Alaina's Trial by Movies: Gene Kelly

Oh man! The great Gene Kelly! We finally get to this great man! Alaina has seen him in several other movies already but none quite like the one I made her watch.

Alaina has seen him in On the Town and of course Singin' in the Rain! Because I think that you want to find out more about an actor you need to see him in several different movies, I knew that I had to make her watch another film that was just a great!

The movie I chose may not be one that many people would have made her watch. I not even sure how many other people know about this movie if you don't watch the classics. The movie I chose is wildly under played and has Mr. Kelly paired with my favorite actress of all time Judy Garland. It's the movie called The Pirate.

If you love Judy Garland or Gene Kelly then you have to watch this movie! It has great music and it's hysterical!

The movie is about a woman who lives on a small island who dreams of traveling and seeing the whole world. She has this fascination of the myth of the dreaded pirate Macoco. She wants him to "swoop down like chicken hawk and take her away". Her dreams are dashed when she finds that her Aunt to arranged for her to marry the mayor or their island. On a trip to port to get her wedding gown she meets an entertainer named Serafin, a ladies man who falls in love with her. He goes on this chase to win to her love by following her home and lying saying that he is Macoco.

Ok, I know it sound crazy but it's really good. I chose this movie because it show off the dancing chops of Mr. Kelly so well and it show the hysterical side of Ms. Garland too! 

Let's see if Alaina thought that this movie is as great as I think it is.

1. What were your thoughts going into this movie? I was looking forward to it because it was a comedy.

2. What was your favorite part of the movie? Where is was throwing everything in the room at him because she found out he lied. It was hilarious!

3. Who was your favorite character? Judy Garland's character Manuela (This shocked me because everything else Mr. Kelly has been in he was her favorite character).

4. Why? Because she was super spunky and I loved how she started screwing with him after she finds out he lied.

5. What did you not like about the movie? How quickly Judy Garland changed her tune about being in love with Gene Kelly. I mean she was just literally throwing everything in the room at him, including and ax, and when he is finally knocked out she realizes how much she loves him. They met like a week ago!

6. What did you think of Gene Kelly? I love him! I love how athletic is was and the gymnastics that he was doing through the film. He made scaling a building to get to a balcony look as easy as me going up one step on a staircase. He made it look super easy.

7. What did you think of the movie after you have seen it? I enjoyed it. It was very funny and very entertaining.

8. Would you watch it again? Defiantly!

9. Would you recommend it? Yes!

10. What relevance does it have to today? That movies don't have to be wildly complex or nasty to be entertaining, fun and awesome. This was not a complex movie was an overdrawn plot. It was a simple fun movie that everyone can enjoy and I liked how fun it was.

I have to say I could have not had said it better myself! I knew she would like this film and I am glad that she liked it more than I hoped that she would! 

Tom Hanks Hustle: That Thing You Do

Lets take a quick trip back shall we? Do you remember the video that I posted of Tom Hanks doing snippets of all of this movie with James Corden? I have at least heard of all of those movies with one exception. That movie would be the one I just have the pleasure of watching That Thing You Do.

I was shocked that all of a sudden Mr. Hanks and Mr. Coden were singing a song and the first thought that came to my mind was "was in he a musical and I never knew"! That wasn't so much the case. I'm not sure you can call a film a musical if all they do is sing the same song over and over again and that is all that they really did. 

This is the story of the band called The Wonders. Their rise and fall to glory is a matter of months. However they were discovered by chance and they lack of focus and egos all got in the way.

I am not gonna lie the song 'That Thing You Do' has been stuck in my head for a week now. However I was very impressed by the film. No, I don't think it will go down as one of the greatest in history but it's was impressive for many other reason.

This was Mr. Hanks debut as a writer and director. He also started in the film and wrote the songs. Yes, he wrote the songs because none of the story is true! Now if you have seen the move you might be a bit confused too because at the end of the film it tells what happened to the members of the Wonders. Then you do research to write something about the film and find that it was all made up!

Let me tell you it had me going. I thought that this was not a real band though the whole film then end tells us what happened after "the band" broke up and where they are at now. Making me think that they were real people, then come to find it was all a hoax was brilliant!

I think the Mr. Hanks did an excellent job with the whole movie but I really like he work as the manager for the Wonders. He played the part of slimeball manger very well... a little too well sometimes.

I think that this film did an great job of showing off all of Mr. Hanks' talents. We got to see a new side of acting for him, he hasn't really played a "bad guy" yet, and we got see what he can really be capable of when he is in total control.

I can not wait to see what other talents that man has up his sleeve!

 

Alaina's Trial by Movie: Lana Turner

The lovely and ever elegant Lana Turner is one of those actresses that I want to find out more about. She has this timeless look about her and this enticing feeling about her that makes you want to listen to everything that she says.

I have not seen many movies of her, trust me that will change with time, but her performance in the movie Ziegfeld Girl is the once I have held to be one of the best performances of any actor ever. Ms. Turner has this way about her to make you feel things you have never felt before, and really don't want to feel again. 

So, of course that is the movie that I made Alaina watch to show off my love of Ms. Lana Turner. 

This movie is about the lives of 3 girls trying to make good in the world and the great man who makes all of their dreams come true, Mr. Florence Ziegfeld. Even thought we never see Mr. Ziegfeld in the film he is the all looming presents that seems to be the guiding force behind all of their actions. One girl is already in show business and wants her and her father to become more popular. One was trying to support her husband by find a job and ended up getting a job herself, and the last was hand picked by Ziegfeld to join the Follies. This is the story about fame, betterment, love, loss, ups down, and everything in between. This is the story of the life of the Ziegfeld Girl. 

Here was Ms. Alaina's thoughts of Lana Turner and Ziegfeld Girl.

1. What were your thoughts going into this movie? I was apprehensive because you said it was super sad.

2. What was your favorite part of the movie? Anytime Jimmy Stewart was on the screen. I also like the "below the belt" comment that Lana made to the fighter when he was trying to flirt with her and she wanted nothing to do with him. I love Heddy Lamar's character and her relationship with her husband. I thought it was super sweet.

3. Who was your favorite character? That would have to be between Heddy Lamar and Judy Garland. 

4. Why? Heddy Lamar had a classic poise about her through the whole movie and Judy Garland was super spunky.

5. What did you not like about the movie? Watching how fame and money destroy people. I understand that was the point of the movie but I still did not like seeing how it wall played out.

6. What did you think of Lana Turner? I enjoyed her! I thought she did an excellent job of the development of her character. I liked seeing her handle the pressure of it all emotionally as she did. 

7. What do you think of the movie after we have watched it? It was really good. It was interesting and had funny moments. It was also thought provoking on how everyone started to handle fame. That one did it because they needed the money, another because they were talented and needed more gigs, and another ended up falling to pieces. 

8. Would you watch it again? Yes.

9.Would you recommend this film? Yes, I would. It was a thought provoking movie concerning fame and fortune. 

10. What relevance does it have to today? It show what fame and fortune can do to a person. That it's not fame and fortune's fault of what happened to you in the end. It's about the type of person and your character that really matter and that is what is going to effect the rest of your life.

I was really nervous having Alaina was this movie. The reason for that is because it's a sad story. I think she ended up enjoying it more than I thought she would because I thought she was going to hate it. The next movie that she wants to see it far funnier that this one so I think she is going to get a kick out it!

Tom Hanks Hustle: Apollo 13

Tom Hank's 20th starring role in film is the classic film Apollo 13. 

This has become one of those films that you just have to see. Regardless if you like Mr. Hanks of not you just have to see this film. After my first viewing I understand why. 

First off, Ron Howard did an excellent job at directing this film. Nothing seemed forced, nothing seemed boring, all of the action was had you equal on the edge of your seat but nothing seemed like it was over the top. 

When doing a bit of research for the film I found that Ron Howard did not want to use any actual footage from the Apollo 13 mission. On top of that the actor who would be portraying flight controllers went to flight controller school. On top of all of that he actors studied hundreds of materials from the mission and took a crash course in physics to just the could make each scene as authentic as possible. 

The drama of this film is something to be truly marveled at! In a lot of films that involve a crash, wreck, or some over the top situation there always seems to be mass panic. There is always people freaking out, there are always people screaming and running around not knowing what to do. There always seems to be a handful a people who keep their cools and get everyone together. To my shock that was not the case in this film. 

This film everyone was very calm, very well put together, and very much focused on what needs to be done next. There is no mass hysteria, there is no screaming, there is no one loosing their cool. When I saw that they had a problem I was expecting everyone to go nuts but when it didn't happen I realized something amazing. That this film is supposed to portray the real events that happened and Mission Control not panicking was very much what would have happened. They are all very well trained professionals who have to be ready for something to go wrong and to train that panicking would be the wrong move.

Even though I know that is real seeing everyone so calm during that scene made the drama that much more real. It made it that much more intense. This creepily eerie silence while people work on a solution to save these three men who may be lost in space is one of the most powerful moments in movie history.

I am ashamed of myself for not seeing this movie earlier in life. It has to be one of the best movies I have every seen. I am talking top 15 movies for sure. 

Do yourself a favor is you have yet to see Apollo 13 see it as soon as possible!

  

Year of Courage: Watch A Scary Movie

As we start to come to the end of the month of May I move on to my next scary adventure. Up until this point all of the things that I have made myself do required me to be adventurous/ courageous. They all have made to go and do something. This month is a little different. This month's scary situation is watch a scary movie.

Since, I HATE scary movies I got my friend Austin to help me out with this one. He is a lover of scary movies and he was the perfect/ worst person to ask for help. He did his job a little too well. The movie he picked for me to watch is The Conjuring. 

Now according to Austin this is one of the best scary movies ever to be made. Again, my lack of scary movie knowledge can not agree or disagree with it, however this movie was terrifying! 

Here is the reason that I added this task to my list. The reason I don't like scary movies is because, well yes they scare you, but I don't like the feeling of something is out to get me while watching a movie. I watch movies to escape reality and I don't want to be thrown into a fantasy that is scarier that my reality. I don't get the point of spending good money to have a heart attack every five minutes. 

As you can see in these two videos I did not handle the stress of these movies very well...

What Austin failed to get was I actually did gather enough courage to watch the last 30 minutes of the film without hiding under the pillow. Something that he was super impressed by! At least I was brave during some part of this film....

Since I have been watching a movie that is somewhat related to the scary task every month you would think that I would have counted the Scary Movie as the movie I would watch. That is not the case. I didn't want to watch the scary movie and be left with that. I ended up watch Hocus Pocus after I watched The Conjuring. The reason was because Hocus Pocus is hilarious but a "haunting" movie. Mainly I watched it because it was going to get my mind off of the scary movie for a bit. 

I have to say that watching a scary movie was hard in the way of I hate knowing something is about to scare me and the suspense is worse than the actual scare. I am glad that I did it (and that it's over) because it helps me to appreciate a none generic scary movie more. It' helps me o see why people love them even though I hate them. It also shows me that I can handle much more suspense in a short amount of time that I originally thought.

Will I be watching a scary film sometime again soon... more than likely NEVER but if I have to watch one I will be able to give it a try at the very least.

Tom Hanks Hustle: Toy Story

Toy Story what can we say about this movie? I think that we would have to say that there is a good chance that this is the most well known role that Mr. Hanks has ever done that 90's babies would know.

While Toy Story is not my all time favorite Disney movie I have to say I might quote this Disney film the most. The one liners in it are hilarious, and they get funny when you grow up and understand what they are saying better. I can not tell you the number of time is have told someone that "you are a sad, strange, little man" or when I talk about a film no one has heard of they are "uncultured swine".

I mean if any child was like I was you constantly watched the same movie over and over again. You get to know Woody's voice really well. To the point where it bugs you and you have to ask your dad how do I recognize him! I don't think you really realize how recognizable his voice is until you see this movie.

You also have to give it up for the animation of this film! Boy, we didn't know how revolutionary it was in 1995 but look at all the animated movies now! They all look like Toy Story. Kids today don't know what the classic cartoon movies looked like. They might know but it doesn't grab their attention like it newer cartoon do.

I will say that I am very glad that I have the guiding words or Mr. Hanks growing up. I have to say learning from him was a lot of fun!

Tom Hanks Hustle: Forrest Gump

Ladies an Gentlemen! With this movie we enter into the era in which 90's babies know Mr. Hanks from the best. My friends, it really doesn't get much better than Forrest Gump.

I LOVE this movie. I said it in my blog from Best Picture last year. I find something new a special about this film every time I watch it! Mr. Hanks impresses every time this movie comes on. I think what really impressed me this time around was the CGI in this film. It's every where in the film and it's insanely good! The scene where Forrest is taking Bubba out of the wilderness and he is running in front of the explosion, Forrest and Bubba were made to look like they were running that closely in front of the explosion with the use of CGI.


Then of course you can not forget about Lieutenant Dan's legs! That is still impressive that in 1994 they were able to CGI his legs away. The fact that after everything was filmed they had to go and "paint" out his legs in every scene he was in to get that effect is artistry in that of itself.

I love their relationship! I love how Lieutenant Dan is so reluctant to have Forrest be is friend. I love how crazy he is that Forrest doesn't know how much he means to Dan.


We can't talk about this movie and not say anything about him and Jenny! Everything he does is this movie is for her! Even if is doesn't always know it. I love that every time she sees him in the newspaper she cuts out the clippings and puts them in a binder. It shows how much he means to her but she never really stopped a see that. She thought the farther she got away from him and the place where she lived that she would be able to be something different. Even though Forrest always loved her just the was she is.

Like I said in the last post Mr. Hanks was the Best Actor Award for his role as Forrest Gump. I have to say that it was totally deserved. This role was wonderful, it compelling, and it's beautiful! I will never tire of seeing Mr. Hanks in this role!


This movie is deserving of every award it ever received, and deserving of every award it was nominated for and did not win. There is something special about this film, something that is hard to fully explain. I hope that the explanation never comes because that would mean that I have grown tired of the film, and I never want that to happen!