Wrapping Up 2023's Selections from the Bucket List

 As always - my apologies for not updating sooner. I haven't had as much time to watch movies as I would like. And I hate doing entries for only one film - so I wait until I have a few to add. We'll finish off 2023 with 6 films. At this count I have watched 71 of the 100 movies on the list (keeping in mind two entries are actually trilogies - so I have watched 73 of 102 officially). Only 29 more to go! I'm adding these 6 in order of date watched.

Leon: The Professional - I actually enjoyed this one - except for Natalie Portman's character. I get that it was part of the film, but I really didn't like her. The cinematography was really good so I can fully appreciate why this movie made the bucket list. Good chance I would watch this again at some point in the future. Overall grade: B+ / A-

The Great Dictator - This one was not easy to obtain (and in fact I actually ended up acquiring a Blu-Ray player because I could only find a Blu-Ray version). Of the remaining films on the list, I actually looked forward to watching it - it has a pretty good reputation. I was not disappointed. I found myself thoroughly amused by the similarities to a certain real-life dictator. I'm not overly familiar with the work of Charlie Chaplin, but I have liked the few things I have seen. Overall grade: A

The Departed - Given the number of F-bombs dropped in this movie, I am really surprised that Samuel L. Jackson didn't have a cameo (not that he would have fit in with the plot of the movie). There was no absence of stars in this movie. Overall it was pretty good - except for a bit of a rambling plot. Probably could have been a little bit shorter without truly impacting the story. Overall grade: B

Alien - Yes, you are probably surprised I have not watched this movie until recently. Keep in mind that Sci-fi is not my preferred genre when it comes to movies. With that said - I had no preconceived notions against that kept me from watching it. I factor in the fact that it was made in 1979 when reviewing because it was actually pretty blah for me as far as Sci-fi goes. Special effects simply weren't what we have today. With that said, I'm left with zero desire to watch it again or any of the sequels that it has spawned. Overall grade: C

Gladiator - Another one I probably should have seen a long time ago but never got around to watching. I'm glad this one was actually on the list because I enjoyed it for the most part. Again, like numerous other films, it probably could have been shorter without sacrificing the key points of the story. Seeing Joaquin Phoenix in this role reminds me of his versatility as an actor. I don't see him playing the same roles over and over again. I may not like everything he does, but overall I find many of his movies pretty good. As for Russell Crowe - he was way better in this than in Les Miserables (thank God he didn't have to sing in this one). Overall grade: A-

Trainspotting - I put this one in a similar category as Snatch from the previous entry. For sure there were parts that amused me - but for the most part I had a hard time following the overall story. I'm sure the Scottish accents played a significant part in adding to my confusion. At the end of the movie I can't say I really knew what the point of the movie was...but I wouldn't say that it was terrible. I like Ewan McGregor - so that certainly helped. Will I watch it again? Maybe after my trip to Scotland next year when I have had more exposure to the accent. Overall grade: C

There you have it - the last 6 movies of 2023. I'm slowly making my way through the list. There are a lot more spaces that have been scratched off than note so I have made progress since starting the challenge - even if it is taking me longer than I hoped.

Last of 2022 and First Movies of 2023

 I really slacked off on watching movies from the bucket list challenge during the latter half of 2022. From July onward I only managed one. I added two more so far during January of 2023. I've had a lot going on and so I'm lucky to be able to keep up with the TV shows I have on my DVR. I'll try to do better. With that said, here are the brief reviews of the three most recent additions to the completed list.

Her: Kind of a futuristic sort of look at what AI devices have the potential of becoming in the future. Not gonna lie...it was more than a little creepy. Joaquin Phoenix plays a guy who ends up getting into a "relationship" with his virtual assistant (voiced by Scarlet Johansson). Phoenix's character kind of reminded me of a creepier version of Leonard from "The Big Bang Theory" (picture Leonard with a 70s style porn mustache). It wasn't a horrible movie, but I highly doubt it was a film I would have ever watched on my own... and I doubt I will ever watch it again. Overall grade: C-

Drive: Ryan Gosling stars as a Hollywood stunt driver by day and a getaway driver for criminals by night. The driving skills are somewhat impressive, but overall the movie had a tendency to wander away from the central plot. The resolution of the conflict at the end wasn't exactly clear...I'm not exactly sure what happened to Gosling's character. I found myself losing focus quite easily. Maybe if I watched it again and paid very close attention I would understand it better, however, even the outline of the story on the DVD insert doesn't compel me to want to do that. Overall grade C-

Snatch: Although this was directed by Guy Ritchie, it really had a Quentin Tarantino vibe to it (albeit with significantly less gratuitous violence). Lots of characters, whose importance to the overall story wasn't clear combined with a storyline that had lots of subplots made it kind of hard to follow. Brad Pitt's character was funny and I also liked Dennis Farina in his role. I could see myself watching this one again, just to see if it makes more sense the second time. Overall grade B-

And there you have it. Again my apologies for the long delay between posts. I watched Her quite awhile ago, but wanted to wait until I had more than one movie to review before posting. I'll be back soon with a few more (hopefully).

Top Gun: Maverick (finally)

 In a departure from the reviews of movies from my bucket list I wanted to take the time to write a short review of the long awaited and highly anticipated Top Gun sequel. They've been talking about releasing this movie since 2020, I think, but it kept getting delayed. Nevertheless it was definitely worth the wait. Tom Cruise returned as Lieutenant Pete Mitchell, a.k.a. Maverick. I won't give too many details as I don't want to spoil it for anyone who has yet to see it. Maverick is recruited by his longtime friend Iceman (Val Kilmer) to train a new class of Top Gun pilots for what was billed as a suicide mission. In the new Top Gun group is the son of Maverick's deceased co-pilot Goose. The make-up/costume directors/casting directors did one heck of a job selling this actor as Goose's son (down to his rousing rendition of "Great Balls of Fire" on the piano at the bar). It was briefly explained why Goose's widow (played by Meg Ryan in the original) did not appear in the film (not going to spoil it). I heard that a lot of people were upset that Ryan was not tapped to reprise her role, but I honestly don't think she would have added much to the storyline. Also notably missing from a return appearance was Charlie (played by Kelly McGillis). But as with Ryan, I don't think a return by Charlie would have served any real purpose. Sometimes it is better to leave original characters out of a sequel than force them into a storyline where they do not really belong. Personally I applaud the writers for not forcing these characters into the plot. It helped to make the story more relevant to the modern era. But...if for some reason you have been living under a rock for the past 30+ years and never saw the original Top Gun it is an absolute must see before watching Maverick. There are too many references from the original that would confuse someone who has not seen it. With that said, for those who have seen Top Gun and at least enjoyed it I highly recommend Top Gun: Maverick. Overall rating: A+++

Memorial Day 2022: Movie Marathon Continued

 I know I am a bit delayed in writing up the last of the movies from the weekend movie marathon. Saturday I watched 4 movies, but I only managed to watch 1 more the rest of the weekend for a total of 7 over 3 days. Here are the last 5 from the bucket list in the order viewed.

Up:  The last of the animated films on the bucket list. I'll admit to liking this one more than its predecessors. However, it was still a bit too long for my taste (for an animated film) and I found my attention fading a little over halfway through. I'm not sure how kids with short attention spans managed to watch the entire movie. Overall rating: B

Memento:  It seems the further I progress through the list the more bizarre some of the films are. I kind of thought of this as a very dark, revenge oriented version of 50 First Dates with Adam Sandler. Odd would be something of an understatement. To be honest, I'm not sure I even remembered the end of the movie. Overall rating: C-

Blade Runner:  Here's another film that had a very futuristic view of Los Angeles (if I recall it is set in about 2017 or 2018). Interesting how filmmakers of the 80s and 90s thought L.A. in the 21st century would appear. Premise was somewhat intriguing, but still the movie was at times very hard to follow. Harrison Ford was, as always, a good leading man here. Overall rating: C

Reservoir Dogs: Ah, my old friend Quentin Tarantino (sarcasm). If I have learned one thing from all of the Tarantino films I have subjected myself to over the years it is that one should expect over-the-top violence and gore that is not entirely necessary to the telling of the story. However, I will say that this movie is one of his better ones in my humble opinion. Given the subject matter of the movie, the violence (while somewhat exaggerated) was at least logical. Overall rating: B- (very high for a Tarantino flick).

The Prestige:  The first plus to this film is that it stars Hugh Jackman. It was all about two magicians who were friends/partners turned bitter rivals. The other leading man was played by Christian Bale (who personally I do not much care for). Over all the story was engaging and at least kept my attention for the better majority. The surprise casting was David Bowie as Nikola Tesla and he did a phenomenal job (nearly unrecognizable). Of these last five movies, this was far and away my favorite. Overall rating: A- (still a bit too long for a solid A).

2nd Annual Memorial Day Movie Marathon: 1st 2 nights Down

 It doesn't seem like it has already been a year since I officially started the bucket list challenge. So I started the weekend movie marathon a night early this year. Officially I watched three movies the 1st two nights, however, I realized (much to my chagrin) one of the movies I watched wasn't actually on the bucket list. I will still include the review after the other two.

The Big Lebowski: This wasn't entirely new to me with this viewing, however, I had not seen the whole film start to finish. I was pretty entertained, although there were a few parts that I felt could have been left out without sacrificing essential plot points. Jeff Bridges' character and John Goodman's character were hilarious. Overall I would give it a strong B+ rating. It would have gotten an A if not for the superfluous material that added unnecessary length to the movie. 

The Terminator: Here's another that probably surprises most people that I have not previously seen. There was no specific reasoning as to why...it just never occurred to me to watch it. I did see T2 not long after it was available on VHS. I have not, however, seen any of the subsequent Terminator movies. Of course it struck me as funny that the beginning of Terminator was set in Los Angeles in the year 2029. I always find it interesting to see how movies imagined the 2020s to be. The 80s aspects were great, especially Linda Hamilton's wardrobe. Towards the end of movie a question came to mind (upon seeing how difficult it was to "kill" the Terminator): who would win in a battle of evil killing machines -- the Terminator or a Dalek? Discuss amongst yourselves and/or leave a comment on the blog with your opinion. My overall rating for the movie was probably an A-. Due in large part to not being excessively long with unnecessary parts.

The BONUS ENTRY:

Inception: I have no idea why I was certain this was on the bucket list. Did not realize it was not until after I had finished watching and was trying to scratch it off the list. Well, this was certainly an interesting movie. I had a bit of trouble following the story, but I suppose that is not entirely uncommon. Generally speaking it was alright. Like several of the movies on the list I felt as though it could have been shorter without losing much in the way of important details. It does get bonus points for ending with a conclusion that wraps up with closure for the main character. I'm still not quite sure what exactly happened to his wife though. Perhaps I missed it. I'll leave it with an overall grade of C+.

Another From the Bucket List

 Yes, I know it has been awhile since I added anything to the blog. I've been kind of slacking off when it comes to watching movies. However, I do plan to have another movie marathon over Memorial Day weekend (and I've added several of the missing titles from the bucket list to my collection). So there should be plenty of reviews coming in the next week or so. Since my last entry I have only crossed one more film off the list. This will be quite a short entry since there is only one film being reviewed.

2001: A Space Odyssey: I had been warned in advance that this is somewhat of an odd movie. It seems that warning was more than justified. I wouldn't go so far as to say the movie was bad. But, it definitely could have been much shorter without losing anything essential to the plot. The soundtrack wasn't too bad, either. I can't say that I fully understood the movie (neither did the person I was watching it with). Given the excessive length of the movie I am not inclined to watch it again to see if it makes more sense the 2nd time around.

Ringing in 2022 with 4 More Titles off of the List

     Welcome to 2022! Hard to believe it's nearly the middle of February already. Since the beginning of the year I have managed to cross another 4 movies off of the bucket list. 2 movies were foreign language films with subtitles (a horrific feature for some people, but I actually don't mind them), 1 was an animated movie, and finally the last of the group was the lone anime film on the list. Away we go!

Amelie:  I was actually looking forward to seeing this one as I have heard good things about it. I found it somewhat odd, but there were parts that I found quite entertaining. I also improved a bit of my French vocabulary (bonus). I speak French at an intermediate level but I still need the subtitles to truly be able to follow the dialog. My television screen isn't the greatest for seeing the subtitles, but with my basic comprehension I kept up pretty well. Overall I'd rank it somewhere in the middle. Not an obvious classic but also not among the worst movies I have been subjected to. 

The Intouchables: Not to be confused with The Untouchables, this is another French language film. The subject matter was more serious than Amelie and the overall story is pretty good. If you like the rom-com genre, in some ways this movie reminds me of the more recent English language film Me Before You (based on a book). The Intouchables is based on a real-life story. I'd probably give this a solid B rating. For the most part I could keep up with the plot of the movie while managing the subtitles. Despite my fairly high grade, I'm not quite sure why this movie would make a 100 Movies to See before You Die type of list. Perhaps it's just that I expect movies on this type of list to be cinematic masterpieces with stories so captivating that you instantly know you've seen a classic. 

Toy Story: After this one, I think I only have one more animated film to subject myself to. I've already discussed my general dislike of the modern animated films (with relatively few exceptions). I get that Disney/Pixar is a powerhouse when it comes to animated movies. Given all the hype (and seemingly infinite sequels) for Toy Story I expected to be dazzled. Again I was disappointed. The overall storyline was just okay for me. I won't deny that for younger viewers (the target audience of Disney/Pixar) the story is relatable and probably entertaining. But 4 sequels? No, I don't get it. 

Spirited Away: If there was something I was looking forward to less than the animated movies on the list, it was the lone anime selection. To date I have never really been able to get into anime. It could be that the very first one I watched (back in my high school days) was probably one of the heaviest of the anime films: Akira. I've also seen Princess Mononoke (spelling?). The only anime I ever really enjoyed was the series Cowboy Bebop (and that was mainly because one of the characters was a Pembroke Welsh Corgi). Given all of my prior history with anime, I actually found myself kind of enjoying this one more than I thought I would. I still don't fully understand the genre and can have a hard time keeping up with the unusual storylines. But with Spirited Away I found myself wanting the main character to be successful in her quest to save her parents. 

That's all for tonight. Not sure what my next selections will be or when I'll make some time to cross a few more off of the list. Until next time!