31 | The Goonies (1985)

i must have watched this movie a hundred times in my life so far. this was the only movie my aunt had when i was growing up (that we knew about i guess) so every single time we went there, we'd watch this movie... and they had a pool, so we were there A LOT!

it still remains one of my all time favorite movies, and each time i watch it, i like it more and more.

i have nothing negative to say about this movie whatsoever! (except about the ending, and how even when i was a small child, i still had questions about it... but i won't say what they are right now because it will ruin the ending).

4/5

30 | The Room (2003)

i'm am 50.50 on how i want to approach the rating of this movie. allow me to explain...

on one hand, it was the worst movie i've ever seen... worse than "plan 9 from outer space" (1959)...

...but on the other hand, i was entertained the entire time at how horribly horrible it was; and i can see how the story was pretty good (would make a great play if there were decent actors, and a bit of a re-write)...

idunno... sorry dave... but i'm going to have to give this movie a 1.5/5... and that's based solely on the fact that i laughed a lot at how bad it was. i could even see myself watching this movie again for that reason.

29 | Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

good action scenes, cool effects, mediocre fake accents, and a story line in keeping with the game (from what i could tell by watching dustin play it).

it reminded me a lot of "the mummy", but without the lameness of brendan fraser.

3.5/5

28 | Dinner for Schmucks (2010)

i laughed the entire length of this movie... i repeat, the entire length. it is exactly the kind of movie i thought it was going to be... hilarious. there were so many funny people in this movie: steve carrell (surprisingly did NOT resemble michael scott at all, which was a huge relief), paul rudd (funniest man on this planet probably), zack galifianakis (hilarious in everything he is ever in), jemaine clement (you may know him from the flight of the conchords. he was one of the funniest things in this movie), ron livingston (office space. played a kind of boring role, but still...), kristen schaal (also from flight of the conchords, mel.), and chris o'dowd (roy, from the IT crowd).

loved it. go see it. 4.5/5

27 | Balls Out: The Gary Houseman Story (2009)

the stars of this this movie were seann william scott and randy quaid. typical stifler-esk  hilariousness ensues throughout the whole movie, making me laugh (A LOT) from start to finish. if seann william scott didn't seem like stifler in every movie he played, he might even be a half decent actor... but then again, if that were the case, i don't think i'd want to see any of his movies.

3/5 for the funny.

26 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)

casey jones is back in an all-new adventure with the teenage mutant ninja turtles! at first glance it appears as though we won't be seeing much of casey jones in this installment, as he is told to stay in the "present" to guard splinter and the lair; but then, we soon find out that there is a casey jones TWIN who lives back in time, and ends up being a key character in the movie. thank god for that. am i right or what?

likes: this quote | "lets see here. if i subtract the cosine from the inverted integer, then i can take the flangular and put that here. oh, that's it! of course! it's equal mass displacement!" -Donatello

dislikes: the costumes looked a lot more cartoon-ey than the previous 2 movies. the new ones give a more silly feel to the movie instead of the older, darker, and more serious feel.

shittiest of the three on almost all accounts. 2/5

25 | Sunshine Cleaning (2008)

nb.

i laughed pretty hard when the sister is telling her nephew a scary story about a kid who licked a mailbox, and her nephew asks "why did he lick the mailbox?", and she replies "because he has ocd and is obsessed with licking mailboxes".

3.5/5

24 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)

this is my favorite of the 3 live-action ninja turtle movies. the movie itself isn't as good as the first one, but i still like it the most because i think the fighting is cooler. therefore, it gets a 4/5.

23 | Across the Universe (2007)

this movie wasn't in my original list, but after reading katie's review, i had to watch it. i've only seen this movie twice before, both times being one after the other... because the first time i watched it, i was in pear's livingroom, and everyone i was watching it with went to bed half way through, but i liked it so much i wanted to finish it... then when it was done, i just wanted to watch it again... i think i stayed up until 4am that night because of this movie... and i'm not sure why i haven't watched it again since. either way, i'm glad i watched it again, and if you haven't seen it yet, do it now.

4.5/5.

22 | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

this is another movie i was waiting to watch until i was in a certain mood, party because it has subtitles, but mostly because i love thrilling mysteries. it's about a man who is hired to investigate the disappearance of a 16-year old girl who has been missing for 40 years.... and along the way, gets help from a hacker with a whole set of issues of her own.

it was cool how the movie kept you involved in two separate story lines, while also keeping you interested in how they may or may not come together. although there were parts that i either could have done without, or do not see much relevance for, i still think this movie was really well done, and i'm glad i watched it.

the thing about mysteries is that they are usually only good the first time you see them. knowing what happens doesn't ruin it for me for next time, but it will definitely allow me to see the movie from a whole new perspective.

4/5

| Rating System Exposition

oh hi there. i figured i'd give a little explanation of how i am rating these movies... in case you're like "wtf are all these 4/5's and 5/5's???". i don't really rate movies on the quality of the movie itself (although that does account for a part of it i guess), i rate it on my personal opinion of what the movie was intended to do, and if it succeeded or failed in keeping me entertained. i could rate a movie 5/5 (zoolander), while someone else might give it a 2/5, simply because they don't share the same sense of humor, which ends up leaving them annoyed the whole movie... where i, on the other hand, appreciate the kind of humor being used, and understand that was the point of the movie.

here's a little legend, for your health:

1/5 | horrible. i would not recommend this movie to anyone. waste of time.
2/5 | not good enough, but might have had a few good parts. some people might think it's an ok movie, but for the most part, was not very enjoyable for me.
3/5 | not brad. the kind of movie i could watch again one day, but it wouldn't be my first choice if i was given other options.
4/5 | great job! the kind of movie that does what it set out to do... ie: comedy that made me laugh a lot, love story that made me smile/cry, drama that kept me on the edge of my seat, etc...
5/5 | i give this rating when i can't think of anything bad to say about a movie. it might not be the most amazing movie ever made, but it definitely left me with hopes of seeing it again soon.

21 | Cop Out (2010)

i wasn't expecting a lot from this movie, other than your standard, run of the mill, shitty cop comedy... and that's exactly what it was... well, for the most part anyway. i did laugh quite a bit, and kevin smith directed it, sooo... i guess it deserves some points for that?

2.8/5? sure. why not.

20 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

i loved this movie when i was a kid, and i still love it now. the costumes are awesome, the story is awesome, and for someone who grew up being obsessed with the ninja turtles (and becoming a ninja, but that's another story) this movie had everything i could ever ask for. looking forward to watching the second one now.

3.5/5

19 | Before Sunset (2004)

ya, i cried. no big deal.

4/5

18 | Before Sunrise (1995)

i've been putting off watching this movie for about 5 years now. it was recommended to me with promises of it being one the best movies i will ever see... and i actually started watching it one time, but 15 minutes in, i could tell i would need to be in a specific mood to really get into it and enjoy it... well, today was one of those days, and it really was worth the wait. i really liked this movie, but probably not for the reasons that most people like it...ya, sure, it's a great love story, and it puts you in a great mood seeing how much they love each other, but for me, the best thing about this movie is the way they just look at one another when the other person isn't. the kind of love that makes someone want to do nothing but stare at someone else because the feeling they get is just so unarguably the greatest feeling they will ever feel, this is what i loved about this movie most. watching 2 people sharing that same feeling.

4.5/5

17 | Mary and Max (2009)

it's hard to explain how much i liked this movie.... this is because for the first 30 minutes of it, i was certain i was watching what was to be one of my new favorite movies... but then, a soon after that, the whole mood of the movie changed, and i wasn't sure what to expect next. which, in actuality, made the movie even better. also, it wasn't until about half way through that i realized the voice of max was philip seymore hoffman even! that made me like the movie even more! everything in this movie reminded me a lot of amelie with a twist of pushing daisies. great job!

*update*: after having time to process this movie, i am upgrading my rating to 5/5. this is my favorite movie so far this marathon. good luck to the future contenders.

16 | American Beauty (1999)

i don't think there is anything about this movie that i do not like. every character is perfectly thought out, and every line is perfectly written. not to mention the music, which sets the whole tone of the movie. if only life was not like this...

5/5.

15 | Greenberg (2010)

i didn't even know this movie existed until i read it on adam and jess' blogs.

stiller kind of reminded me of gaylord in meet the fockers. not only is he funny when he needs to be, but his awkward serious side is also funny as hell.

it was a nice little movie film, and to you i say "3.5/5"

. oh, also, my favorite quote in this movie is "isnt that a 20 hour flight?", "no, it's 14.", "so that's like, 7 movies." because that's honestly how i judge how far away something is. when i went to sweden i was like "ok, so, 8 hours of flights... is about 4 movies... and a few tv shows in between. no big deal. i do that on a saturday"

14 | Army of Darkness (1992)

i don't even want to watch the first 2 evil dead movies after watching this. i don't think it's worth it at this point. i've seen them before, and i guess i'll probably watch them before this marathon is over, but how can they possibly stack up to this one? they can't. this movie is just awesomeness all around. from the legendary quotes to the trampoline-jumping evil women, this movie has everything you could ever want in a comedy/horror movie.

4/5.

13 | Ghost Busters (1984)

i don't think i've seen this movie in at least 15 years. i used to have ghost buster action figures, one being egon, and when you pulled a lever on his back, his mouth would open and his eyes popped out! at the time it was coolest toy i owned.

as for a rating... anything with bill murray is an immediate 2.25/5 minimum. that, coupled with the fact that this movie is awesome, warrants a 4.25/5 in my books.

i might have to watch the second one now too. even though i remember it being worse than the first, i'm in ghost buster mode now. oh, and also, in case you didn't know, there is a third ghost busters being made soon and is rumored to come out in 2012... with all the same cast...