Day 60: ThanksKilling

Directed By- Jordan Downey

Written By- Jordan Downey, Kevin Stewart

Starring- Caleb Downey, Chuck Lamb, Jeff Heim, Lindsey Anderson

Critics Review- No Reviews from Critics

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- None Audience- 41%

Out a possible of 5 stars- 3 stars

My Review-

This movie is so over the top, I should have known from the title though. However this movie is bad its good. It seems like it was bad on purpose and it is done in some of the funniest ways imaginable especially the opening shot and how ridiculous it is. When I first heard the title of this movie I had to watch it, the title got me hooked on the movie, the movie is horribly shot that its hard not to watch this movie because you want to see what happens next. The part I least liked was with the dog, since I like dogs and cats, another thing that was bad about this movie was the acting, its kind of hard to compare the acting with this one and The Room, since the acting was horrible in this movie and that one. All the best parts of this movie are with the killer turkey, it seems like it just should have been the turkey in the movie just killing people, since none of the people could act for shit in the movie. The funny part is you did not care if the characters died or not since there was no connection to the characters and you could not find anything to like about them...at ALL! However one of my favorite parts of the whole movie is when the turkey was having coffee with one of the characters dad, and it didn't even phase the dad. The other good thing about this movie was the theme music that played everytime somebody died, especially the flashback scnes that were so incredibly cheesy it was hard not to like them. This was probably one of the best movies I have ever seen that was made bad on purpose. I am actually looking forward to the sequel when it gets made. some parts were so ridiculous it has hard not to laugh out loud on how bad it was, but the movie was so bad its hard not to like it. The only thing that makes the movie good is the damn turkey. That is why the sequel to this movie will be even better then this one.

Day 59: Almost Heroes

Directed By- Christopher Guest


Writer(s)- Mark Nutter, Tom Wolfe, Boyd Hale


Starring- Chris Farley, Matthew Perry


Critics Review- It's not the funniest film I've ever seen, but Chris Farley sure cracked me up often in this flick."- Kevin N. LaForest "Montreal Film Journal"


Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 14% Audience- 62%


Out of a possible of 5 stars- 2 1/2 stars


My Review- 


I have seen most of Chris Farley's movies and this was one of the reasons why I liked this movie was because of him, and maybe Eugene Levy, but Farley made the film funny the rest of the movie I just found boring and not as funny as scenes that feature Farley. And seeing how it was Farley's last film before his death to me he left on a semi good note, because I sort of enjoyed Beverly Hills Ninja a lot more than this movie. It was funny how they kind of re-wrote history by beating Lewis and Clark to the pacific Ocean but that's about it. If you just want a good laugh from Chris Farley and don't really care much for the movie then watch this. 

Day 58: Crank 2: High Voltage

Directed By- Neveldine/Taylor

Written By- Neveldine/Taylor

Starring- Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Dwight Yoakam, Clifton Collins Jr, Bai Ling, Efren Ramriez, David Carradine.

Critics Review- "...an agreeable companion piece to its admittedly superior predecessor."- David Nusair "Reel Film Reviews"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 68% Audience- 54%

Out a possible of 5 Stars- 1 star

My Review-

I do not even know where to begin with this movie. I mean I watched the first and I somewhat enjoyed, but it did not need a sequel. It seems like those movie was made just for the hell of it because the first did well at the box office, but for me the movie was too over the top and outrageous, just like the first one which did not need to be done...again. At times this movie was so hard to follow, but it was not as bad as the room, but still it was all over the place, it is hard to believe that the critics liked this movie more than the audience did, it would seem with this time of film the critics would hate it, but that wasn't the case. Also its kind of sad that this was David Carradine's last film, which was a really bad choice seeing how amazing he was in the Kill Bill movie. The acting was just SO bad in the movie it's hard to believe some of these people were actually in some pretty decent movies from time to time, and why they would make another movie which is almost EXATCLY like the first one is beyond me. Another thing, I read a few days go that they might make another one, why wont this character just die already, I will admit I did enjoy the first one but 2 more to make a trilogy and people will probably go watch it to see how it all ends but for me I will watch it like I did the first two and wait for DVD or went it comes on HBO. One more thing I forgot the worst part in the whole movie well two parts. One Bai Ling gets hit by a car, and does a double back flip through the air, and some how LIVES! what the hell is up with that, it seems like no one can die in these movies, because, there is also an animated talking HEAD! In my opinon there does not need to be another Crank, one was enough.

Day 57: Singin' in The Rain

Directed By- Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen

Writer(s)- Betty Comden, Adolph Green

Starring- Gene Kelly, Donald O' Conner, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell

Critics Review- "One of the shining glories of the American Musical."- Dave Kehr "Chicago Reader"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 100% Audience- 91%

Out a possible of 5 stars- 4 1/2 stars

My Review-

One of the most famous musicals of all time, and I'am barely watching it now. Well actually earlier, and I really enjoyed it and I do not really like a lot of musicals I'm kind of picky when it comes to a musical. This one however I have always wanted to watch because of the song that is the title of the movie and I have heard it before but never knew it was in a movie, Now that I have finally watched I can see why it is considered one of the best musicals of our time. I also never knew that Debbie Reynolds was able to sing or dance, mostly because she does not do movies like this type anymore, which she should or at least a singing movie. A times I did find that some of the song choices did not need to be in the movie, but the main song which is the title of the movie was possibly one of the best parts of them film, aside from a few other scenes. I though that actors; Kelly and O'Connor worked really well together and made it seem like they had been best friends for years and years. It's acting like this that makes a movie work for me when it comes down to knowing each other that long in a movie. Its musicals like this one that get me to like musicals that make me have a good feeling and at times want to dance with the music, so if you ahve never seen this film watch it.

Day 56: The Room

Directed By- Tommy Wiseau

Written By- Tommy Wiseau

Starring- Tommy Wiseau, Juilette Danielle, Greg Sestreo

Critics Review- "If you experience brain damage as a result of watching this film, I disavow any responsibility whatsoever"- Sarah Boslaugh "Playback.stl"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 31% Audience- 48%

SPOILERS AHEAD....but I don't care the movie is horrible

Out a possible of 5 stars- 1 half stars

My Review-

I am only 15 mins into this movie and I'am already writing my review, so you can tell how much I'am into this movie. I have no idea where to begin with this movie the acting is so very, very,very bad, so is the writing. Also at times it is very confusing, So let me finish the movie so then I can finish this review. For one that kid that always shows up at their house is really fucking creepy, the movie Jumps everywhere with out explaining SHIT! and that music that annoying, annoying theme music. Also I the cancer story out of nowhere!? I kind of regret watching this movie by myself I would like to have watched this movie in a theater at one of those midnight showings that everybody keeps talking about, it would have been a little bit better, in that atmosphere. Some of the scenes were so horrible, like the rooftop scenes for instance seems like they were in front of a green screen. Another thing, the story line of how Denny is a drug addict, when the fuck did this happen, and the cancer story line just disappears?! Also this movie has so many plot holes, and never revisit certain things that happened in the previous scenes or that or mentioned by certain characters, which made me very confused. It is not really mentioned until like an hour into the film that they all live in the same damn building! Also the big deal with Mark shaving his beard, had nothing to do with the movie whatsoever. This movie was all over the place and so very confusing, Glitter was better than this movie, and that was a pretty shitty movie, and football seemed to be a pretty big deal in this movie also. I do have some regrets watching this film  and then I do not, because now I know what it is like to watch one of the worst movies ever made, BUT still have a good laugh watching it, and remember some of the most outrageous lines from the movie that I talk about with friends. So if you want to watch this movie, watch at your own risk or if your looking for a good laugh. This movie is a comedy, possibly one of the best comedies that was actually meant to be a drama.

Day 55: Logan's Run

Directed By- Michael Anderson

Written By- David Zelag Goodman; Based on the book by- William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson

Starring- Michael York, Richard Jordan, Jenny Agutter, Farrah Fawcett

Critics Review- "Always wondered what a cult film is? Try this one."- Scott Weinberg "eFilmCritic.com"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 70% Audience-65%

Out a possible of 5 stars- 3 stars

My Review-

I have seen some of this movie before, but just clips of it here and there, and never really got to finish watching it, I am glad that I finally got the chance to do so. I have never really seen Michael York as a main character, because I only really remember him from the Austin Powers film series, but seeing him in this was as the main character was pretty damn good. The first half of the movie it was made that you cannot stand his character and you do not like him, the second half is you basically rooting for him to finish what he had started. The only parts of the movie that I had found to be really boring, was when they met someone outside of the place that they had lived in. Since this was made in 1976 the effects were not to great but that's what made the movie just a little bit better since it seemed like whoever made it was still trying to make it believable in the year that the movie is supposed to take place in which is the year 2274. Now with rumors that director Nicholas Winding Refn wants to remake the film with Ryan Gosling in the title role, I would actually pay to see that new version of this movie, seeing is how Gosling is now a really good actor. However I am a little worried about if they can achieve or kind of keep the cheesiness of some of the scenes, other than that I am looking forward to the remake if it ever does happen. It seems like the best scenes in this movie were when York and Agutter were on the run to leave the place they were living in, once they got outside that is where it seemed to get kind of boring. All in all I did enjoy this film.

Day 54: American Grindhouse

Directed By- Elijah Drenner

Written By- Elijah Drenner Calcum Waddell

Critics Review- "Entertaining and knowledgeable history of American exploitation movies."- Maitland McDonagh "Film Journal International"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 86% Audience- 69%

Out a possible of 5 stars- 4 stars

My Review-

Exploring the American Exploitation from films from the start of Thomas Edison until now, the audience learns the history of how these movies started and when exactly they started to change cinema how it was looked and shaped the history of cinema.  Seeing clips from these different times of films and interviews from the writers and directors of these films gave me some ideas to add them to my list, to see them so controversial in the time that they were released. Its funny to see how vastly different movies were from the 1950s to late 1970s from how they are now. I had learned about some of these movies in classes or heard about them in the same classes but never got to see how they came about or how controversial they were when they were released. I liked seeing how people came up with the film ideas that they had for the films they made and the ridiculous titles that they came up with for those movies. It's really amazing to see how far we have come in film making before the and after the MPDA was started and MPAA. So starting soon I will take a look at some of the movies that were mentioned in this documentary and will watch and review them for what they are and what they did, which were out of this world over the top and started a new trend of movies.

Day 53: Kiki's Delivery Service

Directed By- Hayao Miyazaki

Written By- Hayao Miyazaki

Starring- Kristen Dunst, Phil Hartman, Matthew Lawrence, Janeane Garofalo, Tress MacNeille

Critics Review- "A fine, sincere piece of bittersweet delight."- Tim Brayton "Antagony & Ecstasy"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 100%  Audience- 85%

Out a possible of 5 stars-

My Review-

Although I had to skip some scenes due to the fact the DVD I recieved from Netflix was scratched, and being my first Miyazaki film I liked it a lot. I was going to watch it in Japanese, until I realized that the late and great Phil Hartman was one of the voice I decided to watch the English version. Also being one of the first Japanese animated movies that I have ever seen, I was bummed out that I had to miss a few scenes because of the stupid DVD. However I did watch a majority of the movie and got the story of line of Kiki and her story about her going into a new town for her witch training, and i can see why Miyazaki is always acclaimed for his work, in his animated films, a few of which I would like to watch, and I am going to watch. The hero of the film Kiki is made to be very well liked, right from the minute that it starts, and I felt that away about her character. I believe in the future I will watch this movie again in Japanese dub, and I'am glad that this movie was recommend to me by some friends like some of the other movies on this list.

Day 52: Kramer vs Kramer

Directed By- Robert Benton

Written By- Avery Croman (novel), Robert Benton

Starring- Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, Justin Henry

Critics Review- "Kramer vs. Kramer wouldn't be half as good as it is--half as intriguing and absorbing--if the movie had taken sides."- Roger Ebert "Chicago Sun-Times" 

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 88% Audience- 85%

Out a possible of 5 stars- 4 1/2 stars

My Review-

Nominated for 8 Academy Awards, including; Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Picture and Winning 5 of those 8 Oscars; "Kramer vs Kramer" tackled a controversial subject; a divorce and the resulting custody battle on their youngest child. This movie is wonderfully acted by Hoffman, Streep and then new comer Justin Henry, as the broken family and told from the husband and wife's side so it is not one sided in the movie. Even though its told not to be one sided, i found my self choosing a side during the movie, and it never changed. I can see why all 3 of the main characters were nominated for the respective categories especially with Justin Henry only being 7 years old at the time. Very well acted, and well written by the same person that wrote the book, even though i never read the book it seems like who ever produced it made the right choice by choosing the writer of the book to write the movie. This was the type of movie that does not come around so often tat you find yourself truly invested in right from the get go barely in the first 5 minutes into. from beginning to end I wanted to know what was going to happen to this family and what it took that made it end up like it did. If you have not seen an Oscar winning role from Hoffman or Streep I suggest that you start with this one, it is one enver to be forgotten..

Day 51: Labyrinth

Directed By- Jim Henson

Written By- Terry Jones

Starring- David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Froud

Critics Review- "The plot maybe old and the music dated, but Henson's creatures are timeless."- James Plath "Movie Metropolis"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 62% Audience- 85%

Out a possible of 5 stars- 3 stars

My Review-

Bowie, Henson, and Connelly! what more could you ask for in the this movie? Jim Henson has been known for creating The Muppets, one of the most well known puppets in the world. Here he creates a world where a young girl has to travel through a labyrinth to save her infant brother, along the way she meets and befriends different creatures. This movie was recommend to me by some friends and a teacher, and since I basically never heard of it or seen it before I decided to watch it today. One of the reasons why I enjoyed this movie was because of the puppeteering from Jim Henson and all the other people that worked on the puppets that did a really good job for the time that this movie was released. Even though it was some what of a musical to me some of the songs did not need to be in the movie, even though there wasn't a lot of them, it still could have done with a little less. Also for being only her fourth film I thought she did a good job for being the main character in the movie. During the movie i found myself really liking some of the creatures she met along the way to finding castle, mainly the creature Ludo. This is one of those movies from the 80s that is almost like a hidden gem and it will never get old, it seems like when Henson made this movie he was doing something that he loved, with something he loved and he wanted to give us something more than The Muppets and he did. He gave us the creatures of the Labyrinth, that will we can possibly never get tired of, just like he did with The Muppets.

Day 50: Contagion

Directed By- Steven Soderbergh

Written By- Scott Z. Burns

Starring- Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Lawrence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet

Critics Review- "Contagion is the best movie made to date about an epidemic/pandemic."- James Berandinelli  "ReelViews"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 84% Audience- 62%

Out a possible of 5 stars- 4 1/2 stars

My Review-

This is a movie about what happens when people finding out there is a virus that is around that is Highly contagious, and the people that are trying to find a cure for it. The tag line for the movie is "Nothing Spread Likes Fear", which is true about this movie, which makes it work shows you what happens when we stop thinking and start reacting to something that could kills us. The actors they chose for the movie were the right choice to play their characters. This movie like other movies was a mystery to see what was making everyone sick and why did it start, it kept me at the edge of my seat to see what would happen next, and why these people were doing what they were doing. I have been wanting to see this movie since the preview came out, I kind of wish that I had seen this movie while it was in theaters. These are the types of movies that I like to watch from time to time, a "what would you do in this situation?" type of film. For me this movie was better than another film I watched which was "Outbreak" possibly because the acting was a better than this one, and they each had their own individual story that tied in to each other during the film. If you like movies that are like this which is considered a medical disaster film, then I suggest that you watch this, I really enjoyed this film and it at the end made me want to buy hand sanitizer and wash my hands more.

Hitting 50 Days

after over watching 49 movies in 49 days, I have finally reached Day 50 which only leaves 316 days left and with school starting soon I know it will get harder to watch the movies, but I know I want to finish what I have started and I made this far. So today I am watching Pixar's Ratatouille.

Day 49: Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie

Directed By- Jim Mallon

Written By- Jim Mallon, Michael J, Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Trace Beaulieu; Based on the show "Mystery Science Theater" by Joel Hodgson

Starring- Jim Mallon, Michael J, Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Trace Beaulieu

Critics Review- "If you're a fan of the show, or haven't seen it before, watch this film."- Madeleine Williams "Cinematter"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 74% Audience- 85%

Out a possible of 5 stars- 3 stars

My Review-

Now I have never seen the television show before watching this movie, but I kept hearing people tell me it was every funny because they watch the worst movies made and do commentary on them. Now that I have seen the movie, I would like to watch the TV show that was the best part of the movie, when they were watching the movie they had the smart ass remarks and one-liners that make the movie as funny as it was. Although for me the scenes when they were not watching the movie were not as funny,  I enjoyed the whole thing overall. The movie they were watching which as a view you have to endure with them would not have been as good as it was if it wasn't for the characters make fun of it during the whole entire movie, since it does seem like "The Island Earth" is one of the worst movies ever made, during some scenes you could see they made fun of some movies, the one that I saw right away is when they poked fun at the movie "Monos Hands of Fate." Like I said before I would like to watch the show now after watching the movie and seeing what it is like for them to watch the worst movies ever made, and how quick and smart it is with each smart-ass remark or expressing the characters they are watching on screen. Even though show ended 1998 and this movie was released in 1996, I can see why people enjoyed watching it while it was on. I have made it 49 days watching movies and tomorrow is Day 50, and I have no idea what I should watch, its always like that though well at least for these last couple of days. I guess tomorrow I shall see what movie will be for Day 50.

Day 48: In the Heat of the Night (1967)

Directed By- Norman Jewison

Written By- Stirling Silliphant; Based on the book by John Ball

Starring- Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates, Lee Grant

Critics Review- "This is an excellent mystery with superb performances all-around."- Brian Webster "Apollo Guide"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 96%  Audience- 90%

Out a possible of 5 stars- 5 stars

My Review-

As a kid I would watch the television show, 'In the Heat of the Night', I just never knew it was a movie with one of the greatest actors of our time; Sidney Poitier. Set in the late 1960s, and also in the south, the film deals with racism, and murder and being that Poitier plays a black homicide detective the characters in the south do not know what to make of it. This movie had amazing acting by each of the characters in the film, especially with Poitier and Steiger. This one movie that I had always heard was really good, and it has a quote that everyone remembers when Poitier's character; Virgil Tibbs answers a question when asked what do they call him in Philadelphia he replys "THEY CALL ME MR. TIBBS!" right there you can see how well these actors were working off of each other. This one of the few films I have seen with Sidney Poitier and now I can say this one of my favorites of his work, next to To Sir, with Love; even though I have only seen the last 45 mins of the movie. This was a murder mystery that was done right, with different characters that could have been the killer. With it being set in the late 1960s and film then, as an audience we are shown how cruel they were back then to the black people, and even if they were an officer of the law it still did not matter to some people. This film also showed that back then even though there was an effort to overcome some what of a war between to races, and that they just have to work together to overcome that. If you like murder mysteries and old films that can keep you guessing watch this one.

Day 47: Glitter

Directed By- Vondie Curtis Hall

Written By- Kate Lanier

Starring- Mariah Carey, Max Beesley, Terrance Howard, Da Brat, Tia Texada, Eric Benet

Critics Review- "Fueled by formula, riddled with cliches, mindless from beginning to end."- Joan Anderman "Boston Globe"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 7% Audience- 45%

Out of a possible of 5 stars- 1/2 star

My Review-

This is another one of those movies that should have never seen the light of day. The movie is so damn slow, and all over the place, also Carey cannot act for shit. It's kind of hard to see why some of the actors who are in the movie are in the movie, they could have done better. Another thing is the movie is so damn cheesy acn has cliches everywhere. There are so many parts of this movie that make some sense then right away they don't all in all i survived this movie, like I did with Battlefield Earth. With one exception Battlefield Earth was a little better.

Day 46: La Casa Muda (The Silent House)

Directed By- Gustavo Hernandez

Written By- Oscar Estevez

Starring- Florencia Colucci, Abel Tripaldi, Gustavo Alonso, Maria Salazar

Critics Review- "A quick, fluid, scary tale that makes up for for in quiet chills what it lacks in slam-bang craziness."- Scott Weinberg "FEARnet"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 76% Audience- 33%

Out of a possible of 5 stars- 2 1/2 stars

My Review-

There is a remake of this movies coming out next month I believe, and it looks good maybe because it has an olson sister that can actually act. Then I heard there was an original one, so my mom found it and recorded it. It turns out that this movie is more of a "wtf" type movie and not a creepy, scary movie, well maybe at times it is but aside from that it has a twist that makes you think about what you just saw in the previous scenes. Without really giving anything away about the movie, if you want to see the remake or the orignal. I can tell you this much it is one of those movies you to expect it to be by watching the previews. I can see why the audience did not like it though, the trailer IS very misleading by showing it as a horror film when I think it can be seen as a psychological movie based on what I saw, but that will be up to who ever wants to watch it for themselves. There were some parts of the movie that I liked more than others, and the others I thought did not need to be in the movie. I was hoping to see a good horror movie, but what I got was a twist ending in the movie I think thats what kind of saved the movie for me. Maybe it will save it for the viewer as well.

Day 45: Winnebago Man

Directed By- Ben Steinbauer

Written By- Malcolm Pullinger, Ben Steinbauer

Starring- Jack Rebney, Ben Steinbauer

Critics Review- "There is a genuine, human sympathy for his frustration and lashing out that goes along with the laughter."- Ian Bukwalter "NPR"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 91% Audience- 73%

Out of a possible of 5 stars- 4 stars

WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS!

My Review-

I have never heard of this man, by the name of Jack Rebney or seen his infamous "Winnebago outtakes." However, from watching this documentary about him and his life after he made the video for Winnebago, and how he lives and what he thinks about America and others things. It seems likehe is a very angry person at times by watching the documentary, but also he is in deep thought about certain topics, when he gets into arguements with the director and won't believe certain things about his video and how many people like his video that he made in the 1980s about trying to sell a winnebago. After watching this documentary and seeing everything that he when through by making that video and what happened during that shoot, he is truly the "angriest man in the world." Even though he does at times seeing he does have a heart of gold, he speaks his mind, if you want to watch this documentary do not do what I did, watch his youtube video first, then watch this documentary so you will see for yourself why this man is so well liked by fans that love the video and have seeing it more than 10 times. And you will see why people watch his video, it is one of those things that will put you in a good mood, if you are in a bad mood. As someone put it he is everyone's "angry grandpa". Even though he has that video of him in which seems to be his worst mood ever, he does have a kind heart and seemed to actually care that people loved his video, and liked him, not just because he was angry, but also because he was a kind person and did finally actually care that this documentary was being made about him. If you want a good laugh or just having a bad day watch his youtube video, and if you want to know more about him, watch this documentary on him.

Day 44: Pontypool

Directed By- Bruce McDonald

Written By- Tony Burgess 

Starring- Stephen McHattie, Lisa Houle, Georgina Reilly

Critics Review- "A horror flick that's all talk and (almost) no action? The risk pays off better than you'd think."- Elizabeth Weitzman "New York Daily News"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 83% Audience- 68%

Out of a possible of 5 stars- 3 1/2 stars

My Review- 

I first heard about this movie when it was going to be released, but never got the chance to watch until now. It is by far one of the most strangest horror films I have ever seen, but I liked it. It was a new take on the "zombie" genre, and it is done all with imagination since a majority of the movie takes place inside of a radio station. Not that many films do that anymore, where you as the view have to use your imagination to figure out what is going on without seeing anything and that's when you know a movie has done it's job that you get creeped out or you are trying to figure out how everything started and trying to get in the loop. These are the types of horror movies that I'am starting like to watch those that make you try and figure out what is going on with very little to go on, and this movie did that well, even though it was kind of boring in the beginning. 

Day 43: Battlefield Earth

Directed By- Roger Christian

Writer(s)- Corey Mandell, J.D. Shaprio

Starring- John Travolta, Barry Pepper, Forest Whitaker, Kim Coates, Richard Tyson, Kelly Preston, Sabine Karsenti

Critics Review- "You don't watch it -- you survive it."- Steven Rosen "Denver Post"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 2% Audience- 13%

Out of a possible of 5 Stars- half a star

My Review-

I have nothing nice to say about this movie, so this review will be short and too the point. IT SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN MADE!

Day 42: When a Stranger Calls (1979)

Directed By- Fred Walton

Writer(s)- Steve Feke, Fred Walton

Starring- Charles Durning, Carol Kane, Colleen Dewhurst, Tony Beckley

Critics Review- "Glorified slasher flick never advances beyond a great first act."- Scott Weinberg "eflimCritic.com"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 40% Audience- 68%

Out of a possible of 5 stars- 2 1/2 stars

My Review-

This movie is based off of the urban legend of the babysitter and the kids she is watching, and it is kind of scary hearing over the phone "have you checked the children". I have always wanted to watch this movie, because I made the mistake of watching the remake first instead of this one; and in the remake that girl cannot act for shit. This was one of those true horror films, that did not show a lot of blood or killing, just good ol' fashion suspense. However for me the best part was the first 30 mins and the last 15 mins, other than that i believe that it did not need go into such detail about the killer and everything else. But that's just me, like the other one in way I wish it was mostly in the house and not seven years later however, for me it could have ended when what the movie is known for had ended, in the echo while she was on the phone. I did rather enjoy this movies in some parts of it, and other parts I thought did not need to be in the movie.

Day 41: Real Steel

Director- Shawn Levy

Written By- John Gatins

Starring- Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lily, Anthony Mackie, Kevin Durand

Critics Review- " "Real Steel" is a real movie. It has characters, it matters who they are, it makes sense of its action, it has a compelling plot. This is the sort of movie, I suspect, young viewers went to the "Transformers" movies looking for."- Roger Ebert "Chicago Sun-Times"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 59% Audience- 78%

Out of a possible of 5 stars- 3 1/2 stars

My Review-

If you like boxing movies, and robots then this is the movie for you. When I first saw the trailer for this movie I saw it as Rock em' Sock'em Robots which immediately had me wanting to watch the movie, plus it had Hugh Jackman, and I like some of his movies so I saw this as being one of his good movies and I was right. Although this movie was more of a father/son type movie it was done quite well, even at types that it was kind of corny I still wanted to keep watching it because the boxing matches were some of the best parts of the movie, and had me and my mom getting up and saying "oh shit:. This was a type of Rocky movie the whole time you were rooting for the underdog, what also worked for me in this movie was the supporting cast, Durand, Mackie and Lilly, even the actor who played his son did a good job in the movie, even though some of them had small parts they were helpful to the movie for Jackman and Goyo's characters. The big fight at end was the best part of the movie, the big finish for a movie that from start to finish was good. Having seen a few boxing movies and seeing how this can be considered one this would have to go on the list of my top boxing movies, this movie had me wanting more in the fights especially the last fight, the "main event" even though it was about the last 15 minutes of the movie I would have like to see more. I just guess I will have to wait for the sequel, if that ever happens.

Day 40: Wonderland

Director- James Cox

Writer(s)- James Cox. Captain Mauzner, Todd Samovitz, D. Loriston Scott

Starring- Val Kilmer, Kate Boswoth, Dylan McDermott, Josh Lucas, Tim Blake Nelson, Lisa Kudrow

Critics Review- "It hits you like a ton of dope."- Jules Brenner "Cinema Signals"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 34% Audience- 66%

Out of a possible of 5 stars- 3 1/2 stars

My Review-

The Wonderland Murders, or the Four on the Floor the killing of four people of in drug-related crime, and who was the man that may have helped out in this, none other than Porn Legend John Holmes. Taking place before and after the murders in July of 1981, Wonderland tells different sides to what may have happened the night that murders took place and why. According to this movie after he was out of the Porn Industry, Holmes  played by Val Kilmer, became addicted to Drugs and theft. This movie is told in four parts that all lead to the Wonderland Murders; told from the point of view of someone who wasn't there and John Holmes. The thing that lead to the murders was the robbery of man by the name of Eddie Nash, who was a gangster and a drug dealer. During the movie when hearing both sides you do not know who to believe since both sides sound very convincing. I was surprised when i saw some of the actors that were in the film, and thought they were good in the movie, except for a few people like Kudrow, Bostwoth, and a very small part with Paris Hilton, which i thought was very useless and did not need to be in the movie. Other than that I found my self trying to figure out who was telling the truth, since both stories are so convincing, and Val Kilmer in one of the best movies I have seen with him since the Salton Sea. For me I liked this movie because it caused you to think about who was telling the truth and who wasn't. The only way to find out is for you to watch the movie.

Day 39: This Film Is Not Yet Rated

Director- Kirby Dick

Writers- Kirby Dick, Eddie Schmidt, Matt Patterson

Starring- Kirby Dick, Jack Valenti, Kimberly Peirce, Alison Anders, John Waters

Critics Rating- "...A ringing indictment of a system that's not just broken. It's rigged and needs replacing."- Roger Moore "Orlando Sentinel"

Rating on Rotten Tomatoes- 84%

Out of a possible of 5 stars- 5 stars

My Review-

The MPAA decides the fate of the movies we watch in theaters, ranging from a rating of G to a rating of NC-17. In the documentary ironically rated NC-17, takes a look at the start of the ratings system and has interviews with directors and actors who have been in movies or had their movies rated NC-17; for either a little to much sex or a little to much violence. It shows how the movies are rated, who rates them and why they would be rated that way, BUT does not say who rates them for they want it to be a secret. In the movies I have seen which I really have lost count I have questioned the ratings of some movies and why they were given that rating. This documentary was rather very interesting because of how secretive the MPAA is about their members. I have always heard of how directors appealed their movies at an appeal board and here we sort of got an idea of how it works, and in away it seems like they just want to get it over with and they do not even give out their names, because they are afraid that they will be influenced to change the rating of the movie they are watching or have watched. So in way the Ratings system is kind of useless for some things that do not need that bad of a rating. At times it seems like the people at the head of the MPAA are two damn secretive, and don't want anybody to know what they're doing behind closed doors. And that they have the power to rate our movies and see if people watch it or not is kind of bad that they have the power to have are movie shown or theaters of not, I just hope that if I ever get to make a movie that I don't have to go through that whole entire process.

Day 38: 1408

Director- Mikael Hafstrom

Written By- Max Greenberg, Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski

Starring- John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack

Critics Review- "Based on a Stephen King story, 1408 takes the simplest plot and turns into a enjoyable surreal, unnerving creepfest."- Steve Murray "Atlanta Journal-Constitution"

Rating on Rotten Tomatoes- 78%

Out of a Possible of 5 stars- 3 1/2

My Review-

I have watched a few Stephen King adaptations on screen, whether it was a movie or a made for TV movie, and this is my favorite one next to Misery.  This was recommend to me by a friend, and I also have always wanted to watch but never got the chance to do so until now. The movie is about how a writer of the most haunted places is always skeptical about these types of things, but that all changes once he spends an hour in that room. For the first half of the movie it was kind of boring, until he got to the Hotel where the majority of the movie would take place and enter Samuel L. Jackson. Now if he were to warn me about something I would listen to him but the movie would have been over about almost 30 mins and that would not be good. The best parts of the movie naturally was when he was in the room which actually creeped me out and some points in the movie, this was natural horror movie; no blood or cuts, murder, people saying we need to split up just a good ol' fashion horror movie that also seemed to cause claustrophobia since it was in one place for the almost entirety of the movie, there were some scenes that were in the preview that i had hoped would be in the movie, but sadly they were not. However it was still a good movie that for the first time in a long time had me actually go "oh shit" at moments in the movie, I do not think anyone else could have done a better job then Cusack, and even though Samuel L. Jackson had a small part he was still one of the best things in the movie, aside from the ending, which made you question "what the hell just happened?"

Day 37: Midnight in Paris

Directed By- Woody Allen

Written By- Woody Allen

Starring- Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Adrian Brody, Tom Hiddleston, Corey Stoll, Michael Sheen

Critics Review- "Allen wants you to love Paris as much as Gil does and wants to show you the magic, the romance and the spark the city holds for him."- Matt Neal "The Standard"

Rating on Rotten Tomatoes- 93%

Out of a possible of 5 stars- 4 1/2 stars

My Review-

Where do I begin with this film? Woody Allen starts off the movie with four minutes of just Paris, that's it the scenery of Paris and he wants you to know how beautiful Paris is at all times of the day and it works perfectly. Even though I have not seen a lot of Allen's films so far this one stands out the most to me, next to Match Point. The way he wrote these characters especially Hemingway, Fitzgerald, he wrote them as if he was the main character Gil and wanting to talk to them as if he was in 1920s Paris. When watching this movie Allen made it seem like you would want to go live in the 1920s and talk to all the poets, writers and painters that are today known as the greats. This movie made me want to hopefully soon start reading the works of; Fitzgerald and Hemingway, Allen has a way with writing his characters for this movie even though they in Paris in 1920s. He shows that Paris is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, past or present, the music was also amazing in the movie when the movie was over I must have listened to "Si Tu Vois Ma Mere" more than 5 times in a row. The only thing I found rather annoying and I knew it was done well because Woody Allen intended for the characters to be like this, were Gil's fiance, and soon to be in-laws who did not seem to have the same love of Paris and Gil did, which I can understand since it seems they were always bring him down about being in love with Paris. Allen does a wonderful job at making Paris look so amazingly beautiful that it makes you want to go visit it at that very moment. It also seems the for Allen that 1920s Paris was the place that he had always wanted to visit as well, and it comes through in Owen Wilson's character and how much enthusiasm he was when talking about what happened the night before or when he is talking to his idols and how he is around them. This is one movie I will watch again, and possibly buy so I can watch it more than once. I enjoyed every minute of this movie and this is possibly Owen Wilson's best movie; and he deserved that Golden Globe Nomination. This movie shows Paris for what is, one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Day 36: Chronicle

Director- Josh Trank

Writer(s)- Max Landis

Starring- Dan DeHaan, Michael B. Jordan, Alex Russell

Critics Review- "Stands above the rest in the "found footage" genre. I want more."- Victoria Alexander "Films inReview"

Out of a possible of 5 stars- 4 1/2 stars

My Review-

It seems like there are a lot of movies that are coming out that are "found footage" movies, Chronicle might be just the best one to come out of that category. The movie asks the question, what would you do if you had superhero powers? It sort of shows the actual reaction to a teenager finding out all of a sudden he has these super-human powers; such as the ability to fly and different abilities. This also shows what can happen if someone uses them for other purposes and personal gain. A lot of things worked for this film, the writing, acting and especially for this type of genre, the camera wasn't all shaky like with Paranormal Activity and Cloverfield. This movie had me wanting more, even though it had  a lot of action, which was really good for this type of movie even though the effects at times were kind of cheesy, I still enjoyed the actions scenes. This also one movie just by looking at the preview you knew that it would be could and not disappoint which it did, from start to finish to did not disappoint. Now I cannot say to much because I do not want to give any anything way, and that it should be one of the movies that you see in Theaters and not wait for it to come out on DVD or Blu-Ray.

Day 35: For the Bible Tells Me So

Directed By- Daniel G. Karslake

Written By- Daniel G Karslake

Critics Review-"A gut-wrenching depiction of what truly defines family values."- KJ Doughton "Film Threat"

Out of a possible of 5 stars- 3 1/2 stars

My Review-

"Homosexuality" is a sin. That's what the bible says at least, BUT that is no what I believe. In this documentary it's a look at the different beliefs; with family members whose children are gay, and different priests and former ministers who talk about the bible and how it can be miss interpreted. At times during this documentary unkind myself getting more and more angry at that fact that people can be so ignore about someone who is gay, it spend make them any different. I believe I should stop reviewing this film about now, because it will soon turn into a rant and I really do not want to do that if you know me well enough, you already know where I stand on this issue, if you don't just ask me and I will tell you.

Day 34: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Directed By- Stanley Kubrick

Written By- Stanley Kubrick, Peter George, Terry Southern

Starring- Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens

Critics Review- "It's easily one of the directors best films of his somewhat controversial career."- Jason Zingale "Bullz-eye.com"

Out of a possible of 5 stars- 4 1/2

My Review-

This one movie that I have been wanting to watch for long time, now that I finally did I can say that I rather enjoyed it. Even though I have never seen Peter Sellers act before, but know that he is widely known as one of the funniest people during his acting career, and that he was the best part of the movie, also so was George C. Scott, who is mostly known for more dramatic roles rather than comedy. This movie was really funny when it need to be, and more serious with a hint of comedy between the side characters and the main characters. Set during the Cold War with Russia it asks what would happen if the wrong person started a nuclear war, and what goes on in the all private War Room at the Pentagon. It seems like Kubrick should have done more comedy during his career, but his more serious movies are the best. Peter Sellers is the one that made this movie funny, along with George C. Scott, both character's they played were over the top, and done perfectly. We even got to see a young James Earl Jones who had a small part in the film, who would later rise to fame as Darth Vader. This is one other Stanley Kubrick movie I have grown to like along with my all time favorite one, Full Metal Jacket.

Day 33: Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse

Directed By- Fax Bahr, Eleanor Coppola(documented footage), George Hickenlooper

Writer(s)- Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper

Critics Review- "As the portrait of an artist in crisis, Hearts of Darkness is unparalleled."- Hal Hinson "Washington Post"

Out of a possible of 5 stars- 5 stars

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS!

My Review-

Apocalypse Now, is known as possibly one of the best war movies ever made and for me it is, however little is known how much went to into making this film, and the documentary Hearts of Darkness shows this. In the documentary made by Coppola's wife, Eleanor shows just how much time went into making this film, from delays due to rain, Sheen having a heart attack and numerous things just to make this movie that no one wanted to make at first due to it being centered around the Vietnam War. This in depth documentary has interviews with the cast and crew as they share their experience that they had while filming; from the production going on for longer than it was initially was supposed to, how during mid-shooting Coppola chose to recast his main character from Harvey Ketiel to Martin Sheen. This documentary shows how much goes into making movie and that agony and toll it can take on the actors, directors and productions crews, it even shows at times that Coppola had to ask for money then he had to continue making what he wanted to be his "Masterpiece." Hearts of Darkness, shows us the viewer how this movie was made and what it took to make a movie of this magnitude that turned out to be a masterpiece and still to this considered one. I found myself having appreciation for this film than I did before since I finally saw what it took to make this film what it was, if you love this movie or have ever seen Apocalypse Now, I suggest you watch this documentary it will give you a more appreciation for the film. So you can enjoy if for what is is, one of the best war movies ever made.

Day 32: The Puffy Chair

Director- Jay Duplass

Writer(s)- Jay and Mark Duplass

Starring- Mark Duplass, Rhett Wilkins, Katie Aselton

Critics Review- "Built on beats of deadpan timing and splendidly understated reaction shots."- Bill Stamets "Chicago Sun Times"

Out of a possible of 5 stars- 3 1/2 stars

My review-

I mostly know Mark Duplass and Katie Aselton from FX's hit show The League, I just never knew that Mark Duplass was a writer and a director. In his first feature film, also co-written and directed by his brother Jay Duplass; The Puffy chair is about a man, his girlfriend and his brother on a road trip to get a chair that looks like the one his father had when he was younger. At first this seems like a typical road trip where everything goes wrong, but not in the way one would think. It seems like everything that would go wrong would make the characters take a look and evaluate their lives at this point in their life, the slow pace of the movie makes it work if it was fast paced it would not be as good as it was. Being apart of the "mumblecore" movement also sets the tone for this movie, which used improvisation for most of the film, but seemed genuine and were not able to tell which would be script or which would be dialogue. The only thing I found useless for this movie was the use of the word "dude" every other sentence. seeing Duplass and Aselton out of their element of comedy for the first time, and in a drama I admit I was a little taken back, but in my opinion they did an amazing job in a drama, and being a real life couple at the time made the fights more believable. With the sudden ending I found myself wanting to see what happened next for the characters. I also liked how it was shot almost sort of like a documentary even though it wasn't one. This movie was recommended to by a friend, and like it was recommend to me, I recommend it as well