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!

Force Fed Film: Jarhead (2005)

Today Puneet surprised me with the movie Jarhead. This was a huge movie when it came out, but for whatever reason I just never went to see it. Thinking back on my younger self, I can imagine the trailer wouldn't have had much action in it, and being more of a drama, and me not being a war buff, I let it pass by. As years have gone by, once in a while I remember about this film, and think to myself "I really should see that one." I would always seem to forget about it before I could get my hands on it though. Thankfully it popped into Puneet's mind for this week's movie, and so you can expect my thoughts on this biographical film of former marine Anthony Sworfford, and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, right after the jump.

Poll Position: Stalingrad (1993)

In honour of the troops that gave their lives for us and Canadian Remembrance Day, last week's poll was war themed. The winning movie was actually one we only put on at the last second, and it ended up winning by a landslide. Last week when I watched All Quiet on the Western Front, I felt it was interesting to see the war from the other side. Stalingrad does it again, but now we're on the other side, geographically, of the German's fight, heading into Russia. Does this German language film have the strong impact that other war films have? Can it make you feel for the troops on the other side? Hit the jump to find out.

Poll Position: A Brief History Lesson About "Stalingrad" (1993)

Remembrance Day (or Veterans Day for our readers in the south) was last week and to stay with the theme, we decided to do a war themed movie. War filled with sad and disgraceful moments in human history, but we can’t forget about all the sacrifices our soldiers did for our country. The least we can do is learn about the wars, hopefully enough to never to repeat the stupid mistakes we’ve made. You’ve picked “Stalingrad” last week and a movie I’ve been told punches as powerful a punch as “Schneider’s List”. But the two are polar opposites in what it sets off to do. After the jump I get down in the trenches with the Germans.

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

Today I chose to watch one of the most classic war movies I think I've ever heard of, All Quiet on the Western Front. I didn't know too much about it, other than what IMDB had to say about it in the brief plot summary. I knew it wasn't going to be a happy movie, or even a fun action movie. Beyond that I didn't have much idea what to expect, so it was a bit of a surprise to me that this whole movie is from the perspective of the German soldiers of the first World War. It ended up being a very interesting new take on it for me. For my thoughts on the film, just hit the jump link, and I'll see you on the other side.

Poll Position: House (1986)

Thank you to everyone who voted for House. Not to be confused with another movie with the same title I watched back in March, Nobuhiko Obayashi's 1977 film House. While we're at it, not to be confused with the TV show about a doctor either. This movie was actually originally recommended in the comments of my review of the 1977 Japanese film by @staciedenola. I have to admit that I forgot about it, but when I was researching Halloween movies, it came back to me. I remember being a kid and wandering the aisles of the video store, and seeing the VHS of this movie with the creepy hand ringing the doorbell. It freaked me out and fascinated me all at the same time! Hit the jump to see if it can still freak me out so many years later when I finally get to watch House.

Going Insane with Jacob's Ladder (1990)

Today I decided to watch a bit of a cult classic horror film, Jacob's Ladder. This movie was also on a lot of top horror film lists, but judging from a few screenshots they'd often have with it, I knew this one was going to be pretty messed up. Messed up in the sense that it deals with a guy either dealing with mutilated demons, or he's totally going crazy, or maybe a bit of both. I was just hoping this didn't end up like another Session 9 film, where it's all hype, but no payoff. Hit the jump and I'll try my best to convey this movie's insanity to you.

Reader Recommends: King Arthur: Director's Cut (2004)

Today I decided to watch another recommended movie, once again from @Qu33n0f633k5. I had actually heard that King Arthur, while reviewed poorly when it was out in theaters, was a far better movie in it's Director's Cut version. The combination of recommendations spurred me on to seek it out, the Director's Cut version of course. What I've heard of the differences is that several scenes were added back in that build the characters better than in the theatrical version. I've never seen the original release, but on the other side of the jump, you can find my impressions of the Director's Cut.

Learning Some Scottish History with Rob Roy (1995)

I've had the movie Rob Roy on my list of things to watch for a long time. Having a Scottish heritage myself, I really wanted to see it. Starring Liam Neeson is a pretty good reason too. Other than knowing that though, I didn't know much about the movie. I can say that from the cover I was looking for some pirate gun action combined with some Braveheart-like moments. So let's just get right to it shall we? Find my thoughts on the other side of the jump!

Ready for War in Red Dawn (1984)

Well sadly I couldn't get the movie I wanted to watch today, so I had to go to a back up which was Red Dawn. The premise at least sounded good. It's the start of World War III and Soviet forces invade America and a small group of civilians escape and take up arms to fight back. It has a decent looking cast too, with Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, Jennifer Grey and Lea Thompson. If you don't know who they all are, I'll fill you in on the other side of the jump.

Life on the Frontlines of the Afghanistan War: Restrepo (2010)

I've had this documentary for a while. I was never in the mood to watch something that was probably going to be so serious, but today I caught by a curiosity to finally see it. Maybe it was in reaction to the false "reality" pushed in Apollo 18. Whatever the reason, I watched Restrepo today. Ever wonder what it was like in the most dangerous area of Afghanistan? You're about to find out. My impressions after the jump.

Reader Recommends: The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

Today I grabbed another recommended movie, again from @tokenuser. This time it was The Last of the Mohicans. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from this one, but I certainly recognized the title and the cover of the movie. There was a time when a lot of films focusing on the same subject matter seemed to come out, and I always get them mixed up, this being one of them. It's because of this reason that I really haven't seen many films like this one since there didn't seem to be much to make it stand out from all the others in my mind. Well @tokenuser certainly changed that by recommending this one specifically. Find my thoughts after the jump.

The Pianist (2002)

I recently looked up Oscars from 2002 after watching “Road to Perdition” earlier this week. When I saw that both “The Pianist” and “Gangs of New York” were nominated for best movie, I decided to watch them. Now I am a sucker for films about WW2, they are like a bottle filled with emotions. My best friend also told me to watch “The Pianist” earlier because of its WW2 theme. And there have been many movies that really pour that emotion on to the big screen. Even though “Schindler’s List” is a fantastic movie in all accounts, it sometimes over shadows other WW2 movies. But what is most unique about this movie is that it takes a unique look at what a Jew hiding in the rubbles of Poland experiences. I dive into greater detail after the jump.

Centurion (2010)

Hanging out with my friends today meant I was clueless as to what I might see. Pretty much everyone will bring over a selection of movies to the person's house we're meeting at, and that's exactly what happened. I had a bit of a choice, and of the the bunch, everyone wanted to see Centurion starring Michael Fassbender who you may have seen earlier this year in X-men: First Class as Magneto. I really liked him in that so I had no problem with this. In case you were wondering, the other movie that we could have watched was Valhalla Rising. But alas, I did not choose that, so my thoughts on Centurion can be found after the jump.

Now Playing: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

You probably won't notice much of a change in routine here on the site, but I'm actually writing this from a very nice desk on the opposite side of Canada than I'm normally on! I'm in British Columbia on vacation for the next week and a half, but that won't stop me from watching movies!

Today I went out to see the newest Marvel film, Captain America: The First Avenger. I was really looking forward to this one, as early reports were positive from film critics whose opinions I put a lot of faith into. I've never been a big fan of the Captain America character in the comics, but I was hoping this movie would change all that. More after the jump.

The Longest Movie I've Ever Seen: Red Cliff (2008)

A few days ago, my friend brought the John Woo film Red Cliff to my attention. Once I said I wanted to see it, he immediately went out and bought the blu-ray for us to watch. It is so long that it's actually split into two parts. It's also the most expensive film made in China to date, and was the first movie to gross more money at the box office than Titanic in China. The main reason I wanted to see this film so much is because when I was a kid, I used to play the Dynasty Warriors series of games on Playstation for hours on end, and these movies depict the same historical events that the games did. More of my thoughts after the jump.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

Determined to finish off some kind of movie series today, I threw on the next Narnia movie subtitled Prince Caspian. This film picks up one year after the events of the first film. However, it was established in the first Narnia that time moves much faster in Narnia compared to our world. Hours, even days in the magical world of Narnia pass by as mere seconds here. This means that after a full year, hundreds of years have passed in Narnia and everything has changed, and Narnia needs saving once more. Hit the jump for my impressions.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

It's been years since I had seen the 1988 rendition of the Narnia story, and to be honest, I never liked it. I also never read the books, so I had no love for the series. This is why, until today, I had never seen The Chronicles of Narnia. I know the series was quite successful, so I figured I'd give it a shot before I wrote the whole thing off completely. I'm pretty sure I remember my boss at work saying how great this movie was though. Due to that I did go into the movie expecting it to be well above average. Hit the jump to see if that turned out to be true or false.

Dr Stranglelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

I picked today's movie on a total whim. No rhyme or reason to it, I just had it at hand and popped it in. Many consider it a classic, so I knew I had to get around to it eventually. The full title is Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1964, it's safe to say that you don't really have any idea what you're about to get into when you start watching it, much like 2001: A Space Odyssey. This film, however, is not only a commentary on war, but also a comedy. I'd heard it was very funny, but I actually don't like hearing things like that since it can get your hopes up. Hit the jump to see if it lived up to the image in my mind or if it just bombed.

Poll Position: Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Last week's poll was given a desert theme, and Lawrence of Arabia won by quite a large margin. This certainly wasn't a small task as it has a run time of over 3 1/2 hours. However, as promised I have come stumbling out of this endless movie just as Lawrence himself comes stumbling out of the desert. What I didn't realize until reading into the movie a bit was that this is actually a real story about a real man. Hit the jump to see if I felt like a king, or if I was about to die of exhaustion.