Let me just preface this by saying that I like things on an emotional level, as in I don't really care about why I like something. If I like it, I just do. So please excuse some of these pithy explanations.
Moon comes in at number one. Between the score and Sam rockwell's performance, it's just, oh, I can't even describe how much I love it. It was my introduction to Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey (even if it's only his voice) and my goodness, I could not have gotten a better movie to put those guys on good terms with me. It's a beautiful throwback/homage/whatever of the old philosophical sci-fi genre like 2001, the kind that uses space simply as a setting in order to ask some interesting questions. I just love all of it.
Zodiac I'd only seen three of David Fincher's movies (Fight Club, Zodiac, and Social Network) and if what little I've seen is any indication, that man can direct! But as for Zodiac by itself, it really is a murder/mystery that sets itself apart from other murder/mysteries. Maybe it's the way they portray the killer, they do have three different actor playing Zodiac at three different times, I don't know, maybe someone can nail it down for me. Anyway. It's pulling a pretty killer cast too. Robert Downey Jr., Jake Gyllenhaal, and Mark Ruffalo are the only names I can really remember but, hey, that's a pretty kicker list. Not to mention this movie introduced me to the song Hurdy Gurdy Man, which I now love.
Pacific Rim I'll be here all day screaming in CapsLock if I go on about how awesome I think this movie is and I'm pretty sure most of you don't need that so moving on... CRIMSON TYPHOON BUZZSAW HANDS!!!!
Ahem
The Perfect Host I haven't seen a whole lot of psychological thrillers, but The Perfect Host is definitely my favorite. You know that creepy factor of having the bad guy do something horrid and you get all shocked but the bad guy's having fun with it? It pulls that but you actually have fun with it too. Half because the bad guy (played by a fantastic David Hyde Pierce) isn't doing stuff that's *that* awful, and half because, well, dinner parties are fun. And I'm using the term "bad guy" when that really doesn't fit in the context of the movie. I won't give away anything, but the two leads are both bad guys and for some reason, I didn't want to see either one go down. It's sort of a love it or hate it movie on the internet, but I, and everybody I've shown it to personally loved it. And it really is a shame that Mr. Hyde Pierce hasn't seen a lot of work since that movie, the dude's got some serious talent.
And to end this ginourmous post
Bunraku Filled with a bunch of actors whose names I can't remember outside of Ron Perlman and Woody Harrelson, this movie is like a stage-play that just happened to be filmed. I say "like" because I'm aware that filmed stage-plays do exist but this is not that. Anyway. The sets look so cardboard, the acting is overdramatic, the lighting is so un-subtle but that's really the point here. The movie's so colorful and... what I'll call darkly-vibrant. I swear, the lighting and set-building departments for this movie either never want to work for this director again or will never work for anyone else. It's a one-off movie, I won't lie, but it's one heck of a one-off. But if you love it enough, you'll watch it multiple times, as with any movie you love enough. And it's got one of my favorite movie quotes of all time:
Honorable men, well, they die hard, but they still die. - Ron Perlman
Maybe not the deepest quote of all time but Perlman's delivery makes it SO GOOD!
Hoo!
Goodness that is a lot of text.
Guess I liked these movies more than I thought.
