30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 11- The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012)

There have been a lot of films that were based off of books that became huge successes like the Harry Potter series, Twilight, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Godfather, The Wizard Of Oz, Forrest Gump, and so many more. That is why today contained an interesting challenge as I was tasked with watching a film that was adapted from a book and so the film I chose was The Perks Of Being A Wallflower which was written, adapted for the screen, and directed by Stephen Chbosky (Beauty And The Beast). The film stars Logan Lerman (Fury) as shy introvert freshman Charlie who is just trying to navigate life through school, but things begin to change for him when he becomes friends with a group of outcast seniors who take him under their wing and show him what the real world is about. The film also stars Emma Watson (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) as Sam, Ezra Miller (The Stanford Prison Experiment) as Patrick, Mae Whitman (Independence Day) as Mary Elizabeth, Erin Wilhelmi (Unsane) as Alice, Nina Dobrev (Let's Be Cops) as Candace, Nicholas Braun (Good Kids) as Ponytail Derek, Tom Savini (Machete) as Mr. Callahan, Paul Rudd (Dinner For Schmucks) as Mr. Anderson, Dylan McDermott (AHS 1984) as Father, Kate Walsh (13 Reasons Why) as Mother, Julia Garner (Good Kids) as Susan, and  Johnny Simmons (The Stanford Prison Experiment) as Brad.

I thought that this was an amazing film that just took you on a roller coaster ride of emotions through out it's entirety. This is part of the reason why I love doing challenges because you get to see films you might have otherwise put to the side to not watch at all, but when you do watch them you are pleased. First off I have to give kudos to Ezra Miller who was the MVP of The Stanford Prison Experiment and he has done it again in this film as Patrick, a gay kid in love with the star football player and has to deal with those things in secret which is why he likes Charlie so much and why he called him a wallflower. I also have to give kudos the always beautiful Emma Watson who would be my other MVP of this film for her amazing performance as the vulnerable, but loving and misunderstood Sam. Logan Lerman deserves a lot of credit as well in this film for his awesome performance as the awkward freshman which brought back nightmares for me. When I said the film takes you on a roller coaster ride, it really does do that with Charlie and all of his problems and they get dark towards the end. Nonetheless, Chbosky delivered as a true auteur of cinema with this amazing film and I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys well written films. Great cinematography, great writing, great acting, what more could you possibly ask for from a film which is why I am going to give it an A+ for a final grade. Check it out on Netflix right now.

The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015)

The film that I chose for today, I had a chance to watch the first time around when I did my first 366 challenge, but unfortunately I never got around to it. The film I chose for today is based on true events and a true experiment that took place at Stanford University. The film and the experiment was called The Stanford Prison Experiment and it was directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez (13 Reasons Why). The film stars Billy Crudup (Almost Famous) as Dr. Philip Zimbardo, a professor who decides that he is going to hire equal amounts of men so that he can perform an experiment to see how each person would react when given a certain role which is either prisoner or prison guard. The film also stars Michael Angarano (Almost Famous) as Chris, Moises Arias (Nacho Libre) as Anthony,  Nicholas Braun (Red State) as Karl, Keir Gilchrist (It Follows) as John, Ki Hong Lee (The Maze Runner) as 3401, Thomas Mann (Me, Earl, and The Dying Girl) as prisoner 416, Ezra Miller (Justice League) as 8612, Logan Miller (Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse) as 5486, Tye Sheridan (X-Men: Apocalypse) as 819, Johnny Simmons (Scott Pilgrim Vs The World) as 1037, Olivia Thirlby (Juno) as Dr. Christina Maslach, and the late Nelsan Ellis (True Blood) as Jesse Fletcher.

The film features a lot of the whose who of young actors in Hollywood that we have seen in countless films so this was a chance for some of them to have more serious roles. I am going to start by saying that I really did enjoy the film because you're waiting to see what happens next and if there will be chaos, but the film was definitely well acted and if I had to pick my MVP's of the film, the award would go to Ezra Miller who played that generations whiner and Michael Angarano who literally transformed on screen when he became a prison guard and he was truly fascinating to watch the whole time. None of the other prison guards could come close to him even though Nicholas Braun did well too so I would give him honorable mention. Sometimes you wonder why the ethics board is all over you when you are trying to do something and that is because of experiments like this which could have lasting effects. My only criticism of the film is that while they may have nailed the look as far as hairstyles, but some of these guys looked so goofy and awkward with mustaches. I couldn't take those serious when I saw some of the characters with them, but other than that they pretty much nailed it. If you are in to films that are based on true stories like myself then this is definitely one to watch. For more information like what the real Zimbardo thought of the film and other things, check out this article here. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.