#37 - Superbad*

#36 - Adaptation.*

Directed by Spike Jonze
2002 Comedy/Drama
Rated R

**** 1/2

Charlie Kaufman's brilliant script and Nicholas Cage's underrated (and Oscar-deserving) performance drive this quirky comedy about a writer going crazy trying to adapt a seemingly "unadaptable" book. Rewards with multiple viewings.

#35 - Lost In Translation*

Directed by Sofia Coppola
2003 Comedy/Drama
Rated R

*****

After easily 30 viewings, I have come to the decision that this may be my favorite movie of all time. Don't be surprised if, in a few years when i'm minoring in film studies, I write at least one paper on it.

#34 - Bottle Rocket*

Directed by Wes Anderson
1996 Crime Comedy
Rated R

****

Wes Anderson's first film is a wonderful crime comedy about a group of amateur thieves who can't seem to get anything right. Wes Anderson proves that he isn't as bad an actor as his recent work proves (although I still say he should stick to writing), and the script (by Anderson and Wilson) is chock full of funny moments and great lines. A nice little underrated gem from the mid-90s.

#33 - Night At The Museum

Directed by Shawn Levy
2006 Fantasy Adventure
Rated PG

* 1/2


As much as I respect what this film was TRYING to do (make an entertaining family comedy while at the same time teach children a little bit about history) it completely fails in every aspect. The "history teaching" scenes do nothing but talk down to children the entire time. The writing is god-awful. The performances are mediocre at best; even Ricky Gervais gives the weakest performance of his career. Suffice to say, when a monkey is the funniest character in your movie, you know you're in trouble.

#32 - Winter Passing

Directed by Adam Rapp
2005 Comedy/Drama
Rated R

** 1/2

I wonder what must have been going through Zooey Deschanel's mind when she finished the first twenty or so pages of Winter Passing. My guess would be, "So they want me to play the broke, coke addled, chain smoking fuck the pain away type? Oh, and I have to try and con my genius writer father out of letters he wrote to my genius (dead) writer mother years ago to make a cool 100 g's? And finally, I have to drown a kitten (with feline leukimia, no less!) in the river?" Yes, this is all brought up in the first twenty minutes of what I was sure was going to be one of the worst movies i'd ever seen. While it certainly isn't great, or even good, it's certainly passable. Will Ferrell (SOMEHOW) plays the straight man, and Zooey Deschanel is great as usual. However, the genericism of how the rest of the story plays out and the ridiculously stereotypical "tortured writer" role the normally great Ed Harris plays keep this from being anything better than a Netflix-er.

#31 - Death Proof*

Directed by Quentin Tarantino
2007 Thriller
Rated R

*****