Since it's no one's birthday, I had to get creative. So I will be discussing the top 5 films of Pixar's inferior rival, Dreamworks Animation.
#5-Megamind
This film stars Will Ferrell as a super villain who accidentally kills the super hero, and now has no one to fight. One of my favorite concepts falls a bit flat, but still a funny movie and with an excellent cast including Ferrell, Jonah Hill, Tina Fey and Brad Pitt.
#4-Kung Fu Panda
Another funny cast, led by Jack Black, has a slightly incompetent panda joining an elite martial arts team to fight evil, for lack of a better description. Great action and funny.
#3-Shrek 2
One of the better animated sequels, this installment has Shrek trying to win the respect and approval of Fiona's father. The best sequel in this series of films. Don't even bother watching the last 2, they're not very good.
#2-How to Train Your Dragon
One of my favorite animated films came in one of the best years for animation along with "Megamind," "Despicable Me," and "Toy Story 3." Jay Baruchel plays a young viking nerd who befriends a feared dragon and makes him his pet. This film is great for a number of reasons, but mostly for it's art and visual effects.
#1-Shrek
Still one of the best spoofs and probably the best non-Disney animated feature, this film will forever make me laugh. Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy will most likely be broke without this film since they haven't been very successful with anything else since this movie was released. Nevertheless, this film is still brilliant.
This is gonna be the last post for a while because I'm going to New Jersey and London. See you soon!
Friday, July 27, 2012
Girl, Interrupted
James Mangold directs this adaptation of Susanna Kaysen's memoir of her time in a mental institution. Excellent performances from the ensemble cast, but Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie stand out. Jolie won an Oscar for her performance. This film gets kind of creepy sometimes with the mental illnesses that these girls suffer from, especially Jolie and Brittany Murphy. However, I found myself questioning why Ryder's character was there in the first place compared to the stories of the other patients. Nevertheless, a good film. 3 stars.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Top 5 Stanley Kubrick Films
Stanley Kubrick is by far my favorite director. His films are incredible. It's a real shame that his only Oscar came for visual effects. This is probably one of the harder top 5's so far.
#5-Paths of Glory
This is one of Kubrick's earlier films. It tells the story of 3 WW1 soldiers being put to death for refusing to take part in a suicidal mission in the war. This film helped Kubrick become of the best directors, not only of his time, but in history.
#4-The Shining
Jack Nicholson gives one of the most haunting performances in cinema as a hotel caretaker who is corrupted by spirits and goes on a violent rampage against his own family. The film has some of the scariest scenes and characters with some very memorable dialogue.
#3-Spartacus
Kirk Douglas gives another excellent, Kubrick directed performance as a Roman slave who leads a revolt over their owners. The technical aspects of this film are brilliant including the sets, costumes and effects, but the acting is the stand out with a strong cast.
#2-A Clockwork Orange
Malcolm McDowell will never make a better film, and this is probably the best dystopian film to date. McDowell plays a violent man named Alex DeLarge who becomes a government experiment in an effort to rid the city of its crime problem. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.
#1-Full Metal Jacket
Most people will disagree with me, but this is my favorite Kubrick film. Kubrick dives into the controversial Vietnam War as he takes us on a ride from boot camp to the war's Tet offensive. R. Lee Ermey's brutal performance as the drill instructor is enough to get you to watch this film.
Honorable Mentions
2001: A Space Odyssey-Not my favorite film, but it is very well done and brilliantly shot.
Dr. Strangelove-Kubrick's funniest film dives into the controversial atomic bomb.
#5-Paths of Glory
This is one of Kubrick's earlier films. It tells the story of 3 WW1 soldiers being put to death for refusing to take part in a suicidal mission in the war. This film helped Kubrick become of the best directors, not only of his time, but in history.
#4-The Shining
Jack Nicholson gives one of the most haunting performances in cinema as a hotel caretaker who is corrupted by spirits and goes on a violent rampage against his own family. The film has some of the scariest scenes and characters with some very memorable dialogue.
#3-Spartacus
Kirk Douglas gives another excellent, Kubrick directed performance as a Roman slave who leads a revolt over their owners. The technical aspects of this film are brilliant including the sets, costumes and effects, but the acting is the stand out with a strong cast.
#2-A Clockwork Orange
Malcolm McDowell will never make a better film, and this is probably the best dystopian film to date. McDowell plays a violent man named Alex DeLarge who becomes a government experiment in an effort to rid the city of its crime problem. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.
#1-Full Metal Jacket
Most people will disagree with me, but this is my favorite Kubrick film. Kubrick dives into the controversial Vietnam War as he takes us on a ride from boot camp to the war's Tet offensive. R. Lee Ermey's brutal performance as the drill instructor is enough to get you to watch this film.
Honorable Mentions
2001: A Space Odyssey-Not my favorite film, but it is very well done and brilliantly shot.
Dr. Strangelove-Kubrick's funniest film dives into the controversial atomic bomb.
Body Heat
This film starring Kathleen Turner and William Hurt is overrated. Basically Turner wants Hurt to murder her husband while the two have an extremely steamy love affair. This film is fun to watch at times if you're a guy, even though Kathleen Turner became an ugly, ugly older woman, she once was very attractive. Hurt gives an okay performance, definitely not his best. This film is very cliche with the whole "let's be together, but first you have to kill my rich husband" thing. I give this film 2 out of 3 stars solely based on the fact that there is plenty of "guy friendly" scenes.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Top 5 Films of Friends.
to solve Since it's Matt LeBlanc's birthday, here are my top 5 movies involving one of the "Friends."
#5-Trust
David Schwimmer directed this film about a young girl who falls for who she thinks is another teenager on the internet, but he's much older than he says. This film deals with many important issues involving the internet. The dialogue is corny at times, but still a good movie.
#4-Easy A
Lisa Kudrow plays an adulterous guidance counselor to Emma Stone in this excellent teen comedy. Emma Stone is the real star here, but Kudrow is definitely visible in the supporting role.
#3-Horrible Bosses
If you, like every other man in America, is in love with Jennifer Aniston, you must have seen this movie. Her filthy outfits and dialogue are both fun for guys and hilarious. Outside of "Friends," this is definitely her funniest role of her career.
#2-Scream
This Wes Craven film rebooted the slasher film. Courteney Cox stars in all 4 films as an annoying news reporter who will stop at nothing to solve each murder mystery. Her obsessive character slightly resembles Monica Gellar.
#1-Office Space
Jennifer Aniston plays a waitress who hates her job in this cult comedy classic. She is the girlfriend of the hilarious Ron Livingston who steals the show. She's not the funniest part of this film, but her performance is excellent.
Honorable Mentions
The Whole Nine Yards-Matthew Perry's only quality film is funny enough for an honorable mention.
The Good Girl-One of Jennifer Aniston's only serious roles is very well done in this indie flick.
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective- Courteney Cox plays Jim Carrey's sidekick in this funny film.
Matt LeBlanc only made like 4 movies which all suck so he gets no love on his birthday.
#5-Trust
David Schwimmer directed this film about a young girl who falls for who she thinks is another teenager on the internet, but he's much older than he says. This film deals with many important issues involving the internet. The dialogue is corny at times, but still a good movie.
#4-Easy A
Lisa Kudrow plays an adulterous guidance counselor to Emma Stone in this excellent teen comedy. Emma Stone is the real star here, but Kudrow is definitely visible in the supporting role.
#3-Horrible Bosses
If you, like every other man in America, is in love with Jennifer Aniston, you must have seen this movie. Her filthy outfits and dialogue are both fun for guys and hilarious. Outside of "Friends," this is definitely her funniest role of her career.
#2-Scream
This Wes Craven film rebooted the slasher film. Courteney Cox stars in all 4 films as an annoying news reporter who will stop at nothing to solve each murder mystery. Her obsessive character slightly resembles Monica Gellar.
#1-Office Space
Jennifer Aniston plays a waitress who hates her job in this cult comedy classic. She is the girlfriend of the hilarious Ron Livingston who steals the show. She's not the funniest part of this film, but her performance is excellent.
Honorable Mentions
The Whole Nine Yards-Matthew Perry's only quality film is funny enough for an honorable mention.
The Good Girl-One of Jennifer Aniston's only serious roles is very well done in this indie flick.
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective- Courteney Cox plays Jim Carrey's sidekick in this funny film.
Matt LeBlanc only made like 4 movies which all suck so he gets no love on his birthday.
Stripes
Hilarious Ivan Reitman film starring Bill Murray as a nobody who joins the Army with a bunch of fellow misfits, who end up having to go behind enemy lines. Bill Murray is hilarious in this film with one of the funniest casts of the 80's including Harold Ramis, John Candy and Judge Reinhold. The only problem is the lack of a real story. This film gets 3 out of 4 stars.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Top 5 Fictional Movie Bands
Today, both Rose Byrne and Elisabeth Moss celebrate birthdays. Both of these actresses starred in the wildly funny, "Get Him to the Greek." So this got me thinking about all the great bands and artists that I wish were real, so here are my top 5.
#5-Dewey Cox, "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story"
John C. Reilly plays this character spoofing such music legends as Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, and Bob Dylan. He is hilarious as he plays a music legend adjusting to the various eras in rock and roll.
#4-Stillwater, "Almost Famous"
Jason Lee and Billy Crudup lead this band across the country on a tour in the 1970's in one of the best written films of this century. Crudup is the focus as the band's guitarist while Lee is the jealous singer who thinks he should be getting all the glory, but the music keeps them together.
#3-Sex Bob-omb, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World"
"Scott Pilgrim" is a film I fell in love with the moment I saw it, and Sex Bob-omb plays a huge part in making this such an awesome movie. Consisting of Michael Cera, Alison Pill and Mark Webber, this band helps Scott (Michael Cera) defeat one of the evil exes he must face. I could not say enough about this film.
#2-The Blues Brothers
John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd form one of the best comedy duos as well as one of the best bands in film and television history. This film is still very funny and the music is great. The group reformed with John Goodman in the 90's, but it will never be the same.
#1-Spinal Tap
Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer form this band for the mockumentary, "This is Spinal Tap." This film perfectly spoofs rock and roll bands with speakers that go up to 11 and the many drummers that are seen with this band. It will forever be one of the best comedy gems of all time.
Honorable Mention
The Wonders, "That Thing You Do"-Tom Hanks introduced this band with one very catchy song and a great story about one bands rise and fall.
Infant Sorrow, "Get Him to the Greek"- Russell Brand is both funny and talented as Aldous Snow singing very funny songs quite impressively.
Any band from "A Mighty Wind"-This film reunites Spinal Tap as a folk band, and even brings together many other fictitious folk bands in this farce about the folk music scene. Very, very funny.
#5-Dewey Cox, "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story"
John C. Reilly plays this character spoofing such music legends as Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, and Bob Dylan. He is hilarious as he plays a music legend adjusting to the various eras in rock and roll.
#4-Stillwater, "Almost Famous"
Jason Lee and Billy Crudup lead this band across the country on a tour in the 1970's in one of the best written films of this century. Crudup is the focus as the band's guitarist while Lee is the jealous singer who thinks he should be getting all the glory, but the music keeps them together.
#3-Sex Bob-omb, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World"
"Scott Pilgrim" is a film I fell in love with the moment I saw it, and Sex Bob-omb plays a huge part in making this such an awesome movie. Consisting of Michael Cera, Alison Pill and Mark Webber, this band helps Scott (Michael Cera) defeat one of the evil exes he must face. I could not say enough about this film.
#2-The Blues Brothers
John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd form one of the best comedy duos as well as one of the best bands in film and television history. This film is still very funny and the music is great. The group reformed with John Goodman in the 90's, but it will never be the same.
#1-Spinal Tap
Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer form this band for the mockumentary, "This is Spinal Tap." This film perfectly spoofs rock and roll bands with speakers that go up to 11 and the many drummers that are seen with this band. It will forever be one of the best comedy gems of all time.
Honorable Mention
The Wonders, "That Thing You Do"-Tom Hanks introduced this band with one very catchy song and a great story about one bands rise and fall.
Infant Sorrow, "Get Him to the Greek"- Russell Brand is both funny and talented as Aldous Snow singing very funny songs quite impressively.
Any band from "A Mighty Wind"-This film reunites Spinal Tap as a folk band, and even brings together many other fictitious folk bands in this farce about the folk music scene. Very, very funny.
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