Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

1) @Stone thought I should review this and that's not a horrible idea. I actually am not a fan of family/feel-good movies generally but this one was pretty good.

2) I know it's a fictional story and all, but it's pretty unbelievable. He has this big factory that sells candy that nobody's ever allowed to inspect? Obvi they don't abide by any safety regulations. Kind of makes you wonder if those oompa loompa people are paid well and stuff.

3) And really the kids are going this apeshit over winning a lifetime supply of candy? I mean, I know kids dig the candy and all,  but it's probably not worth getting this excited about. Back in the day I used to love those nerd ropes until I ate myself sick of them, but don't really think I would've been this nutso about winning a lifetime supply of the stuff.

4) And actually this movie is pretty spooky. That dude who tries to buy off the kids is creepy, the whole factory place gives me the willies, and the fact that there's just all of this scary unchartered territory to conquer gives me the shakes. The newer version of the film actually scares the hell out of me more. Johnny Depp is generally creepy to me but he is just off the charts in that movie.

B-

Mighty Ducks

1) I'm not much for Disney movies (obvi) but this has got to be one of the 10 best movies of all time. It's got a little law stuff, some motivational sports revenge, and a little romcom on the side. Just solid all around material.

2) I always have this debate with myself about whether this or the Karate Kid is a better movie. I still haven't made a final decision but it is tight that they reference the Karate Kid in this movie.

3) It also has one of the most motivational scenes (outside of 8 Mile obvi) when Bombay says YOU'RE GOING DOWN RILEY.

4) The worst part about this movie is it's no longer in my possession. @Joel conveniently "borrowed" it before taking off to Louisiana smh.

A+

Harry and the Hendersons

Whats good blog world. The last co-blog entry was wildly successful. Today me and @amacthursday are laying around all day so we're going to review some movies. Anywho, here's what I thought about our first feature: HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS.

1) Seems like Harry has a pretty big drug problem. He's running around huffing that thing of air when he first gets in the house. A drugged up Big Foot just seems like a bad idea.

2) Kind of messed up when the dad from 3rd rock from the sun just decks Harry. I mean, the whole movie Harry always seems so fun-loving I don't think he really deserved this giant punch from the guy. FWIW I caught up on Dexter the other day and Dexter goes after this dude in a totally unrelated show.

3) Big foot is pretty tight. I've never been wild about these family/kids movies but I am real into all those mysteries about Bigfoot/UFOs/crazy stuff in the Pacific Northwest. I still want to go camping in Oregon, but I think the rest of the roommates have thrown in the towel on that idea.

4) It's kind of tight when the kid is reading the book and just announces that reading sucks lol.

Surprisingly good for how much I don't like family movies,

C+

1. In antiquity, philoposhers such as Aristotle posited a “state of nature” in which man was stripped of all civilizing influences and his true essense could be observed. The European discovery of the Americas and the flowering of philosophy in the 17th and 18th centuries reinvigorated the debate about human nature. Many early novelists created characters inspired by native americans-these characters served to contrast European decadence with the simpler, more virtuous lives that the novelists imagined native americans led. I see Harry and the Hendersons as a cinematic manifestation of this long-standing “noble savage” motif. In the film, Harry’s intimidating looks belie his peaceful and simple nature. Much like the noble savages in early novels, Harry is an idealized version of a human. The film was released in 1987, so it seem reasonable that the filmmakers meant for Harry to be a “noble savage” like contrast to the “greed is good” ethos of the 1980s.

2. In the American imagination, the frontier represents hope, optimism, and a touch of danger. Harry’s home in the Sierra wilderness epitomizes our projection of the frontier. SPOILER ALERT! When Harry returns home at the end of the movie, we see a bigfoot family frolicking in the forest, yet we also know that cougars and bears haunt those woods.

3. Bigfoot getting milk from the fridge in the middle of the night is sometimes how I feel when I wake up in the middle of the night w/ heartburn.

4. Its tight when harry eats the girls flower.

5. The neighbor wears a cool sweater with ice cream cones on it.

6. When Harry gets a make-over, its kinda like beauty and the beast when the beast gets ready for a date. Its also a bit like when @alison cuts my hair lol.

B

Toy Story 3

Wgbw, coming at you on one of the worst days of the year :(, but it was a hell of an october. Hopefully it's even better next year!

1) I'm not terribly wild about any of these animated movies but this one was better then its counterparts.

2) It's been like 15 years since I watched the last toy story movies, and I used to dig them back in the day. Obvi I'm not wild about them now, but this was pretty much on par with all the old ones.

3) It seemed like it was a little over the top at the end where all the unbelievable stuff almost killed them all like 400 different times. I get that it's an animated kids movie and all but give me a break.

4) I guess the ending was kind of sad when he ends up moving off to college.

It was good, but I'm not sure I could sit through it very many more times,

C