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

It's A Wonderful Life

It's A Wonderful Life, 1946
It's a Wonderful Life (60th Anniversary Edition)



I can't believe there's another movie that's part of the 365 Movie Challenge that stars James Stewart. I know I just brought it up with Natalie Wood and Miracle on 34th Street, but when I finally get caught up I'm going to make a list to see which actor is in more movies than any other actor on my list. At this point, I think it's safe to say that James Stewart is going to sweep that competition easily when you factor in all the Alfred Hitchcock movies that top the list.

After having watched the movie:
(Possible spoilers below)

I subscribe to four magazines that I get on a monthly basis, and because I spend the majority of my 'down time' writing for the 365 Movie Challenge now I've neglected some of my magazines. It's kind of pathetic that I just finished reading a December issue in February, and side note: it's less exciting to read articles about the holidays after the fact. Anyways, I stumbled on this great article in Good Housekeeping by Philip Van Doren Stern titled The Greatest Gift. It was the short story that the magazine first published in 1944 that inspired the movie. This was such a great surprise for me and it makes me feel a little better about writing about a movie that I watched in late December in January. The movie follows the short story just about as closely as it can, but like all stories turned to movies there are still differences.

Final thoughts: I liked this movie, it wasn't bad, but it's no Miracle on 34th Street and certainly not A Christmas Story. It does have a lot to offer and even though it is a bit of a Christmas story, I think it's one you can pop in whenever you're in a bit of a bum mood and feel better about the day after the movie.

OFFICIAL COUNT: 153 DOWN 212 TO GO

Next up: Lawrence of Arabia

Batman

Batman, 1989
Batman Collection: 4 Film Favorites (Batman 1989 / Batman Returns / Batman Forever / Batman & Robin)

I never really pre-planned a time when I wanted to watch this movie, but ideally I wanted to watch it between June 15 when I started the challenge and January of the new year so I could finally watch The Dark Knight on the anniversary of Heath Ledger's death. Don't judge me, I fell in love with him when I watched 10 Things I Hate About You for the first time in 1999. Once you lose your Heath Ledger, or the first star you really liked for their performances and dashing good looks, then we'll talk. And I realize I probably didn't have to watch this movie first to watch Dark Knight, but I wanted to see Jack Nicholson as the Joker before I watched Heath Ledger play the same character.

After having watched the movie:

I liked Batman enough, but I don't know why it took almost three attempts to finally watch the entire movie. I guess it just wasn't my favorite movie, but to be fair it was also the first movie I tried to watch after the car accident I had the day before Christmas Eve. On the way home from work I rear ended someone on Interstate 4 in Orlando at the 408 ramp. It made the holidays really rough and was kind of an awful way to end the year. I had a rental car for more than a week and finally found a car by the 10th of January, but the whole process seemed long and drug out because of the holidays. Unexpectedly it also made even watching movies difficult. It was about five days until I was able to sit down and watch another movie after the accident, because my mind was so scattered I couldn't really focus on anything.

All in all though, I have to say that I thought Jack Nicholson played an amazing Joker. I can see why he has gone on to say that it's one of the most difficult roles he has played, because it seems as though it's one of the roles that sticks with you for hours after the First Assistant Director calls a wrap on the day.

What I didn't know about the comic, again as so many other people like to point out, is that I didn't realize until I was about eighteen or nineteen was that comics were a legit thing. I had no idea there were conventions or such avid fans. This concept was completely new to me. So what I found most interesting about the movie was that it came out the same year Batman celebrated it's 50th year, and more than 50,000 fans wrote to Warner Brothers complaining about casting Michael Keaton as Bruce. As a way to get fans excited, Warner Brothers created a short, ninety second, teaser to create buzz around the movie. They more than succeeded. From my understanding, being able to see this trailer is kind of a big deal to comic book fans.

Final thoughts: Despite learning all the new things about the movie, I still think it's just ok. I mean, I wouldn't go as far as to call it a bad movie, but I have to agree with the reviews that I read that called the movie too dark. Too dark as in it's hard to see what's on screen, and not subject matter. I can't always watch movies at night after work, there are times when I have to watch them at noon and with the layout of my apartment it makes watching a lot of dark movies difficult and slightly irritating because of the reflections and glares.

OFFICIAL COUNT: 152 DOWN 213 TO GO

Next up: It's a Wonderful Life

Miracle of 34th Street

Miracle on 34th Street, 1947
Miracle on 34th Street

I knew when I was kind of mapping out certain movies to watch when I started the 365 Movie Challenge that I would watch this as well as It's A Wonderful Life around Christmas, which had only seemed natural to me. I also knew that if I were going to watch this movie, I needed to see the original movie from 1947 and not the one remade in the 1990s with Mara Wilson.

After having watched the movie:

(Possible spoilers below)

This movie was just what I needed to put me back in the Christmas spirit. I admit, it was hard being away from The Boyfriend in what would be a little more than a week, but it was hardest not going home to Ohio for the holidays. It was the first Christmas I had ever spent away from home. I absolutely loved the movie, and ended up watching it a few days after the Christmas holiday as well. Although this one doesn't take the place of my favorite Chistmas movie, A Christmas Story, it has quickly and easily become one of my favorite Christmas movies.

Surprisingly enough, it was one of the movies that I was able to watch without really knowing a lot about the plot. I mean, you can't be anywhere in America around Christmas talking about movies and not hear about the one where Santa Clause is put on trial but that is all I had ever heard about the movie. What I didn't know about was the relationship between the child and her mother, as well as how anti-fantasy and fairy tales her mother was. I guess I really just really disagree with her opinion, because I think kids Susan's age need the opportunity to pretend and believe in fairy tales.

Final Thoughts: It wasn't really a surprising to me that I would fall in love with this movie. In fact the biggest surprise would come later, when I realized the kind of career Natalie Wood would have. Believe it or not, Natalie is in five movies that comprise my list and I never recognized her as Maria from West Side Story or as Anna Muir in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.

OFFICIAL COUNT: 151 DOWN 214 TO GO

Next up: Batman

Annie Hall

Annie Hall, 1977
Annie Hall

I typically like Woody Allen movies, and with Annie Hall being considered one of the best in it's genera I'm a little excited about watching the movie. I don't think this is going to be one of the movies that my Grandparents really like though, as they're not big fans of Woody Allen.

After having watched the movie:

(Possible spoilers below)

When I say that I'm behind in the movies that I've watched, I'm not joking. I'm really behind. I watched this movie on December 19, and I'm finally writing about it on February 4. It's not the two days that I had originally set up in the rules for the challenge, but I've cut myself some slack because it's not June 15. Which isn't so bad when you take into consideration that now I’m only sixteen movies behind to be on track by February 15. Anyway, this brings me to my greatest fear about having fallen so far behind in both the watching and writing of these movies. I don't remember a thing about Annie Hall. I mean, I remember watching the movie, and certain scenes from it but there was nothing special about it to me. I was kind of bored the whole time.

I am willing to accept that watching the movie was bad timing on my part though. I was in the middle of the holiday season at work, and two days prior to watching the movie I had to say goodbye to The Boyfriend who was going to Arizona for the holidays. I wouldn't exactly say that I was in the mood for a Romantic Comedy, and in hindsight I probably should have watched one of the zombie movies I've successfully put off for another day.

Final thoughts: Maybe it's me, but I can't really see how a movie that I don't remember less than two months later was really all that great. I mean, it left me thinking Annie... Annie who?

OFFICIAL COUNT: 150 DOWN 215 TO GO

Next up: Miracle on 34th Street

Pride of the Yankees

Pride of the Yankees, 1942
The Pride of the Yankees (Collector's Edition)

This was another movie that I hadn't really planned to watch until spring training started in the spring, but because I was really starting to feel the pressure to pick up the pace I decided to watch the movie earlier than I had originally planned. The pressure really started to intensify around Christmas when I was working more, and had less time and motivation to watch a movie every day let alone the two a day I would need to do to finally catch up. Luckily this was a movie I was able to watch with my Grandpa, who likes stories that are based on real events or people and set in any time-period before the 1980s. I don't know what he has against movies dating after 1980, but I wouldn't trade the night we spent watching this together for anything.

After having watched the movie:

(Possible spoilers below)

I have to agree with my Grandpa, there's something about a movie that is based on either true events or a real person that gives the movie a different kind of value to me. And not really being a baseball fan, I don't know that I would have sat down and watched the movie on my own. I mean, I'm not really interested in the disease and before watching the movie I had very little interest in the player. Making the movie and continuing to tell Lou's story though gives the disease a recognizable face.

Side note, I also realize there is Stephen Hawkin who has also served as a more modern face to the disease. However to ten year old boys, I just don't think he's as interesting as a MLB Baseball Hall of Fame Athlete. Sorry nerds.

Final thoughts: I feel like I've said it enough that if it wasn't already a cliche, that I've turned it into one, but movies like any other form of art have a different impact on people. The Pride of the Yankees wasn't only about ALS or the story of a baseball great, but instead it really was about who Lou was as a person. In fact, I really think the movie is improperly titled. I thought I was going to get the story of one of Lou's greatest years playing for the Yankees, and instead I got an insight to his life. Or at least a writer and directors take on who and what Lou was like. After all, the movie was released within two years of Gehrig's death.

For those who are interested in learning more about ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and Lou Gehrig's accomplishments while playing for the Yankees, I've enclosed the links respectively.

ALS

Lou Gehrig

OFFICIAL COUNT 149 DOWN 216 TO GO

Next up: Annie Hall

Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane, 1941
Citizen Kane (Two-Disc Special Edition)





Having gone to film school it should go without saying that I've heard probably more about this movie than I would have ever cared to; I had even long suspected that the movie was overrated. Oh and I shouldn't forget to mention that it was in my sophomore year of high school that I learned about the similarities between Orson Welles and William Randolph Hearst in Mr. Foster's history class.


After having watched the movie:
(Possible spoilers below)


I understand why so many people have gone on to praise this movie for what it is, but what I don't understand is why there has been so much to do about the films line, "Rosebud." I think it's kind of bogus, but I guess I just don't get it. Or perhaps that is that's what Orson Welles had hoped to accomplish all along. Some have even gone on to call it one of the greatest secrets in cinema; however like all great secrets over time the true meaning has finally come to surface. Cited by essayist Gore Vidal in 1989, a 1996 documentary titled The Battle Over Citizen Kane, the 1999 film RKO 281 all insist that "Rosebud" was in fact a nickname William Randolph Hearst had for an intimate part of Marion Davies' anatomy. An inside joke between writers that Kane would die with "Rosebud" on his lips.


The comparisons between Kane and Hearst are pretty undeniable, and it's easy to see why Hearst had made multiple attempts to stop the film from ever being released. During production of the film word got back to Welles that Hearst had arranged a spontaneous photo shoot, in hopes of discrediting and disgracing him, by having a naked woman leap into Welles' arms as he entered his hotel room. To evade any risky photos, Welles spent the night someone where else. Although it is not known if there was anything to support this tale it's not too unbelievable.


Once the film was released Hearst absolutely refused to mention the film or any other film produced by RKO Studios in any context within his publishing empire. Hearst also offered to purchase the negative in hopes of destroying the film. It would be more than thirty years before any Hearst publication would run a review for the film; however Hearst's attempt to kill the film failed because other publishers were happy to print reviews and advertisements for the film. Hearst would even go as far as to claim that Orson Welles was a Communist.


Final thoughts: For someone who didn't solely base the character of Kane on Hearst, Welles did a lot to ensure that his film wouldn't be halted or stopped by Hearst. In fact there are so many uncanny comparisons that at some point I kind of wish Welles would have just come right out and said, Yep. It's really based on that jerk, Billy Hearst.


OFFICIAL COUNT: 148 DOWN 217 TO GO


Next up: Pride of the Yankees