A New Year's Resolution is Completed with Gone with the Wind (1939)

For my final movie of the year, I saved another classic for last. Today's film is the 4 hour epic Gone with the Wind. About a spoiled girl who always gets her way when the American Civil War comes to her home lands of the south. Starring Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara and Clark Gable as Rhett Butler, Gone with the Wind is one of the biggest classics in all of film history. I wasn't entirely sure what I would think of it, especially after being disappointed with Magnolia. I expected something similar in scale to Doctor Zhivago (which I liked) since that was also an old classic, but then again, this film is quite a bit older than that. To put it another way, I had some ideas of what to expect, but my expectations still weren't that high. You'll find my thoughts on this 1939 classic on the other side of the jump. And with this, I have completed my goal to watch one new movie everyday, for the whole year. Have a Happy New Year everyone!

End it all off with "Despicable Me" (2010)

A time not so long ago (January of 2011), I told myself that if I was to see any movie in 3D, it would be "Despicable Me". Sadly that isn't the case, I didn't get the chance to see it with the extra dimension. 3D televisions are too expensive and they aren't showing it at any theatres around me. Nonetheless, I still couldn't go the year without seeing this one. Hopefully I can still enjoy it without the extra visual enhancements.

Magnolia (1999)

I've heard Magnolia referred to as one of the best films of all time; a modern day classic. That's a lot of hype to go into a movie with, but with such praise, I couldn't ignore it either. I've put this film off for so long because of the huge amount of expectations I had for it, and also because it's another long movie; a running theme with these final films. This movie also has a gigantic cast that is going to be difficult just to list, let alone explain all the roles. Hit the jump to see if I was convinced of Magnolia's greatness, or if it was perhaps over hyped just a little too much.

Force Fed Films: We Own the Night (2007)

For my final entry into the Force Fed Film category, I was really sure that Puneet would finally make all his threats a reality, and make me watch House of Wax, but in the end he was merciful and instead gave me a film with one of my most hated actors, Mark Wahlberg. That movie was We Own the Night, and it also stars Joaquin Phoenix, Eva Mendes and Robert Duvall. The simple addition of Eva Mendes made me think that maybe this movie wouldn't be so bad, as I've got a bit of a thing for her. Was this movie just another Mark Wahlberg crap show, an Eva Mendes gawking party, or a serious crime drama starring Joaquin Phoenix? Hit the jump to find out.

Force Fed Films: "A Serbian Film" (2010)

I have a strange interest towards films that stretch beyond the norm. I slowly grew an appreciation for Miike Takashi after watching "Ichi the Killer". So now I'm hoping that Jim would deliver great WTF movie. Though he did warn me that this was going to be a lot more worse than just gore and killing. I thought I was ready when I saw necrophilia in another Miike Takashi movie, it really can't get worse than that, right? Well it does, and well I'll try not to be too graphic, but I ain't keeping this PG with "A Serbian Film".

Ben-Hur (1959)

Today I took the dive into one of the biggest classics that I knew of: Ben-Hur. This was one of the movies I had been intending on watching ever since I started this whole movie watching project, but I kept putting it off because it's over 3 hours long. Not only that, but 50's movies aren't known for being the most action-packed. Oh yeah, one more thing. This was yet another movie that pretty much just proved how ignorant I can be about old classics, and also why I started doing all this to start with. So what was I so unaware this time? That this was a religious film. I thought it was just about Rome, gladiators and chariot races. I got a little bit more than I bargained for. Hit the jump for my impressions.

"Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King" (2003)

To finish off the trilogy I started, which feels like ages ago, was only actually 2 months ago, I watched "The Return of the King". I've been eager to see this movie, but the time investment of putting aside 3 and a half hours for a film is a bit more difficult than I thought. Thankfully for the long Christmas break, I had a chance to catch up and finally finish off this epic trilogy. Hopefully the last movie will answer the questions the first two brought up, does Frodo destroy the ring? Is Gollum really helping the Hobbits along? Will Sauron win his final war on Middle Earth? Will Sam and Frodo finally kiss? All this and more after the break.

Never Enough Paul Newman: The Sting (1973)

Today I almost went to the theater, but it all kinda fell apart and I took the opportunity to watch a movie with my friend that I've been wanting to see before the year was out. That would be 7 time Oscar winner The Sting starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. This pair was also teamed up in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and once I found out they were in another movie together, I knew I'd have to see it. The fact that it's set in the 1930s, with a gangsters and gamblers sort of theme, that just made it sound all the more intriguing. Hit the jump and see what I thought of what will likely be my final Paul Newman film of the year.

The Final Poll: Million Dollar Baby (2004)

This was the last poll of the year. It landed on "Boxing Day" up here in Canada, so I thought why not have the poll be about boxing, even though the holiday doesn't actually have anything to do with the sport at all. There just weren't enough Christmas movies that I wasn't already going to watch, or hadn't already seen, but there were plenty of boxing movies we never got around to seeing. One of those movies was the winner of the poll, Million Dollar Baby. I knew this was a popular movie, but I didn't know how popular until I looked it up and realized that it won the Oscars for Best Actress, Best Supporting Male, Best Director, and Best Picture of the Year! That would be a lot to live up to, but don't worry, I didn't find any of that out until after I watched it. Hit the jump for my thoughts on this Clint Eastwood directed, produced, and acted in film.

Poll Position: "Million Dollar Baby"

It is sad to think that it took a poll for me to watch "Million Dollar Baby". It was on my list, but it kept on being moved down. Especially after watching "Gran Torino" and "Mystic River", it kept giving more and more excuses to see this. I slowly came to the conclusion that not only did I adore Clint Eastwood as an actor, but as a director also. He has this style, both as an actor and a director, which I've never been able to put a finger on it but it has always drew me in. But yes, thankfully I am finally getting to see this, hopefully it lives up to my expectations.

It's A Wonderful Life (1946) Merry Christmas Everybody!

I've heard dozens of times that the best Christmas movie ever is It's A Wonderful Life. That combined with never having seen it myself meant it had to be the movie I watched on Christmas day. I had very little idea what the movie was really about, so when I was suddenly face to face with a movie all about the finacial struggles of a small town, and one man's desperate struggles to keep it afloat, I didn't really know what to think about it. One thing is for sure, this is a far more relavant movie for the times than I think many would realize. So did this Christmas classic warm my heart and make me believe in the spirit of the season, or simply bore me to sleep? Hit the jump for my first time thoughts on this 1946 Christmas classic!

"Chasing Amy" (1997)

Merry Christmas everyone! A while back Jim forced me to watch "An Evening With Kevin Smith", after watching this I was motivated to catch up on some of his other movies. So when Netflix Canada recently got "Chasing Amy" I needed to check this out. I did like the Clerks series which I saw earlier this year, and I was hoping it to be more like that. But this is a Kevin Smith movie and I haven't found one I hated so far.