Moviewatcher122's 2015 Film Diary: September

September 1



"When you wake up scream, Doctor Alan. Scream all you want. There is no escape from the grave."

Since Wes Craven has just passed away, I had to watch one of his movies since I was a huge fan of his work. I was going to save this one for October, but I decided to go with a movie I hadn't seen yet. This was a really scary movie with one of Bill Pullman's best performances in a movie and lots of crazy visuals. This is among one of Craven's best movies and it's one of the reasons why he was such a great horror director. He had so many memorable movies and even his worst one Vampire in Brooklyn (Which is the first movie I've seen from him unfortunately.) is better than some of the horror movies we've been getting today.

R.I.P Wes Craven, you will be missed.

September 2



"Hey, Rose, I know you're "technically" on break, but I need a lap dance. Table five. Just don't get too close. The guy has two hook-hands."
"How did we let that guy back in here?"
"I don't know. He must've picked the locks."

When I saw the trailer for this back in 2013, I thought it looked HORRIBLE. When I saw this trailer in the theatre people were laughing while I was just sitting there stone-faced. Even the positive reviews this movie was getting made me less interested in this movie and I lost all hope when this movie was considered one of the funniest movies of the year. However I saw this movie featured on Netflix and that's pretty much the only way I'm likely to see a movie I didn't want to see in the first place. This movie was actually decent. For some weird reason the jokes that I didn't find funny in the trailers were funny in this movie and it's consistently funny. There wasn't that much in the movie that made me laugh out loud and the only moments I remember that happening were a couple lines said by Emma Roberts' character. I think the biggest problem with the movie is that the more the movie went on, the easier it was to predict where it was going and there are no real surprises here. It's a decent comedy for what it's worth, but it's nothing special.

September 2



"Son of a bitch, I'm sick of these dolphins."

Out of all the Wes Anderson movies I've seen so far, this one is probably the best one. I find that with Bill Murray movies nowadays he takes himself too seriously as an actor and doesn't star in fun movies like he used to, but I think that this is one of his better movies of the 2000's. This is the only Wes Anderson movie where he's the main character. No supporting role or a major character like in Rushmore, but the main focus of the movie and I think he was born to play this role. It's funny, it's got a really adventurous feel and it's the most ambitious movies I've seen from Wes. Even the ending was surprisingly emotional and I think it was the best way to end the movie. Like all of the movies I've seen from Wes Anderson it doesn't cross the line of greatness, but it comes close and so far it's his best movie.

September 3



"The woman I love is living with a horny little monkey that looks like me."
"What a lucky girl!"

I really don't get the hate for this movie. It is really weird especially for a Brendan Fraser movie, but I really enjoyed it. It's got some creative ideas, some funny moments and it's a very entertaining movie even though the third act was when I just didn't know what was going on anymore. It was just really out there, but other than that it's a underrated movie.

September 4



"The voice you hear is not my speaking voice - -but my mind's voice. I have not spoken since I was six years old. No one knows why - -not even me. My father says it is a dark talent, and the day I take it into my head to stop breathing will be my last. Today he married me to a man I have not yet met. Soon my daughter and I shall join him in his own country. My husband writes that my muteness does not bother him - and hark this! He says, "God loves dumb creatures, so why not I?" 'Twere good he had God's patience, for silence affects everyone in the end. The strange thing is, I don't think myself silent. That is because of my piano. I shall miss it on the journey."

I had heard of this movie before, but I didn't really know anything about it other than the cast and that it won a few Oscars, but other than that I knew nothing and no one really talks about this movie. I should've just kept avoiding this because this movie wasn't for me. It actually started off promising with a very well-written opening narration, but unfortunately it's the only good line of dialogue the movie has and after that the movie became so god damn boring. This movie has really boring and uninspired dialogue, the story is uninteresting and the movie as a whole is just so sappy. This movie does have good acting which is this movie's strong point. People like Harvey Keitel and Sam Neill do the best they could with what they were given and Holly Hunter is alright for a non-speaking role, but it isn't Oscar-worthy. Also Anna Paquin who would eventually become the star of True Blood is in this movie and she was the second youngest person to win an Oscar. I would say her performance was good, but I just can't. I'm sorry, but any performance that involves a character ear-piercingly screaming for too long is not a good performance. I also liked some of the technical aspects of this movie, but other than that it was a chore to watch. It's not bad enough for me to rate it anything lower than a four, but it's just a overrated movie and if you haven't seen it then I would recommend skipping it.

September 5



"We are a couple that doesn't touch."

I've heard of this movie, but never had an urge to watch it until my taste in movies started to really evolve. I also was kind of turned off from Vincent Gallo's movies as he was an asshole in this one interview where he insults Martin Scorsese and Sofia Coppola. Even though I hate her movies, what he said about her wasn't very nice and what he said about Martin Scorsese was contradictory since he said he wouldn't work with him because he hasn't made a good movie in 25 years when he had a small role in Goodfellas and that movie wasn't even 25 years old when he said that. Anyways I didn't really see any movies where he had a major role in until I saw Tetro which I wasn't blown away by, but it was still pretty good and his performance in that movie really stood out.

Anyways this movie is pure perfection. The story is very original, the writing is great and Vincent Gallo plays this interesting kind of character. For some reason he kind of reminded me of Holden Caulfield which in this case is a really good thing. It's also a romantic comedy in a way and in that case it's one of the best movies of it's kind. I also really loved this movie's unique way of showing flashbacks. It's an amazing movie and it deserves all the praise it gets.

September 6

Re-watch

-



"Hey man where-where-where's your cup holder?"
"I don't have one."
"What the f- w'you mean you don't have one? Eighty thousand dollars for this car and you ain't got no damn cup holder?"
"It's $105,000 and this happens to be one of the fastest production cars on the planet. Zero to sixty in four seconds, sweetie. It's a limited edition."
"You damn right it's limited. No cup holder, no back seat. Just a shiny dick with two chairs in it. I guess we the balls just draggin' the fuck along."

There's actually something funny about me and the first two movies. BOTH of them were movies I thought were OK when they started, but got better as they went along. I think I remember my reasoning for thinking this one is OK is because I was shocked with how funny Martin Lawrence was and it took until nearly an hour into the movie during the scene where Martin Lawrence dips a pickle in his drink to get rid of the salt for me to admit that it was a good movie. I definitely got more out of this movie this time as the comedy really worked better this time around. Martin Lawrence has never been as funny as he was in this movie and him and Will Smith make a really good comedic team. The action in this movie is also good and interestingly enough this movie doesn't rely on that much explosions compared to the rest of his movies. I really wish that he would make another Bad Boys movie instead of the 500th Transformers movie. This movie was even better than I remembered and I should revisit Bad Boys II to see if I like it more and because the DVD of this movie I bought also came with Bad Boys II.

September 7



"How many brain cells did I kill?"
"How many? About a billion."
"Oh, now I'm only as smart as you."
"What can we give him to kill his sense of humor?"

This is embarrassing, but it took me days to realize that I hadn't added this movie to this list. It's not the movie's fault and it's more of a me failing to keep this list updated thing. Anyways this is a really intense thriller that has really good acting, a really interesting story and it's very creepy and suspenseful at the same time. It's not a great movie although it came close to being one and I could see myself watching it again. It's a really good epidemic movie that Contagion wishes it could be.

September 7



"A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while."

It's no Field of Dreams, but it's still a highly entertaining baseball movie. It was funny, the acting was good for this kind of movie and it's something I wouldn't mind watching again. It's not perfect, but even though I can't stand baseball I thought this movie was very enjoyable.

September 8



"One thing I've learned in the last seven years: in every game and con there's always an opponent, and there's always a victim. The trick is to know when you're the latter, so you can become the former."

I don't get why some people hate this movie. It's not as great as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or Snatch, but it's still a great movie. The casting was great with one of Jason Statham's best roles and Ray Liotta who's great as usual. The story was interesting and different from what Guy Ritchie usually does while at the same time still retaining that same style from his other movies. It's also darker than his other movies, but still has some of his witty dialogue every now and then. This isn't the easiest movie to follow, but it's very rewarding near the end and I wish Guy Ritchie would go back to making these kind of movies.

September 9



"What if there was a species above us in the food chain? How do you think you'd feel if that species lost total respect for us... and started slaughtering us wholesale?"

This is far from being a great movie, but it's enjoyable. The writing could've been improved and the characters could've been more fleshed out, but for what it is it's a good movie and it's really entertaining to watch Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro fight each other at the end.

September 10



"What kind of a host invites you to his house for the weekend and dies on you?"

This was a pretty funny movie. It had a decent comedic premise and I think they executed it very well. Not a great movie, but it didn't deserve the negative reviews it gotten back then and it's good to see that people are warming up to this movie now.

September 11



"Earth women who experience sexual ecstasy with mechanical assistance always tend to feel guilty!"

This was a really fun movie. The animation was really good for it's time, the segments were pretty good and this movie does have some humor which I would be surprised if this movie didn't have any due to the cast having a few comedians. I really enjoyed this movie and I'm glad I finally saw it.

September 12



"Where'd you learn to fight like that?"
"Law school!"

This was just another typical Van Damme movie. The acting's OK, the dialogue is OK and the story is somewhat weak. It tries to be more than than the typical Van Damme movie when it's really just standard fare. The action scene near the end though was kind of entertaining, but also ridiculous at the same time and not in a good way. It's just an average movie with nothing exceptionally good about it, but nothing terrible either.

September 12



"A lot of money for a young lady."
"Took me two years. I work three jobs."
"American dream, huh?"
"Is to work three jobs?"
"These days, yes."

This was a very entertaining movie and I think it deserved to do better at the box office. The plot is simple, yet it was executed very well and who knew that a movie focused on a bicycle driver could be so fun? The acting is also very good and Michael Shannon played the villain very well. It's a fun ride (Sorry, could not resist that pun.) and hopefully this movie gains a cult following over the years.

September 13



"Sometimes, Jake, style can get you killed."

This was a decent movie and nothing more. The dialogue is pretty good, the acting is strong and there are some funny lines, but the story is nothing to write home about and I didn't really care for the ending. I mean seriously, does every grifter movie have to end with someone faking their death? It's an entertaining movie, but it's definitely forgettable.

September 14



"I had the misfortune of meeting Chuck Traynor, but it didn't start out like you're describing. He was a gentleman when I first met him. He was always opening doors for me and lighting my cigarettes and he was very charming when he wanted to be... and I was young, you know, I was twenty-one when I went to live with him... and it wasn't until after that, that things just started to change. He started talking about different sexual things, things that I had never heard of before, things that I - I couldn't imagine, you know? I didn't want to. I was raised... I was raised to obey my husband, to please him for better or for worse... so that's what I did."

This movie could've been so much better. For the most part this movie is OK. The acting is mostly decent (Except for James Franco who was not believable as Hugh Hefner at all.) and I like how this movie portrayed the impact the movie Deep Throat had in the porn industry, but the writing and character development could've been improved. It gets a little worse near the third act when the depressing shit seems to come out of nowhere and it wouldn't have been a problem if certain parts of this movie was improved. This movie could've been so much worse, but it needed a lot more work put into it for it to be good.

September 14



"What kind of man gives cigarettes to trees?"

This was a pretty underrated comedy. Robin Williams and Walter Matthau unsurprisingly make a great comedic team and there were so many parts in this movie that had me laughing hard. If you're a fan of either actors then you owe it to yourself to see this one.

September 15



"I'm so happy I could shit."
"Chip, you know how I hate the brown word."

At one point in my life I refused to watch any movies that John Waters has directed, but I heard mostly good things about this movie and it sounded like it was good, so now I decided to give in and watch it and I'm glad I did because this is a hilarious dark comedy. Kathleen Turner is amazing as the lead role who acts like a middle-class mom who sets strict rules for her kids when she's really a deranged killer. It's got some hilarious, twisted and even quotable dialogue, the writing is well done and the kills in this movie are so horrible that they are funny. It's not perfect as the supporting actors are nothing special and it is ridiculous at times, (Mostly near the end though) but the humor in this movie is enough to make up for the movies flaws.

September 16



"You're looking good, Riz."
"Eat your heart out."
"But sloppy seconds ain't my style."

I have been putting off watching this movie for ages ever since I found out that the songs that I've heard from the movie so far are very, very annoying. The more I heard them, the more they got on my nerves. Even worse is that the song for my graduation ceremony was from this movie although I can't remember which one it was. I finally gave in and watched it and I'm afraid it's just as bad as I was expecting it to be. I already mentioned that the songs were annoying, but god damn it, it needs to be mentioned again. Especially that song called You're the One That I Want which is so overplayed even to this day. That's not the only thing I didn't like about this movie though as the characters were unlikable, the story is hackneyed and the acting is just as good as a corny TV sitcom. This movie does have a few good things though like the song Greased Lightning which is the best song in the movie and there are at least a couple other songs that are tolerable at best and there were also a few funny moments although none of them elicited any kind of laugh from me. It's just a bad movie that is very dated and it is not the best musical of all time.

September 17



"Ever hear of Double Jeopardy? Fifth Amendment to the constitution?"
"No."
"It says no person can be convicted of the same crime twice, the state says you already killed your husband right? So, when you get out of here, you track him down, and you can kill him. You can walk up to him in Times Square put a gun to his head and pull the fucking trigger and there's nothing they can do about it! Kinda makes you feel all warm and tingly inside don't it?"

This was a decent thriller. While the premise is a little implausible and like most thrillers starring Ashley Judd it's easy to figure out, it's still entertaining and Tommy Lee Jones steals the show as the parole officer. It's far from being an exceptional movie, but it's good as far as these typical thrillers go.

September 17



"My children, when they speak if their father, they will say he was a man who stood up for what was right, a man who said he must do something now. What will your children say about you?"

This was a powerful hidden gem of a movie. The acting was really solid, the story was well-done and it's a shame this movie has a low rating on here. It's not a great movie, but it succeeds with what it's trying to do.

September 18



"They think I'm crazy."
"Do you think you're crazy?"
"You know, talking to you is like riding on a fucking merry-go-round."
"That's a marvelous image, Walter. Because by going in circles, we find things we missed the first time around."

I wasn't sure if this movie was good as I wasn't sure if this movie was going to do a good job of making you sympathize for a guy who has molested kids in the past, but this movie manages to do just that. Kevin Bacon delivers a great performance as the leading role, the story was executed well and there are some really powerful scenes especially that one near the end which I don't want to spoil. It's not a great movie and I think a longer running time would've benefited this movie, but it's still a good effort.

September 18



"Hey, buddy. I need you to listen very carefully to what I'm saying because there are lessons again and again throughout your whole life. You gotta learn from these things, right? It's not what you do, it's when and where you do it, and who you do it to or with. If nobody sees it, it didn't happen."
"Jimmy, he's six. You really think that's the best thing to be telling you kid?"
"Yeah."

Even though Johnny Depp is still a great actor, he has seemed to go through some sort of decline in recent years. I mean not a lot of movies he has been in recently were ones I had a strong urge to see and the last great movie he was in was Rango. I also was really interested in seeing The Lone Ranger... until the studios of this movie kept hyping the hell out of it and pretty much every movie he's been in after POTC 4 was a flop. Even Transcendence which was a nice change of pace from the quirky and eccentric characters he plays did very poorly financially and critically. However, when I saw the trailer for this movie I was blown away. Johnny Depp looked like he was going to deliver an amazing performance and it was refreshing to see him playing the role of a real person as I prefer Johnny Depp much more when he plays actual people like in Blow, Ed Wood, Fear and Loathing Las Vegas and Donnie Brasco instead of the quirky characters he usually plays which are still great, but it's really been over-exposed lately.

After watching this I can easily say that this is the best Johnny Depp movies in years. He really sinks into his character and he's almost unrecognizable at times. The rest of the cast does a great job too and they deliver some memorable performances too. The deaths in this movie were also really unexpected as they just come out of nowhere. I really loved this movie and there is not a dull moment. It had the potential to be a crime epic with a longer run time, but for what it is, it's a perfect movie.

September 19



"Cursed be the ground for our sake. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for us. For out of the ground we were taken, for the dust we are... and to the dust we shall return."

While this movie doesn't really have a lot of depth and the characters could've been more fleshed out, this movie delivers as a post-apocalyptic action movie and it isn't even trying to be a great movie. It was a fun movie and that's all it was trying to accomplish.

September 20



"Daddy, would you like some sausage? Daddy, would you like some sausage?"

Well, I knew this day would come when I would see a reviled movie that I actually like and lose any credibility I had as a film buff. No, but seriously I didn't think this movie was that bad. In fact I thought it was really hilarious at times and some of the stuff in the movie is so stupid that it's funny. As far as story and pacing goes, this movie isn't very good, but on a comedic level it's really funny. I normally don't like it when movies focus on nothing but shock humor as it's hard to keep the audience surprised like this for too long, but I think this movie pulls it off. I can't really recommend this movie because if you hate Tom Green then you'll hate this movie, but if you like him or are even a fan of him then you've probably already seen this movie by now.

September 20



"Money talks and bullshit walks!"
"How can bullshit walk?"

I'd say that this is just as good as Arnold's other comedic films like Kindergarten Cop and The Last Action Hero. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito have good chemistry and both of them delivered some funny lines. Like the other comedic Arnold movies they are far from being classics, but it's entertaining and it doesn't deserve some of the criticism it gets.

September 22

"Forgive them, Father. They know not what they do."

Now I know I usually leave these items on this list empty for at least a few days, but that's how I usually do things and I do it at my own pace. However I never leave it empty for this long and it has more to do with personal issues that I don't want to talk about more than it has to do with the new Listal update and because this was the movie that broke me.

I might piss people off with what I have to say about this movie which is something I also assumed with The Last Temptation of Christ, but I found this movie so offensive even as an Agnostic person that I have to tear this movie apart. I'm also going to have to compare this movie to The Last Temptation because I just can't do it any other way. So you know how people call movies like Saw or Hostel torture porn? Well in my opinion, this movie is the holy grail (No pun intended.) of torture porn. 98% of this movie is just Jesus being abused and there are only a couple scenes that are remotely positive, but those scenes barely last a minute. I get that this is one of those movies that aren't supposed to be entertaining, but at least movies like Schindler's List or 12 Years a Slave had some positive scenes and a positive message. I couldn't even choose an image for this movie because most of the gallery was just images of Jesus covered in blood. The Last Temptation of Christ is a much better movie because most of the movie was positive, Willem Dafoe understood the role of Jesus and the crucifixion scene was disturbing, but it didn't last long. This is just disturbing for all the wrong reasons, the way they portrayed Jewish people was offensive, (And surprise, it's directed by Mel Gibson.) and Jim Caviezel's performance? All his performance consisted of was groaning and showing signs of pain. The only line I remember him saying in this movie is a bible verse that was said in a System of a Down song. I had to watch this movie in more than one sitting and I was tempted to stop watching this movie, but I kept going because I don't know. All this movie focuses on is how Jesus died instead of the actual story of him and what he stood for. I feel like Mel Gibson intentionally created this movie just so it would stir up a controversy and I can't believe the same Mel Gibson made a movie about the Mayans that actually portrayed them in a positive light. I was already aware Mel Gibson is not a good person, but after this I think this is when he officially lost it. I spent more time writing about this movie than I should've and if you somehow haven't seen it then stay away from this movie.

September 23



"Well, I'm working on a few things. I'm going over to the other side."
"Republicans?"
"No, Mexico."

This was a decent movie that had it's heart in the right place, the acting was good for the most part and the dialogue was good enough, but in the end I felt like I wasn't as invested in this movie as I should've been.

September 24



I can't believe that this movie is forgotten despite the tragedy behind this movie. If you didn't already know, Bernie Mac died three months before the movie came out, while Isaac Hayes who was also in this movie died the day after him. It also didn't get favorable reviews when it came out and despite the fact that it has a decent score on IMDB, I can't believe this movie is so overlooked. This movie was really funny from start to finish and there were so many funny lines that some of them had to be ad-libbed, yet I could only find one quote for this movie and I didn't want to use it as I don't do quotes that rely on actions. This was a really funny movie and it doesn't get the credit or appreciation it deserves.

September 25



"You're Norma Desmond. You used to be in silent pictures. You used to be big."
"I *am* big. It's the *pictures* that got small."

Well, I thought that I should finally see this movie and yes it deserves the high amount of praise and admiration that it gets. It has a fantastic and even groundbreaking story at the time, it has remarkable performances and some really memorable dialogue. After seeing this I am already convinced that Billy Wilder is one of the greatest directors of all time. I've seen 4 movies from him and so far there hasn't been one movie he made that didn't impress me. Even Some Like It Hot which is the weakest movie (Please note that I use that word very loosely since all of his movies so far have been great.) is still a very well-made movie and has it's memorable scenes, but I feel like I need to watch it again to appreciate the comedy aspect of it a bit more. This might be one of my favorite movies from The Golden Age of Hollywood and it's just a very timeless film.

September 26



"You like water?"
"I love it. It's actually my second favorite thing in the world."
"Really? And what's your first most?"
"Fucking."

This was a pretty lame comedy. It tries way too hard to be a black comedy when it's really more goofy than anything. There have black comedies where the tone isn't really serious, but in this movie it's just awkward and it tries too hard to be edgy. Now this movie does have a laugh every now and then and the cast does a good job with the material they were given and Liv Tyler keeps this movie from being bad if only because she looks good. This is just a forgettable movie that is worth skipping.

September 27



"You can dream of a moment for years and still somehow miss it when it comes. You've got to reach through the flames and take it, or lose it forever. I took it. So did my mother. We never looked back."

This movie tends to get overshadowed by What's Eating Gilbert Grape as Leonardo DiCaprio's breakout role and while the latter movie is better, this one is still good. It tells a really disturbing story that's pretty hard to watch and it's one of those stories where it's hard to believe that it actually happened. Robert DeNiro was great at playing a character who was really unlikable and he's pretty much the stand-out role in this movie. DiCaprio is also good, but I don't think anyone would call it his best performance, but it was one of his first movies. It's a really powerful movie and while I didn't love it, it's still a really good movie and it was worth seeing just for Leonardo DiCaprio's earlier roles alone.

September 28



"I always believed that fear belonged to other people. Weaker people. It never touched me. And then it did. And when it touches you, you know... that it's been there all along. Waiting beneath the surfaces of everything you loved."

This was a decent movie, but at the same time it felt like a weaker version of better vigilante movies. I don't care that these plots have been done too many times because vigilante and revenge can still be made into really good movies, but this was just a bit too generic. The acting is good, but the only standout performance is Jodie Foster, the dialogue is good, but it could've had more depth to it and in the end it's just a basic vigilante movie that's entertaining, but it's too simple to be any better. I wouldn't be surprised if this movie got greenlight just because someone in Hollywood was looking for actors that haven't starred in a revenge movie yet and that now it was Jodie Foster's turn.

September 30



"A hit. You have sank my battleship!"
"Excellent! Yeah!"
"I totally knew he put it in the J's, dude!"
"Good thinking, Ted."
"You must play me again."
"WHAT?"
"Um, best two out of three."
"No way!"
"Yes way."

I've been meaning to see this one much earlier, but just never did until now. With that said, I really don't think this sequel was that bad. I like how they made this one different from the first one by giving it a more inventive premise and I think this movie delivered some good laughs, one of the being the board game scene which I think is even more funny because I know what it's spoofing. It's not as good as the original, but it's a decent effort and it's better than people give it credit for.

September 30



"You saw a Griever?"
"Yeah, I saw one."
"He didn't just see it. He killed it."

I actually was interested in seeing this movie due to the premise and the trailers looked decent, but I started to lose interest in it around the time it came out. It's an OK movie and I was going to give this movie props for coming up with a creative premise, well that was until not too long into the movie I found out that this was just a watered down version of Cube, so pretty much every movie franchise based on a young adult novel is just based on stealing ideas. Well the acting in the movie isn't bad, the characters are somewhat likeable and the action scenes are OK, but it's mostly just a blatant cash-in on being the next big teen craze that people are going crazy over. I think the fact that it's a watered down version of Cube except with monsters as some of the traps is what keeps this movie from being any better, but it's competently made and I'll probably check out the sequel sometime out of curiosity.

September 30



"The fans are standing up to them! The security guards are standing up to them! The peanut vendors are standing up to them! And by golly, if I could get down there, I'd be standing up to them!"

I can't believe I haven't seen this movie yet considering the classic status it has and because hockey is the only sport I actually don't mind watching. Anyways this was a hilarious movie with so many classic lines and Paul Newman really pulls of the role of a coach of a third-rate hockey team very well. It's not a comedic masterpiece, but I still laughed a lot while watching this movie and it was a great way to end the month.

September 4



"I ain't no white trash piece of shit. I'm better than you all! I can out-learn you. I can out-read you. I can out-think you. And I can out-philosophize you. And I'm gonna outlast you. You think a couple whacks to my guts is gonna get me down? It's gonna take a hell of a lot more than that, Counselor, to prove you're better than me!"

I gotta be honest here by saying that I feel like I'm running out of ideas for monthly focuses. I'm not getting that inspiration that I once had and I kind of feel like I've exhausted the whole thing, so I might end up retiring them and just stick with doing them every October and December. So the reason I'm watching Martin Scorsese movies this month is because it was the first monthly focus I've ever done back in 2012 and there are still quite a few movies of his that I haven't seen.

I've been meaning to see this ever since I saw the original movie a few years ago, but never got around to it until now and this is one of those times where the remake is superior. The story is much darker than the original, the writing is really good and the acting is mostly great. Robert De Niro steals the show as Max Cady. This is one of his best roles as he's really scary and insane and while I did like Robert Mitchum in the original, I think De Niro completely nailed this role. I also liked how they were able to get Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum in this movie for a brief cameo. The only person who didn't do that good of a job was Juliette Lewis as it kind of felt phoned in and I don't really think she was right for the role. The movie also feels a bit overlong at times, but those are just minor problems and it doesn't affect this movie that much. The last 30 minutes of this movie are intense and it really had me at the edge of my seat. It's a great movie and it's one of those movies that actually deserved a remake.

September 9



"Here's the thing. I don't give a tuppenny fuck about your moral conundrum, you meat-headed shit-sack. That's more or less the thing. And I want you to go out there... You, nobody else. None of your little minions. I want you to go out there. And I want you to punish the person who's responsible for murdering this poor little rabbit. Is that understood?"

This was a pretty good, but flawed historical epic. The acting was good, but the only one that stood out was Daniel Day-Lewis. I'm a big fan of Leonardo DiCaprio and I wasn't too impressed with his performance and I think he's done better acting than this and Cameron Diaz felt really out of place in this movie. She's done serious roles well before, but she just didn't fit in with this kind of movie and they really should've gotten someone else. I also thought this movie was too long and the movie felt a little dull in certain parts. I think what I liked most about this movie was the story as it was what kept me interested in the movie and kept me from giving it a lower rating. So, I really liked this movie, but it's far from being Scorsese's best work.

September 13



"Art sure is ugly."
"Shows how much you know about art. The uglier the art, the more it's worth."
"This must be worth a fortune, man."

This was a pretty odd comedy, but I guess that's what Martin Scorsese does when it comes to that genre. It's not hysterically funny, but it is still funny in it's own quirky way and I just liked the whole weirdness of this movie. While this one isn't Scorsese's best either, I will say I enjoyed it more than Gangs of New York and I'd probably watch this one again at least once.

September 19



"If I was a woodcutter, I'd cut. If I was a fire, I'd burn. But I'm a heart and I love. That's the only thing I can do."

Even though I'm not religious, I really loved this movie and I wasn't expecting it to be this good. Willem Dafoe is amazing as the role of Jesus and everyone else is casted well too. The way they tell his story is very well-done and I loved every minute of this movie. I think that the controversy surrounding it wasn't deserved at all as it portrays Jesus in a respectful way while not portraying him as a perfect guy which might've pissed some people off, but I don't understand why. While this movie hasn't changed my views on religion, it at least did a great job of making me care about Jesus and what was happening to him and that's an accomplishment.

September 21



"I'd imagine the whole world was one big machine. Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need. So I figured, if the entire world was one big machine, I couldn't be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason. And that means you have to be here for some reason, too."

Two great Scorsese movies in a row. This is the most family-friendly movie he has ever done, yet at the same time it's one of those rare family movies to come out (Excluding Pixar movies or anything animated for that matter.) that doesn't shy away from the darker elements of storytelling and takes it's audience seriously. I also like how it was a love letter to classic cinema and that's something new for this kind of movie. Asa Butterfield and Chloe Moretz movie deliver some of the best performances I've ever seen from child actors and even the already legendary actors like Ben Kingsley and the late Christopher Lee are amazing in this movie too. Sacha Baren Cohen was also good as this movie's comic relief. Overall this is a fantastic movie and it's up there as one of Martin Scorsese's best movies.

September 28



"Better to be king for a night than schmuck for a lifetime."

I actually tried watching this movie the first time I did this monthly focus, but the DVD I rented was so bad that it stopped working within the first minute. Now that I've seen it I think that it's a solid movie, but at the same I feel like it could've been better. The acting from Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis to a lesser extent did a great job, the satire for this movie is just as relevant today and the execution for this premise was near-perfect. Really the biggest problem I had is that I feel like the title is a bit misleading since I didn't think the movie was that funny. Don't get me wrong, the movie still has it's funny moments and it's not the kind of movie that makes you laugh every minute, but I feel like there could've been a bit more humor to lighten the mood just a little bit. Then again I guess it's more of an expectations thing than an actual problem with the movie.

Well, I'd say this monthly focus went well. I found all the movies in this movie to be very good and even the weakest one which would probably be Gangs of New York still had a lot of merits and I manage to clear out most of the movies I planned to watch.