The Final Poll: Million Dollar Baby (2004)

This was the last poll of the year. It landed on "Boxing Day" up here in Canada, so I thought why not have the poll be about boxing, even though the holiday doesn't actually have anything to do with the sport at all. There just weren't enough Christmas movies that I wasn't already going to watch, or hadn't already seen, but there were plenty of boxing movies we never got around to seeing. One of those movies was the winner of the poll, Million Dollar Baby. I knew this was a popular movie, but I didn't know how popular until I looked it up and realized that it won the Oscars for Best Actress, Best Supporting Male, Best Director, and Best Picture of the Year! That would be a lot to live up to, but don't worry, I didn't find any of that out until after I watched it. Hit the jump for my thoughts on this Clint Eastwood directed, produced, and acted in film.

Poll Position: "Million Dollar Baby"

It is sad to think that it took a poll for me to watch "Million Dollar Baby". It was on my list, but it kept on being moved down. Especially after watching "Gran Torino" and "Mystic River", it kept giving more and more excuses to see this. I slowly came to the conclusion that not only did I adore Clint Eastwood as an actor, but as a director also. He has this style, both as an actor and a director, which I've never been able to put a finger on it but it has always drew me in. But yes, thankfully I am finally getting to see this, hopefully it lives up to my expectations.

Poll Position: "Air Force One" (1997)

I'm sort of late with this one but excuse my tardiness. Similarly to Jim I did have some high expectations going into watching "Air Force One" but what really hooked me was when I was 12, I actually saw a short clip of this before that really drew me in. It was just a scene with Harrison Ford cappin' some fools with his AK47 or some kind of assault rifle. Nevertheless, I always got the feeling the movie was going to be like Speed II but on a plane. And being a nineties action movie, it can't be all that bad?

Poll Position: Air Force One (1997)

I would also just like to say that this marks my 365th movie of the year. That's right, I've watched 1 year's worth of movies before the year is even over! That's mostly because there were a few days where I watched 2 movies in 1 day, but we're not done yet. There's still 12 more days to go, and I plan on accomplishing my 2011 New Year's Resolution of watching a new movie everyday for a full year!

Last week's Harrison Ford poll was quickly and decisively won with a bunch of votes for Air Force One, and after that hardly any more votes came in to try to challenge it. I was actually kinda happy with this result, because I have always thought I should see Air Force One, if just because it has Harrison Ford in it. My thoughts after the jump, but I warn you, there are SPOILERS in here.

Poll Position: "Memoirs of a Geisha" (2005)

At first I had no idea that "Memoirs of a Geisha" was a romance movie, but after I quickly looked up what this movie was all about, I was slightly intrigued. I'll admit that I know almost nothing about geishas. I thought they were just dressed up escorts, but little do I know it's more than that. They are artists, musicians and beautiful dancers. Just everything about the geisha is pure and beautiful, if the movie comes anywhere as close to the beauty that these geishas process. I cannot see how this movie can be a bad one.

Poll Position: Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

Last week's poll looked at a lot of different romance movies. While Date Night was an early favorite, Memoirs of a Geisha came out ahead and took the poll in the last days of voting. I've actually been wanting to see this film for a long time, so I'm glad it won in the end. I didn't know if this would be an English language movie or if it would be spoken in Japanese with English subtitles, but it turned out to be an interesting hybrid of the two. I'll get more in depth on this fascinating love story set in a changing culture on the other side of the jump.

Poll Position: "Gamer" (2009)

It's amazing how many not so great movies we could fit on a poll. "Gamer" won our sci-fi action movie last week. I guess this is considered to be the least bad movie? After watching it, I highly doubt this was the best movie from the pickings, as slim as they were. Though a small little gem that hides in the movie is that Gerard Butler is the main protagonist. It might be the only thing I looked forward to in the movie. But before I continue to babble on about mindless nothings, lets get into the mind of "Gamer".

Poll Position: Gamer (2009)

Last week we put together a poll for action movies that are considered... less than great. For most of the week it was a back-and-forth fight between Jumper and Babylon A.D. but all of a sudden on the last day Gamer pulled ahead and took the win. I've actually heard mixed things about Gamer, so even when I lowered my expectations, I was still hoping for a fun movie. After all, Gerard Butler is a pretty good action star as far as I'm concerned and has a pretty good history of films under his belt. So did I at least get a fun action movie? Or was it just a disappointment? My thoughts after the jump.

Poll Position Part 3: Zodiac (2007)

I've saved my most anticipated movie 'till last. The main interest I had for this movie was the fact that Robert Downey Jr. was in it. Though I don't think he can act every role, but the obnoxious hard-ass role he does very well. Having never actually heard about the "Zodiac" killings before, besides the references in "Dirty Harry", I was sure that the mystery would unravel very well. With high expectations and low knowledge about the story, I'm sure I won't be too disapointed.

Putting the Clues together in ZODIAC (2007)

The final "winner" of the crime poll from last week is finally here. Zodiac is the film that inspired the story of Dirty Harry, and it's even shown in this movie. I was a little worried that I would be bored by this movie if it felt like I had seen the story before. After all, that's kind of what happened with Serpico and American Gangster for me. I only knew the most minor details about the story in Zodiac, but I had no idea at all who was starring in it. It was certainly a surprise to see Robert Downey Jr. and Jake Gyllenhaal pop up on screen. It also has Mark Ruffalo, who will be in Avengers next year with R.D.J. but that's beside the point. What we really want to know is if this 157 minute long movie bored, or captivated me? Find out after the jump.

Something's Going on in Fargo

Today I decided to tackle the Coen Brothers movie Fargo (1996) from our tied trio of poll winners. Puneet took a look at it yesterday, and you can find his take on it here. I haven't read his review, but I got an impression from him today that he seemed to like it. I've also heard of this film quite a bit. It seems to be the movie everyone refers back to when a new Coen Brothers movie comes out. I always forget the string of great movies they've made, but it's vast and filled with unique and fun flicks. They can also turn on a dime when going from funny to grizzly serious. I kinda had my hopes up, but at the same time I was playing it safe with my expectations. So did I love it, or did I hate it? Find out right after the jump.

Poll Position Part 2: Serpico (1973)

Day two of watching all the tied movies, today I watched "Serpico" (Jim's review is over here) a biographical movie based on a NY cop who is to legit to quit. Al Pacino plays Frank Serpico, and this is made aware quite obviously. I have my doubts, I honestly cannot think that Al Pacino can pull off a serious role. I see him as an over the top gangster or cop from New York. It is hard for me to really take him seriously. Hopefully that is the only thing that detracts me from enjoying this film.

Serpico (1973)

So the highly unlikely finally happened, and there was a 3-way tie in the poll for today. Unsure exactly what to do, I've just resigned myself to the fact that I won't get to choose what I watch at all this week, and I'll watch all 3 for the next few days. I randomly chose Serpico to start with. It stars Al Pacino, and this is a real life story. It reminded me of American Gangster, but in truth I bet the corrupt cop plot-line was inspired by the story of Serpico. Can a biographical film from the 70s still find a place to entertain and inspire? My thoughts after the jump.

Poll Position Part 1: Fargo (1996)

We got ourselves a three way tie here; Fargo, Zodiac and Serpico. Interestingly enough, this is the first time we've had a three way tie. So it should be a new experience watching a whole weeks worth of movies without any choices. Today I kicked it off with "Fargo" for the reason that Steve Buscemi is in this and the Coen brothers directed this. Same guys that directed "No Country For Old Man" and "The Big Lebowski". Two great movies by all accounts. But before I get too off topic let me share you the fun I had with "Fargo".

Poll Position: "Righteous Kill" (2008)

I have been waiting for a movie like this for a long time. We have both De Niro and Al Pacino in one movie, two actors that have played their fair shares of New York residing cops or criminals. Even though I’m not the biggest Pacino fan, I could totally see him working in perfect tangent with De Niro. Both have that crazy attitude with the tough guy appearance. But now that they are getting old, this might be too little too late. These are my wonderful thoughts on "Righteous Kill".

Poll Position: Righteous Kill (2008)

The winner of this week's poll was Righteous Kill starring not only Al Pacino, the subject of the poll, but also the great Robert De Niro for an all star team-up! I remember seeing the trailer for this in the theater years ago, but I never ended up seeing it. I thought it looked amazing, especially to see two powerhouses like De Niro and Pacino team up in one movie. It seemed to come and go very fast, and I've never really heard anyone talk much about it. That's probably not a good sign. Being that this is a mystery, everything hinges on how that aspect plays out. Should you even bother seeking out Righteous Kill? Hit the jump to find out!

Poll Position: Stalingrad (1993)

In honour of the troops that gave their lives for us and Canadian Remembrance Day, last week's poll was war themed. The winning movie was actually one we only put on at the last second, and it ended up winning by a landslide. Last week when I watched All Quiet on the Western Front, I felt it was interesting to see the war from the other side. Stalingrad does it again, but now we're on the other side, geographically, of the German's fight, heading into Russia. Does this German language film have the strong impact that other war films have? Can it make you feel for the troops on the other side? Hit the jump to find out.

Poll Position: A Brief History Lesson About "Stalingrad" (1993)

Remembrance Day (or Veterans Day for our readers in the south) was last week and to stay with the theme, we decided to do a war themed movie. War filled with sad and disgraceful moments in human history, but we can’t forget about all the sacrifices our soldiers did for our country. The least we can do is learn about the wars, hopefully enough to never to repeat the stupid mistakes we’ve made. You’ve picked “Stalingrad” last week and a movie I’ve been told punches as powerful a punch as “Schneider’s List”. But the two are polar opposites in what it sets off to do. After the jump I get down in the trenches with the Germans.

Poll Position: Mystic River (2003)

Ooh, looks like I get to be the one to use the weird version of the movie poster this time! While the poster isn't really recognizable, it's still for Mystic River as that's what I watched today. Our lovely Kevin Bacon poll tied, so I'm catching up by also watching this film, which Puneet watched yesterday. Kevin Bacon actually takes a leading roll this time around, unlike in Frost/Nixon so it seemed to fit a little bit better considering that was the point after all. I remember this movie making a big splash (pardon the pun) when it came out, but I was younger and didn't care about dramas back then. I was curious to see this, but still had my reservations that it might be boring. My thoughts after the jump.

Poll Position: "Mystic River"

Last week we had another tie for our delicious Bacon Poll. Jim saw "Frost/Nixon" earlier today, and so I decided to check out “MysticRiver”. A movie packed to the brim with a talented cast. And better yet, the whole cast puts on that goofy New England accent that I adore. Nevertheless, I had to try my best to take this movie seriously for it is a dark crime/drama movies.