Usually on Wednesdays, we watch an action/martial arts film for Ass Whoopin Wednesdays, but with only four days left we are postponing it. Ever since the release of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, I wanted there to be a Portuguese version of that film and I think we finally got it with A Date With Miss Fortune which is today’s film. Jack Ratner (Ryan Scott) has been down on his luck after getting fired from one job and decides that he wants to travel the world, but that all changes with a chance meeting. After meeting the very superstitious Portuguese beauty Maria (Jeannette Sousa), he decides to stay and the two get into a relationship, but that will prove to be a challenge for Jack as he deals with her beliefs and her crazy Portuguese family. The film also stars Joaquim de Almeida (Diablo) as Jose, Vik Sahay (My Awkward Sexual Adventure) as Wilson, Claudia Ferri (40 Is The New 20) as Anna Maria, Nelly Furtado (Score: A Hockey Musical) as Nelia, George Stroumboulopoulos (Hobo With A Shotgun) as Paul, Aris Athanasopoulos (The Strain) as Marco, Maria Vacratsis (My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2) as Señora Maria, Shawn Desman (Kangaroo Jack) as Emanuel, and the film was directed by John L’Ecuyer (Ready Or Not).
I have to admit that at times I had a lot of fun with the film because the craziness of the family definitely reminded me of mine which made it fun to watch. There of course was a lot of the stereotypes written into the film like our obsession with football and Cristiano Ronaldo as well as the superstitions and how proud we are of our culture was very real. The film further addressed my theory of why I do not date Portuguese women because they are a pain in the you know what. There were a couple of things that bothered me about the film and that is one the timeline isn’t really addressed very well because we find out that she is pregnant, but when they make up she is about to deliver the baby. Now, the time that they spend apart doesn’t seem like nine months, but I assume that we have to think that. The other thing is that she doesn’t look like she is struggling or having a baby at all when that is happening and the baby looks way to clean for a home birth. Those are just minor details that I can definitely look past because the story was well written, it had it’s conflicts and turning points. It was a typical romantic comedy that delivered throughout the film and I love the style. In between the current timeline, they would always go back to the first time they met as sort of cutaway point for them to move on in the script and I liked that. I am hoping that somewhere down the line, they do what My Big Fat Greek Wedding did and come back with a sequel some years later. We’ll just have to wait and see. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.
The finish line is so close at this point and I can see it which is super exciting as the challenge comes to a close soon. When I saw the trailer for today’s film Passengers, I thought that this film could either be a 2001: A Space Odyssey rip off or it could carve it’s own way into the annals of Sci-Fi greatness. Nevertheless, I chose to watch it for today’s film cause it features a couple of superstars in my opinion. There are always issues that are raised with the planet Earth like pollution or over population that we are always imagining if we could inhabit other worlds. That is why the Starship Avalon is on a 120 year journey through space to inhabit a new world known as Homestead II and all of it’s passengers are in a deep hibernation sleep. That is until Chris Pratt (Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2) who plays passenger Jim Preston is woken up 90 years too early. With 90 years ahead of you what are you to do, well you try to enjoy it and that is what he attempts to do with fellow awoken passenger Aurora (Jennifer Lawrence) until problems with the shop become evident which could derail the journey all together. The film also stars Michael Sheen (Nocturnal Animals) as Arthur, Laurence Fishburne (Mystic River) as Gus Mancuso, and the film was directed by Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game).
Spoiler Alert: There is going to be some information leaked in this paragraph that could give away some details or all the details in the film. So either proceed with caution or do not read any further, but you were warned. You are probably why I didn’t list a lot of actors above and that is because while the film does list Andy Garcia, 
I was looking around for a film to watch today and I wanted to look for a comedy because I was in that kind of a mood. So, when I logged on to my Netflix account I saw that I had an interesting film to watch on my Queue called The Late Bloomer. Peter Newmans (Johnny Simmons) is a successful sex therapist who is preaching that life is about abstinence to better yourself. What Peter doesn’t realize is that he has never in his life gone through puberty. Peter never knew that he had a tumor that has pressed against his pituitary gland and when he is operated on, his life changes completely including the fact that he has feelings for his neighbor and friend Michelle (Brittany Snow). Now what is he going to do about all of this? The film also stars J.K. Simmons (Zootopia) as James Newmans, Maria Bello (Lights Out) as Brenda Newmans, Kumail Nanjiani (Central Intelligence) as Rich, Beck Bennett (Zoolander 2) as Luke, Paul Wesley (The Vampire Diaries) as Charlie, Jane Lynch (Mascots) as Caroline Chambers, Charlotte McKinney (Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser) as Attractive Woman, Blake Cooper (The Maze Runner) as Josh, Diana Lyubenova (Conan The Barbarian) as Marilyn, and the film was directed by Kevin Pollak (Vamped Out).
I honestly went into this film with an open mind because I wasn’t expecting much out of it, but when I realized the people that starred in this film I was a little more intrigued. The film has some great actors like J.K. Simmons and Maria Bello and it was directed by the awesome Kevin Pollak who is a great actor himself who was directing his first feature length film with this one. So one argument for the film that I saw online was that it was kind of like The 40 Year Old Virgin, but with a guy who isn’t really socially awkward like Steve Carell was and I beg to differ a little bit. While I loved The 40 Year Old Virgin, I definitely really enjoyed this one because it took the idea and it ran with it in a totally different direction. The funny connection between the two really is the fact that Jane Lynch starred in both films. This one has it’s raunchy moments and friends like the other one, but in a different way. Kumail Nanjiani was given the green light to be as nasty as he wanted to be and he succeeded because he and Beck Bennett made a great combo in this film like Rudd and Rogen. Alright, so I can’t really come up with too many differences because there is a crap ton of similarities in the structure of the story. You can’t knock the formula cause it worked and there were some real funny moments in this one. You also get treated to some T&A in the film which is definitely a plus. I am going to give the film a B+ only because it’s not completely original and not as completely funny as The 40 Year Old Virgin.
In 1990, the explosion of Hip Hop and Rap was starting to take over pop culture, but when today’s film was released I was too young to watch (it also got lost in the shuffle). The film I chose to watch for today is the 1990 hip hop influenced comedy House Party. All young Kid (Christopher Reid) wants to do is survive the day and go to his best friend Play’s (Christopher Martin) party that he’s throwing later that night. The only problem is that Kid got in trouble at school and his father (Robin Harris) found out and grounded him. Despite being grounded, Kid manages to escape his house, but the trouble is far from over for him along the way when he runs into the one group after him. Will they get him or will he make it to the party? The film also stars Martin Lawrence (A Thin Line Between Love and Hate) as Bilal, 
I just read a cool fact about the film in that DJ Jazzy Jeff and Will Smith were supposed t0 be the roles of Kid and Play, but they chose not to do it hence Martin and Reid getting the roles. Wait there’s more, so when it came time to do The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, Martin and Reid were supposed to be in that show, but they declined and Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff took their place. The crazy thing to is that when you are watching the film, the relationship between Martin Lawrence and Christopher Martin seems so natural and it should seeing as they are cousins. There were so many great and funny moments in the film especially with Martin Lawrence and then there are those I would have found funny back in the day like Full Force’s parts. One of my favorite parts in the film is the freestyle battle between Kid and Play in the film. The whole time before the battle you are led to believe that Kid is horrible and that Play is the slick rapper, but boy are we surprised when Kid kills it. It’s a fun scene that just reminds you of how awesome it was when Hip Hop exploded on to the scene. John Witherspoon was great as the annoying neighbor who wants to call the cops constantly and Robin Harris was just awesome from beginning to end with his insults and quick wit. It’s a fun film that you should enjoy especially if you love old school hip hop and George Clinton makes a cameo. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.
First off, I understand that I might have chosen a chick flick for today, but it is a comedy and it features Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect). The other thing is that the film also features the very beautiful Dakota Johnson and with that being said How To Be Single is today’s film. Alice (Johnson) has been dating Josh (
While this film is definitely a chick flick, it has some redeeming qualities to it. It may seem like it bashes guys because it’s all about how their relationships aren’t working or you the fact that you don’t want to get caught as Rebel puts it in the “Dicksand”(dick quicksand). There are some moments when they look absolutely crazy or when the bartender argues that you can’t find chemistry from an online dating app. I love Rebel Wilson because she plays the drunk, crazy, Aussie or Brit very well in every film that she is in and she does have some hilarious moments in the film. The thing I really liked about the film is the fact that it doesn’t just focus on Dakota Johnson’s character, but also on Leslie Mann’s who is trying to deal with the fact that she has put work ahead of her personal life and Alison Brie who believes in using dating apps. The film is kind of like six degrees of the bartender Tom because he is connected to all of them somehow a she tries to figure out his life after a girl wakes him up. So, there is plenty of subplots to drive the story forward and it moves pretty well. It’s just that I am not completely into chick flicks so women may enjoy the film more than me. Having Jason Mantzoukas in the film was definitely clutch by me because his character was hilarious. I am going to go ahead and give the film an B+ for a final grade only because it’s one I probably wouldn’t watch again.
Can you believe that after today there are only five more Sundays left in the whole entire year of 2016. For today’s Sunday at the Classics, I wanted to choose a film that was so iconic, I am even surprised I never watched it. The film I am talking about is the world famous Breakfast At Tiffani’s which was released in 1961. Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) is a New York socialite who just love to be wild and free and able to do whatever she wants. She quickly becomes interested in a writer name Paul Varjak (The A-Team’s George Peppard) who has just moved into her building. Quickly the two become friends and get very close, but Paul will soon begin to discover that Holly is a little more complicated than he expected. The film also stars Martin Balsam (Tora! Tora! Tora!) as O.J. Berman, Alan Reed (Lady And The Tramp) as Sally Tomato, Mickey Rooney (The Fox And The Hound) as Mr. Yunioshi, José Luis de Vilallonga (Juliet Of The Spirits) as José da Silva Pereira, Stanley Adams (Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex* But Were Afraid To Ask) as Rusty Trawler, Buddy Ebsen (The Beverly Hillbillies) as Doc Golightly, and the film was directed by Blake Edwards (Revenge Of The Pink Panther).
At first I was trying hard to figure out what exactly the film was about because it just seemed that it was about a girl who was pretending to be something she’s not because she’s running away from her past. At times, you feel that Audrey Hepburns character has no idea exactly who she is, but she is kind of a snob or a gold digger. Throughout the whole film, she won’t commit to Paul because he’s not rich and she constantly called him by another name. That is until she is confronted finally by Paul that she comes to her senses because she finally figures out where she belongs. The thing I loved about this film are the cool romantic moments of the film like when they are challenging each other to do things that they had never done before. The thing that I didn’t like was how xenophobic Hollywood was back in 1961 in a time where Caucasian men played Native Americans and Asians. I don’t blame Mickey Rooney for taking the role, but Hollywood was notorious for that. They made Mr. Yunioshi a bumbling idiot and it is kind of offensive, but that is where the comedy is in the film. Nevertheless, this is an iconic film that I think everyone should check out. One of my favorite moments in the film as well was the scene where Paul hear’s Holly playing a song on her window sill. That is definitely a cool moment for the film that I will always remember from the beautiful Audrey Hepburn. I am going to give the film an A for a final grade because it was amazing and it’s a Hollywood classic.
There was a time in the world when I looked forward to seeing a film that starred Renée Zellweger, but that was a long time ago. It has been six years since we had seen anything with Renée and she returns with today’s film Bridget Jones’s Baby which is the third film in the series. In this film, Bridget (Zellweger) is all alone on her 43RD birthday because one of her former loves is dead and the other (Colin Firth) is marrried. After the advice of a friend, she goes away to a music festival where she has a one night stand with a internet dating sight mogul (Patrick Dempsey). Once she is home from that, she ends up having an affair with one of her former loves (Firth). The next thing you know she is pregnant and she doesn’t know who the father is. Will she find out and what does she tell the both of them? The film also stars Gemma Jones (Bridget Jones’s Diary) as Mum, Jim Broadbent (Cloud Atlas) as Dad, Sarah Solemani (Hector) as Miranda, Sally Phillips (Mean Machine) as Shazzer, Julian Rhind-Tutt (Rush) as Fergus, Joanna Scanlan (Stardust) as Cathy, Kate O’Flynn (The Palace) as Alice, Emma Thompson (Love Actually) as Dr. Rawlings, and the film was directed by Sharon Maguire (Bridget Jones’s Diary).
I thought I had promised myself that I was never going to see a film that was a sequel without seeing the films before it. Apparently that doesn’t matter with the people you care about, but it definitely would have helped so that I could understand the dynamics. I couldn’t help, but notice how bad I thought Renée Zellweger looked in the film because she used to be super cute until she had the work done. One of the reasons I became attracted to wanting to see this film was simply for the fact that Patrick Dempsey who was one of my favorite actors from the 80’s was starring in the film. I am being totally honest in making that statement because it’s absolutely true. If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have cared about that. The film had some really funny moments to it that even had me laughing despite the fact that this is a total chick flick. Patrick Dempsey was well Patrick Dempsey in where he was charming on screen while Colin Firth’s character was robotic, but that is actually how his character is apparently. Seeing Renée in this film reminded me of exactly what it was we loved from her, but I have noticed that she always looks ready to cry. If you are a fan of the previous films, then I suggest that you check it out. If you are not a fan of chick flicks then do not check this out. I kind of enjoyed it, but the film didn’t really end the way I wanted it to. Nonetheless, I am going to give the film an B- for a final grade.
In the past five years or even more, the issue of transgenderism has been one of the hottest topics in the United States of America. It’s an issue that has seen celebrities like Chaz Bono and more come out in support for the issue. In the 1920’s when this kind of topic was extremely taboo, one man stepped forward because he truly believed that he was a woman and that was the basis for the film The Danish Girl. The Danish Girl tells the story of Lili Elbe/Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne), the first person to ever go through the sex change operation in Dresden, Germany. The movie tells the struggles that Einar went through along with his artist wife Gerder (Alicia Vikander) to become the woman known as Lili. The film also stars Amber Heard (Never Back Down) as Ulla, Emerald Fennell (Anna Karenina) as Elsa, Adrian Schiller (Son Of God) as Rasmussen, Ben Whishaw (In The Heart Of The Sea) as Henrik, Matthias Schoenaerts (Far From The Madding Crowd) as Hans Axgil, Henry Pettigrew (Next Of Kin) as Niels, Pip Torrens (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) as Dr. Hexler, Sebastian Koch (A Good Day To Die Hard) as Warnekros, and the film was directed by Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech).
This truly was an amazing story and it’s all based off of her diaries that she kept while she was going though the sex change. The romance part of the film I believe was fictitious, but most of the film was true. Based off of the site 
Since the announcement of the death of legendary comedic actor Gene Wilder yesterday, I wanted to pay tribute to him. So, I took the time and dedicated today to him by watching a film I hadn’t seen yet in The Woman In Red which sees Wilder pulling triple duty. Teddy Pierce (Gene Wilder) is an ad executive who kind of has everything a man would need in life like a decent job, a good family, and good friends. So, what in the world would get him to screw that up? Well, what If I was to tell you that he one day he sees the most beautiful woman in a model named Charlotte (Kelly LeBrock). He wants to meet her so bad that he is actually willing to risk it all so he tries to come with a full proof scheme. The film also stars Charles Grodin (Beethoven) as Buddy, Joe Bologna (Blame It On Rio) as Joey, Judith Ivey (Flags Of Our Fathers) as Didi Pierce, Michael Huddleston (Vampires) as Mikey, Gilda Radner (Saturday Night Live) as Ms. Milner, Kyle Heffner (High Crimes) as Richard, Michael Zorek (Hot Moves) as Shelly, Kyra Stempel (Camp Nowhere) as Missy Pierce, and the film was written and directed by Gene Wilder.
This was actually a very good movie from Gene and I can definitely see why it did well. Gene put on one heck of a performance as well with his typical calm on the outside, but nervous wreck on the inside about to explode. The thing that I loved about the film that I wish there was more of was the interactions with Bologna, Grodin, and Huddleston because those were some of the more hilarious moments on film. One of my favorites from them was one night they go to a restaurant and Grodin pretends to be blind and he just starts messing everything up. Now, let’s be honest with each other moving forward and say that Kelly LeBrock was one heck of a choice for the woman in red as this was her first role. Kelly was an absolute smoke show back in the day and those few moments in the film where you get teased with her body was worth the wait. I loved the scene in the parking garage where they pay tribute to Marilyn Monroe with the air that blows the dress up. I thought that was a nice ode to classic Hollywood. One scene that was kind of awkward was an interaction between Judith Ivey’s character and Michael Zorek’s that they never expanded on. He just goes in and tries to cop a feel, but they end it on that and it’s never mentioned again. The film had plenty of subplots, but one that they barely scratch in the surface is the fact that Charles Grodin’s character was gay. I mean especially for 1984, that is a huge bombshell and they just sort of brush it to the side and not talk about it. That was my only problem with the film, but overall I really enjoyed it. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.
With only 132 days left in the year and only 18 Sundays left in the calendar year, we are going to try something new here. I am calling it Sunday At The Classics where we review classic cinema and we are starting this week with Alfred Hitchcock’s (Psycho) Dial M For Murder which was released in 1954. Ray Milland (The Lost Weekend) plays Tony Wendice, a former tennis pro who discovers that his wife is having an affair with a writer from New York City. What does he do, well he tries to plan the perfect murder by blackmailing an old college friend, but when that backfires he has to come up with one heck of a plan b just to get the job done. The film also stars Grace Kelly (To Catch A Thief) as Margot Wendice, Robert Cummings (Walt Disney’s Wonderful World Of Color) as Mark Halliday, John Williams (Witness For The Prosecution) as Chief Inspector Hubbard, Anthony Dawson (Death Rides A Horse) as Charles Swan, Robin Hughes (The Flame And The Arrow) as Police Sergeant O’Brien, Leo Britt (The Charge Of The Light) as the storyteller, Patrick Allen (The Black Adder) as Detective Pearson, and George Leigh (Champagne For Caesar) as Detective Williams.
There is one scene that I had always heard about that was revered by many in this film which is why I decided to watch this. It’s the during the beginning of the film when Tony invites Charles Swan to come over to talk about the “car” for sale. He begins to piece Swan’s true identity to Swan as they are talking and then he reveals to him his secret plan. It is then that he let’s us in on how he wants Swan to commit the perfect crime in detail. The conversation goes on for about 15 to 20 minutes and is just masterful as it seems to be one continuous shot. Alfred was a master with his cinematography and how he wanted to see his film unfold. It’s exactly like François Truffaut once said about Hitchcock calling him a true auteur of cinema. Just like any great Film Noir or crime mystery film, there is always the reveal about how they came to discover the master plan. That is another great sequence that you have to check out from the master of suspense. One of the things I enjoyed about this film was seeing the beautiful Grace Kelly who really was the face of perfection in classic Hollywood. There was just no other like her in those times and she was awesome to watch in this film even though she really wasn’t the star of the film. Ray Milland of course was the star and he absolutely shined as the an who thought he could think on his feet and that he had everyone hook, line, and sinker. If you want to be a fan of cinema then I definitely suggest that you stick this on your list of films to watch. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 