#555 - Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny

Jack Black and Kyle Gass, the members of the band Tenacious D came out with a movie in 2006 called The Pick of Destiny. The film is basically a dramatization of the creation of their band and is meant to be a complete comedy. The movie is very funny and there are some nice cameos by famous rockers. First we have Meatloaf and the late Dio of Black Sabbath and then various other actors like Tim Robbins appear as well. The music by Black and Gass is amazing and I like that the music synced up perfectly to the action. I give the film 4/5 stars.

#554 - The Wedding Singer

The Wedding Singer is a classic Adam Sandler romantic comedy with him as the title role of the wedding singer. Now normally I don't say this about a romantic comedy but this film is heartwarming and the music is awesome. I have to admit I had the song Sandler writes for Barrymore stuck in my head for a bit and even was looking up it on a youtube video. The acting is good and the film is overall funny at points. I have to admit it is actually more sincere then funny though. I give the film 4/5 stars.

#553 - SLC Punk

SLC Punk is a film from 1998 which deals with the era of punk-rock and two dedicated punks from Salt Lake City. The plot is very poorly done. We are never told how old our main character is at the start then all of the sudden he becomes eighteen and then we are never given any sense of time during the film. Plus the acting is not great either the only thing that makes this film any good is that it utilizes one of my favorite film techniques the breaking of the fourth wall. I give the film 3/5 stars.

#552 - The Taking of Pelham 123

The Taking of Pelham 123 is a remake of a film from the 70s and the remake stars Denzel Washington and John Travolta in the leading roles. The film is pretty good but it isn't the greatest film I had ever seen. The acting is pretty good but for an action thriller the film is acting is superb. The action of the film is decent but the thriller portion was pretty huge throughout. There isn't much else to say about the film and everything I have said is neutral between both good and bad. I give the film 3.5/5 stars.

#551 - The Last Airbender

The Last Airbender is a film by M. Night Shyamalan based off the Nickelodeon series of the same name. I had watched the series before and the film slightly does the series justice. Shyamalan does the entire first season of the series and he omits some things in the script that down the road might bite him in the ass. For instance there is no mention of King Bumi of Omashu, The Warriors of Kyoshi, or Joeng Joeng (Aang's first firebending teacher) who all have importnat parts near the end of the series. My one other complaint about the film is that the dialogue and script seem very poorly written. There is way too much exposition in the show and we should have had more showing then telling. I give the film 3.5/5 stars.

#550 - What's Eating Gilbert Grapes

Film #550 or What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a film that I had previous seen portions of in a class in high school and I decided to finally see the entire film. The film stars Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio as Gilbert and his younger brother respectively. The acting in the film is great by both actors and this film just show Depp's ability to act in a role. The plot is brilliant as well and each of the subplots work but could have been built into a little more. For instance the Crispin Glover and John C Reilly roles could been brought out more and the plot involving Burger Barn should have been more and why exactly was Reilly so happy with that. The film was a little depressing though which ruined it for me. I give the film 3.5/5 stars.

#549 - The Times of Harvey Milk

The Times of Harvey Milk is an Oscar winning documentary about the career of the first gay councilman in San Francisco. The film was actually the basis for the Oscar nominated film Milk (which is #53 on the list). The documentary was interesting and if I hadn't seen the film based off this film I would have been a little more intrigued. I give the film 3.5/5 stars.

#548 - Men of Honor

Men of Honor is a drama starring Cuba Gooding Jr and Robert DeNiro involving the first black diver. The film is quite a interesting look at the historic incident and also the plot moves forward nicely. The acting is incredible by both actors and all of the supporting actors. The film has a very satisfying conclusion and it was nice to see that the film was based on a true story. Otherwise there was not much else either wrong with it except that only parts of the film seemed rushed. I would have explained how at that point DeNiro was in custody through more then just a small mention of it. I give the film 4/5 stars.

#547 - Dune

Dune is a sci-fi film from the 1980s involving a futuristic society that lives off a specific orange spice. The film is pretty good and unlike most sci-fi films from the 80s the dialogue is actually believable. The film's special effects are good and the acting is also quite great. There are some missing points in the plot and history that it would have been nice to know. For instance why was Paul able to use the 'witch' powers of his mother all of the sudden and where did is sister come from? Was she in his mother's womb the whole time? Maybe we should have had a little more exposition in the film. I give the film 3.5/5 stars.

#546 - Drunken Master

Drunken Master is one of the quintessential Jackie Chan kung fu movies that had at least one sequel to it. Unlike it's sequel this film is not that amazing. It has some funny moments but it seems to be more of an origin story for Freddy Wong. Also what disappointed me was that not until very deep into the film do we even see Chan learning Drunken Fist kung fu or even learn about the major conflict between Mr. Wong and Mr. Lee over Wong's land. It is a good movie though. I give the film 3.5/5 stars.

#545 - The Dark Crystal

The Dark Crystal is a film from the mind of Jim Henson and Frank Oz. The film is okay but there are countless problems with the film. For one the two main characters of Kiera and Gen (probably spelling them wrong) don't have movable mouths and thay have the most lines out of all of the characters it really does not keep me in the film. Also a large percentage of the things int he film are never fully explained. For instance how did those spirit beings split themselves and what other abilities do Gen and Keira's people have. other then that the film has a decent plot but there are just too many holes for me. I give the film 3/5 stars for the plot.

#544 - Reign Over Me

Reign Over Me is a film made in 2007 and it revolves around a post 9/11 world with a man's quest to get over the loss of his wife and family in the World Trade Center incident. The film stars Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle and the film is good. Unlike most of Sandler's films the film is not a full comedic film but it does have some slight comedic aspects to it. The great thing is that Sandler is able to fully act in this very dramatic role of the widower trying to come to terms with the death of his wife and children. The supporting roles by Donald Sutherland and the women who plays Sandler's mother-in-law are also superb but still Sandler takes the cake in this role. I'll admit that there is some comedy in his acting but that's his style but when he needs to be dramatic he is. There are very few problems I picked up on but there may have been some. I give the film 3.5/5 stars.

#543 - Chaplin

Chaplin is a biopic based off the life of the famous silent movie actor Charlie Chaplin. It stars Robert Downey Jr in a very good performance that helps the film immensely. What was interesting about the film was that a lot of big name actors (Dan Aykroyd, Anthony Hopkins, etc.) took even small parts in the film in order to be in this movie. The plot is okay and the fact that it is all surrounded by Hopkins and Downey Jr talking about the actor's autobiography. Overall the film is amazing and the random appearances by big names makes the film even better. I give the film 4/5 stars.

#542 - Batman: The Movie

In 1966 they decided to do a film starring Adam West as Batman. The film has the Penguin, the Joker, the Riddler, and Catwoman and they have plotted to destroy Batman and destroy the United World Organization. As what most people say about the use of Adam West as Batman the film is quite ridiculous. To all of the bat named objects like the Bat-rope or Bat-wake and even to Robin (Burt Ward)'s crazy "Holy (insert words here)" statements. The plot as usual with Adam West is bizarre and the acting is not at all that good. It is a fun film though which saves it from being a 2 star film but it does take some punishment for its poorness I give the film 3/5 stars.

#541 - Babel

Babel is a drama that connects four completely different stories together across the world. The film is really cool and specifically it does some interesting things with the audio throughout the film. The reason why is that one of our central characters is a deaf-mute girl from Japan. The director and audio mixer seemed to have added in the fact that we should get a chance to hear from her perspective. They seem to use this a lot throughout the film and it makes the film into more auteuristic, may not be a word but it is now. My only complaints seem to be that we do not learn of two of the connections until very late into the film and it would have been nice for me to know that earlier but it was okay and I understand what they were doing. The acting is superb and it is nice that unlike all films with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett they don't overuse the actors at all. it is nice to see a selection of lesser known actors in the major roles. I give the film 4.5/5 stars.