Have a Merry Christmas with Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Today, being Christmas Eve, seemed like the perfect day to remedy my error a few days ago. I had mistakenly watched the remake of the 1947 Christmas classic Miracle on 34th Street, when I had meant to watch the original. I don't think I'm the only one who might make that mistake though. Even talking to a friend the other day that I was going to watch this film, he assumed I meant the 1994 remake, and advised me against it. When I clarified that I'd be watching the original, he gave me permission to go ahead, haha. So did this Christmas classic set the perfect tone for the big day tomorrow? Hit the jump to find out!

One Last Nick Cage Movie: Matchstick Men (2003)

For the longest time I had a particular Nicolas Cage movie in the back of my head, and it was this mystery movie that I originally thought would be Adaptation, but that turned out to be a different film. Finally I found out that the movie I had been thinking of all this time was Matchstick Men. I always remembered seeing a trailer of Cage having all these nervous ticks and twitches, and trying to be a con artist at the same time. I finally found it, and so I decided to watch that instead of a dusty old drama, because dammit, I can do whatever I want, and I've wanted to see this movie for a loooong time. Hit the jump to find my thoughts on this long anticipated movie of mine.

Force Fed Films: Rebel Without A Cause (1955)

The movie Puneet made me watch today was James Dean's Rebel Without A Cause. I've never seen a James Dean movie as far as I know, but it makes sense as he wasn't in very many due to his unfortunate early demise. I wasn't sure what to expect from this film. Is it famous just because it was one of his few films, or because it was actually good? I remember hearing that he had a massive amount of fans, but I think that was basically because he was one of those "heart throb" guys back in the day. Kinda like the Beatles I think, but on a smaller scale. Anyways, you'll find my thoughts after the jump.

Force Fed Films: "Gremlins" (1984)

To say "Gremlins" is a Christmas movie is like saying "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie. Although the two have nothing to do with the holiday itself, both movies take place during the holiday. I would like to say that Jim was shocked that I hadn't seen "Gremlins", but over the year he has probably grown accustomed to me not seeing some of these big name movies. So as the big 25th draws nearer and nearer, it would be only be fitting that I start watching Christmas movies. So lets start this right with my thoughts on "Gremlins".

How to Steal a Million (1966)

I found How to Steal a Million one day while looking up great comedy pairings. I was actually looking up Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, but among the comedy pairs was Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole. That was months ago, but today was finally the day that this film called out to me louder than the others (also because a lot of the other movies I have to watch are 4+ hours long!). I'd only ever seen Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, so I was eager to see her in another film. Likewise, I haven't seen O'Toole in many rolls besides Lawrence of Arabia, so that was also a draw. Hit the jump to find out if this is possibly something you might also want to seek out.

Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

I had planned on watching Miracle on 34th Street ever since the beginning. I really wanted to see all those classic old Christmas movies that I had never gotten around to seeing, and that was my plan today. I had a moment of confusion when I looked up this movie when the first one that I pulled up was the 1994 remake, as I had thought it was an old black and white movie. I shrugged my shoulders and figured I was just confusing it with some thing else. That's how I ended up watching what I moments ago found out with my own eyes that this was a remake, and the original was from 1947. Well, too late now. So how was the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street without having ever seen the original? Hit the jump for this little bit of an experiment!

Poll Position: "Air Force One" (1997)

I'm sort of late with this one but excuse my tardiness. Similarly to Jim I did have some high expectations going into watching "Air Force One" but what really hooked me was when I was 12, I actually saw a short clip of this before that really drew me in. It was just a scene with Harrison Ford cappin' some fools with his AK47 or some kind of assault rifle. Nevertheless, I always got the feeling the movie was going to be like Speed II but on a plane. And being a nineties action movie, it can't be all that bad?

Poll Position: Air Force One (1997)

I would also just like to say that this marks my 365th movie of the year. That's right, I've watched 1 year's worth of movies before the year is even over! That's mostly because there were a few days where I watched 2 movies in 1 day, but we're not done yet. There's still 12 more days to go, and I plan on accomplishing my 2011 New Year's Resolution of watching a new movie everyday for a full year!

Last week's Harrison Ford poll was quickly and decisively won with a bunch of votes for Air Force One, and after that hardly any more votes came in to try to challenge it. I was actually kinda happy with this result, because I have always thought I should see Air Force One, if just because it has Harrison Ford in it. My thoughts after the jump, but I warn you, there are SPOILERS in here.

Now Playing: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

While I hadn't really intended on seeing Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, it seems that was always my fate. After hearing so many... less than great reports about Sherlock, I had pretty much put it out of my mind. Unsure on what movie I would see today while hanging out with a friend, we were contacted by other friends that were going to go see it, and asked if we would all like to meet up. Since I had no other decent options in mind, and not one to turn down friends, I decided to give it a fair shot. You've already heard Puneet's thoughts, but how did I feel about it? Find out on the other side of the break.

This is a "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol"

I'm a nineties kid, I lived about three months in the 80's and missed out on a lot of cool action movies. Thankfully the 90's had it share of great action movies such as Speed and Mission Impossible but I like to think that the 90's were all about the sequels: T2, Die Hard 2, etc. One thing I did not miss out on was Mission Impossible, the epic combination of espionage, spy gadgets and Tom Cruise (before his crazy days) was something that I loved. Kind of explains why I was so excited to see the fourth movie of the sequel comes out. I got together with Septicor and we watched this amazing movie in Ultra AVX, amazing.

Now Playing: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

Before I started this whole project of watching a movie every day, I had already started wanting to catch up on movies that I had missed out on. Because of this, last year I burned through quite a few titles that I had missed, Mission: Impossible 3 being one of them. It had shocked me with how great it was, and so when I heard there was going to be a fourth film, I was very excited. Today I got the chance to check out Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol with a friend. While I didn't get to see it in IMAX, I did see it in Cineplex Ultra AVX, which is sort of an IMAXlight. So should you head out to see the latest Mission: Impossible film? Hit the jump and find out!

Now Playing: "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows"

When "Sherlock Holmes" came out two years ago, I was extremely excited to see Arthur Doyles creation come to life. Although it did have it's flaw and I really didn't think think that the Holmes I saw on screen is who I pictured him as reading him in the books. The movie itself was pleasant with the mystery and of course the solution. I was ever so much more excited when I heard the news of the second movie, though faintly feeling a bit unsure if the movie would hold up to the first. Nonetheless, off I was to the theatre to see Downey Jr. cross dress and Law posses a mustache in "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows".

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Another western today. I just can't help it. They're awesome! I think this was recommended to me by someone months and months ago. I think we even put it on a poll, but it never won, so I've taken matters into my own hands and watched Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Paul Newman has been one of those actors that before this year I had never seen him in a single thing. That changed quite a bit and I've now seen several of his movies, many of them very good. I had pretty high hopes for this film simply because he was in it. Find out if I was let down, or justified in my hopes on the other side of the jump!

"The Hustler" (1961)

Earlier this month I got to see "Rounders", a movie about gambling, poker and the intensity behind it. Our long time reader, Septicor, recommended that I see "The Hustler". I really wasn't going to let a Paul Newman movie pass by me so easily. Luckily enough the movie popped up as Netflix suggested that I should also watch it. Now I know the rating scale on Netflix might not be super accurate, but it said I would rate this a 3.7/5. Not a bad mark at all. Than again, it thought "The Happening" was a 3/5 for me, so what does it know? Maybe it knows I like Marky Mark, this could be a problem.

Force Fed Films: Christmas with the Kranks (2004)

Puneet decided that to get me in the festive spirit, he would make me watch Christmas with the Kranks. I'm not entirely sure why I've never ended up seeing this at some point. I'm sure it's aired on TV somewhere every year, and Tim Allen certainly has a lot of Christmas movies under his belt. It has a cast of some great actors, so even though it looks like a pretty mediocre movie, I'm still kinda surprised I just haven't stumbled across it at some point. Will this movie get you in the Christmas spirit? I'll give my thoughts after the jump.

Force Fed Films: "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993)

I think "The Nightmare Before Christmas" has been on Jim's list of movies that Puneet-needs-to-watch-before-the-year-ends for a while now. And it is only appropriate that he forces this movie onto me only ten days before Christmas. Jim isn't the only one that has been harping on me to see this movie. A good friend of mine is disgusted that I've never even tried to see this. Both of them have praised this movie on the catchy songs, the unique styling and fun animations. Only recently have I seen musicals in a new light, before I've immediately tossed them away as being too 'girly' for my taste. I got to keep my up manly image as an internet tough guy, you know? Sadly this means I had pretty high expectations going into this movie, while being fearful that nostalgia might be why this movie lingers in my friends' mind why this movie is so great.

Akira Kurosawa's YOJIMBO (1961)

Today I decided I wanted a little more samurai in my life. The easiest way to accomplish that was to watch Akira Kurosawa'a Yojimbo. I didn't know much about the film, but I'm familiar with the word "yojimbo" which translates to "bodyguard". I figured it would be about a samurai protecting someone, and probably there would be some sword slashing action scenes. I'm also well aware how famous and popular this particular film is, so that's also why I chose to watch it. It was also Akira Kurosawa who directed Seven Samuri which I quite enjoyed back in May. I had some high hopes for this one, and I was confident that it would hold up, since Seven Samurai did just fine, and it is even older. More after the jump.

North by Northwest (1959)

Today I knocked another old film off my list by watching North by Northwest. This is a spy thriller about an advertising exec who gets all mixed up in Cold War spy business when he's mistaken for a secret agent by the enemies. This film was rated extremely highly on IMDB so I figured I had to see it. It also has that scene of Carey Grant running away from an airplane that is so recognizable, and I just had to know the circumstances. The plane is coming fast, so if you want to know my thoughts, you'll have to jump for it!

Poll Position: "Memoirs of a Geisha" (2005)

At first I had no idea that "Memoirs of a Geisha" was a romance movie, but after I quickly looked up what this movie was all about, I was slightly intrigued. I'll admit that I know almost nothing about geishas. I thought they were just dressed up escorts, but little do I know it's more than that. They are artists, musicians and beautiful dancers. Just everything about the geisha is pure and beautiful, if the movie comes anywhere as close to the beauty that these geishas process. I cannot see how this movie can be a bad one.

Poll Position: Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

Last week's poll looked at a lot of different romance movies. While Date Night was an early favorite, Memoirs of a Geisha came out ahead and took the poll in the last days of voting. I've actually been wanting to see this film for a long time, so I'm glad it won in the end. I didn't know if this would be an English language movie or if it would be spoken in Japanese with English subtitles, but it turned out to be an interesting hybrid of the two. I'll get more in depth on this fascinating love story set in a changing culture on the other side of the jump.