10. Major Payne

Killin' is my bizness and bizness is good.

              “What we have heard is a failure to communicate!”  Major Payne, starring Damon Wayans, is about a killing machine Marine who is no longer needed in the army. So develops the movie where this hard core, highly trained soldier takes over the ROTC program and Madison Academy. If you haven’t seen it since its release in 1995 then please do so. It is, literally, laugh out loud funny.

One Tubby Tubby

                This is Damon Wayans at his best. He has always been great at characters even back to his days of In Living Color. His film career hasn’t always produced solid films (Blankman anyone?) but in Payne he clicked on all cylinders. It reminds me a lot of School of Rock. The person’s “career” isn’t working out so he takes up a chance with children. Damon is hilarious in this. Always talking about Charlie coming after him in the jungle and it’s funny to see him take the role of a nurturing father figure. Included in this is the telling of the Little Engine that Could seen below. 

 Final Verdict: So worth owning. Also one of the most quotable movies ever.

Other tidbits:    

-Karyn Parsons who plays the love interest in the movie is the same that brought us Hilary Banks in Fresh Prince of Bel-air.

-Cadet Williams of the ROTC program is also Wayans nephew.

7. Fighting Temptations

Another reason for doing this project is the chance to watch a movie that I haven’t seen in years and have the chance to enjoy it all over again. As I did with Fighting Temptations! Seriously haven’t watched this in years and it has just sat on the shelf.  Sitting there trying to get my attention. Whispering “Watch me Jimmy!”

                Now there are a lot of people out there that have never seen this movie. For those who haven’t here is a quick overview: The movie stars Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Beyonce.  The story follows them as they try to get their church’s choir in the annual Gospel Explosion!, a church choir competition in Georgia. The movie stars an assorted mix of both gospel and secular artist. Not only Beyonce but also Angie Stone and Mary Mary make appearances.

                Also starring in the movie is the Christian rapper T-Bone.  T-Bone stars as prisoner (along with Montell Jordan) allowed to sing in the choir and he even spits a few rhymes in the movie. One can wonder what is up with Cuba Gooding now a days.  His career really hasn’t taken off after his Oscar win with the exception of the amazing Rat Race.  It’s a shame cuz he is a fine talent and way more deserving than the straight to dvd fair he has been in lately. It’s a funny movie, great music and uplifting message. If you have never seen it, then please do . I love the final music number. Right up there with the end of Sister Act 2!

 Final Verdict: Worth owning! Love it. And the soundtrack is worth owning too. Check the video below.

4. Made of Honor

Again. The magical movie box strikes again. Instead of enjoying one of the many 360 movies that I own and chose to buy, I am blessed to watch romantic and life changing Made of Honor.  So with that said, I needed to try and go into this with a positive attitude.  Instead of complaining that 3 out of 4 of my first movies have been chic flicks. Ugh.

Made of Honor.   I do like chic flicks. I really do. You’ve Got Mail, One Fine Day, Fools Rush In--all great movies. Made of Honor is good. Not horrible. I don’t particularly like either of the leads. Patrick Dempsey IS charming, after all he is the man just for Can’t Buy Me Love.  It’s a cute movie. It’s got its moments.  Kevin McKidd, who plays Colin, is delightful as the “other guy” stealing Hannah away. Like I said it’s not one of “my movies”.  I did find my self yelling at the TV when the dude wouldn’t let her eat the cake. I was like “DUDE! Shut up and let her have some cake!”

BUT! And I do mean BUT! The best part of this entire movie is Tiny Shorts Guy! The actors name is Kevin Sussman. Every scene he was in had me cracking me up. He stole most of those scenes. He is also on Big Bang Theory, where he plays comic book store owner Steward, and I love him there too. Watching the movie is worth it just for him alone. And he gives us the best line the movie “That boy’s got mad cow disease!” So funny . So I guess the final verdict is that Made of Honor is an average movie. There is nothing really special or unique about it. It follows the main formula for Romantic Comedies, but it’s not horrible. Is it worth owning? Not up to me, I didn’t buy it.  But I really really really hope the MMB gives me a break from chic flicks for awhile! 

Other tidbits:

-Loved seeing Kadem Hardison in a movie. Will always love Dwayne Wayne from a Different World!

-It’s always funny when Elizabeth Hasselbeck makes a cameo in a movie!

1.Sleepless in Seattle

Me picking the first movie!

First thought was that it could have been worse. It’s not one of my movies, it is one of my wife’s but it could have been way worse (see previous post!).  The magical movie box (previous post) is proving that it is the boss. It chooses. It showed that while I am going to have to watch one of my wife’s movies first, it could have been way way way way worse!

notice the thrill on my face.

So, I drew Sleepless in Seattle. It’s the classic movie of a widower (Tom Hanks) whose son calls a nationwide radio talk show and tells the world his dad needs a new wife. Then the journey to love begins. So many things are running through my head right now. The movie came out in 1993. I was junior in High School! I think I have seen this movie one time--maybe.  Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Tom Hanks. Less than a year after this movie is released Hanks gave us Forrest Gump! I’m a big fan of both Joe vs the Volcano and You’ve Got mail. But something about this one I don’t like as much.

I think the thing that bugs me is that there is no interaction between Hanks and Ryan at all until the very middle (for like a second) and not again until the very end. The best part of the Hanks/Ryan combo is the chemistry between them. So to me this movie isn’t as good as the others because it lacks that element. Not too mention HOW UNBELIEVABLY UNREALISTIC this movie is!  Now, movies aren’t meant to be 100% realistic all the time—I know that. There are no Jedi in real life, there is no asteroid heading to earth and I’m pretty sure there are no magical gnomes riding around in cars. With that said, there is no way a 9 yr old can fly across country by himself?!??! Really?? No one, at either airport, checked this story out? The kid spent all day asking strange ladies if they were Annie and no once got suspicious?  This is too far for me. Plus the movie drags a bit in the middle.  Lots of conversation, very little “action” you would say but hey I’m not a critic. So ultimately I have no decision on if I should own this movie or not. That is my wife’s choice; she paid the 5 dollars for it. But for me, its no You’ve Got Mail! 

Other Tidbits

-Rosie O’Donnell plays a straight woman who’s married to a guy named Rick

-David Hyde Peirce plays a small role in the movie. Pre-Frasier fame.

-Bill Pullman is still a horrible actor.

-Best and funniest scene to me, where I actually laughed out loud, was the scene where he calls and asks Victoria out on a date. That was great Hanks!

The Plan of Attack and Bob Hope!

So what do I do? How do I attack these movies? Suddenly I had an idea….”Light Bulb!”. What if I take all the movies I own, put them on slips of paper, put those papers in a box and everyday/everytime I watch a movie I pull a slip and I have to watch whatever is chosen! So that is what is going to happen. At least 4-5 times a week I will watch a movie at random. Could be any of the 360 movies I own. Some days it could be The Goonies or on another days it's Groundhog Day.

What makes this even more interesting--Even more DANGEROUS. Is that included in that 360 are the movies that are owned by my wife that I would never ever bought on my own or owned if I weren't married to her. So, against my better judgment I could be setting myself up to enjoy such great movies as Fiddler on the Roof, the Bob Hop/Bing Crosby classic Road to Bali or the Sound of Music (on blu-ray!). About 25 of the 360 movies are ones that I have not only never seen, but wouldn’t ever have watched in my worst nightmares if it weren't for this challenge. But since my wife is in on this and has worked so hard (pictured) to help design the blog I feel like she deserves some humor (torture) from this. So they are lurking in the box wanting to get me when I least expect it.

So I say 4-5 a week minimum are movies selected from the magical movie box (pictured). Some weeks all 7 can be from there, but since we are avid movie goers I will blog about the movie we see in theatre on the days we get that opportunity. For example, this morning we went and saw The Dilemma. Good movie with Kevin James and Vince Vaughn. I would come home and blog about that movie. Also throw in the mix are movies that we may rent or download. Also movies we go to buy or are given to us as gifts. I will also take movie suggestions on what to watch. I've also thought of “theme weeks” I can do with my movies like a week of Adam Sandler or moves based on real life etc.

So that is the plan of attack and the journey I am setting out for the next year. Please join me as I watch 365 movies in one year! Most days I won't even know what I am going to watch. But the magical movie box will decide. So whether it’s a movie I love like Rudy or one that I am dreading like Road to Rio (no clue, another Bob Hope/Bing Crosby “classic” my wife owns) it will be interesting and fun……and DANGEROUS!