Sometimes I have to pinch myself when I am doing an entry for the blog because I can’t believe that I have been committed for 250 straight days now. So for the 250TH day, I wanted to watch something special and I chose to watch Casper which was based off of one my favorite cartoons as a child. Carrigan Crittenden (Cathy Moriarty) is money hungry so when she finds out her neurotic father has passed away she goes and finds out that she has inherited an old house with secret treasure inside. When she goes to the house, she discovers that there’s a ghost inside and she decides to hire a ghost shrink named Dr. James Harvey (Bill Pullman). Harvey takes the job and he takes his daughter Kat (Christina Ricci) who befriends the friendly ghost named Casper (Malachi Pearson) while her dad tries to deal with the other three unruly ghosts. The film also stars Eric Idle (Monty Python And The Holy Grail) as Dibbs, Joe Nipote (Viper) as Stretch, Joe Alaskey (Duck Dodgers) as Stinkie, Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond) as Fatso, Amy Brenneman (Heat) as Amelia Harvey, Devon Sawa (Final Destination) as Casper in Human Form, Chauncey Leopardi (The Sandlot) as Nicky, Jessica Wesson (Milk Money) as Amber, and the film was directed by Brad Silberling (City Of Angels).
Believe it or not, it has taken me 21 years to see this film and to be perfectly honest with all of you I have no idea why. The one thing that I can say about the film adaptation of Casper is that it was fun to watch. You can’t expect an Oscar winning film out of it, but a film that you just have fun watching. This was the type of film that really relied on slapstick comedy to drive the laughs especially with the ghostly trio or the unruly three (whatever you want to call them) and Eric Idle who is a master of it. The one thing I liked about the film that I don’t remember happening with the cartoon was Casper crossing back over to be a human. I thought that it was a very cool move to imagine what he would have looked like as a human being or a fleshy as they call us. I loved seeing Christina Ricci in the film although every time I see her I just think that she is Wednesday Adams all grown up. I don’t know if I have a favorite scene from the film because it was just so enjoyable to watch. The scene where he makes breakfast is pretty good and I even enjoyed the sequence with Carrigan as a ghost as well. The film is currently available on HBOGO as long as you have a subscription to that, but I’m sure you can find it just about anywhere. I am going to recommend this film especially if you were a fan of the cartoon. I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.
For today’s film, I chose a film that peaked my interest as soon as I heard the word’s 90’s Hip Hop. I am talking about the summer sleeper known as Dope which was directed by Rick Famuyiwa (The Wood) and stars Shameik Moore in his first lead role as our lead character Malcolm. Malcolm isn’t your ordinary kid from the hood, you see Malcolm is a straight A student who has an obsession with 90’s hip hop culture and music and he plays in a punk rock band called Oreo. After being invited to a party, the life of Malcolm and his two friends will change for a least a little while when Malcolm realizes that he is in possession of some dope. He is then faced with a tough proposition as he has to sell off all of the dope or it’s his ass and his recommendation letter to Harvard. The film also stars A$AP Rocky as Dom, Kiersey Clemons (Eye Candy) as Diggy, Tony Revolori (The 5TH Wave) as Jig, Quincy Brown (We The Party) as Jaleel, Kimberly Elise (Diary Of A Mad Black Woman) as Lisa Hayes, , Chanel Iman as Lily, Blake Anderson (Workaholics) as Will Sherwood, Zoe Kravitz (Mad Max: Fury Road) as Nakia, and Roger Guenveur Smith (Final Destination) as Austin Jacoby.
First off, I want to start this off by just saying that I really loved this film. Besides Straight Outta Compton, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Mad Max: Fury Road, that this may be one of my favorite films of 2015. The other thing is that if you are a fan of Hip Hop music, then this is a film that you are going to love because it features some great classic hip hop in the film like Public Enemy, Onyx, Digital Underground, and so much more. One other observation I made while watching this film is that I should have researched that it was Zoe Kravitz in this film. I kept saying to myself, “wow this girl looks a lot like Lisa Bonet” not even realizing that her mom was Lisa Bonet. Yes that one was my bad, but she does a terrific job as did everyone in this film. The acting was top notch in this modern day coming of age story as Malcolm finally figures out just who he is after a teacher threw that question in his face. I will also say that I was thoroughly impressed with A$AP Rocky who is essentially only in the first half of the film and the man that sets off the chain reaction or slippery slope as he puts it in the film. I said above that if you were a fan of hip hop then you would like this film, but the truth is if you are just a fan of films, then you should enjoy this. Check it out for yourself as I give this film an A- for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 