As I was going to Netflix to watch the new season of A Series of Unfortunate Events, I spotted that Raiders of the Lost Ark and the Indiana Jones movies that followed it were now on Netflix and I immediately thought….triple feature!

Of course, Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the greatest movies of all time and its rating was never going to be in doubt.  It is absolutely the highest rating I can give which makes it a…

I can remember watching this movie at a special event at school while I was at our junior high.  We watched the film on reels in the gym and I was completely mesmerized. Indiana Jones, played by the amazing Harrison Ford, was everything you could have wanted from a hero. He was brave, adventurous, and determined.  He brought this adventurer to life like few others could have possibly done.

This is perhaps the ultimate collaboration between Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.  Throw in an iconic score form John Williams that makes every scene more epic and fills you with that feeling deep down inside.

The chemistry between Harrison Ford and Karen Allen was off the charts and, despite being kind of whiny at times, the character if Marion Ravenwood was the perfect pairing with Indiana Jones. The lack of Marion in future films was a drawback.

The Nazis make awesome villains as they did in the old serial adventures that this was based on and you can find such a wonderful mixture of exciting action, laugh out loud humor and a cleverness that you can rarely find.

There are scenes here that are some of the greatest ever put to film.  The moment Indiana Jones shot the swordsman was as perfect as you were going to get (and the idea that this was an improv moment from Harrison Ford that everyone went with is even more epic).  The fight on the airplane is one that I will always remember.  Harrison Ford adds so much to each scene with a simple facial expression that does a brilliant job of informing about this character.

Raiders of the Lost Ark and the character of Indiana Jones are members of the EYG Hall of Fame and it is well deserved.  It is one of my personal favorite movies of all time and those people who complain about Indiana Jones not really affecting the plot are just looking for something to complain about.  Raiders of the Lost Ark is near perfect.

Next up:  Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

I have to say… this has been the biggest surprise of the 2018/19 New Year’s Eve/Day Binge-a-Thon so far.  A Fish Called Wanda was pretty boring.

I know, right? I didn’t see that coming.

I could not get into the film at all.  Sure they have a great cast and I thought that, when I saw the movie years ago I liked it, but watching it today, I just could not wait to get it over.

I know that I am distinctly on the minority side of this, but I just did not enjoy A Fish Called Wanda.  Just a glance had the score at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.  EYG Hall of Famer Roger Ebert had given the film 4/4 stars.  The audience number on Rotten Tomatoes is 84%. Google users had it at 81%.  These are all very high numbers.

And yet, it goes to show that movies are subjective and it falls into the idea that everyone has their own opinions.  I did not like this movie, I found it mean-spirited and nowhere near as funny as I thought it would be.  Maybe it did not age well for me since my memory was that I liked it originally.

In the end, this will not be a film that I want to revisit again.

Happy New Year!  The first movie I watched in 2019, and the next film in the 2018/19 New Year’s Eve/Day Binge-a-Thon is Russell Crowe’s starring vessel, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.

I will admit, there was a chunk of this movie that I was not sure exactly what was going on.  I feel that is as much my fault, if not more, than that of the movie.  This feels as if Master and Commander is a movie that demands 100% attention right from the start and I was a little bit sleepy yet when I started it.

Nevertheless, I got more into the film as it progressed.  I found it to be a strong film with a lot of great sea faring action.

Russell Crowe was great as Captain Jack Aubrey but my favorite character was easily Doctor Stephen Maturin, played by the awesome Paul Bettany.  The scene where he operates on himself is just stunning.  I found the relationship between Captain Aubrey and Dr. Maturin to be strong and compelling.  The relationship was the focus of the novels that this movie was based on, specifically two Napoleonic War-era adventure novels by author Patrick O’Brian.

I am not sure there is a real through-line for the story as the film felt like it was more a series of scenes on the open seas strung together.  The French ship they were chasing was really more of a white whale for most of the movie than a real enemy.  However, I did enjoy the scenes of sea battle.  I did have some trouble following it at times, but the spectacle is without doubt.

I admired this movie.  It was a good time, and it needs me to institute a new category.  The “Good Stuff” category is around the “Fun Time” category, but leans toward a more serious tone and film.

The  next film in the New Year’s Eve/Day Binge-a Thon is the first movie that I have already seen.  It is the horror movie known as The Conjuring.

The Conjuring was one of the big screen films that led the Renaissance of horror that we have been enjoying the last several years.  Creative and original horror movies such as Get Out, A Quiet Place, Don’t Breathe etc owe their success, to some extent, to The Conjuring.

Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson star as Lorreinne and Ed Warren, a husband/wife combination of paranormal investigators.  The Warrens are real people and the story of The Conjuring is based on the Warrens’ case files.  It is a “true” story.

The movie is great.  It is nerve wracking and tense.  The Warrens make a fantastic protagonist pair and you find it very easy to root for them.  They are heroically putting themselves in the crossfire of the demons that are tormenting the family living in the house.  There is a creepy backstory involving a witch that was hanged and her vengeance which is downright frightening.  The imagery of the creature and the way it starts by messing with the family before escalating the terror and the violence.

Director James Wan creates a beautifully scary tone that sticks with you after the film finishes.  The story is well developed and complex.  It involves not only the family living in the house, but also the Warrens’ own daughter.

Vera Farmiga is an outstanding actor and she never fails to create a strong character in her films.  She provides Lorraine with a soul and emotions unlike many in horror movies.

The Conjuring has inspired not only its own direct sequel, but also spin off films The Nun and two Annabelle movies.  The creepy doll debuted in this movie.

The horror genre certainly received quite the jump scare jolt from this exceptional film.

The next film in the 2018/19 EYG New Year’s Eve/Day Binge-a-Thon is an Academy Award nominated film from 1957 that featured 12 men and one small room and none of that changed for over 90 minutes.  12 Angry Men showed some powerful actors and what they can do to create tense atmosphere with dialogue and characterization.

In fact, we get some impressive characterization without even learning their names, so to speak, settling for “Juror#4” and “Juror #7.”

Henry Fonda was the lone dissenting vote on a trial that we had not seen.  11 votes for guilty against a defendant that we do not meet.  We learn more about the trial as the jury deliberates and, in that process, we learn more about each man.

Themes of racism, ageism, judgement by appearance all come up and are handled deftly and subtly as the group continued their contentious debate.

Henry Fonda was great in his role as Juror#8.  We got nuanced performances from Lee J. Cobb, Jack Klugman, E.G. Marshall, Ed Begley and Jack Warden.

We have seen this trope in dramas for years, but this is where that very trope began.  The performances were rock solid.  It is amazing that director Sydney Lumet could create such a tone in his film in one location without any changes at all.  The film is wonderful.

It is a simple film with nothing truly simple about it. If you look close, you can see the depth of character, story and dialogue.

So the third movie in the 2018/19 New Year’s Eve/Day Binge-a-Thon is a campy film from 1999 called Deep Blue Sea, starring Thomas Jane, LL Cool J, Samuel L. Jackson and Saffron Burrows among others.

Deep Blue Sea has the benefit of one of the most shocking, iconic and awesome scenes in movie history.  SPOILERS if you do not know the scene to which I refer.  Samuel L. Jackson getting surprised by a giant leaping shark that grabs him before he can say “mother f#$*er” and eats him up.  I haven’t seen this in a long time and that scene is the one that sticks out as all kind of awesomeness.  No one saw it coming.  Sam Jackson was a star and here he was getting devoured early in the film.  It was a great moment.

Unfortunately, the rest of the movie happened.

Everything else was so ridiculous and filled with camp that Deep Blue Sea can only be called a Jaws-rip-off and a waste of time.

We will give the film a break on the CGI, which was horrible (even though other films of the time were doing much better work with the special effects), but you cannot give them a break on the script.   LL Cool J, to avoid the shark, climbed into the over, which gets turned on by the shark.  To avoid being asphyxiated by the gas, he uses his metal ax to chop through the top of the over, creating an escape path (not creating nay sparks at all).  Then, he gets out, swims to the other end of the room while the shark is still attacking the oven, pulls out a lighter, lights it, tosses it across the room (and does not put out the little flame on it) and blows the room up.  LL Cool J survives the blast of fire though.

Deep Blue Sea could be seen as some in the “So bad it is good” category and I would not argue that.  If you are in the mood for some stupid humans taking on some genetically altered brainiac sharks, then Deep Blue Sea may provide you with a  lot of fun.  It is a bad movie though.

The next movie in the 2018/19 New Year’s Eve/Day Binge-a-Thon is a direct to video DC Animation that is currently available on Netflix.  Batman: Bad Blood brings a group of the “Bat-Family” into the world of animation for the first time.

These character receiving their debut here include Batwoman (Yvonne Strzechowski) and Batwing (Gaius Charles). joining Batman (Jason O’Mara), Nightwing (Sean Maher) and Damien Wayne’s version of Robin (Stuart Allan).

This story takes several story arcs from the Batman series of comic and kind of crams them together into a story where Batman disappears and is presumed dead and Nightwing steps into the cowl as a replacement.  Meanwhile, Talia al Ghul (Morena Baccarin) has assembled a group of B-list Bat-villains behind a character named The Heretic (Travis Willingham).

The DC Universe animated movies are always fairly entertaining and this one is no exception.  However, there are a lot of story beats here that are underdeveloped, cast aside, or just not worth the screen time.  It feels as if they tried to cram too much into this 72 minutes and the whole film suffered for it.

With the success of Into the Spider-verse, Warner Brothers should really consider taking some money and investing it into some of these DC animations because if this had better animation and a tighter story, there is no reason why they could not have the same kind of success Sony has found with Miles Morales.

However, I have seen much better DC Animation that Batman: Bad Blood.  It is an enjoyable watch, but fails to take anything to another level.  There are considerably more engaging and compelling Batman animated films out there (Sub Zero, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Mask of the Phantasm, etc).

Batman: Bad Blood is fine, just not remarkable.

We officially kick off the 2018-19 New Year’s Eve/Day Binge-a-Thon with a movie that I have never seen from the horror/comedy genre that is considered a classic by many.  Shaun of the Dead  is Edgar Wright’s first part of the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy featuring Nick Frost and Simon Pegg.

I have never been much for this type of movie…or so I thought.  Shaun of the Dead was a rip-roaring good time with consistent moments where I laughed out loud.  It was fresh, clever and just a hoot.

Shaun (Simon Pegg) appears to be quite the loser.  His girlfriend (Kate Ashfield) has broken up with him, he constantly fights with his step-dad (Bill Nighy), and his best friend Ed is a slob and a lazy parasite (Nick Frost).  Meanwhile, zombies are appearing everywhere and his life goes from trying to get by to trying to survive.

I enjoyed this movie tremendously.  It was extremely funny and surprisingly emotional.  The scenes with Shaun and his Mum (Phyllis McMahon) were unexpectedly touching and poignant, as was his scenes with his step-dad Philip.

This is a comedy, but it was made and can be watched as a horror movie.  The zombies are not just a joke, they are a distinct danger and had many really anxiety-ridden shots in the film.  You feel the panic of the main characters, even if you are laughing at the execution of the story.  It blends the two genres beautifully.

The relationship between Shaun and Liz was good too and felt real despite the unreal circumstances in which we see it develop.  The strains on their relationship started well before the zombies and fit right into character traits of the two characters.

I was not a fan of At the World’s End, which is the third film in the Cornetto trilogy. but the first film is wonderful and I am a big fan of Shaun of the Dead.

Here in the Pre-2018/19 New Year’s Eve/Day Binge-a-Thon, I have begun a tad early.  Every year there are Christmas lists that have It’s A Wonderful Life on them, including the Top 10 Show’s Top 10 Christmas villains from last week) and I have honestly never been that interested in watching it.

I mean, I have seen a few scenes here and there and I have a knowledge of Frank Capra’s story that has become a cultural zeitgeist in our society.  I’ve seen parodies or homages to this movie over the years, everywhere from Moonlighting to Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Mork and Mindy.  I just have never seen the actual movie.

That is until tonight.

I am here to say that I now understand.  I am a convert to this wonderful movie, starring James Stewart as George Bailey, a good man who finds himself down on his luck and in a near suicidal state when the angel Clarence (Henry Travers) arrives to show him what life was like had George never been born.

I had no idea how much of this movie was spent with the characters of George Bailey and the people of his life.  The whole “George wishes he was never born” is fully in the third act and It’s A Wonderful Life spends most of the movie showing us who George Bailey is and how he came to be on that bridge considering throwing himself into the raging river.

The fact that this movie takes its time to reach that moment really helps to build a connection with the character of George Bailey so that you are invested in the magic that comes in the third act.  I have to say that I was tearing up with the very end of the film and I had a huge smile on my face as it was developing.

Donna Reed does a fabulous job as George’s wife Mary, the woman who is completely dedicated to George despite many chances of finding more.  Of course, the idea that George is really the richest man comes from what he has in his life, not because of the money and Mary is a perfect example of that.

It really isn’t that much of a Christmas movie either.  Honestly, only the end scenes happen at Christmas.  Heck, Die Hard is more of a Christmas movie than this is.

I am pleased that I finally took the time to watch this classic of cinema and to see just what everybody else was talking about.  This is an iconic film of tremendous value and I enjoyed it totally.

“Do you believe in miracles? Yes!”

It is one of the most iconic and recognizable sports calls in history, from out of the mouth of Al Michaels and it perfectly summed up the feeling going on in 1980 as the USA Hockey Team, stiff underdogs, defeated what was the most dominant and unbeatable hockey team in the world, the Soviet Union.  The “Miracle on Ice,” as if became to be known, is one of the most amazing moments in US sports ever.

The movie that follows this team to that iconic victory may not be as stunning as that game, but it does a great job of showing us the effort and the agony the men of that hockey team put themselves through to compete in the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.

Head Coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) compiled a team of players, not on who was the best players, but on who could form together to become a team.  His coaching techniques could be seen as inappropriate, but the players wound up buying into the psychological methods employed by Brooks.  He was able to inspire these men to give their absolute everything and he demanded that nothing short of that was acceptable.

The scene of the players being “conditioned” after a tie prior to the Olympics is one of the hardest scenes to watch in the movie.  I’m not sure that this kind of coaching style would fly in the world of athletics these days.

The movie is your basic sports biopic with the same typical sport beats that a sports movie uses.  It is not like the movie does anything original or special in the telling of the story.  Kurt Russell is solid as Herb Brooks and Noah Emmerich as assistant coach Craig Patrick provides the counterbalance to the apparent insanity shown by Brooks.

What makes this different from other sports biopics is that the film has the benefit of being about one of the most inspiring and goosebump raising events in sports history.  The call from Al Michaels is amazing and I dare any true American to watch this without, at the very least, swelling up with national pride.  I had tears in my eyes as the games vs. the Soviets came to its conclusion and you cannot help but be affected.  It is such a powerful moment that it helps elevate the film prior to it.

Kurt Russell and the game are the stars of this movie and it is well worth the time to watch it despite being fairly common in way of movie.

I was watching Screen Junkies the other day and the panel was answering questions from the audience.  One of the questions led Dan Murrell to answer Shadow of a Doubt, a film by Alfred Hitchcock.  I had never heard of that movie before and Dan spoke about how much he liked it and gave a quick synopsis.  I have been building up my Hitchcock list this past year so I scribbled the title down.

Now that I am on the precipice of the 2018/19 New Year’s Eve/Day Binge-a-Thon, I figured I would kick it off with this film.

On of the writers on Shadow of a Doubt was famous Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Thornton Wilder, most well known for the play, Our Town.  It turns out that Alfred Hitchcock himself in several interviews named Shadow of a Doubt as his favorite movie that he had made.  I can certainly see why.

The film looked at life in a small town with a group of characters that seem to come directly from it.  Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) never truly fit in the scene, but it was an effective hiding place for the man running from his past actions.  His namesake, Charlie (Teresa Wright) was sweet and innocent and looked up to her uncle like few others. Because of the closeness of the pair, Charlie discovered what Uncle Charlie was attempting to hide, changing her perspective on him.

Hitchcock is a master of anxiety and suspense and Shadow of a Doubt is never lacking as you are always unsure what exactly Uncle Charlie is planning or intending to do.  I have to say, I kept expecting some kind of twist that he wasn’t actually Uncle Charlie.  I picked up on some dialogue that sounded as if that was being foreshadowed.  However, it turned out that I was incorrect on that.

There were solid performances, including by Joseph Cotten who was typically an actor seen in the positive roles and the protagonists instead of the antagonists.  He is intimidating with his secrecy and his glances.

Shadow of a Doubt was another great Hitchcock film that I am glad was recommended by Dan Murrell.  It had the feel and look of a classic.

I was going through Amazon Prime adding to a list I was compiling for my upcoming 2018-19 New Year Eve/Day Binge-a-thon when I came across the documentary fro filmmaker Michael Moore, Bowling for Columbine.  It had been a long time since I saw the film and so I hit play.

Columbine is known in our lexicon because of one of the most well known and tragic school shootings that occurred at Columbine High School in April 1999.  The Columbine massacre changed the ideas and policies of schools across the country in regards to active shooters.  Unfortunately, it is a problem in America that has become too common place since this tragedy.

Michael Moore examines the reasons behind the massacre and tries to determine why we as Americans have so many more gun deaths than other countries of the world.  He debunks the ideas of racial differences, violent movies and games by showing that other countries, specifically Canada, shares these traits but do not lash out with violence.

Moore goes directly to NRA president, at the time, Charlton Heston and asks him directly about the reasons.  Heston tries to drop the typical sound byte spin that he used in rallies (including one in Colorado right after the Columbine massacre) such as America has a “history of violence” and more “mixed ethnicity” but Moore immediately shot them down.  You almost felt sorry for the actor because he was clearly out of his element with Moore.  Heston left the interview when Moore brought up a case of a six year old boy who took a gun to school in Flint, Michigan and killed a little girl.  Watching Heston slowly walk away from Moore was a powerful statement in this film.

Michael Moore has a skill to approach deathly serious topics with humor and a sarcasm that is very disarming and before you know it, you are speaking to him and revealing information that you hadn’t intended to.  This was in full effect here as the world was still getting to know Moore. These days, people see Michael Moore and become more on guard, seeing him more as a liberal filmmaker with an agenda.  At the time, Moore was making remarkable documentaries because he was not as famous as he is now.

Bowling for Columbine is a powerful film with explosive content.  We as a nation have never really dealt with the problem of school shootings that was highlighted by Columbine which makes this 17 year old documentary as relevant today as it was then.