31 Days of Film - Day 11: Best Sports Film

Oooo this is hard. I love me some sports movies, but I think Disney's Remember The Titans wins out just because I can't find really a single thing wrong with it (except that they did change the story quite a bit judging by wikipedia).

I mean, it's got Denzel Washington playing a football coach, it's awesome for that alone. It also stars a young Ryan Gosling (you know, before he was a meme gone viral) and an even younger and adorable Hayden Pantierre (before she protested whale harvests and went country). The casting was perfect for the delivery of the storytelling.

We watch this movie a lot during the year. It's a favorite in my family. Just about everyone loves it, and it's one of many movies I have mostly memorized. There is so much that can be said about this movie, and honestly I don't know where to begin.

Probably my favorite part is how a sport brought two warring sides together through the youth and promise of the future. That they were forced to come and work together if they wanted to play the game was just the beginning to a lasting legacy for their area. They excelled where so many other integrated programs failed - because there were men brave enough to "suck it up" and make it work. Not just for their jobs, or their pride, or the team... but for the good of their fellow man.

It's something our country seems to have forgotten again as we see the divide grow exponentially once again.

Oh Captain, my Captain!

Words cannot adequately express how I feel with the news of Robin Williams' passing. At just 63 years of age, Robin reportedly succumbed to the demons he fought so valiantly for most of his life. Depression is a very real disease that comes on strong and suddenly no matter how life is going for the person muddling through. It is a silent killer that often goes unnoticed by those surrounding the victim. It's stigmatized, far too often we just tell the person to get over it - to stop being so dramatic - to deal with it.

I can be laughing on the outside, but crying on the inside. Robin Williams personified that struggle daily. His struggles have been well documented through the years, though it wasn't until more recent memory that we found out that he wasn't just a party animal in search of the next great high - more like he was self medicating to deal with the demons of his depression.

Still, through it all, Williams was able to produce an impressive body of work. Though he is most known as a funny man, starring in roles such as Mrs. Doubtfire, Mork, and the Genie in Aladdin, he stood out as being a very gifted dramatic actor. He played in iconic roles like Dr. Sean Maguire in Good Will Hunting, Peter Pan in Hook, and the beloved Mr. Keating in Dead Poet's Society. He would be nominated for many awards, and would win the Oscar for best supporting actor for his turn in Good Will Hunting.

At the time of his death, he had several movies in post production, the most recognizable being the second Night at the Museum sequel where he once again dons the role of President Teddy Roosevelt. I wasn't planning on seeing the movie until it hit Netflix, but I just might have to change that decision.

Thank you for the laughter through your own pain and tears, Robin. I pray that you are now at peace.

31 Days of Film - Film from your favorite Director

No surprise that I chose a movie from Steven Spielberg. I've gushed about him regularly on my blog. I love his films. He has such a range, each one with heart and a great bit of storytelling. His misses aren't BIG misses by most standards, and really the only reason I have a few on my "don't like" list is because of the subject matter.

Indiana Jones is one of the best movie trilogies of all time (I refuse to acknowledge the fourth one). My favorite is The Last Crusade. It's just a fun movie, with a lot of charm and humor. The father-son element is strong in the film, as it is with a lot of Spielberg's films. (I know, there I go again with the whole father-child relationship fangirling. It's not just a Once Upon A Time thing!)

Sean Connery gives a stellar performance as Indy's father, part absent minded professor and part James Bond. And, of course, Harrison Ford was born to play the role of Indiana Jones. The combo was sheer genius and made for a highly entertaining flick. I'm going to have to watch it tomorrow after I get home from my job interview - it's been far too long since I watched it!

There will be more Spielberg gushing later in this 31 day challenge. Spielberg is the best director of his generation. He's another molded from the same cloth as Walt Disney. They just know how to tell a story and capture the world's imagination and CHANGE the way we do things and the way we think. But I'll save that gushfest for later. It's almost 11... I need to sleep to be ready for tomorrow.

35 Days till Disneyland, btw, in case you lost count and couldn't read the ticker on my blog. ha ha

31 Days of Film - Day 9: Best Documentary Film

I have a confession - I don't like Documentaries. They're almost always one sided, incredibly biased drivel. If I wanted to know what an actor/director felt about a subject I'd follow them on twitter. So I'm going to switch this to best BioPic, because I LOVE those.

My choice goes to Ghosts of Mississippi it's about the final trial of Byron De La Beckwith who murdered Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers in Jackson, Mississippi in 1963. After several mistrials due to piss-poor management by a racist judicial system, it seemed that Beckwith was going to get away with his crime...

...but time has a way of changing things, and in the early 90s, a final trial would be held. After scrounging up what little evidence and testimony they could, the District Attorney's office reopened the case lead by Bobby Delaughter. With the reopening of the case, old wounds of the South also opened up. Delaughter learned that racism still ran deep, and old feelings were not so dead and buried.

James Woods plays Beckwith far too convincingly (not surprising, he's an incredible actor), and it garnered him a nomination for a Golden Globe as well as an Oscar (he'd lose to Cuba Gooding, Jr.). Alec Baldwin gives an equally strong performance as ADA Bobby DeLaughter. Whoopi Goldberg rounded out the cast as Medgar's widow. William H Macy has a smaller role as one of the investigators teamed up with DeLaughter to try and piece together the case, Craig T Nelson plays the District Attorney, and a young Lucas Black (Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift, Friday Night Lights) as DeLaughter's eldest son Burt. Oh, and Wayne Rogers (Trapper John, M*A*S*H) makes a quick appearance as the Ever's family attorney!

I was up till midnight last night as this movie was on Ovation - I do not have it on DVD (shocking, I know!) and it's rarely on TV so I had to watch. I'm just sorry I didn't know it was on so I only got to watch the final half hour!

Happy Birthday Haunted Mansion!!!

Walt Disney's Haunted Mansion attraction at the Disneyland Resort turned 45 today. Here's to 45 more years of Happy Haunts!

31 Days of Film - Day 8: Movie you can quote all the lines from...

This is just about any movie I own, really. I'm one of those people that watches movies more than once, but even after one viewing I can pretty much quote the better parts of a movie. So it became a very difficult task to narrow down to a film to choose for today's prompt.

But the weather's been meh and I've been busy working on the computer, so I watched a few random movies this week... and The Help was one of it. Based on the book by the same name, this movie is quite charming - and absolutely hysterical... all the while shining a light on 1960s Jackson, Mississippi.

This movie isn't without its share of controversy. It isn't "ugly" enough for a lot of "Black Rights" folks who think we need to completely vilify the South in every film on the subject matter. I didn't live in that period, so I can't say if it trivialized it or not. All I can say is that it made "the Help" human and opened the eyes of many to how far we still had to go then - and now.

But I digress. I LOVE this movie. It's just so quotable! It's also dangerous for me to watch because I always end up craving fried chicken for days afterwards.

31 Days of Film - Day 7: Movie with the best soundtrack

WHAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTT'S ON THE MENNNNNNNNNNUUUUUUUUU????????? Pink pajamas, penguins on the bottom. Pink pajamas, penguins on the bottom...

I can't think of a single soundtrack I love more than the Lion King soundtrack, and I say that as a John Williams fangirl. John Williams is a music god, but there's nothing that can really compete with the perfection that is Disney's Lion King. Elton John and Tim Rice did something truly magical in their collaboration. The music breathed life into the film that on its own would have done well, but with the music became so much more!

I mean they get you from the very first second of the film with the music (and amazing animation), and you're hooked from then on. The music was so powerful it was taken to Broadway where they made the most AMAZING stage show I have EVER seen using most of the same music and lyrics they had in the film. Incredible. Just incredible.

31 Days of Film - Day 6: movie that reminds you of an event

Remember when I was a big time Star Wars nerd. Yeah, those were the days of no friends and lonely school hours. Still, it was a great time of imagination - and the Expanded Universe (now destroyed thanks to Disney... grrrrrr) kept me reading. But, I digress.

In 1999, Star Wars came back to theatres with the first of three prequels. The Phantom Menace was all I could think about during the spring semester of 8th grade. I wanted to go to the very first showing of it in town, problem was it opened on a school day - a very important school day. 8th grade graduation.

Mom and Dad were not about to let me skip school that day and I was so very bummed. It was just a ceremony and then we were going to watch movies in class all day. I was a loner in 8th grade, I really had no desire to sit alone and watch as former friends had a good time. But Mom and Dad would hear none of it.

The day of graduation was fun enough, I was in the band and that was the highlight as we played the 1812 Overture (still one of my favorite pieces of music EVER). We walked across the "stage" and got our "KCHS Class of 2003" tshirts. Our parents all cheered, some got teary eyed. We ate cookies, drank punch (well those that like punch - which I don't - did.)... and then Mom and Dad went to the office and signed me out early. We picked up my best friend Kassy and went to the movies.

I was so surprised! I really didn't think I'd get to see Star Wars until the weekend and I got to see it that afternoon instead! And back at age 14 I loved the movie. It wasn't until way later that the movie started to annoy me. All of the prequels were so disappointing (Sith being the only one I own on DVD.) The ONLY positive of the prequels is Ewan McGregor, who - even with the bad hair they gave him - is one of my favorite actors.

Even Yoda was disappointing in Episode 1. But the lightsaber fights were epic.

31 Days of Film - Day 5: Movie that reminds you of someone

Another Mel Brooks classic makes the list with day five's prompt. Robin Hood: Men In Tights was a movie I didn't want to like - and for the longest time I didn't. It is my best friend's absolute favorite movie. She knows it backwards, forwards, and upside-down. She knows the choreography to the title song. She was so sad when I said I just couldn't find what she found funny about it.

And then one day I actually sat down and paid attention to it. And I fell in love. It IS Mel Brooks' humor, after all, and the subtle (and not so subtle) parodies of all prior Robin Hood movies are hilarious. I don't know why I didn't like the movie sooner. It leaves me in stitches.

It also makes me really miss Erin. With her being in Montana we don't get to see each other much, and she has a busy life that leaves little time to actually chat these days. I miss my friend. I watched this movie today and thought of her. We have 40 days until our Disney trip and I cannot wait. As excited as I am for Disney and SoCal and VACATION, I'm more excited to see her. It's been over a year. It's overdue. WAY overdue.

31 Days of Film - Day 4: A movie that makes you sad

Well if you've followed my blog long enough you know Toy Story 3 and War Horse both scarred me for life (I haven't watched War Horse since seeing it in theaters, and I've only watched Toy Story 3 twice since getting it on DVD). Those would be my easy choices (or Homeward Bound, or Dead Poets Society, or The Yearling). But I wanted to give a shout out to a movie that doesn't get as much love and respect as I feel it should.

Reign Over Me is, to me, the best Post 9-11 themed film Hollywood has made to date. It's also the only movie Adam Sandler has starred in that I've enjoyed. Though I'm not sure "enjoyed" is the right word. Sandler plays an incredibly sympathetic character, though for most of the film he comes off as a nutcase who is frustrating to deal with. Don Cheadle (whom I adore in just about every role he's been in) plays his former college roommate who, as life got away from him, lost touch.

They run into each other be chance, but Sandler does not recognize his old buddy and blows him off in a very... odd way. Cheadle tracks him down and tries to mend fences, while his homelife seems to be crumbling around him. Through meeting with other people in Sandler's character's life, Cheadle learns that his friend had a mental breakdown after 9-11 and the loss of his family.

There's a part towards the end of the film where Sandler explains to Cheadle why he is so despondent and "odd" and not the same person Cheadle remembers. He recounts those hours of 9-11 and reveals that his wife, daughters, and dog were all on one of the planes that hit the Trade Center... and he watched them hit the tower. Guilt and loss keeps him from wanting to live in reality. So he just ignores it and "lives". It's a touching moment, and a powerful yet understated performance by Sandler. Who knew he had it in him.

This movie is not a happy or hopeful movie. It's a good one, but not uplifting. I'm always left feeling sad and even a little empty. So I don't watch it often, but it's in my collection of films and once in a blue moon I get the courage to watch it. Because it's a very real movie. One that needs to be seen and told.


**Warning, there's "hard language" in this scene... but it's beautifully tragic.**