It's always interesting to revisit the films that you grew up with years later and see which ones hold up. I grew up with a fairly normal amount of childrens movies, and since I am the oldest, I wasn't exposed to nearly as much as my sister was at a young age. I recently re-watched a few movies that I adored in my childhood and these are the ones that have stood the test of time:
* Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It was my favourite movie for a very long time, and I still enjoy every second of it.
*The Neverending Story. This was my favourite movie before Willy Wonka, and I was surprised how well its held up. Still an excellent adaptation of one of the greatest books ever written.
* The Lion King. There had to be a disney, and this is still my favourite.
* The Land Before Time. Very short, still touching movie.
* Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Not really a kids movie, but had a good run as my favourite movie from the age of about 8 to 11.
*The Princess Bride. Again, a movie for all ages, that will never be dated.
* Any Pixar movie, you're never too old for those.
*Mary Poppins. I am one of the only people I know who watched, and loved this movie as a kid.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
So about the Oscars.....
As some may know, The Academy has decided to expand it's nominations for best picture, changing the nominees from five to ten. This is how the Oscars started out in 1929 and kept ten best picture nominees until 1943. There is debate about what this means for the future of the awards.
I personally feel that this lessens the presitige of the award. I believe there are usually more than five deserving nominees, but I feel that ten might include fillers. I'm also curious if it will effect the foreign language and animated feature category, maybe expanding their nominees eventually.
When I first heard this, I thought I'd sit down and try to make a list of movies that could potentially be nominated and see if I can think of enough, and if I have to stretch it at all. My pick for best picture is Tarantinos' Inglourious Basterds, but it is being challenged by James Camerons Avatar, which I have yet to see. Those two are sure to be in the running. The second best movie I personally saw this year was the Coen brothes small film, A Serious Man. There are a few films I have not seen that will probably be nominated like, Up in the Air, An Education, A Single Man, Precious, Invictus, and possibly The hurt Locker. Two movies that I would like to see in the running that unfortunately may not make it are 500 Days of Summer, and District 9. That makes 11 films, only 4 of which I have seen, so I can cast no real judgment. Let me know what you think of this decision, if I left out any potential nominees, and what movie you would like to see take home the Oscar. I will do a follow up piece when the nominations are announced.
I personally feel that this lessens the presitige of the award. I believe there are usually more than five deserving nominees, but I feel that ten might include fillers. I'm also curious if it will effect the foreign language and animated feature category, maybe expanding their nominees eventually.
When I first heard this, I thought I'd sit down and try to make a list of movies that could potentially be nominated and see if I can think of enough, and if I have to stretch it at all. My pick for best picture is Tarantinos' Inglourious Basterds, but it is being challenged by James Camerons Avatar, which I have yet to see. Those two are sure to be in the running. The second best movie I personally saw this year was the Coen brothes small film, A Serious Man. There are a few films I have not seen that will probably be nominated like, Up in the Air, An Education, A Single Man, Precious, Invictus, and possibly The hurt Locker. Two movies that I would like to see in the running that unfortunately may not make it are 500 Days of Summer, and District 9. That makes 11 films, only 4 of which I have seen, so I can cast no real judgment. Let me know what you think of this decision, if I left out any potential nominees, and what movie you would like to see take home the Oscar. I will do a follow up piece when the nominations are announced.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Down By Law
The 1986 Jarmusch film Down by Law caught my eye with it's unusual cast. It follows the story of three men (Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Roberto Benigni) who run afoul of the law in New Orleans, and cross paths in prison. They are all rather unsavory characters; but Zach (Waits) a washed up radio DJ, and Jack (Lurie) a Pimp, were wrongfully accused of their crimes. In jail they meet up with Roberto, an eccentric, comical Italian (Bengini) who barely speaks english and happens to be the only guilty one in the cell. As their personalities clash, Roberto claims to know a way out, and their escape together begins.
The film is a nice effort from writer/director Jim Jarmusch, but it falls flat somewhere along the way. It is visually interesting, shot in stark black and white with lingering, creative shots, but the story and character development is lacking, and the visual aspects lose their charm after about half an hour. The actors do their best with the thin material, but it's not enough. The strongest performance comes from Bengini, one of the only bright spots in an otherwise bleak little story. Waits in my opinion was miscast, and Lurie forgettable. This is a case where the end result is less than the sum of its parts. I would politely call it a misfire that has its moments, but not enough to be engaging. I would recommend it only to serious Jarmusch fans, or even more serious Bengini fans, as both have better films to offer.
The film is a nice effort from writer/director Jim Jarmusch, but it falls flat somewhere along the way. It is visually interesting, shot in stark black and white with lingering, creative shots, but the story and character development is lacking, and the visual aspects lose their charm after about half an hour. The actors do their best with the thin material, but it's not enough. The strongest performance comes from Bengini, one of the only bright spots in an otherwise bleak little story. Waits in my opinion was miscast, and Lurie forgettable. This is a case where the end result is less than the sum of its parts. I would politely call it a misfire that has its moments, but not enough to be engaging. I would recommend it only to serious Jarmusch fans, or even more serious Bengini fans, as both have better films to offer.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Introduction
I have never successfully been able to maintain a top 5 list of anything. Movies, Books, TV shows, Singers, songs, it all changes before I can arrange it in my head. This is only because those are the things I love, I try to take in as many as I can and in that process I fall in love with so many works its almost impossible to keep track. I thought a while ago I should start to get my thoughts down on paper before some new attraction blurs them. I'd like to do a review a day of each movie I've seen. I don't watch much TV, but every now and then something will spark my interest. I don't want to limit this blog to just movie reviews, but that will be the main focus.
I'll give you an attempt at a current top 10 of movies.
1. Pulp Fiction
2. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
3. A Clockwork Orange
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
5. There Will Be Blood
6. The Big Lebowski
7. City Lights
8. American Beauty
9. O' Brother Where Art Thou?
10. Seven
That was very difficult, and I'm sure upon reflection I will realize some mistakes were made. Most of my heroes come from the filmmaking world. I am a great admirer of directors, and tend to watch a specific directors movies in groups. The Coen Brothers, Quentin Tarantino, Stanley Kubrick, Charlie Chaplin, and Alfred Hitchcock are some personal favourites. The list of actors I admire is too long to even begin here. I will update this blog each time I see a new movie, and review it.
I'll give you an attempt at a current top 10 of movies.
1. Pulp Fiction
2. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
3. A Clockwork Orange
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
5. There Will Be Blood
6. The Big Lebowski
7. City Lights
8. American Beauty
9. O' Brother Where Art Thou?
10. Seven
That was very difficult, and I'm sure upon reflection I will realize some mistakes were made. Most of my heroes come from the filmmaking world. I am a great admirer of directors, and tend to watch a specific directors movies in groups. The Coen Brothers, Quentin Tarantino, Stanley Kubrick, Charlie Chaplin, and Alfred Hitchcock are some personal favourites. The list of actors I admire is too long to even begin here. I will update this blog each time I see a new movie, and review it.
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