Alaina's Trial by Movie: Frank Sinatra

Ol' Blue Eyes himself..... 

I am not gonna lie I am totally in love with this man! I mean he was charming and dashing, he can sing a tune that can make your heart melt and hit you right in the gut all at the same time. Acting, however, was a different story. If you could make a movie using only him singing on a stage you would think he was the best actor in the world. Even watching him on videos online you can see just how he takes your right where you want to go when he sings a song.

However, when it comes to movies even I, a hugely devoted fan, can admit that he is not one of the best actors in the entire world. Don't get me wrong when everything went right it went so right. However, Mr. Sinatra was not a very patient man and was very much a one take Charlie. He hated having to do more than one take and he didn't want to be on set all day. There are very few movies that he did where everything worked to make him as memorable actor as he is. One of them was his Academy Award winning role as Maggio in From Here to Eternity. 

There is one role that that has been cemented in cinematic history that people seem to really love. I really believe this because the name is coming back to life again this year. That name is Ocean.

Frank Ocean.

That is right folks! The movie that I picked to give Alaina's first glimpse into the world of Frank Sinatra is the Original, and frankly the best, Ocean's 11. 

Now, the reason that I chose this movie is because not only is it how clever this movie is but because if you are going to watch a remake of a movie then you should watch the original. This point has been proven more poignant to me even at the start of this year because after A new Ocean's 11 and it's two sequels, Hollywood wants to show off the Ocean name again. This year Hollywood has come up with the "great" idea to make ANOTHER Ocean's movie. This an all female cast and only 8 people. Ocean's 8 REALLY!?

Anyways, like I said if you are going to watch any of these movies you need to know where the original movie storyline came from. 

In order to get more than a "the movie was good" reaction out of Alaina I would have to come up with questions. I did this because she needs to know that I expect her to pay attention to the movie and I also expect her to try and make a connection. Reason is because when I usually ask her what he thinks of any movie it's always followed by a "good" and no other explanation is given.

As a movie nerd that drives me INSANE!

So, the questions are there to keep her on her toes and to keep me from absolutely loosing my mind.

*Editor's Note: this will contain spoilers! If you would like to see the original Ocean's 11 without it being ruined please don't read any further.

1. What were you thoughts going into Ocean's 11? I was looking forward to seeing were it all started. The movie have been remade twice (meaning the George Clooney Ocean's 11 and this year's Ocean's 8) to it will be interesting to see how the original story worked out.

2. What was your favorite part of the movie? After all of the hard work that they did to pull off the heist and the money all burned in the end. If they hadn't been so greedy about keeping the money they would have made off with half of it in the end instead of nothing.

3. Who was your favorite character? Frank Ocean. (Played by Frank Sinatra)

4. Why was Frank Ocean your favorite character? I loved him because of his snarkiness. 

5. What did you not like about Ocean's 11? That is was very slow at first. Once we got to the point where they were planning and pulling off the heist it got interesting. 

6. What did you think of Frank Sinatra in this film? I thought he did a really good job. What really sold his performance was how he acted with his eyes.

7. What do you think of the film now that you have seen it? It was not what I was expecting at all. I knew it was going to be a drama and deal with a heist but I didn't not expect it to end the way it did. The fact that all of that went into it and they failed is funny to me.

8. Would you watch Ocean's 11 again? Yes, however I would not seek it out. If someone had it on, asked me to watch or it came on TV I would. I don't think I would be renting it myself anytime soon.

9. Would you recommend this film? Yes, especially if the person I am recommending it to has already seen the remakes. 

10. What relevance does this movie have today? I think the relevance to this movie would have the fact there have been so many remakes of this film. If you are going to invest that much time in watching the remakes you should invest a few hours in seeing where it came from.

 Now, as a Frank Sinatra fan you would think I would be upset that she didn't like this film that much or would want to see it again herself. I am not actually. As a Frank fan, I am like .001% upset about it because Mr. Sinatra will always first and foremost be a singer.. no not a singer.... a crooner. As a movie fan I am very happy with how much she enjoyed this film. This is not the best movie of all time, it's not on any "best picture" list, nor would it normally be movie I would recommend to someone trying to get into classic films. The reason this film was picked was because it is one of the best films that Mr. Sinatra did that I knew would keep Alaina entertained. I have made her was a Gene Kelly Frank Sinatra movie a few years ago. She loved, and it was outside our list for the movie stars. I didn't want to make her watch another Frank musical I wanted to show her another side of his acting.

I succeeded in doing that. I have hope that I can get her to watch another Frank film in the future.. which in reality is all I really wanted to do.  ;) 

Alaina's Trial by Movie

It was many moons ago in a land far away......

Wait.. no... no it wasn't. Well to be fair it was many moons ago, like 2014 or 2015. It was not in a land far away is was right here in Knoxville.

Ok, let me explain. This post might seem a little odd because there are going to be a lot of references to TV shows a movies and it might seem all over the place but in reality my Best Friend Alaina will get a kick out of it.

Anyways, now that your fair warning is out of the way let me explain a few things. I love Alaina, I have mentioned her several times on this blog. I love her SO FREAKING MUCH! However, Alaina and I are very opposite. Yes, we are both loud. Yes, we are both slightly crazy. Yes, we are both nerds. No, we do not like everything the same. We do a few things. Like our love for the movie Tangled. 

Our other love for the movie The Princess Bride. 

and our love for TV shows such a "Friends" or "Psych". We both love to travel and see new places and we are both homebodies at the same time. We love doing our own thing and love doing stuff together. As much as we are similar we are also VERY DIFFERENT!

I seem to think of something new every day! Fashion, I am a little out there. I have big crazy sparkley jewelry, and her is more subtle and sophisticated. I love sunsets and she loves sunrises. I am more of a night person she is more of a day person. 

I have known this girl fro 11 years now and let me tell you we do everything differently! Even of the things we love we love differently. I will give you "Psych" as an example.

If anyone has ever seen this show it is generally a really light hearted show. It's funny, well written, smartly written actually, and the characters are genuine enough to relate to but zany enough to love their antics. Now, with every great TV show you have to have the general format of the show and expand a little past that to keeps things interesting. So, something they might do is get awesome guest stars and sometimes you take the show in a little bit different of a direction for a few episodes to add depth to the characters that you would not be able to get any ways else. Sometimes the guest star and the different turn happen on the same time...

For "Psych" it does not. Alaina's favorite episodes of "Psych" are the ones that have the Sauvé guest star of Cary Elwes playing the role of Despereaux. 

As for me...

I am a sunshiny girl who has a very weird fascination of the dark side. That was one of the things I love about when "Psych" did episodes with a huge arch rivals Yin and Yang. Those episodes get very dark and had to push characters to points were they thought they could no longer take it. It gets drastically dark compared to the normal light heartiness of show. I love it because it's so much like real life. Everyone gets to a point where everything is tested at once and you can see how much strength you really have and how much you can really put you faith in something. It also makes you question the character that you think you know. It questions their morals and what they really believe and you can't do that if you have the same thing in your shows and movies all the time... I think that is why I have become entranced with Loki in the Marvel movies lately because you can't figure him out.....

I totally got off course... However, I don't care because I know Alaina will love it when she sees it ONE OF THESE DAYS!!

Any who, so Alaina and I are different. One of the biggest differences is what we prefer in our forms entertainment. This girl loves, and I mean loves music. She is someone who can have it on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year and not get tired of it. Me.... I listen to music in my car and rarely anywhere else. I am just not in love with it how she is. However, movies are my love. 

A few years ago when I was living with my parents my bedroom was covered in all things classic movies. I had posters of classic films and pictures of classic actors on my wall. One day Alaina was hanging out with me and I was talking about some movie, like normal. She said it sounded interesting and she said she would like to do watch it sometime. 

I came up with this idea to give her a movie education. I had 19 classic Hollywood stars in my room and I told her that I was going to make her watch a least one movie from every actor on my wall! She liked the idea and I loved it. 

Well, here it is 2018 and it's been a least 3 years since we made this plan and how many have we done in that time? Two.

That's right two. Life kinda got in the way. She went off to do a missions tour, came home after two years away and then got married. There have been lots of changes and things are finally seeming to be a little less crazy and her and I are getting back into a groove. So, we decided that we are going to finally tackle this list but we are going to start all over again. Because since it's been so long I remember what actors we did but not what movies. 

I have also added a few actors to the list that she needs to experience.

So, Along with my Tom Hanks Hustle and my Year of Courage I will also be adding this list to the mix! 

So, with that being said...

22 actors, 22 movies, in about 12 months time, we will show 1 girl a whole new world of movies. I dub this year Alaina's Trial by Movies!!!!

This is gonna be so much fun!

Ok, I'm done...

 

Tom Hanks Hustle: Big

WE FINALLY MADE IT!

The movie that I have been waiting to see! Out of ALL of Mr. Hanks' films this is the one that I have never seen but knew I needed to see! This movie can only be described in one word: BIG.

This is the story all about how his life got twisted upside down... Yes, I know it's not the right thing but once I started typing I had to keep going. However, it's not a bag way of describing the movie so I am going to stick with it. Really this is the story of Josh Baskin. He is a young man who is getting sick of being small and young. He makes a wish on an amusement park machine for him to be "big". It works and he wakes up as an adult. In a desperate need to find the machine to make a new wish Josh pretends to be an adult and gets a job, an apartment, and surprisingly a girlfriend so his cover doesn't get blown.

I am not gonna lie when I got to the end of the movie all I could think about was 13 Going on 30. I am not sure if that movie was based off of Big in anyway but it does feel like it. 13 Going on 30 aside I have to say...... 

WHY have I NEVER watched this movie before?!?!?!?! I could really punch myself for not doing so!

Whenever I have heard anyone talk about Tom Hanks this is one of the movies that always gets mentioned and I can see why! This movie is so charming, and so funny that I can't believe I wasn't made to watch it years ago! This is what I will be thinking about from now on when I think of Mr. Hanks in a comedy! 

This is one of those movies that needs to be named a classic and treasured forever! 

Tom Hanks Hustle: Punchline

As we start coming around to finishing off the first 10 Major films that Tom Hanks has done we get to a film that I know that I have not heard of until this list. That film is number 9 Punchline.

Ok, so I messed up. I did not realize that this movie actually came out after Big did. So, not quite the order I was hoping to happen but it's close enough. 

Anyways, Punchline is about two aspiring comedians. One is a medical school drop out, who never really wanted to go to medical school in the first place. The other is a housewife, who always had a dreamed of making people laugh for a living. They are both very different ages, and very different lifestyles with the one thing in common of putting smiles of people's faces. They get to know each other and help out one another. She is not very good with the jokes, he is, and his personal life is just a whole big mess, and she provides some stability. Everything comes to a head when they are both asked to compete at the club for a spot on Johnny Carson's TV show.

Now, here is the reason that I said that I know I made the mistake and watching this movie and Big in the wrong order on accident. The reason was because at the time of production of this film the studio was trying to figure out when to release the film. They knew that it was not going to be the biggest movie they ever had they knew it could do fairly well at the box office. I mean they had Sally Fields and John Goodman. They even had Tom Hanks, who was not a crazy insane blockbuster movie start yet but people knew who he was.

Fields and Hanks put a lot of work into this movie to make it a success. They both studies stand up comedians and they both worked on what their characters. Ms. Fields said it took her about six months to figure out how to mirror her character to make it perfect. Mr. Hanks created a routine and performed it many times and it was a flop. He said that after a month on performing stand up he finally didn't "sweat like a pig" on stage.

The date of release was finally set after Big came out. Big was such a huge success that the studio thought it would be the perfect time to capitalize on the fact that Mr. Hanks was in the film. It seem to have paid off. 

It's not the biggest film that Mr. Hanks has ever made. It's not even a movie that most people nowadays even know exists! There is something really eye opening about this movie and I think it's the first time we get to see a glimpse of the true acting that we have come to know from Mr. Hanks. There is one scene in the film where it made me stop dead in my tracks and made me really pay attention to what was happening. It went from "normal" to "wow" in a matter of seconds. It was the first time that you watched him and thought that he was really raw and real in that moment that it wasn't a movie that I was watching. I think that, if I didn't already know where his career was going to end up at this point, that would have been the moment that I would have known he would have become a great star.

 

Tom Hanks Hustle: Dragnet

So, at this point we have gotten to see Mr. Hanks in a few different forms. Drama, comedy, but now we get a new one! Mystery! 

Dragnet is the 8th movie on our Hustle!

This movie is based on the TV series of the same name. Dan Aykroyd plays straight laced detective Joe Friday. He comes into that the office to find that his partner has left to force to chase his dream of becoming a goat farmer. He is replaced by the smart talking Pep Streebek. In a classic crazy comedy they find themselves in the search for the cult P.A.G.A.N.. Their mission is to find what they are about and stop them from causing a rampage on the city. 

I have to say that I am more impressed with this movie than I thought I was going to be. I knew it was going to be funny but I didn't think it was going to be as funny as it was. Now, it's not the best comedy he has ever don't mind you, but it's was funnier that I expected it to be. I feel that this is what cop comedies should be like.

Mr. Hanks is very funny in this film. For some reason I thought that he would be the one that was the straight laced cop.

After about 3 seconds into the film I realized that Dan Aykroyd was meant to play that role and not Tom Hanks. 

I really enjoyed this film because of it's simplicity. Yet, the part about that cult was not super simple but the premise of what made it funny was. The dynamic between the two characters is the bulk of the hilarity and some of the hilarity was from what happened to them. You can put two different kinds of "funny cops" from today in this same situation and it would not be nearly as funny as what we have right now in this 1987 film. 

Tom Hanks Hustle: The Money Pit

FINALLY!

Yes, FINALLY, out of the weird rut of "not so great" movies of Mr. Tom Hanks!

We get to a movie, that I personally love, from 1986 The Money Pit. 

The Money Pit is the story of a young couple find themselves almost homeless. Anna Crowley and her boyfriend David Fielding are subletting an apartment from Anna's ex-husband. They had an agreement that she could live there for one year and find an apartment before he gets back. Their year is up and they have no apartment. David's real estate friend tells them about this "great" place that is a Million Dollar home on the market for $200,000 dollars. They look at it and meet the owner who says she has to sell it fact. They fall in love with the house and decide to buy. They find soon enough that their great place is not so great after all. They start on a comical journey that will to see if their relationship survive with the ruins around them. 

This movie I think might not a major classic in the future but I think it will be more well known as the years go on. At least that is what I hope for. The Money Pit will always hold a special place in my heart. Any movie that someone I love tells me that I should watch I always try to watch and it's something special. This movie was shared to me by my Best Friend's mom Jeannie.

I was talking to her and Alaina one day about how I really did like movies from the 80s very much.

I thought they were all super cheesy and ridiculous. I got this information because of movies like 16 Candles and The Breakfast Club. Yes, I know I need to watch these again and see if I like them better, and I will try. Jeannie did not like the fact that I said this and said that I just needed to watch a good one. She made list, that is somewhere on her phone I think and has since long been opened. She picked two movies from the list and we did a double feature. We watched The Lost Boys and The Money Pit. 

I liked The Lost Boys, never really got into the whole vampire thing even in my generation of movies, however, I Loved The Money Pit. This was the first Tom Hanks film that I saw when he was younger. I will restate that I am one of the few people on Earth who has still not seen the movie Big. So, seeing him this young in the movie was something that I had to get used to. I thought the movie was hilarious then and I think it was even funnier the second time around. 

I mean come on...

This is what we expect in a Tom Hanks Comedy. It's not slap stick but not all dry humor either! It's the perfect combination of clever meets bad luck. 

Well, until the next Tom Hanks movie! See ya later!

Tom Hanks Hustle: Nothing in Common

The next movie on our journey is a movie called Nothing in Common.

This is the story of David Basner. A high end executive at an advertising agency and doing well for himself that is until one very odd day. David gets a call from his father Max informing him that his mother has left him. David now finds himself in this new position of mediator between his newly separated parents. David now has to do things he never thought he would have to do. Like put other people before himself, grow up and do mature things, and learn how to deal with the fact that his father is sick.

Ok, so we are still in the rut of not the most popular movies that Mr. Hanks has done. However, this is the movie that most people agree really started his transition to a more dramatic actor. I will have to agree. I am not sure what he was taught or what came over him for all of the pieces to align to give this great performance but it was wonderful. Not anything near the performances that we would know and love but it's the real first step in the right direction.

 

Tom Hanks Hustle: Every Time We Say Goodbye

I stand corrected...

In the last blog I think I hoped we were past the "not so great" movies of the Tom Hanks.... yet again here was are with the third movie that was not very good. The movie is called Every Time We Say Goodbye. 

I was looking forward to this film because it's the first dramatic role the Mr. Hanks has taken on since he started in big screen movies. Here in 2018 he is one of the best actors to ever grace the stage. However, in 1986 that is yet to be the case. 

Yes, he was great in his first few films, the last two were more the story in that of itself rather than Mr. Hanks. This film you can how much he has grown in his acting. 

I do have to say that i have to give him credit. I wonder how much of a risk did someone have to put on him for the next dramatic role he does. This does not even touch some of his best work. 

I guess I will see all is due time.

Tom Hanks Hustle: The Man with One Red Shoe

Listen up folks cause this is gonna be a short one!

The 4th movie on this Hustle is called The Man with One Red Shoe.

So, have you heard of this movie? 

Neither have I until I made the list. The reason is because it's really wasn't that great...

I KNOW RIGHT! 

Tom Hanks in a movie that did badly! I can't hardly believe it either! I know that Volunteers was not one of his biggest movies but I know that it wasn't so bad. 

This movie was a little boring I should say... 

Again I am shocked be writing words like that about a Tom Hanks film. Now, granted it did have funny parts, and some great actors like Carrie Fisher, Jim Belushi, and Edward Herrman as well. However, I doubt this move could have been saved if you had changed the cast. This was a remake of a French film. Remakes don't do very well normally even in a different language.