My 'A Movie a Day' project has ended

On Sunday, the day after I watched The Sixth Sense, I decided not to watch a movie, ending my Movie-a-Day project. At the time I couldn't be bothered to watch anything, and I've felt that way a few times during the project but every time I just watched something for the sake of keeping the streak alive. Recently, however, in the few days before Sunday, I've been really indifferent about watching a movie every single day and about keeping my little project alive, which was becoming more something I had to do rather than wanted to do. Besides, I'm pretty satisfied with the milestone of one month so it was better to end it before the streak got ridiculously long and more important than it should be. Besides, I can still watch movies when I want.

As I documented my experiences in this blog I had an unpublished post; a list of movies I'd watch so far, to help keep track. I've tidied it up and added links to each movie's post:

LIST OF MOVIES
01. Dec 25 Tropic Thunder 5/10
02. Dec 26 Sherlock Holmes 8/10
03. Dec 27 Little Miss Sunshine 6.5/10
04. Dec 28 Transformers 7/10
05. Dec 29 United 93 8/10
06. Dec 30 Avatar 8/10
07. Dec 31 Das Wunder von Bern 6/10
08. Jan 01 This is England 7/10
09. Jan 02 Déjà Vu 6.5/10
10. Jan 03 Donnie Darko 5/10
11. Jan 04 WALL-E 6.5/10

12. Jan 05 The Bank Job 6.5/10

13. Jan 06 The Bucket List 3/10
14. Jan 07 The Godfather 8/10
15. Jan 08 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 6/10
16. Jan 09 Room Service 6/10
17. Jan 10 Star Wars Episode II: The Clone Wars 7/10
18. Jan 11 Equilibrium 8/10
19. Jan 12 Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith 8.5/10
20. Jan 13 Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope 7/10
21. Jan 14 Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back 7/10
22. Jan 15 Semi Pro 4/10
23. Jan 16 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 6.5/10
24. Jan 17 Shoot 'Em Up 6.5/10
25. Jan 18 BoyTown 5/10
26. Jan 19 The Hangover 6/10
27. Jan 20 Shaolin Soccer 7.5/10
28. Jan 21 Zombieland 7.5/10
29. Jan 22 Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi 8/10
30. Jan 23 The Boat That Rocked 6/10
31. Jan 24 Reservoir Dogs 7/10
32. Jan 25 12 Angry Men 8/10
33. Jan 26 Chop Shop 7.5/10
34. Jan 27 The Invention of Lying 5/10
35. Jan 28 Law Abiding Citizen 8/10
36. Jan 29 The Hurt Locker 8/10
37. Jan 30 The Sixth Sense 8.5/10

I never planned to blog this project to begin with--in fact the only reason I have a blogger account is because it was a minor requirement in year twelve IT. I suppose now that the Movie-a-Day project is done I'll keep this blog, but probably won't post much...

A Movie a Day: The Sixth Sense

Saturday 30 January - THE SIXTH SENSE (1999)
Another one of the 'you've just gotta watch this' films, I had a fair knowledge of The Sixth Sense from various "I see dead people" references in pop culture, not to mention a bit from studying M. Night Shyamalan's next film, Unbreakable, extensively in year 12 media last year. While I'd heard The Sixth Sense was widely praised, luckily I wasn't too familiar with the plot itself (particularly important considering it's a thriller).

It was a brilliantly engrossing, deliciously slow-burning, precariously creepy thriller with a good story and great acting, particularly then-11 Haley Joel Osment, also starring Bruce Willis *with hair*, who I liked. 8.5/10

A Movie a Day: The Hurt Locker

Friday 29 January - THE HURT LOCKER (2009)
Before watching it, I had no idea what The Hurt Locker was about, except for a brief mention early in this Empire article which suggested it was widely acclaimed. Even then, though, I didn't know it would be a war thriller--to be honest I think the less prior knowledge you have the more you will enjoy it; less room for deflated expectations. Anyway, The Hurt Locker follows a team of three US soldiers who disarm bombs (an 'Explosive Ordnance Disposal team') in present-day Baghdad (though it was largely filmed in nearby Jordan). It was almost without music and filmed with hand-held cameras, giving it a distinctly documentary feel--except for the occasional impressive slow-mo shot.

The story starts fairly slowly, as do thrillers, but soon the drama thickens as personalities clash in life-and-death situations. I don't think that trailer reflects the movie very well but then I couldn't do better... The tension between characters was communicated really effectively; it was really good. 8/10

A Movie a Day: Law Abiding Citizen

Thursday 28 January - LAW ABIDING CITIZEN (2009)
I wasn't too keen to see this, having noticed some bad reviews, but I went into the cinema and let myself get lost in the movie, and really enjoyed it. I think 'Law Abiding Citizen' is a funny name, making it sound hilariously mundane for an action movie, but it does have some relevance--the movie's about a guy called Clyde (pretty much a criminal mastermind; played by Gerard Butler) who vows to bring down the legal system after one of his family's killers walks free. Opposite Butler is Jamie Foxx, playing Clyde's former lawyer now trying to stop him.

It was a well-written film with a smart plot, not too confusing, plus Clyde pulled off some really smart crimes. It's the kind of film that impresses you by how devilishly clever they can kill people. It got terribly gruesome at times but you've gotta take that bad stuff with the good--in fact the gore probably made me care more, making the film more powerful and more memorable. Anyway, at the end of the day, my lasting impression of the film is of its great plot, not its occasionally confronting violence. 8/10