Moviewatcher122's 2016 Film Diary: September

September 1



"There's two bulls standing on top of a mountain. The younger one says to the older one: Hey pop, let's say we run down there and fuck one of them cows. The older one says: No son. Lets walk down and fuck 'em all."

Colors is such an odd movie by today's standards and I will explain why that is. It is a very well-made movie with very good performances from Sean Penn and Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper does a good job behind the camera. One thing about this movie is that the way it tackles racism is very realistic and it's just as shockingly relevant as it was back then. On the other hand this movie is also pretty dated. One thing that really dates this movie is Herbie Hancock's score. That's not to say he didn't do a good job with the scoring, but there are times where the music feels a bit too upbeat despite what's happening in the movie. It's still a solid movie, but the flaws this movie has keep it from being great.

September 2



"But hey, I'm not one to hold a grudge. After all, where would I be without you, Baumse?"
"You wouldn't exist."
"That's right. But I do exist, don't I? I'm that fucked-up experiment of yours that just won't go away. Hickory, dickory, doc. Cain has picked his lock. I'm outta here. The cat's in the bag and the bag is going in the river. So don't fuck with me, dad! You may lose more than your license this time."

Out of all of the Brian De Palma movies I've seen, this is probably his most underrated one. This movie does what he does best which is psychological thrillers and it works pretty well. John Lithgow delivers a very good performance and plays a really interesting character. While it's not the best De Palma film, it's still a pretty good one and I fail to see what's wrong with it.

September 4



"You've learned everything you need, Chance. Now all you have to learn is how to say goodbye."

I normally don't like movies that focus on talking animals as most of the time they're just stupid and they don't take their target audience seriously. This however is one of the few I've seen that are actually good. The voice acting for the three main characters is really good, the story is very adventurous and is something that kids and adults will enjoy and most of the jokes work. A problem I have with most of these talking animal films is that they try too hard to be funny, but fail miserably. The problem here though is non-existent. It's just a really enjoyable movie and has a lot more heart than most of these talking animal films.

September 5



"So are you going to marry Mr. Blue Impala and graze around with all the other sheep for the rest of your life?"
"No... I already did that."

This was a decent movie. While this movie is funny, what really makes this good is the premise. It was executed well and it was just really charming. The acting is also good with Kathleen Turner as the leading role and an early Nicolas Cage and Jim Carrey are also very enjoyable here. While it is one of Francis Ford Coppola's lesser films, it is still an enjoyable movie and I'm glad I watched it at least once.

September 6



"Now I am here, sent to bring you home."
"Home? I have no home. Hunted, despised, living like an animal! The jungle is my home. But I will show the world that I can be its master! I will perfect my own race of people. A race of atomic supermen which will conquer the world! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

I honestly think this movie is on the same level as Plan 9 From Outer Space. Just like that movie I think this one is too funny for me to hate. The scenes with the rubber octopus and some of the acting really made me laugh, but this movie isn't too bad on a technical standpoint. I do think Ed Wood did his best on such a low budget and Bela Lugosi does deliver a perfectly hammy performance. Not a terrible movie by any means and even though I've only seen two movies from him so far, I don't think Ed Wood is anywhere near the worst director of all time.

September 8



"The governor and I aren't even in the same party. If this turns out to be a false alarm, he'll make me out to be the biggest fool west of the Mississippi."
"Second biggest. I'll top the list."

Earthquake starts off as a very cheesy movie with hokey dialogue and acting, but was still entertaining at this point. When the earthquake scenes starts happening though it goes from being delightfully cheesy to a really solid disaster movie. The special effects here still look really good even after over 40 years and just shows that practical effects is just more satisfying. It's not perfect by any means, but as a disaster film it works and it delivers what you'd expect from a movie that's simply called Earthquake.

September 9



"You go in that courtroom and forget what's legal and do what's right."

This was a really cool crime thriller. Charles Bronson is great as usual and it was a very chilling serial killer story. Gene Davis also did a pretty good job as the killer and his character was just insane. This was a solid movie and it's unfortunately one of Charles Bronson's more overlooked films.

September 10



"We're the Non-Perishables, motherfucker."

I was on the fence on seeing Banger Orgy in theatres, but when my "you're only young once" side kicked in I decided to take the risk. Honestly I'm glad I saw this movie in theatres because it was fun seeing it with an audience. While this movie does have some pretty obvious, most of them made me laugh and for every obvious joke this movie has there are a few that are actually clever and creative. As for the religious satire, it is kind of clever at times, but also pretty obvious and caught on to it pretty early. The voice acting here was fantastic with some voices I recognized while others I didn't even know were in this movie. One thing I did notice about Wiener Fiesta is that the animation looked kind of choppy at first, but got used to it after a while.

Now the orgy scene is something I knew about going into it, but I gotta say that it's not as disturbing as it's reputation would have you believe. I didn't know what exactly happened in this scene, so some of it did surprise me, but I've seen worse things in animation than this. While Penis Shindig doesn't really break any new ground and is really your typical Seth Rogen comedy except that it's animated, but I had fun with this movie and didn't really expect anything more than it being a funny movie. Hopefully this movie will show that there is an audience for adult animation in movies though.

September 11



"Conner's music may not be what I listen to in my free time, but it seems to make so many people money."

Why the hell didn't this movie come to theatres anywhere near my city? This is quite possibly the funniest movie of this year and had me laughing like crazy from start to finish. Not only that, but it's a hilarious look on the current pop music scene with Andy Samberg as a Justin Bieber-like pop star and just a great satire on the media in general. I really loved how they destroyed the idiots at TMZ by making fun of how funny and clever they think they are when in reality they're the most annoying people in the universe. The songs in this movie are hilarious and catchy, but what's really impressive about this movie is how many celebrity cameos they were able to get. There were literally hundreds of them and they really add to what this film was going for. Sadly this movie under-performed, but it will probably gain a cult status later on and I sure hope it does because it's a hilarious movie that's this generation's Spinal Tap.

September 13



"So, is this how you seduce all the girls?"
"Only physicists with hypothermia who are accused of being a terrorist."

This was a movie I thought I was going to like at first going into it, but it turned out to be average. It surprisingly starts off promising, but it lost me halfway. Morgan Freeman is great as he is most of the time and Keanu Reeves isn't bad either and it does have some interesting moments, but for the most part it's a by the numbers thriller that doesn't have a whole lot to offer. I don't regret watching it and I had some fun with it, but it's just very forgettable overall.

September 14



"If you want someone to fall for you, you gotta be you."
"Yeah I don't think I like me enough to introduce him to other people."

I went into this one knowing nothing about it beyond the leading roles and after watching it I'm not quite sure what to make of it. For the most part it's a really solid movie. The chemistry between Jason Sudeikis and Allison Brie felt believable, it had quite a few genuinely funny moments and the writing is good for the most part. While there was a couple instances of clumsy writing in the first half, I think the quality starts to suffer near the end where at that point it pretty much becomes the standard romantic comedy. The third act got really ridiculous with Jason Sudeikis fighting with Adam Green's character while his wife's water breaks at the same time which was too ridiculous for me to take it seriously and it just had me laughing and I don't think that's what that scene was going for. I was kind of disappointed that it went in that direction as it had the potential to be much more than the standard rom-com. So I would say that this is a decent movie, but it deserved better writing.

September 15



"Are you Fast Black?"
"To some. My momma always called me Leo. Leo Smalls Jr."

I've seen two of Jerry Schatzberg's other films and they were both underrated gems, so I was expecting the same thing from this movie. Well, did it deliver? It sure did. It's a really good movie with the best part of course is Morgan Freeman's role. Even though he is one of my favorite actors of all time, the type of characters he plays tend to not change that much. Not that it's a bad thing and I don't really care if an actor plays the same character because all that matters to me if it's a good character, but this is probably one of the few times he's actually played a different character. He delivers a great performance in this movie and I'm always shocked when he plays a character that's the bad guy since it's so unlike most of the other characters he plays.

Besides that this is a really interesting movie with well-written characters and even Christopher Reeve managed to surprise me here. It was just a very solid movie and I have to say that Jerry Schatzberg is probably one of the most underrated directors ever since the three movies I've seen from him including this one are underrated gems.

September 18



"He did the stare and drive on you, didn't he? He got that from me."

When I was going through the Fast and the Furious franchise, I skipped the ones that didn't have Vin Diesel because they didn't look good and because I wasn't really interested in them. Since I didn't have anying better to do now, I watched it just to see what I think of it. I can't say I was impressed with this one. While I wasn't blown away by the first movie, I still thought it was entertaining and it had a bit more to it than just being some car racing movie. This one on the other hand felt like a car show. There's not really any characters to get invested with or many interesting things going on. It's just cars, vroom vroom.

The first problem I have with this movie is that it's just dull. Sure the cars look nice and all, but I can't say I was interested in what's going on. Then there's Paul Walker. While his performance isn't bad or anything, he just lacks this charisma to carry this movie on his own. These movies seem to be at their best when he's partnered with Vin Diesel instead of just being the leading role like he is here. Actually these movies are at their best when they're not about car racing, but that's a different story. For the most part though this movie is inoffensive. I wasn't really bored watching it, but I wasn't really interested in what was happening until the police got involved near the end. While there's nothing too bad in this movie, it's a very disposable sequel and even though I don't regret watching it, I could've just kept ignoring it.

September 19



"The modern battlefield is everywhere."

There's a first time for everything and this is the first time I've seen a movie in theatres on my own and what a great one to start with. I knew a little bit about who Edward Snowden is going into this movie and even before watching this movie I knew Joseph Gordon-Levitt was the perfect guy to portray him. He really disappears into this character very well and it's probably one of the best performances of the year. Also Shailene Woodley who I'm normally not a fan of actually delivers a very good perfomance. While most of the time I think she's an overhyped actress, if she keeps up what she's doing here instead of starring in shallow teen movies then she might actually be a better actress than I gave her credit for. Besides that it really told this guy's story very well. This movie kept me interested from start to finish and Oliver Stone presented it very well.

This movie isn't quite perfect since it is a little one-sided at times and there's this one problem that's pretty minor, but it kind of bugged me a little bit and that was the fact that Nicolas Cage is in this movie. While his performance in this movie is alright I just couldn't help but be taken out of this movie whenever he was on-screen. All I saw him as in this movie was Nicolas Cage and he was only in a few scenes in this movie, so whenever he came back for a brief moment I was like "Oh yeah. I forgot Nicolas Cage is in this movie." I think they should've just casted someone else as his character because he really stuck out like a sore thumb. Other than that I really loved this movie and now I want to check out the documentary about this guy.

September 20



"I feel the need..."
"...the need for speed!"

Yes, this is my first time watching this and while I'd normally make the "Why didn't I watch this earlier?" comment, I don't think this movie really warrants it. It is a good movie and it does have this certain charm to it. Despite how cheesy it can be, it still is a fun movie and the melodrama and romance aspects it has works. It's not a great movie and I do think Tony Scott has made better films than this one, but it was still decent and it's one I'm glad I watched at least once.

September 22



This is a cool underrated gem. It has this plot that's actually kind of original and haven't seen in any movie before and the tone of this movie was perfect. Lee Marvin is badass as always and Gene Hackman was a very good antagonist here. While this isn't a movie I'd go as far to call it great, it's still a very solid movie that's one of the more overlooked films of the 70's and it's definitely worth checking out.

September 23



"A Borrower is quiet, conscientious, and inconspicuous. We don't steal; we borrow."

This was a pretty average family movie. It did have a creative concept and the cast does a good job with the material they are given, but it is also very predictable and also pretty by the numbers despite the creative scenario. I'll give this one a pass. I wouldn't recommend it, but it's pretty harmless stuff and when it comes to family films, you could do a lot worse than this.

September 25



"Clothes maketh the man; and the less there is of the man, the more the need of the clothes."

I had this on DVD for ages, so I decided to finally watch it since I felt like watching a non-horror Cronenberg movie. It is a very interesting character study of a mentally disturbed guy and Ralph Fiennes sells this character very well. As interesting and different this movie was, I can't say I completely understood it and there was something missing for me to consider it a great movie. I still really liked it though and I'd definitely watch it again. Who knows, maybe I'll like it even more on the second viewing.

September 27



"I have never had a play produced. That's right. And I've written one play a year for the past twenty years."
"Yes, but that's because you're a genius. And the proof is that both common people and intellectuals find your work completely incoherent. Means you're a genius."

Bullets Over Broadway is the best out of the two Woody Allen films with the word broadway in the title, but it still isn't anything special. Unlike Broadway Danny Rose though this movie does have a lot more going for it. Woody Allen really did a good job of making it feel like a story that takes place in the 1920's and I thought the dialogue was written well. (Then again the same can be said for most of Woody Allen's work.) What keeps this movie from being any better though is that it does feel dull in certain places. That and I didn't think the characters were fleshed out enough and kept me from being fully invested in the story. Still it's a decent movie that has its funny moments, but I thought it could've been better.

September 29



"One time I got high, I read the back of the shampoo bottle for thirteen hours."
"Because it said repeat."
"Rinse and repeat."
"I get it."

As stupid as this movie was, I kind of enjoyed it. While it does have some lame jokes, there were some parts that were actually funny and a few of them really made me laugh. I think the strongest point of this movie when it comes to laughs is Aubrey Plaza and Anna Kendrick who deliver some of the funniest lines this film has to offer. Also Sugar Lynn Beard who is an actress I've been aware of since I was a kid was also good and it's nice to see her in a major role.

Like I said though this movie does have its jokes that don't work and some of the are pretty stupid. It also suffers from having a very predictable plot where you can tell what's going to happen next from plot point to plot point. That and the main characters aren't that likable. Zac Efron and the other guy were fine acting wise, but there were some times when they were pretty annoying. Still, this movie does succeed on a comedic level for the most part and I wasn't expecting anything more from it, so it's a movie that I enjoyed watching once, but it's probably not something I'd go out of my way to watch again.

September 30



"I felt like we had a secret, just the two of us. Like that thing where you just wanna be with one person all the time. You feel like the two of you get something no one else gets."

I have been on the fence with this movie ever since I saw a trailer for it, but now I thought I might as well watch it just to see what I think of it. I wasn't really impressed with this one. It started off in a way that actually made me think it would be a good movie, but it wasn't too long until my interest in it had faded away. While the acting is pretty good for the most part and on a technical level this movie was good, but the overall film just felt way too self-indulgent. It just got more and more dull as it went on and I just didn't really care about the characters or what was going on. Also this movie dragged on for way too long. It ran at a pace that made it feel longer than it actually is and I feel like there were some scenes that could've been cut out and it wouldn't have affected this movie. I was initially going to give this a 6/10, but the more it went on I realized that there isn't enough good things for me to justify that rating. Overall, this was a pretty dull movie that is not as good as some of the reviews made it out to be. I don't know if I'd go as far to call it overrated, but I just didn't care for it and it looks like I could've gone on ignoring it.

September 30



"Now you listen to me, I'm an advertising man, not a red herring. I've got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives and several bartenders that depend upon me, and I don't intend to disappoint them all by getting myself "slightly" killed."

I didn't want to end the month on a bitter note, so I decided to end it with a film that I've been meaning to watch for way too long. So is it as great as everyone says? Absolutely! It might actually be my favorite Alfred Hitchcock movie although I'm not so sure about that just yet. It had amazing dialogue, characters and it's also the funniest Hitchcock movie I've seen. While a lot of Hitchcock's films have humorous elements, this one had a lot of funny moments from start to finish. It also really had me on the edge of my seat and the famous crop duster scene is still effective to this day. I really loved this movie and if it's not my favorite Hitchcock film, it's at least in the top 5.