Disney, 'Desolation' and Debauchery

'Saving Mr. Banks' (PG-13) ****
Author P. L. Travers (Emma Thompson) reflects on her difficult childhood while meeting with filmmaker Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) during pre production for the adaptation of her novel, Mary Poppins.  Yet even with the now iconic songs being written, character and set designs being drawn up and the script being looked over Travers still has not signed over the film rights.  Simply put, I loved every single minute of this movie.  Not enough praise can be given to the acting in this movie, with MANY standout performances:  Emma Thompson as the feisty Travers, Hanks as the delightful and shrewd Disney, Colin Farrell as Travers' father in flashbacks, Paul Giamatti as Travers' limo driver, and B.J. Novak and Jason Schwartzman as the song writing Sherman Brothers.  It has a great score that always includes some music from the now iconic songs from 'Mary Poppins'.  It's sad and dramatic when it needs to be but also light and funny when it needs to be.  While watching the movie I had a smile on my face that never seemed to go away during it's 2 hour, 5 minute running time.  It was also very nostalgic watching this movie, bringing back memories of watching 'Mary Poppins' a lot as a child and memories of going to Disneyland four and a half years ago.  This is one of the best movies I've seen this year. 
TRAILERS:
'Muppets Most Wanted' - does not look as good as the previous 'Muppet' movie, but could still be fun.
'Her' - still looks good and still looks...................strange.
'Divergent' - well at least YA adaptations are now ripping off 'Hunger Games' instead of 'Twilight'.  It appears to have an interesting premise, so who knows maybe it could turn out all right.



'The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug' (PG-13) ***1/2
The 12 dwarves, along with Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellan), continue their quest to reclaim Erebor, their homeland, from Smaug (voice of Benedict Cumberbatch).  I wasn't a big fan of the first 'Hobbit' movie (pacing issues) but I heavily enjoyed this movie and had a lot of fun watching it.  Yes, it's almost three hours long but the plot kept moving forward and never seemed to drag at all.  I still don't think it's necessary to split up 'The Hobbit' into three movies, but oh well.  Extremely abrupt cliffhanger ending aside, this was still a lot of fun and entertaining.  
TRAILERS:
'The Amazing Spider-man 2' - I feel like I've already seen this movie.....
'Captain America:  The Winter Soldier' - looks okay.  I'll need to see another trailer. 
'Interstellar' - Christopher Nolan directed this?  Sold.
'Edge of Tomorrow' - 'Groundhog Day' meets Halo.  Not entirely sure about this one.
'Jupiter Ascending' - The latest from the Wachowski Siblings.  Visually it looks great, but another one that I'm not exactly sure about.  I still haven't gotten all the way through 'Cloud Atlas'.




'The Wolf of Wall Street' (R) ***1/4
Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio), from his rise to a wealthy stockbroker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.  With a cast that also features Jonah Hill, Rob Reiner, Matthew McConaughey, Jean Dujardin, Kyle Chandler, Jon Favreau, and the guy from the Arby's commercials (Bo Dietl).  This movie can be summed up in one word:  Debauchery.  Three hours of sex, drugs, money and constant profanity.  In fact as I was buying my ticket the cashier actually warned me about the content in this movie.  With that aside it is very well acted (particularly DiCaprio, Hill and Reiner), often very funny (in a dark, satirical sort of way) and despite it's almost three hour running time (it's longer than 'Desolation of Smaug') it never feels like it's being dragged out or padded.  I had a good time while watching it, but I will admit that this isn't a movie for most people.  I won't go so far as to warn people about the content of the movie....all I'll say is know what your getting in to IF you decide to go see this.       
TRAILERS: 
'Inside Llewyn Davis' - looks very good.
'Lone Survivor' - doesn't look bad.
'Million Dollar Arm' - it could be okay.
'Paranormal Activity:  The Marked Ones' - I'll only see this because I saw the others....
'Jack Ryan:  Shadow Recruit' - could also be okay
'300:  Rise of an Empire' - havent seen a trailer for this one since 'Man of Steel'.  I thought the first '300' was awesome, and this doesn't look like it'll disappoint.
'Sabotage' - Arnold Schwarzenegger leads a group of DEA agents who steal from a cartel house.  If I do see this it'll probably be a Redbox rental.






Well with these reviews finally done that wraps up reviews for 2013.  New Years Day I'll post my favorites of the year and those movies that I thought were disappointing. 

NETFLIX - 'Frances Ha' and 'Blackfish'

'Frances Ha' (R) **
I keep seeing this movie listed on various 'Best of the Year' Top 10 lists so after noticing that it was on Netflix, I decided to give it a watch.  'Frances Ha' is about the titular character (Greta Gerwig, who also co-wrote) who lives in New York but doesn't really have an apartment, apprentices for a dance company though she's not really a dancer, and throws herself headlong into her dreams, even as their possible reality dwindles.  Shot in black and white this is essentially a movie about someone trying to find their way in life, something anybody can relate to...you know, if you live in a big city, are poor yet can still afford to fly to California and to Paris, go from apartment to apartment, at one point pay $900 in rent and still complain that you're poor.  Overall 'Frances Ha' has it's moments but for the most part it's a little dull, not that funny and a bit pretentious.

   

'Blackfish' (PG-13) **1/2
Another movie I kept hearing about, but not necessarily on Top 10 lists.  'Blackfish' is a documentary that talks about the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping killer whales in captivity.  It also goes into detail about notorious killer whale Tilikum, who is responsible for the deaths of three individuals including a top killer whale trainer.  Interviews include former SeaWorld employees and killer whale trainers, a fisherman who helped capture Tilikum in the 1980s, former workers of the Canadian 'Sealand of the Pacific' (where Tilikum first lived and first killed), and the family of another victim of a killer whale attack from Loro Parque, a zoo in the Canary Islands.  Also includes sequences of trainers actually being attacked by killer whales.
The first 10 minutes I started to really hate this movie.  The 'CNN Films' logo showing up on screen followed by the introductions to the various former employees of SeaWorld left me with the feeling that this is extremely biased and that these are all disgruntled, bitter former employees.  As the movie went on...sure it's still more or less one sided but it is a compelling story and one that could be a bit better told without beating us over the head with it's message.  I don't necessarily disagree with it's message that animals in captivity should be treated better and that regardless of training these are still wild animals that are being dealt with, but it is very very very heavy handed.  I also would have liked to have seen SeaWorld's opinion on these matters, but as the end credits states SeaWorld declined to be interviewed for this movie.  I personally like to hear different sides to a story so that I can extract the real truth from what both sides are saying.  Does it change my viewpoint and perspective of SeaWorld?  Not really.  I learned a little bit more about killer whales, so I guess that's a plus. 





Okay...still one last movie to go see before I'll call it a year.  Still have to type up 'Hobbit' review (liked it a lot) and 'Wolf of Wall Street' review (also liked...to an extent).

I Finally Watched...Santa Claus Conquers The Martians

So the whole point of this "I Finally Watched..." series is so that I can watch and talk "classic" movies that I haven't seen yet, movies that allegedly are so bad that they're good, and any other movie that solicits a surprised reaction from people when I tell them that I haven't seen yet.  The first three movies were all critically acclaimed.  "Gladiator" and "Titanic" were movies that people were surprised to hear that I had not seen yet.  "It's A Wonderful Life" was a classic movie that I had not seen yet.  And so before I start randomly choosing movies from the list I compiled for this series I decided that I should probably include a movie that is allegedly so bad that it's good.  And with today being Christmas, I chose one that is quite a doozy. 

And so without further adieu the next movie in this series is Nicholas Webster's infamous 1964 holiday sci-fi movie 'Santa Claus Conquers The Martians'.  Yes, that is the actual title of the movie and yes a movie titled that actually got released into theaters.  This is yet another movie where I can't quite pinpoint the first time I had heard about this movie.  I know I kept coming across it while looking up lists of the worst movies ever made but like I said I can't pinpoint when that was.  I know that I at least had first heard about it a few years ago because I watched a video on the review site That Guy With The Glasses that had one of the various reviewers review a comic book adaptation of the movie, and clips from the movie were shown.  Various podcasts and other shows I listened to also talked about 'Santa Claus Conquers The Martians'.  And at the AMC movie theater in Muncie they were advertising a RiffTrax of 'Santa Claus Conquers The Martians' as part of their Fathom Events.  I never go to any of the Fathom Events, so I didn't go see it.     

So have I made any previous attempts to watch this movie?  Of course not!  But that all changed as I started compiling my list for this series and I noticed that 'Santa Claus Conquers The Martians' was on Netflix...

'Santa Claus Conquers The Martians' follows Martian leader Kimar (Leonard Hicks) as he realizes that his children Girmar (Pia Zadora) and Bomar (Chris Month) are watching a lot of 'Earth programs' and are becoming more and more unhappy after watching a live interview of Santa Claus (John Call) at the North Pole.  After consulting an 800-year old Martian sage, Kimar decides that the only way to make his children happy, along with the rest of the Martian children, is to kidnap Santa Claus and bring him to Mars to make toys and bring happiness.  Kimar and company also abduct two Earth children Billy (Victor Stiles) and Betty (Donna Conforti), who told the Martians where to find Santa Claus. 

Upon release...well, reviews weren't too kind and history hasn't been kind to it either.  It currently sits at a 25% at RT and is number 83 on the Bottom 100 movies on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb).  It repeatedly has shown up on lists of the worst movies ever made.  It gained more notoriety when it was featured in a 1990's episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.  I've also heard that Comedy Central will also air it around this time of year. 

So having sat down and finally watched the so-called travesty known as 'Santa Claus Conquers The Martians', what did I think of it?  First and foremost, this is by no means a good movie.  Even for 1964, it still looks ridiculously cheap and lazy.  Apart from green face paint and a funny looking hat there's hardly any difference between the humans and the Martians.  The Martians still speak English, still eat food that's commonly found on Earth (except in a pill form), and seem to be able to perfectly adjust to the difference between Earth air and Martian air.  A "polar bear" chases after Billy and Betty at the North Pole but it's so obviously a man in a very cheap looking polar bear suit and doesn't make any effort whatsoever to try and make it otherwise.  Santa himself comes off as very strange, laughing at very random moments for no reason whatsoever or at whatever not-funny joke Santa had just told.  There's an extremely cheap giant robot that looks like a toy that the Martians use to do their bidding.  The acting is alright...but let's face it these actors aren't exactly given much to work with.  The dialogue...well, most of the things coming out of there mouths just feels forced and unnatural.  And you know what?  Billy, Betty, and Santa all take getting kidnapped EXTREMELY WELL considering that they have been kidnapped by Martians who nobody knows anything about.  Also, minor spoiler alert:  There is no actual conquering of any sort in this movie.  It is by far the cheapest looking movie I've ever seen and I completely agree that it's not exactly a good movie but I can't deny that I got some enjoyment out of watching this movie.  It's so cheap, so bizarre, so weird, so stupid that it IS worth watching.  Just know what you're getting into if you ever decide to watch this movie.  Not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination so don't say that I thought it was a good movie.  I'm merely saying that I liked it as a bad movie.

So that's 'Santa Claus Conquers The Martians'.  I know at this point I'm probably repeating myself, but I'm always asking for input.  If you like this new series, let me know.  If you dislike this, let me know.  If you feel that I should quit this entirely and actually get out of my house and look for a real job, let me know.  While I do have a list for this that I've made up I'll still take suggestions for movies that I possibly haven't seen.  Leave a comment on Facebook, reply on my Twitter account, leave a comment below, talk to me, text me, read my mind, dictate a letter, carve hieroglyphs, make cave paintings, etc.

So for the rest of this series I will be taking movies from a list of 100 movies that I compiled together a few weeks ago.  This list contains classic movies, bad movies, and other movies that people were surprised to hear that I hadn't watched yet.  Simply put I will be Google searching "random number generator" and randomly generating a number between 1 and 100.  Whatever number comes up, I will be watching the movie that corresponds with it.  I probably will not end up going through this entire list, but we'll see.  Okay...time to randomly pick a number....

After picking the number and looking up the corresponding movie, all I will say about this next movie is that it is an 80's comedy that has spawned two sequels.

I Finally Watched...It's A Wonderful Life

Today I finally watched Frank Capra's 1946 classic 'It's A Wonderful Life'.  I know these posts usually start off with how I was first introduced to the movie that I chose for this, but to be fully honest I can't quite pinpoint the first time I heard about 'It's A Wonderful Life'.  I know that I kept hearing about it around this time of year and how it's such a great movie, and that's about all I got for this section.  I know that it's plot has influenced many other movies ('Shrek Forever After' and 'The Santa Clause 3:  The Escape Clause' deal with similar plot elements as this movie).

And then these posts go straight into my previous attempts to watch this movie.  Honestly....I never really made much of an effort to watch this movie.  Until now... 

Well that went quicker than I thought.  So the plot of the movie.  Businessman George Bailey (James Stewart) is usually compassionate but now is in despair and is suicidal.  Up in Heaven, three angels review George's entire life until one of them is sent to Earth to stop George from committing suicide and show him what life would have been like if he never existed.

When it was released it was a flop, barely making back half of it's budget in it's first run.  Initially when it premiered it received mixed reviews.  Despite mixed reception it still went on to earning five Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (James Stewart), Best Director (Frank Capra), Best Sound Recording, and Best Film Editing.  It won none of them, losing Best Picture to 'The Best Days of Our Lives', which I have never heard of.  Also nominated were 'Henry V', 'The Razor's Edge' and 'The Yearling'...none of which I've seen or even remotely heard of.  Despite the initial failure of it's theatrical run and not winning any Academy Awards, over time 'It's A Wonderful Life' has become one of the most acclaimed films of all time.  In 1990 it was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress.  The American Film Institute declared it as the third best film in the fantasy genre and the 11th greatest movie of all time, and Britain's Channel 4 declared it as the seventh greatest movie ever made. 

Honestly....for the most part as I watched it I just kept thinking to myself:  this is it?  Apart from the final 30 minutes of the movie, nothing ever really grabbed at me.  The actor's all do a fine job and eventually James Stewart's performance does stand out.  Really that's all I think I can comment about it without getting into spoilers.  Sure I shouldn't have to worry about spoilers over a movie that's 67 years old, but I try and stay spoiler free as best as I can.  I think it's an all right movie with a great third act but I don't entirely think that it's a great movie.  I might have to watch this again at some point and see if it gets better with repeat viewings. 

So that's some thoughts and words about 'It's A Wonderful Life'.  I know usually these posts go on and on and on and on but what can I say other than I didn't exactly have a whole lot to say about this movie.  The next movie, long considered to be one of the worst movies ever made, I'm sure I'll have a little bit more to say. 

Christmas Movies

Well, Christmas is coming up this week and that means several things:  Christmas songs have been playing on the radio non stop for the past several weeks, Walmart is packed with last minute shoppers, the Salvation Army is ringing their bells again, and Christmas movies have started popping up again on TV and in theaters.  So, like I did for Halloween, I compiled a list of Christmas movies.  Some of which I like and recommend, others I don't like and deserve a nice lump of coal in their stocking.  There's even a Dishonorable Mention.  




THE NICE LIST

'Elf'
      I remember going to see this in the theater the day it came out in 2003.  Buddy (Will Ferrell), a human who was raised as an elf at the North Pole, goes on a journey to New York City in search of his true identity.  A hilarious movie from start to finish, full of holiday cheer.  This and the 'Anchorman' movies still remain my favorite Will Ferrell movies.

'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'
      In the third installment of National Lampoon's 'Vacation' series, the Griswold family's plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster.  Another Christmas movie that is hilarious from start to finish.  

'A Charlie Brown Christmas'
          Okay, it's not exactly a full length movie, but let's face it:  It's not Christmas without having watched 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'.  Repelled by the commercialism he sees around him, Charlie Brown tries to find the true meaning of Christmas.  It's short, simple, and to the point.  And it's pretty funny.

 'Die Hard'
          What?? That's not a Christmas movie!!!! Um...yes it is.  It's as much a Christmas movie as any of these other movies...much like how 'Die Hard 2', 'Batman Returns', 'Iron Man 3', 'Lethal Weapon' and 'Gremlins' are also Christmas movies.  Anyway, 'Die Hard' is the first and still the best in this series.  NYPD officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) tries to save wife Holly Gennaro (Bonnie Bedelia) and several others, taken hostage by German terrorist Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.  Simply put, this movie is AWESOME!!  Full of intense action, hilarious one liners, a great villain...it's a lot of fun.  Yippey-ki-yay.....you know the rest.

(Most) of those Rankin/Bass Specials
          From 'The Year Without A Santa Claus', 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town', 'Rudolph's Shiny New Year', 'Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July' and many more, it's just not the Christmas season without having flipped on ABC Family to watch at least some of these.  Pure holiday fun. 

'Love Actually'
          What?? That's a chick flick!!! BOO!!!!! You suck! Zero Stars.  Yes, I liked this movie.  Quite a bit actually.  So what?  It's now on Netflix but I rented it from Redbox last year because I had a free Redbox rental and there wasn't much else that I wanted to watch at that particular Redbox stand that I wanted to rent.  It's an ensemble romantic comedy set around the holidays in London that has a ridiculous amount of interweaving storylines:

• Aging rock and roll legend Billy Mack (Bill Nighy) records a Christmas variation of the hit song 'Love Is All Around' and it soon becomes number 1.  But this success still makes Mack feel empty and alone and his manager (Gregor Fisher) tries to cheer him up.
• Juliet (Keira Knightley) and Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor) are recently married, but Peter's best friend Mark (Andrew Lincoln) has been acting strange around them.
• Jamie (Colin Firth), a writer, discovers that his girlfriend had been cheating on him with his brother.  Devastated, he retreats to a cottage in France where he soon takes a liking to his Portuguese housekeeper Aurelia (Lucia Moniz), who only speaks in her native tongue.
• Harry (Alan Rickman) is the managing director of a design agency who starts to take a liking to his new secretary Mia (Heike Makatsch) unbeknownst to his wife Karen (Emma Thompson) and children.  Also features Rowan Atkinson as a jewelry store worker.
• David (Hugh Grant) is the new Prime Minister of Great Britain.  He soon starts to take a liking to Natalie (Martine McCutcheon), a member of his house hold staff.  Also features Billy Bob Thornton as the President of the United States of America.
• Daniel (Liam Neeson) and his stepson Sam (Thomas Sangster) are mourning the loss of their wife and mother.  Sam soon starts to like an American classmate of his.
• Sarah (Laura Linney) is in love with her company's creative director Karl (Rodrigo Santoro).  She also has to help with her brother Michael (Michael Fitzgerald), who is in a mental institution.
• After failing to woo any British women, Colin (Kris Marshall) informs his friend Tony (Abdul Salis) that he intends on going to America to find love, convinced that his Britishness will be a huge asset to him.
• John (Martin Freeman) and Judy (Joanna Page) are body doubles for...well....an 'adult' movie.  They are surprisingly comfortable on set, but off set they are timid and shy but soon start to develop a relationship.
  
  Lots of things going on and it is quite interesting how all of these story lines interweave with each other.  It's funny, it's sweet, it's just all around a very good movie. 

THE NAUGHTY LIST

'Christmas With The Kranks'
          With their daughter away, Luther and Nora Krank (Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis) decide to skip Christmas altogether much to the chagrin of their friends and neighbors.  But when their daughter Blair (Julie Gonzalo) decides to come home, this causes an uproar when they have to celebrate the holidays at the last minute.  Based on the novel 'Skipping Christmas' by John Grisham, but was forced to change it's title due to the similar sounding 'Surviving Christmas', which starred Ben Affleck and the late James Gandolfini and was released two months earlier (and was actually out on DVD by the time 'Kranks' was released).  I went to see this with my brother and a friend and I remember using a free movie pass to go see it.  It's only 98 minutes, but it felt a lot longer than that.  Simply put, it just wasn't funny.  And nothing's worse than a comedy that isn't funny....okay I can think of a lot of other things that are worse but that's not the point.

'The Polar Express'
          Based on the classic book by Chris Van Allsburg, a doubting boy boards a magical train on Christmas Eve that's headed to the North Pole and Santa Claus' home.  This is the first of director Robert Zemecki's three feature films entirely made from motion capture performances (the others being 'Beowulf' and 'Disney's A Christmas Carol').  Tom Hanks takes on six roles on this movie.  I liked the book, and my 3rd grade class even did this as a play (I played one of the children on the Polar Express).  In adapting such a short book into a full length feature film, lots of other characters and sideplots were added, and to be honest it all felt like needless padding.  I didn't like it at all. 

'Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer & the Island of Misfit Toys'
          Technically a 'sequel' to the original Rankin/Bass special 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' and the animated movie 'Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer:  The Movie', but is mostly a rehash of the former with the Island of Misfit toys storyline.  It tries it's hardest, but in trying to emulate the animation of the original film but with computer animation it just comes off as cheap and poorly animated.  And that's a huge distraction.  Pointless and unnecessary.



DISHONORABLE MENTION

'Eight Crazy Nights'
          Not a Christmas movie, but a Hanukkah movie.  This deserves eight large truckloads full of coal, delivered on each of the eight nights of Hanukkah.  Davey Stone (voice of Adam Sandler), an alcoholic with a criminal record, is sentenced to community service under the supervision of an elderly referee (also voiced by Adam Sandler). Davey is then faced with trying to reform and abandon his bad habits.  This was on Netflix and I randomly decided to watch it.  I HATED THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It tries ridiculously hard to be funny and fails miserably.  Granted, humor is subjective and I'm sure there are plenty of people who like this movie....I'm just not one them.........





So, what are some Christmas movies you like to watch this time of year?

REVIEW - 'American Hustle'

'American Hustle' (R) **
Con artist Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) and his seductive partner Sydney Prosser Amy Adams), are forced to work for a wild FBI agent, Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia in an effort to take down corrupt politicians, starting with Camden Mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner).  With Jennifer Lawrence as Irving's crazy wife, comedian Louis C.K. as Richie's superior at the FBI, and Robert De Niro as the head of the mafia.

Simply put, I didn't like it.  I know I'm in the extreme minority on this (94% on RT, 88 on Metacritic, on numerous 'Best of the Year' lists, and nominated for numerous awards, and will most likely be heavily nominated at the Oscars), but to me 'American Hustle' was not a good movie.  The 70's soundtrack was awesome, the bad 70's hair/clothes were awesome, the scene with Robert De Niro was great but as for the movie itself...not so much.  It was rather slow paced.  I checked the time on my phone 3 times and I lost count of the number of times I kept fidgeting around in my seat out of boredom.  Scenes just kinda go on and characters keep on talking and I couldn't really get invested in any of it.  And for being billed as a 'Comedy' it wasn't very funny.


This is from the same director as 'Silver Linings Playbook' and 'The Fighter'.  'Silver Linings Playbook' is great and I may or may not be writing more about that movie within the next few weeks as the year ends and I'm compiling end of year list(s).  'The Fighter' I didn't really like (also couldn't really get invested in the movie as a whole) but at least with that movie I liked several of the performances.  'American Hustle' I couldn't even get behind those.  They aren't bad by any means I just didn't think they were as amazing as almost every other review says.  And Jennifer Lawrence looks a little young to be playing Christian Bale's wife.

My expectations were high for this after seeing the first trailer for it.  But I was disappointed. 






TRAILERS
'Million Dollar Arm' - Disney's latest sports movie involves 'Mad Men''s Jon Hamm picking up cricket players from India to play professional baseball in the United States.  Didn't look horrible...just kinda bland.

'Her' - Still looks all right, but looks really......odd, to say the least.

'About Last Night' - Remake.  And in spite of Kevin Hart being in this version of it I did manage to chuckle a few times.  I haven't seen the original and I don't really go see chick flicks so I don't really plan on seeing this.


'Robocop' - Remake.  Doesn't look all that bad.  Still haven't seen the original...

'Jack Ryan:  Shadow Recruit' - Reboot.  Once again, doesn't really look all that bad.

'3 Days To Kill' - A dying Secret Service Agent trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter is offered an experimental drug that could save his life in exchange for one last assignment.  This could be awesome...or it could be really dumb. 





Okay...still need to see 'The Hobbit' and 'Wolf of Wall Street' before I'll call it a year.

NFL Week 16 Pick 'Em

Well after two great weeks of picks, I only broke even last week.  And both of my fantasy teams won their respective playoff match-ups so that's always a place.  Granted, one of those teams (Muncie Alcoholics) was in the consolation bracket but a win is a win.    


DOLPHINS @ Bills
SAINTS @ Panthers
Vikings @ BENGALS
BRONCOS @ Texans
TITANS @ Jaguars
Colts @ CHIEFS
COWBOYS @ Redskins
Browns @ JETS
Buccaneers @ RAMS
Cardinals @ SEAHAWKS
Giants @ LIONS
PATRIOTS @ Ravens
Raiders @ CHARGERS
Steelers @ PACKERS
Bears @ EAGLES
Falcons @ 49ERS

Last week:  8-8, 50%
Overall:  131-93, 58.48%

REVIEWS - 'Anchorman 2' and 'Identity Thief'

Well I'm single, unemployed, in debt, and I've moved back into my parents house....so in other words I've graduated college!  I'll have a post up about graduation and my time at Ball State eventually, but first I'll review a couple of movies I watched this week.

REDBOX
'Identity Thief' (R) **1/4
Can't argue against a free Redbox rental...right?    Mild-mannered businessman Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman) travels from Denver to Florida to confront the deceptively harmless-looking woman (Melissa McCarthy) who has been living it up after stealing Sandy's identity.  This had potential.  Both Bateman and McCarthy can be very funny.  But for the most part it wasn't all that funny.  Heck, most of the time it appeared that it wasn't even trying to be funny.  It did manage to get one laugh out loud moment from me along with some scattered chuckles, but most of the time I was just staring at my laptop watching this and hoping it would get funny.  There are also several moments that made me want to yell out 'BS' at the screen.  Overall I don't recommend it even if you are a fan of McCarthy.  But if it's a free Redbox rental or it's on TV....there are worse movies you could watch.   

THEATER
'Anchorman 2:  The Legend Continues' (PG-13) ***1/2
Great Odin's Raven!  Nine years after 'Anchorman:  The Legend of Ron Burgundy' we finally get this long awaited sequel.  Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is down on his luck:  He's fired from his anchor job and replaced by his now wife Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), and is soon fired from Sea World.  But a glorious new opportunity arises as a 24 hour news channel is about to be launched and Burgundy is chosen as one of the many anchors for the new channel.  Bringing with him to his newscast is the rest of his Channel 4 Action News team:  sportscaster Champ Kind (David Koechner), who has started a restaurant;  reporter in the field Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), who has become a photographer; and weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), who claims that he is dead.  Once in New York and back on the news on GNN, shenanigans ensure as they deal with more diversity in the newsroom, more egos, blindness, awkward encounters, romance, more jazz flute, more Baxter and a lot more cameos from unexpected people.  I loved the original 'Anchorman' and this one did not disappoint.  About 20 minutes could've been trimmed from the movie but I was laughing hysterically throughout the whole thing so I can't act like I wasn't impressed.  Yes it's all stupid and dumb and bizarre, but it's all so goofy and hilarious that it doesn't matter.  If you didn't like the first movie or you're not a Will Ferrell fan, this won't exactly convert you.  But for the rest of us, it it's a great time at the movies.  You stay classy. 

TRAILERS:
'Ride Along' - Still don't think Kevin Hart is funny...

'That Awkward Moment' - it looks like it could be funny.

'Welcome To Yesterday' - a found footage movie involving time travel?  Um....okay.......

'Blended' - Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore take their families to Africa?  Um...okay.....

'Jack Ryan:  Shadow Recruit' - I've never seen any of the other Jack Rylan movies ('The Hunt for Red October', 'Patriot Games', 'Clear and Present Danger', 'The Sum of All Fears') but since this is an original story and a reboot then it doesn't matter I suppose.  It looks like it could have potential to be a nice, solid action thriller.

'Mr. Peabody & Sherman' - I never watched the original cartoon.  This looks like it'll be okay.

'22 Jump Street' - I thought '21 Jump Street' was hilarious, and this looks like it'll be consistent.




And yes, I know I still need to go see the new 'Hobbit movie....there's a few movies I still need to hopefully squeeze in before the end of this year.  I also might want to get a job sometime soon...

Golden Globe Nomination Reactions

All right it's time for award season.  That special time of year where various organizations start handing out awards to a bunch of movie that oh-so coincidentally also happen to be released around this time of year...mainly in LA or NYC....

Sure there are a myriad of awards shows this time of year but the main two that I will be blogging about will be the Golden Globes and the Oscars.  The Golden Globes are handed out annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, honoring the year's best in movies and TV.  I don't talk a whole lot about TV nor do I watch a whole lot of TV so I will only be talking about the movies.

For this year the Globes will be handed out on January 14 in a ceremony hosted by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, who also hosted last year.  The ceremony itself was ridiculously long and padded but at least Fey and Poehler were funny.  It also helped that I was on Skype with someone....

Anyway.  Here are the nominees and some quick comments about each category.


BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
12 Years A Slave
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Philomena
Rush

COMMENTS:  I haven't seen 'Rush' or 'Philomena'.  I wasn't the biggest fan of 'Captain Phillips'.  'Gravity' and '12 Years A Slave' are both great.  Surprised to see 'The Butler', 'All Is Lost', 'Saving Mr. Banks' or 'Dallas Buyers Club' not in this but oh well.  Honestly I was surprised to see 'Rush' nominated.

 

BEST MOTION PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
American Hustle
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
The Wolf of Wall Street

COMMENTS:  I've seen NONE of these.  In the coming weeks hopefully that will change...



BEST ACTOR - DRAMA
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave
Idris Elba, Mandela:  Long Walk To Freedom
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaghey, Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Redford, All Is Lost

COMMENTS:  A nice solid list of nominees with Ejiofor and Redford in particular deserving of their nominations.  A bit surprised to see Idris Elba's name pop up for 'Mandela:  Long Walk To Freedom'.




BEST ACTOR - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Christian Bale, American Hustle
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis
Joaquin Phoenix, Her

COMMENTS:  Once again, I've seen none of these but that will change in the coming weeks.  I know Bruce Dern won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival in May and that Christian Bale once again drastically changed his appearance for a role.



BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Daniel Bruhl, Rush
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years A Slave
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

COMMENTS:  Another very solid list of nominees.  This is Abdi's acting debut and he knocked it out of the park.  But this will probably come down to Fassbender vs. Leto.




BEST ACTRESS - DRAMA
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks
Kate Winslet, Labor Day

COMMENTS:  The only performance of these I've seen was Sandra Bullock's in Gravity.  It is surprising that she got a nomination.  Yeah that's all I got for this category. 



BEST ACTRESS - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Julie Delpy, Before Midnight
Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Enough Said
Meryl Streep, August:  Osage County

COMMENTS:  Meryl Streep could be filmed sitting in a chair eating Cheetos, drinking beer, belching obnoxiously loud, watching football and still be nominated for Best Actress.  That aside, I've seen NONE of these....I sense a pattern......



BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years A Slave
Julia Roberts, August:  Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska

COMMENTS:  Another category where so far I've only seen one of the performances, having seen Lupita Nyong'o in '12 Years A Slave'.  It's her first movie, and she knocks it out of the park and then some.  



BEST ANIMATED FILM
The Croods
Frozen
Despicable Me 2

COMMENTS:  Wait a minute, I've seen ALL of these!!!  Honestly out of all the animated movies I saw this year these three were the best.  'Croods' was funny, I loved 'Despicable Me 2', and 'Frozen' was actually really good and a lot better than I thought it would be.  More than likely 'Frozen' will win this....

 



BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Blue Is The Warmest Color
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
The Past
The Wind Rises

COMMENTS:  I've only seen 'Blue Is The Warmest Color'.  A bit surprising to see 'The Wind Rises' in this category and not also in Best Animated Film.

  

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Atlas" - The Hunger Games:  Catching Fire
"Let It Go" - Frozen
"Ordinary Love" - Mandela:  Long Walk To Freedom
"Please Mr. Kennedy" - Inside Llewyn Davis
"Sweeter Than Fiction" - One Chance

COMMENTS:  I heard part of "Atlas" as I was walking out of the theater during the credits for 'Catching Fire'.  "Let It Go" wasn't my favorite song from 'Frozen' but it was still a solid song.  I've seen a clip from 'Inside Llewyn Davis' that featured Oscar Isaacs and Justin Timberlake performing 'Please Mr. Kennedy'.  The other two songs I haven't listened to.  



BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
All Is Lost
Mandela:  Long Walk To Freedom
Gravity
The Book Thief
12 Years A Slave

COMMENTS:  The scores for 'Gravity' and 'All Is Lost' are both amazing and both help the rather quiet natures of both of those movies.

 

BEST SCREENPLAY
Spike Jones, Her
Bob Nelson, Nebraska
John Ridley, 12 Years A Slave
Jeff Pope and Steve Coogan, Philomena
Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell, American Hustle

COMMENTS:  Solid list of nominees...I guess.

 

BEST DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips
Steve McQueen, 12 Years A Slave
Alexander Payne, Nebraska
David O. Russell, American Hustle

COMMENTS:  Solid list of nominees.


OVERALL GOLDEN GLOBES COMMENTS:  No love for 'The Butler'?  Nothing for 'This Is The End' or 'The Heat' in any of the comedy categories?  Oh well.  I'm not the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.  Perhaps I should make my own awards with movies that I've seen.....

I Finally Watched...Titanic

So whether as an icebreaker or as a drinking game, has anyone played the game where you say things that you haven't done?  Whenever I was involved in a game like that, I usually had a few statements that were always my go to things to say:

                     1.  I've never been to Florida
                     2.  I've never been to the ocean
                     3.  I've never had a piercing
                     4.  I've never seen 'Titanic'

And every time I'd say that I haven't seen 'Titanic' the following reaction would always be a surprising "You haven't seen 'Titanic'??"  I had attempted to watch it in the past but there will be more on that later.

So the next movie in this series is James Cameron's 1997 epic romantic disaster movie 'Titanic'.  I don't quite remember when I first heard about this movie.  Being six years old when it was released I clearly didn't hear or see anything about it.  But as the late 90's wore on, I had heard more about it but not a whole lot.  I knew it had starred Leonardo DiCaprio, it was based on a real event, it had won a lot of Oscars, and I had heard of the phrase "I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD!!".  I knew that my grandparents owned it on VHS and that it came out in 2 videocassettes since it is a ridiculously long movie.  I also knew that I wasn't allowed to watch it.  I also remember hearing that it was the highest grossing movie of all time, beating out a 20-year record held by 'Star Wars Episode IV' and a record that would fall 12 years later with James Cameron's own movie 'Avatar'. 

Although perhaps I had heard enough about the movie that spurred an interest in the Titanic when I was in 3rd or 4th grade.  We read a story about it in class and we watched the 1958 Titanic movie 'A Night To Remember'.  At some point I got a small book written for children that talked about the voyage of the Titanic.  How it was said to be unsinkable.  How it had a system in place where if four compartments flooded the ship would still be fine, but as we all know more than four compartments had flooded following it's collision with the iceberg.  How there weren't enough life boats for everyone on board.  I remember reading about Captain Smith and some rich business person name J.J. Astor. 

In addition to the story in class, the 1958 movie and the children's book my brothers and I also received a computer game entitled 'Titanic:  Adventure Out of Time'.  From what I can remember about the game you start off in a London apartment during World War II.  As London is being bombed by the Nazi's the apartment gets hit and all of a sudden you are transported back to 1912 on the Titanic.  You are able to walk around the entire ship and even talk to certain fellow passengers.  There is an actual storyline involving missing items but I don't believe that any of us actually finished the game.

But I'm not here to talk about computer games, I'm here to talk about movies.  So before finally watching it on Netflix for this series on my blog, there haven't been too many attempts to watch it in the past.  I'm sure at some point I asked my grandparents if I could watch it but I don't quite remember.  If I did I'm sure my grandparents were fine with it but it was up to my parents, who I know would say 'No'.  Like I said, I wasn't allowed to watch this movie when I was younger.  The only other attempt to watch it that I can recall was that I had rented it from the library but I had never gotten around to actually watching it.  But now thanks to Netflix....I've finally watched it.  Sure it was re-released (in a 3D conversion of course) in theaters last year for the 100th anniversary of the Titanic, but why would I go pay to see a movie that while I had never seen I could easily access for free?

Alright, enough rambling.  'Titanic' starts off in the present day as treasure hunter Brock Lovett (Bill Paxton) is exploring the wreckage of the Titanic looking for a lost blue diamond known as "The Heart of the Ocean".  His crew discovers an unopened safe in the wreckage and while they don't find the diamond they do find several papers that could be salvaged.  One paper reveals a drawing of a young women wearing the "Heart of the Ocean" around her neck, with the drawing being dated the day he Titanic sank.  After the drawing is shown on TV, Rose Calvert (Gloria Stuart) claims that she is the woman in the drawing and recalls her experiences aboard the Titanic.  These experiences mostly involve Rose (Kate Winslet) being miserable around the other aristocrats and her fiancee (Billy Zane).  She doesn't really love him and is primarily marrying him because her own mother Ruth (Frances Fisher) wants to keep her high social status.  She soon falls in love with a kind but poor artist Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio).

Before it was released some in the movie industry had predicted that 'Titanic' would flop, largely because it was the most expensive movie ever had at the time.  But it opened number 1 at the box office it's opening weekend (beating out the latest Bond movie 'Tomorrow Never Dies') and the rest is history.  It received mostly positive reviews and soon started sweeping the awards circuit.  It received fourteen Academy Award nominations, which tied it with 1950's 'All About Eve' for the movie with the most Academy Award nominations.  It won 11, including Best Picture, Best Director (James Cameron), Best Original Song ("My Heart Will Go On - music by James Horner/lyrics by Will Jennings/performed by Celine Dion), Best Original Dramatic Score (James Horner), Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing and Best Visual Effects.  The 11 Academy Awards tied it with 'Ben-Hur', and it was later matched by 'Lord of the Rings:  The Return of the King".  The Academy Awards it was nominated for, but didn't win, include Best Actress (Kate Winslet - lost to Helen Hunt for 'As Good As It Gets), Best Supporting Actress (Gloria Stuart - lost to Kim Basinger for 'L.A. Confidential') and Best Make-Up.  For Best Picture it beat the likes of 'As Good As It Gets', 'The Full Monty', 'Good Will Hunting' and 'L.A. Confidential'.  I've heard of all of those but the only one I've seen is 'Good Will Hunting'.  If you haven't seen 'Good Will Hunting' it is a pretty good movie.

So after having sat through all 194 minutes of 'Titanic', what did I think of it?  Honestly....I liked it and thought it was pretty good.  11 Academy Awards and over $600 million good?  No.  But it is pretty good.  Going into the movie I thought that the running time of the movie would bug me and that the love story would make me roll my eyes, but surprisingly I was okay with both of those. I've seen way worse love stories than this one.  But anyway, the acting actually is very good.  Some of the special effects haven't exactly aged well but the actual sinking of the Titanic later on in the movie is really well done.  Another thing I liked is the ship itself.  Something that I found fascinating in the Titanic computer game was being able to walk around and explore the ship.  Indeed various parts of the ship are explored and it does look really neat.  It's shot well and the score is also quite good.  The flashing back and forth between the present and 1912 got annoying sometimes because as I was invested in what was happening in the past it would cut to the present and someone interrupting Rose as she was telling her story.  Overall it is very well made and very well acted.  So now for the question I'm sure that you're all thinking to yourself if you know anything about how watching 'Titanic' has affected some people:

Did I cry while watching it?

...........I will plead the fifth on that one...........

Now there were a few times in the movie I kept making snide comments referring to this year's 'The Great Gatsby' movie that also starred Leonardo DiCaprio.  During the dinner scene where Jack is having dinner with Rose, her fiance, her mother and other various aristocrats, Rose raises her glass to toast something that Jack had said when asked about his life.  After Rose said her line, I immediately said "To Mr. Gatsby!" and of course the next shot was DiCaprio looking on, raising his glass as well.  After the dinner scene Rose's fiancee leaves to go have cigars and brandy and while Jack doesn't join them he does slip Rose a note telling her to meet him at the clock by the staircase.  She meets him, and Jack then tells her "So do you want to go to a real party?".  My immediate reaction was "We then CUT TO 1920's New York in the West Egg at Gatsby's House".  I got a kick out of those comments, but then again my sense of humor can be very very dry sometimes.

So that's 'Titanic' and the second installment of 'I Finally Watched...".  Now I stated this in my last post about 'Gladiator' but I'll quickly say it again.  I'm always asking for input.  If you like this new series, let me know.  If you dislike this, let me know.  If you feel that I should quit this entirely and stick to my so far non-existent day job, let me know.  While I do have a list for this that I've made up I'll still take suggestions for movies that I possibly haven't seen.  Leave a comment on Facebook, reply on my Twitter account, leave a comment directly on my blog, talk to me, text me, read my mind, write a letter, smoke signals, call from a landline or payphone, etc. 

The next two movies for this series I have already picked out.  For the third installment I've chosen a movie that is largely considered to be a Christmas classic ever since it was released in 1946.  The movie for the fourth installment has also been considered a Christmas classic since it was released in 1964.....but for all the wrong reasons and is usually on lists of the worst movies ever made. 

After these two movies I will then resort to randomly picking one from a list that I recently put together.  Basically I'll be Google searching for a random number generator, and I'll watch whatever movie happens to correspond with that number. 

NFL Week 15 Pick 'Em

Once again another good week for picks.  And Jeff Triplette should be fired and never be allowed to referee another game.  Sure in the end the Bengals still might have won but that was a crucial fourth down stop for the Colts.  And he was the same ref who caused confusion at the end of the Redskins/Giants game the week before.

In other random NFL comments.....the Jaguars technically are the hottest team in the AFC right now being the winners of three straight and four of their last five.  Yep.  Let that sink in....

Texans fire Head Coach Gary Kubiak due to this disastrous season for the Texans after having consecutive winning seasons and winning the AFC South by default* two seasons in a row.  It's also  looking more and more likely that Redskins Head Coach Mike Shanahan will also be out the door sooner than later.  Since today was my last day working for Ball State Dining Services I will be looking for a job....granted I never played football when I was younger so that would be a huge strike against me getting hired so I probably shouldn't put all of my eggs in that Head Coaching basket.  I might have a better chance at winning the lottery....or striking it rich from the stock market....or going out west and finding gold....or running for Congress....or....okay I'm rambling at this point.  On with the picks....

Chargers @ BRONCOS
PATRIOTS @ Dolphins
Bills @JAGUARS
Texans @ COLTS
EAGLES @ Vikings
SEAHAWKS @ Giants

49ERS @ Buccaneers
BEARS @ Browns
Redskins @ FALCONS
Jets @ PANTHERS
CHIEFS @ Raiders
CARDINALS @ Titans
Packers @ COWBOYS
SAINTS @ Rams
BENGALS @ Steelers
Ravens @ LIONS

Last week:  12-4, 75%
Overall:  123-85, 59.13%

*Yeah, it was by default.  The Titans and the Jaguars both years haven't had much going for them, so it was basically a contest between the Texans and the Colts.  That first season was the season the Colts also didn't have much going for them, going 2-14.  The next year sure the Colts finished 11-5 but they stumbled out the gate a little bit.  Henceforth, why the Texans won the AFC South by default two seasons in a row. 

Disney, 'Dallas', Finals and Finality

'Frozen' (PG) ***1/4
Yeah...I saw this.  Saw it on Monday but I've been busy with school to write something up about it.  Saw it for two reasons:
                     1) - It was actually getting rave reviews, with most calling it one of Disney's best
                           since 'Beauty and the Beast'.
                     2) - I was stressed out and needed something to take my mind off things. 
                           Usually you can't go wrong with Disney...
Anyway, fearless optimist Princess Anna (voice of Kristen Bell) teams up with Kristoff (voice of Jonathan Groff) in an epic journey, encountering Everest-like conditions, and a hilarious snowman named Olaf (voice of Josh Gad) in a race to find Anna's sister Queen Elsa (Idina Menzel), whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.  It wasn't advertised as a musical, but like many other Disney movies it indeed is a musical.  But overall I liked it quite a bit, although my opinion has waned since I saw it.  It's beautifully animated, the songs actually are pretty good for the most part, it's very funny and the 3D was also very good.  At one point Olaf sings a song about how he is looking forward to summer, blissfully unaware of or just flat out ignoring what would happen to him in warmer temperatures.  What's not to like about that?   There's also plenty of twists and turns to the usual Disney tropes that keep it fresh and interesting.  I do have one nitpick about the movie but that would be getting into spoilers.  I wouldn't say that it's one of Disney's best ever but then again it's been a long while since I've seen any of the earlier Disney animated movies  ('Robin Hood' and 'The Fox and The Hound' were my personal favorites growing up.  'Great Mouse Detective' was also up there).  Now if you do go see 'Frozen' stay through the credits.  There is a scene after the credits that's worth staying for.

TRAILERS:  'The Boxtrolls' (didn't show much of what it was about but it's from the same studio that made 'Coraline' and 'Paranorman');  'Maleficent' (could be good);  'Muppets Most Wanted' (Doesn't look as good as the previous movie but it could still be fun);  'The Nut Job' (This could be awesome...after all, who doesn't like a good heist movie?)




'Dallas Buyers Club' (R) **1/2
This is a prime example of a movie that I go to see merely based on critical acclaim and possible awards recognition.  That, and I wanted to go see one last movie at the AMC Theater here in Muncie before I graduate.  Between the two AMC theaters in Muncie I've seen quite a lot of movies.  Probably more than I should have....some I could've avoided entirely....others I didn't really need to see but decided on a spur of the moment decision to go see them.  But enough rambling about movie theaters.

In 1985 Dallas, electrician/hustler/gun-totin'/racist/homophobic/redneck Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey, who lost 30 pounds for this role) works around the system to start the titular organization to help AIDS patients get the medication they need after he is himself diagnosed with the disease.  He soon gets help from his doctor Eve Saks (Jennifer Garner) and forms an unlikely, uneasy partnership with fellow AIDS patient/drug addict Rayon (Jared Leto, who also lost a significant amount of weight), who is a transvestite.

For the most part McConaughey's and Leto's performances were good.  Although with Matthew McConaughey there were several moments early on that just kinda took me out of the movie.  And despite the movie being slightly under 2 hours it certainly didn't feel that way.  I kept shifting around in my seat.  After the movie I felt drained.  Not the draining feeling I felt after watching '12 Years A Slave'.  I'm talking about the draining feeling that made me feel really tired and in need of a very long nap.  I mean overall it's not a bad movie by any means, I just felt underwhelmed by it as a whole.  Perhaps my expectations were way too high.

TRAILERS:  'American Hustle' (still looks great);  'Lone Survivor' (I don't know about this one, could be good);  'Nebraska' (it looks good);  'The Grand Budapest Hotel' (looks strange, but also looks funny);  'Her' (Joaquin Phoenix falls in love with a Siri-like progam voiced by Scarlett Johansson.  This looks....different)

                                                                --------------------

Well this coming week is finals week.  Monday is technically the last day of classes, but finals are happening the rest of the week.  I have 4 final exams, 4 take home essays to do (500 words or less), 1 paper revision for now with the possibility of a few more as well later on in the week.  Two of my final exams I have to take in a computer lab and both are comprehensive.  The other two final exams I have to take in class Wednesday morning and Friday afternoon and only cover material from the second half of the semester.  The take home essays I have until Friday to do, and the paper revision is due Monday.  The other paper revisions, if I have to do those, would be due by Friday.  I won't know if I have to do those other revisions until Monday.

So as far as blog posts this week goes, my NFL picks will be up on Wednesday night.  I hope to have the next installment of "I Finally Watched..." up this week as well but that depends on if I get around to watching the movie for it.  Like I said, I have a sinking feeling about it.  The main precursor awards to the Oscars, the Golden Globes, will be announcing their nominations Thursday morning so I'll probably do a quick write up of that as well.

So we'll see how this week goes.  It'll be quite productive to say the least. 

                                                                 --------------------

Well, I've talked about Disney, Dallas and Finals but now it's time for finality.  Barring divine intervention or a sudden head injury, this will be the last week of my collegiate career.  I will be graduating on December 14th.  Am I excited about it?  Well.....maybe I'll be a little more excited about it later in the week.  Then afterward I get to move back home and start trying to find a real job. 

My college career is coming to a close, and 2013 is also coming to a close.  I'll probably have more about this year in a few weeks but this year has had it's ups and it's downs.

So what will this blog bring for the rest of the year?  The usual things.  More reviews, more NFL picks, stuff about Christmas movies, stuff about movies that "I Finally Watched...", and whatever else comes to mind.  I have a few ideas for things I'm going to do next year on this blog but I'll keep those ideas under wraps for now.



Well, I have plenty of things I need to do today.  And the next day.  And the next day....and the next day....and the next day....and the next day....and the next day, but after this particular day's events it's all over.  There is light at the end of the tunnel....of course directly outside of that tunnel is a steep cliff that I like to call 'the real world'.

NFL Week 14 Pick 'Em

The NFL fined Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin $100,000 for his sideline gaffe late in the Steelers-Ravens game last Thursday night.  In addition, the NFL is considering stripping the Steelers of draft picks once the draft order has been set....sorry but all of that's really stupid.  A slight fine I can possibly understand but $100,000?  That's ridiculous.  Then again to any coach or player in the NFL $100,000 is like grabbing spare change from a cup holder in the car.

That aside, for once in a long while I was in the positive for picks going 11-5.  Hopefully my luck continues.

Texans @ JAGUARS
RAIDERS @ Jets
Lions @ EAGLES
Vikings @ RAVENS
DOLPHINS @ Steelers
CHIEFS @ Redskins
FALCONS @ Packers
Colts @ BENGALS
Bills @ BUCCANEERS
Browns @ PATRIOTS
Titans @ BRONCOS
Rams @ CARDINALS
SEAHAWKS @ 49ers
Giants @ CHARGERS
Panthers @ SAINTS
COWBOYS @ Bears

Last week:  11-5, 73.33%
Overall:  111-81, 58.12%

 

I Finally Watched...Gladiator

"I Finally Watched..." is a new series that I'll be doing on my blog in which I'll review movies that people are surprised to hear that I haven't seen yet.  This will cover "classic" movies (for example, I've never seen 'Citizen Kane', 'Casablanca', or 'It's A Wonderful Life'), movies that allegedly are so bad that they're good ('The Room', 'Santa Claus Conquers The Martians', 'Plan 9 From Outer Space', etc.), and any other movie that solicits a surprised reaction from people when I tell them that I haven't seen yet (such as 'Black Hawk Down', 'Titanic', 'The Departed', 'Se7en', etc.).  In addition to reviewing them I will also be talking about why it took me so long to watch it, reactions to when I first heard about it, reactions by other people when I have said that I haven't seen it, and any other thoughts that come to mind.  I thought about doing this after I had finally watched 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Pearl Harbor' for the first time, but I put it off.  Then I managed to buy this movie for $1.96 at Wal-Mart on Black Friday and got that spark to actually try this idea out. 

First up is Ridley Scott's 2000 epic 'Gladiator'.  The first time I had even heard of this movie was seeing a poster for it was at Sea World.  Apart from the dolphins and sting rays and the whale shows and Six Flags being located right next door, the poster for 'Gladiator' was another thing I remember.  I don't remember anything on TV promoting it the year it came out but then again you don't see too many commercials for R-rated movies on TV channels that primarily show children's programming.  And since I didn't really know what it was nor would I have been allowed to watch it since I was 9 years old in 2000, clearly I did not see it when it came to theaters.  As I became more and more interested in movies I started to hear about it, but still had not seen it.

The first surprise reaction I remember getting when I admitted to having not seen 'Gladiator' was early sophomore year of high school.  I was sitting in the library that was across the street from my high school, waiting on my parents to pick me up.  As I worked on geometry homework with a classmate, somehow favorite movies was brought up.  I don't remember what I said but she said 'Gladiator' and I replied how I hadn't seen Gladiator.

"You've never seen Gladiator??"

It's been seven years since that conversation took place so my memory might be a little hazy but I believe that was the response I got from her.  Since then I had seen bits and pieces of 'Gladiator' on TV but never the whole thing.  I knew the very basics of the story and I knew about the ending.  It wasn't for a lack of not wanting to see the movie...I was just simply doing other things.

So flash forward to 2013.  Black Friday I decided to go to Wal-Mart to do some window shopping and check out some of the deals.  I didn't have the intention of buying anything, but I didn't completely rule out buying at least something.  I go back to the entertainment section and I see a several tables with numerous DVDs, all on sale for Black Friday.  So I end up buying all 8 'Harry Potter' movies and this movie for $1.96 a piece, and a 3-pack of Sean Connery's James Bond movies (including 'Thunderball', 'You Only Live Twice', and 'Diamonds Are Forever') for $4.96.  At those prices it would be crazy to pass up on those.  I'm sure I could've bought more but I need to be a little bit careful with my money.

I get back to school a few days later and I start to unpack everything and I grabbed 'Gladiator' and put it by my TV.  A friend on my dorm floor pops by, notices I have 'Gladiator' sitting by my TV, and I comment how I've only seen bits and pieces of it but not the whole thing.

"You call yourself a movie person and you've never seen 'Gladiator?!?!?!'"

The response was something along those lines.  So after unpacking, eating dinner and moving my car I finally popped it into my DVD player, skipped Sunday Night Football and sat down to watch 'Gladiator'.

All right.  In case you're like me and either haven't seen it or you've under a rock since 2000, 'Gladiator' follows the story of successful Roman General Maximus (Russell Crowe) who after defeating the barbarians simply wants to go home to his wife and son and enjoy some peace and quiet. The dying Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) chooses Maximus to be his successor, knowing full well that his own son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) is corrupt, twisted, and immoral and would not be fit to rule the empire.  Enraged, Commodus kills his father and orders the soldiers to kill Maximus and kill his wife and child.  Maximus escapes but after finding his way home he soon realizes the fate of the rest of his family.  He is then picked up and sold as a slave to Proximo (Oliver Reed) who trains him to be a gladiator.  Maximus soon becomes quite popular in the arena and soon has his eyes set on becoming a free man once again and exacting vengeance on Commodus.

When it was released on May 5, 2000 'Gladiator' received positive reviews and was a hit at the box office.  The following March it would become the winner of 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor (Russell Crowe), Best Visual Effects, Best Costume Design and Best Sound Mixing.  Also nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Joaquin Phoenix), Best Director (Ridley Scott), Best Original Screenplay (David Franzoni, John Logan, William Nicholson), Best Original Score (Hans Zimmer), Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing.  For Best Picture it beat the likes of 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', 'Erin Brockovich', 'Traffic', and 'Chocolat'...none of which I've seen.



So having finally seen the entirety of 'Gladiator' what did I think of it?  Honestly I thought it was very good.  The opening battle scene against the barbarians goes on a little longer than I would have liked but other than that the rest of the battle scenes in the various arenas were very thrilling and exciting.  It's beautifully shot and the score is also really good.  It looks and feels like you're in ancient Rome.  The acting was very good for the most part.    Another thing I liked about the movie was it's emotional punch that it gave me.  The scenes where Maximus' wife and son are about to be killed, the scene where Maximus discovers their crucified bodies (you only see their feet, but that makes it even more effective seeing his reaction), and some scenes later on in the movie that I can't quite talk about since it would give away the ending.  If you don't feel SOMETHING watching those scenes, you're either inhuman or you've been extremely desensitized.  One extreme or the other.  Would I recommend it?  Of course I would!  The battle sequences are a little bloody but they aren't as bloody as you might imagine that they are.  Overall, 'Gladiator' is very well made, well acted for the most part, thrilling and packs quite an emotional punch. 

So that's 'Gladiator' and the first installment of 'I Finally Watched...".  I'm always asking for input.  If you like this new series, let me know.  If you dislike this, let me know.  If you feel that I should quit this entirely and stick to my so far non-existent day job, let me know.  If you have any suggestions for movies that I possibly haven't seen, let me know.  Leave a comment on Facebook, reply on my Twitter account, leave a comment directly on my blog, talk to me, text me, send carrier pigeons or owls, smoke signals, Morse Code, sign language, email, etc.

As far as selecting these movies goes, I will probably make a list at some point and just randomly select from there.  However the next movie I will be doing for the next installment of 'I Finally Watched...' I've already picked.  The only hint is that I have a sinking feeling about this next movie...

Fall/Winter Preview - DECEMBER

Well it's a new month, and with it being the last month of 2013 here's the December Edition of my Fall/Winter Preview.  I probably won't be seeing everything I've listed here but I'll give it a try.  This month I'll be finishing up school and graduating, and also cramming as many movies as I can before the end of the year.  This has potential to be a very good month at the movies.  Also since I'm talking about the trailers in each review I write I probably will not any more "Preview" blog posts.  I mean later this month I will post my Top 10 movies I'm looking forward to in 2014 but after that then that will be it for 'Preview' blog posts. 

Anyway, here's what's mainly on my radar for the month of December:

• American Hustle
        -David O. Russell (Director of 'Silver Linings Playbook' and 'The Fighter') mashes up the casts of those movies and puts them in this tale that puts con artist Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale), along with his seductive British partner Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), being forced to work for wild FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers, mafia and crooked politicians.  Also starring Jennifer Lawrence and Jeremy Renner.  This looks like it could be a lot of fun.
  
  

• The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug
        -The next movie in the 'Hobbit' trilogy which continue$ the story of Bilbo and the dwarve$ on a quest to recover their gold from $maug the dragon.  I wa$n't the bigge$t fan of the fir$t 'Hobbit' movie but who know$ maybe thi$ one will be better.  I $till don't under$tand why they $plit 'The Hobbit' into three movie$ and added A LOT of padding from the appendice$ of Lord of the Ring$ to connect that $tory to 'Hobbit'....

• Anchorman 2:  The Legend Continues
        -By the beard of Zeus!  At long last, the 'Anchorman' sequel is finally upon us.  And yes that is a very big deal.  From what I've heard about the plot it involves the Channel 4 News Team getting back together after years apart to join a 24-hour news channel.  In addition to the original cast returning, other people in this sequel include Harrison Ford, James Marsden, Kristen Wiig, and a whole slew of other cameos.  This is a sequel I've been waiting YEARS for.  Now if Hollywood could just follow suit with an 'Austin Powers 4' and an 'Indiana Jones 5'....

• Saving Mr. Banks
         -Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) makes his daughters a promise that would end up taking him over 20 years to finally follow through on.  The movie is about his attempts to persuade P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) to turn 'Mary Poppins' into a movie.  Looks like it could be good, and already it is getting critical acclaim. 

• The Wolf of Wall Street
        -Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio), from his rise to a wealthy stockbroker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.  This is the latest from Martin Scorsese, legendary director who has made such movies as 'Hugo', 'Shutter Island', 'The Departed', 'Gangs Of New York', 'Goodfellas', 'Raging Bull', and many other movies.  Apparently this movie is supposed to clock in around 2 hours, 59 minutes (making it even longer than 'The Hobbit') but it looks like it could still be a lot of fun.
  
  
  
  And here's what else is coming in December: 
• Out of the Furnace - with Christian Bale, Casey Affleck and Woody Harrelson in a story about a man who takes the law into his own hands after his brother goes missing and nobody in town is doing anything about it.
  
• 47 Ronin - with Keanu Reeves starring in a tale about a band of samurai that set out to avenge the death and dishonor of their master at the hands of a ruthless shogun.
  
  
• Inside Llewyn Davis - the latest from the Coen Bros. (who brought us 'Big Lebowski', 'O Brother Where Art Thou?', the 'True Grit' remake and 'No Country For Old Men' among others) follows a week in the life of the fictional titular folk singer (Oscar Isaacs) as he navigates through the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961.
  
• Walking With Dinosaurs - a 3D movie adaptation of the BBC miniseries that is supposed to make us 'see and feel what it was like when dinosaurs ruled the Earth' in a story where an underdog dino triumphs to become a hero for the ages.
  
  
• Justin Bieber's Believe - WHY?!?!?!?!?!!?
  
• Grudge Match - Sylvestor Stallone and Robert De Niro star as two aging fighters who decide to get in the ring one last time.  'Rocky' VS 'Raging Bull'....
  
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - A loose adaptation of the short story that follows Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller, who also directs), who is constantly daydreaming about having a more exciting life than what he's currently living.  He then sets off on a global journey to find a missing picture, which is needed for the final issue of Life magazine.
  
• Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas - WHY?!?!?!?!?!?!