Anybody know of any reputable imdb star meter lowering services that aren’t a scam? I’ve seen people use them and there are services out there that work just not sure which ones. Please let me know thanks

Here we are, FG, the 2000’s. Arguably my favorite decade for movies, and this tournament should be awesome. So let’s get to it!

Results of Round 1

• Ghost World (2001) (9) beat Solaris (2002) (5), and 102 Minutes that Changed America (2008) (3)

• Gladiator (2000) (10) beat Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring (2003) (9), and 24 Hour Party People (2002) (3)

• 25th Hour (2002) (9) beat Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003) (3), and Stranger Than Fiction (2006) (3)

• 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007) (7) beat Gosford Park (2001) (6), and Sugar & Spice (2001) (4)

• Gran Torino (2008) (9) beat 5 Centimeters Per Second (2007) (5), and Sunshine (2007) (5)

• Superbad (2007) (11) beat Grizzly Man (2005) (7), and 500 Days of Summer (2009) (4)

• A History of Violence (2005) (10) beat Syndromes and a Century (2006) (6), and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (2004) (5)

• High Fidelity (2000) (7) beat Synecdoche, New York (2008) (6), and A Scanner Darkly (2006) (4)

• Hot Fuzz (2007) (9) beat A Serious Man (2009) (8), and Take Care of My Cat (2001) (3)

• A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001) (11) beat Idiocracy (2006) (7), and Talk to Her (2002) (7)

• Adaptation (2002) (11) beat Hot Rod (2007) (7), and Taxidermia (2006) (2)

• Adventureland (2009) (8) beat Thank You For Smoking (2005) (7), and I'm a Cyborg (2006) (2)

• The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) (12) beat I'm Not There (2007) (4), and Alexander (Revisited) (2004) (3)

• In Bruges (2008) (11) beat The Army of Crime (2009) (3) and All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001) (3)

• Almost Famous (2000) (10) beat In The Bedroom (2001) (4), and The Cove (2009) (0)

• The Aviator (2004) (9) beat Amelie (2001) (7), and In The Loop (2009) (4)

• In the Mood for Love (2000) (11) beat The Dark Knight (2008) (10), and Amen (2002) (1)

• *American Psycho (2000) (8) beat The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2006) (6), and

Inception (2010) (6)*

• Inglorious Basterds (2009) (12) beat The Departed (2006) (10), and Anchorman (2004) (1)

• Apocalypto (2006) (10) beat Inland Empire (2006) (6), and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) (5)

• Atonement (2007) (5) beat Into the Wild (2007) (3), and The Fall (2006) (3)

• The Fountain (2006) (9) beat Iron Man (2008) (8), and Avatar (2009) (7)

• Bad Santa (2003) (10) beat The Host (2006) (9), and Juno (2007) (3)

• Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) (13) beat Before Sunset (2004) (5), and The Hours (2002) (2)

• Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) (13) beat King Kong (2005) (6), and The House of Sand and Fog (2003) (2)

• The Hurt Locker (2008) (12) beat Kingdom of Heaven (2005) (4), and Beowulf (2007) (3)

• Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) (9) beat Best in Show (2000) (8), and The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus (2009) (3)

• The Incredibles (2004) (9) beat Big Fish (2003) (5) and La Ciénaga (2001) (5)

• The Lives of Others (2006) (10) beat Borat (2006) (5), and Last Days (2005) (3)

• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) (8) beat Brokeback Mountain (2005) (6), and Let the Right One In (2008) (6)

• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) (12) beat Caché (2005) (7), and Little Otik (2000) (2)

• Lost in Translation (2003) (12) beat The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) (9), and Cast Away (2000) (4)

• Casino Royale (2006) (8) beat Love Exposure (2008) (6), and The Man Without a Past (2002) (2)

• The Pianist (2002) (10) beat Catch Me If You Can (2002) (8), and Man from Earth (2007) (1)

• Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) (12) beat The Piano Teacher (2001) (7), and Chicago (2002) (3)

• Children of Men (2006) (14) beat The Prestige (2006) (10), and Me And You And Everyone We Know (2005) (1)

• The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) (12) beat Mean Girls (2004) (5), and Chocolat (2000) (3)

• Memento (2000) (11) beat City of God (2002) (6), and The Son’s Room (2001) (1)

• Collateral (2004) (10) beat Memories of Murder (2003) (8), and The Twilight Samurai (2002) (3)

• Control (2007) (5) tied with Millennium Actress (2001) (5), and beat The Ugly Swans (2006) (3)

• Moon (2009) (10) beat Coraline (2009) (9), and The White Diamond (2004) (3)

• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) (11) beat The Wrestler (2008) (6), and Moulin Rouge (2001) (3)

• Mulholland Drive (2001) (11) beat There Will Be Blood (2007) (9), and Departures (2008) (1)

• Munich (2005) (13) beat Touching the Void (2003) (5), and Dig! (2004) (1)

• District 9 (2009) (14) beat Training Day (2001) (5), and My Winnipeg (2007) (4)

• Dodgeball (2004) (8) beat Mysterious Skin (2004) (5), and Triangle (2009) (2)

• No Country For Old Men (2007) (18) beat Dogtooth (2009) (3), and United 93 (2006) (3)

• Unbreakable (2000) (6) beat Nobody Knows (2004) (5), and Dogville (2003) (3)

• O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) (14) beat Donnie Darko (2001) (7), and Up in the Air (2009) (1)

• Doubt (2008) (8) beat Oceans Eleven (2001) (7), and Valhalla Rising (2009) (5)

• Eastern Promises (2007) (8) beat Once (2007) (5) and Waking Life (2001) (4)

• Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) (12) beat Elephant (2003) (7), and Walk Hard - The Dewey Cox Story (2007) (5)

• Primer (2004) (11) beat Walk the Line (2005) (5), and End of the Century - The Story of The Ramones (2003) (3)

• Wall-E (2008) (10) beat Punch-Drunk Love (2002) (9), and Enter the Void (2009) (4)

• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) (16) beat Requiem for a Dream (2000) (3), and Watchmen (2009) (1)

• Ratatouille (2007) (8) beat Wendy and Lucy (2008) (5), and Eureka (2000) (5)

• Road to Perdition (2002) (10) beat Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) (7), and Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) (5)

• Whale Rider (2002) (6) beat Far From Heaven (2002) (5), and Russian Ark (2002) (5)

• Sexy Beast (2000) (11) beat Where the Wild Things Are (2009) (5), and The Fast and the Furious (2001) (2)

• Wonder Boys (2000) (9) beat Finding Nemo (2003) (6), and Shadow of the Vampire (2000) (5)

• Sideways (2004) (10) beat Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001) (7), and Fish Story (2009) (1)

• Yi yi (2000) (9) beat Shaun of the Dead (2004) (7), and Fish Tank (2009) (2)

• Shattered Glass (2003) (7) beat You, the Living (2007) (2), and Freddy Got Fingered (2001) (2)

• Zodiac (2007) (13) beat Snatch (2000) (10), and Gerry (2002) (1)

Results of Round 2

• Gladiator (2000) (12) beat Ghost World (2001) (9)

• 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007) (10) beat 25th Hour (2002) (7)

• Superbad (2007) (11) beat Gran Torino (2008) (6)

• A History of Violence (2005) (10), beat High Fidelity (2000) (4)

• Hot Fuzz (2007) (13) beat A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001) (8)

• Adaptation (2002) (16) beat Adventureland (2009) (7)

• In Bruges (2008) (15) beat The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) (8)

• Almost Famous (2000) (12) beat The Aviator (2004) (5)

• In the Mood for Love (2000) (12) beat American Psycho (2000) (11)

• Inglorious Basterds (2009) (15) beat Apocalypto (2006) (11)

• The Fountain (2006) (8) beat Atonement (2007) (6)

• Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) (13) beat Bad Santa (2003) (5)

• The Hurt Locker (2008) (8) beat Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) (6)

• The Incredibles (2004) (11) beat Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) (9)

• The Lives of Others (2006) (8) beat The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) (7)

• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) (10) tied Lost in Translation (2003) (10)

• The Pianist (2002) (10) beat Casino Royale (2006) (7)

• Children of Men (2006) (10) beat Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) (9)

• Memento (2000) (11) beat The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) (10)

• Collateral (2004) (10) beat Millennium Actress (2001) (5) and Control (2007) (2)

• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) (12) beat Moon (2009) (10)

• Mulholland Drive (2001) (10) beat Munich (2005) (3)

• District 9 (2009) (13) beat Dodgeball (2004) (8)

• No Country For Old Men (2007) (23) beat Unbreakable (2000) (2)

• Doubt (2008) (8) beat O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) (6)

• Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) (10) beat Eastern Promises (2007) (7)

• Wall-E (2008) (13) beat Primer (2004) (8)

• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) (17) beat Ratatouille (2007) (5)

• Road to Perdition (2002) (11) beat Whale Rider (2002) (4)

• Sexy Beast (2000) (8) beat Wonder Boys (2000) (6)

• Sideways (2004) (10) beat Yi yi (2000) (5)

• Zodiac (2007) (9) beat Shattered Glass (2003) (4)

Results of Round 3

• Gladiator (2000) (9) tied with 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007) (9)

• Superbad (2007) (12) beat A History of Violence (2005) (9)

• Hot Fuzz (2007) (10) beat Adaptation (2002) (9)

• In Bruges (2008) (9) tied Almost Famous (2000) (9)

• In the Mood for Love (2000) (11) beat Inglorious Basterds (2009) (6)

• Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) (11) beat The Fountain (2006) (7)

• The Incredibles (2004) (9) beat The Hurt Locker (2008) (6)

• Lost in Translation (2003) (11) beat The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) (9), and The Lives of Others (2006) (3)

• The Pianist (2002) (10) beat Children of Men (2006) (9)

• Memento (2000) (13) beat Collateral (2004) (8)

• Mulholland Drive (2001) (10) beat Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) (6)

View Poll

Was very excited about this and expecting it to be one of the best of the year so I have to say I'm just a little disappointed. Saoirse is of course great and it has McQueen's usual striking direction. Some of the best cinematography you'll see all year and the bombing sequences are very well done. The problem is the script is just really flat. Most the characters outside of Saoirse (and a lot of that is due to her performance) feel like they're just people saying lines, the kid walks around and just blankly stares at people a lot. A lot of "off" subplots too, characters that don't go anywhere, a really hokey mugger character who acts like a psychopath, slapping himself in the face, playing with corpses in the rubble. Seems a bit crazy for just a thief, thought he was going to be a child molester at first.

Still great direction and a strong central performance, 7/10, it was pretty good. Nice to see Saoirse sing too.

The Untouchables. I wouldn't call it a great movie about that. I never liked it as a film, neither the music or the directorial flourishes or period setting, but Connery.

Another year, another month (well, 7 weeks) of nothing but horror movies! As with most years, there were a lot of bad movies, a bunch of okay ones, and a handful of really good/great ones. I consider it a success!

If anyone's interested in reading about my journey:

https://guywithamovieblog.blogspot.com/2024/11/2024-october-challenge.html

Did you guys see any of these or watch any interesting horror movies for October?

Hey nerds, welcome to the post Halloween stretch of the year. Hope you've got some nice media lined up to keep you cozy in these cold and rainy days

Watching: Still on the horror movie grind, will try to finish up some I didn't get around to for Halloween

Playing: Almost done Shine Megami Tensei V Vengeance which has been very fun, have a few new ones to dive into after but am kinda getting the itch to boot up the Gamecube, Luigi's Mansion is calling my name

Reading: Eros the Bittersweet by Ann Carson

Listening to: Well The Cure who have a very special place in my heart have released a new album after 16 years and I am keen to get around to that. Otherwise been really fucking with Depeche Mode recently, The Smiths and I saw Porter Robinson the other night and can't get enough of his music

You?

For me it’s the life montage in Up

Since it it shows as a part of the official lists like the Top 250, I was wondering if the Top Rated one has a badge when it's completed!

Got anything lined up or already watched? I haven’t had anything lined up other than Longlegs (have yet to see) but I’ve seen several horror movies in the past few weeks. Here’s what I’ve watched…not all horror.

Wolf Guy (1972) : Awesome schlock. (7/10)

Being Evel (2015) : Interesting doc on Evel Knievel. Guy was a total dick. (6.5/10)

Lifeforce (1987) : Absolutely bonkers movie, it’s got everything. (7/10)

Kim’s Video (2023) : Good documentary about a video collection of rare and niche films left to rot in a small Italian village and the efforts to rescue it. The film maker exaggerated some aspects (like stealing the collection back) but it’s an interesting and recommended watch for film enthusiasts. (7/10)

Count Dracula (1970) : A masterpiece of terrible direction, “ham it up” acting and Klaus Kinski. Fucking loved it. (8/10)

The Entity (1982) C^^2 Horror F/X Collection : Barbara Hershey is getting continuously raped by an unseen demon and its minions. Pretty decent horror but a couple complaints…Alex Rocco was miscast, Hershey’s body prosthetic didn’t look very convincing and the ending was kinda soft. (6.5/10)

Puppet master 3 (1991) : Maybe the best of the series so far but that ain’t sayin’ much. (6/10)

Predator : The Quietus (1988) : Ooo, baby. This is some first rate schlock…or satirical horror? I dunno anymore but it was a fun, laugh out loud 90 minutes about people looking for werewolves in N. England. Wilbur Sledge’s sauntering through the woods poetically talking to the trees was the win of the week and the home Casio synth score was to die for…and they did…by werewolf. (7/10)

…and then I watched A Breed Apart (1986) : I chased the rabbit down the 80’s schlock hole, and shit be gettin’ schlucked up. Weird movie with Rutger Hauer being especially eccentric as an endangered Eagle custodian. Incredibly awkward love scene between Hauer and Kathleen Turner was the icing on that cake. (6.5/10)

Castle of Blood (1964) : A journalists accepts a wager to spend the night in a haunted castle…how original…but instead ends up in a metaphysical goth sexually charged Italian horror ghost story soap opera. Fuck yeah! (7/10)

The Monster of the Opera (1964) : A troupe of Italian beatnik actors take over an old theatre to rehearse Cyrano but a Dracula and his reluctant familiar are lurking in the background. T’was amusingly…lame? (6.5/10)

In A Violent Nature (2024) : Basically you’re following Jason Vorhees around while he (inventively) kills unlikable twits. Long stretches of him just walking thru the woods but at no point during the runtime did I become bored. Well made and some very gruesome killings. (7/10)

I would say 1996. Even though there's no profanity, nudity, overt drug use or Tarantino violence in Romeo + Juliet, just by the intensity of the editing, the direction and performances, you know the meaning is clear enough and I think that might have been the best time for someone to get away with things.

It feels like watching a rite of passage, enabling the invigoration of the type of convicted self-reliance conducive to abandoning imposed constraints, cultivating the right mentality, embracing the unknown, exercising free will, developing an expressively personalized style while eschewing special effects and artifice, but really keeping it to the simple audience-character dynamic. Off the top of my head, Tom Hanks.

And the most fun I’ve had with an action-comedy in years. Gosling and Blunt were both perfect, and charming and had great chemistry. The action was often stupid, often awesome, and always fit the narrative.

My only real complaint about it other than maybe it’s 10-15 minutes too long, is that both Winston Duke and Stephanie Hsu, who deserve to be huge stars in their own right, are wasted in tiny supporting parts.

8/10, loved it and would happily watch it again.

The three principles (Stan, Strong, Bakalova) are all so strong here. Not sure what anyone has to complain about here, obviously the writer wasn't there so scenes are dramatized but I don't see how anyone can say any of the character traits ascribed to Trump here don't fit. If anything he looks better here than in real life, smarter, more self awareness, little twinges of regret. If I had to vote for movie Trump or real life Trump I'd take movie Trump. Making it a completely accurate depiction would have just been boring, don't need to watch a moron be a moron for two hours.