what ben watches

Year in Review: 2009

My favorite three films won’t come as a shock to anyone who follows the site or even takes a look over at my list of films viewed from the year, but it was definitely a challenge ranking the other seven. This was a year filled with great blockbuster entertainment and similarly solid smaller films that were all just good. Ask me on a different day and the order of 4-10 might be slightly different.

Continue reading... | 01/21/10 | Comment [3]

25 Films I Really Liked from the Aughts

Feel free to take these with a grain of salt – there’s a reason I haven’t called this list the best films of the decade. These are a cross-section of the films that have stayed with me, the films I keep coming back to, and the films I think will be around for years to come.

Continue reading... | 01/01/10 | Comment [1]

It's Complicated

It’s as good as you think it’s gonna be with the exact problems that you may fear it could have. It’s Complicated isn’t all that complicated, but it all goes down pretty easy, thanks to strong casting and some fun moments in the screenplay.

Grade: B-

Continue reading... | 12/31/09 | Comment

Avatar

James Cameron has delivered a flawed film that must be seen on the big screen. Spectacle wins out over story, but what a spectacle it is. Though the 3D is neat, see it in 2D if you have to choose.

Grade: B+

Continue reading... | 12/25/09 | Comment

A Single Man

Read about A Single Man at my Year in Review: 2009 article.

Grade: A-

Continue reading... | 12/17/09 | Comment

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

It’s a terrible, terrible film. Devoid of plot, interesting characters, or any other basic necessities a film needs, New Moon is successful only as a near-direct transfer of the book to the screen. As the book was a train wreck, the film is dead on arrival.

Grade: D

Continue reading... | 11/23/09 | Comment

Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire

Great acting isn’t enough to keep Precious afloat amidst misguided stylistic decisions and a screenplay that lacks the structure to really move an audience through Precious’s journey.

Grade: C

Continue reading... | 11/05/09 | Comment

Coraline

Read about Coraline at my Year in Review: 2009 article.

Read about Coraline at my 25 Films I Really Liked From The Aughts article.

Grade: A

Continue reading... | 10/31/09 | Comment

Where the Wild Things Are

In many ways, there’s nothing more insufferable than a film that wants desperately to be loved.

Grade: C

Continue reading... | 10/31/09 | Comment

Jennifer's Body

The critical establishment is out to get Megan Fox and Diablo Cody, which is a shame, because Jennifer’s Body, though uneven and far from perfect, is a perfectly enjoyable and hilarious horror/comedy hybrid. Emphasis on comedy, though, regardless of what the advertising would lead you to believe.