Match Point — 88%

Not at all what I expected. Interesting on a number of levels. Of most interest to Mister Ginger, the pride of place given to luck, and the theological and philosophical questions that raises. I’d love to moderate a viewing and discussion on Match Point. Highly recommended.

Benchwarmers — 25%

Mister Ginger's advice: never make the first draft into a movie. If this was not the first draft, then WOW, the first draft must have really sucked.

Even though I’ve rated this movie poorly, it’s probably worth watching to see Reggie Jackson destroy mailboxes. Also, I’ll admit there’s a good-hearted idea in the movie, it’s just buried beneath several layers of suck.

Kind of a Movie Watching Spleen Vent

Josh Levin, Slate.com’s sports nut (associate editor), hates the Garden State, Scrubs, and now Last Kiss guy:

“If Zach Braff is the voice of my generation, can't someone please crush his larynx? . . . Never has the voice of a generation had so little of substance to say.”

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby — 70%

I don’t think it’s quite as good as Anchorman (it has a few more lulls that last a little bit longer), but I do think it’s going to get funnier with repeated viewings. Highly quotable, although not as much as, well, another movie I could name.

Ricky Bobby: I've sent in my application to the Real World. So I'm hoping to hear back from that. I'm putting A LOT of my eggs into that basket, the MTV basket.

Ali — 50%

I really expected to like this movie, but was quite disappointed. It lived up to my expectations regarding stylized shots, and it had a great cast. But the story was told in such a fragmented way that you really had to have a prior grasp of the events in order to make any sense of it. I don’t think I need to be spoon fed, but I need a few more context clues and a tad more continuity.

Syriana — 80%

I heard that this movie was terribly confusing, but I found it quite follow-able. I’m hoping to see it again. A tad nihilistic, though. And worst manicure ever!

A History of Violence — 35%

Watching the extra features it’s clear that we are supposed to think that A History of Violence an important cinematic statement. Unfortunately, watching the movie all I could think was, “this is a total piece of crap.” Judging from metacritic.com, I’m the only one, though. Maybe it needs a second viewing.

The Final Cut — 65%

Interesting concept, but I’m not sure it plays out as well as it could. Perhaps if the writer and director weren’t the same person one of them would have corrected the flaws of the other. Also, it would have helped if they had spent more that $5 on Jim Caviezel’s beard.

What choices have you made based on a strong childhood memory? How do we know things really happened exactly the way we remember them?

The Manchurian Candidate — 50%

Great job by Denzel Washington, but Liev Schreiber and Meryl Streep are way too creepy. I still want to see the original, which I suspect is considerably better (come on, it has Sinatra!).

THX 1138 — 90%

George Lucas’ student film, extended to feature length. Way ahead of its time. You should see it. View the trailer here.

50 First Dates — 83%

Unconditional love isn’t what I expect to find in an Adam Sandler flick. But there’s plenty of what I do expect — Wyclef Jean redoing tunes from the 80s. And pot jokes.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind — 95%

A favorite. I watched it three or four times in a week (I moderated a couple of different discussion groups on it), and it’s tight. More enjoyable each time. And it raises important questions of memory and identity -- bonus!

The Corpse Bride — 87%

I don’t usually like movies where there is spontaneous singing and dancing, but somehow it works for me when it’s stop motion. Plus Tim Burton’s aesthetic is pleasingly unique.

A Beautiful Mind — 85%

While I like this movie I do wonder if Crowe’s performance here and in Cinderella Man can simply be interchanged. Maybe they’re just simular. I also wonder how it would have looked with a different director, say Michael Mann. I suppose that's a game that can be played all day, though.

Impostor — 5%

It’s awful. Apparently they originally made a 15 minute short and somehow got funding for another 80 minutes of film, which they managed to use up without adding a single interesting element. If they’d stopped at 15 minutes I could have given it a 25 or 30%.

Cheese Whiz!

I’ve fallen behind again. Here’s another list (and, no, I haven’t forgotten about the last list, I’ll get to it I promise).

The Office (the British version, both series and the Christmas special)
End of the Spear and Beyond the Gates of Splendor
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
The Office (the American version, season 1)
Arrested Development (season 3)
Seinfield (season 4)
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
RV
Bridezillas

I currently have, but have not yet watched:
Ali
Born into Brothels
The Chronicles of Narnia

No, Talladega Nights isn’t out on DVD yet. We splurged on a rare trip to the theater.

While I mentioned in my list several TV shows I’ve watched on DVD, I’ve never reviewed TV shows here. What say ye? Does anyone care what Mr. Ginger has to say about TV on DVD?

Thanks for stopping by. More soon. I mean it.