31 Days of Film - Davy 15: Best Horror Film

No, now, hear me out. YOU may not see the horror of this film, but let me tell you this movie is CREEPY. Yes, I know, it's a Spielberg movie! It's one of his best movies. Well, let me tell you I can't watch it without hiding my eyes for most of it.

It's not even the alien part of the whole thing - I can handle aliens (for the most part). They don't bother me. The turd is halfway cute, actually, when I think about him. It's not the aliens, it's not the unknown... it's the government guys in the HazMat suits!

When they capture poor little ET and put him in the freezer (or whatever it is) and his tummy glows red, the five year old me that's still very much in my head wants to run for the other room. My dad finds it hilarious and makes sure to stop on the movie whenever it (rarely) plays on TV. Because he's evil like that.

And, yet, I love quoting this movie. And the music is - as John Williams' scores always are - incredible. So it has a lot of positives... which is why it's the best horror movie of all time.

31 Days of Film - Day 14: A film you used to love but now hate

It's not that I hate "All Dogs Go To Heaven", because I don't. It's a fun film... for the most part. It's just that after losing three of the very best dogs ever (Amiga in 1998, Jordy in 2002, and Yuka in 2013) I can't really handle watching it. So it was a film I loved to watch and now can't without big ugly crying. And I don't like to ugly cry.

I loved this movie as a kid. Wore out my VHS tape of it. Itchy was my favorite, and I adored Anne Marie. I was terrified of the alligator, and it bothered me that there was a pink dog in charge of Heaven. The demon that chases Charlie was scary, but it was a good scary... and who doesn't quote "you can never come back" in that creepy voice the pink dog had?

I had the movie memorized, but it's been so long that I don't think I could put two lines together. Though I'm always surprised when we pop a movie in I haven't seen in decades and I can quote it line by line, so who knows.

Playing around on imdb.com to see who voiced the characters (all I remember is Dom DeLuise as Itchy) I'm giggling because the voice of "Ducky" in The Land Before Time is the same as the voice of "Anne Marie". Never realized that. Gotta love random bits of trivia. Thanks, Internetz.

Michael Coleman is awesome (yes another OUAT cast gushfest)

So we all know I adore the cast of ABC/Disney's Once Upon A Time, and I have gushed about them before... the cast is freaking ADORABLE in every sense of the word and they are so awesome to their fans...

but Michael Coleman tweeting me (yet again) tonight takes the cake. I think he just trumped MRJ as being my favorite Michael on OUAT.

He had been sharing new versions of the #Selfie, and so I dared him to create a "Moosie"... and next thing I know I get this tweet.

Michael personifies his character (Happy the Dwarf). He really, really does. I'm forever a fangirl.

31 Days of Film - Day 13: Movie with your least favorite actor/actress

I've said it several times before - I don't like Leonardo DiCaprio's acting (he doesn't win me over in interviews either). I find him incredibly boring, put on, and just not that good. I'm in the minority, and Hollywood disagrees, so it is what it is... but I think he's more hype than actual product.

And I think his performance in What's Eating Gilbert Grape is what people are really thinking about when they consider his acting chops. It's completely different from any of his major roles that he would later play (he's typically stuck in Jack Dawson type roles... which is predictable and stupid, but when that comes easy and the money's good...).

I've only watched the film a couple of times - it's one of those movies like "Dan In Real Life" or "Elizabethtown" that's well done but kinda depressing (even if there are happy moments). But, DiCaprio's performance has always stuck with me. That kind of acting I can get on board with. He was totally committed and transformed into the character, whereas these days he transforms all the characters into himself and it's just meh.

31 Days of Film - Day 12: Movie with your favorite actor/actress

I am going to cheat and do a film with both my favorite actress and actor. I adore Katherine Hepburn. Ever since high school I couldn't get enough of her. She was such an interesting persona. Equally high on my favorites list is Cary Grant. I've loved him since mom sat me down and made me watch Arsenic & Old Lace (while I was in high school). I was in drama club, and she wanted me to get an appreciation for great acting.

It worked.

I love all things 1940s and 50s, especially the glamorous Hollywood version of the times. It was the golden era of cinema. I love the architecture, the fashion, the simpler times (that really blazed the way for the convoluted ones we have today).

And I love their movies.

Especially The Philadelphia Story. It stars my three favorite actors of that era - Hepburn, Grant, and Stewart. It's witty, smart, and just a great time. It was originally written for Broadway - and for Hepburn. After her turn as Tracy on stage, she brought it to Hollywood where they cast Grant and Stewart to play opposite her. They could hold their own against such a powerhouse like Kate. The chemistry that the cast had was near perfection.

I kinda identify with Hepburn's characters in her films. Hepburn herself was a tomboy and so I think that's what always speaks to me - and her characters seem to be a lot like her. I may not be a divorcee looking at groom #2 all the while still feeling something for groom #1 and crushing hard on a journalist, but I do get the trying to stick to the picture everyone has of me and holding myself to impossible standards... and holding those around me to impossible standards.

Grant and Stewart created great moments as well on screen. Their humor and sarcasm were what they were known for, and the looks they gave spoke volumes. This film was the perfect vehicle to pit the two against each other, and all I can say is - it's a tie. I can't choose a winner in who was "better". It was like both characters were made for the actors who played them.

It's said that due to his bigger popularity, Grant got to choose which of the two roles he would play - the production company was hoping he'd play Macaulay Connor, but he chose CK Dexter Haven instead. It was the right move, though, because I honestly can't see the roles reversed. Besides, Grant should always get the girl.

Dang, if there's one thing that this daily challenge is doing, it's making me want to rewatch all of my favorite films!

Yes, I know, I've gushed about a certain other actor as of late on my blog... but he's not had a break out role in film yet (seriously, he dies or has a five second role in most everything... and the one film that he actually had a significant role in I haven't seen because he plays a really bad dude!). So Michael Raymond-James will just have to wait until I get to do another TV 30 day meme. lol

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!