It isn't the end of the year yet but I think I have fallen short of my goal of watching 366 movies this year. I haven't totaled it all up yet since I've seen a couple movies multiple times (Wall-E, Funny Games, Wanted, etc.) but in this post I will list the movies that came out (either to theaters or direct-to-DVD like Johnson Family Christmas Dinner and the "Futurama" movie) in 2008 that I have seen.

1 Bolt
2 Transporter 3
3 American Teen
4 The Dark Knight
5 Four Christmases
6 Horton Hears a Who
7 The Incredible Hulk
8 Milk
9 Johnson Family Christmas Dinner
10 The Promotion
11 Role Models
12 Run, Fat Boy, Run
13 Synechdoche, New York
14 W.
15 Saw V
16 You Don’t Mess With The Zohan
17 Bigger, Stronger, Faster
18 Choke
19 Eagle Eye
20 Burn After Reading
21 Baby Mama
22 21
23 The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning
24 Tropic Thunder
25 Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay
26 Smart People
27 Stop-Loss
28 Step Brothers
29 Doomsday
30 Johnson Family Dinner
31 Get Smart
32 Futurama: The Beast With a Billion Backs
33 Drillbit Taylor
34 Wanted
35 Wall-E
36 In Bruges
37 The Onion Movie
38 Be Kind Rewind
39 Kung Fu Panda
40 Pastor Jones 4: Sisters in Spirit 2
41 The Happening
42 The Strangers
43 Speed Racer
44 What Happens In Vegas
45 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
46 The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
47 The Ruins
48 Iron Man
49 Forgetting Sarah Marshall
50 The House Bunny
51 Semi-Pro
52 Jumper
53 Cloverfield
54 One Missed Call
55 Pineapple Express

(I also saw Year One and I Love You, Man which haven't been released yet.)

Since I haven't seen a lot of "Oscary" movies yet I won't do a traditional top 10 list but I think I'm gonna do some silly "Best-of"s instead. For the next couple of posts with just the 2008 movies and later with all 200-something movies I've watched this year.


Best Use of an iPhone
Winner: The Happening, it was by far my favorite scene of that movie. The guy waving at the lion, lol.
Runner-Up: Bolt

Best Johnson Family Dinner
Winner: Johnson Family Christmas Dinner for numerous reasons.

Biggest Tear Jerker
Winner: Milk Fraannncooooooo!!!!

Least Scary Supposed to be Scary Image
Winner: The evil baby with the cell phone from One Missed Call unless it was my phone and it was using my whenever minutes.
Runner-up: The trees rustling in The Happening/ most of The Happening in general.

Best Follow Up to a First Movie Role
Winner: Emma Stone as Natalie in The House Bunny, she was only in Superbad as Jules before this and The Rocker which I didn't see so it doesn't count. She had some funny stuff in House Bunny even though the movie wasn't great.
Runner-Up: Rachel Bilson as Millie Harris in Jumper. She was only in The Last Kiss before that. Jumper sucked, she was good.

Worst Amount of Christmases
Winner: Four Christmases


Best Use of a Tattoo
Winner: Synechdoche, New York, in the hospital room with Phillip Seymour Hoffman's Daughter!!!! No, spoilers, but awesome.
Runner-Up: Angelina Jolie in Wanted. Just bad-ass.

Single Frame I Wish I Had as a Huge Poster warning, both kind of creepy images...


Winner:

Brutal.
Runner-Up:

I think this movie was underseen, it was really tense.


Be Smart and Don't See This Movie
Winner: Smart People, Ellen Page...Who cares? Sarah Jessica Parker is gross.
Runner-Up: Get Smart, I'd holler at Anne Hathaway though.

Least Consistent Canadian Accent
Winner: John C. Reilly in The Promotion, really good movie though.

That's enough for now. Feel free to add your own.

I'm looking forward to My Bloody Valentine 3D so hard.

Weird

Ok guys, so the movie I wrote, Johnson Family Christmas Dinner, is apparently out and for sale (at Wal-Mart, Best Buy online, amazon.com, etc).



and you can:



Make sure you read my earlier blog about how they butchered my script.

Here are some LOL inducing reviews. They sound fake, especially because the cast and crew list and synopses on most websites is wrong.

From The Black Gospel Blog

Alicia Newby said...

This seems like it will be very interesting. I may purchase it for some holiday laughter.

Darla said...

Yea, the movie has a really strong message. It's great for movie night. Its from Jean-Claude La Marre who was apart of the Malcolm-X film. Picked up my copy for my mother at wal-mart. It's worth the watch.

http://blackgospel.blogspot.com/2008/12/johnson-family-christmas-dinneron-dvd.html

From Film Crave.com

just recently purchased this movie for my parents for christmas. My parents are really huge on christian family movies that deal with family issues and have a bit of humor. From what i hear, it wasnt that bad. I was told it could have uses a larger budget but the overall message in the movie is what really sells it. It has a loving cast and would make a great flick for movie night. Vivendi

And Film Crave has a more accurate synopsis as well!!!!!!!!

http://www.filmcrave.com/movie_page_main.php?id=27717

At Flixter.com

NOT INTERESTED

ouch, but at least I got this one too:

It's a decent family flick that you wont be afraid to watch with your children. Just in time for the holidays. Jean Claude La Marre is attached to it. He was apart of the Malcolm-X movie. Check it ou!

http://www.flixster.com/movie/johnson-family-christmas-dinner

here's another one by the same guy as the review before only on a different site called crosswalk.com

Jean-Claude La Marre who was apart of the Malcolm X movie, just released a movie titled Johnson Family Christmas Dinner. I found the movie at the store while I was out buying Christmas presents for the family. It’s one of those black Christmas movies that everyone watches because of all the humor and drama. Vivendi. If anyone has seen it, let me know if it was any good.

http://forums.crosswalk.com/m_4043457/tm.htm

I guess he ended up buying it.


iconocast.com

Looking for a great movie to enjoy with the family? What about a great Christmas gift for somebody? 'Johnson Family Christmas Dinner' is a great movie that the entire family can enjoy.

http://www.iconocast.com/EB000000000000074/R5/News1.htm

this poet wrote a review on movieweb.com

I am really into Jean Claude LaMarre’s work, he produced Malcolm X and the tv series Law and Order. He is really good in my opinion. He has a new film coming out Dec 9th that I’m looking forward in seeing called Johnson’s Family Christmas Dinner. It sounds pretty good, I read the story line and shit, and it doesn’t seem to be like every other x-mas movie that are all the same. I found out about it here…

http://www.amazon.com/Johnson-Family.../dp/B001D68ND6


Rob
UMGD

http://www.movieweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20992

Yes, this is what I was looking for, a little good natured razzing. I found it on screencrave.com

HORRIBLE STRAIGHT-TO-DVD OF THE WEEK

“Johnson Family Christmas Dinner”

The reason this movie takes the prize is because of its full title: Black Christmas Movies Presents: “Johnson Family Christmas Dinner”. What is Black Christmas Films? Is it a new production company? Is it some new genre?

The real question is can we look forward to other ethnic holiday productions from studios that only make films featuring a specific race about a specific holiday? Such as:

* Asian Thanksgiving Movies Presents: “Turkey Day with the Nguyen Family”
* White Fourth of July Movies Presents: “Fireworks with the O’Connors”
* Latino Easter Movies Presents: “The Great Hernandez Egg Hunt”
* Indian Arbor Day Movies Presents: “The Patels Plant a Tree”

It could go on forever!

I personally think from now on every holiday film should be qualified with the race of the main characters and the holiday they’re celebrating. Because a DVD cover featuring 10 African-Americans and a title containing the word “Christmas” really isn’t clear enough.

http://screencrave.com/2008-12-09/this-week-on-dvd-the-dark-knight-horton-hears-a-who-the-wire/

and finally, Johnson Family Christmas Dinner's Rotten Tomato Meter Reading is... N/A

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/johnson_family_christmas_dinner/

Get on there and review it if you've seen it.

I recently sold this guy my roommate's broken iPod nano.


eBay listing


In my listing I made it clear that the iPod was broken and all that. I think he has a slightly different strategy.

LOL at this:



Also, I couldn't find a picture or the name of this guy, but remember the Black guy on "Undeclared" that had a crazy face and a crazy overbite and glasses? He lived on Jay Baruchel's floor and always hung out with the Samoan guy? I saw him walking down the street today on my block. Just walking, hanging out.

I always see this guy at the gym too:



and this is just plain silly:

UCB

Last night Ash and I went to the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater for the "Midnight Show." It's basically like SNL, there's a celeb host and a musical guest. Last night Dax Shepherd hosted with musical guest Tim Kasher (Cursive, The Good Life). Kasher is one of my favorite singer/songwriter/lyricists/etc. He was awesome. Dax was funny. The show was good. In the audience with us was Dax's GF Kristen Bell!!!!! and the guy who played Rachel McAdams jerky fiance in Wedding Crashers and a guy who must have been Dax's brother becuase they looked exactly the same and had the same voice. It was one of those nights when we (especially Ash) were glad to live in LA. I saw my first real life paparazzi scheming outside the theater (there was only one dude and the theater owner yelled at him). Ash and I also couldn't wrangle an invite to the after party even though we knew a friend of a friend. We didn't get home until 3 anyway so it was still a full night.

Thanksgiving in Chicago was fun. At LAX before we left Ash saw Danny from The New Kids On The Block. I saw him too but I don't know what that dude looks like and I don't know any of his songs so I didn't care. However, Robin Tunney, from "The Mentalist" asked me when our plane was supposed to land in Chicago and I told her. She was also on "Prison Break" and Empire Records.

Only a couple weeks until Nashville then PG. Are there New Year's plans yet?