Room (2015)

MIMDB score: 7.2
Current IMDB score: 8.3
Director: Lenny Abrahamson, William H. Macy
Main Actors you care about: Brie Larson

Why I liked it: It originally stuck out to me when I watched the trailer that it would be like Plato's "The Cave" allegory.  It did explore this thought a bit and I liked that it sort of went there.  Unfortunately I wanted more thoughts from the movie.  Maybe if I didn't take philosophy class where I already went through that type of thought it would have been better.  So I feel like for most people it will be rather interesting thought process but not a super popular movie.  Although without knowing or thinking about the cave allegory I don't think the movie can hold up on it's own to be higher than a 7.  Like if you didn't understand the story that O'Brother Where Art Thou was based on you could still enjoy the movie to a great extent.  I don't think that's the case with this movie as much so I only have it at 7.2.

It's considered depressing but people think movies are depressing when they are not really.  Yea this girl gets kidnapped and is being held against her will but it really about a struggle to be better in her mind. People think The Road is too depressing as well.  The ending of that movie (and I dare say theme of that movie) is saying to trust people.  How is that depressing?  Just because bad things are happening doesn't mean it's depressing.  If that was the case, how would anyone get through a year on this earth?  Bad things are happening all the time and it's depressing if you want it to be.  If you learn something from all the bad things that happen then it's not really depressing . . . . it's uplifting.

What stands out:  The kid who played Jack did fantastic.  I didn't think for a second that he hadn't been through what Jack had been through.  Well done Jacob Tremblay (which is the actor who played Jack).

Brie Larson does well of course.  Nothing outstanding I don't think but still pretty good.  I think she is doing fantastic though with her career.  Especially in movies she chooses to be involved with like this and Short Term 12.  Hopefully she keeps doing movies like this so I can keep liking her a lot.

Thing(s) I would change:  William H. Macy character's just gives up after he can't look at Jack. We don't see him anymore after that scene.  Could he not get over it?  Jack didn't ask to be born.  He could at least be really nice around Jack.  Good thing the step-dad was a freaking champion.  He was calm and understanding and just plain perfect.  I feel like Ma's dad would or should have been more understanding.

I think it's odd that the reporter asked Ma about why she didn't try and get Jack out sooner.  I don't think anyone would have asked her that.  Who would think that she really had any control over what was happening during those seven years?  Old Nick had most all of the control.  I think it was just put in so that the suicide seemed more believable.

Favorite Line(s)/Scene:
Most of the lines Jack says about what is real or not real are interesting.  Most of the lines he narrates while a scene is playing are pretty interesting.

Similar Movies/TV Shows: Short Term 12 and I Am Sam

"Side" note: Allegory of the Cave is interesting philosophically thought.  The thought is about what the reality would be for a person that was stuck in a cave his or her whole life (at least since memories formed in childhood).  They were only shown shadows on a wall of objects.  To the person in the cave only the shadows would be what was real to them.  It goes to show you that only things you can see and are used to would be your reality.  The extent of this thought could be applicable to so many parts of your life.  It should really open your mind to a lot more possibilities than what you were used to before thinking through this.

It's so very great to see a movie that has this thinking on display.  If you read through the Wikipedia link I think you'll see that the main points are used as inspiration for this film.

Star Wars Episode 1-6 (1977-2005)

MIMDB score: 7, 7, 7, 7.8, 7.8, 7.4
Current IMDB score: 6.5, 6.7, 7.7, 8.7, 8.8, 8.4
Director: Mostly George Lucas
Main Actors you care about: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher

Why I liked it: Nostalgia.  The number one reason I think I like the Star Wars movies/world so much is nostalgia.  It was good back when it came out but if I were to watch it now for the first time I don't think it would have the same affect.  A ton of movies are like this.  Christmas Story is the biggest one that sticks out to me.  I personally could watch it for 24 hours straight but if you didn't watch it as a part of some traditional or nostalgic moment in the past then you won't enjoy it very much.  I think the Godfathers are like that as well. I did not have that nostalgic feeling for Godfather so I never thought they were that good.  I hope that is why I don't like the Godfather movies anyway.

I'm going to elaborate on the nostalgia.  The reason the episode 4, 5, and 6 are consider so amazing is the adventure you got to go on with your brother, sister, father, mother, friends, cousins, or whoever you watched it with on repeat.  I don't fully know why but after watching them you would just want to watch them again.  We had them on taped on VHS out of order.  We would watch 4, fast forward through 6, watch 5, rewind to the start of 6, watch 6, then because we were lazy just watch 5 again.  That was perfectly fine for my brother and I.  If you don't have that memory though then these will only be 7's for you at best.  Adults that have never seen Star Wars and watch them later in their life I don't think will have the same attachment to them as watching them as a kid.  Even kids today will watch them on repeat with the same enjoyment that kids watched them when they came out.

What stands out:  The adventure story.  I normally don't like the adventure genre movies but I can't think of a better journey to go on than through Star Wars.  The special effects at the time I'm sure were mind blowingly real.

Thing(s) I would change:  I won't complain too much about Episode 1, 2, and 3 because it's been done many times and I wouldn't do it justice.  I will agree that they could have been better.  They are not that bad though.  Notice the 3rd one does have a 7.7 on IMDB so at least that one isn't terrible.  The first one unfortunately should be that low.   As I said they should at least be watched once which is a 7 on MIMDB.

This is an order that the internet will tell you to watch them for first time viewers which Episode 1 has been left out (for probably good reason).  When you watch it you kind of sigh a lot during a lot of the lines.  Same things happens in Episode 2.

Favorite Line(s)/Scene:
I don't think I have a favorite scene.  I think the John Williams music is my favorite part though.  The music gives you the feeling in most of the scenes.  Well done John Williams.  Without the music I don't think it would be as good.

Similar Movies/TV Shows: Star Trek probably but not as good or popular I don't think.  Indiania Jones series,

"Side" note:  George Lucas thought the first movie would be a flop.  It went on to be the first film to gross over 300,000,000 dollars.  With inflation it is the second highest grossing film of all time.  2nd to Gone with the Wind.

Who shot first?  This is considered a big ordeal because originally when Star Wars (A New Hope) was in theaters Han Solo shoot Greedo first.  When Lucas remastered it he had to keep a PG rating by having Greedo shoot first and then later in an even more remastered version have Greedo and Solo shooting at about the same time.  Although George says that is the way he intended it originally.  When you ask a Star Wars enthusiast who hates the CGI remastered additions they will scream Solo shot first and get really mad.  Mostly because it makes more sense character and character building-wise to have Solo shoot first.

Meet Joe Black (1998)

MIMDB score: 7.5
Current IMDB score: 7.1
Director: Martin Brest
Main Actors you care about: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Clarie Forlani

Why I liked it: It just seems meaningful. Thing kind of work out how they are suppose to.  There is a few great thoughts to have in this movie as well.  The ending is marvelous really.  I see how it could be cheesy but I still think it's really good.  "If this movie was 20 minutes shorter it would really be great."   I've heard someone say that about this movie.  I think that's the bias from making it have a higher IMDB score.  It is long but is also good.

What stands out:  Anthony Hopkins speeches are pretty great.  It just makes you feel good to hear him say those things even though they are somewhat obvious.  If it's your first time hearing that stuff it could really help you probably.

Thing(s) I would change:  Yea, a few things could be cut out.  It is longer than most movies and it's not like an epic movie.  It's probably only a few months long in movie time so it's hard to maintain attention I feel like in a short movie time movie like this.  They needed to add some comedy I think if you are going to make a movie this long.  Too much drama leads to boredom without some comedy.

Favorite Line(s)/Scene:
Most of the deeper conversations focus around Anthony Hopkins character.

William Parrish: Love is passion, obsession, someone you can't live without. I say, fall head over heels. Find someone you can love like crazy and who will love you the same way back. How do you find him? Well, you forget your head, and you listen to your heart. And I'm not hearing any heart. Cause the truth is, honey, there's no sense living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love, well, you haven't lived a life at all. But you have to try, cause if you haven't tried, you haven't lived.

Next conversation:
William Parrish: It's not what you say about Drew, it's what you don't say.
Susan Parrish: Maybe you're not listening.
William Parrish: Oh yes, I am. There's not an ounce of excitement. Not a whisper of a thrill. This relationship has all the passion of a pair of tit mice. I want you to get swept away out there. I want you to levitate. I want you to sing with rapture and dance like a Dervish.
Susan Parrish: Oh, that's all?
William Parrish: Yeah. Be deliriously happy or at least leave yourself open to be.
Susan Parrish: Okay. Be deliriously happy. I shall... uhh... I shall do my utmost.
William Parrish: I know it's a cornball thing, but love is passion. Obsession. Someone you can't live without. I say fall head over heels. Find someone you can love like crazy, and who'll love you the same way back. How do you you find 'em? Well, you forget your head and you listen to your heart. I'm not hearing any heart. Because the truth is, honey, there's no sense living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love, well, you haven't lived a life at all. But you have to try, because if you haven't tried, you haven't lived.

Marvelous;
Joe Black: I don't care Bill. I love her.
William Parrish: How perfect for you - to take whatever you want because it pleases you. That's not love.
Joe Black: Then what is it?
William Parrish: Some aimless infatuation which, for the moment, you feel like indulging - it's missing everything that matters.
Joe Black: Which is what?
William Parrish: Trust, responsibility, taking the weight for your choices and feelings, and spending the rest of your life living up to them. And above all, not hurting the object of your love.
Joe Black: So that's what love is according to William Parrish?
William Parrish: Multiply it by infinity, and take it to the depth of forever, and you will still have barely a glimpse of what I'm talking about.
Joe Black: Those were my words.
William Parrish: They're mine now.

The biggest thing I want to point out with these conversations is the deeper feeling of love. I want to explore whether or not love is a made up emotion used by biology to make us reproduce happily.  These aren't the thoughts this movie first led me to but it's what they led me to in viewing it recently.  I've always thought because of movies like this that there is regular love and a deeper level of love that not many people feel or know about.

It's like Hopkin's daughter is "in love" with Drew the douchebag.  She doesn't know it could be better than what she has with Drew.  There's like this level of love where you just kind of find someone that is good enough.  He or she seems well enough, seems to fit in the family, seems to be smart, and seems like a lot of other things.  How are you suppose to see there is a better person out there for you without having met that person?  I don't know.  Then there's a higher level I used to think where you actually realize this person is so amazing for you.  You smile even when you think of them and smile every time you see them because you can't control your happiness around them.  When you see them you know a conversation is occurring between you and him or her without even acknowledging it.

I don't know though.  That second kind of feeling or level I think could be said to be fleeting or not long lasting.  Maybe (as with most things or levels) is you need to have both.  Maybe though the second version is just really rare.  It only happens a few times and a quote from a movie called Loser where the main girl says there are lucky people where love is like that second level forever.  I like to believe that.  Maybe only certain people who find the other certain people get to experience the second kind of love most of their lives.  It kind of makes sense.  You see the couples that or marriages that still look like super fun and loving as they get older and you see the marriages that are just like "Phew, we made it through another day."  Maybe it's just about both people having a perspective on life which is to be happy instead of being annoyed or mad with life?

William Parrish: I thought I was going to sneak away tonight. What a glorious night. Every face I see is a memory. It may not be a perfectly perfect memory. Sometimes we had our ups and downs. But we're all together, and you're mine for a night. And I'm going to break precedent and tell you my one candle wish: that you would have a life as lucky as mine, where you can wake up one morning and say, "I don't want anything more." Sixty-five years. Don't they go by in a blink?

Just to clarify this very common saying, life doesn't go by in a blink.  It is very slow at times.  Near the end you don't want to die. With the limited time you have left when you realize you are going to die it will feel like life moves really fast.  Granted it does move too fast to fully understand it or enjoy the moments as they pass but that's only the really good parts.

Similar Movies/TV Shows: Legends of the Fall, What Dreams May Come?, Death takes a Holiday (although I've never seen it), City of Angels

"Side" note:  The director seemed to be a big stickler in his vision for the movie.  He was upset when a two hour version was made for TV in which a lot of the business side of movie was taken out.  He was so upset that when the TV version is played he demanded to not be listed as the director.  Also Hopkins got upset with the director for making Hopkins do so many takes on the same scene.

A River Runs Through It (1992)

MIMDB score: 7.9
Current IMDB score: 7.3
Director: Robert Redford
Main Actors you care about: Brad Pitt, Tom Skerritt, Robert Redford (narrator), Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Why I liked it: It's one of those life long movies which are fantastic to me.  It's an interesting perspective on life that has a lot of good thoughts worth thinking through.  It's wholesome.

What stands out:  The feeling you get at the end.  Like you just lived the life that was just shown to you.  Gives you experience without having to experience what the characters go through.

What I would change: I don't know if I would necessarily change it but I've never understood the physical fighting the kids did or that kids do.  I always felt so bad every time I did anything like that.  I never understood why physical dominance was a good thing.  I guess evolutionary it's a good thing but I think as a species we are past that.  Since I don't fully understand that part of life I guess I kind of wish there was less of it in the movie.  Fighting should still be thought about as it still happens in life though.

The main character's wife is pretty uninspiring.  They could have done more with her I think.

Favorite Line(s)/Scene:
Jessie Burns: Why is it the people who need the most help... won't take it?
Norman Maclean: I don't know, Jess.

Rev. Maclean: Each one of us here today will at one time in our lives look upon a loved one who is in need and ask the same question: We are willing help, Lord, but what, if anything, is needed? For it is true, we can seldom help those closest to us. Either we don't know what part of ourselves to give or, more often than not, the part we have to give is not wanted. And so it those we live with and should know who elude us. But we can still love them - we can love completely without complete understanding.

I seems that you can not help people that need it.  You can try and work at it, do whatever you can using tailored ideas but changing another person (for universally understood as better) comes down to the person.  It has to make sense in their head and that only happens if they work it out. There's also a really good quote that synergizes with this thought: "Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you'll understand what little chance you have of trying to change others."

Also there is no such thing as universally better.  No two people think a like.  So what you think is better is not necessarily better for another person.  Whenever I think I should help someone see something or help fix something I think of "Let he [or she] without sin cast the first stone".  Instead of "fixing" other people I should really focus on myself first.  I'm not perfect so there's always something I could be focusing on about myself instead of someone else.  These thoughts usually lead me to not wanting to change anything about anyone else.

Similar Movies/TV Shows: Legends of the Fall and Last of the Mohicans

"Side" note: The movie is based on an auto-biographical story by the real life main character Norman Maclean.  A George Coonebergs is the master fly fisherman that taught all the actors how to fly fish.  The Maclean's and the Coonebergs have been friends for four generations.  That's kind of a really awesome thing.  A lot of people can't be friends for four years.

Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind (2004)

MIMDB score: 7.8
Current IMDB score: 8.4
Director: Michael Gondry
Main Actors you care about: Jim Carey, Kate Winslet, Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo, Kristen Dunst

Why I liked it: It sort of an amazing movie.  It's also sort of a super hyped movie.  It's kind of weird which is why I'm surprised its an 8.4.  I think the thing that appeals to people is the idea of removing someone from your thoughts.   I don't know about you but trying to get someone out of your head is not an easy task.  Most of the time it's not a doable task either.  Many things plague my mind.  If you've ever been in that situation then this movie is a wonderful idea.

The trouble is, and for some reason people miss this part, in the end the movie comes to the conclusion that you would just go back to the same person.  I think the movie is really saying that you have to go through those relationships that mess you up.  You have to have that experience to get past "it" in life.  I'm not just talking about dating a type of person.  "It" could be any number of underlying problems you have.  The only way you get past some things is by going through that experience in some cases.  It's why sometimes when you tell people not to do something they do it anyway because they have to learn for themselves.

I think that message is just a nice way of thinking though.  In reality it just really sucks to have to go through a failure.  I don't know why people have to go through more than others (or at all).  It could come down to cleverness, intuition, being smart?, or just plain luck.  I kind of think it is just luck.  Love in particular is too hard to figure out even though it should be easy.

What stands out:  It's kind of interesting to be in Jim Carey's mind.  It's kind of cool how they do it but it's kind of weird like I said.  I like it but not enough to consider it amazing.  It's only sort of amazing how they do it.  It's a good idea but I'm not overly impressed with exactly how they did it.  I think visualizing the mind could be done better.  It does stand out though because very few movies before it did it as well as this movie.

What I would change:  I don't like Kristen Dunst's character.  She is a floozy.  She wanted to cheat on her boyfriend with her boss, she got involved with someone who she knew was married, and she got so mad that she sends back every persons' memories to them.  That is kind of extreme in my opinion.  It does go along with the movie's idea that even if you could erase memories it wouldn't help all that much but she is so irrational.  I don't like that her character did all of those bad things in the movie.  Maybe she thinks the only way people won't repeat their mistake they are trying to forget is by sending it out but I doubt in every case it was like that.  Also she didn't have the right to do that.  I don't like her rashness in the decision.  She should have talked it over with her boss at least and came to a decision to do that instead of just doing it.

Favorite Line(s)/Scene:  Anything in Montague.  That place is awesome.

"Sand is overrated.  It's just little rocks" Agreed.  Beaches are not that great despite what near ever girl in the world says.  "Oh what are beaches compared to rocks and mountains." should be the saying.

"Why do I fall in love with every girl I see. . . ?" Nature I guess.

"How happy is the blameless vestal's lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each prayer accepted, and each wish resign'd"  It's a beautiful phrase and part in the movie.  I really love "the world forgetting, by the world forgot."  I usually quote that to myself or under my breathe whenever someone (including myself) says or does something I find hypocritical (which is frequent, it's hard to be consistent in life).

Similar Movies/TV Shows: Manhattan but it's kind of boring, Being John Malkovich, Vanilla Sky, the TV show called The Affair, mostly because it's in Montague and you get different points of view of a mind (kind of?).  I think I just like the Affair a lot right now.

"Side" note: Alexander Pope's poem, Eloisa to Abelard is kind of long.  This is the poem the eternal sunshine quote is from.  I wanted to read and analyze it with my girlfriend at the time.  Unfortunately she had already studied it in a class of hers and knew what it was all about.  I never really took the time to figure it out after she told me she already knew what it was about.  That shouldn't stop you from reading it and figuring it out for yourself.

The Others (2001)

MIMDB score: 7.0
Current IMDB score: 7.6
Director: Alexjandro Amenabar
Main Actors you care about: Nicole Kidman

Why I liked it: It's one of the very few horror movies that I've really liked.  Most things make sense.  Very eerie sense most of the time.  It's like a better The Shining in my opinion.  The Shining is too far out there in left field to be really good in my opinion.  I understand The Shining has a lot of meaning it but it fails in the normality scale to make it a great movie.  This movie is closer to being great.  It's the most eerie movie that I've seen.

What stands out:  Nicole Kidman does as well as you'd expect from her.  She plays the very over protective and proper mother perfectly.  I love the plot twist.  I saw this before the Sixth Sense so this is more mind blowing for me.  This was one of the first movies that had a plot twist that made me want to watch it again to see if the movie makes sense before the twist.  From what I can tell it does.

What I would change:  I've never like the too quiet and then loud for a cheap scare horror effect.  It needs to be taken out because I want to hold this movie to a higher standard than most horror movies.  Maybe the too quiet and then loud is what makes the horror movie a horror movie though.

Favorite Line(s)/Scene: It's just so well done.  After rewatching everything lines up with the plot.  The diction, the characters, the weather, and the music all line up marvelously.  Because of this I don't overly have a favorite scene or line.  Here is a few good ones though.

"Now children, are you sitting comfortably?  Then I'll begin" is a wonderfully eerie line to start this particular movie.

Anne: I don't believe that the Holy Spirit is a dove.
Nicholas: I don't believe that either.
Anne: Doves are anything but holy.
Nicholas: They poo on the window.
The only funny lines in the movie.

Similar Movies/TV Shows: The Shining, Identity, and Saw 1 only

"Side" note: "Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin."  This is how the BBC radio show "Listen with Mother" started it broadcast.

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

MIMDB score: 8.0
Current IMDB score: 7.9
Director: Michael Arndt
Main Actors you care about: Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin

Why I liked it: It's real and good . . . it's really good.  The movie understands the quality of being alive.  It makes you happy just seeing the poster above even though it's not the happiest movie.  This is perfectly how you should describe life to someone from another planet that doesn't understand humans.

What stands out:  Everyone does well.  Story is great.  Details are great.  The van not being in tip top shape but works just like their family is one of those cool things that is going on in the movie.

What I would change:  I don't know if the grandpa needed to die.  That kind of set the humor a little over the top I think.  A little "Weekend at Berinie's" I think is too much for this movie to have in it.

I know the ending is pretty amazing for most people but I feel like it could have been even better somehow.  I can't come up with anything better but I think something else could have been done that would have been even better.

Favorite Line(s)/Scene:
The scene on the dock about suffering.  Some of the most interesting people are the people that have suffered the most.  It's sad but mostly true.  People that don't suffer are generally boring.  There is a general consensuses that I'm a sad person.  I generally am not smiling and not easily excited.  That's not because I'm sad inside.  That's because I'm generally thinking about something that is sad.  Those are more interesting things to think about.  Why is that person happy as compared to why is that person sad for instance is more interesting.  It might be more enjoyable to think about why that person is happy but you don't really learn anything.  There's not much to think through.  Oh that person is happy because they just got a promotion or is eating ice cream or gets joy in finding someone's personality in they way they walk down a street.  Those are good things but not much to learn from at all.  Those are passing thoughts.  It takes longer to think about ways to make sad or bad things better than basking in happiness.  It's the pursuit of happiness that makes me happy and not happiness itself.  This idea is already explained in The Pursuit of Happynes movie review.

Also "Do what you love and fuck the rest."

Similar Movies/TV Shows: Juno?  As Good As It Gets, Garden State, and Away We Go are all close but this movie is fairly unique.

"Side" note: Earmuffs!  The scenes where they make the daughter listen to headphones while the other characters cuss was actually kind of true.  The prop people made sure music was playing in the headphones in the scene so that the child actor wouldn't hear the cussing.

Another interesting thing was the drugs used in the movie were actually crushed up vitamin B.

The End of the Tour (2015)

MIMDB score: 8.0
Current IMDB score: 7.9
Director: James Ponsoldt
Main Actors you care about: Jason Segel, Jesse Eisenberg, Joan Cusack

Why I liked it: I haven't read any books by David Foster Wallace.  I've listened to a few of his interviews and his commencement speech which I've all liked.  I've always thought from those that he was a smart guy.  From the movie I got that he was amazing person.  Unfortunately if he knew he was amazing then he no longer would be.  He's a really interesting guy.  He's another character to live up to but in this case he was (at least one time) a real person.  That makes it that much better of a character.  Jason Segel did as good as you would have want him to.

What stands out:  The conversations.  It kind of gets at what the book Infinite Jest (D.F. Wallace's book) talks about.  It gets into that but I found him as a person is what stood out.  He's a solid guy who's smart,  normal, and alive.  As one of the ending point gets at, the movie makes you feel not alone in the world.  Wallace seemed to be really good at saying what was in his mind.  Anytime you can do that and not be too weird it's pretty amazing.  People really respond to real people.

What I would change: I might come back to this and change this section.  I've only seen this currently once in theaters since it just came out.  A lot of the fans of David Foster Wallace said this movie shouldn't come out.  It goes against what David Foster Wallace wanted or stood for.  Based on the movie I disagree.  He would want it to come out but maybe not do well.  He wants people to understand his point of view.  He's just a really humble guy and didn't want to make a big fuss over it.  Just watch it, understand it, and take from what you need in order to live your life better is what I would think he would have wanted for it.

Favorite Line(s)/Scene:
Even though it's a odd feeling scene, I like the scene where David Foster Wallace tells David Lipsky to "just be a good guy."  I feel like I do that all the time to people.  It doesn't really do anything because people feel like they are being a good guy. I feel like I'm a good guy but I'm not.  I thought I was a honest person until I watched this movie.  David Foster Wallace seemed soooooo much more honest than I've ever been really.  Maybe I should not worry about what people will think of my honesty and just be even more honest.  As I've said, people respond to that way more than the fake part of conversation.  I try and not have fake conversations but I should probably be trying harder.

As David Lipsky is leaving and you realize the movie is drawing to an end you get kind of sad that it's the movie is going to end soon as well.  Well done by the movie to give you the same feeling I'm sure David Lipsky was feeling when he had to leave David Foster Wallace.

The scene were Wallace talks about the jumping from a burning building.  I used to think suicide didn't make sense.  If you think of it like a person jumping from a burning building as the last real thing a person can do then it makes much more sense I feel like.  Instead of it being a crazy or selfish idea I think it becomes an act of final desperation.  It's much more understandable that way.

Similar Movies/TV Shows: Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight series.  Dinner with Andre.  It's mostly a conversation movie.

"Side" note: His commencement speech should make you re-evaluate your life if you haven't heard it.  That plus the movie will probably make me end up reading Infinite Jest.

If I could have asked him one question during one of his book signings it would have been: "Why are you so hard on yourself?"

Count of Monte Cristo (2002)

MIMDB score: 7.5
Current IMDB score: 7.7
Director: Kevin Reynolds
Main Actors you care about: Guy Pearce, Jim Caviezel, Luis Guzman

Why I liked it: It's a really good story.  Good thoughts to think through in life.  Not only about revenge but about love, perseverance, integrity, and being naive.  I haven't thought it all through yet but I think there's a lot of imagery in the story.

What stands out: The Count is the best character in the movie (besides maybe Jacopo).  He's the best of the qualities mentioned above except for probably revenge.  He's naive in the beginning which makes him likable.  By the time he becomes somewhat mean you're already on his side.

What I would change: By the end of movie the Count figures out that his ex-fiance isn't to blame for anything.  I feel like he should have seen that sooner.  She wasn't in a place to get him out of jail even if she believed he was alive.  I wouldn't have been upset with her at all.  Maybe he crazily thought she was in on it since she married Mondego but it makes perfect sense that she didn't have anything else to do in life but marry the only other man that wanted to marry her.  This is the 1800's we are talking about here.  This is where he's too blinded by revenge in my opinion.  He does need to seek some revenge on people like Mondego but his ex-fiance?  Did he really think she didn't love him?

Favorite Line(s)/Scene:
"Kings to you."  I love the back and forth of the king chess piece.  That's a cool little motif to have.

The birthday toast scene is pretty well done.  The father is suppose to give the speech to a son on his birthday.  Mondego is unable to so the Count does who is actually his father.  Just a really good web that was woven there.

Edmond: "Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome. Do your worst, for I will do mine! Then the fates will know you as we know you: as Albert Mondego, the man!"

It's a really good quote.  It really easy to be a good person when you have a good life.  It's easy to do the right thing when life is good.  What really matters, because not a lot of people can do it, is how you act when you are at low points in life.  For instance if you are relatively well off it is really easy not to steal.  When you have very little, how hard will it be not to steal the bread right in front of you?  What makes you a "man" or a better indication of ones integrity is restraining yourself from acting poorly when it is hard to do so.  How you act in that moment isn't necessarily your true self but it's a better indication of whether or not you have integrity.

Jacopo: "Why not just kill them? I'll do it! I'll run up to Paris - bam, bam, bam, bam. I'm back before week's end. We spend the treasure. How is this a bad plan?"

Oh Jacopo.  Indeed good sir, indeed.

Luigi: We shall call him... Zatarra.
Edmond: Sounds fearsome.
Luigi: It means, "driftwood."

Pretty funny as the movie doesn't have much humor.  It all comes from the pirates.

I have to mentioned the prison scenes.  I love them.  I've always wanted to go to prison for a little bit just to see what it's like.  To experience that part of life.  Maybe I'll fake rob a bank someday.  I'm sure it's awful and all that but for a lot of people I think it would be good.  You get a lot of time to think out your life and even improve your life by doing whatever activity you really want to (that you can do in prison).  The Count kind of grows out of his naivety, how to sword fight, and pretty much gets an education.  It was really beneficial for him as a person.  Not that it would be the same for me but I think it would give me a lot of extra time to maybe focus on more important things than you know . . . . work.

Similar Movies/TV Shows: V for Vendetta and Man in the Iron Mask.

"Side" note: The book has a mixed view.  A lot of people really like it.  I personally think it's slow and boring.  I've read the first few chapters and it was slow and boring.  Although books in general are slow and boring compared to movies in my opinion.  Books give you a more enriched looked the story but there's a million stories to understand.  Going through them slowly can maybe only be achieved by having a lot of time on your hands.  Maybe if I ever do go to prison. . . .

There's also other movie editions as hopefully you are aware this is a fairly old story.  The version from 1934 is in V for Vendetta.  That version has a 7.7 on IMDB as well so it could be just as good.

Pay it Foward (2000)

MIMDB score: 7.0
Current IMDB score: 7.1
Director: Mimi Leder
Main Actors you care about: Kevin Spacey, Haley Joel Osment, and Helen Hunt

Why I liked it: When I watched it when it came out it sort of changed my life.  I know the phrase is used lightly and maybe it didn't really change my life but it made me feel better about doing good things.  Since then I have done a lot of things only in light of helping others because the idea of paying it forward.  Helping others in hopes of making the world that much better for them.  If I watched a movie like this today I would probably find the movie cheesy.  Because of that it should only be watched once really which is why it's a 7.0.

What stands out: Kevin Spacey and Haley Joel Osment both do really well.  A lot of good scenes between them two.  Teacher-student relationships seem to be thought provoking in movies.  It's an pretty inspirational story.

What I would change: I think him dying at the end is over the top and cliche.  It happens to often in kids movies I feel like.  I know that deaths like this happen in life but I feel they are being a little pushy with the feeling.  It doesn't add much for the people that like the movie.  It pushes people who aren't really into it into not liking it more.  I would have done something else with the climax of the movie.  That being said, the final scene is so sad and good.

Favorite Line(s)/Scene:
The scene where Haley Joel Osment ask Spacey why his face is like in the school parking lot.  It kind of makes me really happy.  Spacey thinks Haley Joel Osment is just asking to go joke around with the other kids about it.  In reality he really is concerned and cares about what happened to Spacey though.  Spacey has to worry about his face every time he looks at it or remembers that it's like that. So when another person in the many persons he's come across asks him about it he is sure it's just another joke on him deal.  When Haley walks past the kids he realizes there are genuinely people that care about him.  Those moments of realization are an awesome part of life.

Eugene: I know what I'm talking about, Arlene! My father got down on his knees and begged my mother. And my mother,s he always took him back. I never understood it. she'd cover up the bruises and the cuts and she'd take him back. Because he begged and he cried. And now you ask me, you ask me what happened after he came back.
Arley: I...
Eugene: No! Go on! You said you wanted to know what happened to me, now ask me!
Arley: I don't like this...
Eugene: Did he hurt you, Eugene? Ask me!
Arley: Did he hurt you?
Eugene: [shakes his head] Not for long. By 13 I was gone. i ran away. But I missed her so... I had to go back and see her. So one night I did. Now, ask me what happened. What happened that night you came back, Eugene?
Arley: What happened?
Eugene: He was there. Drunk. As usual. Only this time I wasn't the same. I was 16 years old and I was no longer afraid of him. And when I looked him in the eyes and told him if he ever touched her again I would kill him, he knew. He knew that he would never exist for me again. And I'm standing in front of the house. I'm yelling, screaming for her to come out. I'm telling her she doesn't have to take it anymore. She really doesn't. She can come with me now. I don't even see it. He hits me in the side of the head with a two-by-four and I'm bleeding from my ear. And then he's dragging me. He's dragging me behind the house into the garage. And then he's gone. A minute... five minutes... I don't know. And then he's back. And he's wetting me down. He's wetting me down and I don't understand. I don't understand why water... should smell so bad. I don't understand. And then I see it. I see... this... this gas can. This red gas can from his truck.
[Crying]
Eugene: And he looks at me one last time... and he lights a match. And the last thing I remember, I'll never forget it, were his eyes. His eyes because they were filled with this immense... satisfaction.
Arley: [Crying] I'm so sorry...
Eugene: Don't! Don't! Don't tell me how sorry you are for me! Tell me how you're going to stop that happening to Trevor!
Arley: Ricky would never do that!
Eugene: Oh, Jesus, Arlene! He doesn't have to. All he has to do is not love him.

It's a powerful scene.  I hope a lot of people in abusive relationships connected with and listen to what he's saying.  GET THE FUCK OUT! NO EXCUSES!  There's a way better life out there than the one with your abusive spouse/significant other.

The end scene is pretty heartbreaking.  The song is beautiful.  I used to listen to it on repeat when this came out.  When they zoom out of the house and there's just car lights and car lights for days it's makes you feel so happy in a way.

Similar Movies/TV Shows: Amélie: "It's better to help people than garden gnomes." All the kids movies where someone dies at the end: My Girl, Bridge to Terabithia, Simon Birch, and Walk to Remember,  There's probably more as this is a too common of an ending/climax in movies.

"Side" note: A popular wrestler at the time Goldberg, is in a poster in the kids room.  He's my favorite wrestler as well! . . . . I'm lying.  I'm pretty sure Andre the Giant is my favorite wrestler.  I feel like he's a good guy in person even though he played the villain in a lot of his matches.  I've actually seen him perform when I was like six. It was kind of awesome.

Never Let Me Go (2010)

MIMDB score: 7.8
Current IMDB score: 7.2
Director: Mark Romanek
Main Actors you care about: Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightly, Andrew Garfield

Why I liked it: The ending.  It's always nice to hear to live life to the fullest.  Yea it's been said to you a thousands of times and it gets boring to hear.  This movie does it in a way you wouldn't normally expect it.  I think it really shows you that you don't have much time on this earth and you need to freaking enjoy the crap out of the time you have.

What stands out: All three main characters do well.  This movie made me start to like Carey Mulligan a lot.  I think she stands out a bit in the movie.  Most people say her break-out role was An Education but for me it was this film. She was also in Pride & Prejudice but as kind of a minor role.

What I would change: I don't think they should tell you in the beginning what makes the characters "special".  I think they should have kept it a mystery in the beginning.  Kind of like in Seven Pounds when they show you that he's going to kill himself.  That should be a mystery I feel like.  Something to figure out.  Maybe they should make like a hard-mode version of movies on Blu-ray.  It would be much more interesting.

Not that I would change this but I hate people like Ruth in real life.  What a witch of a person.  I wish Tommy would have been stronger and seen Kathy H. was his actual love earlier in life.  Unfortunately so it goes sometimes in life.  At least they had time together.  Some people don't even get that in their short lives.

Favorite Line(s)/Scene:
Kathy: "It had never occurred to me that our lives, which had been so closely interwoven, could unravel with such speed. If I'd known, maybe I'd have kept tighter hold of them and not let unseen tides pull us apart."
It's hard when you are in the moment of high school, college,  or any moment to believe there will come a day when the feeling of constant friendship will go away.  I guess I understand why people grow apart but I don't really like it.  People get bored and want to move on and want to do different things in life.  That leads to people not being as close in the long term.  Really though just because you talked to some one everyday it doesn't mean you aren't close with them.  It's kind of how I deal with loneliness.  I think of the people I've been close with or are close with and what they are doing when I'm feeling alone.  In that way I don't feel alone because I imagine them doing the things that make them who they are to me.  It can usually make me smile as I go along my day.

The ending scene is pretty fantastic.  It's where the revelation of the characters you have invested become just like the viewer.  During the movie you kind of feel bad for them and keep lightly thinking "at least I'm not them".  At the end you figure out just because they live shorter lives doesn't mean they don't have the same problems as people that live a "full" or "normal" life.  Use your time in life wisely.  The message has been said many times and many ways.  I believe the movie has a very thought provoking way of doing it.


Similar Movies/TV Shows: Remember Me.  I don't know if Remember Me is a similar movie but it makes me think of both these movies when I try and come up with the title to Never Let Me Go.  About Time is similar though.

"Side" note: I'm going to talk about why I like Carey Mulligan so much.  Apparently she read the novel  "Never Let Me Go" as a child and really wanted and hoped she would one day play Kathy H when a filmed was made (which she believed it would made into a film one day).  Also she used to be pen pals with the lead singer from Mumford and Sons when she was a child, Marcus Mumford.  They stopped writing each other and later when they worked on the same movie, Inside Llewyn Davis, they got together and then married.  Such a good story of how you met the love of your life.  I hope they last.

Atonement (2007)

MIMDB score: 7.0
Current IMDB score: 7.8
Director: Joe Wright
Main Actors you care about: Keira Knightly, James McAvoy, Benedict Cumberbatch

Why I liked it: The scene.  Most of the movie is a 6.7ish probably as it's not super great.  The scene though. . . .  I think it's worth watching just for the scene so I have it at a flat 7.

What stands out: The scene

Favorite Line(s)/Scene:
The only reason to review this movie is the beach scene.  "It's like something out of the bible."  This maybe the best scene ever done in a movie.   If you didn't watch it you need to watch it before I go on.

I'll assume you watched it.  Notice the scene is all in one take.  No cuts.  Just beauty for five minutes straight.  The music.  It makes me want to cry when they pan across the soldiers singing the hymn.  The music coupled with the hymn with the visual of the ferris wheel near a beach is a spectacular scene.  Notice the solider hanging on to the ferris wheel as it goes around.  There's so many things to look for in this scene.  There's so many metaphors and eloquent beauty in this scene.

My favorite metaphor I"ll point out is that the whole scene is in my belief suppose to be purgatory.  All of the soldiers are waiting for where to go next.  They are soldiers so they have probably killed other people but they did it in the name of goodness.  So they would be candidates for purgatory I would think.  The main character really dies in the movie so he could really be in purgatory.  "It's a scene out of the bible." I just think it's really beautiful.

Similar Movies/TV Shows: The Fountain's walking scene.

"Side" note: The beach scene was all filmed in one day as a tracking shot.

Flipped (2010)

MIMDB score: 7.1
Current IMDB score: 7.7
Director: Rob Reiner
Main Actors you care about: John Mahoney (old dad from Fraiser).  I like Madeline Carroll. She's not someone you would know though.

Why I liked it: I think this is a good idea for a romantic comedy.  I don't know how much comedy is in this movie though.  The movie switches between the thoughts of both main characters.  So you'll get what one characters thinks then the other.  Again if you don't like romantic comedies then this will be just be a slightly interesting movie which is why I'm rating it lower than a 7.7.

What stands out: The girl.  She's beautiful.  Her personality is beautiful.  She's not bad looking or anything but that's not what stands out.  That's the best kind of girl.  She reminds me a little of Kitty from Anna Karenina a little.  This applies to more than just girls but if girls spent as much as time on there personalities as they did their looks, I would like a lot more girls.

The egg scene.  It's so sad when she catches him throwing them away.  It's so sad to see good people being let down by the world.  It might be one of the worst things to see.  I think this is another movie that should make you see what kind of person you should be.  It also shows you that the good people in the world can make people better just by being themselves.  It's a fantastic thought and should be enough reason to try and be a really good person. If not for yourself then for everyone else in the world.

Favorite Line(s)/Scene:
I like now she thinks she secretively smells his hair. This is so interesting of a perspective.  Everyone thinks they are so secretive about liking people.  95% of the time though I feel like people know what's happening.    It's like a quote from the movie Elizabethtown: "Trust me, everyone is less mysterious than they think are".

Chet Duncan: It's about honesty, son. Sometimes a little discomfort in the beginning... can save a whole lot of pain down the road.
Many instances in movies/TV have shown that honesty is actually the best policy in like 99% of cases. Be as honest as much as you can.  It makes life easier more often than not.

"After the eggs why should I care what he thinks about anything. . . but I did."  Love sucks in that way.  Caring about others who don't care about you is so not fun.  It makes you feel worthless but you can't help but care about them.  It's the sucky part of love.

Sum of parts stuff.  It's an interesting thought. Paraphrased:
"I started looking at people, trying to figure out if they were more or less than the some of their parts.  Chet was right.  A lot of them were less.  I couldn't seem to place Bryce though.  Maybe I just want him to be more than the sum of his parts. Was he really sorry or was he saying these things to make himself feel better?  As I looked into his eyes, for the first time, I was pretty sure Byrce was less."  It's upsetting when you've loved someone for so long with what you believe are good reasons just to find that you've been bamboozled all along.  You feel so drained after a realization like that.

I don't know if most people suck.  I go back and forth.  I think this movie separates good people from bad people.  Yea that's an ok level of thinking.  There was a class in school that talked about levels of thinking.  So yea there's the bottom one like the one that does not equal the sum of their parts.  Then there's one above that, that is the sum of their parts.  Then I venture to say there is a level above that level of thinking when you realize all people are neither good nor bad.  There are just people who act good AND bad.  Some act better than others and certain points in their lives.  The general rule though is is most people are good and bad.  Once you start thinking like that you judge people less.  It's hard to write people off when you think like that as well.  This movie only points out the first and second level.  That's good enough I guess to get people thinking.

It's hard to consistently think like that though.  When confronted with what seems like bad thing after bad thing it's hard not to considering most people terrible.  Whenever I get to that point in thinking I remind myself that I am most people.  If I want to think most people are terrible then I have to consider myself terrible.  That usually stops me from thinking most people are terrible.

Chet Duncan: You know, Bryce... once's character is set at an early age. I'd hate to see you swim out so far you can't swim back.
Bryce Loski: Sir?

Going along with what I just said, I don't think you can ever swim so far that you can't be good again.  Again this is 99% of the people.  There are terrible, terrible, terrible people and those people usually do things that put them in jail or death.  Just because you do one bad thing to one person doesn't make you terrible.  We can't live in a society like that because everyone has treated at least one person poorly.  Some people need to treat someone poorly in order to realize how to treat the rest of people in the world.

Similar Movies/TV Shows: The Affair, Little Manhattan

"Side" note: I would have been the basket boy with peanut butter and banana sandwiches.  I would have gotten about 8 dollars.  That's 63.89 today though so you know, not bad?  Whenever the auctioneer says "peanut butter and banana sandwiches!" I have to smile.

Little Manhatten (2005)

(I couldn't find a poster I liked)

MIMDB score: 6.8
Current IMDB score: 7.6
Director: Mark Levin
Main Actors you care about: Josh Hutcherson, the red-head from Sex and City.

Why I liked it: The boy's inner thoughts are too exact to my own life not to review this movie.  I don't like admitting that I think like this boy but I do. An adult wrote it so it's not exactly like I think like a little boy.  Too many times in the movie I said to myself "Yep, that's what it feels like."

What stands out: It's in New York?  That's cool if you like New York.  It's not a great movie.  I doubt it should be as high as 7.6.  It's just a cute, interesting, and child-likeish view on love.  Then again I don't believe children think childish thoughts.  Children just don't have the experience or wisdom adults do.  They can be just as smart (and smarter) as adults in some cases.

What I Would Change (if anything): It is what it is.  Child acting isn't great so don't focus on that.  You just have to view this is a nice little romantic comedy since that's what it is (Little Manhattan).

Favorite Line(s)/Scene:
Gabe: Where's the whole wish you can come to the wedding? Where's that Rosemary? The Rosemary i loved? Not this alien with her crazy weekend. You're new sparing partner is he coming to the wedding?
Rosemary: What Tim?
Gabe: Oh is that what you call him? Are you calling him after you call me?
Rosemary: What are you talking about?
Gabe: I'm talking about you and Tim Staples sitting in a tree K.I.S.S.I.N.G first comes love then comes marriage then comes Tim Staples in a baby carriage.
Rosemary: You sound crazy you know that?
Gabe: Why don't you have time this weekend?
Rosemary: I'm sorry Gabe i haven't even started packing.
Gabe: You know what? I hate you!
Rosemary: What?
Gabe: I hate you! Why do you even care? I hate you!
Rosemary: Well i hate you too!
Gabe: I hate you more!
Rosemary: How can you say something so mean? I hate you!

It pains me to realize more often than not I'm acting like a child in love whenever I'm in love.  It's really hard when your feelings are on the line.  It's so hard to start a romantic relationship.  So many things have to be in place I feel like.  Really it should be easy but the start never is.  It's always easy in my mind anyway.  It just never comes out or ends up that way.  There's too many things to think about and mess me up and too many unknowns in the other person.

Rosemary: But I thought you hate me.
Gabe: I don't. I lied.
Gabe: [thinking] I wasn't gonna be like my father. I wasn't gonna let all these things left unsaid smother me.
Gabe: Rosemary, I love you.
Rosemary: You what?
Gabe: I do. I'm sorry, but I love you more than anyone's ever loved. I love you, I love you, I love you.
Gabe: [thinking] How's that for letting it all hang out there? And hang, and hang, and hang.
Gabe: You think you might wanna love me, too?
Rosemary: I don't know what I think, Gabe, I'm only 11. I don't think I'm ready to be in love.
Gabe: I'm not ready and I'm doing it!
Rosemary: Maybe I was wrong, maybe girls don't mature faster.
Gabe: No they do, they do, you know they do. You even said so at the park. We at least mature at the same rate.
Rosemary: I don't know what mature is anymore, but I'm really happy you came. Do you want to dance, Gabe?
Gabe: Sure, what the hell.

"I do. I'm sorry. but I love you . . . ."  I hate having to apologize that you are in love with someone.  The person on the other end of it should be so freaking happy that they could inspire anyone to love them.  It doesn't happen often from my experience.  Cherish it when you can inspire it in others.   Even if you don't feel it back.  It's still a rare event in your life.

"I don't know what mature is anymore"  Yea thinking and having opinions on things seems so stupid.  Things change way to fast in life. Things are so grey it's insane.  What happens in one case won't happen in another.  Love is not like physics.  There's no laws in love, only theories.  Theories that don't even hold up for every person on Earth.  It's crazy.

"I've been in love for two and half weeks and it's a pain I wouldn't wish on my worst enemies."
Unfortunately that's how you sure fire way know you are or were in love.

Leslie: Maybe not everything is supposed to last forever. Certain things are like... like... skywriting. Like, like, like a really beautiful thing that lasts for a couple moments and then... You know?
Gabe: [cries] Mommy!
Leslie: I know, honey. Love sucks.
Gabe: Yeah.

Anything people say when you are in "love pain" doesn't really help I feel like.

Gabe: [practicing in the mirror] Hey Rosemary. Hey there, pretty lady. How's it goin, girl? Hey, Rosemary Telesco.
This scene is pretty funny and cute.

All of the following quotes I've thought before in every relationship I've been in (or close to have been in):
Gabe: What choice did I have but to return to my old, miserable life? Wait a minute. You were happy. Oh, please! I was miserable. I just didn't know how miserable I was.
____
Gabe: Look at me. I can bounce back. I don't need some girl in my life for me to happy.
____
Gabe: There are very few things more painful than watching the woman you love grapple with another man. Actually, I take that back. There are no things more painful.
____
Gabe: See, life is about so much more than Rosemary. I had my family, my health, my kicking career. I really had no room for a woman in my life.
____
Gabe: [thinking] My first date. The big spender. Häagen-Dazs all the way, baby. So, how come I have nothing to say to her. Why isn't she looking at me? Am I that hideous? Do I Smell?
Gabe: You um come here often?
Rosemary: Central Park?
Gabe: Um, yeah.
Gabe: [thinking] What kind of question is that? I hate myself.
____
Gabe: This was no time for small talk. It was time to lay things on the table. To reach through the phone line and dig deep into that woman's soul.
____
Gabe: I had no idea what she was thinking she was this total mystery to me. Did I want to kiss Rosemary Telesco? Yes I guess I did. I wanted to more than anything on Earth.
Gabe: Do you want some Gatorade?
Gabe: Who was I kidding anyway? Was I really going to kiss her? I mean come on she's eleven, I'm ten well ten and three quarters actually.

Similar Movies/TV Shows: Flipped, Bridge to Terabithia, and My Girl maybe?

"Side" note: I think it's safe to say girls develop faster than boys.  They hit puberty earlier which is proven and that's in general of course. Maturity is probably about even.  There are articles like this though that will say girls mature up to ten years faster than boys.  Maybe like the worst boy compared to the best girl.  I'm guessing if you do the same comparison the other way you probably will find a similar difference in age.  Either way it's probably not that big of a deal that one sex matures faster than another because "we are all fools in love."

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

MIMDB score: 8.1
Current IMDB score: 7.9
Director: Gabriele Muccino
Main Actors you care about: Will Smith, Thandie Newton, Jaden Smith

Why I liked it: It's just another person to look up to in life.  Will Smith's character struggles like most people dream they do.  Whenever he says things like "this part of my life, this part right here" I get really happy.  I do that so often in my life since watching the movie.  "This part of my life, this part right here is called going to weddings." That's currently where I'm at in my life.  I'm sure whenever the next step starts, I'll say something similar to myself.  It's a good way to zoom out and view my life in the third person.

What stands out: Will Smith.  He did fantastic.

What I Would Change (if anything): I wish the mom wouldn't have left.  I get it, life is hard and you aren't strong enough to handle it.  That's lame though.  Every life has good in it.  You really need to see that by the time you have kids.  Maybe she was going through something but I don't think he was being that awful of a person or that the situation was that awful before she left.  It got worse after she left of course partly because she left.  Maybe I'm being too hard on her but I feel like she should have stayed with the family but I wasn't in her shoes so I guess I can't be too hard on her.

Favorite Line(s)/Scene:
"It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what. How did he know that?"
Fantastic.  Most people are never fully happy.  They are always not quite there and always in pursuit of it though.  This might just be personal bias but I believe that is true.  You might get there for a short period of time but then time will go by and things will change and you won't be fully happy again.  What the quote is getting at is you will always be in pursuit of happiness.  The title's misspelling indicates this.  Happyness is in the title but it's supposed to be spelled: happiness.  It's so close but it's still pursing to become happiness.  I maybe reading into it but I like to think that's what they intended to do with that misspelling.

I think it's okay not be truly happy because it's like perfection.  Perfection is great to think about but it's not obtainable.  It is unequivocally healthy to pursue perfection.  Giving up pursuit because you know perfection is not going to be obtained by you doesn't make sense.  

Christopher Gardner: Hey. Don't ever let somebody tell you... You can't do something. Not even me. All right?
Christopher: All right.
Christopher Gardner: You got a dream... You gotta protect it. People can't do somethin' themselves, they wanna tell you you can't do it. If you want somethin', go get it. Period.

I actually find this moment a little cheesy.  Mostly because I've heard something like this thousands of times.  Chase your dreams.  It's sad when good quotes don't do anything for you because you've already thought through or heard the idea a few dozen times.  I mentioned it because it's considered a really good moment in the movie and it kind of is.

Christopher: Hey dad, you wanna hear something funny? There was a man who was drowning, and a boat came, and the man on the boat said "Do you need help?" and the man said "God will save me". Then another boat came and he tried to help him, but he said "God will save me", then he drowned and went to Heaven. Then the man told God, "God, why didn't you save me?" and God said "I sent you two boats, you dummy!"

See if you've heard that before you won't like it as much.  It's well done in the movie because the kid delivers it well and the placement of it I think is great.

Similar Movies/TV Shows: Seven Pounds, Similar feeling from What Dreams May Come

"Side" note:  The world's current largest rubic's cube is 17x17x17.  I'm sure many people know the movie is based on the real life of Chris Gardner.  Less known is the real Chris Gardner walks past the fake Chris Gardner at the end of the movie.

Pride & Prejudice (2005)

MIMDB score: 7.8
Current IMDB score: 7.8
Director: Joe Wright
Main Actors you care about: Keira Knightly, Rosamund Pike, Jena Malone, Carey Mulligan, Donald Sutherland, Matthew Macfadyen

Why I liked it:
One of the few movies I could watch on repeat.  I would love to say this is higher than a 7.8 but I can't do it.  I don't think everyone lives in a world where love is the most important thing in life.  If you don't find stories of the agony of falling in love insanely interesting then you'll find this movie boring.  If you do find love insanely interesting then you'll find this this movie fantastic.  The book is one of the best books written about the loveliness of falling in love. This version of the movie is in my opinion the best version.

What stands out: It's beautiful.  The music is perfect.  The scenes are spectacular.  The acting is spectacular.  The cast was fantastic.  It is so very good.

I can not stress enough that I love the witty banter between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth.  That might be my favorite part of love.  It's well done in this movie and makes me smile every time it happens in the movie.

What I Would Change (if anything): Sorry, I can't think of anything.  It's so very meaningful.  It makes me feel so good just watching the opening credits.

Favorite Line(s)/Scene:
Hmmmm, where to begin.  I want to watch the first proposal scene over and over.  It's so wonderful.  That's where I'd like to propose if I ever propose to someone and it was up to me where it happened.  I know Elizabeth said no there but doesn't matter because the setting is so amazing.  The second proposal scene is just a regular scene for me.  It's nice and all and the lighting is fantastic and his words are fantastic but it doesn't have the extreme emotion that's in the first proposal.

The dance scene where everyone else fades away and it's just Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth.  I think that's been done before even in dancing scenes but it was the first time I saw it in a movie and it added to the scene a lot.  Reminds of The Fountain scene where he is walking down the street and doesn't hear anything besides his own footsteps.  The moments when everything else fads away and it's just you and maybe one other person are what life is about I feel like.

There is a tracking scene at a dance where Wickham is suppose to show up.  It's just one camera shot the whole time and you see what everyone is doing.  I really like that way shooting in general.  Especially when you have to show a lot of what people are doing in one scene.  This movie does that well.  There always seems to be a few things going on in one scene like this that you have to pay attention more than you would a normal scene.

Mr. Darcy: "I... do not have the talent of conversing easily with people I have never met before."
Elizabeth Bennet: "Perhaps you should take your aunt's advice and practice?"
One of my more favorite witty banter between the two.  I don't have the talent of conversing easily with people in general.

Elizabeth Bennet: I'm very fond of walking.
Mr. Darcy: Yes . . . yes I know.
These aren't thought provoking but they make me happy when I think about them.  He's so in love when he says his line here.

Elizabeth Bennet: "Only the deepest love will persuade me into matrimony, which is why I will end up an old maid."  Same with me except an old bachelor?  What's a old bachelor called? An old bastard probably.

Charlotte Lucas: "Not all of us can afford to be romantic, Lizzy."
This line kills me.  I understand in the past that Charlotte wouldn't have the ability to refuse a man per say but today I would hope no one would settle.  Settling is a hard thing to understand.  Do people know they are settling?  Is settling the same as what other people think it is.  Is that a rule that everyone should abide by?  Anytime you get married you probably settling in some format.  No one is perfect.  No relationship is perfect.  No two people line up like soul mates or whatever. Also your life isn't over until it's over.  You will not meet everyone you are going to meet till the end of your life.  You could meet someone better.  You don't know.  Because of that marriage is settling.  Marriage is not a terrible thing though.  How could settling be a terrible thing then?

Settling is just a mentality.  It's challenging to think about whether some one else is really settling or just looks like it.  I think with yourself that it's easy to feel if you are settling.  Therefore I trust people are not actually settling.  They could be settling in love because they want something else in life more.  For instance some people want kids more than they want love of a husband or wife.  Settling in love has to be okay because of that line of thought.  I just don't see myself settling in love.

Charlotte Lucas: "We are all fools in love."  Amen Charlotte.  I might even extend it to "We are all fools in life".  I haven't met anyone who knows what they were doing in life, let alone love.  People just get lucky and some people don't in life (and love).

Similar Movies/TV Shows: All the other Pride and Prejudice versions and remakes.  None of them are as good as this one though in my opinion.  Bronte sister movies: Jane Eyre (2006 version is best), Wuthering Heights.  Jane Austin's other novels that are decent movies: Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Mansfield Park.  Downtown Abbey probably.  None of these are as lovely as this version of Pride and Prejudice though.

"Side" note:  I think it's subtle in the movie but the youngest (Mary Bennet) is in love with Mr. Collins.  I didn't pick that up till I listened to the commentary.  They don't even mentioned it in this diagram.

Moneyball (2011)

MIMDB score: 7.7
Current IMDB score: 7.6
Director: Bennett Miller
Main Actors you care about: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright, Chris Pratt

Why I liked it:
I had a friend that once said you can't find anything meaningful in some sports like golf.  There's meaning in everything including boring sports.  This movie isn't about golf but it is about a boring sport like golf.  Baseball just like any other facet of life has meaning in it if you look for it.  There's a beautiful scene that I'll explain later that shows this.  There's meaning in everything.  You just need to look for it.

What stands out: Brad Pitt does fantastic.  That's not a surprise though.  Jonah Hill does really well here.  That is somewhat surprising since he hasn't done a role like this. Hats off to him.

What I Would Change (if anything): Sorry, I can't think of anything.  The movie is about baseball so it could be considered boring if you don't like baseball or sports.  You should really learn to enjoy as much as you can in life though.  Try not to have bias towards things and you'll find more things in life (like this movie) are amazing.

Favorite Line(s)/Scene:
This scene is amazing.  Just watch it.  If you don't feel anything then you shouldn't be reading anything I'm writing.

The last scene of the movie is really meaningful as well. He's leaving Oakland to work for another team.  He's leaving his daughter behind who he loves a lot and she sang him this song earlier in the movie but he wanted her to record it for her.  As he's essentially leaving Oakland he plays the recording.  You can see he's just fighting tears the whole time.  "Life is a maze and love is a riddle."  It's just a really good moment for the end of a movie.  This guy struggled the whole time to do what he believed in and it kind of paid off but kind of didn't.  I don't know.  I just really like it and it made me feel good.

Billy Beane: "I know these guys. I know the way they think, and they will erase us. And everything we've done here, none of it'll matter. Any other team wins the World Series, good for them. They're drinking champagne, they get a ring. But if we win, on our budget, with this team... we'll have changed the game. And that's what I want. I want it to mean something."
That's what we should all be looking for in our own lives.  For things we are doing to mean something.

Similar Movies/TV Shows: Trouble with the Curve, Field of Dreams, Rudy, The Sandlot, and maybe even Cool Runnings.

"Side" note:
The girl that played the main character's daughter sang the song at the end of the movie during her audition.  The director liked it so much he put it in the movie.  The song was written in 2008 and the movie is set in 2001 so it threw off historical correctness.  He probably didn't care because it was so good.

What Dreams May Come (1998)

MIMDB score: 7.9
Current IMDB score: 7.0
Director: Vincent Ward
Main Actors you care about: Robin Williams and Cuba Gooding Jr.

Why I liked it:
I don't know why this movie doesn't have more than a 7.0.  It really should.  It's a highly thought provoking movie.  Heaven is such a insane topic and this movie's view on it is beautiful.  There's so many artistic scenic shots in this movie.  It also takes you a little bit through hell.

What stands out: Robing Williams did amazing.  He's good in most things he did around this time.  Robin's heaven is amazing.  Half paint and half reality is such a fantastic heaven.  I hope he's in something like this right now.

What I Would Change (if anything): Nothing comes to mind.  It's kind of slow which might be a turn off to some but it's fine.

Favorite Line(s)/Scene:
Chris: "Thank you for every kindness. Thank you for our children. For the first time I saw them. Thank you for being someone I was always proud to be with. For your guts, for your sweetness. For how you always looked, for how I always wanted to touch you. God, you were my life. I apologize for every time I ever failed you. Especially this one..."
Anytime someone is being so loving it hurts it makes me feel so good.  I love this scene. For some reason sitting in a row of trees makes the scene that much better.

Albert: So what is the "me"?
Chris Nielsen: My brain I suppose.
Albert: Your brain ? Your brain is a body part. Like your fingernail or your heart. Why is that the part that's you?
Chris Nielsen: Because I have sort of a voice in my head, the part of me that thinks, that feels, that is aware that I exist at all.
Albert: So if you're aware you exist, then you do. That's why you're still here.
Everyone should take a philosophy class to better understand how to think.

Annie Nielsen: "A whole family lost to car crashes. Enough to make a person buy a bike."
I've always liked this line.

Annie Nielsen: "Dear Diary, I am writing in your bullshit pages because my shrink is crazier then I am. He thinks you're therapy. He figures if two babies can hammer me into a Psycho ward, what will I do with this? He is so stupid. He's so stupid that he thinks he pulled me through the breakdown when it was Christy. Always. Only Chris. I was looking through his postcards. Paintings were his obsession. He used art as another way to love me, to help me. To keep us always together."
I don't think I will ever go to a psychiatrist.  If you are at rock bottom it makes sense but I feel like most people just need a really good friend in life to make it through.  Just find someone that listens to you and helps you clarify your ideals and thoughts.  That's all talking to a psychiatrist will really do.  Everyone deals with similar bullshit.  Some people deal with more but however much bullshit you have to deal with you will make it seem worse than it is.  This will make it seem like your bullshit is just as bad as people going through real bullshit.  There are exceptions like people that need medication and those people should go to a psychiatrist.  I'm not talking to about people with real mental disorders.  If you are just going because you are really sad you just need to find a friend that will let you talk for hours and just talk all night.

Suicide doesn't make sense in non terminal cases.  Life can be really shitty at times.  By shitty I mean terrible.  It can also be pretty good at times.  By pretty good I mean amazing.  You have to get to the point where you can take the good and the bad and learn to be ok with both.  If you get really good at life you should be able to enjoy the terrible moments as well as the amazing ones.  They are both better than death.  Yes, I would be messed up for awhile if my family died.  Then after awhile I'd join the Peace Corps, a non-profit, or start a foster home. That way I could spend the rest of my life helping other people because I would believe my chance at happiness was gone.  Helping others get to happiness is a good plan B.  There's always something you can do with the hand you are dealt.  Folding should not be an option.

Similar Movies/TV Shows: The Lovely Bones, Although these are books: Dante's Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.

"Side" note:
When Robin Williams goes to the city in Heaven where people are flying around, watch for characters from Peter Pan and Mary Poppins.