30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 1- Accidental Love (2015)

Alright as I said before, this is the real 30 day movie challenge that you guys should be doing because it so easy to watch a film that you already have before. Why not take the challenge of checking out films you never have and support filmmakers everywhere. For day one, I said to watch a film from your favorite actor and one of my favorite actors happens to be Jake Gyllenhaal (Okja) and the film I chose for today is 2015's Accidental Love which was directed by David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook). The film stars Jessica Biel (The Illusionist) as small town girl Alice Eckle who seems to have it all from a cool job to a loving police officer boyfriend, but all of that is taken away when she is struck in the head with a nail gun lodging a nail inside her skull. Unfortunately for her, she has really bad health insurance and she decides to go to Washington to confront her local congressman Howard Birdwell (Gyllenhaal), but even that proves to be a challenge. The film also stars Tracy Morgan (Cop Out) as Keyshawn, Kurt Fuller (Ghostbusters II) as Reverend Norm, Malinda Williams (High School High) as Rakeesha, James Marsden (Sonic The Hedgehog) as Scott, Catherine Keener (The 40 Year Old Virgin) as Rep. Pam Hendrickson, Paul Reubens (Flight Of The Navigator) as Edwin, James Brolin (The Amityville Murder) as Speaker Buck McCoy, Beverly D'Angelo (National Lampoon Vacation) as Helen Eckle, and Kirstie Alley (Look Who's Talking) as Aunt Rita.

This was surprisingly a pretty good film that I didn't even know existed until I searched for Jake Gyllenhaal films on Amazon Prime. There were some scenes in the film's writing that just felt a little forced at times, but other than that it was just a fun movie to watch. Two actors in this film really surprised me and I feel the film would have lacked if they were not in it and that is Tracy Morgan and his blown out asshole (in the film) and Kurt Fuller and his permanent erection that was now chaffing with his leg (in the film). Those two provided me with some laughs throughout the film that were much needed because Biel at times was drowning. There were times when you could tell she was trying to be funny and it just didn't work at times. The one thing I did like however was her dynamic with Gyllenhaal who was great as the dumb witted rookie senator who has no idea how anything really works in the senate. Their love story works for the reason that they are both sad individuals who seriously need each other. I loved James Marsden in the film with his percentages of how he felt things were going to go like there was a 65/35 percent chance this would happen and etc. (watch the film to know more). I definitely do not regret watching the film because it had some good cinematography and overall it was a cool story. I am going to give the film an B- for a final grade.

Flight Of The Navigator (1986)

Sometimes when you are in the mood for something, you just have to go with your gut and you go with it. That is kind of what happened to me today when I was trying to decide what to watch and so I turned to good ol' Walt Disney and I checked out 1986's Flight Of The Navigator which was directed by Randal Kleiser (Honey, I Blew Up The Kid). The film stars Joey Cramer (The Clan of the Cave Bear) as 12 year old David Freeman, a regular kid who is about to have his world turned upside down. You see, one night David is tasked with bringing back his little brother back home, but David has an accident and is knocked out. The only problem is that when he wakes up, it's eight years into the future and he hasn't aged at all. Everyone is stunned when David arrives at home and his issue might have to do with a wisecracking alien ship. The film also stars Paul Reubens (Pee Wee's Playhouse) as Max, Cliff De Young (The Craft) as Bill Freeman, Veronica Cartwright (Invasion Of The Body Snatchers) as Helen Freeman, Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex In The City) as Carolyn McAdams, Howard Hesseman (Head Of The Class) as Dr. Louis Faraday, Robert Small (Spring Break) as Troy, Raymond Forchion (Point Break) as Detective Banks, Albie Whitaker as 8 year old Jeff, and Matt Adler (Teen Wolf) as 16 year old Jeff.

The life of a child star is always a hard one it seems especially for some Disney stars and that goes for Joey Cramer who was convicted of robbing a bank in Canada. Nonetheless, he did a fantastic job in the film as this films version of E.T.'s Elliot. The real thing that gets me is that Pee Wee Herman was the voice of the alien technology in the film and the whole time I was like why is this guy copying Pee Wee Herman because his name is Paul Mall (that's how he was credited). After thinking about it, I was like that's definitely Paul Reuben and sure enough it was. If we were using he Disney Pixar formula, then Paul Reuben was the comedic relief in this film for sure and he was definitely my MVP. I definitely appreciated how they used real shows and real bands of the 80's during the film when Cramer's character was trying to figure it all out including the fact they introduced him to MTV. There was a lot of cheese in the film to go along with it, but this was an enjoyable 80's flick to watch especially in a time when tons of films just like it were coming out like Explorers or even D.A.R.Y.L. or maybe even *batteries not included. The film did kind of make NASA look incompeitent at times, but isn't that fun of these movies that kids seem to be more willing to take risks then adults and so that is where the adventure is. The spirit of being a kid and feeling alive rather than dragged down by bills and other adult stuff. The film is a lot of fun and you can check it out now on Disney Plus and with that being said, I am going to give it an B-/C+ (somewhere in there) for a final grade.