Ok.. ok.. I have to be honest with you. I did start watching a lot of really bad movies and I just didn't have the stamina to finish them.. which is why they're not on the list.
So, here's my list of movies you HAVE to watch when you have the time (or when you're procrastinating - I'm all for that - We NEED that last-minute-deadline-pressure).
You will notice, that some of the movies are featuring the same actors and might have a certain indie style to them. Sure, that's a matter of taste and I'd be happy to receive your comments on my humble critiques.
**** “Heartless” (2009) with Jim Sturgess - Faustian story - great soundtrack - little bit of horror - but mainly good drama
*** “Crossing Over” (2009) independent drama about US immigrants feat. Harrisson Ford, Jim Sturgess, Ashley Judd - nicely done but hate the morality in the plot - tries to teach you a lesson - and of course the US is portrayed as this very reasonable country, which makes mistakes sometimes but it’s for their own good - doesn’t really follow up with what happens to people after they’ve been deported
***** “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” (2010) with the guy from superbad- nice transformation of a comic with a more or less boring story - the acting of main character carries the movie- fun to watch- beautiful cinematography
**** “Fifty Dead Men Walking" (2008) real story about IRA tout who is on the run until today, played by one of my fav’s Jim Sturgess - language kinda hard to understand - but love the rough portrayal of Irish working class in the 80ies - love the cinematography
***** “21” (2008) again my favourite actor right now, Jim Sturgess in a lead role - not a boring action movie - instead a story well told
*****“Easy A” (2010)- even if set in high school, interesting plot and fast paced and cynic dialogues - witty - exactly what I like
****“Hard Candy” (2005) Ellen Page, one of my personal favourites - interesting cinematography - no medium shots, all wides and close-ups - disturbing plot, yet very capturing acting
***“Smart people” (2008) I underestimated Dennis Quaid, who actually turned out to be a good actor, loved the dark cynic dialogues and the establishment of characters
***“Peacock” (2010) - again with Ellen Page, my new actress heroine - psychological thriller that makes you wonder, what kind of people there are in the world. great for people who are interested in psychology
*****“Whip it” (2009) - Ellen Page- so much fun to watch - great slice of subculture - completely underestimated
*** “Passengers” (2008) - Ann Hathaway and Patrick Wilson - it’s a bit foreseeable but yet nicely done
***** “Monsters” (2010) Five stars for this scifi movie - when I read the plot, and stumbled upon the word “aliens”, I wasn’t really excited about this movie- but the cinematography and acting is great- actors aren’t that well known- atmosphere of the movie is similar to “Sin Nombre” - yes, the aliens look like big octopus but they’re kinda cute
*** “Despicable Me” (2010) - very cute and funny, loved it- again a great animation with lovable heroes (yes, Vector is funny, too) - gotta love Steve Carell
**** “Salt” (2010) - very entertaining- full of action and of course a gorgeous Angelina Jolie - one of my favorite German actors, August Diehl
**** “Moon” (2009) - pretty awesome sci-fi indie movie - completely carried by Sam Rockwell- Nicely done, Mr. Rockwell!
***** “The Trosky” (2010) - very funny if you know a little bit about Trotsky (don’t worry, they don’t tell the story up to his death) - a teenager thinks, he’s Leon Trotsky’s reincarnation and relives the stages of Trosky’s life with a lot of self confidence and a great portion of humor
**** Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (2008) - I just gotta admit, I might have had a little thing for Michael Cera since “Superbad” and “Juno” - this is a beautifully innocent and funny movie for all indie music lovers who have lived through teenage insecurity. AND this movie is funny!,
