Cowboys & Aliens

Released: 2011
Sci-fi, Western
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Daniel Craig
Running Time: 119 minutes
Rated:PG-14

The breakdown:  A man with amnesia wakes up in the desert to find a strange metal bracelet on his arm and a few cowboys threatening him.

This movie wasn't as bad as its ratings really.
Daniel Craig wakes up in the desert and can't remember who he is or what happened.  All he knows is that he has this metal bracelet on his arm and a few cowboys harassing him.  He kills the cowboys and rides into the nearest town.  There he finds more trouble as it seems he's wanted by the law for murder.  As soon as he's arrested and about to be shipped away by stagecoach, there's a little alien invasion.  Three spaceships come along and burn up the town, taking prisoners while they attack.
Pretty soon the amnesiac cowboy and the big businessman in town team up to get people who were kidnapped back.

The special effects were good, the story kinda' got silly in a few scenes, but overall, I give it a thumbs up.

2 and 1/2 out of 5 for being something different and for being a bit silly in places as well.

Dream House

Released: 2011
Mystery, Thriller
Director: Jim Sheridan
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz
Running Time: 92 minutes
Rated: PG-13

The breakdown:  A family moves into a new house that they discover has a murderous past.

I saw that this film had terrible reviews but I figured I'd watch it anyway.  It was a bit messy and muddled, but I've seen a lot worse.
Overall, it wasn't great and I really can't recommend but I'll review it for you here anyway.

An editor quits his job to spend more time with his family in a new house in the country.
While they are getting situated they discover there's been a terrible murder there where the whole family had been shot.  They try to find out more about it, but it seems the small town just doesn't want to talk to them about what happened.  A neighbor is approached by the man of the house, but she seems to be quite distant and doesn't really want to say too much to him.
They find a man outside their house windows looking in, but can't catch him.
As things are revealed, the movie gets a bit more convoluted.

I would say skip this movie if you've either never heard of it, or just don't want to waste 90 minutes of your life.  Like I said, I've seen worse, but I still can't recommend it.

1 and 1/2 out of 5 for a romantic and impressive physical feat that Daniel Craig does, but a muddled and unfinished story.

Dead Man Walking

Released: 1995
Drama
Director: Tim Robbins
Starring: Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn
Running Time: 122 minutes
Rated: R

The breakdown:  A nun helps a man on death row who is looking for a way to avoid the death sentence.

I knew this had Oscar nominations and it was on cable so I watched it.

It wasn't bad although the subject matter is difficult.
Two young teenagers are brutally murdered out in the woods while on a date.  Two men are held accountable for the crime.  One man gets a life sentence, while the other gets the death penalty.
Sean Penn plays the man on death row and states that he did not murder them, that it was the other man who is serving a life term.
He reaches out to a sister and asks for her help.  She's never done anything like this before so the process is all new to her.  She gets to know the killer and tries to help him appeal his sentence.  She also gets to know the families of the victims and sympathizes with both sides.
While they try everything to get his execution lifted, time is slowly passing by and he only has 6 days to live.

It was a solid movie without any negatives really.  I can understand why it was nominated.
Good acting, well written, this is a good movie.
3 and 1/2 out of 5 for this one.

Dying to Live Last Rites

Released: 2012
Horror
Author: Kim Paffenroth
Pages: 240

The last in a series of 3 books, this continues on with the lives of two living and two dead people.

This is certainly the strongest story of the three books and one might be better off just reading this one and be done with the series.
The first book was written from one survivor man's experiences.
The second book was written from a human girl's experiences and a male zombies experiences.
This book is written from 4 people's perspectives.  One female and one male living couple, and one female and one male zombie couple.
They start off on a boat and the illness of the living female makes them look for land with living people to help her feel better.
This endangers all of their lives as these people they find living in a new city are not the best circumstances to live with for all of our storytellers.

Basically, this book looks deeper into living people and how they deal with situations concerning zombies....I mean smart zombies that are somewhat people, not so much flesh eating monsters anymore.

It wasn't bad.

I'll give it 3 and 1/2 out of 5 for finally being a good story and for being the strongest writing in the series.

Almost Famous

Released: 2000
Comedy, Drama
Director: Cameron Crowe
Starring: Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson
Running Time: 122 minutes
Rated: R
 
The breakdown:  A smart teenage boy gets his break into journalism by traveling with a rock band in the 1970's.

This movie's been around for a while and I had heard some things about it, but didn't really want to see it.  I just watched it out of boredom.
It's not great, but it's not terrible either.  Kinda' in the middle for me.
Set in the early 1970's this boy, who's pretty smart and skipped a few grades in school, learns to love music.  His sister gives him all her albums when she flees the house from her suffocating and controlling mother.  He also likes writing and in a few years time, he puts the two together.  He gets his first assignment for a local magazine and his talent develops from there.  Soon, Rolling Stone wants him to do a cover story for Stillwater, although, they don't know he's only 15 when they hire him over the phone.
He travels with the band and sees a lot of things a 15 year should not, but he's smart and avoids all the really bad stuff.  The band sees him as a friend sometimes, but knows he's a journalist and will write whatever he sees, so they keep some distance from him for a while.  When groupies get thrown in, the boy ends up falling for one in particular, but she's a bit older than him and just can't see him that way.
Basically this is a coming of age story for the boy, and for the band it's a quick look at their ups and downs together.

3 and a 1/2 out of 5 for being an ok, but most likely, forgettable movie.

Grosse Pointe Blank

Released: 1997
Comedy
Director: George Armitage
Starring: John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Alan Arkin
Running Time: 107 minutes
Rated: R

The breakdown: A professional hit man comes back home to his 10 year high school reunion, his old girlfriend, and to do one more job.

John Cusack is a hit man living in L.A.  He had a rival for most of his jobs and his rival comes to him to suggest they work together, but Cusack refuses.  Meanwhile, his secretary (played by his real sister Joan) tells him of his invitation to his 10 year reunion from Grosse Pointe High School and encourages him to go.
He is a bit nervous about going and running into the girl he stood up at senior prom, but fate intervenes, and it turns out, his next job is to kill someone in his old hometown of Detroit.  So off he goes to find his target and attend his reunion.

His old girlfriend is a DJ at the local radio station and he talks to her for the first time in 10 years, live, on the air.  Discussion was a little jarring for him, as she was understandably rough on him.

He notices a couple of guys following him in an old car and thinks he must have a tail.

He goes back to his childhood home to find out it's been destroyed and turned into a mini mart.

There's a couple of people I know that recommended this film to me, so I thought it'd be funny, but it wasn't too funny to me.  I think I laughed once, but it wasn't anything special.

I say you can skip it.  2 and 1/2 out of 5 for at least, not being the average plot.

The Terminal

Released: 2004
Drama
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones
Running Time: 128 minutes
Rated:  PG-13

The breakdown:  Inspired by a similar story, a man gets stuck in an airport for almost year as his home country broke out into war while he was en route to America.  A political loophole doesn't allow him into the United States, but also does not permit him to go back home either.

So the real person is named Merhan Nasseri and he was stuck between Iran and France, although the United Kingdom was his final destination that he never made it to.
His circumstances are different than the movie, but this man lived in an airport for over 17 years.

In the movie, when war breaks out in a small Russian country, their government is in crisis and the United States no longer recognizes it as a country.  So by the time the flight carrying Tom Hanks arrives, he cannot be allowed into the U.S. even though he has a Visa, and also cannot go back home due to legalities and policies, even though, he has a valid passport.  He doesn't speak English and cannot really understand it, so he's on his own.  The head of immigrants at the airport hopes the situation will blow over soon so he can get this guy out of his airport, but honestly doesn't know what to do with him.  He's up for a promotion so Hanks is the last type of situation he wants to deal with right now. 

Hanks is stuck in a small section of the airport that resembles a mall with shops and restaurants, but nowhere for him to sleep.  He makes due with what he can, and eventually finds some employees that care about him, he even gets a job at the airport.

The movie is certainly funny in parts, and sad as well, as a lot of the things they show are true human behavior, and more specifically American behavior towards foreigners.

Hanks is great as usual doing a very good Russian accent and flawless acting.  The story is good as well, so it's easy to recommend.

4 out of 5 for a strong clear story, with good actors and full of touching moments.  See it.

Dying to Live Life Sentence

Released: 2008
Horror
Author: Kim Paffenroth
Pages: 210

In a series of three books, this is the second one.
The first book was told from one main characters perspective, shortly after the end of his world and the beginning of the zombie era.
A major virus, or infection has caused the entire world, presumably, to fall ill, die, and become zombies.  After he finds a baby and father on a roof top one day he helps them into his community of survivors that helped him.

This book picks up from the grown up baby's point of view.
The baby grows up in the community and only knows a world where the walking dead are always a threat, learns how to shoot and fight to survive and carries a handgun at 12.
Someone else in the group tries to learn more about zombies as he grows up and finds out that a few of them are not like the others.  Some zombies are intelligent and can remember some things from their past life.

The book is now told from two very different points of view, one human, and one zombie.

I didn't think the first book was anything special, it was just ok.
The second book is down right ridiculous with the introduction of the idea that some zombies could somehow think and have memories, to even be friendly towards people and suppress the urges to eat them.

At best, zombies capabilities should end at being able to pick up a rock to use as a primitive weapon to break something.  That's a rational idea for a zombies intelligence and where it should end.  A zombie keeping a journal is something all together hard to swallow.

I realize the author is trying to make up some different stories here, but this is pushing it way too far.
Zombie lore has kinda' been set.  You get ill, or bit, you die.  You get reanimated as a zombie and want to eat people.  You don't think.  You must get shot in the head, or destroy the brain to put down a zombie.  You don't fall in love as a zombie, you don't talk, you don't type on a computer, and you certainly don't write journals.

This book was unintentionally funny at times, but I finished it.  Overall, it was way worse than the first one.

Do not waste your time on this book.
1 out of 5 for outlandish ideas, even by science fiction standards.

In & Out

Released: 1997
Comedy
Director: Frank Oz
Starring: Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack
Running Time: 90 minutes
Rated: PG-13

The breakdown:  After a movie star names one of his high school teachers as gay, everyone in town questions him if he is, even though he's supposed to marry his girlfriend of 3 years just a few days away.

I knew this might not be too funny, but I finished it anyway.
I was right.  I didn't laugh but one time, and the movie isn't very good.

Kevin Kline plays this English teacher at a small town high school.  One of his former students went to Hollywood and became a big time actor.  So when he wins the Oscar for his portrayal of a gay soldier he gives a memorable speech.  Especially the part about how his old high school teacher meant a lot to him, and he was gay.
Kline is supposed to get married to a woman he's been dating for 3 years just a few days after the Oscars, so things get a bit tense between them and she's confused.
Everyone in town was watching the Oscars, so word travels fast and the teacher denies it. 
Then a few days later, he starts to question why did his former student believe that about him and he starts to search within himself for the true answers.

I know the movie was trying to have a positive message to be yourself, no matter what that means, but it just wasn't funny, and is forgettable.

Skip it.
2 out of 5 for good acting and I love Frank Oz, but he didn't do a super job with this one.

Jane Erye

Released: 2011
Drama, Romance
Director: Cary Fukunaga
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Mia Wasikowska
Running Time: 120 minutes
Rated: PG-13

The breakdown: Based on the novel by Charlotte Bronte, (though I'm not sure how faithfully, since I've never read the book) a rich foul-tempered employer starts to care for his young new employee, the governess of his adopted child.

I had confused this type of story with a lot of Jane Austen novels I had read and hated.  I thought this movie and time period piece would bore me to death, and it started off that way, but much improved over the next 20 minutes or so.

Jane Eyre has a very difficult childhood that's best forgotten by her, and by the time she's 18 or 19, takes off into the real world to have a better adulthood.  She becomes the governess of a rich man's adopted French daughter and schools her.  The master of the household is ill tempered and seems to be cold and unforgiving at first.  Jane is good at drawing and that seems to get through to him on some level after asking her about her work.
Slowly the two get to be good friends, but it seems he wants a bit more, and she, being so young and without any experience of men, may not be catching onto this.
She starts to care for him as well, but doesn't seem to know what to do with her feelings and then it seems, he starts to court a wealthy young single lady that comes to the estate. 
Not only is she confused as to how to express her feelings, she also discovers a secret he's been hiding and it threatens to tear them apart for good.

I can't tell you anymore because you really should see this if you haven't.
I know this story's been around for a long time, I know there's a lot of different film adaptations out there, but this one, I think is very well done and entertaining.

Considering the fact that I went into it thinking it was going to be terrible and almost loathing it before 20 minutes was up, I ended up really enjoying the sexual tension between the two leads and the story itself is very intriguing.  Michael Fassbender was flawless as usual, the movie is evenly paced, and the romantic tension is some of the best I've seen in quite a while.

If you love a good romance, this is a classic one, but be patient with it as there is a lot of old English spoken and sometimes, the scenes can be just a tinnney bit annoying (like when people try to sing.)

4 out of 5 for being a solid story with great acting by all and intensely romantic scenes and dialogue.  It really did sweep me off my feet!  Well, I mean, Michael Fassbender is in it and you cannot go wrong with him playing a romantic lead, you just can't.

Dying to Live

Released: 2007
Horror, Sci-fi
Author: Kim Paffenroth
Pages: 256

The breakdown:  A tale of the end of the world and how the survivors are trying to cope with a new life and survive daily zombie threats.


Well with my love of zombie stories, I figured I'd give this one a try.  First book in a series of three, this one deals with basically one man's story.
He survives a vicious viral attack that turns all humans into zombies once they die or are bitten.  He doesn't know what happened to his family as the virus basically breaks out and takes over in a single day or two.  He wanders the streets looking for food, and shelter, killing zombies as he goes.
He finally finds a bunch of survivors by accident and they take him in.

They've set up a lot in a short amount of time and have rules and policies that he has to learn.
Everyone has to contribute to the group somehow and eventually volunteers go out into the dangerous surroundings for stuff like supplies.

If you want to read the book, I won't ruin it for you, but I discourage it.
Unlike a story like The Walking Dead, or Day by Day Armageddon this one is not a page turner and the story is not meaty enough to get lost in.  You don't ever really invest in the characters and for me, at least, there wasn't enough tension and drama.  In some scenes, it definitely feels as though the author is trying too hard to be gory just for gore's sake, or really stretching trying to bring in new ideas on zombies when you don't have to if you're story is good enough.

2 out of 5 for it being a less than mediocre attempt.

Below

Released: 2002
Sci-fi, Horror
Director: David Twohy
Starring: Bruce Greenwood, David Crow
Running Time: 105 minutes
Rated: R

The breakdown:  On a WW II submarine far below the ocean something strange is going on with the crew.

During the second World War, the U.S.S. Tiger Shark is on a normal and routine rescue mission.
Deep below the surface, a few little strange things start to happen.  Someone sees someone that isn't there, people start to hear voices, but is it haunted, or just imagination?

I had literally never heard a peep about this movie and never knew it existed until I found it, quite by accident.  Turned out to be a really good thriller that makes you wonder what's going on until the very end.

I won't say more since the less you the better the movie is.

See it if you get a chance.

3 and 1/2 out of 5 for being a pleasantly scary surprise.

The Lake House

Released: 2006
Romance, Sci-fi
Director:  Alejandro Agresti
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock
Running Time: 99 minutes of heaven
Rated: PG

The breakdown:  A magic mailbox allows two people in two different years to fall in love with each other.


I absolutely love this movie.
At a secluded lake house on the shores of the Lake Michigan, a woman moves in and finds mail in her mailbox for someone who previousily lived there. 
Her trying to right this, ends up sending letters back in time by two years to the man who lived there before she did through her mailbox.
So this man, and this woman both live in the same house, only years apart.
Don't ask about the magic mailbox or how it exists, it's never explained, but regardless of this plot hole, the movie still works.  Trust me, if you can over this detail, you will enjoy this movie.
As the couple writes back and forth, they discover the time difference, and they discover each other.  One's a doctor, the other an architect and I think it's wonderful how the story unfolds between them.
She has a on again/off again boyfriend that she's not really into, he's always single and wants to meet her, in fact he's willing to wait two years for them to meet up somehow.
I don't want to reveal too much about the story because I love the chemistry between these two and the more you know, the less surprises there are for you.

See it and you'll understand!
4 out of 5 for on screen chemistry, an interesting story, and a love story worthy of losing yourself in.

The 12 Most Overrated Movies I Have Ever Seen

Again, these are in no particular order.  Just some of the worst movies that have been completely overblown as being worthy of seeing, a great story, or some other malarkey that was totally untrue.

 
1.  Twilight series - Ok, so I've only seen the first one, but that's all I need to see to know this story sucks.  When the actors cannot act, that's a big problem for making me believe in the story.  When the movie is shot like an MTV video with weird camera angles and short, quick cut scenes, that's also a big problem for me.  Maybe if  I had A.D.D. it would seem like a better movie, but most importantly....when the 2 actors that are portraying a couple (and they really are/were a couple off screen) have the chemistry of my sneakers, or perhaps my 2 sneakers sitting on the floor after my workout, that's a BIG problem for me.  Make a vampire/human/werewolf love story?  But then make sure the actors have no talent and no sizzle with each other, yeah, that's a surefire way to make me hate your movie, besides the lack of substance in the story itself.  I've seen television commercials at 30 seconds have more substance and style.


2.  Citizen Kane - Rosebud.  Ah yes, we all watched it to find out what the dying man's last words meant, turns out it's nothing important.....much like the rest of this movie.  There's nothing earth-shatteringly important about it and it was kinda' boring and slow paced.  I know some of you might argue with me, but for me, not good enough.


3.  Lost in Translation - Oh man, I heard so much about how great this movie was....and it was not.  You can tell that a lonely older married man and this young lonely married woman like each other (against all odds) floating aimlessly in a foreign country, but the romance never goes anywhere, much like the movie.  It's all just a big build up to nothing at the end.


4.  Pirates of the Caribbean - I just don't get it.  I don't understand why these movies are so popular.  I watched the first one and I didn't like it, and then, they keep making sequels?  There's nothing special about the story, nothing interesting that makes me want to keep watching, and I don't care about the characters, so that leaves nothing.  I liked the ride at Disneyland, does that count?


5.  Shakespeare in Love - This movie won an Oscar???!!! How????!!! It sucked.  Again, no chemistry between lovers, no interesting story lines, no comic relief, and no talented actors pretending to act!  Come on, somebody wake up the academy before they strike again and pick another terrible movie to win.


6.  The Soloist - I heard about how good this movie was and that it's based on a true story, like that's supposed to make it better somehow.  Perhaps the real story was better, but the movie was trying too hard to be moving/profound and it just ended up being long and drawn out to the point where I was bored.


7.  The Hangover - Not funny.  Granted, Bradley Cooper was EXTREMELY hot in this movie, but that is not funny.  I smiled a couple times, but I thought the humor was either awkwardly strange, or cliche.  Just nothing new, or funny about it.  And then they make a sequel?!  Unreal!


8.  Saving Private Ryan - I don't get it.  I'm sure it was very realistic as far as the first World War goes, but the story wasn't compelling enough for me to care about the characters.


9.  Fried Green Tomatoes - This movie is about 2 lesbians who do not act on their instincts (thankfully, because it would be really gross to see these 2 actresses make out with anyone, men or women).  I don't have anything against lesbians, but I do have something against a crappy movie.  This movie has been so hyped up to me about how good it is and I simply must see it!  I did and I wasn't impressed.  In fact, I was mostly bored.


10.  The Hours - Ugh, another snooze fest.  I heard this movie was good, but it was a lesbian that told me this, so after I've seen the movie I can understand why.  All the "straight" women in this film are either closet homosexuals, or confused bisexuals.  Again, I don't have a problem with any one sexual orientation, but the characters were just underdeveloped or annoying.  Utter pointless characters, boring story, and just plain no good. This movie is a severe downer and a complete waste of time.


11.  Clerks - I don't get it.  This movie basically about nothing is supposed to be witty and funny, but I just wasn't entertained and I didn't feel connected to any of the characters.  Also, not funny.  It looked cheap and it was.  That was supposed to be charming somehow I guess?


12.  Natural Born Killers - um I hated this movie.  Two messed up kids grow up, get together, fall in love, start killing people and the media makes them into rock stars.  I get the "message" of the film about how irresponsible media is, influencing crime and all, but these shots during this movie were cheesy at times, the characters could be pretty awkward and the whole movie was just too long and too silly for me to take serious.  There was a better way to do this one.

The Box

Released: 2009
Sci-fi
Director: Richard Kelly
Starring: James Marsden, Frank Langella, and unfortunately, Cameron Diaz
Running Time:115 minutes
Rated: PG-13

The breakdown: Based on the Richard Matheson short story "Button, Button", this movie takes us on a frightening and thought-provoking journey of decisions and consequences.

Oh, how I love this movie!
Taking place back in the late 1970's, a married couple finds a wooden box on their doorstep one cold December morning.
A mysterious and disfigured man shows up during the day to explain that he will give the couple 24 hours to make a difficult decision.  They can push the button and immediately kill someone in the world, they don't know, and receive 1 million tax free dollars; or not.  Either way, they receive $100.00 from the mysterious man just for their time.  The man explains this to the wife alone as she is the only one home that day.  When her husband returns home she tells him what happened and they talk about it.  The man decides they shouldn't press it, and takes the box down into the basement so no one can accidentally hit the button.  He's some sort of scientist for NASA and is curious about the design of the cheap looking box.  He takes apart screws on the bottom and opens it up to reveal no machinery, and no electronics or anything inside the box.  It looks like a prop that does nothing.
The wife meanwhile, still thinks about their decision.  The morning that their time is up, they seem to be still debating it, and time is running out.

I won't tell you anymore because it's a great movie worth seeing, despite Cameron Diaz's performance.

4 out of 5 for being very intriguing to watch as the story unfolds and being completely unpredictable; you never know where the story will go until the very last shot.   SEE IT!

Collateral

Released: 2004
Crime
Director: Michael Mann
Starring:  Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx
Running Time: 120 minutes
Rated: R

The breakdown: A hit man hijacks a Los Angeles taxi and driver to drive him around to his various jobs for one night.

Let me preface by saying Tom Cruise is in it and that's a mark already against the film if you ask me.  That aside, the movie's quite unrealistic and hard to believe.
A hit man decides to hire a taxi for the night to take him around L.A. so he can kill multiple targets.  The driver is not told what's going on until it's unavoidable and an accident is made by the hit man.  After the driver learns of the true intent of his fare he wants out, but the hit man holds him at gun point and "hijacks" the taxi, demanding the driver stay with him and continue on their original plan.

I'm not sure why Tom Cruise's hair was made to be silver.....Could they not get Richard Gere for this role?  Was it to make him look older, more distinguished, less strange?
Cruise has never been a great actor no matter what his hair color is, so that didn't do anything but make Cruise look even stranger than he normally does.
I used to think Jamie Foxx was a good actor until I started to notice that he acted just like he did in The Soloist when his character in that did the same things that this other character did.  So maybe, he's not as good as I thought he was if he's a one trick pony, or has a very small range.

Overall, I would say this movie could be easily skipped in favor of a better action movie.
2 out of 5 stubs for Javier Bardem who was very good.

My Life Without Me

Released: 2003
Drama
Director: Isabel Coixet
Starring: Scott Speedman, Sarah Polley, Mark Ruffalo
Running Time: 106 minutes
Rated: R
 
The breakdown:  A woman learns of her terminal illness and instead of telling her loved ones, decides to make a bucket list and carry out some small goals.

This was a movie I had never heard of and to tell the truth there wasn't much good about it.
It was a little less than mediocre.
A young married mother goes to the hospital after passing out.  She finds out that she has cancerous tumors in both her ovaries and it's spread to her stomach and liver.  Had she been older, they could've operated, but with her youth, the disease spreads so fast there's nothing they can do.
She takes the news better than most might, but she decides it would only make her family sad and decides she doesn't want them to know.
She makes a list of things she always wanted to do but never has.  She wants to sleep with someone other than her only lover, her husband.  She wants another man to fall in love with her.  She wants to go on a small vacation with her husband, blah, blah, blah.
There's nothing really good for me to review with the exception of Mark Ruffalo's performance as the woman's boyfriend.  She doesn't tell him much, but he knows she's married.  His character is already emotionally damaged when he comes into the story, but he plays the vulnerability role well.
My problem with the main character is that she thinks it's ok to cheat on her husband since she's dying.  If she loves him, which she claims to, I'm not sure why she feels the need to have sex with someone else and have another man fall in love with her, just so that she can die on him too.  Some of her "goals" are incredibly selfish.  I just couldn't enjoy this one.

Skip this movie if you have any inkling of seeing it.
1 out of 5 for Ruffalo's role.

The 15 Best Movies I Have Ever Seen give or take a few

I've been meaning to put this on my blog for almost a year now.
I've finally posted it, but these are in no particular order.


1.  Contact - 1997, directed by Robert Zemeckis.  Based on a novel by the same name from Carl Sagan this movie tells the story of a woman who finds out what happens if we finally make contact with aliens from outer space.  This movie has it all, action, drama, romance, and a little humor thrown in.  It's completely engulfing and thoroughly entertaining.  I watch it at least once a year.


2.  The Matrix - 1999, directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski (Yes, they used to be brothers, but now, one has changed over to a female.  Larry to Lana.)  This is a story about a man who seems like the rest of us, just going through life, work, you know, the usual.  One day he learns our lives are not what they seem and finds out he is the chosen one to wake up the entire population to the real world.  This movie takes the audience on a magic carpet ride into a place none of us have ever been before.  A fantastic, well thought out plot, and rock solid film.  One of the most unique movies ever and groundbreaking special effects.


3.  Inception - 2010, directed by Christopher Nolan.  I know my list is heavy on sci-fi at this point, but there seems to be some incredible imagination in this genre of stories.  A team of dream experts are sent into the mind of a man to plant an idea that he must accept as his own.  This movie is so complex and fascinating to watch, I pick up on something new every time I see it.  Fantastic special effects, a gripping and powerful plot with great acting and a story you cannot stop watching.


4.  The Dark Knight - 2008, directed by Christopher Nolan.  You notice how Christopher Nolan is on this list twice, that's because he's one of the best directors of our time.  This movie took superhero movies to a new level and raised the bar for all other superhero films to follow.  The caped crusader and Gotham are under attack by the Joker and Two Face with mind blowing special effects and a story so solid, no one can even come close to beating this plot.  It also just happens to have one of the best performances by anyone I've ever seen, Heath Ledger as the Joker shortly before his untimely death.  Not only the best superhero movie of all time, but with the intense drama, and perfect plot, this easily slides into my Best Movie list.


5.  Artificial Intelligence A.I. - 2001, directed by Steven Spielberg.  This one is kinda' messy with Steven Spielberg taking over for directing duties when Stanley Kubrick died before he could finish the project, but the end result is the one movie that has touched me the deepest.  I cry every time I see it and it moved me so much that I broke down in the theater when I saw it.  Cried so hard I couldn't move for minutes.  A little boy that really doesn't understand he's a robot, tries desperately to win the love of his "mother" and will do just about anything to be a real boy.  Fantastically interesting idea followed by some incredible special effects and make up.


6.  2001: A Space Odyssey - 1968, directed by Stanley Kubrick.  Truly one of a kind idea here. Mankind finds an artificial and alien artifact on the moon and with the help of a computer named HAL, tries to find out where it came from and who made it.  This movie is incredibly profound and powerful.  This movie should be seen by everyone on the planet at least once, that's how good and important it is.


7.  Forrest Gump - 1994, directed by Robert Zemeckis.  Although Forrest is not the most intelligent man in the world, he's had one hell of a life with experiences that most of us can only dream of.  He makes great business decisions, becomes a decorated war hero, falls in love, and makes some amazing friends.  Sweet, thoughtful, and touching, this one will melt your heart and then break it.

 
8.  Lord of the Rings Trilogy - Fellowship of the Ring/The Two Towers/The Return of the King 2001, 2002, 2003, directed all by Peter Jackson.  Ah, TLOTR - the best selling book only second to the Bible; what an incredible story this is.  An innocent hobbit has the immense and seemingly impossible task of taking the one ring to Mount Doom and destroy it forever.  However, he can't do it alone and is sent along with eight companions to help protect him and guide him.  A modern day classic.  Even if you didn't like the books, you'll like these movies.


9.  Star Wars original Trilogy - Star Wars/The Empire Strikes Back/The Return of the Jedi 1977, 1980, 1983 directed by George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, and Richard Marquand respectively.  Let's all go to a galaxy far far away and stay there.  Let's not talk about the more recently released series that sucked.  The originals are classics that are so fantastic with imagination and great iconic characters there's no way that anyone will convince me that these aren't great pieces of cinema history.


10.  Shawshank Redemption - 1994, directed by Frank Darabont.  There is a reason this film was nominated for 7 Oscars, it's that good.  Great acting, fantastic story from the mind of Stephen King, totally engrossing, and so well rounded....you just can't see this film without liking it.  Two prisoners bond over many years, and dream of getting out of their daily torture.  One is a self admitted murderer, the other, an innocent man who tries to make the most of a very bad situation.


11.  Jurassic Park - 1993, directed by Steven Spielberg.  Ok, this is probably the weakest movie on my list of great films, but I will say the special effects are amazing and the film really makes you feel like a kid again.  The fascination with dinosaurs captures all of our imaginations and this film makes you believe they roam the Earth again.  A new theme park suffers a bad electrical malfunction during a storm that allows all of their cloned dinosaurs to run amok on a remote tropical island.  I absolutely LOVE Jeff Goldblum in this one.


12.  Philadelphia - 1993, directed by Jonathan Demme.  Partly based on a true story, a lawyer suffering from AIDS is fired due to his condition and sues his former law firm for a discrimination suit.  The acting in this is top notch and won Tom Hanks his first Oscar for best lead actor.  The story is strong and powerful and will bring just about anyone to tears.  This one is a dramatic heart breaker, but oh so good.


13.  L.A. Confidential - 1997, directed by Curtis Hanson.  Wow this movie has such a fantastic cast with a great engaging story, it's hard not to get sucked into 1950's Los Angeles.  A corrupt band of L.A. police officers aren't the only thing mucking up the reputation of the well-meaning and straight-laced good guys.  This one is a mystery right down to the wire.  Guy Pearce and Kevin Spacey are hypnotic.


14.  Indiana Jones Series - Raiders of the Lost Ark/Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom/Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade/Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 1981, 1984, 1989, 2008 all directed by Steven Spielberg.  Ok so the first 3 are classics and the last one wasn't so good, but I had to put the entire series and judge them all at once.  The first three have such an iconic character, with fantastic scores, solid acting, great story lines, and filled with drama, humor, romance, and action that I kinda' gave the last one a free pass.  How can you not like Indiana?


15.  District 9 - 2009, directed by Neill Blomkamp.  Such an original film but with a familiar and unfortunately all too real similarity to our injustices forced on some members of humanity; this is the story of an Earthbound race of aliens that are forced to live in South African slums after they cannot get back to their spaceship because humanity will not let them leave, and will not let them live integrated into society.  What's an alien to do?  Only one man learns to accept them and trust them after he is exposed to some of their biochemistry.  Very imaginative, amazing special effects, heart breaking story, great acting, this one is so hypnotic and mesmerizing, you have to know what's going to happen next.  I am so hoping the sequel actually can be made.


16.  Momento - 2000, directed by Christopher Nolan.  Imaginative and unique story only the Nolan brothers could tell.  This is the story of a man who has short term memory loss and uses notes and tattoos to try to find the man he thinks killed his wife.  This story is also told going backwards, or in pieces, kind of like the audience is suffering from short term memory loss as well, it's completely genius, but sometimes a bit confusing to follow.  This one is a must see for everyone.  Guy Pearce is top notch.

All right guys, let me have it.  What movie did I leave out that you loved?  What was I totally wrong about?  I wanna' hear it.