01-04-2006

Best: Million Dollar Baby. Maybe it isn't the second best movie I've ever seen, but it's the second best this year. I remember sitting in that theater completely wrapped up in this. Schopenhauer might be a bit of a downer from time to time, but his whole philosophy of aesthetics is pretty much the only thing that actually struck a chord with me at UAB. Million Dollar Baby had that effect on me, it totally lifted me from my own life and for a little over two hours there was nothing else but what was going on on the screen. Eastwood is one of my favorite actors/directors and has made some damn good pictures, but I doubt he could ever top this one.

Favorite: Beat the Devil. The weirdest old movie I've ever seen. Imagine if Wes Anderson were making movies in the 50s, and you might come up with something like this.

Worst: Hard Promises. Awful, awful, awful. Has the same problem as Haiku Tunnel in that the characters are so repulsive that you can't even stand to watch it. There isn't a single redeeming quality to be found among any of them, so how are you supposed to sit and care about what happens? If a meteor were to hit that town and kill everyone in it the world would be a better place.

- I think I'll go with deliciously evil.