30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 30- The Fanatic (2019)

30 days ago, we embarked on a journey of exploration as I did a new and better version of the 30 day movie challenge which forced you to watch films you hadn't seen yet. We watched a horror film, a foreign film, an Oscar nominee, a Saturn award winner, and today we go to the other side of the spectrum that celebrates the worst in cinema rather than the best and that is the Razzies. The task for today was to either watch the Razzie winner for Worst Picture or a nominee and I chose a nominee in 2019's The Fanatic which was written and directed by Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit). The film stars John Travolta (Saturday Night Fever) as Moose, a mentally disturbed who just wants to meet his favorite action star in the whole world. When the chance meeting blows up in his face, Moose becomes obsessed with the actor and begins to stalk the actor which takes a nasty turn. The film also stars Devon Sawa (Final Destination) as Hunter Dunbar, Ana Golja (Degrassi: Next Class) as Leah, Jacob Grodnik (Disturbing The Peace) as Todd, James Paxton (An American In Texas) as Slim, Marta González Rodin (Until The End Of Time) as Dora, Theresa Ireland (How To Be A Latin Lover) as Marilyn Monroe, Luis Da Silva Jr. (Fast Five) as Luis, and Josh Richman (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) as Aaron.

Now was this the worst film I have ever seen? I definitely would not say that, but it also wasn't very good at all. I am kind of saddened at the fact that they made John Travolta's character have disabilities and I am not saying that someone who has autism couldn't do what his character did, but I think an actor would be a lot more understanding of someone with disabilities. I know that Devon Sawa's character should be the victim in this film and in so many ways he actually is, but he is kind of a shitty person if you think about it. I have been to plenty of conventions and I have seen actors handle someone like Moose with class that brings high praise to the said actor. He mishandled a situation with someone who had mental disabilities and it backfired on him. Again, that does not excuse what Moose did at all because what he did was borderline creepy from licking his toothbrush to tying him up in bed and so much more. The film is commentary on mental health issues and the delicate situations that performers are put in, but it could have been done a lot better. When I envision a stalker, I don't envision Moose by a long shot but someone who is more in control of their surroundings while also being mentally unstable. I have to be honest in saying that I find that Travolta can only play so many types of characters and that he was lucky he had dance moves and good looks back in the day because he is not very good. As I said, the movie isn't completely terrible, but it doesn't get a better grade than a C-.

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 29- La Loba (1965)

I knew when I created this version of the 30 Day challenge that I wanted one of the days to be a reward for all the hard work put into getting to this point. 29 days ago, we started this journey and we are one day away from the finish line so today's task was that I could repeat any of the previous challenges and I chose to repeat day 13 which was to watch a foreign film and I chose Mexico's first ever werewolf horror film 1965's La Loba which was directed by Rafael Baledón (The Hell Of Frankenstein). The film stars José Elías Moreno (Las tres perfectas casadas) as Professor Fernandez, a brilliant professor who is doing some breakthrough research on cell manipulation or the metamorphosis of the cells. He is doing the research because he wants to cure his daughter of a strange illness that only takes effect when there is a full moon. The film also stars Kitty de Hoyos (Adventure At The Center Of The Earth) as Clarisa Fernandez, Joaquin Cordero (The Book Of Stone) as Dr. Alejandro Bernstein, Columba Domínguez (Ánimas Trujano (El hombre importante)) as Marcela de Fernandez, Roberto Cañedo (Crime And Punishment) as Dr. González, Noé Murayama (Man on the Spying Trapeze) as Cazador de Lobos, Adriana Roel (Neutron Traps the Invisible Killers) as Alicia Fernandez, Crox Alvarado (The Aztec Mummy Against the Humanoid Robot) as Crumba, and Ramón Bugarini (Santo Vs The Zombies) as Inspector.

This was surprisingly a well acted film from everyone that was involved and it demonstrated that anyone could make a horror film besides the English, Americans, and Italians. The werewolf costumes could have been cooler, but for 1965 they were not that bad and you accepted it. The one thing that I enjoyed is that they sort of added their own rules for the werewolf genre because up this point we knew that only silver could kill a werewolf, but in this film it's either an ivory knife or a dog that is specially trained in werewolf combat. I know the last one sounds funny and even I thought it was stupid at first, but after a while the dog was pretty bad ass and I was OK with that rule. The only thing I didn't get was how could there be a full moon every night and how did the professor not know that one of them was a werewolf especially seeing as he dated the daughter that was a werewolf? The final fight scene was probably one of the most exciting sequences in the film as it was a fight to the end especially the fight that Crumba is involved in. One thing that I wished they were able to expand on was the transformation scenes, but I understand that it was something that was going to be tough to pull off in 1965 due to the lack of technology. They did manage to kind of do one where the little girl witnesses Clarissa transform right in front of her. This was surprisingly as I said before a really good film and while the film may be in Spanish, the version I was able to purchase had English Subtitles which definitely helped. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 28- Ford v Ferrari (2019)

This years Academy Awards featured a lot of great films that were in contention for a lot of awards including that for Best Picture (the winner being Parasite). The task for today's 30 Day Movie Challenge was to watch a film that was nominated for Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards and with only three options left to choose from, I went with 2019's Ford v Ferrari which was directed by James Mangold (Walk The Line). The film stars Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting) as Carroll Shelby who at one time was considered one of the best racers ever, but after winning the 24 hour Le Mans, he was forced to retire from behind the wheel. After a failed deal with Ferrari, Ford Motor Company decides that it wants to get even by building a race car, but they need someone to do it and they hire Shelby. The only question is can Shelby actually do it despite the pressures from corporate and will they let his driver race? The film also stars Christian Bale (Vice) as Ken Miles, Jon Bernthal (The Wolf Of Wall Street) as Lee Iacocca, Caitriona Balfe (Escape Plan) as Mollie Miles, Josh Lucas (Sweet Home Alabama) as Leo Beebe, Noah Jupe (Honey Boy) as Peter Miles, Tracy Letts (The Big Short) as Henry Ford II, Remo Girone (Live By Night) as Enzo Ferrari, Ray McKinnon (Deadwood) as Phil Remington, and JJ Feild (Captain America: The First Avenger) as Roy Lunn.

One of the sad facts about the film is that Beebe did not like Ken Miles, but it wasn't for his racing style or anything having to do with racing. He disliked Ken Miles because Ken shit all over the Mustang right to Beebe's face so it was a constant d**k measuring contest between the two and obviously Beebe has the most pull being the corporate stooge that he was and let me say that Josh Lucas plays that role very well. I was thinking to myself that I do not remember watching a movie with Lucas where I actually liked his character. Nonetheless, he was a decent secondary villain in the film of course the Ferrari team being the main villains of the film as Ford strives to be number one. I honestly thought that Christian Bale was the main star of the film as he absolutely stole the show as the wild and what seems untameable Ken Miles, but we end up finding out just what his character really was. I loved the action that you get in this film which means that I loved the cinematography cause they did an amazing job capturing everything. I loved the cars, the look of the film, and all of the sets that they designed for this film. So, I definitely agreed with the Academy's choice to have this film nominated for Best Picture, but I definitely agree that it wasn't the best one on the list. The film won two Academy Awards for Best Film and Best Sound editing which I definitely agree with as they did an phenomenal job which is why I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 27: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966)

I am not a huge fan of westerns to the point that I will not go out of my way to watch a John Wayne film, but every once in a while I catch myself watching a modern western or even a spaghetti style western. Admittedly, I have not seen a lot of Clint Eastwood's (Dirty Harry) westerns so when I saw that today's task was to watch any of the films listed on IMDB.com's top trending films, I took the opportunity to see 1966's The Good, The Bad and The Ugly which was ranked 9TH on the list. The film follows three different men with Eastwood playing Blondie (The Good), Lee Van Cleef (Escape From New York) as Angel Eyes (The Bad), and Eli Wallach (Keeping The Faith) as Tuco (The Ugly). Each man is after a sum of $200,000 which is said to be buried in a grave somewhere that only Tuco knows and in a grave that only Blondie knows so they need each other to make it, but will they in this roller coaster adventure. The film also stars Aldo Giuffrè (When Women Had Tails) as Alcoholic Union Captain, Luigi Pistilli (For A Few Dollars More) as Father Ramirez, Rada Rassimov (Don't Wait, Django... Shoot!) as Maria, Enzo Petito (Night Train To Milan) as Storekeeper, Antonio Casale (Duck, You Sucker) as Bill Carson, Mario Brega (A Fistful Of Dollars) as Cpl. Wallace, and the film was directed by Sergio Leone (Once Upon A Time In America).

What an amazing film this was from beginning to end as they take you on this journey of ups and downs that seems like it's never going to end. There is definitely a reason why each one of them is labeled the way they are and it's simple as Tuco is just an ugly dude inside and out and he'll pretend to be your friend while stabbing you in the back. Angel Eyes may be a deceiving dude to some, but he is all around just a bad dude. He is all business and you know that he doesn't care about you unless his pockets are not getting fat. Meanwhile, Blondie is a good dude who lives by a set of rules and morals that he does not break and he gives some the benefit of the doubt. Sure was he scamming people with Tuco, but at the end of the day he was being fair with Tuco as far as money was concerned. I absolutely loved the cinematography in this film as every shot was just about amazing and I loved the sets that they built for this film. There was a lot of action at times and you definitely do not miss it. You also can not forget about the amazing score by the incredible Ennio Morricone which helped set the moods in the film and you can't forget The Ecstasy Of Gold which plays during the famous scene when Tuco finds the cemetery. If you have never seen any of the films, definitely give this one a shot because you will not regret it. It has amazing actors and everything in between which is why I am giving the film an A+ for a final grade.

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 26- Mandy (2018)

Everyone knows that Nicolas Cage's (Gone In 60 Seconds) career has taken an interesting turn over the years with the kinds of choices he has made over the years as far as what films, but there was a huge buzz about one of them. Today's challenge for the 30 day movie challenge was to watch either the film that won the Saturn Award for best Independent film or to check out one of the nominees in case you had seen the winner. Unfortunately, the awards show for 2020 was canceled and I had to go with the winner from 2019 and that is 2018's Mandy which was written and directed by Panos Cosmatos (Tombstone) with Casper Kelly (Too Many Cooks) as well. Nicolas Cage plays Red Miller, a regular guy who enjoys his house in the woods with his girlfriend Mandy Bloom (Andrea Riseborough). One day there life is rocked upside down when they meet a mysterious hippy cult with very bad intentions that will send Red on a hunt for revenge. The film also stars Linus Roache (Batman Begins) as Jeremiah Sand, Ned Dennehy (Peaky Blinders) as Brother Swan, Olwen Fouéré (This Must Be The Place) as Mother Marlene, Richard Brake (The Sisters Brothers) as The Chemist, Bill Duke (Deep Cover) as Caruthers, Line Pillet (Little Black Spiders) as Sister Lucy, Clément Baronnet (La colle) as Brother Klopeck, and Alexis Julemont (Raw) as Brother Hanker.

By the time I was done watching this film, all I could think to myself was what in the hell did I just watch? Why was it so awesome? Why is this the first time I watched this film? Take the film for what it is and analyze the story all you want or just say that it's your typical revenge story with a family that reminds you of Manson or better yet the Firefly clan from The Devil's Rejects. The fact of the matter is that the film was beautifully shot and I know it's weird because of the type of film, but once you start watching it's like one giant trip of LSD from beginning to end with all of the vibrant colors whether they are warm colors or dark colors. The film is so full of color and it's absolutely beautiful to the point that it kept me hooked and the cinematography itself was well done. The cinematography department and the editing team deserve an A+ for the work they put into this film and I love the mixture of animation which I believe are either hallucinations or dreams that Cage's character has in the film that connects him to Mandy. I absolutely loved the biker gang which definitely was a nod to Hellraiser and the Cenobites and while there are theories behind who they really are, you just have to click on this one if you are on the Shudder app and sit back and relax. They are going to take you on one hell of a ride especially when Nic Cage gets started. I am honestly going to give this film an A- for a final grade because I absolutely loved it.

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 25- A Tale Of Two Coreys (2018)

There is two things that I always knew to be true in my life and the first thing was that there was no one cooler in the 80's than The Two Coreys (Corey Haim and Corey Feldman). The second thing is that Lifetime movies have always been lame because they have always tackled the types of films that kept Dean Cain afloat for years (They always follow a formula). So, when I set the task for today's 30 Day Movie challenge to be to watch a lifetime movie, I had one in mind already and that was A Tale Of Two Coreys which I finally discovered was on Amazon Prime. The film stars Elijah Marcano (The Walking Dead) as Corey Feldman and Justin Ellings (American Housewife) as Corey Haim, the legendary duo known as The Two Coreys, but one thing is for sure and that everything wasn't always glitz and glamour for these two as they fought the demons of Hollywood. The film also stars Ashley Scott (Jumanji: The Next Level) as Shelia Feldman, Patrick Muldoon (Starship Troopers) as Bob Feldman, Paula Lindberg (American Mary) as Judy Haim, Brian Huskey (This Is The End) as Bernie Haim, Brandon Howard as Michael Jackson, Keith Coogan (Jay and Silent Bob Reboot) as Marty,  Scott Bosely (Finding Max) as Adult Corey Feldman, Casey Leach (Secret Obsession) as Adult Corey Haim, Jacob Loeb (Colony) as Doug, and Bella Popa (The Haunting Of Sharon Tate) as Ally.

Now I will say that the film isn't all gltiz and glamour as it looks at the darker side of Hollywood that unfortunately claimed our favorite duo. There is a lot of dark and sensitive subject matter contained in this film as well as all of the depictions of their drug abuse that rocked Corey Haim for years and years. Now as far as a Lifetime movie is concerned, this is actually better than most films that I have seen from that company as it seemed they tried their best to pay tribute to Corey Haim showing that he was caring and kindhearted. The acting for the most part in the film is actually pretty well done and I loved the two actors they got to play them. I am a bigger fan of who they picked for both teen and adult Haim while adult Feldman looked more like the real Feldman then the kid version. I always thought that Feldman would have been the fun type as well, but the film makes him look like he was always the serious one while Haim was all about fun all the time. The film also makes it look like Haim was the bigger star of the two back in the 80's as he won the role of Les in License To Drive over Feldman who tried out for the role as well then to only show how undesirable he was as an adult. Haim was always my favorite of the two, but while the acting was good, there were some moments and every film has them. The cinematography was pretty good as well the soundtrack was awesome. My only criticism is that I would have loved to see more of the 90's years between the two, but I'll take this. I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 24- Death Note (2017)

After today, there are only six days left in the challenge and I am feeling pretty good about myself at this point so we are just cruising right through to the finish line. Netflix built itself to be a global powerhouse when it literally eliminated movie stores across the country as it took over with it's mailing subscription. Netflix literally changed the game again when they started the online streaming and then came the Netflix original films and that changed the game again. So, the task for today was to check out a Netflix original film and I chose 2017's Death Note which was directed by Adam Wingard (V/H/S). The film stars Nat Wolff (Stella's Last Weekend) as Light Turner, you typical everyday teen with teen problems whose problems are about to get a lot worse when he inherits a book that all he has to do is write someone's name down and they die. The film also stars Shea Whigham (Vice) as Officer Turner, Margaret Qualley (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood) as Mia,  LaKeith Stanfield (Uncut Gems) as L, Willem Dafoe (Murder On The Orient Express) as the voice of Ryuk, Jason Liles (Rampage) as Ryuk, Paul Nakauchi (Carmen Sandiego) as Watari, Jack Ettlinger (Good Witch) as Kenny Doyle, Chris Britton (The Romeo Section) as Peltz, and Christian Sloan (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 ) as Agent Franks.

I have seen these kinds of films before where someone is given ultimate power to choose outcomes, but there is always an ugly side to it like the film Wishcraft or even Wishmaster. This one definitely separates itself from the others, but that's because it's based off of a Japanese Manga series I believe. I know there were three films made from Japan that this film is also based off of. It's much of the same idea though, the book happens to land on him and after being tempted by the books keeper Ryuk, he gets a little out of control with it, but when he reaches the moral dilemma it's almost too late for him. Now the film has been accused of whitewashing as they literally removed everything that identified itself with Japanese lore and they set it in Seattle and made every major character lose it's touch with the original source material. I'll have to take the time to watch the original films so I can better educate myself, but one reviewer was right and that Light was kind of a stupid character as he literally set himself up for everything that occurred to him in the film. It does have a very high school feel to it because a lot of us make decisions based on gut and not logic which is probably what I liked about it, but again I need to watch the originals. There's nothing really special about this film as far as effects or kills are concerned and what I mean is that they don't really shock you that much. I would have loved to see Ryuk in action a little more than we got to, but I understand how he makes things happen. So, I am going to go ahead and give the film an B- for a final grade (when I watch the originals, this grade could change).

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 23- ALIEN³ (1992)

Earlier in the year I made it a mission when I was doing this that I was going to watch the rest of a couple of franchises and one of them was the Ridley Scott born Alien franchise which started in 1979 with the original before the sequel in 1986 that was directed by James Cameron. Now we fast forward six years later and we have the 1992 sequel ALIEN³ which was directed by David Fincher (The Social Network) and features the return of Sigourney Weaver (Aliens) as our beloved Ripley. We can only assume that it's some years later and they have been in cryogenic sleep, but what they didn't realize when they escaped is that a pod made it on to the spacecraft and after it try to implant itself on one of them, it caused a malfunction and forced the escape pod to crash on a prison planet where only Ripley survives. The only problem is that not only does she have an Xenomorph to worry about in this prison planet that has no weapons, but she has to deal with rapists and murderers too. The film also stars Charles S. Dutton (A Time To Kill) as Dillon, Charles Dance (Last Action Hero) as Clemens, Paul McGann (The Three Musketeers) as Golic, Brian Glover (An American Werewolf In London) as Andrews, Ralph Brown (Wayne's World 2) as Aaron, Danny Webb (Valkyrie) as Morse, Pete Postlethwaite (The Usual Suspects) as David, Lance Henriksen (Aliens) as Bishop II, and Holt McCallany (Fight Club) as Junior.

I get that there was really nothing they could do about certain things, but one thing I wish they had done was a better job with the CGI because it was so obvious and probably more so thanks to High Definition TV's. Anytime, the Xenomorph would come on to the screen, the CGI was just too obvious and too cringe worthy for my liking. Other than that, I enjoyed the film and I definitely liked the direction they headed in especially with the weapons option out of their hands. There was one point int he film when you thought things were done and where could they possibly take it, but they figured out a brilliant way to continue the story, but I will not be giving that away cause that is not what I do here. The one thing that I can say is that it definitely makes things interesting for Ripley and co. as they try to figure out how to stop it. The one thing I was disappointed in is that they show the one prisoner let the creature go, but we never see what happens to him and that is something I would want to know because I can only assume that the Xenomorph killed him. I also definitely love the fact that the Xenomorph does exactly what the last part of it's name means and that it morphs with whoever it's host is and that is what you get. In this one, it doesn't pick a human as a host so it makes things very interesting as he acts differently than past Xenomorphs. This definitely is not the best film in the franchise, but it was actually kind of fun to watch which is why I am giving this one an B because it lost lots of points for the CGI.

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 22: The Phantom Creeps (1939)

The task at hand for today's 30 Day Movie Challenge is one that I usually reserve for Sundays when I do Sundays At The Classics as that is usually to watch films made before 1969. The task for today however was to watch a film that was made before 1960 and easy enough I found the 1939 action/horror film The Phantom Creeps which was directed by Ford Beebe (Flash Gordon Conquers The Universe) and Saul A. Goodkind (Tailspin Tommy in The Great Air Mystery). The film stars the late and great horror legend Bela Lugosi (Svengali/White Zombie) as famed scientist Dr. Alex Zorka, a man that has been doing experiments that the US government has no idea about the could be dangerous if placed into the wrong hands. After he figures out that they know, Zorka will try everything including faking his own death to try and get away with his most prized experiments, but can the government stop him before it's too late. The film also stars Robert Kent (King Of The Royal Mounted) as Captain Bob West, Dorothy Arnold (Secrets Of A Nurse) as Jean Drew, Edwin Stanley (The Man Who Came To Dinner) as Dr. Fred Mallory, Regis Toomey (His Girl Friday) as Jim Daly, Jack C. Smith (Hittin' The Trail) as Monk, Ed Wolff (The Phantom of the Opera) as The Robot, Dora Clement (The Philco Television Playhouse) as Ann Zorka, and Edward Van Sloan (Dracula) as Jarvis.

There was honestly so much potential with this film that it started going downhill the deeper the film went. I mean the story just started to get too dumb and they made the government look really stupid with how many times an item was stolen and then retrieved only to be stolen again and then only to be retrieved again. It was almost like they kept running out of stuff to write about so they were like hey just have this guy steal it only to be returned. There were things that I did like about the film and one of them was definitely Bela Lugosi for one who was superb as usual and the other thing was the robot that they created which has ended up on the stage of Rob Zombie when he performs live and in some of his music videos. The robot even moves on stage exactly the same way he does in the film which I always thought was really cool. I definitely thought that there should have been more of him, but I understands why they chose to save him at times. The final sequence is kind of funny because they show archived footage of the burning Zeppelin and they show that  it was Zorka's fault for that happening as he plans to show the world his wraith. Again, I thought it was a film that had a lot of great ideas that just were not executed to it's full potential, but it's still a fun movie to watch which is why I am going to give it an B- for a final grade.

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 21- Rad (1986)

There were a few challenges that were put in place when I was coming up with this version of the 30 Day Movie Challenge that catered to my liking. I also want to say that the timing couldn't have been any better thanks to Vinegar Syndrome, a company bringing lost classics from the 80's, 70's, and so much more. Thanks to their half way to black Friday sale, I was able to get my hands on a copy of 1986's Rad which was directed by Hal Needham (Smokey And The Bandit) and is my answer to today's challenge which was to watch an 80's film. The film stars Bill Allen (Born On The Fourth Of July) as Cru Jones, a 17 year old BMX prodigy who just wants to win a BMX race at a local track called Helltrack, but he'll have to beat the odds which are highly stacked against him. The film also stars Lori Loughlin (Full House) as Christian, Talia Shire (The Godfather: Part II) as Mrs. Jones, Ray Walston (Fast Times At Ridgemont High) as Burton Timmer, Jack Weston (Short Circuit 2) as Duke Best, Bart Conner (Stick It) as Bart Taylor, Marta Kober (Friday The 13TH Part 2) as Becky, Jamie Clarke as Luke, H.B. Haggerty (The One And Only) as Sgt. Smith, Chad and Carey W. Hayes (The Conjuring 2) as Rex and Rod Reynolds, Laura Jacoby (The Night They Saved Christmas) as Wesley Jones, and Alfie Wise (Smokey And The Bandit) as Eliot Dole.

I absolutely loved everything about this movie because it had all the fixings of an 80's movie from beginning to end. It has the long opening credits sequence with the catchy 80's song with all the BMX bikers doing tricks to the dance sequence at the high where the main characters take center stage, but instead of dance moves it's moves with the BMX bikes to the music. The film also has an incredible soundtrack that will satisfy any 80's music fan with the surprise to me being Real Life's Send Me An Angel which I didn't expect to hear in the film, but I loved it. It has all the typical 80's subplots where our main character seems to constantly be pushed against the wall as he overcomes every obstacle in front of him. The only thing I could have asked for was a little more of Talia Shire who plays Cru's mom, but she is barely in the film and I was satisfied with her lines. Other than that, the film features some really cool cinematography especially with all the qualifying races and the main race at the end of the film. One of my favorite scenes for the way it was shot was the scene where Cru is being chased by the cop, it just features some stunts that your like how the hell is he doing that. The overall acting was really good as well as everyone did their jobs, but the standouts were obviously Allen, Loughlin, Weston, and Walston who always brings his a-game to every film. I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves the 80's, x-games, and so much more as I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade because it was highly entertaining.

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 20- Phantom Of The Paradise (1974)

When you think of musicals what is the first thing that comes to mind? For me, it's the image of Grease or Moulin Rouge, La La Land, and so many more. They are basically movies that involve a lot of singing inside of it where the music is a part of the dialogue and today's challenge was to watch a musical. After seeing the trailer while watching Bud The Chud a month ago, I knew the musical I wanted to check out was 1974's Phantom Of The Paradise which was written and directed by Brian De Palma (Raising Cain).  The film stars William Finley (The Funhouse) as Winslow, a naive musician who has written a sonata entitled Faust that has the potential to be the next big thing. When he gets screwed out of the deal by a record label, he will stop at nothing to make sure that the production of it does not go off smoothly. The film also stars Paul Williams (Battle for the Planet of the Apes) as Swan, Jessica Harper (Shock Treatment) as Phoenix, Gerrit Graham (C.H.U.D. II: Bud The Chud) as Beef, George Memmoli (Mean Streets) as Philbin, Archie Hahn (Small Soldiers),  Jeffrey Comanor, and Peter Elbling (Some Kind Of Wonderful) as The Juicy Fruits/The Beach Bums/The Undead, Rod Serling (The Twilight Zone) as introductory narrator, Janus Blythe (The Hills Have Eyes) as a groupie, and Cheryl Smith (Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural) as a groupie.

So apparently when this film came out in 1974, it was a complete and utter flop that saw an early exit out of cinemas, but it was one of those films that would achieve cult status later on. I can see at first why people may have been hesitant about the film, but once you click play you actually can't keep your eyes off of it. I thought it was actually a pretty good film that some cues from past stories like Phantom Of The Opera, Faust, and The Picture Of Dorian Gray and mashed them up nicely into a rock musical. One of the elements I liked is while Winslow was writing this musical about Faust, little did he realize that he was actually living the story. While it was the 70's and while there was some cheesiness to it, the film actually was very well done with some great acting from just about everyone. I thought some of the costumes were a little cheesy, but I think they absolutely nailed it because it was just fun to watch. As long as a film is fun to watch, I can deal with whatever era it may have come from and this was the 70's which meant a lot of whacked out crap was happening hence this film. The soundtrack is actually really good even though some of the tracks could have had a little bit of a harder edge. With all of that being said, I definitely think this is a film worth checking out with a great imagery, costumes, music, and so much more. So, I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 19- Black Water (2018)

Every day in the month of June brings on a new challenge as we are almost near the home stretch of the 30 Day Movie Challenge and today was a good one. The task for today's film was to pick a film that had a color in it's name and while some of my initial choices were not available at the time, I decided to watch a film from an old action hero of mine in Jean-Claude Van Damme (Inferno). So, I chose the 2018 film Black Water which was directed by Pasha Patriki (Nail in the Coffin: The Fall and Rise of Vampiro). The film stars Van Damme as special agent Wheeler who holds some key information in a thumb drive that is wanted be a lot of people. After being setup, he finds himself on a submarine which is an off the grid black site for the CIA and he has to try and make it out before they kill him for the info. The film also stars Dolph Lundgren (Masters Of The Universe) as Marco,  Al Sapienza (The Sopranos) as Rhodes, Courtney Blythe Turk (Assassination Nation) as Mel,  Jasmine Waltz (Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser) as Cass, Aleksander Vayshelboym (The Vault) as Kingsley, Kris Van Damme (Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning) as Kagan, Patrick Kilpatrick (Death Warrant) as Ferris, Tom DeNucci (Vault) as Rankin, and Cathal Pendred (Into The Badlands) as Dax.

First things first and that is that this was an just an OK film when it was all said and done. You can not tell me that the CIA or whatever agency that was represented in this film hires women that are too worried about lip injections because that always throws me off. I am sure there are some really good looking women in the agency, but not from the supermodels are us catalog. I have to give it up to Jean-Claude who still seems to have some of his magic left in him, but you can tell that he is definitely slowing down. So, I love the fact that he is playing the veteran agent who has obviously been out there way too long and some would assume it would be easier to take him out then allow him to retire. One of my favorite things about this film was how different of a role it was for Dolph Lundgren who sort of played the relaxed former agent who looks like he's content to help out, but he could keep relaxing too. He has had plenty of charisma in other films I am sure of that, but this was the laid back guy who's like OK I guess its time to kick some ass and he's pretty funny too at times. I also kind of hated the overall story because I couldn't figure out who was who as far as agencies at first and way too many double crossing going on that you feel you lose track of it due to frustration. I will say that this was the sixth time that Van Damme and Lundgren have been on screen together and it doesn't live up to Universal Soldier. With that being said, the film gets an C+ for a final grade.

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 18: Mom Got A Date With A Vampire (2000)

I never really had an great answer as to why I never watched anything from the Disney Channel especially considering I had it for so many years. So when I added this option to the 30 Day Movie Challenge, it was time to start catching up as the task was to watch a Disney Channel original movie and the film I chose was 2000's Mom Got A Date With A Vampire which was directed by Steve Boyum (Lethal Weapon). The film stars Matt O'Leary (Live Free Or Die Hard) as Adam Hansen, a kid that is more into the horror world then most kids his age. All Adam wants to do is go to a concert to see the Headless Horsemen, but when he and his sister get in trouble they are grounded. So in order to secure a chance to sneak out, they decided to set their mom up on a date, but little do they know that he is a vampire. The film also stars Laura Vandervoort (Jigsaw) as Chelsea Hansen, Myles Jeffrey (Babe: Pig In The City) as Taylor Hansen, Caroline Rhea (Sabrina The Teenage Witch) as Lynette Hansen, Charles Shaughnessy (The Nanny) as Dimitri Denatos, Robert Carradine (Revenge Of The Nerds) as Malachi Van Helsing, Jake Epstein (Degrassi: The Next Generation) as Duffy, J. Adam Brown (Enemy) as Boomer, Patrick Gallagher (Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb) as Bone, and Karl Pruner (Tripping the Wire: A Stephen Tree Mystery) as Count Krelski.

First off, if you are looking for a best picture nominee then you are definitely in the wrong place as I am sure this film entertained a lot of kids back in the day. The one thing I will give them credit for is that the film could be considered a sort of easy transition into horror almost like training wheels instead of throwing them head first into the fire. This provides them with some laughs and entertainment while also intriguing them into wanting to know more about monsters and all the fixings of horror. Now I am not saying Caroline Rhea was bad at acting or anything as she fit the role of single mom of three, but a vampire is interested in her? A vampire can convince any woman with his charm and he looked at Caroline Rhea and said why not, I haven't been lucky lately and boy am I hungry. All I kept waiting for when I saw Shaughnessy on screen was for Fran Drescher to pop out with that annoying voice of hers and thank the heavens it didn't happen. The other thing that bothered me is that I get it's a Disney Channel movie, but no Vampire would have put up with those brats the way this one did, but like I said it's Disney. The story was pretty decent and it was kind of fun to watch, but that is the end of the road. I would have loved to know who the Headless Horsemen were considering every t-shirt the kid owed was one of their's in a different color. I am going to give this one an C+ for a final grade. You can watch it on Disney Plus right now.

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 17- Rebecca (1940)

The task for today's 30 day movie challenge was to watch a film that had won an Oscar at the Academy Awards for best picture and there is so many to choose from considering the first one was handed out in 1927/28 to Wings. Now there are decisions that are made that boggle our minds as far as who they choose, but for today we are checking out the 1940 winner for Best Picture in Rebecca which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock (North By Northwest). The film stars Joan Fontaine (Letter from an Unknown Woman) as a young inexperienced woman who by chance meets an aristocrat who grows to like her enough that he marries her. The only problem is that is that she has quite the legacy to live up to at the estate because the first Mrs. de Winter was quite the woman that just the thought of her intimidates her. The film stars Laurence Olivier (Jesus Of Nazareth) as Maxim de Winter,  Judith Anderson (Star Trek III: The Search For Spock) as Mrs. Danvers, Nigel Bruce (Sherlock Holmes and the Voice Of Terror) as Major Giles Lacy, Reginald Denny (Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House) as Frank Crawley, C. Aubrey Smith (And Then There Were None) as Col. Juylan,  George Sanders (The Picture of Dorian Gray) as Jack Favell, and Leo G. Carroll (Strangers on a Train) as Dr. Baker.

At first I was wondering what direction the film was going in because I was expecting this strange ghost story, but what you end up getting is completely different. It's the story of how one persons impression can still carry a legacy over a place or group of people to the point that the sheer mystery is what haunts you. For Joan Fontaine's character goes through this maddening period throughout the film, but then she finds her footing when a big secret is revealed that concerns the death of Rebecca. Then she becomes sort of strong because Maxim all of a sudden can't hold his himself together. Then I tried to figure out what made this film win Best Picture after beating out The Great Dictator, The Philadelphia Story, and The Grapes Of Wrath to name a few and I can't figure it out. I am not saying that this was a bad film, but it beat out some serious contenders. One of it's strong points is definitely the acting in the film as everyone brought their A game, but man I could not stand Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson) because that woman was pure evil and there is one scene where she's encouraging someone to commit suicide which I thought was messed up. The set design was really good and the overall flow of the film was pretty nice, but the story while it was pretty good was not perfect in my opinion. Being a film studies minor means you get to watch a lot of films and I have already seen so many Bets Picture winners that it was interesting to find one I could watch. I found this one on Youtube and therefore I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 16- Vice (2018)

One of my favorite types of films are biopics which are films whose stories are based on the life or works of a person or people so it's non-fiction. The task for today's 30 Day Movie Challenge was to watch a film that was based on a true story and I chose to watch the 2018 film Vice which was written and directed by Adam McKay (Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues). The film stars Christian Bale (The Dark Knight Trilogy) as former Vice President Dick Cheney in this film that follows him from his beginnings in Wyoming all the way to his controversial time in office as Vice President of the United States of America as well as some of the personal issues that plagued him. The film stars Steve Carell (Dinner For Schmucks) as Donald Rumsfeld, Sam Rockwell (Jojo Rabbit) as George W. Bush, Amy Adams (Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice) as Lynne Cheney, Eddie Marsan (The Illusionist) as Paul Wolfowitz, Justin Kirk (Angels In America) as Scooter Libby,  LisaGay Hamilton (The Sum Of All Fears) as Condoleezza Rice, Tyler Perry (Diary Of A Mad Black Woman) as Colin Powell, Jesse Plemons (The Irishman) as Kurt, Shea Whigham (Bad Times At The El Royale) as Wayne Vincent, Bill Camp (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)) as Gerald Ford, Lily Rabe (All Good Things) as Liz Cheney, and Alison Pill (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) as Mary Cheney.

If a lot of the facts in this film are true then Dick Cheney was definitely no slouch who knew exactly what he was up to and how to get things done. He involved himself with all the right people almost all of the time who he knew he could get the answers from if he needed them. Now I shouldn't have to say it because the caliber of the actor that he is, but for the sake of the review Christian Bale absolutely knocked this one right out of the park with the look and the way Cheney carried himself. It was absolutely amazing how much he added in weight just to be able to play the role of Dick Cheney. No fat suit needed for this guy because he nailed it. Out of all the actors that they chose, they definitely nailed the looks for Rumsfeld, Rice, and even Powell while Sam made a really good George W. Bush! There is this one point in the film and I have to five the director credit for this because he fooled me, but there is this point in the film where they make it look like it's over. I honestly believed that something was wrong as the credits begin to roll, but then they were ah we're just kidding and that is when the adventure begins. Some of the things they were able to get away with makes you wonder what else are politicians getting away with as they fool the American public. It's thanks to Dick Cheney and Co. that we have the division in television with CNN vs Fox News because before Reagan, you were not allowed to pick a side if you were a newscaster or news station. I thought it was a great film and definitely one to check out on HULU right now so I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 15- Top Five (2014)

I thought today would have been an easy challenge choice to make for the 30 Day Movie Challenge, but there were way too many choices for a comedy film. We are half way through the month so it's smooth sailing which is why I went with my first choice which was 2014's Top Five which was written, directed, and stars Chris Rock (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back). Rock stars as Andre Allen, a comedian who has hit a serious brick wall in his life and so with his fiance forcing him to air their love life and marriage as part of reality TV, he decides he wants to make serious films. The only problem is whether or not anyone else will take the fallen comedian seriously anymore? The film also stars Rosario Dawson (Jay and Silent Bob Reboot) as Chelsea Brown, J.B. Smoove (Spider-Man: Far From Home) as Silk, Gabrielle Union (10 Things I Hate About You) as Erica Long, Romany Malco (The 40 Year Old Virgin) as Benny Barnes, Hayley Marie Norman (Fired Up!) as Tammy, Cedric The Entertainer (A Haunted House) as Jazzy Dee, Michael Che (Saturday Night Live) as Paul, Sherri Shepherd (One For The Money) as Vanessa, Jay Pharoah (Ride Along) as Mike, Tracy Morgan (Accidental Love) as Fred, Hassan Johnson (The Devil's Own) as Craig, Leslie Jones (Ghostbusters) as Lisa, with cameos from Kevin Hart (Jumanji: The Next Level), Adam Sandler (Uncut Gems), Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld), Whoopi Goldberg (Eddie), Taraji P. Henson (Empire), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious), DMX, Luis Guzmán (Carlito's Way), Tichina Arnold (Martin), and so many more.

The film was pretty interesting and I am not exactly sure if this is 100% based on just Chris Rock's career or if it's a combination of several comedians because I get an Eddie Murphy vibe with it and quite possible a Dave Chappelle vibe too, but again I am not sure. You can definitely see some comparisons in both of their careers where Chris was on top of the world only to be not as popular as before and only to be remembered for one role which is why I think that's Eddie Murphy and Beverly Hills Cop or Chris Tucker even with Rush Hour. I even thought it was funny to see Adam Sandler do a cameo in this film considering this is the funnier version of Funny People. There are a lot of great funny moments in the film, but they come at certain spots and the film focuses more on the relationship Rock has with Dawson's character and the whole time you are just waiting for that moment where he chooses to go with the right girl. The best part is that they end the film in a way that you have to assume that is what happened next and I liked that a lot because we didn;t actually need to see it. One of my favorite parts too is when he visits some family and it's all the SNL currents who may also be alums at this point, but it was great to see Chris include them as well in the film. In the film, Dawson picks her top 5 and so I will as well with Ice Cube, DMX, Snoop Dogg, Wu Tang Clan, and Nas being my top 5. Alright, I am going to go ahead and give the film an B+ for a final grade. 

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 14- Blue Valentine (2010)

Today was the day I dreaded the most when I created this version of the 30 Day Movie Challenge. There have been a few occasions in my life when I had gone into a theater to watch a chick flick which is usually a film that is all about love and romance and it appeals to younger audiences who still want to believe in a prince charming. So the task for today and I'm glad it's the only one was to watch a chick flick and the film that I chose was 2010's Blue Valentine (I checked and it said it was) which was written and directed by Derek Cianfrance (The Place Beyond the Pines). The film stars Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain) and Ryan Gosling (Lars And The Real Girl) as married couple Dean and Cindy who have been recently having a rough time. The couple decides to take a weekend away and that is where we see the evolution of this relationship as it cuts back and forth between the past and present. The film also stars Faith Wladyka in her first role as Frankie, John Doman (You Were Never Really Here) as Jerry, Mike Vogel (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) as Bobby, Jen Jones (Winter of Frozen Dreams) as Gramma, Maryann Plunkett (The Squid And The Whale) as Glenda, Ben Shenkman (Just Like Heaven) as Dr. Feinberg, Eileen Rosen (Baby Frankenstein) as Mimi, and Carey Westbrook (Starngeland) as Charley.

It was definitely an interesting way to structure the film as we see this couple begin to fall apart all because Michelle Williams runs into an old flame of hers from college. That was the cataclysmic event that moved the wheel forward as Gosling who they made balding when he was the older self struggle to connect with his wife and it gets awkward. It's definitely reality though because not everything in life is always going to be roses which is what I think a lot of people forget when they decide to get married. So, we are treated to the sweet and passionate days of when Ryan was courting her and while there are some hiccups there, he sticks by her side through the thick and the thin. The one thing I am going to really give this film credit for of course is the acting because Gosling and Williams were absolutely amazing in the film. If it wasn't for their acting, I don't think I would have enjoyed the film at all if I am being honest. One question that never gets answered in the film is whether or not Frankie is Ryan Gosling's kid or if it's the previous boyfriends? They never address it after they initially tells us and I am like why bring it up if you'll never answer it for us. There is nothing more annoying to me then that, but in the end it was a decent film. That is why I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade because if it wasn't for Gosling and Williams this would be a B-.