Cutting it Close

I didn't know if I was going to be able to beat this challenge, but I met my goal just under the deadline.  From May 2nd to June 2nd I was able to watch 65 movies.  Hooray!  Now I can go back to having a social life.

An updated List of Films:

1. Seven Chances
2. Life of Pi
3. Children of Heaven
4. Marathon
5. Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na
6. Timecrimes
7. Henry Jesus Christ
8. The Mighty
9. Goon
10. Eagle Vs. Shark
11. The Hidden Face
12. Bliss
13. Mad About Mambo
14. The Inbetweeners Movie
15. Dil Bole Hadippa!
16. The Way
17. L'Auberge Espagnole
18. The Awakening
19. Fatal Attraction
20. Skyfall
21. Bully
22. Soapdish
23. Kolya
24. African Queen
25. V/H/S
26. His Girl Friday
27. Your Sister's Sister
28. Celeste and Jesse Forever
29. Blue Valentine
30. Elizabethtown
31. Sleepwalk With Me
32. Stuck Between Stations
33. Tonight You're Mine
34. Somewhere Between
35. Weekend at Bernie's
36. The Scapegoat
37. Super High Me
38. Extract
39. Atlantis: The Lost Empire
40. What to Expect When You're Expecting
41. Que Pena Tu Vida
42. The Pill
43. Heckler
44. The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys
45. Blackout
46. The Human Experience
47. The Rescuerers
48. A Little Help
49. Swinging with the Finkels
50. Marilyn in Manhattan
51. House at the End of the Street
52. Another Gay Movie
53. General Education
54. Nobody Walks
55. I Hate Valentine's Day
56. Adopting Terror
57. Kissing Cousins
58. Fever Pitch
59. The Dictator
60. Strictly Background
61. Killer Klowns From Outer Space
62. Grave Encounters 2
63. Funny Games
64. Baby Shower
65. 30 Beats

And one last time.  Crazy Netflix categories:

Witty Romantic Foreign Dramas

Critically Acclaimed Emotional Documentaries

East Asian Dramas Featuring a Strong Female Lead

Comedies from the 1920's

Witty Romantic French Comedies

Witty French-Language Dramas

Quirky Independent Movies

Emotional Independent Dramas

Foreign Comedies

Australian Movies Based on Real Life

German-Language Thrillers

Independent Comedies

Suspenseful German-Language Movies

Critically Acclaimed Witty Comedies

Quirky Independent Dramas

Feel-Good East Asian Movies

Sentimental Romantic Comedies

Independent Dramas Based on Contemporary Liturature 

Inspiring Sports Movies

Raunchy Late Night Comedies

65. Marilyn in Manhattan

Marilyn in Manhattan is a documentary that covers the height and end of Marilyn's career.  Basically it starts with the opening of Seven Year Itch and the end of her marriage with Joe DiMaggio.  Then covers how she teamed up with Milton Greene to create her own company in New York City.  Her days at the Actor's Sudio.  Her marriage to Arthur Miller which caused her to break up her partnership with Greene.  The fall of Marilyn Monroe Pictures.  And briefly her addiction to sleeping pills that would ultimately cause her death.

If that description seemed a little shallow it's probably because that's how the documentary felt.  They just skimmed the surface and all the interviews and narrations seem to put her in the best light all the time.  I'm not saying she is a horrible person, but she wasn't always this helpless victim they make her seem like.  I feel there are probably much better documentaries out there that reveal more information about this woman.

Rating: **

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRFrVFJnqgE

64. Seven Chances

Ohhh Buster Keaton.

James Shannon (Buster Keaton) has been in love with the girl next door for forever.  He keeps working up the courage to tell her but falls flat everytime.  His work isn't going any better because his business is in a lot of trouble.  He does seem to catch a break when his attorney brings him some good news.  His grandfather has died.  Okay that's not the good news.  The good news is that in his will he left James seven million dollars.  There is just one catch.  He has to be married by 7:00 pm on his 27th birthday or else he doesn't get any of the money.

Seems simple enough right?  Well, his 27th birthday happens to be today.  With the clock ticking he goes to his love right and away and asks her to marry him.  She agrees but when he starts talking about how they need to be wed that day he starts to lose her.  Then came diarrhea of the mouth and he just kept making the situation worse by going on about how he could marry ANY girl.  Naturally she feels a little annoyed with him and declines his proposal.

Stressed and heartbroken he goes back to his business partner who convinces him to marry another girl.  He can always get a quickie divorce in Reno.  He reluctantly agrees, only to save their company.  The compile a list with seven names on it and he goes about asking all of them to marry him.  Them and just about anything in a skirt (even a Scottish man).  This man must be cursed though because he is getting turned down left and right.  Which turns out to be a good thing because after having some time to calm down, his lover decides that she well marry him and sends him a message right away.

Meanwhile, James's business partner puts in add in the paper asking for someone to marry James in order to get 7 million dollars.  All they have to do is meet at the church at six.  Naturally woman are drawn to money so hundreds of girls in wedding gowns show up.  Which creates probably the most iconic chase  scene in Keaton's career as James hears news of his beloved waiting to marry him.  But will he get to her before the clock strikes seven?


I friggin' loved this movie.  Keaton's a classic.  I had seen the chase scene before in school but even the first few minutes had me laughing at this movie.  It's short, simple, and to the point.  The only thing I was a little iffy about, and this wasn't a big deal back in the day, was I'm pretty sure there was someone in black face.  I've heard it use to be a popular homage to vaudeville acts and since Keaton came from vaudeville this might possibly be so.  But that was the only thing that took me out of the movie.

Rating: *****

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZSTM3knaao

(Just a snippet of the chase scene)

63. Marathon

Cho-won (Seung-woo Cho) is a young man with autism, which has taken a strain on his family.  After getting lost at a zoo, his mother vows that they will be together forever and after that starts trying to get him into different activities.  The only one that she thinks he really enjoys is running.  So for the past few years she has been pushing him into becoming the best runner he can be.

When a magazine comes to interview her, they mention a marathon coming up and if Cho-won would run in it.  The idea intrigues her and she looks about getting him some proper training.  The principle at Cho-won's school recommends an ex marathon runner who is currently teaching at the school to fulfill community service hours for a DUI.  After lots of begging, pleading, and even cleaning his apartment he agrees to coach Cho-won.  It starts out a little rough, with coach just telling him how many laps to run as he gets drunk, but he starts to take a liking for the boy.

As the marathon gets closer, the stress gets higher.  One day Cho-won's mom and the coach get into a terrible fight and she fires the coach.  Later on, Cho-won wanders off on her and when she finds him he  is getting beat up for grabbing a girl's ass (he is obsessed with zebras and is drawn to any sort of animal print).  She ends up rescuing him and yelling at the man but when she hears Cho-won shouting over and over about being a "special child" she has a break down.  Cho-won recalls the story of getting lost at the zoo and she apologizes profusely before collapsing.  She is taking to the hospital and it's there she decides that she has been pushing Cho-won too hard.  She doesn't even know if he likes running or if he is just doing it because he is afraid she will abandon him like at the zoo.

They stop all training and Cho-won starts learning professional skills.  Even though they tell him to forget about the marathon, he finds his registration for the race in the mail and sneaks out in the early morning hours to compete.  But Cho-won has no idea how to pace himself.  Worried for his safety Cho-won's mom, brother, and coach head to the race to find him and stop it before it takes place.

I feel like a did a terrible job summarizing this movie.  It's not so much about Cho-won competing in a marathon but more about the relationships involved in raising/coaching/living with someone with special needs.  In this case autism.  I think it did a great job showing that while also telling this sport story.

Rating: ****

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKz3Uoqn7qc

62. Adopting Terror

Pretty sure this was a lifetime movie.  At least that is what it felt like.

Not able to have a baby of their own, Tim (Sean Astin) and Cheryl (Samaire Armstrong) adopt a baby named Mona.  The child was taken away from her parents and they weren't too happy about it.  Her dad, Kevin (Brendan Fehr) shot a social worker over it.  But since the social worker broke into his property to soothe the screaming baby, he got out of the charges pretty easily.

On Mona's first birthday Kevin approaches the family in the park and although he doesn't make any threats, makes it quite clear that he is intent on getting Mona back.  He starts to stalk the family to the point where Tim creates a panic room and buys a gun.  The police are absolutely no help because he hasn't made any actual threats yet.  And the only one that seems sympathetic is their social worker Fay (Monet Mazur) but she too does nothing.  Maybe that's because Fay is Mona's biological mother and she is helping Kevin to get their daughter back.

This movie just annoyed me because it seemed way to easy for these people to try and get their daughter back.  I'm pretty sure if you shot and killed anyone you'd be in jail for more than a few months.  And then why wouldn't they run background checks on their social workers to make sure they weren't crazy bitches.  Plus at one point Kevin escapes the trunk of a car that exploded.  You're not a super villain so why won't you just die?  Then to top things off at the end of the movie they have a 4-5 year old playing a 2 year old.  Geeeez.  Biggest two year old I've ever seen.  Don't even get me started on the car seat they were too cheap to buy.  They would always show them going to the car but never the car seat.  Maybe I'm just crazy but all the little details were bothering me.

Rating: **

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pvfCVQ8FAQ

61. The Scapegoat

When John (Matthew Rys) gets fired from his job as a school teacher in the 1950's, he doesn't have a whole lot going for him.  No family, home, job, or even friends.  So when he meets his Doppelganger, Johnny, at a bar and finds out that Johnny has forced them to switch places her doesn't seem too upset.  Now don't get me wrong, he is freaking out.  But I know I would have flipped shit if someone forced me into a new life.

Anyway, now being the head of an aristocratic family he finds himself facing challenges he never even imagined.  Such as dealing with mistresses, solving the families financial troubles, and racing a daughter.  Through out all this time though no one even suspects he is someone he is not eventhough they keep commenting on how he seems different.  His daughter even notices his smell.

After awhile, he starts to grow and care for this family that he has never had.  And they start to appreciate him much more then the original.  In fact, the family starts acting whole again.  When John falls in love with Johnny's wife is when trouble starts to happen.  You see because Johnny decides to come back one night and sees the two in bed together.  Johnny comes up with his own plan.  While the family is out he forces his wife to write a suicide note.  Then pumps her full of morphine.  Luckily John finds her in time and they are able to save her life.  Now, John must battle Johnny for the life they are currently sharing.

I feel like I've already mentioned by love for mistaken identifies.  Now just throw in a fish out of water element and I'm all ears.  However, the character seemed a little slow moving into becoming part of the family and it wasn't until the threat of Johnny coming back into the picture that I felt he truly belonged here.  But I did really like the ending of the movie.  There is a quote but I don't want to give it away that I thought fit nicely.

Rating: ***

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZCjXx8UVSc

60. 30 Beats

Julie (Condola Rashad) is a high school student (?), maybe in college, that is a still a virgin.  And sick of waiting around for the right moment, she decides to take things into her own hands.  She goes over to Adam's (Justin Kirk) apartment.  I'm pretty sure Adam use to be her sister's teacher but whatever.  She comes right out and asks him to take her virginity and like any man with nothing better to do he agrees.  

Afterwards Adam has trouble getting it up with other girls.  He asks around and when desperate times call for desperate measures ends up going to a psychic named Erika (Jennifer Tilly).  When he doesn't take her card reading abilities seriously she steps up her game and says she may now a remedy to help is "wounded sword".  He agrees and after rubbing strange oils and herbs over his junk, she tells him to imagine the two of them doing something sexual.  It seems to work because then they have sex.  

The next day he leaves and since Erika doesn't have any clients around she calls her booty call Diego (Jason Day).  After they too do the dead, he confesses that he is in love.  But not with her.  With a woman he has only seen but hasn't got up the courage to speak to.  Erika tells him to take blue roses and a lemon to her.  That will get them talking and soon they will become lovers.  He does as he is told and follows her to her house where he confesses that he wants her.  Laura (Paz de la Huerta) tells him she is not able to return his love because she has had multiple heart surgeries that have left her void of passion.  

At least until she goes to her chiropractor Matt (Lee Pace).  Once he is done cracking all her bones, she comes on to him and even though he tries to resist because it is unethical, they have sex in his office.  Afterwards Matt goes over to Kim's (Vahina Giocante) to take her away to the Hampton's for the weekend.  But with a storm approaching they decide to just stay in and have sex.  When Kim goes to work at the Waverly Hotel the next day, she talks to Julian (Thomas Sadosk) who has been staying at the hotel all week.  He is quite smitten with her voice and wants to meet her in person.  She agrees but brings along a friend for support and eventhough she lies about who she is at first, he recognizes her voice and the three end up having sex.

If that's not enough for Julian, he goes and visits the best prostitute in Manhattan, Alice (Ingeborga Dapkunaite).  Afterwards, Alice gets a text about a new job.  A man hires her to take their son's virginity.  She meets up with Sean (Ben Levin) - the virgin - and after lots of coaxing they maybe have sex.  I'm not really sure because it just cuts to them in an ambulance because apparently he slipped, hit his head, and had to get stitches.  But when he asks her if they had sex she says yes and it was wonderful.

When he gets out of the hospital, he is a new man.  He goes over to his best friend's Julie's house and when the conversation of sex comes up, he proposes that they should try it together.  

Ughh.  I don't want to sound like a pervert, but considering this movie jsut revolves around people having sex, they don't show a whole lot.  Plus they gave the movie this gross grainy over saturated B-movie look.  I'm not really sure what the point of it was.  I think just to get people's attention because it didn't add to the story at all.  Well, what limited story there was, which didn't give the actors a whole lot to work with, which ended up with some pretty weak performances.

Rating: *

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Iy6gPnPlks

59. Tonight You're Mine

Adam (Luke Treadaway) is set to perform with his band at a music festival in Scotland.  When he arrives, his car is ambushed by a new band on the scene called The Dirty Pinks.  They start arguing and one of the organizers of the festival comes over to smooth things over.  He makes everyone join hands and take part in a prayer but when they doesn't seem to work he handcuffs Adam to Morello (Natalia Tena) before running away with the key.

Stuck together, Adam and Morello make their way around the festival.  When Adam's model girlfriend finds him handcuffed to a complete stranger she gets pretty pissed and Morello doesn't make things any easier.  She eggs her on making it seem like something is going on between Adam and herself.  Only when her boyfriend shows up does she regret this decision.  Luckily her boyfriend is more understanding and when they run into Adam's girlfriend later she gives him another chance.  The foursome wonders around the music festival and even performing and its on stage that Adam and Morello start to become friends.  In fact, Adam feels a connection with Morello that he doesn't feel with his girlfriend.  So when his band mate presents him with a key to the handcuffs he shakes them off.

As the festival continues to two grow closer together.  When Adam's girlfriend begins to notice, he doesn't deny his attraction to Morello and they break up.  Which also results in Morello's boyfriend dumping her.  Feeling like loser, Morello drags him off to enjoy more of the festival and even get in a mud fight.  The moment finally feels right and they start kissing and then some as they wash themselves off.  However, when the festival organizer asks them for the handcuffs back and news gets out about the key Adam waived off, there seems to be trouble in paradise.

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that they did all the filming for this movie during the festival, which describes the use of long takes and lack of studio lighting.  And if this is true I applaud them.  That would be a total nightmare filming a feature length movie in just a few days surrounded by thousands of drunks.  Needless to say they got some pretty impressive shots for the conditions they were working with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW7WuORqeKI

Rating: ***