Tuesday to end 2009

Alright, the last movie post of 2009. Meaning the book is closed on movie viewings for this year and the top 10 list can be made!

THE VISITOR (2007)

The OCD movie viewing process begins, as I make an attempt to watch a critic's complete top 10 list from 2008, with Metacritic as my source. It was really fun to do that last year, as I watched some movies (like Joshua and Exiled) that were really under the radar and were interesting.

BUT, The Visitor fits into a category of 'performance' movies that kind of bother me. Richard Jenkins was nominated for an Oscar for his lead role here, which was kind of unique since he isn't really well known, but has had character actor parts over the years that make his presence ubiquitous. (In Burn After Reading he was the quiet manager of the Hard Bodies gym). But as absolutely great a performance could be, it doesn't mean a whole lot if everything surrounding that character, including the plot and other people and dialogue, is mediocre to bland. This didn't gel for me, in the same way that performance movies like As Good As It Gets and Hotel Rwanda disappoint.

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM (2007)

Heart-pounding, suspensful, and awesome, but the only shortcoming is completely my fault. Ever since I started playing high quality cinematic video games on my PS3, I get distracted when I watch action movies... because (this is so pathetic) I miss the interactivity of the gaming experience! So when there was this roof top chase scene that was such a great action piece, I started recalling a recent game I picked up where you're chased over the rooftops of an ancient Middle Eastern City! Only a slight problem, but still it took me out of the movie. As easily distracted as I am, it's something worth mentioning.