligently and using suspense to great effect - almost no blood and guts, it's all about being scared out of your mind by strangers invading your home. Chilling ending as well. 3.5/5

205. Wyvern - SciFi channel schlock film that was so stupid it was fun. An Alaskan town is being attacked by a prehistoric Wyvern. It doesn't beat around the bush but gets straight into the silliness and gore, a great over-the-top performance by Don S. Davis in one of his last roles also has a simply hysterical exposition on the origin of the Wyvern. 3/5

206. The French Kissers - rather amusing French film about a group of young teenagers just discovering girls and wondering what it'd be like to pash on with them. Is genuinely funny in many places with a few "blink and you'll miss it" moments (I was the only person in the very small cinema who laughed out loud to the Rocco Siffredi joke). Some of the dead pan humour was great. 3.5/5

207. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time - a young girl suddenly finds that she can leap back in time to change the outcome of her various actions only to discover that the more she tries to change things or set thing right, the worse she is making everyone's lives around her. I had no idea I'd love this film as much as I did as I am not a huge anime fan but the humour and gentle beauty of this story just grabbed me from go to woe. Has some very very funny moments and a heart warming tale at its core helped along by some great animation. 4.75/5

208. Surrogates - typical Hollywood schlock that was still reasonably entertaining, thankfully quite short though - I get the feeling a lot of stuff was cut. 2/5

209. *Fight Club - watched it on Austar on the big screen at my folks' place at Christmas. Such a great, great film 5/5.

And so that was it. Didn't quite make the 365 but had fun trying, now I'll just watch films as often as I can... Just as I have for all previous years anyway!