620. Annie Hall (1977)

Running Time: 93 minutes
Directed By: Woody Allen
Written By: Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman
Main Cast: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Carol Kane, Paul Simon

WOODY ALLEN WEEK: ACT TWO

Roger Ebert was quoted as saying (in regards to "Annie Hall") that it's "pretty much everybody's favorite Woody Allen movie". Not so fast there Ebert...this is one Woody Allen fan who's favorite Woody Allen movie is not "Annie Hall". But we'll get into the particulars of that a little later.

This time around Woody Allen is Alvy Singer, a comedian living in New York City (where else) and obsessing about such things as relationships and the overwhelming amount of anti-semitism in the city. He often vents his frustrations with life to his good friend Rob (Roberts) and it is Rob who ultimately introduces Alvy to Annie Hall (Keaton). The two go through a fairly awkward first meeting, with Annie trying her best to impress Alvy and Alvy trying his best not to blow the opportunity. They eventually form a relationship, break-up and get back together, through the course of the film and we're treated to flashbacks of Alvy's previous marriages, relationships and childhood as Allen tells us the story of Alvy Singer and the tie wearing Annie Hall. Let's just leave it at that, because any attempt I make to further explain the plot of "Annie Hall" will simply sound like dreck, and that's basically your full plot line right there.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!

Now then, getting back to the "Annie Hall isn't my favorite Woody Allen film" thing. Well it isn't, plain and simple. I can probably accredit to it being one of the last Woody Allen films I saw, with my mindset being "save the best for last". So I meant well, but in the long run, I saw about 15 other Woody Allen films that I would put above this one including "Manhattan Murder Mystery (the better film that pairs Keaton and Allen) and "Crimes and Misdemeanors" (which we'll be getting to)...but let's not get off track, we're here to talk about "Annie Hall".

Now, I don't hate "Annie Hall" by any means. It's a perfectly enjoyable film and actually a really important one, as it's the one that broke Allen of his six film streak of pure comedies (starting with his directorial debut) and allowed him to transition into a more serious filmmaker. Starting with "Annie Hall" his films for the next almost thirty years were either dramedies (a mixture of drama and comedy) or straight out dramas (see "September" and "Another Woman"). That thirty year period is where, in my opinion, we saw our best Woody Allen films...so in a sense you can't deny "Annie Hall", as it set a theme in Woody Allen films, where he often times examined sex and relationships and to me that's when Allen was at his best, just not in this particular picture.

Another thing I feel the need to mention is how much I love Woody Allen - the actor. I've always found it very difficult to watch an Allen film that Allen isn't in and while there are many good ones, to me it just isn't the same if Allen isn't in there. With that being said, "Annie Hall" is one of the greatest acted films of Woody Allen's career. I just love watching the guy onscreen.

Sorry if my review of the Allen films are all over the place, but I think I've just been waiting so long to type blog posts that were about Woody Allen and his films, that I'm just trying to cram in all of the things that I have to say about this great director. Bottom line on "Annie Hall" is that it IS good, but it's certainly not his best, in my opinion. If you go into expecting the be all, end all of the Woody Allen directed films, then there's a good chance you'll be disappointed. But if you go into expecting just another really good Woody Allen movie, then you'll probably be pleased. I expected greatness, seeing as how this was the Allen film that won all the Academy Awards and was disappointed by it. But this is the third or fourth time I've seen the movie and I still think there are much better Woody Allen films.

RATING: 6.5/10 I have a feeling that subconsciously I'm rating this movie on the Woody Allen scale, instead of the regular movie scale and thus explains the 6.5/10

MOVIES WATCHED: 206
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 795

February 8, 2011 2:19pm

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569. SLEEPER (1973)

Running Time: 89 minutes
Directed By: Woody Allen
Written By: Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman
Main Cast: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, John Beck, Marya Small, Susan Miller

WOODY ALLEN WEEK: ACT ONE

I, first of all, feel compelled to tell you how much of a Woody Allen fan I am. Here it goes: I am a big Woody Allen fan! But my obsession with Woody Allen movies hasn't been around for very long and it was only about four years ago when I really got into watching Allen's films and loving them as much as I do today. In fact, that was probably one of the best movie watching periods of my life...the month or so when I was able to take in all of his films. As the years have rolled by, Allen has easily become my favorite director and as I gear up to watch my 42nd Woody Allen film next week (when "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" comes out on DVD), I figured we might as well go ahead and watch the Allen films from the "1001" book.

So after all that blabbering on by me, I can finally tell you that the first film (chronologically) in the book is "Sleeper" and last night I sat down and gave it a rewatch. "Sleeper" belongs to the category of Woody Allen's early, purely comedic films and while it isn't my most favorite Allen period, almost all of his early comedies deliver, with "Sleeper" being no exception.

In "Sleeper" Woody plays Miles Monroe, a man who went into the hospital in 1973 for peptic ulcer surgery and due to complications, was cryogenically frozen, only to woken up 200 years later, in the future. In the future, the world is run by "The Leader" and many things are forbidden. In fact, Miles' awakening is even forbidden, but the doctors who performed his awakening want to send him on a mission. It seems there is an underground resistance forming, one that will free the people of the futuristic society from the ruling hand of "The Leader" and his oppressing government. It also seems that there is a project to halt the resistance's efforts, called the "Aires Project". The doctors send Miles out to see if he can collect any information of the Aires Project and since he doesn't have an identity in the future, he should be able to get away with it, without getting caught. Let's suffice it to say that hilarity ensues, Miles winds up impersonating a robot/housekeeper, falls in love with Luna (Keaton) and is captured by the government, only to be re-captured by the resistance and lead us into a pretty funny climax, involving the taking hostage of a nose.

While "Sleeper" is great, it isn't even my favorite of Woody Allen's early comedies and I think " Bananas" or "Take the Money and Run" should have been included in the book over "Sleeper". However, they've made their decisions, so I'll just have to suffer with them. However, if watching "Sleeper" is suffering, then suffering isn't all that bad. While I actually do enjoy the plot of "Sleeper", it's obviously the comedy that makes this movie a classic, with MANY great Woody lines to go around, some of which I'll share below. Most people write off the plot as just a something that has to be in play for Woody to make his jokes, but the plot isn't bad. Unfortunately, this isn't one of those Woody movies that I can beam on and on about, for paragraphs and paragraphs, because it simply isn't my favorite and doesn't belong in my favorite Allen period. But, trust me, we'll get there and I'm sure I'll gush on and on. The bottom line on "Sleeper" is...if you like funny, then there's absolutely no reason not to like it, and this was at a time when funny didn't consist of the saying the "F" word multiple times (See Judd Apatow).

Some of my favorite lines from "Sleeper":

"When I asked my mother where babies came from, she thought I said "rabies." She said you get them from being bitten by a dog. The next week, a woman on my block gave birth to triplets... I thought she'd been bitten by a great dane."

"My God! I beat a man insensible with a strawberry!"

"Arlene and I have to get a divorce. She thinks I'm a pervert because I drank our water bed"

RATING: 7/10 Not the greatest of the Woody Allen early comedies, but a really good one. But remember, that's coming from a die hard Woody Allen admirer, so judge for yourself.

MOVIES WATCHED: 205
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 796

February 8, 2011 10:59am

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716. Ghost Busters (1984)

Running Time: 107 minutes
Directed By: Ivan Reitman
Written By: Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis
Main Cast: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver

WHO 'YA GONNA' CALL?

I figured since I'm just getting my feet re-wet in the '1001' project, we'd start out light and take care of some of the less serious movies in the book. Today, I stuck with the Bill Murray theme of yesterday and tackled "Ghost Busters" (the book has it separated as two separate words, not sure if that's how it actually is, but we'll go with it).

Well it's the 1980's and it's Bill Murray, so you know right away you're going to be in for some laughs. Bill Murray is Dr. Peter Venkman and along with fellow scientists, Dr. Ray Stantz (Aykroyd) and Dr. Egon Spengler (Ramis), is kicked off the campus of the university that houses their science labs. Venkman sees it as an opportunity to open up a new business, where he and his fellow com padres will track and capture ghosts, spooks and spectres. His aspirations are confirmed when he and the boys are called into the local NYC library on a call that the librarian has seen a spectre. They open up a business and call themselves GhostBusters, convincing Ray to take out a third mortgage on his house, they rent a dilapidated old building, resembling that of an abandoned fire station. Business is slow at first, which gives their newly hired secretary the opportunity to do her nails as she waits for the ringing of the telephone. Their first customer is Dana Barrett (Weaver), who seeks the help of the GhostBusters after seeing creatures inside her refrigerator and hearing them utter the name "Zool". Venkman checks out the problem, but also checks out Dana and our romance of the film is off and running. The business eventually picks up and the boys gain national recognition as they trap and secure ghosts. The conflict presents itself when an EPA agent sticks his nose into the GhostBusters business and threatens to have them shut down.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!

Up until the "Stay Puf't Marshmallow Man" arrived on the scene, I was able to make some definitive comparisons between this movie and "Shaun of the Dead". Allow me to explain. In "Shaun of the Dead" the main characters are presented with a crisis, a crisis that consists of their city being ravaged by zombies. The zombies are never portrayed as comedic, but rather, always portrayed as a real threat. It is only the non-zombie, main characters who provide the comedy in "Shaun of the Dead". The same (or almost the same) formula was used in "GhostBusters". The main characters (the GhostBusters) are the ones providing us with the comedy (mainly Bill Murray, who totally makes this film for me and without him, this would have been a nightmare to sit through) and the ghosts, spooks or whatever you want to call them are always perceived as a REAL threat. Things even begin to get real serious, when during a scene where Ray and Winston (Hudson) are riding in a car, Winston starts thumping the bible and talking about the end of the world, judgment day and people rising from their graves. Of course, my theory is shattered when Mr. Stay Puf't arrives on the scene, turning the "threat" into a huge piece of tasty comedy, but I think I definitely had something there for at least a minute.

Does this movie belong in the "1001" book? Probably not. Not that it's a bad movie, because it's definitely not and it's actually a lot of fun. It's just that there are other movies that the spot could've been given to in the book and while we're on the subject of Bill Murray, one of those movies that could've taken the spot of "GhostBusters" was "Lost in Translation", which criminally is not in the book. Anyway, let's not harp about other movies, let's deal with the one at hand. The movie is funny and 99.9% of the comedy is from Bill Murray. Like I said above, if it weren't for him, in my opinion, this movie would've been a disaster to sit through, as he totally made the film for me. The entire film is all in good fun and if you go into expecting to have fun, then you probably will. Don't take it serious and I'm sure it'll all work out in the end.

RATING: 6.5/10 Nothing stellar, nothing horrid...A definite must see for Bill Murray fans.

MOVIES WATCHED: 204
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 797

February 7, 2011 2:45pm

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855. Groundhog Day (1993)

Running Time: 101 minutes
Directed By: Harold Ramis
Written By: Danny Rubin, Harold Ramis
Main Cast: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky

"WELL IT'S GROUNDHOG DAY...AGAIN"

This may only be a temporary comeback, but then again, it may not. But let's not harp on about that, shall we and let's jump right into this terrific comedy and one of my personal favorite comedies, "Groundhog Day".

The film tells the tale of Phil Connors (Murray), a Pittsburgh weatherman who is making his yearly trip to Punxsatawney, Pennsylvania for Groundhog Day, where he will report on the forecast of the "world's most famous forecaster" the groundhog, Punxsatawney Phil. Going along with Phil are his new producer Rita and his cameraman Larry and Phil is, to say the least, not too thrilled about making the trip. Once there Phil does his duties and tries his best to get out of town in a hurry, but a blizzard stops him and he is forced to spend the night in Punxsatawney. Upon awaking the following morning, Phil hears the same song chiming out of the clock radio, "I Got You Babe" by Sonny and Cher, as he heard the previous morning. Phil soon realizes that it is mysteriously Groundhog Day all over again. He races to the streets to ask where everyone is headed and his suspicions are confirmed, when they all say they're going to see the groundhog. The same thing happens the next day and the next and Phil goes through different periods, while dealing with his own personal crisis, which no one else is experiencing. At first Phil takes advantage of the situations, robbing an armored car and conning a woman into thinking they went to high school together. Then Phil begins to commit suicide, but finds himself tucked into his bed at the local bed & breakfast every single morning, without a scratch on him. All along Phil begins to fall in love with Rita and when Phil snaps out of his humdrum state and begins to truly live life and make the most of each day (or the one day in Phil's case), it is only then that he can begin to embrace this would be curse.

I've always liked "Groundhog Day" because I never really looked at is as JUST a comedy. I think there are a lot of people in the world who could take a lesson from this seemingly simple movie. The people who go through their day to day lives with disdain and sarcasm, hating everything and everyone around them and making others miserable in the process. These are the people who could learn a thing of two from this film. People who, while they're not literally re-living the same day over and over, but who in a sense are re-living the same day over and over, constantly miserable, sad, bitter people, all their lives. In the end, Phil used the fact that he was re-living the same day over and over to his advantage, taking piano lessons, helping his fellow man, getting to know the people around him and treating everyone with respect and in the end Phil prevails and gets what he wants...in more ways than one.

It's easy to write Bill Murray off as "just another comedian", but that's not Bill. I've always been a Murray fan and while he is hilarious, I wouldn't write him off as just another comedian. I'm glad that in recent years Murray has taken to more serious films, as they suit him very well. "Groundhog Day" provided Murray a great outlet to be both funny and serious, two things he does very well. Maybe the most serious moment in the entire film (and my favorite scene) is when Murray convinces Rita of what's happening to him and makes her believe it by telling her things about herself, things that he could never possibly know under normal circumstances. Andie MacDowell is great too and incredibly gorgeous and plays well with Murray.

RATING: 8.5/10 Great film and a personal favorite of mine and something that, I believe, is truly a MUST SEE BEFORE YOU DIE. Sorry if that review wasn't up to par, I'm a bit rusty.

MOVIES WATCHED: 203
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 798

February 6, 2011 3:56pm

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December 2010 Recap

Well obviously I didn't do anything as far as advancing my progress in the "1001" project in December, but I did manage to take in a few Christmas movies, so I figured I'd share a few thoughts with you regarding those.

NON-1001 Movies - As Seen in December 2010
1. Home Alone (1990 - Chris Columbus) 8/10 - I hadn't seen this one in years, but when I watched it Christmas was on the horizon and I always remembered this one as a really fun Christmas movie, that the networks used to traditionally play on Thanksgiving night. My memory served me correctly, as this one held up really well. There's just something fun about seeing that scary little mobster (Joe Pesci) get tossed around by a "kinde-gartner". Daniel Stern is great too and the whole premise, while elementary, is still very quality stuff.

2. Bad Santa (2003 - Terry Zwigoff) 8/10 - While I wouldn't recommend watching this one TOO CLOSE to Christmas, as the insane amount of cursing is enough to totally crush one's Christmas spirit, "Bad Santa" is still a really good, different kind of Christmas flick. I actually watched this one with my wife, who had a slight issue with the amount of cursing that was on display here. I argued that the cursing and the vulgarities actually provide for a bigger and better payoff, as in the end we see Willy (Billy Bob Thornton) take on a Grinch like quality, as his heart seems to grow and for possibly the first time in his life, he truly cares about someone.

3. The Family Stone (2005 - Thomas Bezucha) 7.5/10 - After watching this one I took a virtual stroll over to the IMDB message boards and was surprised to find that this is a pretty hated film. I'm really not sure why, as this film provided me with all of those things we look for in movies: laughs, drama and likable characters. This film just had heart, man. I haven't cried during a movie in a good while, but this one had me almost there. And who doesn't love Craig T. Nelson, I mean, come on.

4. Four Christmases (2008 - Seth Gorden) 2/10 - My God what a trainwreck this movie was. My wife is a big Reese Witherspoon fan and I tend to find Vince Vaughn a pretty funny guy (even though I almost always HATE the movies he's in), so we gave this one a shot and in the end, it was a shot we wanted back. Vince Vaughn managed to bring a little bit of funny, but it surely wasn't enough to save this floundering tripe.

5. ELF (2003 - Jon Favreau) 6.5/10 - Eventhough it wasn't the best Christmas movie I watched this past season, I think "Elf" will still eventually get that "Christmas Classic" recognition, as it's mild and harmless and something that I'm sure kids for years will come to love. Will Ferrell manages to put his acid tongue on a leash and give us some really funny stuff while still managing to be wholesome. Throw in James Caan, Bob Newhart and the very sexy Mary Steenburgen and you've got a classic and with Johnny Favs' at the helm it all gets wrapped up into a nice little cinematic bow.

6. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989 - Jeremiah S. Chechik) 5.5/10 - While this one didn't get the most stellar of ratings from me, I still have to recommend it as a great movie, but it's really only great around Christmas. The movie itself is lackluster and while providing a few laughs, just seems cheap in some way. However, this was a favorite of mine growing up as a kid and I remember watching it every single Christmas and laughing my grade school ass off. So if you haven't seen it, see it, but wait until Christmas and if you have seen it then I'm sure a lot of you share the same opinion as me: Great Christmas movie, mediocre movie.

Well that about wraps 'er up for me. Hope everyone out there had a safe and Happy New Year. I'm sure sometime in the near future you'll hear word of me cracking open the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" book and getting back to blogging about it, but until then, take care.

January 4, 2011 12:19pm

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Happy Holidays!

Figured I'd swing in here and say Happy Holidays to anyone who may be reading this. I appreciate all the support that some of you gave me this year and I hope you'll continue to follow me in the upcoming year and when I decide to make my return to the "1001" project. I will be back at the end of December/beginning of January for a December Recap. I obviously didn't watch any "1001" movies in December, but I did catch a few Christmas movies and I'll swing in and give my thoughts on those. Also, I'm pretty sure that "Santa" will be bringing my my long awaited "The Art of Buster Keaton" Collection, so maybe I'll have time to watch a few movies out of that as well. Anyway, Happy Holidays to you all. I really hope everyone who happens to be reading this has a very, very good Christmas, or whatever holiday it is that you celebrate at this time of year.

I'll say goodbye, but don't you cry...I'll be back again someday!

December 24, 2010 3:23pm

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November 2010 Recap

NOTE: In case you haven't realized it already, I'm going to be taking a break from the "1001" project for a little while. This usually happens when I hit any kind of a milestone and with the watching of 201 movies and with only 799 movies to go, it felt like a good time to take a break. Not sure when I'll get back to it, but as always I WILL get back to it. However, I still thought it would be nice to drop in and give a quick "November 2010 Recap"...Here we go.


1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die - As seen in November 2010
1) Halloween (1978 - John Carpenter) 9/10 - See the TOP 20: #102 - #201 for updated thoughts.
2) Marnie (1964 - Alfred Hitchcock) 7.5/10
3) Toy Story (1995 - John Lasseter) 10/10 - See the TOP 20: #102 - #201 for updated thoughts.
4) White Heat (1949 - Raoul Walsh) 9/10 - See the TOP 20: #102 - #201 for updated thoughts.
5) Psycho (1960 - Alfred Hitchcock) 7/10 - Great film, just not on par with some of the other Hitchcock films that I watched. I think it's hype precedes it and slightly diminishes the final outcome.
6) L.A. Confidential (1997 - Curtis Hanson) 6/10 - Another fairly decent film that just doesn't add up to some of the other stuff I watched last month.
7) Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942 - Michael Curtiz) 5/10
8) The Birds (1963 - Alfred Hitchcock) 7.5/10 - This one was more fun than good...if that makes any sense.
9) Irreversible (2002 - Gaspar Noe) 6/10 - One that kind of stuck with me for longer than I thought it would. Still not seeing the mass underground appeal of this one, but certainly one that keeps you thinking about the possibilities of it's message and ending.
10) Frenzy (1972 - Alfred Hitchcock) 9/10 - See the TOP 20: #102 - #201 for updated thoughts.
11) If... (1968 - Lindsay Anderson) 3/10
12) Wings of Desire (1987 - Wim Wenders) 5/10 - This one was more of a disappointment than anything. If I had gone into it not knowing anything about it, then I probably would've liked it a lot more. Going in with as much anticipation as I had for it, may have ruined it.
13) Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004 - Michael Moore) 7.5/10
14) The Wedding Banquet (1993 - Ang Lee) 7/10 - I definitely was being extra generous when I gave this a '10', but it's still a really good film that comes with my high recommendation.
15) Sideways (2004 - Alexander Payne) 10/10 - See the TOP 20: #102 - #201 for updated thoughts.
16) The Ice Storm (1997 - Ang Lee) 8.5/10 - See the TOP 20: #102 - #201 for updated thoughts.
17) Broadcast News (1987 - James L. Brooks) 5.5/10 - Just didn't hold my attention as much as I thought it would, especially being a James L. Brooks and a William Hurt fan.
18) Wo hu cang long (2000 - Ang Lee) 2.5/10
19) Roger & Me (1989 - Michael Moore) 8/10 - Came extremely close to making my TOP 20.
20) La jetee (1961 - Chris Marker) 4.5/10 - I guess I just really don't get the appeal of short films, at least ones that are meant to be taken seriously anyway. This one didn't do much for me, but in longer form, it could have been brilliant.
21) Brokeback Mountain (2005 - Ang Lee) 8/10 - See the TOP 20: #102 - #201 for updated thoughts.
22) Louisiana Story (1948 - Robert J. Flaherty) 5/10
23) Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982 - Amy Heckerling) 7/10
24) Reservoir Dogs (1992 - Quentin Tarantino) 9/10 - Much like the first time I watched it, this one is, once again, growing on me after a rewatch.


NON-1001 Movies - As seen in November 2010
1) Toy Story 2 (1999 - John Lasseter) 8/10 - My least favorite of the "Toy Story" trilogy, but still a damned good outing from the people at Pixar. This one is almost as much fun as the original, with the addition of the Round-Up Gang (including Cowgirl Jesse, Stinky Pete and Woody's horse Bullseye). I also liked the inclusion of a second Buzz Lightyear and his evil nemesis Emperor Zurg. Lots of fun to be had here.


2) Toy Story 3 (2010 - Lee Unkrich) 9/10 - Another really good installment of the "Toy Story" story. This one isn't stale at all and manages to come up with yet another fiasco for Andy's gang of toys to get into. This time the gang finds themselves donated to a day care center, where they meet such toys as Lots O' Huggin' Bear and Ken (of Ken and Barbie fame). The film tells like a prison movie as the toys try to escape the evil toys that reside at the day care center and Woody tries to get back to Andy, before he goes away to college. This one didn't disappoint and lets hope they end it there, before they end up making a sham of the whole series.


3) A Bug's Life (1998 - John Lasseter) 6.5/10 - One of my least favorite Pixar movies, but there's nothing too terrible going on here. "A Bug's Life" tells the story of Fleck, who, in an effort to save the ant colony from the oppression of the grasshoppers. He ventures into the city and returns with "Warrior Bugs" in tow. However, the "warriors" are actually a group of traveling performer bugs. The film includes some good voice work from people like Kevin Spacey, Denis Leary and Brad Garrett. This one just didn't give me that warm, fuzzy feeling that some of the other Pixar movies gave me and in my opinion, "A Bug's Life" is more geared toward kids than the other Pixar's.

4) Monsters, Inc. (2001 - Pete Docter) 8/10 - Another really good outing from the people at Pixar. I'm gonna' keep these short, as the Pixar movies for me are all very similar, in that they all really tend to appeal to me, where other animated movies don't. This one tells the story of Sulley and Mike, two employees of Monsters, Inc., a company situated in Monstropolis, that works to supply power to the community through the use of children's screams. The top scarer in the company is Sulley, but when he wanders into Boo's bedroom one evening, he gets more than he bargained for and realizes that there's more to life than making children scream.

5) Finding Nemo (2003 - Andrew Stanton) 9.5/10 - The broken record rambles on: Another really good one from the guys at Pixar. Behind the original "Toy Story" this has got to be my favorite Pixar release and cannot, for the life of me, figure out why this isn't included in the "1001" book. I think this movie does well at mixing many different genres: action/adventure, drama and comedy and putting them to good use in the world of animation. Nemo has been captured by a deep sea diver and his worry-wort father is ready to do anything he has to, to get him back. This includes teaming up with fellow fish, Dory, and heading farther than he's ever been to locate his son. Meanwhile, Nemo makes friends with the fish in the local dentist office in Sydney, Australia and finds out that his fate will soon be in the hands of Darla, the dreaded niece of the dentist, who has a history of killing fish.

6) The Incredibles (2004 - Brad Bird) 7/10 - Are you noticing a theme here? After watching the "Toy Story" trilogy, I just went all out and decided to give all the Pixar movies another go around. Previous viewings of "The Incredibles" have left me calling IT the worst Pixar movie to date, but this viewing had me changing my opinion and really seeing some fun qualities. The movie's central character is Mr. Incredible, a superhero who's best years are behind him. After a lawsuit leaves the heroes of the world forced to act as civilized, everyday citizens, Mr. Incredible misses the excitement of his former life and hates the mundane, day to day office job that he holds down. His wife is the former Elastigirl and soon they'll find out that they're kids are "supers" too. The villain this time around is especially fun and is the dreaded Syndrome (voiced by Jason Lee to whiny perfection).

7) Cars (2006 - John Lasseter) 7.5/10 - Last Pixar of the month, I promise. It's good (big shocker there, eh?). In my opinion, Pixar has a knack for giving inanimate objects great human qualities and then forcing us to fall in love with them over the course of ninety minutes. Also, seeing as how they're dealing in inanimate objects, the films also give more of a range to situations that you can't see anywhere else. Lightning McQueen is the chief character here, the top race car who gets caught up in the middle of a three way tie at the Piston Cup race. He, along with Chick Hicks and The King are then carted off to California to compete in a three-car finale for the coveted Piston Cup. Along the way, Lightning McQueen finds himself stuck in Radiator Springs and forced to repair the road that he damaged, causing his race to be put in jeopardy. Along the course of the film, McQueen learns so insightful lessons about himself and what is and isn't important in the world.

8) What About Bob? (1991 - Frank Oz) 6.5/10 - This is a little known Pixar movie that a lot of you may not have heard of...just kidding. I hadn't seen "What About Bob?" since I was a young'n and was actually surprised to see it sitting on my DVD shelf, as I do not recall purchasing it. Me and the wife, bored one evening, decided to pop it in and give it a whirl...again. I mean, who in their right mind doesn't love Bill Murray...the guy is hilarious and I think everyone in the world has a favorite Bill Murray film. This one is a little silly, upon another viewing, but that's one of the things that makes it a lot of fun. I recommend this film highly, but only if you plan to watch a movie that requires NO thinking and lots of laughing.

Well that about does 'er for another month of movie watching. If I don't find my way back to the pages of the "1001" book in the month of December, then I'll still try to sneak in at the beginning of January and give you a little info on what I DID watch in December. 'Till next time folks and Happy Holidays.

December 5, 2010 10:31pm

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