Figures that the year I change my format to make it easier to do is the year that I've watched the least amount of movies in a loooooong time.
Oh well, the show must go on. 6 movies watched. 5 will move on to my year end ranking.
What will move on and what will be the film left out? We shall see.
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This movie is good for a rewatch every couple of years. It is one of my favorite films of all time.
I'm not going to recap Forrest Gump, because if you are alive and drawing a pulse, you probably have at least a slight notion of what the movie is about.
As acclaimed as the film is, a lot of people I know in real life don't like the movie. Which I don't understand. It is touching, it is heartbreaking, it is funny, and it teaches you a little a bit of history in the process. There are parts in this movie that never fail to bring a tear to my eye. Every time! It is very well acted and has a great musical score. And it is filmed wonderfully too. The film really makes the 60's and 70's come to life before your eyes.
It is truly a great movie and worthy of all the accolades it has received. I've said it before and I'll say it again: if you don't like Forrest Gump, you have no soul.
I have been aware of this movie for quite some time now, and the idea of it has always intrigued me. Coming in, all I knew was that it was about an eccentric millionaire who takes in members of the US Olympic wrestling squad to help them train, and then ends up killing one of the members.
It turns out that that really is all the movie is about. This millionaire guy is played by Steve Carell who is apparently doing his best Alan Tudyk impression. Carell brings in Channing Tatum and some of his teammates to his estate to train at his massive gym. He seems like an off again/on again all right guy until he starts treating Tatum like crap. He then brings in Tatum's brother (in the movie, not his real brother. That would be weird, right?) to take his place. After the Olympics, where the team fails to win gold, the millionaire snaps and shoots the brother. And that's the end of the movie.
There, I saved you 2 and a half hours.
I found this movie to be really, really boring. I thought I would like it. I've heard it described as dark and depressing - and I like movies like that. But it didn't cut it for me. The majority of the film focuses on training for wrestling, which is about as boring as it can get. And then on Tatum/Carell's awkward relationship. It is not as bad as watching paint dry, but it is close.
The murder doesn't happen until the very, very end of the film. And we aren't given any resolution. We don't see a lot of the main characters' reaction to the murder. We get no insight as to Steve Carell's intentions behind the shooting.
It is all just very strange. I was bored, and likely will never watch this again. I don't know why it got such critical acclaim as it did.
Just like with Forrest Gump, I usually rewatch the Lord of the Rings movies every few years because they are so good.
I've always considered this the weakest of the trilogy, but this time around I found that I actually enjoyed it much more than I usually do. I wasn't bored by the endless "Smeagol getting dragged around by a rope" scenes, nor the "Merry and Pippin talking to trees" scenes. Plus, I really was able to get into the battle at Helm's Deep and appreciate it in a way that I never had before.
I still don't think it is the best Lord of the Rings film, but I definitely put it much closer to the original than I have in years past. It will be interesting to see which one comes out on top when I do my year end ranking.
It has been a long time since I've seen this movie, but I've been watching a lot of Walking Dead lately and have been in the mood for more zombie stuff. I enjoyed this movie when it first came out, and I am glad to see that it definitely stands the test of time.
For those who haven't seen the movie, it explores the "lighter side" of the zombie apocalypse (lol). Jesse Eisenberg plays a young man who finds himself as one of the last survivors in America. On his journeys he meets up with several colorful characters. Some who are out to help him, and some who are out to rob him blind.
I'm not a big comedy fan but I still really enjoyed this movie. Woody Harrelson's character is great, as is his love of Twinkies. Bill Murray has an amazing cameo. And this movie is also where I originally became acquainted with Emma Stone.
Definitely a fun time, especially if you like zombie movies. It's not the longest movie ever but it is funny and definitely a solid and worthwhile mashup of genres. I like this much more than Shaun of the Dead, actually.
Over the years I have heard endless references to this movie, but I had never actually seen it before. I've attempted to check it out the library but the discs have always been too beat up and scratched to watch. So when it finally came on Netflix, I jumped at the opportunity to watch the movie.
The premise is simple. A group of men go on vacation, rafting down a river through a natural area that is in jeopardy because of urbanization. These men encounter hostile rednecks on their journey, one of which rapes a member of the group and another who threatens to kill the rest. The rapist redneck is killed and the other one runs off.
The men panic about their actions, thinking that since this is in such a backwater location that the locals will lie and say that the murder wasn't committed out of self defense. So they dispose of the body and attempt to flee. On the way out, things fall apart. There's a rafting accident, someone dies, and the second redneck returns to finish the job.
It doesn't seem like a groundbreaking premise. We've seen movies where people on vacation battle hostile locals before. But this is one of the classics, very original for its time.
Great acting, memorable scenes (squeal like a pig!), intense action, and a few ambiguous scenes that are open to interpretation really make the movie memorable. It's hard to get too excited about the movie when I've seen a countless number of similar films, but I have to remember that this is one of the originals. Deliverance is definitely a pioneer in its field.
This is a movie I haven't seen since it originally came out. It was the year 1994 and I was only 12 years old. Back then I didn't think twice about the humor in the movie. I liked the Little Rascals and thought that the movie was hilarious and great.
Watching it now, I can't believe how risque/borderline offensive some of the jokes are. Especially when you consider that the actors and actresses in this movie were mainly between the ages of 5 and 12 years old. If this movie were made today, the people in charge of its creation would probably be crucified.
That being said, I still find it really hilarious. I am surprised at how much it has held up, to be honest. As mentioned in my Zombieland review, I am not a huge comedy fan. But this movie had me laughing out loud on more occasions than any single movie I have watched in recent memory. It's a fun movie, lots of great humor. Even if it is a little inappropriate considering the ages of some of these kids.
But I didn't give a shit. I had a great time.
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Well, if you've read my write up for each movie, it should be clear that Foxcatcher is the odd movie out. I really wanted to enjoy the movie, but it was just too boring for me. The good news is that the remaining 5 films are all very worthy of making the year end ranking list. No clunkers sneaking in this time around!
7 months in the books, a grand total of 35 movies moving on to my year end ranking. Each month I will continue to add 5 movies to the list. Once we roll over into 2017, I will eliminate 10 movies immediately from contention, and then rank the top 50 from least to most favorite.
It's been an interesting year so far. Definitely not one of my favorite years for movie watching that I've ever had. It's a wide open race with no clear front runners. Hopefully I can watch some better films in the last 5 months of 2016.
Here are the 35 so far that will be ranked at the end of the year:
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Cake
American Sniper
Predator
Friday the 13th Part 2
Locke
Evil Dead
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
Elysium
Snowpiercer
Room
Manson Family Vacation
Deadpool
Goodnight, Mommy
Unforgiven
Big Driver
The Martian
Pixels
JFK: The Smoking Gun
Crimson Peak
It
Creed
The Revenant
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
No Good Deed
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Krampus
The Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition
The Night of the Living Dead
Mad Max: Fury Road
Forrest Gump
The Little Rascals
Deliverance
The Two Towers
Zombieland
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