Shaun of the Dead

Shaun of the Dead, 2004
Shaun of the Dead [Blu-ray]



Ugh a zombie stoner Comedy. Gross!

After having watched the movie:
(Possible spoilers below)

Sometimes I think my friends put suggestions on the list as a way to get back at me for not going to the movies with them or something just as silly. For the record, I can't stand any of the Cheech and Chong movies, and I don't know how I'm really going to make it through Harol and Kumar. Which, may or may not be why I've yet to sit down and watch it.

When I got this movie from Netflix, I really didn't want to sit down and watch it. I told my Grams I had to watch a movie in order to get it back out in the mail the next day, but that I didn't think it'd be any good. She was kind enough to sit through the movie with me. Surprisingly enough, she sat through the whole thing.

Final thoughts: I don't think this is a matter of hating the movie before I sat down to watch it and then hating it after watching it. Stoner Comedy mixed with zombies never sounded remotely like anything I'd enjoy. If anything, it's made me want to push back the rest of the zombie movies for later.

OFFICIAL COUNT 170 DOWN 195 TO GO

Next up: Lolita

Mystery Science Theater 3000

Mystery Science Theater 3000, 1988
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (Widescreen)



It wasn't until I started dating The Boyfriend that I had ever heard about Mystery Science Theater 3K. I think the day I told him I had no idea what a Mystery Science Theater was we watch Manos the Hands of Fate episode. After that I was hooked, and it was a no brainer that I had to add this movie to the 365 Movie Challenge.

After having watched the movie:

I loved Manos the Hands of Fate, and I loved this movie just as much. Although I have to say that I don't imagine I could ever really watch the movies featured in the show without the added commentary. It's the kind of commentary that you welcome in bad movies, but not during the Super Bowl or perhaps more important than the game but the Super Bowl Commercials. The movie reminds me of the commentary with Showgirls, which is really the only real way to watch that movie.

Final thoughts: After watching an episode of the TV show and the movie, I kind of want to kick myself for not watching or even knowing about the series before now. I don't know what it is but there's something to be sad for bad movies that are so bad, they're good. This one is great the same way The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is great.

OFFICIAL COUNT: 169 DOWN 196 TO GO

Next up: Shaun of the Dead

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (Special Edition)

I wish I could have watched this movie as a kid, more specifically as an eight year old boy or forty year old man. I guess if you're going to go with the male aspect, you don't really need to specify an age. Either way, it's the perfect adventure movie for a little kid. I'm assuming this isn't big news for the rest of the world as I'm sure I'm the only one who until recently had not seen the movie.

What I hadn't realized about the movie was that it was set in the 1940s and not in a modern day setting, this was probably the biggest surprise in the whole movie for me. Not that I'm complaining, it's one of my favorite eras in American History and a movie set in that era provides era appropriate eye candy, naturally. I'm talking clothes here people! It also explains why Indiana Jones always made such a to-do about his hat, I never understood why his hat was such a big deal until then. It was custom for men to wear hats in the 1940s and slowly faded out around the time President Kennedy took office. I'm typically a big fan of Jackie O., but why she never encouraged her husband to wear a hat is beyond me. The story behind the hat is a little more involved than just men typically wearing hats in 1940s America. The hat is from a famous hat shop in London's Saville Row. It was the shops version of an Australian hat that took both the costume designer and Harrison Ford sitting on the hat and roughing it up a bit to get a "lived in and well-loved" look. A similar procedure was used for the matching leather jacket, of which the production company had to purchase ten jackets for stunt purposes. Both items (the hat and leather jacket) are on display at the Smithsonian.

Another iconic scene from the movie was when Indy has to escape the run away boulder and stumbles as he sprints to safety. There was actually a surprising amount of information about the boulder (and movie for that matter) available online and through the bonus features on the DVD. The boulder interestingly enough was constructed from fiberglass and the sequence required Harrison Ford to outrun the massive fiberglass boulder ten times. It was on his first attempt to outrun the boulder that he stumbled. The stumble made it into the final cut once director Steven Spielberg decided it looked and felt authentic. To achieve the appropriate sound for the boulder, the sound department attempted to roll multiple boulders but were unable to come up with an appropriate sound. It wasn't until they had decided to pack up and leave that they notice the sound of the Honda Civic coasting on a gravel embankment that they found a sound were happy enough with. Additional sounds created for the movie were created by hitting a pile of leather jackets with a baseball bat, and the sound of removing the lid of a toilet cistern.

The film would end up being another massive hit for Lucas, who I'm convinced at this point managed to make a killer deal with the devil for all of his success, as it would go on to be the highest grossing film of the year. Not only was Lucas known for making a killer deal on his Star Wars movies, but landed an amazing deal with the studios who financed the films entire $20 million dollar budget. In exchange, Lucas owns over 40% of the film and collects almost half of the profits once the studio reached a capped amount of money. Again, it's incredible the kind of deals this man makes with studio heads.

Final thoughts: While I'm not ready to make a deal with the devil in the same way Lucas did, I wouldn't mind be able to come up with some of these great epic stories Lucas seems to be full of. And while none of the other Indiana Jones movies are part of the 365 Movie Challenge I look forward to watching them again in the future.

OFFICIAL COUNT: 168 DOWN 197 TO GO

Next up: Mystery Science Theater 3000

Anatomy of a Murder (SPOILER ALERT - I'm not holding back)

Anatomy of a Murder, 1959
Anatomy of a Murder

For 1959 this movie has a lot of things going up against it. The movie was originally banned in Chicago and James Stewart's father took out an ad calling the movie, "a dirty picture" warning people not to see the picture. A lot of the controversy surrounding the movie was because of the language with words like, "bitch," "contraceptive," "panties," "penetration," "rape," "slut," and "sperm" and was one of the first films to challenge the Hayes Code.

Once you can get beyond the 'inappropriate language' of the movie, settle down because you're in for a great movie. Finally, after having watched The Hours and The Wild Bunch a movie that I really liked. As in, this would be an acceptable birthday present. I wasn't trying to figure out the plot and where the movie was going and that's the way to watch this movie. It was great to watch the movie and wonder what was going on with this lady that she didn't seem to understand how important the impression she made on the jury was, or that if things weren't pieced together just right at the end her husband was going to be convicted for murder despite the fact his wife had been rapped. Or had she? Where were the panties she had told the jury she was wearing that night and if she wasn't a bit of a slut why did she keep appearing to come onto her lawyer?

Oh and then the end of the movie! I loved it. It was perfect. I typically am not a big fan of open ended movies, because well sometimes I like for things to be spelled out for me. But this? This was perfect. I loved that the couple fled town in the middle of the night and that their trailers sight looked like maybe her husband did have a bad temper when he was drinking and killed the man out of anger when he found out she was more than willing to have sex with him. After all, that's nothing the deceased would have been opposed to, he had a daughter out of wedlock.

Final thoughts: For those who were interested in this movie, I really hope you've watched it before reading this. I hate spoilers but it's one of those that you can't really talk about with keeping the end of the story a secret for very long.

OFFICIAL COUNT: 167 DOWN 198 TO GO

Next up: Raiders of the Lost Ark

The Wild Bunch

The Wild Bunch, 1969
The Wild Bunch - The Original Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)



My Grams watched almost every Western when she was growing up. It was a thing she did with her Grandpa and even my Grandpa's family made a big to-do about watching and listening to Westerns on the radio. I don't get it, I've never really been interested in the genera. So it makes sense that when I watched the movie she sat down and watched it with me.

After watching the movie though, oh my! If there was any doubt it's all been cleared up, I don't like Westerns. But once I started reading about the movie after I watched it, I can't say the movie doesn't have anything to offer. The original release of the film has about 3,643 cuts which is more than any other Technicolor film according to the film's editor Lou Lombardo. The final show down, which the crew later nick named "Shootout at Bloody Porch" has 325 cuts which make the average shot length just under one second. That's incredible to think about all of the coverage that was necessary as well as the amount of time that went into shooting a five minute scene. I worked on The Whisper Home last January and we had fifteen days to shoot an entire feature length film, the "Shootout at Bloody Porch" took twelve days to shoot and was only a five minute scene.

The "Shootout at Bloody Porch" also required 10,000 squibs, which are small explosive devices attached to the body or costume of an actor and are used to simulated bullet hits. A squib is typically applied by a stuntman or someone hired to handle explosives, and while there are typically no major injuries that occur when using a squib they are potentially very dangerous. Which is why I suggest leaving any kind of squib work to professionals.
Interested in learning more about squibs? click here!

Aside from all the coverage nightmares a twelve days scene has sparked, I couldn't imagine the headache it would have created for the Wardrobe and Makeup Departments. In anticipation of the shoot 'em up scenes seven costumes were made for each lead actor, and quick repairs and clean ups were required for the stunt men and extras in the scene. The total body count for the film reached 145 bodies, and the amount of violence in the movie caused a bit of a fuss even for 1969. The MPAA settled for an R rating but originally wanted to give the movie a doomed X rating.

Final thoughts: The movie had a lot to offer with it's achievements in the greatest number of cuts and a ridiculously scheduled twelve day scene that would only play for five minutes on screen, but it's just not my favorite Western. That titles seems yet to be claimed.

OFFICIAL COUNT: 166 DOWN 199 TO GO

Next up: Anatomy of a Murder

Incorrectly titled: The Hours (because really, it feels like days)

The Hours, 2002
The Hours

I can't remember who recommended this movie to me, but so help me if I ever remember they're going to get an ear full! This was one of the driest movies I've watched throughout the 365 Movie Challenge. Okay, driest might be too extreme, I did watch 8 1/2 earlier this year. Only, The Hours isn't foreign and has Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore so I need to hear from fans of this movie. I have to know what was so great about it, because I missed it completely.

I think it's interesting to hear about actors who go to great lengths to find their characters by taking dance classes, or reading and talking to people who knew the person they're portraying intimately. The work Nicole Kidman put into the role, she read all of Viriginia Woolf's personal letters and wore a fake nose, paid off in form of an Academy Award. Meryl Streep, who is well known for going to great lengths to understand and become her characters, listened to certain music she felt would better help her understand the role she was playing. The films director was so impressed with the choice Streep made that the song was used in the films soundtrack. She did however decided not to reread Mrs. Dalloway, the novel written by Virginia Woolf. Streep felt as though her character wouldn't have really understood the book the same way she had when she first read the book in college.

Despite the cast of the film, I just couldn't be more interested in the movie if I had tried. I think Steven Persall said it perfectly in the review he wrote for the St. Petersburg Times.

It is the most finely crafted film of the past year that I never want to sit through again. The performances are flawless, the screenplay is intelligentyly crafted, and the overall mood is relentlessly bleak. It is a film to be admired, not embraced, and certainly not to be enjoyed for any reason other than its expertise. Glacially paced and somberly presented, The Hours demands that viewers be as impressed with the production as the filmmakers are with themselves. Whatever the reason - too gloomy, too slow, too slanted - it is too highbrow and admireably dull for most moviegoers. It's the kind of film that makes critics feel smarter by recommending it, even at the risk of damaging credibility with mainstream audiences who automatically think any movie starring Kidman, Streep, and Moore is worth viewing. The hours will feel like days to them.

Final thoughts: Dear Steven Persall, Let's do lunch. Your final words on the movie were exactly what my thoughts were when the credits rolled.

OFFICIAL COUNT: 165 DOWN 200 TO GO

Next up: The Wild Bunch

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, 1967
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (40th Anniversary Edition)

I didn't realize until long after watching the movie that it's star Spencer Tracy was so ill during production of the film. It's rather incredible that he was able to make it through production, for those who aren't familiar with production a standard day is twelve hours. It would also turn out to be the last picture he and Katherine Hepburn would work on together. In total Katherine Heburn worked with Tracy on nine pictures, that's a lot of time to spend together with someone.

It took Katherine Hepburn and director/producer Stanley Kramer's salary to back funding of the movie for a studio to proceed with the picture knowing that one of the key cast members was fatally ill. As a back up, the cast was always filming two versions of the script in the event of Tracy passing away before wrapping the picture. As a Script Supervisor, this makes me a cringe a little inside to have to think about. Sadly, Spencer Tracy died nineteen days after production wrapped. Because of the twenty-three year relationship between Hepburn and Tracy, it was said that Hepburn has never seen the film in it's entirety because it would often bring back painful memories of Tracy.

Despite all the drama behind the scenes, I loved this movie for it's dramatic plot. However I must admit that I found it a little more difficult to imagine why it would have been such a big deal for a white girl to bring a black boy home and introduce him as her fiance. But let's all save ourselves the history lesson, I know it was a big deal in 1960s America, I guess I'm more interested in the modern day civil rights movement for gay and lesbian couples. Having never consider myself a racists, race really isn't a big issue to me. If I were a parent, I think my greatest concern would be that my daughter thinks she's in love with a boy she hardly knows. The color of his skin just seems like such a small issue in comparison.

Actually, a couple of weeks after watching this movie a friend of mine was flipping through one of those "see these 1001 _____ before you die" books that The Boyfriend thought for movies and was surprised to see this movie in the Drama Chapter of the book. While I agree with the book, my friend thought it would have been more properly placed in the Comedy Chapter. The point in me sharing this story isn't to point out how strange of an opinion this is, but that even though I don't entirely agree with my friend I can kind of see their point. This movie isn't all drama all the time, that would be Who's Afraid of Viriginia Woolf but Guess Who's Coming to Dinner does have it's lighter moments when it's comical.

OFFICIAL COUNT: 164 DOWN 201 TO GO

Next up: The Hours

Changeling

Changeling, 2008
Changeling



I was really excited to sit down and watch this movie, and I've felt like I've bee trying to speed through so many movies just to get back on track before the 365 Movie Challenge gets out of hand that sometimes I've missed out on really being able to just sit down and enjoy a movie. This one, I don't know how but I felt like I was able to just sit down and relax while watching the movie.

I thought it was the perfect movie to watch with my Grandparents. My Grams loves any kind of suspenseful movie, and my Grandpa enjoys anything set before 1980 and based on real events. Sure enough though, my Grams had already seen the movie, but when I don't know. I have no idea how she manages to see all of these movies when I'm struggling to watch one a day.

I knew this movie would be about a mother trying to find her son, but I hadn't realized it was going to be such a struggle for her and all the red tape the Los Angeles Police Department put her though. I had a dream once that I had been in a car accident, been treated by a friends Dad who volunteered as an EMT, and once I had gone back to get my car it was gone. Everyone I tried talking to about where my car had gone told me that there had been no accident and I was left trying to prove to everyone what I had known happened. I realize mine was only a dream, and this was a challenge a woman really faced in the later part of the 1920s but it creates this unbelievable sense of frustration.

Final thoughts: I hated the fact that Christine would never learn about the fate of her son. Of course I would probably hold onto his memory and pray every day that he was one of the boys who were able to escape and never came home out of fear of the man who kidnapped him in the first place. Not knowing was only complaint my Grandpa had with the movie, he was actually really frustrated with never knowing.

OFFICIAL COUNT: 163 DOWN 202 TO GO

Next up: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

What Dreams May Come

What Dreams May Come, 1998

What Dreams May Come

With a title like 'What Dreams May Come,' I have high hopes for this movie.

After having watched the movie:

(Possible spoilers below)

I wish there was more I could say about what I had wanted this movie to be for me before I had watched it. I remember plaining telling my Grams, "I have to watch What Dreams May Come if you want to watch it with me. I don't know what it's about, but it's on the list."

I think based on the title and the concept of the story, I just set the bar too high. I feel like it's too much to try to capture the idea of a man's personal heaven and it intersecting at times with others in a single story. It's almost as though I can see the thought process the writers had. I even begin asking myself the same questions that the writers probably asked themselves when they started plotting out the story. What would this family man's Heaven be like? What experiences would he have as he starts to adjust to the new limits of his world? How would he handle it if when he gets there, he finds his wife can't join him because she's committed suicide?

I think one of the things that really turned me off to the movie was all the tragedy the family seemed to have suffered throughout the story. And I realize, sometimes trauma and difficult times in life can be at the root of an amazing story; but when I watch a movie I like to escape the whoas of life.

What I really loved about the movie, and kind of ironic is that when I was digging around for information about the movie that the majority of the buzz around the movie was what it looked like visually. The movie is stunning. It was intentionally shot on a Fuji film typically used for landscapes as it reproduces colors rather vividly. The images read to me as an oil painting, and I think really it's the only way to illustrate Heaven.

Final thoughts: (This one's easy) What Dreams May Come: The most beautifully shot movie that I will never watch again.

OFFICIAL COUNT: 162 DOWN 203 TO GO

Next up: Changeling

I actually loved Love Actually

Love Actually, 2003
Love Actually (Widescreen Edition)



This was another gifted movie to The Boyfriend from my Grandparents. I'm not sure how he's going to feel about me sharing that but if it's already done then there's really no going back. He and my friends had promised me it was a good Romantic Comedy, which it seems these days are a little hard to come by.

After having watched the movie:
(Possible spoilers below)

I have to admit, it was a good Romantic Comedy, proof then that the genera isn't that bad after all. To be fair to the entire genera though, I think it's easy to write a bad Romantic Comedy in a weekend and because there are those who believe in romance they'll still be willing to give even the worse of Romantic Comedies a chance.

I don't know if it was Lost or Crash but I'm really starting to get into these super complex plots in which the characters either knowing or unknowingly cross each others paths. I think it's a great opportunity to bring in a great cast, and breaking up the screen time allows more room for more love stories. I know I also like to think that these actors all travel in the same circles and hang out together on the weekends, so it seems natural to me that so many of them would be so willing to join a project like this.

My favorite of all the love stories in the movie though was between Sam and Joanna. There's something so innocent about first loves or your first crush as a kid. My first crush was in the second grade, and I told my Mom. I remember for picture day that year she and my second cousin made a big fuss over doing my hair and makeup. In reality, I barely had any blush on, but thought I was the cutest little blonde. The funny thing is that when I look at the picture today I question why I ever let my Mother do my hair that day.

Final thoughts: My Grandpa is a true romantic, he fell in love with my Grams when he saw her for the first time one school bus. He's read every Nicholas Sparks book he can get his hands on and this last week we watch an episode of Live with Regis and Kelly which featured a couple he read about in the newspaper. Their story was that they were high school sweethearts, who grew apart only to find each other forty some years later and marry. I want to watch this movie with him. I want to have that memory of the two of us watching the movie together.

OFFICIAL COUNT: 161 DOWN 204 TO GO

Next up: What Dreams May Come

What people who think they want to do drugs should first watch prior to making that decision

Trainspotting, 1996
Trainspotting - Director's Cut (Collector's Edition)

So after spending what seemed like the longest holiday in Arizona, this was the first movie I got to watch with The Boyfriend when he returned home. Okay, maybe saying it like that makes it seem like this is what we did together after being apart for almost two weeks. We only watched the movie after catching up on things, because it was a gift from my Grandparents. It made sense that because I was so far behind in the 365 Movie Challenge and he hadn't seen the movie in years that we watch it together later that night.

After having watched the movie:

(Possible spoilers below)

In a way I kind of which I had known what I was signing up for with this movie. I had no idea this movie was about one man’s substance abuse problem. Not only that, but watching his entire group of friends get high while there was a baby in the apartment made me nervous. I knew the baby was going to die, there wasn't any proper supervision going on and that's what happens. I don't think I would have been too surprised to see the group of them try to get the baby high, you know, because they thought it was funny.

I don't know if I really liked the movie, as in I want to go re-watch it immediately, but it had a lot of powerful images and scenes that are pretty unforgettable. Like watching someone come down from a high and fight through withdraw symptoms is incredibly uncomfortable and just as discussing to visualize was the toilet diving scene. Ew! If it helps make it seem not so awful, the poo was made of chocolate.

For me the most interesting part of the movie though was certainly all the behind the scene information on the DVD. The filmmakers explain and demonstrate how the use of a prostetic arm was used for the scenes when the guys were shooting up, and all the effort that went into making the arm and shot look more realistic. There was also a piece with the Production Designer who went to great lengths to find the right looks for all the locations in the film.

Final thoughts: This movie is a bit intense. I think it's something anyone who might think they are interested in drugs should watch. I certainly had never expected some of the scenes to prove to be as powerful as they were.

OFFICIAL COUNT: 160 DOWN 205 TO GO

Next up: Love Actually

The Searchers

The Searchers, 1956
John Wayne: The Searchers

Eh, Westerns. I think they fall just above Anime, Stoner-Comedies, and zombie movies. I know a lot of kids who assume any movie that is black and white, isn't really worth watching because it's old. Westerns kind of register similarly with me. While they are something I associate with the 1950s, and I think it's a bit of a dead genera I fail to see how anyone could ever really be interested in watching a Western.

After having watched the movie:

(Possible spoilers below)

You know, there's really nothing tricky about this story and it's a fairly simple plot but for the life of me I couldn't really get into this movie. I don't know if there were too many distractions or if I had tried to watch too many movies the day before, but it didn't do it for me. I couldn't get on board with John Wayne and go searching across the country for an abducted niece.

It wasn't until I started reading more about the movie that I realized, maybe I missed a couple of things. There were Easter Eggs throughout the movie that suggest why it's so important for Ethan, played by Wayne, to not give up on the search for his niece. I didn't realize that Ethan's wife and mother had both been killed by Commanches. I also completely missed that it was an implied notion that Ethan had fathered Debbie and Lucy, and with the combined personal attacks of losing his mother, wife, the woman he loved (his sister-in-law) and what could have possibly been his two children makes the movie make so much more sense.

Final thoughts: Once the final post is made for the 365 Movie Challenge, I want to revisit this movie. Maybe on day when I'm tired of reading, when it's cold, gray and raining outside and I'm sick in bed.

OFFICIAL COUNT: 159 DOWN 206 TO GO

Next up: Trainspotting

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, 1966
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Two-Disc Special Edition)



In my mind I've built this movie up to be something to see similar to what I had done in regards to A Streetcar Named Desire.

After having watched the movie:
(Possible spoilers below)

I don't what my problem is, but if this movie and A Streetcar Named Desire has taught me anything, it's to stop anticipating some of these movies to be so great. Really I think they're movies that when they were made, were something to see and now are movies that everyone talks about but no one really watches. It's a 'safe title' on everyone's favorite movie list, so they can avoid being poked fun at for liking movies like Weekend at Bernie's.

It took me a while to finally realize what was going on in the movie, and at first I was happy to play along with the fighting older couple who were kind of forced into entertaining a newly wed couple. The movie lost me about forty-five minutes in when all they were doing was continuing to argue and it seemed as though there was story built on top of a story that I got so confused I didn't know what was true and which part was false. It wasn't until later, and after talking about the movie with my Grams that I started to get an idea as to what was going on. It didn't change my opinion on the movie. I still don't like it and think it's too long, but under the circumstances that I was given tickets to see it on stage, I'd be willing to give the story a second chance. Otherwise, I won't be watching it again.

Final thoughts: I really don't have any other final thoughts about the movie. I just didn't like it and there are only so many ways to say that. And I'm going to go ahead and beat someone to the punch and just say now, that I realize the movie made a splash when it was first released. I know Elizabeth Taylor considers it her personal best, and that all the actors received highly regarded award nominations for their work but it doesn't make the movie shorter, or anymore interesting.

OFFICIAL COUNT: 158 DOWN 207 TO GO

Next up: The Searchers

The Wrestler

The Wrestler, 2008
The Wrestler

I've intentionally put off watching this movie until now, know that really you can only watch so many older movies before you just need a break from it to watch something modern. It was also a movie that although I knew little about, I thought my Grandpa would really get into.

After watching the movie:

(Possible spoilers below)

I didn't realize it at the time, but the story behind getting this movie made has a bit of an underdog feel to it. Mickey Rourke and Bruce Springsteen didn't receive any money for their contributions to the film, and musician Axl Rose allowed the film makers to use the song "Sweet Child of Mine" without charge. For those who aren't familiar with the film making process and business end, budgeting money for music in post production is something that is often overlooked by first time film makers and can quickly add up depending on the length, popularity, and portion of songs used in a film. Sometime as popular as "Sweet Child of Mine" could have proven to be a big expense for these filmmakers.

What helped filmmakers was the willingness of WWE to participate in some of the fun surrounding the movie. Mickey Rourke was involved in Wrestle Mania that year, and had talked about challenging wrestler Chris Jerico to a match. Really, the only interesting part of this to me is that members from the WWE were willing to play along.

There was also this whole "anti-Iranian" controversy surrounding the movie. Which boils down to someone in Iran who got all upset because Randy breaks their flag in half. Well, really just the post it's on and not the flag and the attire worn by the 'bad guy.' I'm sorry Iran but it's nice to see someone else in American Cinematography being portrayed as the bad guys, because that whole Nazi thing is wearing thin. And let us not forget the United States is not up on Geography, and because we're fighting a war in the Middle East you're not going to be portrayed as heros in our films for at least twenty years. It's just not going to happen.

Final thoughts: Even though all the buzz I had heard about the story gave the impression that it's not really a pick me up movie, I was surprised the movie turned out to be as sad as it was. That doesn't take away from the fact that it's a great story of a washed up wrestler holding onto what once was from his prime. The most tragic part about the whole movie for me though was the relationship that suffered between Randy and his daughter. I'm a very family oriented person, so it bothers me a little when I see families that have been separated or torn apart. I don't regret watching the movie, I just don't think it's one I'm going to put on again soon. I prefer movies that are more uplifting. 

OFFICIAL COUNT: 157 DOWN 208 TO GO

Next up: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

Pray for Rosemary's Baby

Rosemary's Baby, 1986
Rosemary's Baby

First and foremost I should acknowledge that this was a book first and a movie second. It's also one of the books that I wasn't really too interested in reading before watching the movie. I mean, I guess if I had it just sitting around in my apartment then I would have read it first but that clearly wasn't the case. It's also a movie that I have already heard a lot about, mostly from recap style shows where the plot and all of it's secrets are carelessly spilled all over the floor. The exception to that being Americas Next Top Model reruns where Tyra attempts to give girls, "a Mia Farrow haircut from Rosemary's Baby." And don't judge me for watching that show. It's fun low-grade reality TV that everyone has watch but won't admit it until at least two other people also admit to watching the day long marathons as well.

After having watched the movie:

(Possible spoilers below)

Oh this movie was erie and those neighbors are the icing on the cake! I probably won't make many friends for saying this, but I think so much of the credit for the success of the movie really has to go to Roman Polanski. Until after I watched the movie, and did a bit of digging, all I knew about Polanski was that if he were to ever return to the United States he would have to face incarceration for the statutory rape of a thirteen year old girl. It really is like an unwritten rule, whenever you mention Polanski you also have to mention that crime from the 70s.

This movie was first screen adaptation that Polanski took on, and not realizing he could take several liberties and change things up a bit he stay true to the novel. Even down to some of the dialogue. That's incredible to me, because it drives me crazy when a movie is so incredibly different then the book that was written first.

And being a fan of all things art deco, vintage, and design you better believe I loved every bit of watching Rosemary update the apartment for her and her husband. So imagine my surprise when I realized one of my favorite design blogs did a spot from this movie! The writers take a popular and most older movie and find furniture and clothing that are similar or inspired by the movie. Next to the DIY projects, it's one of my favorite aspects to their blog. 

Click here for Design Sponge's take on Rosemary's Baby

Another thing that I found fascinating about the movie, and maybe because I've seen it first hand, is how willing an actor is to do something outlandish so long as a director is willing to do it first. Mia Farrow was fearful of wondering aimlessly out into New York City traffic, and rightfully so I might add, but it only took Polanski reminding her that to an unknowing driver she's a pregnant lady. And no one would ever hit a pregnant lady crossing the road. And of course it was up to Polanski to shoot the sequence handheld as he followed her walking into traffic. Now I've been told, and I believe it because I've been put in similar situations, that next to stuntmen the highest number of injuries are incurred on set are camera operators and camera assistants. Unfortunately when I'm working on set, I'm often sandwiched between camera and the director, in other words I have to be there. I have a scar on the lower part of my right shin from falling face first into the bed of a camera truck at dusk to film a chase sequence. I've been unexpectedly thrown around in the back of an SUV that for the purpose of filming a chicken scene was driving head on at a truck because I was watching the monitor and didn't know to brace myself and wasn't harnessed in. And for some reason, because we see a fearless director telling to go for it and an Assistant Director who is only a little leery we do as their asking without really thinking too much about it. I think mostly because it's peer pressure, you don't want to be the one person on a crew of 50+ people to hold up production for safety. It's only when a stunt man is brought in or the Key Grip starts talking under his breath about how putting crew members in the back of a SUV probably isn't the greatest idea that I get butterflies in my stomach.

Final thoughts on the movie: That whole rape thing aside, Polanski got this one right. The movie is erie and even though I knew the plot of the movie I was so angry with Mr. Rosemary for his lack of concern for his wife and condition of his unborn child. Of course I also have this tiniest bit of underlying fear that at some point in my life I'm going to experience something, and all the people around me are going to tell me that I'm imagining things. I think it's when we can relate our own fears, even if they're the tiniest ones, to what we watch play out on screen it really helps to establish that necessary connection between the audience and characters on screen.

OFFICIAL COUNT: 156 DOWN 209 TO GO

Next up: The Wrestler

The Princess and the Warrior

The Princess and the Warrior, 2000
The Princess and the Warrior

I've been watching a lot of movies with my Grandparents lately, and it has me a little worried that I'm going to be left with all of these foreign movies to watch once they go back to Ohio for the winter months. Obviously, I'm not against foreign movies it's just that foreign films are a specific genera to me and I don't want to be at the end of the challenge with nothing but zombie and foreign films left to watch to make my deadline. And let's play out that scenerio for a moment, it would really mean that I'd have to pull friends together with the promise of a pizza in order to watch all three zombie movies on June 13.

After having watched the movie:

(Possible spoilers below)

The best thing about this movie was watching the relationship between Sissi and Bodo play out. I know how generic that sounds, but their both two unlikely people to have ever met. They save each others lives, get involved in a big bank heist, and end up fleeing the city together. That's not really something you see everyday, which is why it's so compelling to see on screen. The thing that really makes this a great movie and not a good movie is that the characters are three dimensional and it reads that way on screen. And learning how to create these kind of characters has got to be one of the biggest herdels for young writers.

Final thoughts: I think the fact that this is a foreign movie is going to steer a majority of the population away from this movie, and that's a sad reality because it really is such a great movie. Oh and if there was any doubt, my favorite scene for so many reason is when Sissi and Bodo jump off the top of the hospital roof.

OFFICIAL COUNT: 155 DOWN 210 TO GO

Next up: Rosemary's Baby

The biggest epic of the 365 Movie Challenge: Lawrence of Arabia

Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence of Arabia (Single Disc Edition)



I don't know what really made me pick this movie so early on from Netflix. It would turn out to probably be one of the biggest mistakes I've made in the 365 Movie Challenge, not trying to watch the movie but picking a movie I wasn't really ready to watch at the time. I knew this was going to be a movie of epic proportions, but I guess I just thought that I'd feel better about the progress I was making once I kind of powered through the movie.

After having watched the movie:
(Possible spoilers below)

Boy was I wrong. This isn't the kind of movie you can power through. In-fact, I think I had it sitting at home for more than a week and less than a month. It became the movie that I would watch 30 minutes of it to fall asleep to each week. Really, this was a problem all in it's own because the only real progress I was making was twenty minutes a night. If I had fallen asleep in the last ten minutes of the movie, I would have to re-watch it to know what was going on in the story.

I really don't think anything says epic the way this movie does. It's not the greatest epic movie from the list (in my opinion) but it was the first movie that made me think, "OMG how did anyone ever break this script down, have any kind of continuity, and keep things in order and on schedule?" Production lasted an entire fourteen months. That's incredible. I can't even wrap my mind around that. What an exhausting project to work on.

Final thoughts: There really is a lot to say about this movie, from pre prodcution and casting problems, to the wardrobe and filming locations that to write about everything would then make this article an epic as well. And though I know it may turn some people off, the biggest thing about this movie for me was just realizing how big it was. I'm spending what will be a year of my life watching movies. I still have hours in my day left for work, and recreation when I can squeeze it in. This movie spent more time than that in production. I take it back! Lawrence of Arabia, it ranks at number one on my list as the largest epic of the 365 Movie Challenge.

OFFICIAL COUNT: 154 DOWN 211 TO GO

Next up: The Princess and the Warrior