Today’s film has been sitting on my Netflix cue for quite some time that I am even surprised that it was still around for me to view. Nevertheless, it was a film that featured Ben Affleck a year after his appearance in Dazed And Confused and I figured why not let’s check out Glory Daze. The film follows five college friends/roommates in Jack (Affleck), Rob (Sam Rockwell), Dennis (French Stewart), Slosh (Vien Hong), and Mickey (Vinnie DeRamus) as they face various dilemmas two days before graduation. Jack doesn’t have a girlfriend, but he’s more scared about the unknown part of his future while Rob is about to move to LA, but is afraid of meeting his girlfriend’s mom. Dennis feels that he should transfer to Michigan for a masters, but an offer from a teacher has him thinking twice while Slosh is just a drunk going nowhere fast. Mickey wants a girlfriend, but he’s just too afraid and dumb to realize when opportunity presents itself. The whole group decides to stay, but is it the right decision after all? The film also stars Megan Ward (Encino Man) as Joanie, Kristin Bauer van Straten (True Blood) as Dina, Alyssa Milano (Fear) as Chelsea, John Rhys-Davies (Raiders Of The Lost Ark) as Luther, and the film features appearances from Matthew McConaughey, Matt Damon, Sean Whalen, Brendan Fraser, Leah Remini, and the film was directed by Rich Wilkes (xXx).
What did I think of this film? Well one thing is for sure and that it isn’t Dazed And Confused and I have a reason for saying that. The film is basically what if O’Bannion grew up and went to college in the 90’s and was an art student. It had that same kind of vibe where the main character is faced with a major life decision and all of a sudden he starts to question the norm. The other thing that made me think of it was seeing Matthew McConaughey in the film. His character made me think that what i that was Wooderson and he had just left Texas and became a UHaul salesman. While it may be one of your typical 20 somethings slacker film, it doesn’t capture the same kind of brilliance other films had before it. It’s surprising considering the caliber of talent that was in this film like Sam Rockwell, Affleck, Fraser, etc. The film isn’t all bad though, it actually nails the 90’s in a way where everyone was overly pissed off at the world and how life wasn’t fair. Thanks to grunge music, Punk made a huge comeback in the 90’s and this soundtrack is full of iconic 90’s punk bands like NOFX, The Bouncing Souls, etc. The film has it’s moments of brilliance, but it’s just too all over the place at times. Like I said, he film is currently available on Netflix as we speak so check it out if you dare. I’m having a hard time giving the film a grade so I say it’s somewhere between a C+/B- as far as a final grade is concerned.
Just about every month, I have watched a different animated film so I decided to keep it going by watching another one for the month of April. The film I chose for today is called The Nut Job and it’s one that wasn’t done by Disney or Sony. The film follows Surly (Will Arnett), a squirrel who never seems to get anything right in his life and to the point that everyone in the park hates him. One day after a routine heist of nuts goes wrong, Surely is banished out of the park and all of the creatures in the park are left with no food to survive winter. A store that is being disguised as a nut store, but really is a front for a ban heist is opened nearby and Surly will try everything he can to pull off the biggest heist to regain the trust of the park. The film also stars Liam Neeson (Taken) as Raccoon, Brendan Fraser (School Ties) as Grayson, Katherine Heigl (Knocked Up) as Andie, Stephen Lang (Avatar) as King, Maya Rudolph (Bridesmaids) as Precious, Jeff Dunham as Mole, Gabriel Iglesias (Magic Mike XXL) as Jimmy, Sarah Gadon (Enemy) as Lana, and the film was directed by Peter Lepeniotis Gotta Catch Santa Claus).
What is the great thing about all or most animated films these days? Every great or good character has a comedic relief sidekick that keeps the audience glued and kids laughing. In this film, it would have to be Buddy The Rat who is constantly there to help his friend Surly no matter what. The one thing about this film that I really liked is that every character is very likable even the villain Raccoon (voiced by Liam Neeson). This was definitely an interesting and funny animated film for one that wasn’t made by either Disney Pixar or Sony, but it didn’t have a heck of a lot of laughs. It was definitely entertaining and it didn’t bore me, but it just didn’t have a lot of those funny moments in it like some of Disney’s films. I wondered why Psy’s music and song Gangham Style was attached to this film and it’s because it was funded by a bunch of different Korean producers hence the appearance he makes as an animated character. I was also surprised to see that Jeff Dunham voice acted in this film because I thought he only did the puppet gigs, but he was great as the mole. This is definitely a film that will more than likely fun for the kids and it will teach you the lesson that no matter how much of a screw up you think you are you can always redeem yourself. The film is available right now on Netflix as we speak so check it out. I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 