# 135 Snatch. (2000)

The first time I tried watching Snatch., I thought it was boring. I don't know if my movie perception has changed so much because I've seen so many good movies or for any other reason, but this time the film was like a breath of fresh air. I have not seen Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels yet, so I can't compare these two movies, but I really enjoyed every single minute of watching Snatch.

The first thing that I noticed about it is that the film is very well paced. I wanted to say "perfectly paced", but at the beginning thing happen too fast, which confused me a little, and I had to keep asking my husband (who has seen it before) who this or that character was. Still I wouldn't call it a flaw because it only makes you wanna watch the movie once again.

The actors put in an excellent performance. Benicio Del Toro is about to become my new favorite actor. I always thought that Brad Pitt was a little too glamorous, but in this film he does a very good job, just like he did six years later in Babel, and three more years later in Ingrourious Basterds. I've never seen the actors that played Sol and Vinny before, but those guys made me laugh big time. And this was a rare occasion when Jason Statham's acting didn't irritate me.

I can't even think of which part of this film I liked best, each word of the script is a masterpiece, with the right touches of dark humour. I loved how the plotlines intertwined, and the editing was good too. Guy Ritchie has earned my respect through films like Sherlock Holmes and Snatch. I'm looking forward to seeing more of his movies.

Favorite quote: "You should never underestimate the predictability of stupidity".
Interesting fact: Brad Pitt, who was a big fan of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), approached director Guy Ritchie and asked for a role in this film. When Ritchie found Pitt couldn't master a London accent, he gave him the role of Mickey the Gypsy. 

# 134 Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

I think that Tarantino has made some quality movies, including Inglourious Basterds and Pulp Fiction, but Kill Bill: Vol. 1 did not live up to my expectations. It is a very basic revenge story. It's unrealistic and too extreme. However my major problem with this film is not the lack of realism.

The movie is all about style and has no plot. I loved the dialogues in Pulp Fiction, and I loved almost everything about Inglourious Basterds. In Kill Bill the music was good (it was borrowed from Tarantino's soundtrack collection), but that's about it.

This film is badly written and directed. It lacks pace. It contains Tarantino's weird trademarks, but they make absolutely no sense. Like what's the point of bleeping out the bride's name? At the same time when I was watching Kill Bill, all the countless clichés made me think of hundreds of other movies it reminded me of. And I've never been a fan of martial arts films, but I'd rather watch those because this one looks like a parody. Yeah, this film is ingenious, but I don't get what so many people see in it.

Favorite quote: "It was not my intention to do this in front of you. For that I'm sorry. But you can take my word for it, your mother had it comin'. When you grow up, if you still feel raw about it, I'll be waiting".

Intersting fact: Uma Thurman's yellow track-suit is a direct homage to the one worn by Bruce Lee in Game of Death (1978).

# 133 Annie Hall (1977)

Annie Hall is a story of two selfish neurotics who fall in love. It takes place in New York, where a comedian played by Woody Allen tries to maintain a relationship with a singer played by Diane Keaton. The movie shows how the relationship changes over the years, and eventually falls apart.

At the beginning the movie seems pretty entertaining. It is innovative in the way the story is being told, but after a while all of these unusual remarks and dialogues get boring. I can't say that any of the characters in this film captured my sympathy. The acting was good, but the character's personalities didn't attract me at all. 

As much as I like the genre of intellectual comedy, I don't understand why Annie Hall is considered a classic. There were a couple of funny moments though. One of them was Woody Allen sneezing into the cocaine. What makes it even funier is that it was an unscripted accident. I thought the joke at the beginning of the movie (about the food at the mountain resort) was good too.

I have only seen a few of Allen's movies so far, but this is not the best one of them. I'm not saying it was a bad film, but it's far from being outstanding.

Favorite quote: "That sex was the most fun I've ever had without laughing".

Interesting fact: At 93 minutes, it is the second shortest film to win the Best Picture Oscar. The shortest film to win the Best Picture Oscar is Marty (1955) at 91 minutes.

# 132 The Deer Hunter (1978)

I have recently watched The Deer Hunter, and to be completely honest, I wasn't expecting much from it. The movie is about a group of friends (Americans of Russian descent), and for the most part it shows us their lifes before and after they went to the Vietnam war. 

The story begins with one of the friends getting married. Despite the fact that none of the lead actors are ethnically Russian, I really liked the way a traditional Russian wedding was shown in the movie. Not that I'm a huge fan of Russian traditions, but the film is very good at depicting them. The cathedral and the choir looked authentic. According to IMDb the wedding scene took five days to film, and an actual priest was cast as a priest. After the wedding this loud company goes hunting, and then three of the friends go to war.

I really liked that it was not a typical war movie with all the war-type action. As a matter of fact only a short part of the story takes place in a POW camp. The rest of it focuses on the friends' lives after they escape from the camp. One of the friends loses his legs, another one loses his mind, and the third one tries to go back to living a normal life. So basically the movie shows different outcomes of the same story, and this outcome mostly depends on luck. Yes, luck plays a great role in this story, as well as in real life.

It was good to see Young Christopher Walken and Meryl Streep. De Niro looked so handsome in this film too. All of the actors did an excellent job. Russian roulette was surely among the best things about the movie. My verdict: The Deer Hunter is a must-see!

Favorite quote: "Why don't we go to bed? Can't we just comfort each other?" (sounded hilarious in the context of the movie).

Interesting fact: John Cazale, who also played Fredo Corleone in The Godfather, was very weak when filming began, and for this reason, his scenes were filmed first. Michael Cimino knew from the start that Cazale was dying from cancer, but the studio did not. When they found out, they wanted to replace Cazale. When Meryl Streep learned of their intentions, she threatened to quit if they did. Cazale died shortly after filming was completed. This was John Cazale's last film.

# 131 The Wrestler (2008)

I saw The Wrestler at the movies, when it first came out, so it was quite a while ago. It's a drama about an aging wrestler played by Mickey Rourke. Now, a year after having seen the film I realize that it was a good movie artwise, but my first reaction was a feeling of disgust.

I have to admit that Rourke acted to his fullest potential, and that the role fit him very well. But other than that I couldn't find a single thing to like in this movie. It was just too raw for me. I can't stand all of that puking, cutting yourself and other people, drugs and sex-in-the-bathroom kind of stuff. I didn't think that the film was very deep either. I mean yeah, everybody gets old, and then dies. So what? Besides hand-held camerawork irritates me.

I know it's going to be one of the shortest reviews in my blog, and all of The Wrestler's fans are going to hate me for this one, but this is the type of movie I wouldn't wanna watch again.

Favorite quote:"Then that Cobain pussy had to come around and ruin it all".

Interesting fact: The first scene of Randy working the deli counter was improvised. When real customers kept walking up to the counter during filming, Darren Aronofsky told Mickey Rourke to take their orders while the camera would continue rolling. Also improvised were all of the backstage locker room scenes.

# 130 The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

This is an old movie, and normaly I don't have a problem with that, but I have to admit that this time it really caused some problems for me in understanding the movie. Once again the film touches upon such subjects as the Cold War and Red Scare. The story revolves around a Korean war POW who comes home after being brainwashed by the Communists.

I think that it was an excellent film over fifty years ago, but having seen it in the 21st century I found it a little naive. I still liked how it shows that a human mind can be manipulated so easily though. And I'm glad I watched it because I got to see oneof the first Hollywood Kung Fu fights. That scene cracked me up.

Favorite quote: "Have you ever noticed that the human race is divided into two distinct and irreconcilable groups: those that walk into rooms and automatically turn television sets on, and those that walk into rooms and automatically turn them off. The trouble is that they end up marrying each other".

Interesting fact: A scene where Laurence Harvey jumps in Central Park lake was shot on the coldest day in 30 years. They had to break the foot-thick ice on the lake with a bulldozer before the scene could be shot.