After today there are only 3 Sundays left in the whole entire year which means I am coming close to achieving my goal and it also means there are only three Sundays At The Classics left. The film I chose for today is one that I couldn’t resist watching considering that it’s Christmas Season and I am talking about It’s A Wonderful Life. George Bailey (James Stewart) is someone who has always put others before himself, but he is also a guy who has had big dreams of doing things like travelling the world. Unfortunately for George, he has never been able to do it because he has put others including is father’s struggling business the Building & Loans ahead of his wants. One day a large sum of money goes missing and George doesn’t know what to do, but when he thinks of something bad, God sends him a Guardian Angel who is still trying to earn his wings to try and save him. The film also stars Donna Reed (From Here To Eternity) as Mary, Lionel Barrymore (Key Largo) as Mr. Potter, Thomas Mitchell (Gone With The Wind) as Uncle Billy, Henry Travers (The Invisible Man) as Clarence, Gloria Hallward (Oklahoma) as Violet, Ward Bond (The Maltese Falcon) as Bert, Frank Faylen (Funny Girl) as Ernie, and the film was directed by Frank Capra (Mr. Smith Goes To Washington).
They really were not kidding when they said that this was one of the best films of all time. James Stewart was one of the best actors of all time whether he starred in the Capra films or the Hitchcock films. He was absolutely masterful in the film as the guy who is so full of dreams and wonder that he puts all of it aside to do what is right by people in this town of Bedford Falls. One of my favorite scenes with him in the film is when he wishes that he was never born and the guardian angel Clarence grants it to him. What happens next is absolutely masterful as he goes through the town desperate to convince that it’s all a dream until he realizes that it’s reality. Donna Reed is also fantastic as Mary, his wife in the film and I can’t really complain about anyone because everyone was great. The cinematography was amazing, but there was one scene that I thought was cheesy. There’s this scene where the camera pans up to space. We see what looks like galaxies and it ends up being Joseph and I believe Jesus. They start talking to each other and that’s when they put Clarence on the job, but when they talk flashing bulbs behind the picture signify who is talking. Other than that, this is one of the best films and very inspirational because the moral is to stand up to the man no matter what because they don’t always want what’s best for everyone. Check out the film for yourself, I am going to give it an A+ for a final grade.
There is nothing I love more in this world than Seth Rogen (Pineapple Express) and comedies that he is involved in. So, naturally when I saw that The Night Before was available to rent, I definitely jumped on the opportunity to watch it. Issac (Rogen) and Chris (Anthony Mackie) have been spending the last ten Christmases with their friend Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) ever since his parents passed away. The only problem is that things change and people grow up, but Ethan hasn’t it while the other two have moved on. Now, it’s the last Christmas the three friends are ever going to spend together and they’re going to be spending it at a ball that they’ve been trying to get into for the last ten years, but will they make it in one piece? The film also stars Jillian Bell (22 Jump Street) as Betsy, Lizzy Caplan (Hot Tub Time Machine) as Diana, Heléne Yorke (Masters Of Sex) as Cindy, Mindy Kaling (Inside Out) as Sarah, Michael Shannon (Man Of Steel) as Mr. Green, Ilana Glazer (Broad City) as Rebecca Grinch, James Franco (Pineapple Express) as James Franco, Tracy Morgan (Cop Out) as the Narrator, and the film was written and directed by Jonathan Levine (50/50).
I want to start this paragraph out by saying that this film reminds me of why I loved Seth Rogen movies in the first place. Seth Rogen on drugs equals some of the funniest moments of a film because he plays it so well. When he is freaking out on shrooms in the film is some of the funniest material and his interaction with James Franco is priceless. This film could seriously be the new Christmas classic that we have all been looking for since Home Alone or Die Hard, and Big which are both mentioned in the film (almost like an homage). The film even manages to fit in some Scrooge kind of stuff with Michael Shannon playing essentially the ghost of Christmas past, present, and future all in the form of a drug dealing Great Gatsby. Believe me, it will all make sense to you once you watch the film for yourself. One of the funniest scenes in the whole film is the church scene with Seth Rogen, couldn’t stop laughing it was so funny and what a great choice to play his wife in the film in Jillian Bell who is pretty funny in the film. Listen, you know exactly what you are getting from a Seth Rogen comedy, there is nothing smart about it other than that it’s just funny. You have to naturally have a sense of humor to love comedies like this and I have to say that this should’ve been a hit at the box office. The addition of Mackie and Levitt were icing on the cake ad the chemistry between the three was there and it just felt natural. The film is available online and in Redbox so check it out if you need some good laughs. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 