Top 10 Non-Disney Cartoon Movies

First of all, I think I've missed at least the last 2 weeks, possibly 3, so I'm just gonna have to go ahead and apologize for the 2 of you who actually care about these lists. I spent the last week with a 3 year old so I guess I can say I was inspired for this weeks list. I'm even going to attempt a second list as well so, fingers crossed on that one. So, here it is, 3 weeks late, Top 10 Non-Disney Cartoon Movies.

10.) My Neighbour Totoro

I honestly don't even know how to explain this movie but I'll try. Its a movie from Japan and its incredibly quirky. Its about two young girls who move to a new home. They go exploring in the woods near their house and discover Totoro, a monsterish thing who, with the help of his friends, bring them both on amazing adventures while they try to cope with their mother being in the hospital trying to recover from an illness. I think thats just about as best as I can figure to describe it. Its SO much fun and I always enjoyed it growing up. No worries, there are english versions, no one is expecting you to learn Japanese to enjoy this movie. 

9.) All Dogs Go To Heaven

If you are over the age of 18 and have never seen this movie, shame on you. Its just so good! After a dog, Charlie, is killed, he is given a chance to return from the dead to seek revenge on his killer. He uses a young orphan girl who is able to speak to animals, and some of his friends to help him in his task. I haven't seen this movie in an incredibly long time so I honestly can't remember much more then that. Some of the actors who lend their voices to this film include Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise. Really great, enjoyable movie all-around. This is one of a long list of fabulous movies from a genius named Don Bluth.

8.) An American Tail

I really adore this movie. Its so sweet, but also a little sad for the majority of the movie. After cats take over Europe, a group of mice from Russia decide to flee to America when they hear that "there are no cats in America!" Along the journey Fievel, a young mouse, gets separated from his family. He spends the rest of the film on an adventure meeting many people along the way while he desperately searches for his family. Of course once he arrives he discovers that there are, in fact, many cats in America, and therefore many dangerous situations being a young mouse in a big country. There are some great voices lended to this film from people such as Christopher Plummer and Dom DeLuise. It was even nominated for  an Oscar for Best Original Song for Somewhere Out There. Great movie, I feel like all kids would enjoy this, I sure did! Another great film from Don Bluth

7.) Pebble and the Penguin

Not many movies on this list envolve much romance but this one is definitely an exception. Such a sweet film about a goofy penguin named Hubie who falls in love with the most beautiful penguin around, Marina. He decides that he needs to find a very special pebble to ask her to be his partner, unfortunately there is another larger, more handsome, and more powerful penguin named Drake who is also interested in Marina. When he discovers he might have some competition in Hubie, he decides to feed him to a killer whale, and although he believes he succeeds Hubie manages to escape, however, he gets caught on an iceberg and is brought very far away and spends the rest of the film desperately trying to get back to Marina before time runs out with the help of his new friend Rocko who he meets along the way. SUCH a great movie a definite must-see for all children. I re-watched a little while ago and still loved it. Some great voices in this one again from Martin Short, Jim Belushi, Tim Curry, and Annie Golden. Unsurprisingly Don Bluth had a hand in this one as well.

6.) Thumbelina

Thumbelina is a story of a tiny girl who appears after a lonely woman prays for a child. She ends up meeting a fairy prince whom she falls in love with almost instantly. She finds some troubles when she's kidnapped by multiple animals and people after they discover she could be used as a bargaining chip against the fairy king. Tons of great characters and more importantly a bunch of great songs. Really enjoyable film overall. Great for all kids but I think little girls especially will love this one. Who doesn't love some fairies? I didn't know this until now, but its actually originally a story by famous storyteller Hans Christian Andersen and then adapted by the incredibly talented Don Bluth.

5.) Fern Gully

I've loved this movie since the first time I saw it, but I watched it more recently and enjoyed it even more. Its a great movie to plant the seed of being environmentally friendly for kids at an early age. Its all about deforestation and polution and the effects it has on the forrest. Obviously its more then that, and I promise kids will adore it. It follows a man named Zak who's job it is to mark the trees that will be cut down, one day he is accidentally shrunk and is found by Crysta a fairy. There are a bunch of fun characters including Batty, voiced by Robin Williams, and Pips voiced by Christian Slater, and of course a great villain Hexxus, who is voiced by the always amazingly terrifying Tim Curry. Its a great movie for any kid, but if you're interested in getting your kids thinking about the environment, this one is fantastic!

4.) The Chipmunk Adventure

Although I enjoy many of them, this one is by far my favorite Chipmunk movie. The newest animated ones don't hold a candle to this one in my opinion. Without going into too much detail, the Chipmunks and the Chipettes compete in a race around the world in hot air balloons collecting dolls and are promised a big prize to whoever wins. They travel all over the world experiencing new cultures and meeting friends, enemies, and penguins along the way. Of course, a chipmunk movie would be nothing without a little music, and this one does not disappoint. I absolutely adore this movie. Its so much fun!

3.) Anastasia

Before I realized that this was not a Disney movie I always called Anastasia my favorite Disney Princess. I think that its so interesting how they decided to turn this story into a kids movie. Obviously looking back there are some pretty big discrepancies, and it is definitely historically accurate, but for kids its totally fine. If you don't know the story, it follows a young princess, Anastasia, voiced by Meg Ryan,  who's family is run out one night during a siege on their palace, she is saved by a young boy working in the palace, Dimitri, voiced by John Cusack. We next see her when she is a fully grown 18 year old girl who doesn't remember who she is. The rest of the story is them trying to get her memory back and prove that it really is her. Obviously there are some people who do not want this to happen Such as Rasputin, voiced by Christopher Lloyd, and Bartok and bat, voiced by Hank Azaria. We hear a few other famous voices including Kelsey Grammer, Kirsten Dunst, Bernadette Peters, and Angela Lansbury. It was nominated for 2 oscars for Best Music and Best Original Song for Journey To The Past.

2.) A Troll in Central Park

I've heard of a few people lately not liking this movie and that makes me completely flabbergasted because I LOVE THIS MOVIE. I could watch it right now and still adore it, its just so good! I guess the basic plot line is that in general, Trolls are bad, with the exception of Stanley, who literally has a green thumb and absolutely loves flowers, however, Queen Gnorga does not enjoy them and kicks him out of the Troll kingdom and is exiled to the world of concrete, Manhattan. However, he actually lands in Central Park and feels right at home. While there he meets a bratty kid Gus, and his little sister Rosie who are at the park on their own because their parents are too busy to take them. Stanley shows the the magic and beauty of flowers, and plants but ends up having to protect them from Gnorga who comes to end Stanley once and for all with her purple thumb which turns everything to stone. Some great songs in this one, including my absolute favorite, Absolutely Green. Another great one for an environmentally conscious kid. Some great voices in this one as well including Dom DeLuise and Cloris Leachman. Don Bluth does it again with this gem.

1.) The Land Before Time

This list would be absolutely bare without my favorite kids movie of all time, The Land Before Time. It is just 100% perfect. It follows a young Long-neck named Littlefoot and his family who must travel to the "Great Valley" where they have heard there is plenty of vegetation and water because there is neither where they currently reside. Granted, there is a briefly incredibly sad scene where Littlefoot's Mom dies, but it does get better. Littlefoot picks up a bunch of other orphaned dinosaurs along his way including a Three-horn, Cera, a Big Mouth, Ducky, a Flyer, Petrie, and a Spiketail, Spike. They run into a T-Rex along the way and have many other adventures along their journey. Such a heartwarming, fun, and exciting movie for kids. I watched it a few weeks ago for the 100th time and its still magical. Don Bluth's finest achievement I'd say.



Honourable Mentions: Fievel Goes West, The Secret of NIMH, Rock-A-Doodle, Kiki's Delivery Service, Balto, The Last Unicorn, The Road to El Dorado, The Swan Princess, The Pagemaster, The Prince of Egypt, Charlotte's Web.

My Top 10 Movie Musicals

First off, I think just about anyone who knows anything about Musicals is going to completely disagree with 90% of my choices on this list, but I don't care. I don't have a music theatre background, so I think that when its in a movie, and not on Broadway or in an Opera, its more important to have great acting then perfect singing. Either way, please enjoy this weeks list; Top 10 Movie Musicals.

10.) Mamma Mia

Against all of my best judgement I love this movie. I don't know if its simply my love of ABBA or not, but the first time I saw this I spent the whole movie laughing. Is this a great movie? Absolutely not, but is it some of the most fun you will ever have watching a movie? Hell yes. The cast is incredibly impressive but Pierce Brosnan is absolutely embarrassing in this movie. I'm sure he's an ok actor in general, but I was really almost unable to watch him in this one. However the rest of the cast, including Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski, and Dominic Cooper, were really great. I thought the singing was also fantastic, Amanda Seyfried actually shocked me with her songs. Meryl and the rest of them were mostly just "alright" but none of them really sang any challenging songs so I think they had just enough singing abilities to pull it off. All of this exclude Pierce Brosnan who, again, was terrible in this movie. I love that it takes place in Greece, which is such a beautiful setting for the movie. This movie is so much fun, its super cheesy and hilarious. Caution, you may lose your ability to control yourself from singing ABBA songs.

9.) Moulin Rouge

I've only seen this movie a couple of times, but I think everyone knows the story. The first time I saw it I really didn't like that 85% of the songs are not written for the movie, and are already famous songs, but I soon decided that it was ok, and actually kind of smart of them because unlike other movie musicals that are based off of actual broadway musicals, no one going into the movie was going to know any of the songs that were written for the musical. The fantastic cast included Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo, Richard Roxburgh, and a random cameo from Kylie Minogue. McGregor does charming so well, I love him in really sweet, especially romantic, roles. Its impossible to not love him in this one, and I think both he and Nicole Kidman did a surprisingly amazing job at singing. A really classic love story that really anyone can enjoy. Its really fun and exciting, and heartbreaking at the same time. Plenty of drama to keep it interesting, not that it it could possibly get boring, there is so much going on in every scene. Baz Lurman does unbelievable job at directing this one. The film was nominated for 8 Oscars and won 2 for Best Costume Design, and Best Art Direction-Set Direction. So good.

8.) Les Miserables

Not sure how its possible but I've heard that a lot of people didn't like this movie. Those people are insane. It is incredibly long, but the story is sort of told in two halves, separated by about 10 years. There are also so many different story-lines that its really almost impossible to get bored along the way. The amount of action, war and slavery in this movie really makes me think that most guys will enjoy it, my brother did. The acting was absolutely unbelievable. Both Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman were devestating in this movie. I cannot listen to Anne's version of "I Dreamed A Dream" without tearing up, and having to watch her in the movie singing it left me actually sobbing. I've heard Russell Crowe's singing being criticized  and I have to say that even though Russell is a good singer, his voice just wasn't strong enough to go up against Jackman's. However, I do not understand at all the criticism on Hugh Jackman's voice being criticized, I thought he did an amazing job, especially in his scenes in the beginning when he's crying and broken. Unreal. The rest of the cast included Amada Seyfried, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit, Samantha Banks, and Daniel Huttlestone. All of their singing and acting was completely amazing, I actually didn't know that Sacha Baron Cohen or Helena Bonham Carter were in this movie until I saw it. I thought they brought the element of humour, and just general oddness that really lightened up the clearly dark movie. It was nominated for 8 Oscars at this years Academy Awards and won 3 of them for Best Hair and Makeup, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Supporting Actress for Anne Hataway.

7.) Grease

Grease is the word. I think what makes Grease stand out from most other movie musicals is the number of subjects that it touches, it touches on teen love, heartbreak, growing up, learning who you are and not being afraid to show everyone, and even touches on teen pregnancy. I think just about everyone on earth has seen this movie, and if you are one of the 3 people who haven't you should change that immediately and get with the rest of us here on earth. The movie was released in 1978, but takes place in 1959 in California. It follows the lives of a greaser, Danny Zuko(John Travolta), and an Australian good girl, Sandy Olsson(Olivia Newton-John), who just spent the summer together in a sun-soaked romance. After separating for what they think is for good, they both find out that they are attending Rydell High. The story takes place over the course of the school year showing the ups and downs for teens in the 50s and follows the T-Birds which Danny is the leader of, and the Pink Ladies led by Rizzo(Stockard Channing). This movie showcases the best of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John and is definitely the most famous musical in history. Everyone knows the words to "You're the One That I Want", "Grease Lightnin" and "Summer Nights". The movie was nominated for 1 Osar for Best Original Song for "Hopelessly Devoted to You"

6.) Chicago

Going into watching this movie for the first time I had no idea what it was about, so you can imagine my surprise when I realized I was watching a movie about a bunch of women in prison singing about why/how they killed their husbands. I really enjoy period pieces, so when singing is added to the 1920s I can't help but thoroughly enjoy it. The musical numbers are just so fantastic, between the singing and the dancing, you can't help but love this movie. The acting and singing is just so fantastic in this movie, which isn't overly surprising when you look at the cast; Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, Taye Diggs, Dominic West, John C. Reilly, and Colm Feore. I guess the main premise of this movie is that when on trial for the murders, their lawyer is trying desperately to get them off, they find themselves with a surprising amount of fame from the acts, which is what they've always wanted. The musical numbers are fantastic especially "He Had It Comin'" and "All That Jazz". It was nominated for 13 Oscars and won 6 for Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Costume Deisign, Best Art Direction-Set Direction, Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Best Picture.

5.) Once

Once is a film about a busker and an immigrant sharing an eventful week in Dublin as they write, rehearse and record songs that tell their story. They get to know each other and eachothers families over the course of the week. The story is sweet and the music is absolutely beautiful, bot the guy(Glen Hansard) and the girl (Markéta Irglová) are talented musicians in real life as well, so they worked very well together in the film. The movie only takes place over the span of a week, but I think they do a pretty good job at character development. You get to meet their friends and families, and learn about their dreams and passions. It has a really great soundtrack, and even won the Oscar for Best Original Song for Falling Slowly. Really lovely story, still haven't decided if I appreciate the ending or not, but the rest of the movie is worth it. 

4.) Sweeney Todd
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

This movie is so good. Its classic Tim Burton, but wit the twist of it being a musical. Johnny Depp plays Sweeney Todd, a character first developed in a book series called "The String of Pearls" in 1846. Some people believe that the character is based on a real person, but that is highly debated among historians. Depp plays him masterfully and despite the fact that he's clearly evil, and a serial killer, you really can't help but feel bad for him and almost be on his side the whole time. I think that Tim Burton did a great job at making sure that the movie was gory  with lots of blood, BUT the blood is a weird bright red-orangey colour so it keeps if from being too disgusting, I'm not a lover of gore, so it made it easy to watch. Helena Bonham Carter was perfect, and the longer she and Depp work together, the more chemistry they have. They really work perfectly together. Despite the fact that Sweeney Todd is a murderer, he actually is not the villain in this movie, that role is left to Judge Turpin who is played by Alan Rickman who plays the part absolutely perfectly. We also get great performances from Sacha Baron Cohen, Jamie Campbell Bower, Timothy Spall, Jayne Wisner, and of course Ed Sanders who plays Toby. They did a perfect job of making London in the 1800s as gloomy as possible, making the film almost black and white, leaving colour for only the most opportune moments. The movie was nominated for 3 Oscars and won 1 of those for Best Achievement in Art Direction. 

3.) The Rocky Horror Picture Show

I have to say, the first time I saw this I didn't understand all of the hype around it at all, I left the film confused, but the one thing I knew for sure was that Tim Curry is absolutely amazing, and has the voice of the sexiest angel possible. After the first time watching, I downloaded the soundtrack and a few months later, I ent back and tried it again. This time, I finally got it. One of my favorite artists of all time, Meat Loaf, even makes an appearance in this one. Susan Sarandon is also randomly in this movie. The soundtrack is absolutely amazing with songs like Time Warp, Sweet Transvestite, etc. its impossible to not love this movie. I feel like this film is basically the epitome of the 70s. Full of sex and the most random storyline I've ever seen in a movie, but my god is it fun. I've never watched it with a group of people before, but I'm definitely trying to make that happen this summer and I'm going to find out the audience participation parts of it that happens in theaters and make those happen as well. I adore this movie, watching it is so much fun. 

2.) Phantom Of The Opera

Anyone who knows anything about musical theater or musicals in general are going to disagree with me 100% on this one, and I accept that and I also don't care at all. I LOVE this movie, and I honestly don't understand why anyone could not love it. First of all, Emmy Rossum is top-notch in this one. I have no idea if she has any opera training, but she must have because her voice is amazing, and I really think she is the perfect Christine. I have to say that Gerard Butler was probably a rather random choice as I would have assumed that they would use a more well-known actor, or a famous broadway performer since at the time he was almost entirely unknown, but I'm so glad they did use him because despite what other people think, I think he kicks-ass at this role. Music of the Night gives me cold-shivers every time I hear it. Minnie Driver is also AMAZING in this movie. I didn't even recognize her the first time I watched it, so unlike her other roles, but her voice is fantastic. We also see Patrick Wilson, Miranda Richardson, and Ciarán Hinds. The movie was Nominated for 3 Oscars.

1.) The Sound Of Music

Not sure if its even debatable for this one to be #1. The Sound of Music is definitely the most famous musical of all time, literally everyone knows the words to My Favorite Things and Do-Re-Mi. The soundtrack also holds some classics like Sixteen Going on Seventeen, The Sound of Music, and my personal favorite, Edelweiss. This is my mom's favorite movie, and I remember her forcing me to watch it when I was younger, and trying to watch a 3 hour movie as a 7 year old is just not going to happen, so I actually hated it growing up. I decided to watch it a couple of years ago and give it a chance and my god am I glad I did. I honestly had no idea it had Nazi's in it, totally missed that entire point of it. Julie Andrews as Maria is absolutely perfect in this movie. At no point is there a chance of you not absolutely loving her. Christopher Plummer's character, Captain Von Trapp starts off as a bit of an asshole, but Maria softens his heart with music, obviously, and after that its pretty impossible to not adore him. I had no idea that Christopher Plummer was such a hunk, his 1965 self is now one of my all-time crushes for sure. The cinematography for this movie is unbelievable. The opening scene coming through the mountains is absolutely breath-taking, actually, pretty much any scene where you can see the Swiss Alps is unbelievably beautiful. The film was nominated for 10 Oscars and won 5 of those for Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Music, Best Director for Robert Wise, and Best Picture. If for some reason you have not seen this movie, stop whatever you're doing right now (presumably reading this list) and go watch it immediately. The list is done now, so I won't be offended. The coolest thing about this movie is that its totally based on a true story!

Honourable Mentions: Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Pocahontas, The Wizard Of Oz, Hairspray, Dream Girls, West Side Story, Mary Poppins, Funny Girl, My Fair Lady.

Top 10 Romantic Films

So I took a bit of a break last week, terribly sorry for the inconvenience, This week's list is Top 10 Romanic Films. Did not have an easy time with this one. There are some really fantastic romance films, and I really wanted to get a wide range of them in there. I changed the list about 15 times before I finished, and chances are I'll change it another 5 before I post it. I think I've made the correct choices.

10.) Sleepless In Seattle

Meg Ryan has a knack for being in some seriously romantic films, especially the ones that also have Tom Hanks in them. Some people think that this film is creepy, and I can definitely understand, but I think its one of those things where when someone does something and you're interested in them, it comes off as sweet, but if you're not, it comes off as creepy. Personally, I think its romantic and that kid is just too damn cute. Personally, Tom Hanks isn't the one who comes to mind when I think of heartthrobs, but in these movies, he really is the perfect guy. Tom Hanks really seems to be one of the nicest people on earth. Meg Ryan is just so sweet in this film, I really love her, she always seems to find herself in really loveable roles, although it could be because she's a loveable person herself. Great cast outside of Hanks and Ryan as well, Rosie O'Donnell, Rita Wilson, Victor Garber, and Bill Pullman. The film was nominated for 2 Oscars for Best Writing and Best Original Song. Great story, and I was so happy to witness their chemistry again in You've Got Mail, another great romance movie. It was nominated for 2 Oscars for Best Writing and Best Original Score.

9.) Brokeback Mountain

This film is certainly the most famous movie about gay men, and definitely one of my famous. There's obviously been a lot of controversy around this movie, but I think this movie actually fully solidified my feelings about equal rights for gay people. Honestly, if all of the people who bitched and complained about this movie had actually seen it I think it could have changed the world view. I don't think I'm ruining anything by saying that this is a super tragic love story. You really can't help but feel bad for pretty much everyone involved including their wives played by Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway, who both did a fantastic job I might add.. Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger are absolutely convincing as a couple who are forbidden to be together, and they play their characters perfectly. I think a lot of people missed out on this because they didn't want to see two men kissing, but if you're one of those people, look past your judgements and witness this beautifully tragic story. It was nominated for 8 Oscars and won 3 for Best Writing, Best Writing, and Best Directing for Ang Lee. It was definitely robbed of best picture by "Crash", whoever was in charge of that decision was definitely having some kind of mental break at that moment.

8.) Pride & Prejudice

Pride & Prejudice is one of the most well known romance stories of the past few centuries. Jane Austen first published the story it 1813, so it was officially 200 years old in January. Its definitely my favorite period piece and the characters are wonderful. Elizabeth Bennet(Keira Knightly) is a strong independent women in a time where those aren't acceptable characteristics. She has 4 love-crazed sisters, a pushy mother, and an understanding father. She meets, grows to hate, and then ends up falling in love with the logical, rich and proud Mr. Darcy(Matthew Macfadyen). A beautiful story that everyone needs to read and watch at least once. The acting was superb and the costumes and sets were perfect for the time period. Austen's characters are deep and complicated and some of the best in literature. The cast is top-notch includeing Keira Knightly, Matthew Macfadyen, Rosamund Park, Jena Malone, Carey Mulligan, Judi Dench, and Donald Sutherland. The film was nominated for 4 Oscars for Art Direction, Costume Design, Original Score, and Best Actress.

7.) Love Actually

This is a Christmas movie, and actually one of my favorites, but its such a great romantic movie. The cast is absolutely mind-blowing and can do nothing but convince you. Its the perfect example of how to make an ensemble cast to work properly. There are a bunch of different storylines of different lives, but all of the lives link together somehow. The cast of this film is mind-blowing; Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Martin Freeman, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy, Rowan Atkinson, Billy Bob Thorton, Andrew Lincoln, Chiqetel Ejiofor, Laura Linney, Thomas Brodie- Sangster, Elisha Cuthbert, and January Jones. No Joke, amazing. Its really just such a sweet, up-beat, heartwarming, funny, lovely, Christmas movie. I mean, there are some conflicts, and sadness but every movie needs some drama to keep it interesting. There is no reason for you to not have seen this movie yet. If you want to wait until Christmas, thats fair, but everyone needs to see this one.

6.) Dirty Dancing

There are few things that I don't love about this movie. The soundtrack is perfect. I think going into it you have to be aware that its not the best written, or even the best acted movie but there's something thats just so damn charming about it. Johnny Castle is played by Patrick Swayze who is absolutely oozing with charisma, charm, and badassness in this movie. The dancing is incredibly impressive, and they definitely made the correct choice with Swayze because he is actually a trained dancer. Baby Houseman is played by Jennifer Grey, and although she'll never win an Oscar, she plays her very well I think. Cute and naive, but slowly finding herself as a women with her first taste of love and lust. Its a romantic and sexy movie, but sexy for women, I think most men won't enjoy it, but all women do. The soundtrack is great, very fitting for the 60s, but also with the now classic "Time of My Life." I absolutely adore this movie.

5.) Casablanca

This is a classic story of love, loss, nazi's, and war. This film was my first introduction to both Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman and I dont think it can get any better then that. Bogart's character Rick Blaine is a real 1940's man who owns a bar in Casablanca, even his name makes him sound like the manliest name in the world. He's surprised when his one time love Ilsa Lund who had left him in Paris the last time he saw her. This is one of those classics you always hear about but haven't seen yet. They were so different back then, those close-up glamour shots of the faces are priceless. They're all hazy to give them the dreamy look everyone wants. There are some really epic lines in this film, that everyone has heard, and I had no idea where they came from ie; "Here's looking at you kid", "Of all the Gin Joins, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine" , and of course the most famous line from the movie "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Just because of the true classic that it is, I think everyone needs to watch it once. Its good for men and women, I think a great date movie if you're trying to broaden your horizons. The film was nominated for 8 Oscars and won 3 for Writing, Directing, and Best Picture. 

4.) When Harry Met Sally

I really hate how long I waited to see this movie, its now made its way into some of my all-time favorite movies. The story is a story of friendship, but ends up having one of the most romantic scenes in film history I think. The writing and directing team of Rob Reiner and Nora Ephron is unstoppable  The script is witty, hilarious, and just generally charming. The characters are relatable, and loveable because of each of their obvious flaws. All of the characters are so deep that even the ones you don't like are impressive, and with a cast like this I don't think the film could have possibly gone wrong. The cast includes Meg Ryan, Billy Crystal, Carrie Fisher, and Bruno Kirby. I think the most impressive thing about the acting, especially from Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal is that their story spans over literally decades from the time they meet until the end, and you believe them as their ages for the entire film. Its mind boggling that they can both be believable as a 20 year old and also as someone in their late 30s in the same 2 hour movie. It also has one of the most hilarious films in movie history; the orgasm in the restaurant scene. Absolutely priceless. Again, another great example for a perfect date movie, I think men and women will both enjoy this movie because the story is told from both sides. The film was nominated for 1 Oscar for Writing.

3.) Ghost

I think everyone is going to think that my top 3 are pretty cliche, but please, if you think any other movies could have possibly been top 3 let me know. I think they get to us so much because they really are all about loss, for some reason for at least part of each movie the two lovers are separated for some reason. In this movie, and I don't think this is a spoiler considering the title, the thing that separates them is the death of Patrick Swayze's character Sam Wheat. Sam spends the rest the rest of the movie desperately trying to make contact with his partner Molly, played by Demi Moore, who is being comforted by their best friend Carl(Tony Goldwyn). When he discovers that his death might not have been an accident, but that it might have been a staged murder he recruits Oda Mae Brown(Whoopi Goldberg), a fake medium, who turns out not to be such a fake after all. The story is great, and pretty hilarious actually. Obviously its a little harder to watch now, especially the ending, since Patrick Swayze is dead, and the soundtrack doesn't help, I cannot listen to the song "Unchained Melody" without tearing up. The movie was nominated for 5 Oscars winning 2 for Best Supporting Actress for Whoopi Goldberg, and for Writing.

2.) The Notebook

This film really helped put Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams on the map. Both have made great careers out of their success, which is always good. The success of this film made Nicholas Sparks novels a pretty hot commodity in the film industry, it seems like every year theres another one or two being released in theaters, unfortunately none of them have turned out as well as this one. The chemistry between Gosling and McAdams is undeniable, and I think thats what made the movie work so well, the scene pictured above was just so full of passion that it felt like it was exploding off of the screen. The story was great, and heartbreaking. I also always enjoy a good period piece. The characters of Noah(Gosling) and Allie(McAdams) are just so loveable, they're both just so charming and naive that you just want them to stay like that forever, obviously thats not how life works, and one day life tears them apart. Honestly, I don't know if guys will enjoy this or not, but I don't think its one of those bad romance movies, I think the combination of the writing and acting makes it just explode with passion. I also can't watch it without a box of tissues next to me, so don't say I didn't warn you. 

1.) Titanic

I have an unbreakable and unforgiving love for this movie. I'm going to start off right away with acknowledging that the writing in this movie is not the greatest, thats one of James Cameron's flaws, and I accept that, but he makes up for it with literally EVERYTHING else in this movie. I think a lot of movies that get as popular as this one for some reason end up getting blown off as "oh it wasn't that great", please, tell that to the 11 Oscars this film won.  I think this was the perfect way to tell the story of the Titanic without having to use real people. The story was that classic "Romeo and Juliet", "forbidden love" story which is what really drags us in. The movie cost two hundred million dollars to make, which is actually so much money that its hard to wrap your head around, luckily its turned out to be literally the highest grossing film of all time, so no worries. All of that money went into actually building half of a life-sized Titanic to film on, and they even ended up creating new techniques in special effects in order to get the visuals they wanted/needed. Honestly, I went to see this movie last year when it was released in IMAX and I had actually forgotten just how unbelievably amazing it was. You're really on the edge of your seat for the entire last half of the movie, even though you know whats going to happen. The acting in this movie was absolutely top-notch with a really incredible cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Bill Paxton, Gloria Stuart, Bernard Hill, and Victor Garber. I think the thing that they did that was just so important was them showing present-day and them showing us what the ship looks like now at the bottom of the ocean. I think those scenes was what made the story so human, and relatable. James Cameron was the best possible person to make this movie, he's been down, at the bottom of the ocean over 20 times looking at the Titanic, so I think he was really able to understand that factor. The film was nominated for 14 Oscars of which, I previously mentioned, it won 11 of for Best Sound, Best Original Song, Best Score, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Costume Design, Best Art & Set Direction, Best Director, and Best Picture.This film started my life-long fascination with both the Titanic, and Leonardo DiCaprio. Watch it again, I promise you its so much more then you remember, or were told it is.

Honourable Mentions: A Walk To Remember,  P.S I Love You, 10 Things I Hate About You, Atonement, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Pretty Woman, Forrest Gump, Annie Hall, Say Anything, Sixteen Candles, Pretty In Pink, Australia, Bridget Jones Diary, The Princess Bride, As Good As It Gets, You've Got Mail, Edward Scissorhands, Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Grilled Steak Recipe

Grilled Steak

I originally got the idea for this recipe from Jamie Oliver and this is my version of it. I probably make it every week or two, and is pretty much one of my favorite meal, It's my go-to for special occasions. And its seriously absolutely delicious. Hope the recipe works out for you! Enjoy!

Ingredients

Sirloin Grilling Steak

Salt & Pepper

Bertolli ClassicoOlive Oil

1 Clove Garlic

Fresh or dried Rosemary

Directions

1.) Season the steak with a healthy amount of salt and pepper. Preferably sea salt and black pepper, give better flavour. 

Rub it in nicely so it doesn't come off.

2.) Put a pan on medium heat while you're getting the rest of the steak ready. It should be well heated before you put anything in the pan. Coat both sides of the steak with olive oil, about a tablespoon on either side. Also, do not put olive oil in the pan. It needs to be dry and heated up when you finally put the steak on.






3.) Put the steak  in the pan and keep in on medium heat. Change sides at around 1 minute intervals. It should start looking like this and should start getting darker, and more delicious.

4.) When its almost cooked to your liking (ie rare, medium, well-done, etc.) Take the clove of garlic and rub it over the steak a couple of times. I know it seems weird, but it really does make a difference. If you don't have any garlic cloves (which is dumb because you always should) a bit of garlic powder is fine as well. Then take some fresh sprigs of rosemary and brush them over the steak. I don't have fresh rosemary, so dried rosemary leaves are fine. I just sprinkle them over. Do this on both sides, and make sure you put each side back on the pan one more time.
Overall the steak should be cooking for about a total of 15ish minutes depending on how you like it.

My favorite side for this dish is my roasted red potatoes (pictured below). You can find the recipe for those Here: 

Enjoy!

Roasted Potatoes

Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

1 Clove Garlic

Chopped Onion

Baby Red Potatoes

Rosemary

Basil

Parsley
Salt & Pepper
Broccoli (optional)

(Serves 2)

Directions

1.) Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

2.) Take the clove of garlic and chop finely (if you don't have cloves wait until the end when you're adding the seasoning and add garlic powder instead). Then take about half of a small onion and chop it into fairly small chunks. If you have large onions like myself, chop about handfull maybe, or a little less. Put both into a casserole dish (about 9X9), or any other pan or something that can be covered. 

3.) Clean the potatoes and cut them into bite-sized chunks. I normally use around 10-12 potatoes depending on how much I want to eat. I at least use enough to fully cover the bottom of the dish.

4.)(Optional) I like having a little green in there, so my normal go-to is Broccoli, but Asparagus is also a good alternative. Even green pepper is pretty delicious in there, but thats definitely my 3rd option.

5.) Put a generous amount of salt and pepper on there, I normally go for sea salt and black pepper, I just find the bigger chunks give it a little most flavour. Also, go ahead and add a sprinkle of the rosemary, basil and parsley on there. 

6.) Add some olive oil, I honestly don't know how much, a couple of tablespoons I suppose. Enough that its all covered. Mix it all up with your hands, make sure they're clean. You need to make sure that they're all covered because if not the potatoes will get dry, and they're nowhere near delicious enough. Cover the the dish.

7.) Put the dish in the oven. Keep it at 450 degree for about 30 minutes. Less then that and the potatoes will still be hard, but if you have plenty of time 40-45 minutes is prime.

They're absolutely delicious. 

This is a perfect side dish for my Grilled Steak recipe which can be found HERE and my Roasted Chicken recipe which can be found HERE.

Kiwi Film Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

IMDB: 8.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 65% (critics) 84%(audience)
Roger Ebert: (currently none, I'll check again in a few days and add then)

Stars: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Ian Holm, Elijah Wood, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Andy Serkis.
Written By: J.R.R. Tolkien(novel), Fran Walsh(screenplay), Philippa Boyens(screenplay),  Guillermo del Toro(screenplay), Peter Jackson(screenplay)
Directed By: Peter Jackson

Release Date: 14 December 2012
Described by IMDB as: "Bilbo Baggins is swept into a quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever ... Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum's 'precious' ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities..."


This film is definitely an epic one. I've heard some people criticizing that the film is stretched thin because they've pulled 3 movies out of a relatively small book, but I don't think thats what happened at all. I actually felt like pretty much every moment was jammed full of action. I don't really know how they could possibly could have enough plot-line left for the next 2 films. I think its great that Peter Jackson decided to add the couple of books that took place at the same time as the Hobbit. I think it will add a lot of interesting back story, and its a great chance to really meat up the run-time. 

The other unique thing about this film the frame rate. Most films are filmed in 24fps(frames per second) but The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was actually filmed with double the frame rate using 48fps. Its supposed to make it seem more like real life, but it has a pretty similar look to low budget TV shows like Coronation Street to me, but I guess thats sort of the points, its supposed to look like real life, not a glammed up move. I keep hearing that its something that you will get used to over time, and apparently we will be left with no choice because in the next few years this is where we're headed. Despite everything I just said, I actually didn't mind it too much. I heard that in some parts of the film it looked like they were in fast forward, but the only time I noticed it was at the very beginning when Old Bilbo(Ian Holm) was hiding his treasures from his thieving family while talking to Frodo(Elija Wood). I noticed it especially when he was opening his family chest and putting some stuff in it. Besides that it actually didn't look that bad.

The first of the two times I saw it was in IMAX and it looked gorgeous. They've really perfected their special effects this time. Gollum(Andy Serkis) looked absolutely beautiful(well, as beautiful as Gollum could possibly be.) All of the goblins were fantastic, the Goblin King had so much detail, it was really amazing. The landscapes were equally as beautiful, I wish so deeply that Rivendell was a real location because there really is no place on earth quite as beautiful. 

I've heard a lot of people saying that they hated how long the Dwarves and Gandalf(Ian McKellen) spent at Bilbo's(Martin Freeman) house in the Shire, but I thought it was such a fun scene, and an important one. Thats where we were a lot of their history, where they tell us about the mission and why they've chosen Bilbo. It also really sets up their characters, and allows us to see them briefly as separate characters, rather then the unit that we see them in for the rest of the film. I also loved that haunting song Thorin sings.

Martin Freeman was the perfect choice for Bilbo. His witty, dry humor really added to his role and he was just brilliant. His reaction to the dwarves hosting a party, uninvited, in his home, was completely hilarious. I watched "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Sneak Peek" hosted by Peter Jackson last night and one of the things that impressed me the most was how impressed he was by Freeman's performance. He showed us several takes of the same scene to show us how Martin would deliver the lines completely differently each time. It was actually very interesting to see. I've loved Martin for quite a while now so I was very excited to see he had been signed onto the role.


I absolutely loved this film. The first time I spent the whole time waiting for different things from the book to happen, and I wanted to know at what point in the story this film would end, so I have to say that the second time I watched it, it was far more enjoyable, which actually pretty surprising because of the length of the movie, I would have thought it would be less entertaining.

So, final thoughts? If you enjoyed The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, you will definitely enjoy the first instalment in the new Hobbit trilogy. I'm giving it a 8.8/10. If you haven't seen it yet, its now on DVD and Blu Ray so get on it asap. I enjoyed every minute of it!