Movies 1-29-14

Second in Command - DD- Jean Claude Van Dam This is typical Jean Claude Van Dam, but I was not as impressed with this film as with some of his other films. Lots of explosions, and fight scenes, but its like a copy cat of something that has been done before and told better.



Behind Enemy Lines II - DDD - Keith David, I didn’t see the first film so I really had nothing to compare it to. Since I had seen Second in Command a few days before I figured it might be similar. I was surprised. I really enjoyed this film and it will be a part of the collection for a while. Soldiers are trapped behind enemy lines when a mission is aborted a little two late. It’s a film that makes one think.

Grandma’s Boy- DDD - Shirley Jones, Shirley Knight, Doris Roberts and Jonah Hill Laughter is the best medicine even if it is a little raunchy sometimes. This was a movie someone passed along to me so I figured I’d watch it and make a decision as to keep it or donate it. I’ll keep it a while. A thirty something tech geek ends up moving in with his grandmother after his roommate forgets to pay the rent for several months. Embarrassed by this he tells the young guys he works with that he has three female roommates. It’s a very entertaining film with a few annoying characters.





Here is my new rating system. DDDDD highly recommend. DDDD It should be watched. DDD Entertaining DD So, so if you like the stars. D Just out of curiosity watch it.
(I like all movies. Even those that most people don’t like, it makes for great conversation.)


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Houseboat & Transsiberian

 (I just thought I'd include a photograph. I want to start including images that reflect the movies. I don't have pictures of all of the films that I watch, but I'm going to start looking for my catalogs and scan images from films or stars.)

It had been a very long time since I had seen the film Houseboat with Sophia Loren and Cary Grant. Cary Grant is a widower taking care of three kids. He has to alter his life to keep the kids together. He meets a spoiled Italian woman, played by Sophia Loren. She becomes the house keeper and when the home they are to move into gets demolished by a train, they move into a houseboat. They work together to create a home and become a family again. The little kid that plays Roberto steals every scene he is in. I don't recall when I saw this film for the first time, but I do remember Sophia Loren. This was probably the first film I saw her in, but the film Two Women is my favorite. (DDDD) It's a fun film with several messages. The importance of family and being honest with one another.

Transsiberian (DDDD) stars Woody Harrelson, Emily Mortimer, Kate Mara, Eduardo Noriega, Thomas Kretschmann and Ben Kingsley. I had never heard of this film before. I was in Dollar Tree and it seemed like something I'd be interested in seeing so I picked it up. I didn't have any expectations for the film, but I got quite the surprise. The case didn't give anything away which is what I like. There were lots of surprises as each character was dealing with a lie. It's a very good movie. Emily Mortimer plays an amateur photographer and the visuals which she captures and the cinematography made the film very inspiring. I highly recommend this film if you can find it. The film was written by Brad Anderson and Will Conroy. It was directed by Brad Anderson. This film does include some violent scenes of torture.

Although I haven' seen any films that are nominated for Oscars, I'm going to look at the list and make my predictions.
Check back to see if you agree.

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Return to Movies 2014

(This is not a photograph from the film. I just decided I'd start adding photos and I'll try to tie them into the theme.)

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) DDDDD This film stars Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell, directed by Howard Hawk. I had never seen this film before. Only clips when they do those specials. This has to be one of Marilyn Monroe’s funniest films. The film has a few musical numbers, Including the infamous ‘Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend.’
Marilyn plays a woman obsessed with men who have money and diamonds. Jane Russell is the best friend just looking for love. When ever Marilyn is on the screen she commands it. My focus was always on her. Jane Russell has one interesting musical scene surrounded by a bunch of scantily clad men. She also does a rendition of the classic song impersonating Marilyn who she nicked named Blonde during the making of the film. If you’re not a fan of musicals, this one doesn’t break out into song every five minutes. There are about six musical numbers, but its worth it to see Marilyn Monroe who I don’t think ever looked sexier.

Quest for Fire (1982)  DDDD I’ve not seen this film since the 80’s. It’s an interesting film about a small group of men surviving in the prehistoric era as they search for fire. I didn’t remember how brutal and graphic this film was. I had remembered one rape scene, but there are many. We are not sure how they discovered fire. The film opens with fire and we see smoke and fire, but it isn’t until about thirty minutes before the film is over that we see them make fire, but how did they learn?
The film stars Ron Perlman, Rae Dawn Chong, Everett McGill and Nemeer El-Kadi
The cinematography is interesting as well as the unique dialogue. This is a visual piece of art. It’s like watching a foreign film as we are left to make our own conclusions.



Here is my new rating system. DDDDD highly recommend. DDDD It should be watched. DDD Entertaining DD So if you like the stars. D Just out of curiosity watch it.
(I like all movies. Even those that most people don’t like, it makes for great conversation.)


Thanks for stopping by and keep an open mind. Become a follower while you are here.

2014 Movies I

I’ve been focusing most of my time on watching Criminal Minds. I became obsessed with the show the first time I saw it. Whenever I’d go to New Orleans, my sister and my aunt had cable and one of the stations Ion would run two episodes in the mornings and two in the evenings. I was glued to the set to see as many episodes as I could. Now I’ve invested in the series and each time I buy a new season I start from the beginning. Not since Oz and the L word have I been so enthralled in a series since the days of Dallas and Beverly Hills 90210.

(I took this picture while in Arkansas, 2006)

Every now and then I find time to watch a movie. Movies TV network have been showing a lot of movies I’ve already seen or had no interest in seeing. Sometimes the timing is off so I have to see when the film will run again.

Where The Day Take You is one of my favorite films. I don’t recall ever seeing this film available on DVD. I watched it on VHS yesterday afternoon. The film stars Laura San Giacomo as a reporter tracing the life of King played by Dermott Mulroney. The film delves into life on the streets in Hollywood. The place where everyone comes who dreams of making it big as a movie star. Almost every actor in this film has a moment to shine which is rare when you have such a large ensemble of talented actors. Balthazar Getty as Little J and Sean Astin are the standouts in the film. Artists are always trying to fin that break out role or they are looking for a role that has meat to it to top the previous role. It becomes like an audition as you try to leave one role behind and show that you are a good actor. It’s not easy to capture life on the streets because there are so many stories to tell. The circumstances are different for each individual.

Kyle Maclaughlin plays a drug dealer /user who keeps trying to get Sean Astin’s character to upgrade to a better high. When you grow up as a child actor, you want that one role that lets everyone know you are an adult. For some actors the transition is easy and for others it takes a little longer.
Will Smith plays a fowl mouthed wheelchair bound amputee living on the streets.
Ricki Lake, Nancy McKeon, Alyssa Milano, David Arquette, Adam Baldwin, Christian Slater, James LeGros as Crasher, Laura Flynn Boyle as Heather and Robert Kepner as Rocky round out the cast.
The message that the film tries to convey is what happens to some kids when they run away from home. At that time it was estimated that every 26 seconds a kid runs away from home.



Here is my new rating system. DDDDD highly recommend. DDDD It should be watched. DDD Entertaining DD So if you like the stars. D Just out of curiosity watch it.
(I like all movies. Even those that most people don’t like, it makes for great conversation.)


Thanks for stopping by and keep an open mind. Become a follower while you are here.






The Seattle International Film Festival will celebrate it’s 40th year in May of 2014. I’ll review some of my favorite films. And talk about my experiences from 1993 - 1999.

Thanks for stopping by, and do come back again or become a follower. Remember to keep an open mind.

Class of 1984 DDDDD

There are several films in my top 200 that AFI might not agree with, but I think they belong there. I love movies and anyone that makes a movie I applaud them. It is not an easy thing to do, but with digital and the Internet, one can make a movie and get it seen by millions if they know how to market it.

There are many classics in my collection, but I like the obscure, artsy, films that have something to say. I like to think of my collection as something for everyone. From Lawrence of Arabia to Caligula, All About Eve to Coffy, and Spartacus to Class of 1984 which is what brought me to this entry.

There are certain films that I watch once a year, but it has been several years since I’ve seen Class of 1984. There were many reasons why I saw this film when it was released and why it was added to the collection. I was a fan of Roddy McDowall  best known for his roles In the Planet of the Ape series. I had also found out that Mr. McDowell shared a passion for photography. There was also Perry King. Perry King starred in The Lords of Flatbush. This film also introduced us to many Canadian actors, Michael J. Fox who was just Michael Fox back then. Stephan Angrim from the religious horror film Fear No Evil and Timothy Van Patten who played Salami on the television series The White Shadow. He is now a director as many of the cast members from that tv series has become. Kevin Hook and Thomas Carter are names synonymous with directing many television series.

Class of 1984 had a big impact on me from its costumes to the graffiti around the school. It inspired drawings and its one film where the dialogue resonated. Class of 1984 is considered a revenge film. It’s violent and doesn’t hold back in offending anyone. The music is awesome as it opens with Alice Copper’s I Am The Future one of my favorite songs. This film was compared to A Clock Work Orange, but the setting is in a High School. Mark Lester predicted where the future of public schools were going and there are scanners in most schools, surveillance cameras and kids bring guns to school.
Does art imitate life or does life imitate art?
It’s a disturbing film with a message. If you can get your hands on the film I highly recommend it. If you are an aspiring film maker this should be on your list as recommended viewing. The visuals, lighting and flow of the film are tops.

Roddy McDowall has a great scene where he is on the edge of a nervous breakdown and tries to get his students to learn by holding a gun on them. There is such intensity and I often wonder what type of film would it have been if he had shot one of the students.

Many years later there was another film, I’m not sure if you can call it a sequel, it was called Class of 1999. I should have this film in my collection, but I don’t as a DVD. I think I have it on VHS somewhere. The only reason I would add it is because it features Pam Grier as a cyborg teacher and things don’t work out. There was a similar film called The Faculty that starred Usher. If you can get your hands on Class of 1984 give it a look see.



Here is my new rating system. DDDDD highly recommend. DDDD It should be watched. DDD Entertaining DD So if you like the stars. D Just out of curiosity watch it.
(I like all movies. Even those that most people don’t like, it makes for great conversation.)

Little Reviews

Where the Truth Lies (DDDD), starring Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth and Alison Lohman, talk about a movie with surprises and twists. While I was watching this film I kept thinking about Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Perhaps it was the focus on the telethon, and there were many similarities. Kevin Bacon has given some great performances over the years as has Colin Firth, but I think a lot of Bacon’s work goes unnoticed. I had never heard of this film. I saw it on the shelf for a dollar; I liked the premise and since it starred two great actors decided to give it a look see.  I like when I get my hands on a directors cut or an unrated version of a film. It means that there were issues with the film. Either it ran too long or there were scenes too hot for the theaters. Since the 90’s films just get cut since they know they can released the unrated version on DVD. No more NC-17, or the risk of a film not getting shown at a theater. Sometimes its only a few seconds that makes all the difference between an R and NC-17 rating.

W., (DDDD)The first time I saw the film I was able to see President differently. Living in the shadows of someone the majority of your life is not easy. Not everyone gets the back story on politicians. All we know is that all of a sudden there they are.
Some of us are still learning about Obama. When it comes to politics there’s the person we see on the campaign trail and then the person that gets into office, but the real person we don’t get to see unless we know them on a personal level.
Oliver Stone has a way with political films. Sarah Halley Finn did a great job with casting  with Jeffery Wright as Colin Powell and Thandie Newton as Condalesa Rice. I couldn’t help but wonder if Janet Jackson was ever up for the role. She did an excellent potrayal of Miss Rice in an SNL sketch many years ago.
Josh Brolin, James Cromwell, Ellen Burstyn, Elizabeth Banks and Richard Dreyfuss were all great.
I things it’s a good film and regardless of what you think of the former president you might learn something you weren’t expecting.



Here is my new rating system. DDDDD highly recommend. DDDD It should be watched. DDD Entertaining DD So if you like the stars. D Just out of curiosity watch it.
(I like all movies. Even those that most people don’t like, it makes for great conversation.)


Thanks for stopping by and keep an open mind. Become a follower while you are here.

D's Horror fest continues

As the horror fest begins to wind down, I’ve got quite a few movies to watch if I choose. This is what is on my agenda.

Sunday night-The Rocky Horror Picture Show,(DDDD) I watched the UK version.

Monday night- Rosemary’s Baby, (DDDD) I was 9 years old when I saw this film for the first time. I didn’t really understand what was going on, but there are some visuals that stayed with me. Last year my cousin and I questioned my aunt about why they took us to see certain movies at a certain age. Adults still want to have a life and sometimes kids fall asleep at the movies.

Tuesday night- Night of the Living Dead,(DDDD) This is not just a horror film it makes a political statement. It’s about race, class and who calls the shots.

Wednesday- Halloween (DDDDD) and Halloween II, (DDD) Halloween is the ultimate in horror movies for me. There’s something in the fact that a human being can kill at such a young age and want to continue to do it. It’s not some made up character. Michael Myers could be anyone. The sequel is not as great, but its Jamie Lee Curtis.

Thursday night- Halloween H20 (DDDDD) and Halloween Resurrection, (DDDD) Halloween H20 takes place 20 years later and brings us all the stuff we loved about the first Halloween. Michael is back to kill is sister, his nephew and his friends. Jamie Lee Curtis returns for this one. There are some great moments in this one. There is a slight homage to Psycho as Janet Leigh, Jamie’s real mother appears in the film.

Halloween Resurrection tries to bring reality TV into the horror world. It has its moments. This film stars Bhusta Rhymes, and Tyra Banks.



Here is my new rating system. DDDDD highly recommend. DDDD It should be watched. DDD Entertaining DD So if you like the stars. D Just out of curiosity watch it.
(I like all movies. Even those that most people don’t like, it makes for great conversation.)


Thanks for stopping by and keep an open mind. Become a follower while you are here.