50x2: Conclusion

Let me first start this by saying - I suck.

After such a seamless first 50 list that took no time at all, I took forever watching these second set of 50 films. Now, of course there were some reasons behind why it took so long, but not why it took this long.

The first post on this second list was made on August 11, 2011. The final post on this list was posted this morning. That is an entire year to sit down and watch 50 movies then post about what I thought. That is insane.

My main conclusion for why this took so long is basically laziness on my part. I watched a ton of these movies without sitting down to write the review. And then I found myself playing catch up, and the catch up took too long. Which basically made me stop watching the films until I did catch up.

Not this time. I am promising to watch a film and write a review as soon as possible after finishing it. My main reason for doing these lists is to get myself to watch films that I should be watching, but for some reason continue to put off.

Some of the films are exactly what I think they are going to be, and some of them surprise - and this works in both ways. Some films I watched surprised me that I liked them so much, while others surprised me that I just didn't enjoy it as much as I should have.

Anyway, to wrap up the 50 films list, volume two - here are my 10 favorite characters from the movies I watched and the top 10 films. Enjoy! 50 list, volume three coming soon.

Top 10 Characters 

10) Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen)

Mortensen stars as Tom Stall in A History of Violence. Stall is a local diner operator with a wife and two kids. One evening he takes out a few diner thieves and becomes an over night hero. But, he gets discovered on television and it turns out Stall is not who he says he is.

9) Irwin 'Fletch' Fletcher (Chevy Chase)

Almost everyone knows this film, but for some reason I never actually sat down to watch the movie. Chase stars as the titular Fletch, a columnist for a newspaper, who gets caught up in a bit of an issue with a man who wants Fletch to kill him.

8) Sir James Matthew Barie (Johnny Depp)

Depp stars as Barie, the man behind the magical Peter Pan, in Finding Neverland. This film shows Barie befriending a family and some children as he pens his most memorable book.

7) Aron Ralston (James Franco)

The first of two characters on this list that pretty much spend the entire film on the screen alone. Franco stars as Alston in 127 Hours, a film based on a true story where a mountain hiker falls down in between a pair of rocks and gets caught for days.

6) Floyd (Brad Pitt)

Pitt, who plays a bit of a stoner named Floyd in True Romance, doesn't have much screen time at all, but his presence is definitely felt. His character is pretty hilarious and he mistakenly tells the bad guys where to go to setup the final showdown.

5) Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)

Like so many others I have sort of developed a non-sexual man crush on Gordon-Levitt. This man can act, and I have loved so many of his films of late. Here he stars as Tom Hansen in (500) Days of Summer, a man that falls in love but with a woman that doesn't seem to have the ability to love in return.

4) Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds)

I will make the confession that I didn't think Reynolds had the ability to carry a film alone - I hardly felt Tom Hanks could do it. But, I was wrong. Reynolds plays Conroy in Buried, a film where he gets buried alive with only a few things available to him to help him get rescued.

3) Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale)

I could have picked a lot of characters from this film. Bale gets most of the credit in The Fighter as the struggling Eklund, but Mark Wahlberg and Amy Adams were just as good in this film. But, I think Bale played most against cast so he gets the edge for me.

2) Lars Lindstrom (Ryan Gosling)

This is sort of where I come to the realization that Gosling is going to be a talented actor for a very long time. He stars as Lars in Lars and the Real Girl, a man that had a difficult upbringing and has the inability to connect with others - so he bonds with a sex doll instead.

1) Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson)

Woody Harrelson just has this ability to stand out, at least to me. In a film a bit outside my comfort zone that I really loved - Harrelson had a lot to do with it. He was so badass and hilarious in this film. He just loves killing zombies, but all he really wants is a Twinkie.

Top 10 Films

10) Point Break

9) City of God

8) All the President's Men

7) The Town

6) Zombieland

5) (500) Days of Summer

4) Buried

3) The Fighter

2) Mystic River

1) Lars and the Real Girl

9/50x2: The Fighter

I am a sports writer by trade, but there are a few sports out there that just don't really appeal to me. Some of those sports are those involving hand-to-hand combat. Boxing, MMA - heck even hockey - are just a few sports that I really have no desire in ever watching (except the occasional Pens game).

That being said. Why is it that boxing seems to almost always make a great movie?

The Fighter is based on a true story about Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his rise in the boxing world. And, may be to an even bigger extent, his brother Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale).

Eklund is Ward's trainer and former boxer himself. His claim to fame is that he once knocked Sugar Ray Leonard to the mat during a televised match. Since then he has found himself getting addicted to drugs and spending time in jail.

Mickey is also being managed by his mother, Alice Ward (Melissa Leo), who despite Mickey's talent and being an all-around decent person, still treats brother Dicky like her favorite.

Dicky also happens to be filming a documentary on what he is claiming as his comeback attempt into the world of boxing.

Mickey values and loves his family, and that may have been what kept him as what some people claim as a punching bag for other fighters as they make their way up through the ranks. He is saddled with a manager/mother who seems content with keeping him nearby and not allowing him to flourish - and a trainer/brother who would much rather be getting high than spending time in the gym helping his brother get better.

Mickey, however, gets involved with Charlene (Amy Adams) who sees the greatness in him and what his downfall has been - his family. She encourages him to sign with a place in Las Vegas that will pay him as he trains. The lone stipulation is that Dicky must not be allowed to help him.

Just a great film filled with tons of amazing performances.

Bale continues to impress with the way he can transform his actual body image for a film, and then throw himself into that role. Leo has proven just how good of an actress she can be, and here is no different. Adams was amazing as the girlfriend who helps push Mickey in the right direction (and she wasn't too hard on the eyes either). All three were recognized for the effort with nominations for Academy Awards, with Bale and Leo both winning in the Best Supporting category.

The one who wasn't nominated was Wahlberg. I feel the guy gets a bum wrap for the most part - perhaps because he was once known as 'Marky Mark'. I don't know, but I thought his performance in this film was outstanding - and he continues to improve as an actor. His struggle between what he wanted and what he thought he wanted was amazingly portrayed. I felt he deserved some recognition as well.

You've all heard that The Fighter is a great movie - and I can tell you for a fact it was. Again, not a fan of boxing, but they sure do make great films. Check it out if you haven't yet.

Grade: 

Tuesday's With Movies: 3/15/11

The Fighter: What's not to love? A sports movie that was nominated for an Oscar. That also happen to take home a pair of supporting actor Oscars from Christian Bale and Melissa Leo. And it also stars Mark Wahlberg and Amy Adams. I am in all the way. This is one I wish I was able to see in the theater, but wasn't able to get out and see it. Thankfully, I haven't heard any spoilers about the actual film, so I am pretty psyched to see it.




Hereafter: I am not 100% sure what this film is all about. During previews I got a whole What Dreams May Come feel, but according to the plotline this is a movie that follows three different people that have nothing to do with each other and somehow there stories will come together somewhere in the end. I really like films that can pull those off well, so I will definitely be giving this one a try.




The Switch: Haven't heard great things about this film, but I enjoy Jason Bateman and I can deal with Jennifer Aniston. Apparently, Bateman is best friends with Aniston, who decides to get a sperm donor for a child - by accident Bateman loses the 'donation' and is forced to donate his own. Sounds a bit far fetched, and doubt this will be great, but I will at least check it out.