It's Christopher Nolan's Birthday!

It's been a LONG time since I've done one of my "birthday posts." I don't even want to look through my archives to see when the last one was, it will just be embarrassing. I haven't got to see as many new movies as I usually do these past weeks and I am in need of some content. Luckily it happens to be one of my all time favorite director's birthdays...

Happy Birthday Christopher Nolan!


1) My favorite film: The Dark Knight. After viewing the brilliant Dark Knight Rises last week, it took me awhile to decide which one I liked better. I'm going to have to go with this one. Batman Begins was good, but his follow up was fantastic. It's rare that sequels one up the original and this film had everything going for it. Great story, intense action, one hell of a villain, magic tricks, (Do you want to see me make this pencil disappear?) phenomenal score, and it never slowed down. Crafted to perfection all around.


2) My least favorite: Insomnia. The Words "Christopher Nolan" and "least favorite" don't really go hand in hand in my opinion, but since I have to pick one, I'll go with Insomnia. Maybe it's because Nolan didn't write it himself, it's quite lackluster compared to the rest of his work.


3) Most bizarre/fun/random film: Inception. "Bizarre" describes Nolan's Inception well. Inception was my favorite movie of 2010 and for good reason. Nolan takes us deep within his world, through the layers and layers, and when we're finished all we can do is sit back and say "wow." I remember reading a Tweet that said "My mind is walking bow-legged cause Christopher Nolan fucked it so hard." That sums this film up perfectly.


4) Most Underrated: The Prestige. I'm sure a lot of you thought I would say Memento. I considered it, but when I think about it, EVERY Nolan fan mentions Memento right away as being one of the best, but not everyone brings up The Prestige. This was a great film. I saw it around the same time I saw The Illusionist and The Prestige wiped the floor with it. It was a great metaphor for the film itself, The Prestige, like the third act, was amazing and like nothing I've ever seen.



5) Film to see: Following. I've never seen the full film, and I just recently read a review on it that reminded me to finish it. Thankfully it's on Netflix Instant.

What are your favorite Nolan films?

It's Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Birthday!

I haven't written a birthday post since 11 November. So what better actor to get off my lazy ass and honor? My favorite, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Will this post be incredibly bias? Probably. I can't get enough of this guy. One of the things I like the most about him is his creativity, which he shows in his various roles, and on his website hitRECord

Let's get on with it..Happy Birthday, JGL!

My Favorite Film: Brick Easily one of my top 5 favorite films, Brick is a detective story/noir about a young man named Brendan and his mission to find out who killed his ex girlfriend. The rapid fire dialogue gets you hooked right away, and JGL keeps you interested throughout. (fun fact: He's making a new film called Looper with Brick director Rian Johnson)

My Least Favorite Film: Havoc Havoc actually had a few good actors in it and probably sounded really good on paper. As amused as I was to see JGL play a wanna be gangster the film didn't really come together that well. I blame Bijou Phillips for most of that.

Most Bizarre/Fun/Random: Inception Bizarre is definitely a word that comes to mind when I think of Inception. I absolutely loved it and I still hope that it takes home Best Picture. (I know, it won't) This was a movie I had ridiculous expectations for based on the director and the cast and it lived up to every one.

Most Underrated: Mysterious Skin JGL gave the best performance of his career in this indie film. He deserved an Oscar nomination for it, hands down. Sure the content matter was tough, but it was never tasteless and was handled with care. In my opinion, the NC17 rating really hurt it in the end. Still, this is a must see for any fan of JGL. Honorable mention goes to Manic, also a great little film. Guiltiest Pleasure goes to 10 Things I Hate About You

Film to see: Hesher I've seen the majority of JGL's movies. One that I really anticipate played at Sundance last year. Larry reviewed it back then and had it on his top 5 list for the entire festival. I had hoped it would be released this year, especially with all the buzz co-star Natalie Portman is getting, but it hasn't come to light yet.

How about you? Thoughts on Joseph Gordon-Levitt?

It's Evan Rachel Wood's Birthday!

Ahh..one of my all time favorite actresses. When she was on Once and Again everyone used to say I looked like her. I hated that back then. Then I saw her in Thirteen and I didn't mind being categorized with someone of her talent. She's extremely underrated in my opinion. She's made tons of beautiful indies, and it's only time until everyone else realizes the talent she possesses.

My Favorite Film: Thirteen
Thirteen is one of my all time favorite movies, I can't say enough good things about it. It feel so real. They way these girls act, the trouble they get into, the lesson learned at the end. Nearly everything in this film was relateable to me as a teenager. I think it's an important film for teenage girls to see. Maybe even with their moms. The mother/daughter relationship in this film is the most important aspect. Also the way it was shot was lovely, listen to the commentary on the DVD. There's a lot of interesting info in it. She was robbed of an Oscar nom, by the way.

My Least Favorite Film: The Upside of Anger
I thought the ending to this film was really morbid and made the entire thing just feel wrong. Wood didn't have a huge part in this movie, and that's ok. It's definitely the last enjoyable on her filmography. At least she was the best part of it.

Most Bizarre/Fun/Random Film: Across The Universe
This is the only time that I've actually enjoyed Beatles covers. I loved how psychedelic and crazy fun this was. Evan proved that not only is she a great actress, but she's a hell of a singer as well. (If you saw Once and Again you would've already known that) I was surprised with the negative reviews of this film. I thought it did the music justice. It was weird, beautiful, thoughtful and random at the same time. That's what The Beatles are to me.

Most Underrated: Pretty Persuasion
I really got a kick out of this movie. Evan plays a real bitch of a student that tries to falsely accuse a teacher of molestation. It's a dark comedy, with a dark ending, but Evan owns it the whole way through. Honorable mention goes to Down in the Valley and The King of California

Film To See: Whatever Works

Besides the few animated films where she's provided her voice, Whatever
Works is the only one I haven't seen. I've never been a huge fan of Woody Allen (I know, what am I thinking?) and this film didn't come to any theaters near me.

Thoughts:
What about you? Are you a fan of Evan Rachel Wood? What films did you like? What didn't you like?

As always, thanks for reading.

It's Robert De Niro's Birthday!

Going through Robert De Niro's filmography is tough. This guy rarely does wrong. This is probably my laziest b-day post because I just can't seem to make up my mind.

Happy Birthday Robert De Niro! You deserve a better post than this..

Favorite Film(s): The God Father Part II, Raging Bull, The Deer Hunter, Cape Fear, Taxi Driver. Instead of putting a lot of thought into it and picking one, I just picked them all. Seriously, one performance doesn't top the other. Raging Bull is probably my favorite film of the bunch. Although The God Father series is legendary.

Least Favorite Film: Off the top of my head, I couldn't actually think of a film that I hated him in. After going through his filmography I finally spotted one! The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. I completely forgot he was in that. I'm sure he hopes everyone else does too. Do you think this flick to De Niro is what Garfield is to Bill Murray?

Most Bizarre/Fun/Random: Hide and Seek. It's not one of his most popular films, but I liked it. Creepy Robert De Niro and creepy Dakota Fanning are fine with me. Plus I didn't see the ending coming. That's always nice.

Most Underrated: Wag the Dog. This was also a hard one to pick. I went with this one because even though it was pretty popular when it first came out, it's not one that normally comes to mind when you think of De Niro. He had stellar cast to work with as well. This Boy's Life also fits this category. There I go picking too many again..

Film To See: Heat. According to MovieNut14 this is one I need to see. If it made her list of favorite De Niro films, it must be good. Duly noted.

It's Gus Van Sant's Birthday!

It's Anna Paquin's birthday today too, but I know Van Sant's filmography better, so he's who I'm going with.

Happy Birthday to the King of the looooooooooooooooooooooooong takes.

Favorite Film: Milk Van Sant is one of those directors I just love. I'll see anything directed by this guy, even though some of his films are duds. Milk is my favorite because of it's phenomenal cast. Oscar Winner Sean Penn (whether you like him or hate him) was perfect as Harvey Milk. The supporting cast of James Franco, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, Joseph Cross and Alison Pill were the icing on the cake. I also loved the music in the film. It fit so well. It told a great story.

Least Favorite: Psycho This was a toss up between this and Elephant. (FYI Aussie film 2:37 is better, everyone always compares the two.) A masterpiece like Psycho didn't need a shot for shot remake. Even the decent cast couldn't save this mess.

Most Bizarre/Random/Fun: Paranoid Park A word that I noticed that gets tossed around with this movie is "Art House Film." That's a pretty broad description. This little seen film was about a skateboarder that accidentally involved in a security guard's death. While I think Van Sant over used the "long shot" in this one, it was definitely different from most of his prior work. It was darker, shakier. It was obvious most of the cast had never acted before. Hell, one of the actresses in the film stares at the camera EVERY time. Maybe the imperfections are what sets it apart.

Most Underrated: My Own Private Idaho This is my other favorite Van Sant film. It was a tricky story for it's time and had wonderful performances from Keanu Reeves and the late River Phoenix. Watching this film now makes me a little sad. I can only imagine what kind of actor Phoenix would've been had he not died of a drug overdose. Would he have cleaned up and been today's Leonardo DiCaprio? Maybe.

Film to See: Drugstore Cowboy I've never gotten around to seeing this film. I feel like I should, I've seen more of Van Sant's later work than his older. I also need to re-watch The Last Days. It's been awhile, and I really enjoyed Michael Pitt in it.

What are your favorite/least favorite Gus Van Sant films? Any film suggestions for me?

It's Robin Williams' Birthday!

You know the drill, if not please see the "Birthday Posts" bulletin at the top of the page.

Happy Birthday Robin Williams! Whether you like him or hate him, there's no doubt that this man is good at making people laugh, and making people cry. Sometimes in the same movie.

Favorite Film: Good Will Hunting. This was a flick that was just good all around. The entire cast did a great job. Williams was the veteran and not only did he make himself look great, he made the rest of the cast (Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver, etc.) look great as well. That's a true performer, one that can help himself and help other. I appreciate that. My 5 year old self likes Aladdin the best.

Worst Film: Jack This film was supposed to be touching and ended up depressing. Williams played a boy with an (exaggerated) condition that made him look older. It missed every chance to be charming and felt a lot longer than it's 113 minute run time. It's strange to think this was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who's usually always spot on. Death to Smoochy is a runner up..yes I actually saw that.

Most Bizarre/Fun/Random: One Hour Photo When I first saw this film, I was still used to funny Robin Williams. I thought of Aladdin, Mrs. Doubtfire, Bicentennial Man, Jumanji. Seeing him as this creepy stalker was a shock to me, but a nice shock. It was different.

Most Underrated: House of D Underrated and Robin Williams don't really go together. He's always front and center of everything he does, so this was hard to pick. I liked David Duchovney's directorial debut. Not very many people saw it. If you haven't, it's definitely work checking out.

Film to see: Dead Poet's Society We watched this when I was in High School..and I didn't pay attention. I tried watching it again on my own time..and got side tracked. For some reason this film cannot hold my attention. It's unfortunate because so many people have such great things to say about it. I definitely need to give it another chance, just to see what I'm missing.

Suggestions are always welcome! What is your favorite? Lease favorite?

Random Ramblings: It's Frances McDormand's Birthday!

This is a new column I thought would be fun to write. I originally started writing one a few days ago when it was Nicole Kidman's B-day, then I got lazy and just never finished. Basically what I will do is on my featured actor/director/writer's birthday, I will name my favorite project of theirs, my least favorite, their most bizarre/fun, and their most underrated. I'll also name one film that I haven't seen yet that I probably should, and if you've seen it, tell me how you felt!

Let's start with Mrs. Joel Coen, shall we? Happy Birthday, Frances!

Favorite Film: Almost Famous There was a lot of things I loved about this movie. The entire cast gave the best performances of their careers in this film and it all came together so nicely.

Least Favorite Film: Fargo I understand that I am absolutely in the minority with this one. I hated Fargo. Absolutely hated it. I HATED the phony over enunciated accents. I hated the geography errors. (William H Macy's character meets the kidnappers in Fargo, ND then somehow runs a bunch of errands and makes it back to Minneapolis, MN in one hour? What!?) Brainerd is North of Minneapolis, Not South! Ok...you wouldn't know any of this unless you lived in the area, but if you did, this would all be very, very annoying.

Most Bizarre/Fun: Laurel Canyon I dug this little indie starring McDormand, Christian Bale, and Kate Beckinsale. I saw it long after it had first came out. I happened to catch it on IFC one morning when I was just lounging around it and it's quite a gem of a film. Bale plays McDormand's uptight son who movies in with his mother for a short time. He's into his work. She's into smoking dope and the laid back lifestyle. There's a great random shot towards the end of the film of a man lying on a floatie lounger being pulled across a swimming pool by a little motorized speed boat that I love.

Most Underrated: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day When I first saw this, I thought for sure this had Golden Globe written all over it both for McDormand and for co-star Amy Adams. It was just so cute, and both ladies were so charming. I usually don't care much for chick flicks, but I never understood why this film didn't catch on with a wider audience. I thought it was a lovely film. Great performances, interesting story, and good costumes. (which is saying something when you notice that sort of things) Blood Simple is a runner up for most underrated, but something tells me more people saw Blood Simple than Miss Pettigrew

Film to see: Aeon Flux! Just kidding...there's a reason I haven't gotten around to that assumed mess. Looking through her filmography. I've never seen "Mississippi Burning", "North Country" or "Friends with Money". What do you think?