Sunday, January 29, 2012

January Movies - Part 1

Alright here it is, my 2012 challenge for myself: 50 books and 50 movies completed by the end of the year. I am posting a little late, as it is already basically the end of January, as I was debating with myself whether or not to do it. Then I realized, the only person I have to answer to about this is....well...me. So what do I have to loose?

I am sure this is like the lazy man way of re-capping, but I have actually watched a couple of new movies already this month, so I will start the count with these and give my brief reviews on each:

1. Casablanca: Yes, I know I am almost a little ashamed of this. I am 26 and had never actually watched this movie until this year. And I have to admit, it was pretty awesome. I can see how it is a timeless classic, the ill-fated lovers, the exotic location, the scene unfolding on the outskirts of a war. This one really had everything you could want in a movie. I was hooked and could not look away from the moment it started. Plus, you just can't help loving the characters. Top notch movie from start to finish.

2. Citizen Cane: This is another movie that was listed as "must see". So, new year, why not try to make that list of should-have watched movies get smaller. This movie I wasn't a huge fan of. It was all about this man Cane and how he became the man he was. It was really how he was a disconnected man, who wanted to be loved by everyone but didn't really understand what that meant nor how to love people as well. But I hated the character and most of the sub-plots within the movie. The famous "Rosebud" line was epic, but other than that...it just wasn't really my type of movie. I think the point of the movie was to show how the way you grow up molds and makes you. That even if you could be given every advantage of money and proper upbringing, if you don't have love there to support you, you will not be whole. Your whole life you can strive to re-claim what was lost, but it is a fruitless effort if you don't really understand what it is you are missing. At least, that is what I am taking away from this movie. (I really look at it as hours of my life I can never get back.... but trying to put a meaningful spin on it makes it seem worth it.)

3. War Horse: The movie was literally just about this horse that survived all these different hardships, torn from its free life to work the land, then sent to war, the lives it touched and healed. It was interesting. I could have almost seen this as an epic movie, similar to Forrest Gump, in which it is the story about one man and the most crazy, practically unbelievable, events that happen in his life, except of course this all happened to a horse and told through his eyes. Not the best movie I have ever seen, but it definitely had a different twist to the usual movie, and actually had many emotionally charged scenes.


There are a few more, but I think maybe I should space that out a little in separate posts. I am a huge movie buff, as many of you may already know, so the movie portion of this challenge, is not really the challenge for me. The books will be the real effort, as I am not as much of the avid reader I once was. But I think here in California, maybe I can take a step back and enjoy the simple things. Like a nice book with a glass of wine on a warm night....