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.
Originally I was going to try and watch something special considering this is the 100TH straight day that I have watched a movie (and it’s a personal best). Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to look for a film to watch considering I went to Super Megafest Comic Con and I wanted to watch today’s film To Live And Die In LA. The film stars William Petersen (Fear) as secret service agent Richard Chance, a man that is hellbent on revenge. You see, Richard’s longtime partner was killed by a local counterfeiter Eric Masters (Willem Dafoe), but he can’t prove it. With his new partner, he will go to all lengths and try whatever he can to get close to Masters before it’s too late. The film also stars John Pankow (Monkey Shines) as John Vukovich, Debra Feuer (Moment By Moment) as Bianca, 
You see the name William Friedkin attached to the title and you ask the question is this the same guy that made The Exorcist? I looked it up and sure enough it was the same guy proving that you don’t have to be stuck to a genre. The film is such an 80’s film from the look, feel, and even the music as it was done none other than Wang Chung. You can’t get any more eighties than them and the whole soundtrack. This film is basically the more serious version of Beverly Hills Cop, but I will say that the film did feature some good qualities about it. The chase sequence in the film was actually very entertaining and the ending of the film will both shock you and confuse you like it did to me. You are left wondering if a character is gone or not and that kind of bothered me when the film ended. Nevertheless, it’s an entertaining film to say the least, but it’s like a lot of 80’s films where it’s just OK. William Petersen is actually very good in this film and Willem Dafoe (such a young looking Dafoe) is both weird, charasmatic, and showcases his talent in this film. I really enjoyed that part of the film because without those two, I don’t know what they would have. The other part of this film that is an unsung hero is the city and county of Los Angeles. Lots of great shots of different parts of the city. So with that being said, I am going to give the film an B- for a final grade.
For today’s film, I traveled to my local theater to check out two men that make a hilarious unlikely combo come together for the first time in five years. Of course, I am talking about Will Farrell (Old School) and Mark Wahlberg (Fear) who star together once again for the first time since The Other Guys in the comedy Daddy’s Home. Farrell plays a radio disc jokey named Brad, who is desperately seeking the affection from his stand offish step children. Despite adhering to his wife’s warnings, Brad invited the children’s real dad over the house in the macho Dusty Mayron (Wahlberg) a man who just oozes machismo. Brad’s plans begin to fall apart once Dusty comes to town and the two compete for the children’s affection in this battle of wits. The film also stars Linda Cardellini (Grandma’s Boy) as Sara, Thomas Haden Church (Killer Joe) as Leo Holt, Scarlett Estevez (Lucifer) as Meagan, Owen Vaccaro (A Product Of Me) as Dylan, Bobby Cannavale (Boardwalk Empire) as Dr. Francisco, Hannibal Buress (Neighbors) as Griff, Jamie Denbo (Yes Man) as Doris, and Mark L. Young (We’re The Millers) as Dental Hygienist.
You can definitely not go wrong when trying to decide what movie to see and Wahlberg and Farrell’s names are attached to it. I have to agree with a friend of mine who made the statement that he enjoys seeing Wahlberg more when it comes to comedies. He was awesome in films like Date Night, Ted, The Other Guys, Pain & Gain, etc. So, it was a natural move for me to see this film because Walhberg and Farrell kept me entertained and laughing throughout the whole film. You add in the combo of the kids and Hannibal Buress as a handy man that moves in unexpectedly and you have a great combo that didn’t disappoint. You also cannot forget the addition of physical comedy which was plenty and awesome in the movie. Of course, it was great to see Linda Cardellini in the film, but there were a couple of cameos in the film that made me lose my mind. I am going to give you the spoiler alert because if you do not want to know any info then do not continue. It lost my mind when I saw Bill Burr in the film and then to top that, they thrown in WWE wrestler John Cena who has a habit of appearing in comedies lately (Sisters, Trainwreck). John Cena appearing could leave it up for a sequel, but I doubt they’ll do one. Wahlberg and Farrell make a great combo and we have evidence to back it up, it’s just a matter of when we’ll see them on screen again. I am going to give the movie an B+ for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 