August 2009 films

It's been a bit of an odd month for films, with not that many of them making it very high on my list - something that might be evidenced by the fact that my "quote of the moment" hasn't changed since August 3rd. This isn't because I wasn't thinking about it - simply because I haven't noticed any dialogue worthy of being quoted since then.

The majority of films (apart from 2) have been ones I've watched at home this month, although, for a change, they vary massively in terms of when they were made, from 1974 to 2009. It feels good to be managing to periodically watch some older films - even if they are not always as great as they've been made out to be! Here's the full list:

• Goodbye Charlie Bright (2001)
• The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
• Fun with Dick and Jane (1977)
• I heart huckabees (2004)
• Mesrine: Killer Instinct (2008)
• Munich (2005)
• The Thing (1982)
• The Prestige (2008)
• Moon (2009)
• Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008)
• Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny (2006)
• Melinda and Melinda (2004)
• Man on wire (2008)

As for film of the month, a lot of them this time around have been pretty mediocre, scoring a very average 3. However, there have been a couple of standouts - Fun with Dick and Jane (the original) and Mesrine: Killer Instinct. Mesrine just beats Fun with Dick and Jane, scoring a complete 5 rather than 4.5. Of course, they are very different films so it will entirely depend on the type of movies you like, but, for me, Mesrine is the perfect example of how a film should be. Now I just need to watch the second film.

As for film not to waste your time on, just as there were very few exemplary films, there were also very few terrible films. The worst offenders were Melinda and Melinda and Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr Hunter S Thompson, both scoring a paltry 2.5. Gonzo just loses this battle though, as had I never heard of the man, it's likely the film would have scored even less. And Melinda and Melinda was, at times at least, quotable!

Film of the month: Mesrine: Killer Instinct
Film not to waste your time on: Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr Hunter S Thompson