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Gray Watson Movie Reviews

I've been meaning to do this for some time. The plan is to score all of the movies that I see and have seen. I would describe myself as not your typical male. I like action movies but also enjoy a good love story. I get easily frustrated by consistency failures and unnecessary Hollywood stunts. I love the big screen and feel strongly that some movies must be seen there instead of on the box at home. Movies need to surround your senses and envelop you.

I've added in some ratings for movies that I've seen in the past. I tend to only remember the ones I loved but if I come across one on cable I'll throw it up here.

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9
Seen
Date
Title Score
1-10
Description
20030329 About Schmitt 7 Very funny and quirky movie. Nicholson is fabulous as this lost and on edge guy. You never know what he is going to do or say. Highly entertaining.
20030219 Adaptation 5 Entertaining but it got very strange in the middle. Good acting from Chris Cooper, Meryl Streep, and Nicolas Cage however.
20030302 Affair to Remember, An 6 Another classic love story which Ro and I are going through with Netflix. Some of them don't work but we really enjoyed this one. I really like Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr is great. Most humans, if they surf cable will have seen at least parts of this movie but it bears a full viewing.
  Amélie 8 Quirky, very fun movie. In French with subtitles. Ro and I loved it. Saw it twice. Lots of laughs and fabulous characters. Very entertaining.
  Aliens 10 Probably my favorite sci-fi movie of all time. Perfect sequel consistency from Alien although different directors. Excellent action. Very entertaining. Sigourney Weaver is perfect. Cool technology. Some realism lost at the end in the airlock scene but otherwise fabulous.
  American Beauty 8 I loved this movie. The fabulous characters and plot combined with the messages hit home. Kevin Spacy and Annette Bening are great here.
19980224 Armageddon 2 Ugh. What a piece of Hollywood crap. Stupid continuity failures and a general lack of realism throughout. They launch two shuttle crafts to intercept the asteroid at the same time. Oh yeah. Great idea. More a music video than anything else. Deep Impact was a much better version of the same story.
20030312 Black Hawk Down 8 Very, very powerful movie. I actually saw it while giving platelets at the Red Cross. I'm very disappointed that I missed it in the theater. I think it should be required viewing to all politicians who want to send our soldiers into combat. Intense. Ro and I rented it from Netflix specifically to prepare for the street fighting that I thought was coming in Gulf War II.
  Blade Runner 9 Excellent sci-fi cult film. Extremely stylized and futuristic. One of those flicks they should show on the big screen every year in some theater. Harrison Ford is perfect in the roll.
20031110 Body Heat 5 Not a bad flick. Better than I expected. I'm not a Kathleen fan but she is good in this role. A Netflix rent with Ro and I.
20020901 Bourne Identity 8 Enjoyed this one immensely. Saw twice. Ro enjoyed it as well. One of the best car chase sequences I've ever seen. No big explosions or airborne vehicles, just excellent driving. Good realism, well developed characters.
  Brazil 9 One of my all time favorites. Very dark and both futuristic and historic. What a bizarre world. Great story and fabulous characters. I love Robert De Niro as the renegade plummer.
  Breaker Maurant 8 I don't remember this movie very well since I saw it long ago. It's been on my best movie list for some time. I remember it to be extremely powerful.
  Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 8 Another classic from Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Very entertaining. They really work well together.
20030105 Catch Me If You Can 8 Very entertaining. A number of laugh out loud scenes. Saw it twice. Hanks and DiCaprio are both excellent. The stewardesses in the terminal scene toward the end was fabulous.
  Contact 9 Excellent movie. One of my all time favorites. Jodie was superb. Interesting characters. Fascinating story although I just could not get into the book. Need to rent it again.
  Daredevil 4 Very mediocre movie. Typical Hollywood crap. Just underscores how good Spiderman really is. I like Ben Affleck but recently he seems to be a bit full of himself which shows on screen.
19980228 Deep Impact 8 Excellent movie. Saw it on the plane coming back from a conference in Australia. Of the two asteroid flicks this season, this one actually has a plot, character and story development, and is believable. Well done.
  Die Hard 8 Great movie. Bruce Willis is perfect in this role. Tons of action. Wish I'd seen it in the theater. 100% action. Extremely entertaining. I'll always watch a bit of this on cable.
  Fight Club 9 Great movie! Just awesome. Did not see the plot twist coming AT ALL. If you are renting, watch for the Tyler flashes. It is bloody but that's not the main focus of the movie interestingly enough. Ed Norton and Brad Pitt are excellent. Very well done.
  Fifth Element, The 8 I really enjoy this movie and will watch whenever I stumbled across it on cable. Bruce Willis is good in the roll. The futuristic locations are flawless. The NYC scenes are wonderful. Although Milla Jovovich seems like a real dink in real life, she's great in this role. Gary Oldman as the evil Zorg is typically good.
  Four Weddings and a Funeral 8 Very funny British movie about a collection of friends and their relationships. Hugh Grant is excellent. Extremely entertaining.
  Ghostbusters 7 At the time it was the funniest movie I'd ever seen. Very well done with a great premise, very funny acting, and great FX. I, for some ridiculous reason, sent my folks to see this movie and when asked about it later my mom said "I didn't like those people laughing at that man with no penis". Took me a couple of seconds to remember the classic dickless joke. Oh well. Still funny.
  Good Thief, The 7 I enjoyed this movie. Good performances from Nick Nolte and others. Interesting plot. Pretty girl. Beautiful vistas. Very entertaining.
  Goodfellas 7 One of the most disturbing movies I've ever seen. The movie draws you into these characters so you feel for them and align with them. Then the violence starts. I remember being completely horrified when a friend said that she saw it twice.
  Grand Canyon 8 I really enjoyed this movie. Interweaving the various plot lines and showing the disparities between the classes is very well done. Although the message is a bit heavy I thought it reasonably apt and well presented. Great music.
  Groundhog Day 7 Great movie! Still love to watch it on cable. Great time travel movie with few inconsistencies. Bill Murray is excellent.
  Hang 'Em High 7 Great movie. Clint at his best. Sometimes a bit over the top but still very entertaining.
  Hanna and Her Sisters 7 Very good Woody Allen movie. Michael Cain is great here. Very funny and very typical Woody.
  Hours, The 6 Good movie. Very gripping. The way the 3 stories of women from different times are woven together is fabulous. Nicole Kidman won the Oscar for the role. Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep were also great. Ro and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
  In the Line of Fire 6 Another good Clint flick. Malkovich is awesome in the bad guy roll. Chilling. Great action scenes as it builds to the conclusion.
20041120 Incredibles, The 7 Great movie. Saw it with my 5 year old. Some scary parts hence the PG rating. But so well done. Excellent character development. Fabulous action, scenery, rendering. Everything I've come to expect from Pixar.
20030710 Italian Job, The 6 Pretty good action movie. Good chase sequences, not over the top, and no stupid love story crap to screw it up. Wahlberg, Norton, and Theron were all good.
  Kill Bill 1 8 Excellent action movie. Very stylized. Not quite Pulp Fiction but another good one from Tarantino. Uma is awesome.
20040426 Kill Bill 2 7 Good action movie although not as good as #1. Uma is awesome again though and the sound and cinematography are fabulous.
  L.A. Confidential 9 What a movie. It's got everything. Action, love, plot, characters, shoot out scenes, suspense. Long, hot, and extremely entertaining. Kevin Spacey and Russell Crowe are fabulous. I'm not sure if Kim Basinger should have gotten the Oscar but she was stunning.
  Little Mermaid, The 7 I still enjoy watching this great Disney movie. Maybe the last one that I really enjoyed. Disney has since entered my most-hated-company list. The copyright extensions they've pushed through Congress and other atrocities are just the start. Most Disney films are also very violent and inappropriate for most kids. Their recipe includes death and physical conflict to such a degree that it's not coincidence. Just say no!
  Lord of the Rings 7 Good flick. Very well done version of the book. Missed it in the theater otherwise I might have given it a higher rating.
  Lord of the Rings, Return of the King 9 Amazing movie. I feel they will go down in history amoung the greats. Amazing scenes, beautifully done, incredible battle sequences. There were two times that I was reminded that I was watching a movie otherwise I was captivated. Deserved the oscars for sure.
  Lord of the Rings, Two Towers 8 Very entertaining. Great action scenes. Incredible cinematography. Golum is very well done although the scene where he is talking to himself is right from Spiderman.
  Lord of the Rings, Return of the King 9 Extremely well done. Again, incredible action scenes and cinematography. The battle scenes are amazing. Jackson really takes the time to drill down into the story. I find it hard to believe that this is not going to go down as an epic set of movies. I can see students studying them in 100 years.
10/4/2003 Lost in Translation 8 Extremely entertaining film. Bill Murray plays it perfectly. His humor is never over the top but still very funny. Scarlett Johansson is fabulous and super cute. There are a number of scenes with incredibly subtle touches. The ending is superb. Saw it twice.
  Matrix, The 8 Excellent action flick. Great sci-fi story and visual effects. Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, and Carrie-Anne Moss are great. Looking forward to the sequels.
7/10/2003; Matrix Reloaded, The 7 Good action flick. It would be hard to compete with the first one of the genre. Loved the car scenes on the highway, thought the cavern dance scenes were unnecessary.
  Monster's Ball 8 Excellent movie. Halle is, of course, stunning. Very well acted. Halle and Billy Bob work well together as you watch him come to grips with himself.
  Monsters Inc. 8 Great kids movie from Pixar. Very impressive CG. The hillside scene when Scully lands in the snow is incredible. Very entertaining for all. My 3 year old loves it.
  Notting Hill 9 Ok. I'm not sure why I like this movie so much. I like Hugh Grant and I usually only put up with Julia Roberts. But they click in this movie. I went through a period of watching this movie every other night. Yes, I need therapy.
20030408 Old School 7 Chris and I really enjoyed this movie. A number of laugh out loud scenes. Will Ferrell is excellent. It is probably not a good date movie and your expectations should not be high but you will be entertained.
20030415 Phone Booth, The 6 I enjoyed this movie. It was well done and well acted. Colin Farrell did a good job as the man with the target. Entertaining.
20030221 Pianist, The 9 Very, very powerful movie. Intense. The scenary and period pieces were perfect to my eye. Adrien Brody is incredible and won the Oscar for the roll. The way is body changes as he goes from a successful local celebrity to a starved, haunted man in hiding is astounding. There is one scene which I wondered if his hands were CG or animatronics because they were so very gaunt. Polanski got the Oscar for directing. It should have beaten Chicago for the best picture Oscar.
  Professional, The 9 Great action movie. Fabulous fight scenes. Wild ride. Natalie Portman is amazing in her first movie at the age of 13. Jean Reno and Gary Oldman also fabulous. I will always watch this if I see it on cable.
  Predator 8 Another great action movie from Arnold. Great premise, good execution. Excellent cast of renegades. The others in the series were ok but not stellar.
  Pulp Fiction 9 Excellent movie. Violent at times but highly stylized and very exciting. With the scene when Bruce Willis is leaving the pawn shop and stops, I've never heard an audience so engaged in a film so you hear murmurs of agreement and support. What a ride! First movie that I went to see by myself. After it became popular and I saw it again, it was easy to find friends who wanted to see it.
20021102 Punch Drunk Love 4 Interesting movie but not very entertaining. I'm surprised given that I like Adam Sandler and Emily Watson. Chris tried to warn me about it. Not your normal Adam Sandler movie for sure.
  Razor's Edge 8 I really like this movie. It is Bill Murray in one of those non-Bill Murray rolls. I hear the book is good too. Set during and after WWI. Very extertaining with some good messages.
  Rear Window 8 Fabulous Hichcock flick. Jimmy Stewart is great and Grace Kelly is stunning as always. Great intensity and suspense. Horror and fright without seeing any blood. Shows what a good director can do.
  Robocop 7 I LIKE IT! Great summer sleeper hit in 1987. I'll still watch it if it comes on cable.
20021217 Saving Private Ryan 10 Not a feelgood movie but just absolutely incredible. I saw it in the theater because I felt it was my duty to get a feeling about what war and especially D-Day were like -- or at least in approximation. Almost overwhelming on the big screen. Tom Hanks and Matt Damon were great. Watch it then watch the "Longest Day" for a laugh.
20031120 Sense and Sensibility 7 I enjoyed this movie. I really like Emma Thompson and I thought that Kate Winslet was great in this role.
20030115 Serendipity 5 Cute movie. John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale make a cute couple. Predictable but still entertaining.
  Seven 8 Brutal, intense movie. Never stops. Highly entertaining. Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman are fabulous. Need to rent this.
  Shawshank Redemption, The 10 Awesome movie. Intense and extremely entertaining. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman are fabulous. Always worth watching on cable.
  Shrek 8 Another great kids movie from Pixar. Fabulous story and CG. My 2 year old loves this movie and can't stop sinking "Hey now you're an all star...". Fabulous twists on the standard knight and princess stories.
20041204 Sideways 8 Really excellent flick. Really well done. Fabulous acting. Very funny. Definitely the sleeper hit for the fall of 2004.
  Spiderman 9 Really great movie. Well developed characters. Toby Maguire is perfect for the roll. The romance with Kirsten Dunst works. Willem Dafoe should get an Oscar nod for the schizophrenic scene in the office. What a ride!
20030401 Spirited Away 8 Excellent animated movie. Great story which wraps around you quickly. I'd love to know what was done on computer versus by hand. There are scenes that might be scary for kids ~6 and under but other than that, it would fun for the entire family.
20021217 Star Trek: Nemesis 5 Not a bad Star Trek movie. Typical bullshit like sending the captain over to the enemy ship when an assault team might be (uh) better. But still entertaining with some cool space battle scenes.
  Star Wars 9 Ahh, the old favorite. Saw it 8 or 9 (sic) times in the theater. What an odyssey. Doesn't stand up well to the newest sci-fi hits, but at the time was the best sci-fi ever.
  Sting, The 10 One of my all time favorites. My family used to see it yearly at this tiny theater in Pittsburgh. Redford and Newman are fabulous. Perfect period piece. Excellent suspense.
  Terminator, The 7 The start of the Arnold franchise. Pretty good movie still. I think I liked #2 more because they followed it well. Always impressive when they pull off a decent time circular story line.
  Terminator 2 8 Better than the first one. I didn't bother seeing the 3rd however. Excellent FX and good action and plot. Linda Hamilton is looking ripped in this film for sure!
  Toy Story 8 Great kids movie. One of the best. Pixars first full length I believe. My 2-3 year old and I continuously love to watch it. Lots of humor for adults. Very well done.
  Toy Story 2 7 Another great kids movie. Tim, at 3, has just gotten over being a bit scared of the evil Emperor Zurg, but he has always loved it. Live Toy Story (#1) loads of humor for adults. Very well done. I saw this in the theater one afternoon when we were sent home from work because of a bomb scare.
20040320 Traffic 6 Pretty good movie. Very engrossing. An interesting look at various sides of the drug trade. Ro and I enjoyed Netflixing it.
20021029 Transporter 2 Dumb movie. Typical Hollywood crap. The first half of the movie was pretty good albeit typical but the last third was just ridiculous.
20021203 Truth About Charlie, The 4 I was surprised that I didn't like this more. I like Mark Wahlberg and the romance between him and Thandie Newton does work. She is so very naive however and I kept waiting for her to snap out of it. Somewhat entertaining and probably worth a viewing on cable.
  Truman Show, The 7 I really liked this movie and saw it again courtesy of Netflix. Creat concept, good execution, very entertaining. Jim Carrey is good although I hear he was restrained by the director which I'm sure was required.
  Twelve Monkeys 9 One of my all-time favorites. Another great movie with Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt. Great plot. Madeleine Stowe is incredible. Wild ride. Great sci-fi.
  Unforgiven 8 Great movie. Clint is awesome. Depressing but very realistic seeming.
  Usual Suspects, The 8 Intense movie with a cult following. Highly suspenseful. Kevin Spacy is awesome. Never saw it coming.
  Wedding Crashers 7 Very funny movie. Vince Vaughn is hilarious. Great story and delivery with Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams working well together.
  Wedding Singer, The 7 Funny movie. I've seen it a number of times and would watch it if I found it on cable again. Sandler is funny, the romance with Drew Barrymore works, the 1980s period is perfectly represented. Very entertaining.
  Where Eagles Dare 9 One of my all-time favorites. Excellent spy/action flick sent in Germany during WWII. Definitely a score one for the good guys type of movie with great action sequences.
  Working Girl 8 Another favorite which I will watch when I stumble on it on HBO. Harrison Ford and Melanie Griffith are great and their romance works well. Sigourney Weaver had a lot of fun playing a great bitch.
  Young Frankenstein 7 Very funny movie. Mel Brooks as his best. Gene Wilder is fabulous.
20030124 25th Hour 7 Excellent movie. Ed Norton is fabulous. Great cast. Very exciting/intense. Spike Lee's best movie that I've seen.

Score Explanation: Higher is better. 1 is awful and 10 is just about perfect.

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