Review-- The War on Kids

Review-- The War on Kids

Rating-- 2/5

This received lowest rating of the movies I have reviewed so far and trust me when I tell you-- do not watch this if you are a teacher because there is a strong likelihood you will throw something at the screen.

Luckily I kept myself under control but in my opinion it vilified teachers and said we are the reasoning for the school system being all wrong.

This is a documentary about how schools are turning into prisons. I will agree they are turning in that direction BUT NOT BECAUSE OF TEACHERS. As you can tell I have a problem with a lot of the content because it shows one side of the story.

A true well made documentary at least attempts to see the other side of the story and show some of their points of a view. This in my opinion is a bad documentary with horrible editing. They do make some very good points and if they had stopped about 30 minutes sooner this would be a totally different review (the first hour is their best). By the way it is a 95 minute movie (hour and a half long).

The beginning it starts with making the comparison with prisons which was effective and moves on to the over medicating of students (which if you ask most teachers they will agree-- including myself).

I do not agree with the director who choose to blame one group of people for the problems with the school system. As a result it was VERY HARD for me to stay impartial. I believe that the problems come from multiple groups and people-- no single person can be the scapegoat. If they had gone and done a more thorough examination of the situation I feel it could have been much stronger. Instead they took the easy route and blamed one group of people.

If you go into watching the movie knowing that they blame one group of people BUT want to have a lot of questions poised for you to consider. Then this is a good movie to watch. (Personally some of the best movies to pose questions are horrible movies-- so this is a good reason to watch it.) If you want to watch a movie that vilifies teachers then this is your movie (not a good reason to watch it).

This movie is on DVD--- not in theaters.

If you have seen it let me know what you think! Do you agree? disagree?

Shutter Island Review

So yesterday I went to blockbuster and rented 5 movies because I felt I needed to make sure my first week blogging would be LEGENDARY!!! The first movie I decided to watch is also the one with the most pressure on it because everyone seemed to love this movie.

Shutter Island

Rating: 3/5 stars

First off the movie is rated R-- mainly for language and mature content (like prison themes). It is also over 2 hours long (and you know it is that long-- it is not one you get lost in and forget it is two hours long).

Well as you can see I was NOT one of those that loved the movie. The part I hated the most was the acting, I felt it was all over the top and just too crazy for me. They tried to hard. The only person's acting I loved was Patricia Clarkson but that is because I love her in nearly everything. She is just a classy woman who can act with a paperbag over her head.

I am not ashamed to say that I predicted the big twist in the first fifteen minutes because of Leonardo DiCaprio's acting-- horrible job (and I have developed into a huge fan of his). Then the small twist in the last few seconds of the movie-- predicted it too but it was still a brilliant ending.

The ending is the ONLY reason this did not get 2 out of 5 stars. The ending was near flawless and did give me something to think about afterwards. If you were to rent this do it just for the last few minutes!!

I had mentioned I was going to rent this movie to quite a few people and everyone's response was that they cannot watch it because it looks scary. Let me start off with saying I have three guilty pleasures in movies-- Horror movies, Biblical Thriller/Mysteries movies, and Weather Thriller movies. This movie was no were near scary-- it tried at times but was not successful in the least. I actually almost fell asleep through it. If you want a scary movie I can give you TONS of suggestions.

This movie could have been so great with other actors in my opinion. And I am a little disappointed because it had the great Martin Scorsese directing it. He is one of the great directors of our century! But everyone can goof up once and a while.

It is a pretty good popcorn flick if you want something to watch and it can get you think if you are not like me and try to predict the endings. But if you are looking for a great movie go see something else. You will be disappointed with this movie.

Let me know what you think-- agree?? disagree??

Any suggestions for future movie reviews. Another one will be coming soon!!

My Favorite 20 Movies of All Time-- Number 20

So I decided today to start my first countdown-- My Favorite 20 Movies of All Time. These are movies that I cannot get out of my mind and ones that I love and go back to. They might not have won any awards or be liked by some people but they are ones that affected me. (Granted I will be the first to admit some are great movies that are universally loved).

My goal is to give you one a day or one every few days-- these are movies I can watch over and over again and LOVE more each time. They might not have a great acting or great writing but they are movies that still bring me in each time.

20. Erin Brockovich

Rating--- 4/5

Honestly I cannot imagine any great list without a Julia Roberts movie-- she is one of my favorite actresses of all time and I could watch her in ANYTHING. Ironically this is not the only movie on my list with her in it. She won her first (and only Oscar-- such a shame) for this movie and deserved it (even though in my book she would have three by now).

This is a story of a woman who fights a big company to admit they are poisoning a town-- it is the perfect type of feel good story. A little person takes on a big bad company-- yet she does it in a tube top, mini-skirt and high heels-- YOU GO GIRL!!!.

This movie is amazing because she gives heart to all the people affected and shows she needs to fight for them. But what I loved most is that she is not the only person who gives a memorable performance in this 2000 film. Albert Finney as the lawyer Edward Masry is amazing-- he shows that not everyone wants to do the right thing but in the end is on her side and gives her a chance and it paid off big for him. But the person who I love the most is Aaron Eckhart as her boyfriend because his character helps to show that even though a person can do the right thing it still affects other people. He was amazing (watch the movie with the purpose of watching his performance and I dare you not to agree).

This movie was nominated for tons of awards and they were all deserved-- for the directing, writing, but the acting is the real reason to watch-- they help to make this movie come alive. And it is one that will stick with you for years to come-- especially every time you drink a glass of water.

Also a cool shout out to Marg Helgenberger-- she is in it (Catherine from CSI)!!

My only complaint about the movie is it comes off as cheesy-- granted I LOVE cheesy but at times you just think--- Really can this woman do NOTHING wrong!! But even with that I still highly recommend this movie!

Let me know what you think of this movie! Love it? Hate it?

Explaining My Blog Title

I realized I never explained why my blog is called-- MAJESTIC FILM CLUB. It has to deal with one of my all time favorite movies, that ironically most people have not heard of--- The Majestic.

This movie is from 2001 and is a story dealing with Communism and the affects of Cold War on Hollywood in the form of the Black List. This is when Congress tried to get all the Communists out of Hollywood by getting them to turn on each other. If you were on the Black List you could not get a job.

The movie has Jim Carrey in it in one of his few serious roles. It is by far not a great movie-- the acting is bad at times but the story is why I love it. It has a love story in it but it centers around a small town and the affects of war and the return of a war hero they feared was dead. He tries to reopen the town theater and give life to the small town.

It is one of my guilty pleasures that I watch when I am sad because it helps me to realize that life can suck and will suck at times but you need to pick yourself back up and face your problems head on!!

I thought no other fitting way to honor one of my favorite movies than naming my film club after it! Thus the Majestic Film Club was born.

Why I Finally Decided to Do This

For anyone that knows me they know I love movies-- it is like an addiction really. When I am sad, I watch a movie. When I am happy, I watch a movie. When I am scared, I watch a movie. When I am nervous, I watch a movie. Do you see a pattern?

Movies for me are like comfort foods to most people (even though I have my own comfort foods). For me movies teach me about the world and help me to figure out what I want to do with my life. They help me to discover new places because like the cliche says-- movies transport you to far off places without ever having to leave your sofa. Except for me I want to then leave my sofa and travel there.

Movies open up the world and help you to see things you never would have seen before. That is why I am a movie freak.

Everyone always says, "Eric you could be a film critic!" I disagree because I rarely hate a movie-- granted I can find things wrong with a movie but I always look for that one part of the movie that will make me go back to it over and over again. I have so many favorites too.

About two months ago someone told me I should go back to my healthy eating blog and I seriously thought about it, but I feel like a hypocrite because I tell everyone else to eat this certain way when in fact I do not do it all the time. I eat healthier than I ever have but have my weak moments (don't we all). Another person said, "Eric why don't you blog about something you love, like movies. I love to hear you talk about movies and would love to read your recommendations."

But what really started it was, over my vacation I read a book called "The Film Club" by David Gilmour. He is a film critic who let his son quit school after 10th grade as long as he watched three movies a week with him. It opened my eyes to the power of movies even more. So I finally decided to share my knowledge and love of movies with the world.

Weekly or sometimes daily I will share movies I have watched and what I think of them. I will also share my Twenty Favorite Movies of All Time (in a countdown) along with The Best Fifteen Movies of All Time (in a countdown) -- both in my own opinion. Yes there is a different between Favorite Movies and Best Movies as you will learn.

When rating a movie I will use my own scale out of 5 stars (1 being the best and 5 being not my favorite). But remember just because I love a movie does not mean you will. I will give you a brief synopsis of the movie along with what I loved about the movie and what I disliked about it. I will also avoid spoiling it with spoilers because that is just not fair!!

Around Oscar Time I will also give my picks for winners -- who will win and who should win! (along with who was snubbed for a nomination).

Please give me suggestions for movies you want reviewed-- and if I can find it I will watch it!! I love your feedback!!