Nuke's Blog
Periodic ramblings by an old geek…

I significantly slowed down watching movies, and actually cut myself off from Netflix discs about a month ago.  Now only the kids get discs, though I will still be able to watch some online.  Anyhow, this will seem like way too many movies, but if you read the subject line, it for almost three months.  I’m such a slacker on this blog.

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Revolutionary Road (2008)

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I haven’t been loving DiCaprio movies much.  He always seems to be trying to portray himself to be far older/mature than he looks.  Not sure why it annoys me so much, but I got over it this time… likely because Kate Winslet steals the show.

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Battle for Terra (2007)

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Fairly exciting animated story, which seems quite similar to the new movie, Avatar, in plotline.  Though, this one was at least tame enough for kids.  In case you haven’t noticed before, I rarely drift higher than three stars for animated movies, so if you like watching them, this would be 4-5 stars for you.

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The Informers (2008)

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Bad, very bad.  I think I added this to my queue after watching Mickey Rourke’s, The Wrestler.  Bad decision.

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Knights of Bloodsteel (2009)

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This was a decent fantasy film, but I must admit it was fairly well killed for me when I read the following in a Netflix review before seeing the movie.  Skip it if you think you’ll watch it.  Actually, the movie is probably funnier if you do.  “If you can get over thinking ‘Flux Capacitor’ and ’1.21 gigawatts’ every time Christopher Lloyd appears, you might want to give it a go, but it’s still painful.”

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Thumb Wars: The Phantom Cuticle (1999)

Thumbtanic (1999)

Bat Thumb (2001)

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These are certainly all fairly creative, but just didn’t do it for me.  I like the Robot Chicken Star Wars stuff far better.

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Robot Chicken Star Wars: Episode II (2009)

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Speaking of Robot Chicken, this sequel to the original collection is not quite as good, but still fairly entertaining.  There are great shorts in here, and certainly some bad ones, but the extras again fill out anything lacking.  Good stuff for Star Wars fans.

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Fringe: Season 1 (2008)

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I believe Jake advertised this as a serious version of Psych, and we all assumed that meant I would love this.  Turns out I would rather go back and rewatch all the X-Files seasons instead.  It’s like those, only yuckier, and not as good.  I quit watching after two discs.

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Clone Wars: Vol. 2: Clone Commandos (2008)

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I continue to be disappointed by the Clone Wars TV series.  Maybe  it would be better to see one episode a week, rather than seeing several in a row, but I think it’s just plain too wimpy for adult fans of Star Wars.  Kind of like the prequel movies. :(

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Phineas and Ferb: The Daze of Summer (2008)

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Speaking of shows that might be better only seeing one episode a week… here is another that just starts grating on me by the time the disc is over.  There are certainly some clever, funny moments, but not enough to keep me watching these forever.

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Crank 2: High Voltage (2009)

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The first movie was so completely different from anything I had seen before, and was great.  Now they took that and went to some insanely further extreme and killed it for me.  Stay away.

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Management (2008)

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Quirky little love story, with several fun parts, but just too hard to take any of it seriously.  Probably not supposed to, but there are so many times it seems they want you to take it that way… and I ultimately couldn’t.  Aniston is still on a roll with 2-star ratings.

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The Brothers Bloom (2008)

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Outstanding.  Likely not for everyone, which is usually the case with movies I rate higher than 3 stars.  I’m still trying to decide whether or not to add it to my collection.  Great blend of humor, eccentricity and seriousness.

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Year One (2009)

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Further proof that I’ll never have the priviledge of seeing two 4 or 5-star movies in a row.  Also further proof that society sure is getting stupid.  A few clever moments in here, but it was not worth the search.

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My Life in Ruins (2009)

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I believe this is when I finally decided to put a hold on my Netflix discs.  Along the lines of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but not even close to as fun.  Guess it was a one-hit wonder.

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The Name of the Rose (1986)

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Quite interesting movie based on a book about a Franciscan monk, along the lines of an ancient Sherlock Holmes.  Glad to finally see another decent Sean Connery film… it had been too long.

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Stargate SG-1: Children of the Gods (2009)

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No idea what I was thinking with this… I thought it was a prequel to the series, but turned out it was the pilot to the ten (?) season series.  Cool to see again, but sure was a blast from the past… back when the show really wasn’t as exciting.

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Land of the Lost (2009)

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I barely remember watching a similar show in the 80s as a kid, but never really loved it in the first place.  This was just plain silly, which is what anyone should expect these days when Will Ferrell is involved.

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Battlestar Galactica: Caprica (2009)

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This was the pilot to the new prequel series, showing the events leading up to the remake of Battlestar Galactica.  It is cool to start watching the beginning to the story, but I certainly do not find it as entertaining… at least so far.  Perhaps the full show will get better.

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Cities of the Underworld: Season 1 (2007)

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This is another fine show from the History Channel.  The first disc showed some really cool areas of Rome that we never made it to the two times we’ve been there, among several other cities.  Of course, he has access to several places tourists can’t get to, so looks like this is the only way to see them.  Can’t wait to see more.

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The Big Bang Theory: Season 2 (2008)

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Still one of the best shows to satisfy all us geeks out here.  Lost a bit of its luster this season, but still highly entertaining.  Sheldon continues to steal the show.

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The Proposal (2009)

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Ryan Reynolds continues to ruin movies for me.  There were a couple fun scenes in here, but the rest sucked the fun out of it.

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L’avventura (1960)

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Some great cinematography in this film, with not much else going on otherwise.  I guess that’s the point, but that doesn’t make it a great film in my book.

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Blood: The Last Vampire (2009)

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Cool sword-fighting here and there, but the operative word here is blood… and too much of it.  Stick to other obscure films before you touch this one.

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Lies and Illusions (2009)

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I should have known better than to try another Christian Slater film after all these years.  You should, too.

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The Restless (2006)

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This movie was far better than I had expected.  If you enjoy all these samurai and/or sword-fighting types of movies, you should definitely check it out.  I was really close to calling it a 4-star movie, but can’t quite put it in that category.

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Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2008)

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Quite a few hilarious moments, but still another film built entirely on infidelity which doesn’t end up glorifying it to some extent too often.  If you love those types of films, you should really dig this one.

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Whatever Works (2009)

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This is pretty much a way-too-long episode of Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm meets up with Lolita… or something like that.  Don’t bother, unless you happen to be one of those folks who can’t miss a single Woody Allen film.

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The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)

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Definitely superior to the 1974 original, but not enough going on to keep me overly excited.  If you enjoy Denzel or Travolta action films, it’s definitely worth checking out.

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Food, Inc. (2008)

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Some interesting stuff in this documentary on the American food system, but unfortunately, I think Al Gore ruined all future documentaries for me.

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Sabrina (1995)

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I liked this better than the 1954 original with Audrey Hepburn, though that is probably the Harrison Ford fan in me coming out.

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Aliens in the Attic (2009)

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Some fairly funny parts throughout, but too lightweight for me and a bit too scary in parts or too mature for the kids, unfortunately.  The guy the aliens take control over for the film is hilarious at first, but just plain annoying to see in every… single… scene, by the time it’s over.

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Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009)

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Pretty good animated film here on two of my favorite superheroes.  I haven’t really seen them together much, so found it fairly interesting.

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Assassination of a High School President (2008)

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For a film noir movie lover like me, this can be a complete blast.  Probably too weird for most others out there, but if you love old 40s movies, this was very cleverly put together.

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The Cheyenne Social Club (1970)

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I noticed this on someone’s favorite movies list, but had never heard of it before.  You really can’t go wrong with a Jimmy Stewart or Henry Fonda film, so seeing them together like this was a real treat.

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Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)

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This movie was far better than expected.  What a hilarious way to bring back some of those old 50′s horror B-movies’ monsters.  Seth Rogan’s BOB (the blob) was great.  Quite close to another 4-star movie for me.

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