Spider (2002)

IMDB LINK

Stars:  Ralph Fiennes, Miranda Richardson, Gabriel Byrne

Director:  David Cronenberg

Toronto International Film Festival
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2002	Won	Best Canadian Feature Film	David Cronenberg

 

Dont recomend starting this art film if your a bit tired.  I say this because i started it tired, and quickly dozed off.  It was curious i the first half, but i was not sucked into it.....now i dont know how it ended, but it would have to be a pretty amazing second half to overcome the sleep inducing first half.

 

Yawn.......

Stoker (2013)

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Stars:  Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode

Mia Wasikowska the daughter in The Kids are All Right, and Alice in Alice in Wonderland, and now that cute blonde is the dark haired psycho in this suspense thriller.

This was uncomfortable to watch, which in a thriller is great.  Full of moments that make you adjust in your chair. 

Thoughts? 

Assault on Wall Street (2013) "Bailout: The Age of Greed" (original title)

IMDB LINK

Stars:  Dominic Purcell, Erin Karpluk, Edward Furlong

No big names, just an amazing spiral of darkness and honesty. 

This is the underbelly of the last ten years.  We all took a loss in the last ten years, and it was good to see someone take the fight to Wall Street.

Not for actual actions, but for the fantasy we all have of taking out the stock broker that doomed our pension plans.  Yeah baby.

A good little film.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)

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Stars:  Dwayne Johnson, Byung-hun Lee, Adrianne Palicki

Predictable and boring.....there, reviewed.

I Give It a Year (2013)

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Stars:  Rose Byrne, Rafe Spall, Alex Macqueen

Reminded me of a 1950's Hepburn and Tracey movie.

It was OK, but a total knock off of a better movie i am certain, just cant remember the name of the movie.

A comedy of errors as boy one  and girl one realise they are no longer in love....enter girl 2 and boy 2

Awkwardness and comedy ensues.

The Breakfast Club (1985)

IMDB LINK

Stars:  Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald

What a great little cast.....and such a fun movie from the 1980's.

This movie looks at how we group ourselves into unique packs but when forced to look at our differences, shock surprise there is not really a difference.

As they go through the bonding moment we are emotionally drawn to believe that we could all be better off if we just accepted each other for what we are, and not what we aren't.  celebrate the similarities and not the differences.

But as all of us over 24 know, this is not a reality. 

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

IMDB LINK

Stars:  Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Gerry Robert Byrne

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2005	Won	Oscar	Best Writing, Original Screenplay Charlie Kaufman (screenplay/story) Michel Gondry (story) Pierre Bismuth (story)
	Nominated	Oscar	Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Kate Winslet

An amazing script and a great little movie.

This is a dark look at the repetitiveness of our mistakes in life.  Doomed to repeat.

Thank god this technology does not exist.

Hello, Dolly! (1969)

IMDB LINK

Stars:  Barbra Streisand, Walter Matthau, Michael Crawford

Director:  Gene Kelly

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1970	Won	Oscar	Best Art Direction-Set Decoration John DeCuir Jack Martin Smith Herman A. Blumenthal Walter M. Scott George James Hopkins Raphael Bretton
			Best Music, Score of a Musical Picture (Original or Adaptation) Lennie Hayton Lionel Newman
			Best Sound Jack Solomon Murray Spivack
	Nominated	Oscar	Best Cinematography Harry Stradling Sr.
			Best Costume Design Irene Sharaff
			Best Film Editing William Reynolds
			Best Picture Ernest Lehman

One of my favourites.  Funny moments, and my favourite.......AFTER-funny moments.

AFTER-funny moments are the kind of moments that your quote later with friends and make you both laugh.

Louis Armstrong cameo, Barbara Streisand, and directed by Gene Kelly, so its got lots of amazing dance scenes.

Made the year i was born.  I adore its innocence and campy humour. 

If you have never seen it, go......then drop me a comment. 

Sunset Blvd. (1950)

IMDB LINK

Stars:  William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1951	Won	Oscar	Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White Hans Dreier John Meehan Sam Comer Ray Moyer
			Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture Franz Waxman
			Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Charles Brackett Billy Wilder D.M. Marshman Jr.
	Nominated	Oscar	Best Actor in a Leading Role William Holden
			Best Actor in a Supporting Role Erich von Stroheim
			Best Actress in a Leading Role Gloria Swanson
			Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nancy Olson
			Best Cinematography, Black-and-White John F. Seitz
			Best Director Billy Wilder
			Best Film Editing Arthur P. Schmidt Doane Harrison
			Best Picture

Holy Crazy

This movie is a journey into madness.  As well the best look into Hollywood's underbelly. 
Gloria Swanson is amazing.  Crazy, dark, and a totally jammed packed adventure.  I totally enjoyed this one.

Now You See Me (2013)

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Stars:  Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson

Not a shocking ending, but lets be honest, it was a blast and a totally enjoyable flick.

Gangster Squad (2013)

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Stars:  Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone

A surprise movie with enough twists to keep you entertained and enough suspense to keep you guessing. 

Sexy. Dramatic. 

A good Sunday afternoon flick. Mind you if you missed it don't feel bad. It is not so unique. But I was pleasantly surprised by a few plot developments. I was also not let down by far too many plot cliches. 

Sean Penn has a great role here. 

Grease (1978)

IMDB LINK

Stars:  John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing

Totally worth a watch every 3 or 4 years if you watch it with others that love to sing along with a musical.  This was a hoot the other night.

John is funny and adorable.  Olivia is sexy and charming.  My favourite is Stockard.  She is the best character in the entire movie for me.  Love her songs and her style.

In the end the good girl must turn bad and the bad girl must straighten out in order to get balance in their lives.  The best characters have balance at the end of the movie. 

Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

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Stars:  Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman

So after we watched this we decided that Morgan Freeman must of been in financial trouble and that Gerald Butler must be a hard core Republican.

Lots of techno effects

But honestly, YUCK.

The only thing good about this film is it reminds you what a good film is, NOT this piece of American righteous crap.

We get it, the world isn't safe with a weak kneed democrat in the white house.

Subtle Butler, subtle. 

Side Effects (2013)

IMDB LINK

Stars:  Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Jude Law

Hitchcock would be proud.

Twists and turns and surprises pop up along the way.

Well worth it, i wont spoil anything here.

Totally worth the time. 

Warm Bodies (2013)

IMDB LINK

Stars:  Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Analeigh Tipton

OK, I sat down totally expecting to hate this.  Obviously a modern zombie version of Romeo and Juliet.

R and Julie are charming, right down to their balcony scene.

Even though i didn't go into it wanting to like it, it charmed me.  Like Zombieland or Shawn of the Dead.

Go watch this with your teen. 

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013)



IMDB LINK

Stars:  Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Mason Elston Cook

OMG what was Steve Carall, Steve Buscemi and Jim Carrey thinking.

"fictional" characters if you choose to miss the freaking obvious.

avoid unless your forced by a group of friends at gun point. 

Escape from Planet Earth (2013)

IMDB LINK

Stars:  Brendan Fraser, Rob Corddry, Jessica Alba

Been so disappointed in the past couple of years with cartoons.  But like Frankenweenie this is a surprise and charming.

Predicable, and cute.

Great for the entire family or for the child we all foster in our souls. 

Go watch when your in a whimsical mood. 

The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)

IMDB LINK

Stars:  Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Mary Beth Hughes

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1944	Nominated	Oscar	Best Picture (20th Century Fox).

WOW, freaking dark.  I had no idea at the start of this flick it was going to tackle such a dark issue.  Well worth the watch.  Henry Fonda was amazing.  Female cowgirls.  Girly Men trying to be made masculine.  So many interesting subplots.  I totally recommend this movie. 

Identity Thief (2013)

IMDB LINK

Stars:  Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy, Amanda Peet

Yikes, crap movie all the way, and yet had some funny movies.

Not going to watch it twice, but it wasn't all that painful either.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

IMDB LINK

Stars:  Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1992	Won	Oscar	Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing Gary Rydstrom Gloria S. Borders
			Best Effects, Visual Effects Dennis Muren Stan Winston Gene Warren Jr. Robert Skotak
			Best Makeup Stan Winston Jeff Dawn
			Best Sound Tom Johnson Gary Rydstrom Gary Summers Lee Orloff
	Nominated	Oscar	Best Cinematography Adam Greenberg
			Best Film Editing Conrad Buff IV Mark Goldblatt Richard A. Harris

A great stand alone movie in a series.  I feel it is the best of the series.  If you feel like a good story, explosions and an epic good vs bad, go catch this movie. 

Arnold is so adorable in this.

Stands the test of time. 

Monkey Business (1952)

IMDB LINK

Stars:  Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Charles Coburn

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1953	Nominated	Golden Globe	Best Motion Picture Actress - Musical/Comedy Ginger Rogers

Funny and comical my 16 year old and I loved this one.  Actors like Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers giving their way over to their inner child.

great Sunday afternoon flick. 

Dead Poets Society (1989)

IMDB LINK

Stars:  Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1990	Won	Oscar	Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Tom Schulman
	Nominated	Oscar	Best Actor in a Leading Role Robin Williams
			Best Director Peter Weir
			Best Picture Steven Haft Paul Junger Witt Tony Thomas

Well written and likely the most dramatic piece that Robin had been allowed to do at that time.  Nominated for Leading Role must of shocked many, but he is amazing in this movie.

If you haven't seen it before go get it.  If you have seen it long ago, it is totally worth a re-watch.

Sad, poignant, and powerful.

Lost in Translation (2003)

IMDB LINK

Stars:  Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Giovanni Ribisi

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Won	Oscar	Best Writing, Original Screenplay Sofia Coppola
	Nominated	Oscar	Best Actor in a Leading Role Bill Murray
			Best Director Sofia Coppola
			Best Picture Ross Katz Sofia Coppola

Quirky, and totally worth the time.  Funny and for anyone who has travelled abroad for long periods of time so very accurate.  Bill Murray is amazing.  Middle aged and struggling to accept that he is the classic middle aged man.  Or maybe i am just getting closer to middle age myself....lol.

Go watch this one.