A couple weeks ago when my nephew was visiting we ordered Oz the Great and Powerful on pay-per-view. It was the second time I watched the film as I was able to see it at the theater. I feel it was brave to try to make an Oz movie because The Wizard of Oz (1939) is one of the best movies ever made. The second time around watching this film though it grew on me a little. James Franco's performance was decent considering he isn't the most popular actor out there but this was a good performance.
I did not have high expectations when I first went to see this movie. Even the first time around it was just average. However, the second time watching it I found it to be not as bad as I thought originally. It was a cute movie that the whole family can enjoy, the coloring was true to the original Oz story. I did like how this film like the original Oz started in black and white in the first scene then switched to color. Overall not a bad film.
This week I decided to post my Top 5 Love Stories. These are movies that you can watch over and over again. As a guy I enjoy romantic movies, these five films were done really well. Some guys say its not manly to watch a "Chick Flick". However, I disagree with that. So here are my Top 5 Love Stories
5. Gone with the Wind (1939)
4. The Notebook (2004)
3. Safe Haven (2013)
2. Casablanca (1942)
1. Titanic (1997)
These movies are all great love stories but what makes them great is the full stories behind all of them. The great casts of all five make these easy to watch over and over again. So, next time you have a night at home with a special someone watch one of these films. You won't regret it.
This week's Actress of the Week was very popular in the 40's and 50's. Beginning her career at MGM the age of sixteen Lana Turner (1921-1995) was known for playing femme fatales. Her first major film was 1937's They Won't Forget. Many believed that she would be the next Jean Harlow, Lana would arrive at MGM six months after Jean Harlow's death.
My personal favorite of Lana Turner's is the 1946 film The Postman Always Rings Twice. Lana played the role of the diner owner's wife Cora, who falls in love with a drifter (John Garfield) who comes to work at the diner. It is truly a great movie and Lana Turner was a great actress whose career would last until the 1970's.
This week got me thinking of some actors and actresses that were well on their way of becoming the biggest stars in the movie industry. However, they would end up leaving the world before we could see their full potential. Here's my list.
This week I decided to feature someone who is a recent actor. Someone who I have watched almost all of his movies the last decade. Adam Sandler (1966-cont.) started his film career with loud and in your face movies like Happy Gilmore (1996), Billy Madison (1995), and The Waterboy (1998). Those films are good but as the years have gone on he has had some great movies and then some that are average like Jack and Jill (2011).
Over the years there are a lot of Adam Sandler's movies that I enjoy but the one I have really enjoyed time and time again is Grown Ups (2010). I am excited to see the up and coming sequel which comes of on July 12th. I could probably sit down and watch ten of his movies in a row. The consistency in his career has helped him last all these years, and trust me he isn't going anywhere.
This week I decided to go back in time to look at my Top 5 Silent Film Stars, I wanted to look up the first big time stars in cinema history. So without further or do here are my Top 5 Silent Film Stars.
5. Lillian Gish (1893-1993)
4. Greta Garbo (1905-1990)
3. Buster Keaton (1895-1966)
2. Douglas Fairbanks (1883-1939)
1. Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977)
All these actors and actresses made big impacts on the history of cinema. It's their work that as inspired the great actors and actresses today.
Yesterday my nephew was here to visit and he wanted to go see a movie. He decided for us to go see After Earth which is a Sci-Fi type movie with Will Smith and his son Jaden. I though at the beginning of the movie that is was very slow and I thought it would be just awful. However, towards the end it picked up a little bit. Will Smith's character was good and I thought it was a good performance but for Jaden I still think he is a little ways away from being a big time star like his father.
Afterwards this movie left me with more to be desired. It wasn't terrible but it is not a movie that I will watch over and over. This movie just didn't live up to The Pursuit of Happiness (2006) which both Jaden and Will were in. Also not close to Jaden's work in The Karate Kid (2010). Overall this movie is what I personally consider average.
Today I was able to make it out to see the sixth movie in the Fast & Furious series. I have seen all but the Tokyo Drift one because I like the original cast. Going in I thought that it might be decent but didn't have overly high expectations. Afterwards I was very pleased, it was a very enjoyable movie. All the original cast was in this, it had a ton of action as well as some twist and turns. In the end I feel this is my favorite of all of the films.
Overall the key to this movie is the action and the original cast. Paul Walker and Vin Diesel are just awesome together. What is nice it is funny and it can be emotional too. For someone who has seen all the movies over the years this was just awesome to watch. Yes, there are plenty of nonrealistic stunts that occur but this is cinema where anything is possible. Not sure how the Fast & Furious 7 will be able to live up to this one but it appears Vin Diesel and Paul Walker will be back with The Rock and Tyrese Gibson. That is scheduled to come to us in 2014.
This week's featured actress is someone who personally I have not watched a whole lot of but is my grandmother's favorite actress. I remember being on vacation and one of the classic movie channels had a Doris Day day. My grandmother sat there and said she had the television all day. So, with that I decided to do some research on Doris Day (1922-cont.).
Doris Day's career started out a lot like our previous actress of the week Judy Garland where she began with music. Doris Day had her first hit recording at the age of 23 with her song "Sentimental Journey". Her film career started in 1948 in the film Romance on the High Seas.
In 1959 Doris Day started a string of successful romantic comedy films. The most well know was the 1959 film Pillow Talk with Rock Hudson and Tony Randle. She would go on to be nominated for Academy Award's Best Actress. Day would also team with James Garner in the 1963 film The Thrill of It All and appeared with Cary Grant in the 1962 film The Touch of Mink. Doris Day's final film was in 1968's With Six You Get Eggroll, after that she went on to television. From 1959 to 1968 though Doris Day was one of the most popular faces in film. I suggest you and I check out one of her films so that we can see how great an actress she was.
Last night I watched a movie that I haven't seen in a long time, that was Vegas Vacation. This was the last of the Vacation movies with Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo. This one in my opinion is the second best of the Vacation movies as I believe the Christmas one was better. This movie when it comes to how it measures up with most movies is subpar. However, it is a movie that makes me laugh on more than one occasion. Most of the laughs come from Randy Quaid who plays Cousin Eddie.
Overall this is a movie that you watch once in a while for a good laugh. However, not a movie that you can watch over and over again. Chevy Chase I do believe is great at making people laugh but this movie doesn't come close to his performance in Caddyshack.
Grade: 5/10
This week's Top 5 is a little bit of a challenge for me but a fun one. I am revealing my Top 5 movies that are based on true stories. Again there are so many movies that can be considered but these are my top films
5. Lincoln (2012)
4. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
3. The Elephant Man (1980)
2. Argo (2012)
1. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
Honorable Mention:
Public Enemies (2009) The Blind Side (2009) JFK (1991) Remember the Titans (2000) October Sky (1999)
That's it for this week's Top 5! Stay tuned as this week's featured actor/actress of the week will be up in a day or two. Again so many movies to think about but these are movies that have stood out to me over the years, as well as the two more recent films.
