Fall Film Challenge 2015 Finale

Remember this post when I told you that I was participating in the fall film challenge?  I have participated in this challenge both years it has been held.  I didn't expect to finish it.  I just don't watch that many movies.  Some other participants watched an insane amount of movies.  I'm most impressed!  So, how did I do?

My selections:

 one. any set in new york city.  – Taxi Driver - (watched September 14th) - Apart from a few brilliant scenes, it was slow, very slow. Sorry.

 

two. any incorporating hot air balloons in the story. – Casanova (2005) - (watched September 20th) - I wondered how this movie had such a great cast, but I didn't even know it had been released.  Because it's terrible, that's how.  It was really not a good movie.

three. any that features a child as the main character. – Empire of the Sun changed to Jurassic World (watched October 24th when the stepson chose this) -  I expected far-fetched, but this was just ridiculous.  Don't include me in the Jurassic World fan club. 

four. any disney film. – Big Hero 6 - (watched September 12th) - Thoroughly enjoyable; maybe the most entertaining animated movie that I've seen in a while.

five. any set in egypt OR have an egyptian character OR star an egyptian actor/actress. – American Sniper - (watched October 17th) - the main bad guy sniper is Egyptian born - I was surprised and impressed by Bradley Cooper's performance.  He got the small town Texas accent.  Props to the speech coach.  He also portrayed the soldier that couldn't reconnect to "real life" pretty well.

 

six. a close friend or family member's favorite film. – Dedication - (watched October 13th) - Quirky and cute. Mandy Moore's character reminded me of Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club (her hair, make-up, coat, posture). I wonder if that was intentional.

 

seven. any with the word great in the title. – The Great Raid - (watched November 30th) - "The raid on Cabanatuan remains the most successful rescue mission in U.S. military history." - a story about U.S. men in a Japanese P.O.W. camp based in the Philippines during WWII.  The end credits rolling real footage was particularly moving.

eight. any starring harrison ford. – Paranoia - (watched November 9th) - Maybe I missed something, but I was bored through most of this. If it weren't for the challenge, I would've changed the channel.

 

nine. any that features an idiot as the main character. – Talladega Nights - This Is Where I Leave You - (watched November 30th) - I enjoyed the book quite a bit. I found the movie mildly entertaining. The Penny storyline annoyed me in the movie, and I think that took things down a notch. I quite enjoyed the "idiot" brother in both book and movie.

ten. any mentioned in levis strauss' list: denim in the oscars: a look at jeans in cinema. – No Country for Old Men - (watched October 21st) - I'd read the book and knew what to expect; intense, dark, great performances, and I enjoyed it...but probably not for everyone.

 

eleven. a film about a knight. – Kingdom of Heaven - changed to Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (even though I loathe Ben Stiller in movies); (watched October 3rd) Since Lancelot is the bad guy of the movie, I think it can count as a movie about a knight. It was awful. But my stepson laughed and giggled throughout, and that's why we watched it.

twelve. a love story. – 500 Days of Summer - (watched November 2nd) - Cute with a little bit of quirkiness and a little bit of sadness.  Matthew Gray Gubler was a pleasant surprise!  The Hall & Oates scene was the best, and I'm pretty sure I'd dig the soundtrack.

 

thirteen. a movie about something miraculous. – The Martian - (watched November 17th) - I talk about it in this post.

fourteen. a film starring an actor/actress with the same first name as yours. – We Need to Talk about Kevin - (watched September 7th) - I'd read the book; the book was better. Knowing the thoughts in these messed up characters' heads adds a lot more dimension to the story.

 

fifteen. a film about the Olympics - Foxcatcher- (watched October 18th) - Looking back, this one may have been the most disappointing of the challenge.  I expected so much more and was bored most of it.  The personalities weren't nearly as intriguing or dynamic as I expected.
 

sixteen. a film on time magazine's list: the top ten newspaper movies. – State of Play

seventeen. a movie with a question in the title. – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

eighteen. any film with a score of ninety percent or greater on rotten tomatoes. – The Sapphires - (watched October 21st) - Adorable, fun, filled with great music, poignant at times. Loved it and highly recommend.  Stories of dreams, racism, war, Aboriginals, family bonds, love, loss, community, and more. Really. Watch this movie.  Oh, and there's Chris O'Dowd.

 

nineteen. a film about a superhero. – X-Men: Days of Future Past - (watched September 4th) - I have a confession to make. I've seen none of the previous X-men, so I was a little confused at times. But, it was a good one. James McAvoy is dreamy.

 

twenty. any film with subtitles. – The Girl Who Played with Fire

twenty-one. any incorporating unicorns in the story. – Stardust

twenty-two. a film about a personal victory. – The Judge- (watched November 17th) - Fantastic cast and acting performances...did I expect anything less from RDJ or Robert Duvall.  No, I didn't..but the supporting cast was fabulous too.  And, the final credits start with a version of Coldplay's The Scientist performed by Willie Nelson, and I'm biased, I know, but I have a thing for Willie Nelson's unconventional voice.

 

twenty-three. a film with black or white in the title. – Snow White and the Huntsman

twenty-four. any set in a country you would most like to visit. - Unbroken- (watched October 26th) - Based on a true story and a book that I have not read...and another movie set in a Japanese P.O.W. camp.  Inspirational. Some people have a strength and a spirit that goes beyond superhuman.  

twenty-five. a film set in a zoo. – The Wild

Overall, I watched 19 movies (for the challenge).  That's good for me.  Others watched all 25 PLUS 25 more in a bonus round.  I am not ashamed by my nineteen films.  Over half of them, I enjoyed and would recommend.

 Have you seen any of these?  Thoughts? 

Fall Film Challenge 2015

I'm a self-professed book challenge junkie.  My friend, Jenn, she likes the written word, but she's also a big fan of moving pictures.  Do you like movies?  Do you like challenges?  Do you like to make lists?  Then, join Jenn's Fall Film Challenge and play along.  You can also check out her blog post about the challenge here.  It doesn't begin until September, so you have plenty of time to get your list together.

I participated last year, and I think I got 3/4 of the way through the challenge, which is pretty good for me.  I like movies.  I do.  I just don't watch them a lot.  When I do, they seem to be with my 7 year old stepson, so there's a lot of super hero action in my movie world the last couple of years.  So, creating this list was not easy...but it's supposed to be a challenge, right?

 one. any set in new york city.  – Taxi Driver

two. any incorporating hot air balloons in the story. – Casanova (2005)

three. any that features a child as the main character. – Empire of the Sun

four. any disney film. – Big Hero 6

five. any set in egypt OR have an egyptian character OR star an egyptian actor/actress. – American Sniper

six. a close friend or family member's favorite film. – Dedication

seven. any with the word great in the title. – The Great Raid

eight. any starring harrison ford. – Paranoia

nine. any that features an idiot as the main character. – Talladega Nights

ten. any mentioned in levis strauss' list: denim in the oscars: a look at jeans in cinema. – No Country for Old Men

eleven. a film about a knight. – Kingdom of Heaven

twelve. a love story. – 500 Days of Summer

thirteen. a movie about something miraculous. – The Martian

fourteen. a film starring an actor/actress with the same first name as yours. – We Need to Talk about Kevin

fifteen. a film about the Olympics - Foxcatcher

sixteen. a film on time magazine's list: the top ten newspaper movies. – State of Play

seventeen. a movie with a question in the title. – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

eighteen. any film with a score of ninety percent or greater on rotten tomatoes. – The Sapphires

nineteen. a film about a superhero. – X-Men: Days of Future Past

twenty. any film with subtitles. – The Girl Who Played with Fire

twenty-one. any incorporating unicorns in the story. – Stardust

twenty-two. a film about a personal victory. – The Judge

twenty-three. a film with black or white in the title. – Snow White and the Huntsman

twenty-four. any set in a country you would most like to visit. - Unbroken

twenty-five. a film set in a zoo. – The Wild

Updated from original list

Do you have an opinion on any of these films?  Do you have a better suggestion for a certain category?

Fall Film Challenge

A friend of mine is hosting a film challenge.  She asked me how many movies I watch per month.  I'm not a good one to ask.  Sometimes, I watch 3 or 4 movies in a weekend.  Sometimes, I don't watch a movie for 3 or 4 weeks.  She's playing along in my book challenge, so I thought I'd play along in the film challenge.
(You can read about it HERE or you can join HERE because I think you should play along too.)

I have three months to watch these - September, October, November - and here are my choices:

one. any action/adventure flick - Captain Phillips

two. any shot in bupapest, hungary - The Raven

three. any awarded an oscar for best cinematography - There Will Be Blood

four. any drama/biography/documentary - Artifact

five. any awarded an oscar for best film editing - Traffic

six. any science-fiction/fantasy flick - Divergent

seven. any starring an actress whose last name begins with the letter g - Texas Killing Fields (Annabeth Gish)

eight. any set during any holiday - Labor Day

nine. any from internet movie database's top flicks list - City of God

ten. any starring an actor whose last name begins with the letter j - Prisoners (Hugh Jackman)

eleven. any starring an actress whose last name begins with the letter k - Rabbit Hole (Nicole Kidman)

twelve. any shot in london, england - RocknRolla

thirteen. any awarded an oscar for best original score - Babel

fourteen. any adapted from any novel - The Great Gatsby

fifteen. any awarded an oscar for best original screenplay - The King's Speech

sixteen. any awarded an oscar for best picture - 12 Years a Slave

seventeen. any featured on american movie classic's fifty great movie quote's list -  The Hours  - "Someone has to die in order that the rest of us should value life more."

eighteen. any romance or comedy - Dedication

nineteen. any sports flick - Invictus

twenty. any thriller or mystery - The Return

twenty-one. any starring an actor whose last name begins with u - Star Trek Into Darkness (Karl Urban)

twenty-two. any shot in a country you've never visited - Blood Diamond (shot in South Africa and Mozambique)

twenty-three. any shot in wilmington, north carolina - Blue Velvet

twenty-four. any western or war film - The Alamo

twenty-five. any from american film institute's greatest american movies of all time - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Since we're talking about movies, I will end with a picture from my favorite Robin Williams' movie performance, Good Will Hunting, which I will watch this weekend.