Catching Up..

32. Watch a classic movie each month - Ok, I know I haven't blogged about any movies since November, but I really have been watching movies. However, I am making a slight change to this goal, but it stays on the same concept.

I just recently joined Netflix (amazing so far), and with this, I am making a goal to see every Best Picture winner since 1950 that I haven't seen. I had seen 18 of them before starting this. These are all considered classics, so it stays on the rules of this goal.

I have seen 2 movies since joining, and they are:



The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) - I watched this in high school but didn't pay attention, so I wanted to make sure I watched it. I thought it was alright. I expected a war film, and instead got a slow-moving, dragging 2 hour, 40 minute movie about something I could have made in 15 minutes. The ending was awesome, but the middle parts just dragged. I know I have to view movies made in the 50's differently than in the 90's, but my attention span doesn't go much farther than 2 hours, and this movie was very hard to stick with. But in the end it was an interesting story line, I just wish they had made it in 2 hours instead of dragging it out. I believe I would have liked it much better.

IMDB rating: 8.5 My rating: 5.5



Million Dollar Baby (2004) - I had been wanting to see this movie for quite some time. I had heard about it, had heard it was depressing, but the hype around it made me very excited to see this movie. It was very disappointing. SPOILER ALERT!!: I thought that they tried way too hard with the end story line. It was mind-boggling to me that he ended up killing her. I know that she wanted it, and I know that he felt he had to do it for her, but what he did was highly illegal, and upon an autopsy, he never would have gotten away with it. Hillary Swank's acting was absolutely phenomenal, but it wasn't enough to save this movie. It was all a little too unbelievable. They tried too hard with her family being greedy, they tried too hard with her wanting to die, they tried too hard making her so successful. The underlying story-line with the retarded boy at the gym made no sense. What was the point of that?? So he's retarded and gets beat up by one of the other guys at the gym, he comes back in the end to train, what's the point? What did Morgan Freeman's character mean by "her ghost walked through the door?" I was just left puzzled at that. I thought the beginning of this film was so interesting and so awesome, but it became a train wreck about half-way through, and can only think the only reason it won Best Picture was because of the directing and acting by Clint Eastwood.

IMDB Rating: 8.2 My Rating: 4.0

The Bad Dog Club..

#6 - Read a non-fiction book - I might as well be a part of the Bad Dog Club the way I have been ignoring my blog and goals lately. But I did knock out a goal recently..

I finished reading "Marley & Me," something I wanted to do before seeing the movie. I am a sucker for dog books, and had heard this one was good, so decided to give it a go. I am so glad that I did.

"Marley & Me" is a phenomenal read that keeps moving and keeps you hooked from the very beginning. It has countless stories that involve laughter and sadness, leading to the imminent very sad ending. I read "Where the Red Fern Grows" when I was younger, and cried at the ending, and this book was no different to my feelings. It doesn't help that my Shadow is growing older and weaker and may not be around much longer, but maybe it did help me in that it began preparations for losing her. Whichever affect it has on me, I am so happy that I read this book. I will definitely re-read it down the road, and now I have to see the movie.

I highly recommend this book for a casual read for dog lovers, you will love it. Now it's time to find a fictional novel for another goal..