Themed Movie Months

This is a project I started for myself to finally watch all of the classic, iconic, and popular movies that I have some how missed until now.

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Themed Movie Months: Hiatus

I’ve decided to take a little hiatus from my themed movie months project. I have been falling behind on a few of my other projects, so I need to refocus on those for a little bit. But I will be back! In a year or less.

In the meantime, keep watching!

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Nazgûl November: LotR Extended Editions

“ Anyways, you need people of intelligence on this sort of...mission...quest...thing.” I finally finished all the extended editions of the Lord of the Rings! It was a busy November (and December, hence the delayed post), but I got them all in.

So first we have the Fellowship of the Ring. I’ve never seen any of the extended version of this movie, so the differences were very obvious to me. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Fellowship at all, but I did watch it a lot back in the day, so I’d say I still know the original pretty well. In my opinion, about half of the added/bonus material was definitely unnecessary (which was mostly in the first half of the movie). The rest of the added material was very good and helped give more context and explain character backgrounds.

Next we have the Two Towers. I’ve had the extended version of this movie a long time, it was the first I got. I’ve watched this one a lot. So much so that I can no longer tell what parts were in the theatrical edition and which were for the extended. Still, it was fun to watch again, especially with watching the other two movies side-by-side with it.

Finally we have the Return of the King. Now this one confused me a little. I was so sure that I hadn’t watched the extended version before, but everything on disc 1 (of 2) was completely familiar to me. Disc 2 I’m pretty confident I never watched before this November, as plenty of that seemed new. But I hadn’t watched Return of the King much in the past, and by the time I got to it this time I was very caught up in the story and honestly, I was mostly just enjoying the ride.

In the end, definitely worth it to see the extended editions, especially for old fans. They are still very long to sit through, but a lot of fun!

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Themed Movie Months: Nazgûl November

Welcome to Nazgûl November! This month I will be tackling all three extended edition Lord of the Rings movies. A couple years ago I finally finished collecting all three (I only had Two Towers extended for the longest time (and Fellowship fullscreen on vhs)) but haven’t sat down to watch through all of them yet. I have been a huge fan of the LotR movies since they first came out, so I really feel like I need to see all of these.

I will return shortly with my response to the first one! See you then.

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Sing Me a Song September: Conclusion

This was a theme I had been planning for a while, glad I finally got around to it. What I am not glad for, is that I didn’t get to watch The Runaways. To make a long story short, I ordered all three movies at once from the library, The Runaways was the last to arrive, I didn’t have time to watch it before it was due, and there were no renewals allowed on it. :( I still want to see that movie, so I will be getting to it at some point. I probably won’t wait to include it in another theme.

And of course I was late posting everything again (whoops...).

But I will return in November! With a very ambitious movie theme. Of “epic” proportions, if you will.

See you then.

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Sing Me a Song September: Jersey Boys

“If that’s what you think, you’re not from Jersey.”

I loved this movie! Now, I do like Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, though I am not in anyway an expert on their discography. The group has a very particular sound (thank you, Mr Valli) and a lot of fun songs. And I am from Jersey and of Italian-American descent, so all of that helped me connect with the characters.

One element of the movie that I really loved were the asides that the characters made throughout the movie. I like asides (when they are done well) but it’s not a device that you see often.

I loved the ending, how they wrapped up everything. And I will admit, this movie got me to cry, which is tough. I tear up occasionally, but actual crying doesn’t happen often, which is why I tend to be impressed when a movie can do that. Though there has been a couple movies through this project that have managed to pull that off.

After finishing this movie, I now really want to see the play. But it’s ending in January! D: If I’m going to get to it, I don’t have much time left. We’ll see if I can get it to work.

As I mentioned, I loved this movie. Highly recommend, glad I watched it.

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Sing Me a Song September: Ray

“I love the stories.”

I didn’t know too much about Ray Charles before watching this movie. Sure, I knew of him, knew some of his (iconic) songs. Mostly, I knew he was an important musical figure, which is most of the reason this movie made it onto my list.

This movie covers about 15 years of Ray Charles’ musical career and his personal life during that time. There are a few flashbacks to his childhood sprinkled throughout the movie (and there is one scene that takes place several years after the rest of the movie). At first I was surprised by the flashbacks, but I think the movie did them well.

I liked that they displayed the years as they passed. Though I didn’t think the other graphics they used in a couple montages worked. They were a little awkward and stiff.

I think the biggest take away I have from this movie is I now want to learn more about Ray Charles. I’d like to read up on his life a bit more, find out how accurate this movie was.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie. Glad I watched it, and would certainly recommend it.

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Themed Movie Months: Sing Me a Song September

This month we’ve got a theme I’ve had in the back of my head for a while now. Sing Me a Song September! Movies about musicians/music groups. I decided to keep the list relatively short this month, so hopefully I will get to all of them.

In no particular order:

Ray

The Runaways

Jersey Boys

Now off to the library to get a hold of the movies! See you soon.

[themedmoviemonths-blog]

Movies are Coming July: Game of Thrones Seasons 1 and half of 2

If you saw my last post, you will not that this is sorta, kinda, not exactly a real movie month. The short version of the story is I am doing something different this month. Instead of reporting on a collection of movies I’ve watched recently, I will be giving a general overview of my thoughts and feelings of the first season and a half of Game of Thrones. Because I’ve finally gotten around to starting to watch it. I know, I know, I’m late to the game (haha, couldn’t resist), but honestly, I usually am.

To begin with, I like it so far. I’m always a little hesitant when something is so widely popular, that the popularity is based on some superficial or pretentious reason. But I am honestly enjoying it. And even though there are a few things that I know that I shouldn’t yet, the show does a good job of still surprising you. For example, if you know there is a particular character who is going to die soon you probably still won’t see the when or the how coming until it’s right there in your face. I have found myself saying “Oh! This is happening now? Like this?” quite a lot.

And speaking of being hesitant of things that are widely popular, let’s talk about Tyrion for a second. Almost everyone that I know, and almost every post that I have seen on the internet, as lead me to believe that almost everyone likes the character Tyrion. In a way, this made me need the character to prove that he was worth all the adoration that fans give him. And honestly, he has not disappointed me yet. He is a compelling character who is very enjoyable to watch.

Two of my other favorite characters are Daenerys and Arya (also two popular characters). I love the growth we’ve already seen so far from Daenerys, and that we can see that she still has more to go. And how we got to learn about and appreciate the world of the Dothraki alongside her. As for Arya, she is so far one of the smarter Starks (by the gods, that family frustrates me so much) and a very interesting character. Her experiences so far have been very captivating.

But let us talk briefly about the Starks. They are probably the most good of all the major houses. They are honorable and loyal, to a fault. Very, very often to a very debilitating fault. The big problem with the Starks is they seem blinded by their sense of honor. They really live in their own little world up in the north, were everyone lives by and obeys a very simple set of rules. The problem (consistently) arises when they have to interact with anyone not from the north. They can’t seem to function in the (harsh) reality that the rest of the world lives in. I always want to root for the Starks, I do, but I know that more often than not, they are going to mess things up very, very badly.

I want to mention Sansa very quickly. At the beginning, I absolutely hated her worthless existence. I really did. But she is proving to be more intelligent and useful as of late and I am learning to appreciate and sympathize with her. She did some very stupid things (as Starks are wont to do) and she is starting to realize she needs to be smarter or she will die a terrible and useless death.

Which brings me to Cersei. I want to start by saying I like the way the relationship between her and Sansa has been growing and evolving lately (mid season 2). As for Cersei, herself, I have a lot of mixed feelings about her. She is a complex character that I both love and hate. I appreciate having her in the story even if I don’t always appreciate the things she does.

I want to keep this (relatively) short, so the last thing I’ll talk about is how I hate Jon Snow. I have tried not hating Jon Snow, but I still hate Jon Snow. I am halfway through season 2, and the last episode I watched was possibly the most relatable I’ve ever seen that character be, when he was being awkward with the Wildling girl. But I couldn’t feel too sorry for him, because his own stupidity got him there in the first place. He is far too brash, emotional, and reckless. And I’m starting to think that we don’t see more of Ghost because even the wolf knows that Jon Snow is always being stupid and doesn’t want to be involved in his constant stupidity.

I’m sorry, I’m just...really frustrated by that character. I’m sorry if you like him, I’m just...I’m trying. But right now, I just really hate Jon Snow.

And I think that is more than enough about Game of Thrones for now. See you all again in September when we will resume regular Themed Movie Months.

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Themed Movie Months: Movies are Coming July

Sooo...July wound up being super busy for me. Which is very unusual in my life. Consequently, around the 20th I realized not only had I not started my movie month, I had forgotten to finalize a theme. So I saw two options: 1. Throw together a quick theme and maybe squeeze in one or two hurried movie viewings, or 2. Skip this month. I didn’t like either of those options, so I’m going with something a little different.

Thanks to my absent-mindedness and busy schedule, this month I will not be talking about movies. Instead, I am going to give you a brief response to the first 1.5 seasons of Game of Thrones. Why? Because I just started watching it and I’m only halfway through season 2 (I just don’t have time to binge watch anything). And the episodes are pretty long, a couple of them together just about equal the length of a movie, so why not?

I will be resuming regular themed months come September. I’m thinking Song-filled September. Movies about musicians/musical groups.

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Movies I Own…Part 2; Maybe I’ll Get Rid of Them: Conclusion

And thus we reach the end of yet another Themed Movie Month. All in all, I think it went well. Watched three movies, only keeping one!

I think, moving forward I will be doing two things:

I will be only aiming for three movies per month. I will probably still make a list with as many movies as I want, but realistically only expect to watch three.

I will be doing a separate conclusion (like this here) for each month. I’ve done it a few times and I think I like it better than including my conclusion in with the response to the last movie of the month.

I will be back in July with the next theme! See you then.

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Movies I Own...Part 2: Elizabeth: the Golden Age

”I will not punish my people for their beliefs, only for their deeds.”

Inconsistency ruled this movie, not Elizabeth.

I think this movie could classify as a fun movie, but not a very good one. I felt the movie was both too ambitious and not ambitious enough. For the amount of events they tried to cover, the movie was too short. Yet it also felt like it was too long, with too much going on. If they were trying to get across how overwhelming dealing with all of these events and aspects of her life in such a short time frame, then they should have focused more on that feeling and connected things more. But every event seemed very disconnected with every other one. And I couldn’t figure out if the movie wanted to be about history, drama, or romance. And at the end of the movie, it got weirdly poetic. Like they weren’t sure how to wrap everything up quickly, so they just threw together a bunch of vaguely metaphoric images.

Quick research shows that the writers of the movie took a lot of liberties with historical accuracy for this movie. Personally, depending on the genre, this doesn’t always bother me. But since this movie had no idea what genre it wanted to be, it did bother me. The movie wasn’t accurate enough to be for history buffs, but it also had too much going on for anyone not well acquainted with that part of history. Often times I felt lost or left out because I didn’t know what or who the movie was talking about. The movie tried (a little) to help with this, using some text narration at the beginning of the movie to set the stage, but this honestly also fell flat. It was pretty, and I liked the idea of using the imagery of stained glass as the visual element for it, but the text was too subtle. I honestly thought it was just opening credits at first, not important information.

As a final, nit-picking detail, this movie does seem to be a sequel to the earlier movie “Elizabeth” also with Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush. I did have to do a little searching to verify that, kinda wish it was more clearly stated somewhere (like on the dvd case).

And as an additional side note, I do remember watching “Elizabeth” years ago and enjoying it, but I don’t recall much, especially of the quality.

Overall, I liked aspects of this movie, I just wish there had been a little more consistency. It is certainly a pretty movie to watch. I know I didn’t talk much about the positives here, but I am glad I saw it. There were just some things that really irked me about it. It’s a fun movie, but I don’t need to own a copy.

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Movies I Own...Part 2: Sunshine Cleaning

“I recommend the pecan pie.”

Overall, this was a sweet movie. It was an interesting look into the world of crime scene clean-up (which I don’t think many of us have experienced). And it was a nice story about a family full of people who are each struggling with their own lives. But I felt emotionally the movie could have gone further. It did feel real, but understated. Very understated. I did care about the characters, but I wanted to care more.

I will say, I did cry once, for the part with the quote that’s used above. Still, I wanted a little more emotion throughout the movie.

It also wasn’t as funny as I was hoping either. I know dark comedies aren’t usually the kind that have people in raucous laughter, but I felt the humor could have been pushed a little more, too.

Overall, I liked the movie, I would recommend it. It is a good movie. But I don’t think I need to own a copy.

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Movies I Own...Part 2: There Will Be Blood

“I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!”

This movie surprised me. When I sat down to watch it I did not expect it to be as artistic as it was. There is no dialog for the first 15 minutes, save for a single “No!” accompanied by a small gasp. Throughout the whole movie there is enough but not a lot of dialog. The visuals and the musical score are really the heart and soul of this movie, if you ask me. I absolutely loved the soundtrack, it’s one I would seriously consider getting a copy of.

The story was very interesting, a sort of character study. The main character, Daniel, has a lot of complexity and I liked how you get to know him, very slowly but very well, throughout the course of the movie. My sneaking suspicion throughout the movie and my opinion at the end (Spoilers) concerning Daniel’s personality is that he is some sort of sociopath. (end Spoilers) I looked around briefly online to see if this was intended or frequently discussed, but only found a few people who mentioned it (most were concerned with other things in the movie).

The thing I found that was the most discussed was related to one of my few complaints about the movie. It concerns Paul and Eli Sunday. (Spoilers) Now Paul Dano played the parts of both Paul and Eli in the movie, but it is never explicitly stated that they are [identical] twins. At the end of the movie Daniel makes reference to it, telling Eli that he slithered out of his mother with the afterbirth (that’s quite an image for you, yech...) during a conversation in which he compares Eli to Paul. And the brothers are never seen in a scene together (actually Paul is only in one scene toward the beginning). Watching this the first time through I (and apparently many other people) were confused by this. It took me forever to learn Eli’s name because I thought he was Paul, and then even more confused when Eli mentions Paul (which only happens once or twice). This has lead many to the conclusion that Eli/Paul might be one person with a personality disorder (dissociative identity disorder, schizophrenia, or something similar). But there are also many that strongly disagree with this theory. (end Spoilers) Personally, I don’t know which side of the argument I stand on. I have only watched the movie once (and I haven’t read the book it’s based on, which I don’t think has a very strong bearing on the argument because movie adaptations always change things) and multiple viewings seem to solidify feelings one way or the other in this argument. Having looked at the evidence for both sides, I think both are equally valid and possible. I think it’s one of those whatever way you like to interpret it is good kind of things.

There were a few times during the movie I found I just had to be patient and wait for an explanation for what was going on (more so than with most movies). Perhaps more knowledge of oil drilling at the turn of the century would have remedied this, but it wasn’t so much that it was a detriment to my enjoyment of the movie.

Also, a small note, it is rated R for some violence but it doesn’t get gory. Which is something as a squeamish person I very much appreciate. It does get a bit intense and there is blood, but you could totally eat your lunch while watching it.

Overall, I think I really liked this movie. It is long, nearly three hours, and it took me quite a while to finish. But I’m really glad I watched it and I may even keep it, which also surprised me. I would definitely recommend this movie.

I think Sunshine Cleaning will be next. See you then!

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Themed Movie Months: Movies I Own...Part 2; Maybe I’ll Get Rid of Them

Already off to a late start, May is shaping up to be much busier than it normally is for me. I have two very big professional deadlines coming up in June, an ever growing to do list, and apparently social obligations now, too...? So this May I will be revisiting one of my previous themes. Although, not the one I hoped to revisit first.

Movies I Own and Have Never Watched Part 2; Maybe I’ll Get Rid of Them and make more room in my life for things I actually do like. Or maybe they’ll turn out to be good and I’ll be glad I watched them and have them. Either way, I have the movies on hand and the uncompleted list from last time.

Milk

Elizabeth: the Golden Age

Public Enemies

Sunshine Cleaning

There Will Be Blood

I have already gotten rid of My Bloody Valentine which was on the original list for this theme, because I decided I no longer actually want to watch this movie. Ever. I only bought it in the first place because Jensen Ackles, it was like $5, and I had money I needed to spend that was going to expire (long story, not important).

I will return (hopefully soon) with my response to the first movie! Not sure which one that will be. We will see.

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Romantic Dramas: Before Midnight

“He appears and he disappears, like a sunrise or a sunset.”

I just want to start by saying, this movie made me cry twice. Once five minutes in, and then again five minutes before the end. And I cried with a multitude of emotions. This was such a real, emotional, beautifully crafted movie.

The third installment in the “Before” Trilogy, (my responses to the other two can be found here and here) Before Midnight continues Jesse and Celine’s story and relationship another nine years since the end of the previous movie. What continues to impress me the most about these movies are that they’re all so real, even the fights, especially the fights. These are the sorts of situations and arguments people really have! There are the tough moments of real lives. People say the wrong thing, misinterpret what other people say, they don’t fight fair, there is no bad guy, just real people with different goals and priorities. It’s exciting and scary and beautiful and frustrating.

Still some of the most beautiful moments, I think, are when characters look at each other. Especially when the person being looked at is busy looking elsewhere. Like when Jesse looks at his son in the airport it is just heartbreaking!

This movie did stand out a bit from the other two. It was on a little larger scale, more characters, more locations. There’s actually a rather funny conversation about Jesse’s books in the movie, which are about what happened during each of the movies. During this conversation they mention Jesse’s new book, particularly how it is more ambitious and larger than the previous two. Kind of like the third movie...

And of course, so many great conversations and discussions like the previous two. I won’t summarize them here, just go watch the movies. But they bring up actual topics that people would actually talk about and do so in a real manner.

All in all, I highly recommend this movie, especially along with the other two in the series. As far as I know, there’s no plan to do a fourth movie in this series, but there wasn’t a plan for the second or third movies either!

And that is the end of Romantic Drama month. I will be reprising this theme at some point, there were a lot of movies I did not get to on my list. Haven’t finalized the next theme, but I’m leaning towards something lighter. See you in May.

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Romantic Dramas: Before Sunset

“We are the sum of all the moments of our lives.”

Oh my gosh, I love these movies. Before Sunrise (my review here) was amazing, and I loved Before Sunset just as much. Let me just say that right off the bat.

Again, the story and the dialog are so real and genuine. And it is so romantic and heartbreaking in a very real, accessible way. It’s not over-the-top grand gestures, it’s the little stolen looks, the way the smile at each other, the way one person will reach out to touch the other when they aren’t looking and then pull their hand back once they think better of it. As a movie, it’s phenomenal in my opinion.

As a sequel, I think it is also very successful. It references the first enough, but not too much, and it builds and expands upon the story and the characters. Set and filmed nine years after the first film, we get to see how these two people have changed and how they’ve remained the same.

A couple things I really liked was how their mindsets kind of switched. (Spoilers) In the first, Jesse was the cynic and Celine was the romantic. But in the second, Jesse is more the romantic and Celine is more the cynic. And we get to see why through the dialog. (end Spoilers) They each talk about their lives and how their experiences have molded them from what they were into what they are now. I also liked that the movie started with another pitch from Jesse that pretty much summed up what the movie is about.

What I probably love most about these movies is the conversations the characters have. They are real. They talk about things real people would actual talk about and have substance. The conversations are such an integral part of these movies, they have to be and are very interesting. They don’t feel contrived, which is very important.

And this movie does answer the big question at the end of the previous one, but now there’s a new question at the end of this one! Which it needed to have, but still I’m dying to know. So I’ll be off to watch the final movie in the trilogy, Before Midnight, very soon!

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Romantic Dramas: Before Sunrise

“The poetry of day to day life.”

I just finished this movie and I honestly couldn’t wait to write my response to it. Originally, my plan was to write one response for all three “Before” movies, but I needed to do an individual response for this movie.

I can’t overstate how much I loved this movie! It was so real, and honest, and genuine, and beautiful. The story is rather simple, straightforward. Two people meet on a train, they spend one day together in Vienna, they start to fall for each other. That’s it. But I think that simplicity is what makes it so good. There’s so much room for these very profound moments. I admit, there were several scenes that I found myself wistfully sighing out loud.

One of the things I liked was how the whole scenario was summed up in the beginning of the movie. Jesse tells Celine his idea for a series, which is just one normal day in the life of normal people. That’s essentially what the movie is. One day in these people’s lives. And it has so many real moments that are all collected in one extraordinary day.

And the dialog is great. It feels so natural and real throughout the whole movie. Which is good, because most of the movie is just them talking. Also, I’ve always felt that dialog is a very critical aspect of good movies. And there were so many great lines! (a bonus in my book)

The one thing I think that sticks out in my mind the most is (Spoilers) the thing that made her fall for him was the one moment he wasn’t a skeptic. The story he told about seeing his grandmother’s ghost, that was what sparked her attraction to him. And his skepticism seems to be the only big difference between them. (end Spoilers) I’m not sure what that means, or how that might develop in the other movies, but it was something that really struck me.

I don’t think I have any complaints about the movie. I honestly, really loved it. I highly recommend it. And I am excited to watch the next two! Will be back with responses to those.