“When I was a little kid my mother told me not to stare into the sun. So once when I was six I did.”

Pi (1998)

Director - Darren Aronofsky

Cast - Sean Gullette, Mark Margolis, Ben Shenkman, Pamela Hart, Stephen Pearlman, Sami Shoaib

It was inevitable this would happen. I ran into a movie i did not like. I am not saying in any way that “Pi” is a bad movie, I just don’t honestly understand it near enough to be able to say that it is. The second the credits started rolling, i found myself asking myself, “what the hell did I just watch?” I was really excited going into this movie. I love Darren Aronofsky. I think he is a fantastic filmmaker. His movies always seem to hit a certain cord. I loved “The Wrestler,” “Black Swan,” and “Requiem for a Dream.” He has a talent to make you feel. He pulls you into the world of the character and you feel every emotion they feel, you feel their pain, you feel scared for them. With “Pi” I just didn’t feel anything.

To be honest, I do plan to revisit this movie later in the future to see if my view on it changes. I hope that I will like it in the future and I just didn’t understand it this time, I just don’t see that happening to be honest. I know a lot of people love this movie, I just don’t see why. I did not see the appeal to it. I would not really recommend this movie unless you’re wanting to watch an extremely “what the fuck” movie.

“I wish I were big”

Big (1988)

Director - Penny Marshall

Cast - Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia, John Heard, Jarod Rushton

“Big” is a movie that to me feels very close to classic John Hughes’ movies. That is a great thing. It is a fun classic movie. It has a very simple premise, a kid is tired of being small so he wished he was big and the next day wakes up an adult. Starting this movie I didn’t think it would cover a lot of the funny possibilities it could go into but I was very happy to be proven wrong. I am also happy when he wakes up big, he doesn’t think it’s easy to be grown up out of no where, it shows that it’s scary for him.

Tom Hanks did really good in this movie. He had a dream roll I would feel like. He acted like a kid basically 99% of his screen time. He really is captivating and very well deserved at least the nomination for the Academy Award he was nominated for. His kid friend throughout the movie, Jarod Rushton, did amazing in this movie. Him and Tom Hanks had amazing chemistry together. The only complaint I really have is that no one seemed to notice that he had the same name as the missing kid. One scene even shows two of the main characters eating and his face and name was on a milk carton, at least they should have noticed the coincidence of him having the same name. And i feel like there would have been news about it and they would have been aware of the situation. When you get wrapped into the fun of this movie, those things don’t matter anymore because you’re just having a fun time watching the movie and seeing what he will do.

Over all I really liked “Big.” It was a fun classic movie and I would recommend giving it a watch. I don’t think you will at all regret it.

“It’s gonna be biblical.”

Law Abiding Citizen (2009)

Director - F. Gary Gray

Cast - Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Colm Meaney, Bruce McGill, Leslie Bibb, Michael Irby, Gregory Itzin

The opening scene of “Law Abiding Citizen” sets the whole movie into motion. It doesn’t take any time to start going, it just goes. Within maybe 15 minutes into the movie it skips ahead 10 years with us knowing almost nothing about who everyone is. All we know is Gerard Butler is pissed off. This bothered me a little, it would have been nice to have some character development before things got going. I’m going to be honest though, within 10 minutes later, I didn’t care at all anymore. Once this movie got into Gerard taking action into his own hands, that’s all you care about and it works.

Towards the beginning I thought this movie was gonna be a typical guy is pissed and wants revenge with no plot kind of movie. “Law Abiding Citizen” actually has a lot of very smart moments in it and you start to get on the edge of your seat wanting to know whats going happen next. There is a lot of really creative killing in this movie. I would describe it as kind of “Seven” meets “Saw.” You can tell a lot of creativity went into this movie and all for the good of the audience. There was never a moment that I found dull or I quit clawing at the screen to let me know what is about to happen and how the hell he pulled it off. This is the kind of movie you have to just see to appreciate what it is. Some of the killing is more gruesome than most horror movies, while others are completely shocking but in a good way.

I really really enjoyed the movie. If you like good action movies or violent thrillers, then “Law Abiding Citizen” might be just for you. I would recommend seeing it at least once, if you want to again after that, you can decide. But definitely give it a shot, and i promise you will be on the edge of your seat.

“Well? What’s wrong?”
“The line went dead, sir.”
“What have you got here?”
“Only the first word, sir.”
“Geronimo.”

Stagecoach (1939)

Director - John Ford

Cast - John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Andy Devine, John Carradine, Thomas Mitchel, Louise Platt, George Bancroft

“Stagecoach” is a movie that relies heavily on the performances of the actors and making you care about them and what happens to them. The story is a group of people are taking a stagecoach to get to another town, the problem is that on the way, they very well may come across Apaches. Geronimo is the leader of the group of Apaches and he is very dangerous. The first hour of the movie has no action, just very character and plot driven story. For this movie, it is a very well done thing. All of the characters are very different, and some hate each other, while others are just odd in their very own way.

John Wayne plays Ringo kid in “Stagecoach.” Ringo kid is a wanted outlaw. While the stagecoach is on its way to the town, they come across Ringo, and the sheriff brings him to jail him. Ringo isn’t your run of the mill outlaw, he is a respectful and polite guy. This group of people don’t all get along well, and it makes for some interesting events. If you go in expecting a shoot ‘em up western, it takes a while to get to your part of the movie, but by that time, you don’t care, you are invested in the story and its characters. The actors in this movie do a very good job, especially Thomas Mitchell, who won an Academy Award for his performance as the doctor. If you don’t mind old black and white movies, then I would highly recommend giving this movie a shot. I really liked it and plan to add it to my collection soon.

“Jeffers morning!”

Visioneers (2008)

Director - Jared Drake

Cast - Zach Galifianakis, Judy Greer, Missi Pyle, Mia Maestro, James LeGros

“Visioneers” is a movie probably unlike any other, and you know what? That is an amazing thing. Throughout the movie, everyone is scared they are going to blow up. Not from a bomb, not from anything, just simply pop.

Fans of Zach Galifianakis in movies a la “The Hangover” and “Due Date” may not enjoy him in this movie unless they also like very out there indie movies. This is his most serious role. He has barely any humor whatsoever and the humor that he does have is very subtle. Although, seeing him dressed up as George Washington is a very welcome site to see. This movie will make you never look at the middle finger the same ever again. I promise you have most likely never seen a movie like “Visioneers.”

“Visioneers” falls into the category of my favorite movies. Indie. I love indie movies like none other. This particular indie happens to fall under the dark comedy category. The execution of the type of comedy in this movie is superb. The humor all around is subtle and easy to miss. If you like or love indie movies or dark comedies, I HIGHLY recommend “Visioneers.” I personally loved this movie to death, and will be excited to watch it again and show it to my friends.

“I’ll make you famous.”

Young Guns II (1990)

Director - Geoff Murphy

Cast - Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christian Slater, William Peterson, Alan Ruck

With only four days down, I’ve already gone through a series. In all fairness, this series is only two movies, so it was an easy task. I love the first “Young Guns.” I thought it was fantastic, fun, and full of great characters. The sequel is, in my opinion, a great sequel. Not being as good as the first, it still manages to be a fun and entertaining movie. Billy the kid is still slightly psychotic and still fun to watch. It’s a year after the end of the first movie and Billy is riding with new people and not the remaining Regulators. Doc, Kiefer Sutherland, is now a school teacher with a family when the movie starts but he is arrested for the things he did in the first film. When he is arrested, the prison he is taken to also holds another Regulator, Chavez. Billy brings his new group to rescue them and the movie is fast on track.

Billy, Doc, and Chavez remain like brothers after the first film, although, some of Billy’s new crew find it hard to adjust to having his old friends in their group. The action is almost non stop once it gets going and that is not a bad thing. The movie never feels cheesy or bad, but it very strongly tells the rest of the story for the group we grew to love in the first “Young Guns.” If you watched “Young Guns” and enjoyed it, I would highly recommend you checking out “Young Guns II,” as i doubt you will be disappointed.

“You know what?”

“What?”

“We’re in trouble…”

The Crazies (2010)

Director - Breck Eisner

Cast - Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson, Danielle Panabaker

Tonight has been my favorite night so far, even though it’s only day three. The reason it has been my favorite is because I love nothing more than a good horror movie. They are my guilty pleasure. For some reason since I was a kid, I’ve just loved horror movies. Both “Friday the 13th” and “Halloween” are in my top 20 of all time favorite movies. Months ago, when “The Crazies” came out in theaters, I really wanted to see it, but never was able to get around to it sadly. Tonight, I am very upset with myself that I missed this movie the first time around. This movie had me on edge the whole time. To say it is suspenseful would be a horrible understatement. When watching a lot of horror movies, i don’t tend to jump or pick my brain like crazy trying to figure out how the characters are going to escape a situation, but from beginning to end, i couldn’t stop with “The Crazies.”

Some people may call this a zombie movie, while others would never do so. The infected in this movie have very zombie like qualities, but are much smarter. The things they do to kill and trap people are insane. I love zombie movies, and with the zombie like qualities of this movie, it made it all the more enjoyable to me. To get it out there, infection is not spread through biting or scratching or anything of that sort, but through water supply and later at it is hinted that it is airborne. The main characters get themselves into a lot of close calls and very frightening situations. Without giving it away for anyone who hasn’t seen it, this movie has one of the most bad ass scenes ever involving a knife. I really don’t know what they could have done in this movie to make me love it any more. The only slight complaint i have is at times the sound seemed unbalanced and it made it hard to hear the dialogue. Aside from that, i absolutely LOVED this movie to death. For me, it is a must buy, and I plan to add it to my collection very soon.

I HIGHLY recommend “The Crazies.” If you’re a horror lover like I am, this movie is a must see. It has everything you could want. I am adding this to my October horror marathon for years to come.

“You know, Sir, I do admire you, and I sure would like to touch the gun that’s gonna kill Billy the Kid.”

Young Guns (1988)

Director - Christopher Cain

Cast - Emilio Estevez, Keifer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Charlie Sheen, Dermot Mulroney, Casey Siemaszko, Terry O’Quinn

Lately, I have been on a big western kick. This started when I saw True Grit in theaters. Growing up, there was something about westerns that rubbed me the wrong way, I just couldn’t get into them. This all changed when i saw the remake of “3:10 to Yuma.” The gritty action, the great acting, the story, everything about that movie made me fall in love with it. Because of that movie, I opened up to westerns. To be honest though, since my viewing of that, I’ve yet to watch a lot of old classics like i would love to. Mostly I have watched recent westerns like “The Assassination of Jesse James,” and the remake of “True Grit.” I am sad to admit that these are the only westerns I have seen that I can recall any plot, but I plan to drastically change that over the next year.

Young Guns was a breath of fresh air. It was my first western made before the 2000’s and I was nervous to watch it. The westerns I have seen were more gritty than I know most older ones are. I like gritty movies, especially with westerns, and it made me nervous to see my first non-gritty western. I didn’t know if i would like it or not. I loved it. The action was good, the humor didn’t fall flat, the suspense in the final scene was incredible. Billy the kid is the big star here, his character is fun and slightly psychotic seeming at the same time. He loves to be in danger and likes when the odds are against his group. I am very anxiously awaiting watching “Young Guns II” to find out the rest of the story. The fact that i loved this movie makes me happy because it puts faith in me that i will enjoy older westerns a lot too.

If you like westerns and a good story, I recommend this movie.

As a lot of people know, I want more than anything to be a filmmaker. I love nothing more than watching movies, whether I’ve seen said movie countless times, or I’ve never seen it before, i love nothing more than watching movies. Around a year ago now, i tried doing this same thing, but i had a lot on my plate and quit keeping track of how far i had come in my goal. The title says it all. Come this day next year, i want to have seen 365 movies i have never seen before, whether they be small indie gems i stumble upon, or a huge movie i have somehow gone my 19 years without ever seeing. This doesn’t necessarily mean i plan to watch one movie a day, I just have to hit 365 movies by April 3, 2012. So please, recommend some of your favorite movies, no matter how small or big, any genre, recommend, don’t assume I’ve seen them. I will try to talk about each movie I watch, some may be just a couple sentences, and some other could be paragraphs. It wont be a review, just my thoughts and if I would recommend to a friend.

April 3, 2011 - Movie #1

April 3, 2011 - Movie #1

“I’m the one who’s fighting. Not you, not you, and not you.”

The Fighter (2010)

Director - David O. Russell

Cast - Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, Mickey O’keefe, Jack McGee

Going into this movie, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but at the same time, i had a lot of thoughts already on how i thought i would feel about this movie. The only other movie I had seen by David O. Russel was “I Heart Huckabees,” which if you have seen, you know how weird that movie is. To be blunt and go ahead and get it out there, I LOVED this movie. You can tell a lot went into making this down to the fact that the fights were shot with the cameras that HBO shot the real fights with.

There is a lot of heart in The Fighter and if pulls you in emotionally and makes you care about the characters. Sure, this is expected by a movie that was nominated for multiple Academy Awards including best picture, but i was expecting something of “Rocky” level. Don’t get me wrong, i like Rocky a lot, i think its a great movie, but it does not come close to touching The Fighter. After seeing this movie, a lot later than i would have liked to might i add, it quickly jumped to my top 10 of 2010 list. One thing i found out after watching that i adore is that one of the actors in the movie is the actual guy from real life. I highly recommend this movie. I fell in love with it. Christian Bale highly deserved the Oscar he got for his role in this movie. Melissa Leo, im sorry, i still think Hailee Steinfeld really deserved it.