Film of the Month: June

Man, I've gotten behind again. In this and in the 2011 reviews. Oh well.

I've decided to stop mentioning the worst film of the month. I don't really care to talk about it and it's just more work that I don't care enough to do. Instead, I'm going to let the size of the list fluctuate by month depending on how many truly great films I saw that month. This month, there happened to be nine.

Film of the Month: The Tree of Life (2011)

Directed by Terrence Malick.

Starring Brad Pitt, Hunter McCracken, Jessica Chastain, and Sean Penn.

My love of this film is fairly well documented. Rarely does a movie affect me in any significant and lasting way; The Tree of Life managed to affect me in multiple ways and I'm still talking about it two months later. For more commentary, see my review of it.

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Honorable Mentions

All That Jazz (1979)

Directed by Bob Fosse.

Starring Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, and John Lithgow.

In my opinion, 9 out of 10 musicals are terrible and stupid. I see very little advantage for a story to be told by people prancing around and singing instead of simply saying their lines. However, those 10% of musicals that actually work are really good. Singin' in the Rain, Chicago, and, of course, all of those old Disney musicals are part of that 10%, and now, so is All That Jazz. In Jazz's case, it manages to overcome the lameness of having to watch people sing by being extremely dark, by incorporating its musical elements into logical spots, and by just simply being a damn good movie.

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Biutiful (2011)

Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.

Starring Javier Bardem.

Another great movie from 2011. To save me some time and effort, I'll just link to my review of it and mention that, although it is quite tedious in spots, Biutiful is very rewarding and has one of the better performances I've seen in a movie.

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Chasing Amy (1997)

Directed by Kevin Smith.

Starring Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, and Jason Lee.

To be honest, I'm not a very big fan of Kevin Smith. Not that he makes bad movies; he just doesn't really make good ones, either. Every single time I've seen one of his films, I walk out thinking, "eh, it was alright. I laughed I guess." Zack and Miri broke this mold by being memorable simply for its nasty poop jokes and funny sex scenes. Having said all of this, Chasing Amy is by far the best movie by Smith I've seen. He mixes in some mature themes with his idiot jokes and these mature themes elevate the film to a new level. I never thought a Kevin Smith movie would make me think, but think again: I think I thought about it. But seriously, it's great.

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Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Directed by Steven Spielberg.

Starring Richard Dreyfuss, Francois Truffaut, Teri Garr.

I have no idea how Close Encounters slipped through the first 23 years of my life, but I'm so glad I caught it in year 24. It's a genius (if sappy) take on alien invasion. It's beautifully shot and the story is great, but what I love best about the film is that it isn't afraid to hold some things back from the viewer. Most alien movies feel the need to "reward" us with adequate amounts of scares or alien screen time, but Spielberg was confident enough to limit them both.

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Gone with the Wind (1939)

Directed by Victor Fleming.

Starring Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, and Hattie McDaniel.

Haters gonna hate. Yes, I realize it's a 4 hour movie. No, I don't think I'll ever watch it again. Neither of these things make it bad, and Vivien Leigh being "whiny" doesn't either. It's a great film. Historically, this was the pinnacle of film's first 30 to 40 years and it's worth watching simply to admire those aspects. It also has a very engaging plot and some fine acting. Clark Gable is one of those old actors that nobody mentions anymore, which is a shame. He's made some amazing films. If you haven't seen GwtW yet, and you find yourself with a spare 4 hours, check it out.

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Junebug (2005)

Directed by Phil Morrison.

Starring Amy Adams, Embeth Davidtz, and Benjamin McKenzie.

I feel like Junebug was supposed to be taken more seriously than I ended up taking it (it's one of those serious comedies), but I was cracking up throughout the film. That may have been because the family in the movie reminded me so much of my own: southern, set in their ways, and very family-oriented. Amy Adams puts in the best performance I've seen from her here, and I'm a fan of her in general. There's one scene in particular, near the end, that was very touching, and I respect her more as an actor from that single scene than everything else I've seen her in combined.

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Super 8 (2011)

Directed by J.J. Abrams.

Starring Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, and Riley Griffiths.

Yet another film from 2011. Super 8 is like a mix of Stand By Me and Close Encounters, but instead of feeling like a cheap ripoff, it manages to keep the feel of those films while carving out its own unique feeling. See my review for more.

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X-Men: First Class (2011)

Directed by Matthew Vaughn.

Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Kevin Bacon.

Few films (none of them superhero-related) are able to really capture the feel of an era of the past. First Class really felt like it took place during the 60's, and this was its most impressive feat in my opinion. If you'd like to read more about the film, just check my review.

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Other (Good) Films From June:

25th Hour (2002)

Barney's Version (2011)

The Green Hornet (2011)

Intolerable Cruelty (2003)

The Last Emperor (1987)

Live Free or Die Hard (2007)

30 Day Movie Challenge Part III

Welp, this is the end. This part will cover days 21-30.

Day 21: Your favorite action movie.

My Choice: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

This one was fairly easy. Terminator 2 is one of those perfect movies. Not really, but it's about as close as you can get in something written by James Cameron. The characters (especially that kid) say some really cheesy things, but it doesn't matter. Let's count the reasons why. You've got Arnold running walking around, breaking hands, wearing sunglasses, and just being an all around hardass. You've got one of the saddest endings in an action movie. You've got the atomic bomb scene, pictured above. And you've got the T-1000, one of the coolest characters in film history. That CGI still looks great, 20 years later. If you don't like Terminator 2, you need to get your pulse checked.

Day 22: Your favorite documentary.

My Choice: Grizzly Man (2005)

This one was a bit closer (Dear Zachary is another beautiful documentary), but Grizzly Man wins out simply for being the only documentary that I've gone out of my way to watch more than once. Grizzly is not only informative and interesting, but it's also entertaining, a very hard combination to do right in documentaries. I felt sympathy for Treadwell's plight as well as his mission, and at the same time I questioned the decisions he made. It's a touching story with some great video from his actual treks in Alaska, and it's well worth a watch, even for people who hate documentaries.

Day 23: Your favorite animated movie.

My Choice: Bambi (1942)

Bambi always has been and always will be my favorite animated movie. We owned it when I was a child and I watched it countless times. It never lost its emotional impact, even as an adult. In fact, as an adult I can appreciate it even more because of its technical feats. For example, the Disney guys created this sense of depth by using three different color plates placed at different distances from the camera. Even without the technical side of the film, though, it's one of the greatest films of all time. Lots of people have made fun of me over the years for how much I love Bambi, but for my money, it doesn't get any better than this.

Day 24: A movie you wish you could live in.

My Choice: Jurassic Park (1993)

As a child I was obsessed with two movies. The first of these was Jurassic Park. After I saw it, I became completely obsessed with dinosaurs for a year or two. My bedsheets were dinosaurs, my toys were dinosaurs, my coloring books were dinosaurs. Hell, back then I probably could've told you the Latin names of a lot of the dinosaurs. That's the main reason I'd want to live in Jurassic Park: because, more than any other movie, it defined my childhood. Also, dinosaurs are badass.

Day 25: The funniest movie you've ever seen.

My Choice: Anchorman (2004)

Again, it comes down to replay value. I lost track of how many times I've seen Anchorman about 4 years back, and the reason it's the funniest movie I've ever seen is because, even after all of those watches, it's still funny. Almost every joke in the movie works, from the gang trying to woo Veronica to the Funky Town animation to the News Crew gangfight. The greatest part of Anchorman, though, has to be Brick. He steals every scene he's in with his oblivious attitude. It may not be my favorite comedy of all time, but it's definitely the funniest.

Day 26: A movie that you love but everyone else hates.

My Choice: Cloverfield (2008)

I copped out a bit with this choice. I don't actually love Cloverfield. It's a good, original movie with some great sequences, but it's definitely a flawed movie. And I also don't really know anybody who actively hates it. I just honestly couldn't think of a movie I truly love that people hate, and I remember when Cloverfield first came out, there was a fairly strong backlash against it because of its handheld style and handling of the alien. I never understood the negative reviews then, and I don't now. It's a very good monster flick.

Day 27: A movie you wish you had seen in theaters.

My Choice: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

To be honest, I'd never even heard of the books before the first movie came out. Give me a break, I was 14. And when I saw the trailers, it reminded me a lot of what my brother had been telling me about his Harry Potter books, and since he liked Potter I had to hate it. Therefore, I wrote off Fellowship until it came out on video. Of course, I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it and subsequently saw the other two in theaters. Because of this, I feel like I missed a crucial experience by not seeing Fellowship in theaters. There's just something about seeing your favorite movies on the big screen that amplifies the awesomeness to a grand scale.

Day 28: Your favorite movie from your favorite director.

My Choice: Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory (1957)

Actually, 2001: A Space Odyssey is my favorite movie from Mr. Kubrick. However, I've already used 2001 for a different entry, so I went with another of my favorites from him. Paths of Glory is one of his lesser-known films, which is a shame, because it's also one of his greatest. An anti-war film before the genre existed, Paths was actually banned for a while in France because of its negative depiction of French soldiers. It may be a bit dated in its presentation, but it is still one of my favorite movies of all time. Then again, I could say that about a lot of Kubrick's filmography (Spartacus, Dr. Strangelove, and A Clockwork Orange, for instance).

Day 29: A movie from your childhood.

My Choice: Puppet Master (1989)

Puppet Master is not a great movie by any definition. The bad guys are stupid, the good guys are killer puppets, and the movie is filled to the brim with cheesy 80's dialogue and hairstyles. The only reason I love this movie is because it was that one movie from my childhood that none of my friends had ever even heard of, let alone seen. I shared it with no one but my brother, although I've told a few people about it more recently. Even rewatching it as an adult, I was entertained simply by the memories it brought back. I really can't seriously recommend this movie to anyone who didn't see it as a kid, but then again, that's the point of this entry.

Day 30: Your favorite movie of all time.

My Choice: There Will Be Blood (2007)

I'm gonna cheat here a little bit. Anybody reading this will already know my feelings on There Will Be Blood, and to be fair, it's not really my favorite movie. It's one of ten or fifteen (we'll see how many I come up with) that make up my favorite movies of all time. Therefore, I'm gonna end this blog with a list of those other favorites of mine, for anyone interested. I'll keep it to one movie per director, too. In alphabetical order.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Bambi (1942)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)

Goodfellas (1990)

Grizzly Man (2005)

Life is Beautiful (1998)

The Lord of the Rings (2001, 2002, 2003)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

There Will Be Blood (2007)

The Thin Red Line (1998)

Toy Story (1995, 1999, 2010)

Unforgiven (1992)

WALL-E (2008)

The Wrestler (2008)

Hope you enjoyed it!

Ricochet Reviews: Hobo with a Shotgun

Hobo with a Shotgun

Director: Jason Eisener (debut film)

Starring: Rutger Hauer, Molly Dunsworth

On Blu-Ray + DVD: July 5, 2011

You know, for a movie called Hobo with a Shotgun, I sure do wish there was more hobo. And a hell of a lot more shotgun.

Rutger Hauer stars as a hobo who rides a train into a new town. For unknown reasons, this town is in even worse shape than Sin City, with weird, 80s-style violent reality shows and policemen who laugh when you turn in criminals. After spending a few days in this city and getting assaulted by a gang (and the police), Hauer buys a shotgun and gets to killing.

Had the plot stopped here, I would've been perfectly content with it. A movie titled Hobo with a Shotgun shouldn't even try to be serious. It should set up a basic storyline, and then just let the absurdity of its idea carry it through. Honestly, that would've been enough for me, and it baffles me that more action movies don't embrace their silliness.

And the violence in this section is wonderfully over-the-top. A couple of examples are Hauer shotgunning a pedophilic Santa Claus in the face and a car filled with people being squished, causing a fountain of blood. Damned or not, I laughed loudly at these scenes, and I wish there were more of them. Hauer is a charismatic hobo, and his presence help make his violent actions seem defensible.

Sadly, though, the plot kept going, and it is the plot that inevitably sinks this film. Interspersed in Hauer's rampage are two pointless and annoying subplots. The first involves a prostitute (Dunsworth) who lets him stay in her house. Dunsworth is very annoying and, at least here, a terrible actress, and I loathed every single time she came on screen. The story that Eisener tries to drag out of her and Hauer's relationship is extremely tedious and unnecessary. The second subplot is this family dynamic involving the evil leader of the city and his two sons. These are probably the worst scenes of the entire film. The things they say to each other are idiotic (especially that of one of the brothers), and their relationship doesn't really make much sense.

It may sound like I'm overanalyzing the plot to a movie that I just finished saying needed no plot. Maybe I am, but the reason I put so much focus on the plot is because the film itself does. While I kept waiting for more action and over-the-top violence, Eisener kept shoving his story down my throat. It's not a good story, it never was, and it single-handedly destroys this otherwise entertaining movie.

Hobo with a Shotgun has some entertaining aspects. If you like your movies gory (and I mean lots of gore), you'll probably want to check it out. Hell, you'll probably like it better than I did. However, I went in expecting a film with little to no story and was given a film with a drawn-out, terrible story. Drive Angry had this same problem. The next time someone tries to make a grindhouse movie, just make a damn grindhouse movie. Leave the plots out of it and just give me some action.

Is that too much to ask?

Ricochet Reviews: Marwencol

Marwencol

Director: Jeff Malmberg (debut film)

Documentary

On Blu-Ray/DVD: April 12, 2011

This will be a very short review because, well, I didn't really take that much away from Marwencol. Also, I'm lazy. Not to say that it's a bad movie.

Marwencol is a documentary about Mark Hogancamp, a man who is beaten nearly to death by a gang of men because he told them he was a cross-dresser. The film follows Hogancamp's odd path to recovery from the brain injury that they caused. To cope with his disabled life, he created an entire city (named Marwencol) full of dolls and action figures, each of them with full back-stories. The sheer detail that Hogancamp attains in this city is mind-blowing. In one scene, we follow Hogancamp as he "breaks in" one of the humvees that his soldiers use in Marwencol by pulling it down a busy road for two miles. He does this because the new tires don't seem realistic enough to him. The level of sophistication that Hogancamp is able to bring out of such a poor medium as action figures is easily the best part of the film. The lives of these action figures is just as fascinating. I actually found myself caring more about the city of Marwencol than the man behind it.

That's a good enough transition to what I didn't like about Marwencol. For all the depth and beauty that Malmberg was able to bring out of the city Hogancamp created, he did a very poor job of telling Hogancamp's story. The entire crux of the storyline (the beating) is rarely discussed, and the repercussions are only hinted at. We are given a few looks into Hogancamp's life outside of Marwencol, but it is very disjointed and not very complete. My biggest complaint about the film, though, is how forced it can seem at times. Two specific scenes immediately come to mind: a scene where Hogancamp revisits the place where he was assaulted, and what I'll term, for spoiler purposes, "the high heel scene". These scenes are very short and seem very out of character for who Hogancamp is built up to be throughout the rest of the film.

Overall, though, this is a documentary worth seeing simply for the city of Marwencol. I've seen nothing like it before and it is a very unique and strangely beautiful piece of artwork. I definitely wish I knew more about Hogancamp, and I wish Malmberg would've let his film be what it was without a few unrealistic scenes, but Marwencol should, at the very least, give you something to talk about.

Ricochet Reviews: The Bill Hicks Story

I'm going to try out a new review format with this reviews. It's also worth noting that this (and my next review) are the first two documentaries I've seen this year, and (at least in comparison to 2010's great docs) it's looking like a meh year.

American: The Bill Hicks Story

Directors: Matt Harlock & Paul Thomas (debut film)

Documentary

On Blu-Ray + DVD: June 7, 2011

The Story: American: The Bill Hicks Story is quite obviously about a man named Bill Hicks. Hicks was a somewhat famous comedian during the 80s and early 90s who died of pancreatic cancer in 1994 at the age of 32. Since his death, Hicks has become something of a stand-up legend, consistently being ranked at or near the top of lists of the best stand-up comedians of all time. His material, especially in his later years, is well-known for being very political and philosophical. The film is titled American humorously, because, although Hicks grew up in Texas and toured the US constantly, his biggest fame was in the UK, where his critiques of the United States were viewed favorably.

I found The Bill Hicks Story to be very informative and interesting. I knew next to nothing about Hicks before watching this documentary, and the film does a good job of giving a broad overview of his life. I especially enjoyed the sections narrated by Dwight Slade. These sections added some personality to what was otherwise a fact-centered story. However, I am afraid that those people who already know the basics about Bill Hicks will be disappointed with the lack of depth that the film goes into. Although American does a great job of conveying the broad strokes of Hicks's life, there are very few fine details to be found here that aren't well-known to his fans.

Technical: The biggest flaw in American is the style of animation that they used to tell their story. The filmmakers made heavy use of photographs of Hicks, which were cut out and pasted onto animated backgrounds. I assume that this technique was used because there weren't that many videos available of Hicks (outside of his stand up) and because the filmmakers didn't want to use the actual footage from the interviews very much. This style of animation ends up looking really cheap, though. And although documentary directors seem to believe that focusing on the interviews is boring, it can actually make the film better. For example, a lot of the content of the interviews was getting at the interviewee's connection with Hicks, and had the film simply shown the interview during some of these, the film would have felt much more emotionally investing.

I will say, though, that Hicks's stand up is very interesting to watch, if not always comedic. The best part of American is contrasting Hicks's style during different periods of his life.

Overall: American: The Bill Hicks Story is a flawed but entertaining documentary. If you've never heard of Bill Hicks, or if you've only heard a little, this film will give you a good overview of his life story. If you're well-versed on Hicks, though, there's probably very little here that you don't already know. American is worth checking out, at the least.

Ricochet Reviews: Black Death

Black Death

Director: Christopher Smith (Severance, Triangle)

Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Sean Bean, John Lynch

On Blu-Ray + DVD: May 10, 2011

Black Death has easily been the biggest surprise of the year so far. That is because it had a lot of things going against it in my book. First and foremost, it is a film set during the Middle Ages. There are definitely some great films set during this time period (like The Seventh Seal and Braveheart), but as a general rule, these movies are very redundant and predictable. Black Death was also pretty much a direct-to-DVD release. Obviously, movies that feel necessary to completely skip a theatrical release usually do so because the filmmakers don't think it is good enough to warrant a theatrical release. Finally, the film has drawn continuous comparisons to Valhalla Rising, a medieval film from 2010 that actually made my bottom 10 of the year. Having said all of this, Black Death blew me away.

Black Death is the story of a young monk named Osmund (Redmayne), during the period when the bubonic plague ravaged through Europe. As a guide, Osmund joins a group of knights led by Ulric (Bean), who are on a quest to a town in the middle of a forest where the plague has supposedly never reached. When they reach the town, they find out that all of its members have forsaken their Christian heritage in favor of their leader, a necromancer named Langiva. Ulric's group decides that the heathens must be dealt with.

Interestingly, the comparisons to Valhalla Rising are completely valid, as both films follow the same general storyline and even touch on the same thematic elements. In Valhalla, the main character joins a group of crusaders who are on their way to purge the Holy Land of nonbelievers. Both films also focus significantly on the concept of good and evil, and more specifically how this concept is not black and white, as religion usually likes to paint it. The reason that I enjoyed Black Death so much more is because it executed this theme much better. In Black Death, the consequences of being a nonbeliever feel true and makes you wonder if Ulric and his team are there not to destroy evil but to kill non-Christians. The movie isn't anti-Christian, either: the nonbelievers are just as atrocious to the knights. Black Death is also a much more entertaining film than Valhalla Rising was. When I watched Valhalla, it seemed like nothing important would happen for 10 or 15 straight minutes, and it was a chore to watch. Conversely, I was completely enthralled with Black Death's story and the characters in it.

I was also pretty impressed with the technical aspects of the movie. Being direct-to-DVD, I have to assume that Black Death had an extremely small budget, but the filmmakers still managed to find some beautiful scenery and develop some impressive cinematography. The film managed to use long shots without seeming tedious or boring. The acting overall was also really good. Redmayne conveyed his transition from innocent monk to battle-hardened knight well, though I wish the film had focused on his traditional Christian values a bit more. Carice von Houten, who plays Langiva, managed to infuse her antagonist with sexiness and sympathy. The star of the film for me, though, was Sean Bean, even though he's basically playing the character he always plays. He just has a presence about him that makes him feel as if he was actually plucked from the Middle Ages, and that makes his performances like these seem very authentic.

Not that Black Death is flawless. Other than Bean, the other knights aren't very fleshed out and therefore seem like caricatures. Another major problem for me was the shaky camera during one of the pivotal battle scenes in the film. I usually don't have a problem with shaky cam (for instance, I love most of Paul Greengrass's work), but in this film I actually found myself having trouble seeing what was actually happening. I also wish that more time had been spent on the necromancer's town. When the group reaches the town, the plot escalates very quickly, and I wish the film had given some time for the knights to explore the town a bit further.

Overall, though, Black Death was a great film. It manages to bring up religious ideas while also entertaining with a fun, gruesome story. Bean and Redmayne give great performances, and the camera work (other than the battle scene) is surprisingly good. Don't let the direct-to-DVD moniker fool you: Black Death is better than 90% of the films that will be released in theaters this year, and you need to check it out.

30 Day Movie Challenge Part II

Let us continue with the 30 Day Movie Challenge, in which I pick my favorites in a variety of categories. This post will cover entries 11-20.

Day 11: Your favorite science fiction film.

My Choice: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

A lot of people tell me that they think 2001 looks cool, but it is plotless and boring. I can kind of understand these points of view, but I wholeheartedly disagree with them. 2001 grips me from beginning to end, even in the parts I don't fully understand. On top of that, 2001 is gorgeous. The space scenes are amazing, especially considering we hadn't even sent a man to the moon at this point in history. 2001 also gave us one of the greatest movie characters of all time with HAL. And the ending, although I doubt I'll ever really know what it means, is still awesome. 

Day 12: A movie that you hate.

My Choice: Spider-Man 3 (2007)

It's not that Spider-Man 3 is the worst film of all time or anything. It's more-so that Spider-Man 2 was so wonderful that the heap of garbage that the filmmakers threw together for the third installment looked so much worse. Spider-Man 2 had one of the greatest supervillains of all time in Doctor Octopus, and it actually managed to turn Parker into a interesting and relatable character. In Spider-Man 3, both of these crucial elements are missing. None of the endless sea of villains are interesting, unless you count the fact that Sandman looked kind of cool. And Parker? Well, he fully regressed into one of the lamest, whiniest characters I've ever seen. And don't even get me started on that dance sequence.

Day 13: A movie that is a guilty pleasure.

My Choice: The Room (2003)

The Room is the ultimate guilty pleasure movie. There is absolutely nothing in this film that is noteworthy in a positive way except the fact that the movie is such a catastrophe. It is this sheer amount of ineptitude that makes The Room infinitely rewatchable. I honestly don't think there is one scene in the entire film that doesn't end up as a complete disaster. From football tossing to reused sex scenes, from unnecessary cancers to Wiseau's weird laugh, from the terrible CGI rooftop to the random shots of San Francisco, this film is a total mess, and I absolutely love it.

Day 14: A movie that no one would expect you to love.

My Choice: Titanic (1997)

My choice for this entry stems mainly from the stigma about Titanic when I was growing up. The film came out right around my 11th birthday, or that middle phase of childhood where the boys hate stuff simply because the girls like it. As should be obvious to anyone who can remember when Titanic came out, it was the biggest film of all time, and all the girls loved it at my school. Because of this, the boys hated it. In fact, although the Titanic hatred died down after a few years, a lot of my friends held on to their dislike of Leonardo DiCaprio for a very long time afterwards simply because he was in Titanic. Not that I was immune to the distaste. I remember hating Titanic when I saw it as a kid, especially that stupid Celine Dion song. And while that song is still horrible, Titanic is actually a great movie. DiCaprio and Winslet are wonderful in it, and the final hour (when the ship actually sinks) makes for some of the best disaster scenes in film history. I urge anyone who dislikes the movie simply because of childhood memories to give it another chance.

Day 15: The movie character who you can relate to the most.

My Choice: The Dude from The Big Lebowski (1998)

I actually thought of quite a few for this one (Benjamin Braddock from The Graduate, Alvy Singer from Annie Hall, Robert Dupea from Five Easy Pieces, and Joel Barish from Eternal Sunshine, to name a few), but in the end I had to go with The Dude. He's very laid back, but he's also willing to take charge if he needs to. He has a definite lack of motivation. He seems to possess a wide vocabulary, but he readily falls back on slang terms like "dude" and "man". He also has extremely vivid dreams. I can relate to all of these things.

Day 16: The first movie you saw in theaters.

My Choice: Twister (1996)

I'm not actually sure if this is the first movie I saw in theaters. I was tempted to put Aladdin (because I remember seeing it when I was really young) or Jurassic Park (because I was obsessed with dinosaurs as a kid), but the first one I can truly recall seeing in theaters was Twister. The movie spawned an interest in tornadoes in me that continues to this day. I am fascinated by them; their destructive power, their shapes, their colors, their unpredictability. The actual twisters that Twister gives us are amazing. I recently bought the film on Blu-Ray and still found myself gripped by those tornado scenes. Twister was actually my favorite movie of all time for quite a chunk of my childhood. I'm not going to sit here and pretend that it's a flawless movie or anything, but Twister holds a special place in my heart, and I'll always love it.

Day 17: The last movie you saw in theaters.

My Choice: Bad Teacher (2011)

Well, Bad Teacher wasn't a very impressing movie. Because of that, I'm not going to waste much space talking about it. Instead, I'll direct you to my review of it, if you're really interested in what I thought about it.

Day 18: A movie that you wish more people would've seen.

My Choice: Barton Fink (1991)

When I posted this entry, I wasn't aware of anyone I was friends with who had seen Barton Fink. After posting it, I know of two people. That isn't enough. Barton Fink is the Coen brothers' most underrated film. While Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and O Brother Where Art Thou are great movies and deserve their recognition, Fink is simply more original and more interesting. It stars two of the Coens' favorite supporting actors, John Turturro and John Goodman. This is actually the film that made me realize how great of an actor Goodman can be. I won't turn this into a full-fledged review of the film, but I love basically everything about Barton Fink, from the silly side-plots to the out-of-nowhere metaphorical ending. Please check it out.

Day 19: Your favorite western.

My Choice: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)

Do I really need to justify choosing The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly as my favorite western? Well, okay. I know it's a popular choice for favorite western, especially among those who aren't well-versed in the genre. Personally, a lot of westerns blend together because they are so thematically and aesthetically similar, but when I find a good western, it's usually one of the best films I've ever seen. Some of my other favorites are Stagecoach, Unforgiven, High Noon, and even High Plains Drifter. None of them really come close to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, though. This is Eastwood in his most badass form. Without even giving him a name, Leone created one of the most iconic characters in film. I love everything about this movie, from Leone's repetitive musical themes to the Civil War battle to that last showdown between the three main characters in what is one of the greatest scenes of all time.

Day 20: Favorite movie by your favorite actor/actress.

My Choice: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Kate Winslet) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Jack Nicholson)

I'm not sure if I was supposed to pick one for either an actor or an actress, but I did both, and it wasn't hard for me to choose either one. Kate Winslet has only been around for 15 years or so, but those 15 years are filled with wonderful performances in lots of great films. A few of her standout films include Titanic, Quills, Finding Neverland, and Little Children, but none of those great movies come close to Eternal Sunshine. ES is a film unlike any other thanks to Gondry's unique perspective and Kaufman's fantastical script. Winslet's performance in the film is quite different from most of her other work, but she gives Clementine a personality and life that no other actress could.

Jack Nicholson needs no introduction, but I'll list some of his other great films anyways: Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Last Detail, Chinatown, The Shining, Batman, As Good As It Gets. And even with this superb list of films, nothing compares to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Cuckoo rightfully deserves its claim as one of only three films to ever win all of the Big Five awards at the Oscars (along with It Happened One Night and The Silence of the Lambs). Nicholson turns McMurphy into a well-rounded, sympathetic criminal that anybody can root for. Nicholson also proved here his unique ability to portray characters who are a bit on the crazy side. Cuckoo is one of the few films I consider flawless.

Part III coming soon.