The Last Dartflix Of 2008 AKA Dartflix Edition #47

The weekend of the 5th saw all of the new entries to theaters fail miserably to find audiences as Marvel's newest film "Punisher: War Zone" only managed to bring in a paltry $4.27 million to come in 8th at the box office. The reason it did so poorly is because it's a terrible fuckin' movie, the three movies that made me laugh the most this year were "Tropic Thunder", "Max Payne" and "Punisher: War Zone"...as we all know, only ONE of these films was a comedy. The over the top violence and large body count couldn't make up for the horrible script, story or acting. How could they make an even worse Punisher movie?

"Cadillac Records" opened at #9 on the box office list by bringing in only $3.44 million dollars over the same weekend. It received mixed reviews from critics and fans but I liked it. It did gloss over many key events in the illustrious history of Chess Records but to be fair they had so many great artists and hits over the years that in order to do them all justice the film would've had to be over 3 hours long (no Che). It's a shame that the great performance that Jeffrey Wright gave as Muddy Waters might end up getting overlooked. Mos Def as Chuck Berry ("fix this, Leonard!")? C'mon man!

The highly anticipated remake "The Day The Earth Stood Still" was a disappointment both quality wise and at the box office although it took the #1 spot with a $30.4 million dollar take over the weekend. The entire film seemed rushed at under 100 minutes and it just didn't rival the drama or suspense of the groundbreaking original film. It expect there to be a significant drop off next week as I couldn't get over seeing the coach from "Friday Night Lights" trying to get to the bottom of things or seeing a Black kid call the cops on an illegal alien that his stepmom is harboring (?).

Over the next couple of weeks films like "The Wrestler", "The Brothers Bloom", "Seven Pounds", "The Spirit", "Valkyrie", "Waltz With Bashir" and "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button" all finally open and the box office should end on a high note during the holdiay season. I'll try to do some movie review blogs since I only have the anniversary edition of "A Tale Of Ten Trailers" coming up on the 20th and no new Dartflix entry until January 6th, 2009. Then comes the beginning of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival the following week. Enough of me, let's get to the recommendations.

Films I recommend in theaters (12.15.08-12.31.08) or to add to your queue early or for rental from either Netflix or Redbox:

The Wrestler
The Brothers Bloom
Seven Pounds
Dark Streets
The Spirit
Valkyrie
Revolutionary Road
Waltz With Bashir
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Burn After Reading
Generation Kill (mini series)
Traitor
Eagle Eye
The House Bunny
Death Race (Unrated Edition)
The Women
Hamlet 2
Babylon A.D.
Bangkok Dangerous
Towel Head
Baby
Sangre De Mi Sangre
Savage Grace
Cass
This Beautiful City
Crashing
The Duchess
Badland
Bobby Z
Anger
The Brave Archer
The Guardpost
Battle Of Wits
Louis CK: Chewed Up
Will Eisner: Profession-Cartoonist (documentary)
Resident Evil: Degeneration (animated)
Black Lagoon Complete Series Box Set (anime)
Beserk Complete (anime)
The Third Man [Blu-Ray]
Chungking Express [Blu-Ray]
Planet Terror/Death Proof [Blu-Ray]
The Man Who Fell To Earth [Blu-Ray]
8 Mile [Blu-Ray]
Coach Carter [Blu-Ray]
Death Sentence [Blu-Ray]
Shoot 'Em Up [Blu-Ray]
Serenity [Blu-Ray]
Event Horizon [Blu-Ray]
The History Of Black New York
Cadillac Records
Nobel Son
The Day The Earth Stood Still
Gran Torino
Wanted
The Dark Knight
The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Frost/Nixon
Twilight
Special
Hancock (Unrated Edition)
Gonzo: The Life & Work Of Hunter S. Thompson
Slumdog Millionaire
Quantum Of Solace
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Planet B-Boy
Sukiyaki Western Django
DJ Dusk's Root Down Soundclash
DJ Spooky's Rebirth Of A Nation
Decon presents Fresh Rhymes And Videotape
W.
What Just Happened
Changeling
Synecdoche, New York
Let The Right One In
Fear(s) Of The Dark
Zack And Miri Make A Porno
The Incredible Hulk
Sold Out: A Threevening With Kevin Smith
Hell Ride
Elite Squad
Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist
Religulous
Quarantine
Body Of Lies
Rocknrolla
Ballast
Boy A
Mongol
Appaloosa
Blindness
Miracle At St. Anna
Choke
Iron Man
Snow Angels
Righteous Kill
How To Rob A Bank
Mad Detective (Johnnie To)
Redbelt
Chicago 10
Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden?
Smart People
The Legend Of The Shadowless Sword
Warlords
The Rebel
Cocaine Cowboys 2-Hustlin' With The Godmother
Doomsday
The Last Minute
Adulthood
Persepolis
Bomb It
Invisible Target
Street Thief
The Last Winter
Triangle

Dart's Movie Recommendations (I personally cosign all of these joints):

The Wrestler
The Brothers Bloom
Seven Pounds
The Spirit
Valkyrie
Waltz With Bashir
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Burn After Reading
Generation Kill (mini series)
Traitor
Eagle Eye
Hamlet 2
Baby
Sangre De Mi Sangre
Savage Grace
Planet Terror/Death Proof [Blu-Ray]
Death Sentence [Blu-Ray]
Shoot 'Em Up [Blu-Ray]
Serenity [Blu-Ray]
Event Horizon [Blu-Ray]
Triangle

Rent/Watch these movies at your own risk:

Mamma Mia!: The Movie-No thanks! I'm straight.

The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor-No thanks! I'm fed up with Hollywood raping Asian culture.

Ghost Town-No thanks! I'm sure I've seen this movie before but with 20 different names.

Hot Rod [Blu-Ray]- No thanks! I haven't had a lobotomy yet.

An American Carol- No thanks! I prefer that my comedies actually be funny.


Coming (relatively) Soon To A Theater (or computer) Near You:

One.