Every year I say the same thing: I must try to review more of the movies and books I’ve seen, preferably right after I’ve actually seen them. And for the past two years I’ve ended up with a long list of all the stuff I hadn’t had the time to review. So for the next couple of days I’ll be doing a couple of posts with all the “left overs” I’ve got: short mini reviews about the movies and books I’ve seen/read in 2009.

I’m not even going to try to promise that 2010 will be any different. Instead, I think I’ll make these mini reviews a more regular thing and try to do one once every two months or so. I’ll still be doing reviews for the main movies and books I’ve read, but the smaller stuff (like things I watched on TV a full 2 years after the movie originally came out) will be just done in these mini reviews.

So here’s part 1 of the things I’ve watched in 2009:

Up

I don’t think I can say much about this movie that hasn’t been said yet. It’s a brilliant tale and if you haven’t seen it yet, do yourself a favour and watch it. It isn’t my personal favourite Pixar movie (that still remains Wall-E), but it’s got some great moments in it and everyone I know who’s seen it loves this movie!

Rachel Getting Married

I saw this movie around Oscar season trying to watch most of the movies that were nominated (in some way or another). This has to be one of most boring movies I saw this year. Yes, Anne Hathaway is good in it, and there’s tons of drama and tension, but really not the type of movie I enjoy watching.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Loved this movie, but I have to admit it has it’s problems. Visually it’s stunning (think the old drawings of Monty Python in CGI), but the plot doesn’t make much sense and I completely lost track of what happened in the last quarter of an hour. I know it could have been so much greater if Heath Ledger was still alive, but as it is, the story kind of falls apart.

FAQ About Time Travel

Brilliant little movie about 3 guys who get stuck in a time loop in a pub. It’s been described as a Shaun of the Dead type movie but about time travel, and it does kind of fit into that description. I had never heard about it before watching it and it pleasantly surprised. Plus it’s one of those movies that does require a 2nd viewing to completely appreciate it.

Law Abiding Citizen

The difficulty with this movie was that you weren’t really sure who you were supposed to be rooting for. Gerard Butler is kind of billed as the main character, but to call him the protagonist… no, not really. After a plea bargain sets one of his family’s killers free, Butler decides to take justice into his own hands. It edges on the border of being a smart, intelligent movie, but in the end fails to deliver.

Madagascar 2: Escape To Africa

Cute, easy sequel to the first animation. Nothing really special, but still an enjoyable movie.

Trick ‘r Treat

I first heard about this movie in 2007, but because of some trouble with the studio it didn’t get released properly until this year. It’s an anthology of 4 Halloween stories, all happening on the same Halloween night. I didn’t like all of the stories, but it works well together. I think my favourite was the one about Anna Paquin, who together with her friends has dressed up as sexy fairy tale princesses to pick up boys.

The Reader

The second Oscar-y movie in this list and one that I hadn’t expected to like. The movie is about Michael Berg, a German lawyer who as a teenager in the late 1950s had an affair with an older woman, Hanna Schmitz, who then disappeared only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial stemming from her actions as a guard at a Nazi concentration camp in the later years of World War II. Kate Winslet is great as Hanna Schmitz and her Oscar win is completely deserved.

The Oxford Murders

Another movie of which I had seen the trailer ages ago and then just never heard anything about. I loved the movie for its mathematic references and discussions and I really think I should read the book. Better than most movies in this genre without the assumption that the viewer is a complete idiot (which annoys me with a lot of movies).

Stranger Than Fiction

From all the films on this list, Stranger Than Fiction is a typical “me” movie; it’s a bit quirky, bordering the line of comedy and drama with an unusual. Will Ferrell plays Harold Crick, a slightly OCD tax auditor, who one day suddenly hears a voice narrating his life. It’s an unusual movie with that touch of fantasy and whimsicality while still remaining quite serious.

Happy New Year, dear readers!

May you all have a fantastic 2010!

Episode 155: “It’s love, not Santa Claus”

1 Year, 342 Movies:

I’ve blogged about one of these type of bookcases before, and I still love the idea of a bit of personal space within the shelves where you can curl up and read you book. Also, loving the little coffee mug shelf!

Via The Blog on the Bookshelf

My discovery of 2009 was Lush and their wonderful products. I’m so addicted to their stuff now! So I’ve decided to give a couple of their products away to one reader!

Now I know not everyone likes the same stuff, so my question to you dear readers is: What type of scents do you like? I love honey, jasmine and strawberries, so Lush products like Flying Fox and American Cream are my faves. To enter leave a comment behind with your favourites scents, and I’ll try to put a nice sample of Lush products together for the winner based on what you like. Also let me know if you have a bath or not! You’ve got until January 1st 18:00 to enter. Btw, if you re-tweet you get an extra entry!

Anybody is free to enter, but there shouldn’t be any weird delivery costs or restrictions (like I have to be able to ship liquids etc to your country).

Episode 154: “On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me”

The Muppets perform on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon:

And then there was this Muppet video a couple of weeks ago which I hadn’t shared with you yet:

I received a pair of World of Warcraft books a couple of weeks ago that I knew would be a prefect Christmas giveaway!

The first book is a World of Warcraft Master Guide (from Brady Games) with tons of tips, useful lists and maps.

The second book is an Atlas with hand-drawn maps of regions, dungeons and towns.

To enter, leave a comment behind answering the following: How did you get into gaming? You’ve got until 1st January 2010 18:00 to enter. Btw, if you re-tweet you get an extra entry!

Anybody is free to enter, as long as there are no weird delivery costs or restrictions.

Have a Merry Christmas, everybody! Thanks for coming by and reading Miss Geeky the past year. Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Kick-Ass: I already showed you one trailer, but a new red band one has just been released focusing on Hit Girl. Wow, this movie looks even more awesome than I thought. It’s got that Kill Bill/Wanted vibe going (although leaning more to Wanted) and looks, well, kickass! Release Date: 2nd April 2010 (UK), 16 April 2010 (US)

The Karate Kid: Set in an exotic Asian locale, the new film will borrow elements of the original plot, wherein a bullied youth (Jaden Smith) learns to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor (Jackie Chan). Some films just shouldn’t be remade and I still think Karate Kid is one of those. This doesn’t look as terrible as I imagined it could be, but I still don’t see the point of this movie. (plus correct me if I’m wrong here, but that isn’t karate shown in the trailer, right? And it’s set in China, not Japan?) Release Date: June 2010 (US), July 2010 (UK)

Knight & Day: This movie is about a lonely woman (Cameron Diaz) whose seemingly harmless blind date suddenly turns her life upside-down when a super spy (Tom Cruise) takes her on a violent worldwide journey to protect a powerful battery that holds the key to an infinite power source. Kind of getting a feeling of Mr and Mrs Smith with a touch of True Lies. Release Date: 2 July 2010 (US, UK)

Cop Out: Two longtime NYPD partners (Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan) on the trail of a stolen, rare, mint-condition baseball card find themselves up against a merciless, memorabilia-obsessed gangster. I’ve been hearing a lot about this movie lately, but all in regards to the title change (it was called A Couple of Dicks first). Not sure about it though, doesn’t really look that funny. Release Date: 26 February 2010 (UK, US)

Sex and the City 2: To be honest, I couldn’t care less about this Sex and the City movie. I never got into the tv show and sure as hell didn’t go to the cinema for the first movie. But I know I’m an exception and that (Twilight aside) most girls have been dying for this movie. Release Date: 28 May 2010 (US, UK)

Repo Men: Take the world of Repo! The Genetic Opera, cut away the singing, and you’ve got Repo Men. Set in a world, where you can buy expensive mechanical organs from a company called the Union. If you don’t pay, the repo men are sent to take back what’s theirs, no matter the cost. Jude Law plays Remy, one of the best repo men around, until he suffers a cardia failure and is fitted with a heart from the companyWhen he can’t make the payments, The Union sends Remy’s former partner Jake (Forest Whitaker), to track him down. Release Date: 2 April 2010 (US)

Furry Vengeance: This. Looks. HORRIBLE. A real estate developer (Brendan Fraser) moves his family from Chicago to Oregon when his job calls for him to oversee the building of a major housing development. But when his latest project threatens the homes of the local forest creatures, the animals seek revenge by turning a peaceful cul-de-sac under construction into a battlefield of epic proportions. Release Date: April 2010 (US), May 2010 (UK)

Frozen: A typical day on the slopes turns into a chilling nightmare for three snowboarders when they get stranded on the chairlift before their last run. As the ski patrol switches off the night lights, they realize with growing panic that they’ve been left behind dangling high off the ground with no way down. Release Date: 5 February 2010 (US)

Valentine’s Day: The second trailer for this movie. I know it looks quite cheesy, but I’m hoping it has that Love Actually vibe going on. Release Date: 12 February 2010 (US, UK)

Shrek Forever After: There really milking this series, and it’s looking even as more annoying than ever. Release Date: May 2010 (US), July 2010 (UK)

The Bounty Hunter: a bounty hunter (Gerard Butler) who is hired to track down his own ex-wife (Jennifer Aniston), who has skipped out on bail. Release Date: March 2010 (US), April 2010 (UK)

Thanks for all the entries to the Dollhouse giveaway. I had a lot of fun reading everyone’s comments on what their favourite Joss Whedon moment was. Alas, there can only be one winner though, so I’ve randomly picked one person to get the dvd.

And the winner is…

*drum roll, please*

Adrian!

With the comment:

This is a bit of a cheat, but for me it’s got to be the entirety of Ariel in Firefly – to me, that ep really fulfilled the promise of Firefly, and it was great to see the diversity of the world that he’d created. Ah well, poor Firefly!

Enjoy the dvds, Adrian! As for all the other people who entered, I’m also doing a giveaway of the dvd of Moon right now, which will stay open till the 27th. Besides that I’ll be doing another contest on Christmas Day and two more next week!