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TAC Lists the Movies



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Title 

1-Sentence
Conspectus

Quote that
says it all!

You might like this
movie if you like....

You might not like
this movie if you like...

Movie Haiku
or Limerick


Untraceable

Schlock Horror Genre gets star treatment with Diane Lane as FBI Tracker.

"Mommy, why is our house on the TV"

Silence of the Lambs, SAW, MySpace

Silence of the Lambs, Tom Hanks' progeny, Spyware protection

There once was a lady from The Perfect Storm/Her acting; always above the "norm"/She joined the FBI/To catch a killer guy/Who liked to broadcast his torture porn.


There
Will Be
Blood

Expansive view of an oil man tumbling towards obession, excess and insanity.

"Do you have any others that can be 'got'?"

Citizen Kane, Giant, madness, entrepreneurial- ship

Prophet-style preaching, fair deals, clean hands

Desert gold black as soot
Screams for one to set it free
Death lurching skyward


Mad
Money

Diane Keaton, Queen Latifan and Katie Holmes rob te Federal Reserve Bank from the inside, for comedic effect.

"Unless you have a half-dozen very hard rectangular breasts, we need to talk."

Fun with Dick and Jane, The View, well-toupee'd Ted Danson

Logic, morals, banking, The Usual Suspects

There once were some girls in banking/Who did a little money yanking/They pocketed the stash/Then blew the cash/While avoiding a penal spanking.


Cloverfield

Home video view of monster attack on New York City.

"Looks like you waited one day too long to leave for Japan."

Blair Witch Project, Godzilla movies, Manhattan

The Brooklyn Bridge, Lady Liberty, steady cameras

There once was a monster from the sea/That tore the head off liberty/He threw buildings around/Stomped on the ground/And now Manhattan's history


27
Dresses

Romantic-Comedy with Katherine Heigl as pining, perpetual bridesmaid.

"I never do anything like this."

Merchant Ivory flicks, Keira Knightley, Lyricism

Fast-paced movies, Capra-esque endings, getting away with lies

Closet bloom of love
Colors bleed from one score seven
Lover wears no more


Atone-
ment

Classic Brit-epic of love, lust, and betrayal during the early stages of World War II.

"I will return. Find you, love you, marry you and live without shame."

Merchant Ivory flicks, Keira Knightley, Lyricism

Fast-paced movies, Capra-esque endings, getting away with lies

Day of sweltering heat
A testimony of lust
Hopeful love dies hard


The
Bucket
List

Pairing of Nicholson and Freeman in odd-couple look at death at the door.

"We live, we die, and the wheels on the bus go round and round."

Terms of Endearment, Tibetian vistas, hospitals, philosophical questions

Se7en, manly-men-movies, female costars

There once was a man with cancer/His friend tried to give him the answer/Adventure ensued/Life was renewed/By the rich billionare financer


In The
Name
of the
King

Medeival-style tale of magic, swords and familial love with Jason Stratham, Ray Liotta and Leelee Sobieski.

"The king has been poisoned!!"

The idea of Gladiator crossed with The Lord of the Rings

The idea of Gladiator crossed with Ray Liotta

There once was a man named Farmer/He didn't want to wear armor/But the king came calling/and Krugs go falling/My, isn't he a charmer


Juno

Nothing to do with Alaska, this story follows a pregnant teen's circle of eclectic relationships.

"I was hoping she was expelled, or into hard drugs."

Napoleon Dynamite, Dawson's Creek-style lingo

Teenagers that don't talk like Harvard-grad Kiekegaard majors

Fall of discontent
Belly swells with attitude
Gift of life for one


Charlie
Wilson's
War

Hanks and Roberts vehicle about the CIA, Afghanistani politics and the end of the cold war,

"You know you've reached rock bottom when you're told you have character flaws by a man who hanged his predecessor in a military coup."

Wag the Dog, Bill Clinton, Hot Tubs, Texas accents

Traditional politics, accountability, thin-version Tom Hanks

There once was a man from the Lone Star/Who lived his life at the wet bar/He flew to the East/Then battled the beast/And the Russians went home on a rail car.


Sweeney
Todd

Musical bloodfest with a game Tim Burton clan in tow.

"I can guarantee the closest shave you'll ever know"

Jack the Ripper, Sleepy Hollow, black humor

Straight razor shaves, Hairspray, the British judicial system

Upstairs knife in hand
Bloody with retribution
Soul flows down the street


National
Treasure
II

Book of Secrets
sequel finds treasure hunting team + Helen Mirren on worldwide search.

"Gates, people don't believe that stuff anymore."(president) "..But they want to."(Gates)

Historical landmarks, cliches, Cracker Jacks, conspiracy theories

Helen Mirren, Conde' Nast, Abraham Lincoln, facts

Torn map of desire
Man seeking golden promise
A world of found hope


Walk Hard

Parody of musician bio-pics with a fine-detail-eye and non sequitor logic.

"Get help, I'm cut in half real bad!"

Weird Al, Spinal Tap, male full-frontal

Ray, Walk the Line, subtle humor

Cut brother in half
Machete in springtime blood
Blossoms of Father's hate


Enchanted

Fanciful, udated fairytale featuring adult sensibilities mixed with classic Disney tones.

"You made a dress out of my curtains?!"

The street-singing/dancing parade scene from Ferris Bueller's Day Off

The Grinch

There once was a girl from Andalusia/Who liked to wear the color fuscia/Here smile was so "beamy"/She met her McDreamy/While dispatching a dragon, I don't roose ya


Beowulf

Visual (3D) spectacle of the high-school literature-class staple; with pools of gruel, cool and drool.

"They say you have a monster here. They say your lands are cursed. I am Beowulf and I'm here to kill your monster."

300, Dungeons & Dragons, Xbox 360, Steak Tartare, Angelina

Poetry books, stillness, marital fidelity, hygiene

There once was a man from Geats Land/Who wore a skirt and an arm band/He stripped past the waist/And didn't make haste/To kill Grendal the beast with his bare hand


No Country for Old Men

Coen brothers return-to-form about a ruthless hitman's pursuit of common man who made off with a stash of money.

"What's the most you ever lost in a coin toss?"

The Little Dutch Boy, Kill Bill I&II, Fargo, Slaughter House Techniques

Cows, fashionable hairstyles,

Jones boy on the trail
Leaves of green power the chase
Doleful end for all


I
Am
Legend

Will Smith tour-de-force with dog, chick, and zombie thrown in for for fun.

"If there's anybody out there... anybody... please. You are not alone."

Independance Day, Mannequin, Ford Mustangs, isolation

PETA, Manhattan, the dark

Desolation day
Comes to humankind soundly
Dawn of hope in one
           
 

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