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The Fall Film Challenge: A History of Quirky Picks — Volume the First

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The Original Fall Film Challenge…

One. Any action/adventure flick. X-Men: Days of Future Past. This one was pretty nifty. Not the best of the X-films but certainly not the worst. Loved Quicksilver’s character. Loved Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique. And I really like James McAvoy as Professor X., but it was sometimes hard to follow, and I feel like some of the storyline was constructed just so the crew could show off their impressive skills at creating special effects.

Two. Any shot in Budapest, Hungary. A Good Day to Die Hard. UGH. This film franchise needs to die. I loathed this film in the beginning. Way too much of the same shit–same car chases, same chaos, same demolition… same story, really… just set in a different country. It got a little better as the film progressed, but… UGH.

Three. Any awarded an Oscar for best cinematography. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Richard Burton. Elizabeth Taylor. God, they were beautiful to watch on the screen. Not just because of their physiques… their presence was incredible. But I didn’t love this movie. I know I should. I didn’t like the other couple. You’re not supposed to like either one, really, but… I felt sorry for Burton’s and Taylor’s characters. The other ones irritated me. And it felt long overall. Maybe it was supposed to do so. I can’t quite put my finger on it. I would’ve been okay if I’d never seen this film. I really don’t know how to explain it.

Four. Any drama/biography/documentary. The Judge. I love Robert Downey, Jr. I love him in this film. And Robert Duvall is amazing here. It’s a good story, well-scripted and well-portrayed.

Five. Any awarded an Oscar for best film editing. Argo. I loathe ben Affleck. But here, he did good. And this story… it’s definitely worth watching.

Six. Any starring an actress whose last name begins with the letter G. Meet me in St. Louis (Judy Garland). I’d meant to watch this for the holiday category. I did not like it, but I LOVE the trolley song. and Judy garland’s voice… it’s so lovely.

Seven. Any starring an actor whose last name begins with the letter J. Lincoln (Tommy Lee Jones). I fell asleep so many times during this movie.

Eight. Any starring an actress whose last name begins with the letter K. Unhook the Stars (Moira Kelly). Usually I love Gena Rowlands. Usually I love Moira Kelly. Usually I love Marisa Tomei. This film is one of those rare exceptions. Don’t bother with it.

Nine. Any shot in London, England. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. So much of this film went over my head, just like the first one. But I enjoyed watching it.

Ten. Any awarded an Oscar for best original score. The Way We Were. Wow. Robert Redford was a damned fine looking man back in the day. Good God. But I could never believe that his character would go for Barbra Streisand’s character. No way, no how.

Eleven. Any adapted from any novel. This Is Where I Leave You. I liked this movie a lot, though there’s a scene here and there that I wish hadn’t been included.

Twelve. Any awarded an Oscar for best original screenplay. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. SO boring. SO, SO boring.

Thirteen. Any awarded an Oscar for best picture. Driving Miss Daisy. This movie beat out Dead Poet’s Society for best picture. That is a horrible, HORRIBLE crime.

Fourteen. Any romance or comedy. St. Vincent. LOVED the acting. Bill Murray is fantastic here. And I actually liked Melissa McCarthy, which has never happened. But the story? Meh. Not so much.

Fifteen. Any sports flick. When the Game Stands Tall. This had the potential to be a BADASS film. What an amazing story. And yes, there were definitely scenes that I found gripping. But overall, too much of the story was told with too many of the usual clichés. There are so many better sports films out there.

Sixteen. Any thriller or mystery. Lincoln Lawyer. Of the film’s I’ve seen for this challenge, I liked this one the best. I am NOT a Matthew McConaughey fan, but here, he’s impressive.

Seventeen. Any starring an actor whose last name begins with the letter U. The Newton Boys (Skeet Ulrich). Boring. Don’t bother.

Eighteen. Any shot in a country you’ve never visited. Rush (Austria). Niki Lauda’s story is wondrous, and Daniel Bruhl did a beautiful job portraying that man.

Nineteen. Any western or war film. Fury. UGH. Such a waste of time and money.

Twenty. Any from American Film Institute’s Greatest American Movies of All Time. A Streetcar Named Desire. This one’s like Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? I’m glad I watched it, I guess. Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh… but I would’ve been okay not watching it, too.

Films I’d intended but failed to view: American History X; Animal House; Brave; In Bruges; and Twenty-Eight Days.

Originally published November thirtieth, ‘fourteen.

The original bonus round…

I did not make it through the regular round, so I did not see a single one of these.

Originally published October fifteenth, ‘fourteen.

The Second Annual Fall Film Challenge…

One. Any set in New York City. The Intern. I wish they’d cast someone other than Anne Hathaway. Normally I don’t mind her. But you can’t pair her with someone like Robert de Niro. And the dude who played her husband? He basically ruined this movie for me.

Two. Any that features a child as the main character. Stand by Me. So good. SO, SO good. Best movie on my list. Easily. I don’t know that I’d watch it again, though. I feel like once is enough.

Three. Any Disney film. Brave. I dozed off a lot in this one–not so much that I was oblivious to the plot and all, but… ugh. the only thing I liked were the triplet’s scenes.

Four. Any mentioned in Denim in the Oscars: A Look at Jeans in Cinema. Erin Brockovich. I liked this one a LOT (except for Aaron Eckhart. Pansy). I’d watch it again.

Five. A film about a knight. Gladiator. Man, I miss Richard Harris on the screen. That man had mad skills. Connie Nielsen’s pretty good here, too. The rest of it, though… meh. Not Russell Crowe’s best work. And I definitely did not care for the story.

Six. A love story. The Duff. It’s cute. Completely unbelievable, of course. I liked the main characters quite a bit, though. I love mae Whitman, and the boy’s nice looking… for a boy. I ended up buying this one.

Seven. A movie about something miraculous. Cinderella. So bad. SO SO bad. Richard Madden was too pretty… and not anything like I imagine Prince Charming being. No. Just… no. Cate Blanchett wasn’t quite awful enough. Helena Bonham carter wasn’t quite magical enough (and usually, I LOVE her).

Eight. A film starring an actor/actress with the same first name as yours. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Meh. I have no strong feelings about this one. Didn’t love it, didn’t loathe it. Won’t watch it again.

Nine. Any film with a score of ninety percent or greater on Rotten Tomatoes. How to Train Your Dragon Two. Cute. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Toothless. I liked the first movie better, but this one was alright. I’d watch it again.

Ten. A film about a superhero. Avengers: Age of Ultron. Meh. Not nearly as good as the first. Parts of it were alright. It’s not one I’d make an effort to see again, but if I came across on one of the television’s movie channels, I might watch it again. It’s got some nice eye candy.

Eleven. A film about a personal victory. Big Eyes. I’m glad I watched it. But I’m over Amy Adams, and while Christoph Waltz typically owns despicable and loathsome, he doesn’t quite do so here–though there surely are moments of utter nastiness. It’s not a film I’d want to see again.

Twelve. Any set in a country you would most like to visit. Woman in Gold. I’m glad I watched this one, too. I can’t say the cast does a remarkable job of telling the story–even Helen Mirren–but they do well enough. I liked it. I’d watch it again.

Thirteen. A film set in a zoo. Fierce Creatures. Kevin Kline’s got skills, too, yall. I forget. It’s a pretty funny movie. Complete nonsense, of course, but I knew that going in. My older brother loved movies like this. I’m sorry I couldn’t watch it with him. I don’t know that I’d watch this again.

Films I’d intended but failed to view: American Graffiti; Amour; Black Mass; Dude, Where’s My Car; A Fish Called Wanda; Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay; Oz the Great and Powerful; Raiders of the Lost Ark; State of Play; Up; and Without Limits.

I didn’t make a bonus list for this year’s bonus round because I’d too many films from my original list yet to see.

Originally published December twelfth, ‘fifteen.

The Fall Film Challenge: A History of Quirky Picks — Volume the Second

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The Third Annual Fall Film Challenge…

One. About adolescence. The Outsiders. I know I should’ve loved this one. God knows it has an incredible cast, and the story’s a school-read staple. But… meh.

Two. About a character’s rebirth or rite of passage. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints. It’s a rough one. It’s well done. It’s not one I ever want to watch again.

Three. About a comic book character. Deadpool. Didn’t like it the first time I saw it. Watched it again and LOVED it.

Four. Shot or set in Washington, D.C. Jason Bourne. MEH. I’ve liked every other Bourne film. This one was shit.

Five. Set in an academic environment. Clueless. Meh.

Six. About failure. Take This Waltz. My biggest issue with this film is that its ending is like the villain who can’t die. There was a pretty perfect place to stop it, which would’ve made me like the story a hell of lot more, but no… thirty more minutes of failure. I think Michelle Williams is adorable. I liked that Seth Rogen wasn’t over the top. The other guy’s cute. I wanted to like their characters but couldn’t.

Seven. About a man vs. god or gods. The Trojan Women. Ah, the Greeks. They really knew how to wreck the human spirit. All this tragedy over a woman. All this tragedy, really, because Zeus got bored with mankind and decided they should just obliterate each other. So we’ve Katharine Hepburn, Genevieve Bujold, Vanessa Redgrave and Irene Papas, which I love. We’ve LOTS of ranting and raving, lots of scenes that feel better suited for the stage than cinema, which I don’t love. I think what I love most about this film is that some of that ranting and raving (and trust me, these chicks are completely justified for that), are some beautiful, poignant lines. Yeah, maybe some of it’s over the top. But I felt myself tearing up a number of times.

Eight. About a man vs. himself. The Big Chill. Love the cast. Love the music. Liked the story well enough.

Nine. About an invention or an ingenuous individual. Flash of Genius. This one was SO hard for me to watch. I can’t tell you how strong the impulse was to turn it off after having seen maybe twenty minutes of it because it made me angry for so many reasons. The last twenty minutes or so were okay. Bah. The man’s plight is significant, for sure, and worthy of his efforts. but five minutes of reading about it on Wikipedia is enough of an education.

Ten. Set in a jail or prison. American History X. I’ve known I needed to see this film since its release but haven’t wanted to watch it because of how heavy I knew it would be. And I was right about that. I cried in the end. I hate how horrible we can be to each other, and this is a damned fine depiction of that.

Eleven. About a dog. Red Dog. It’s slow at the beginning, but it gets good about halfway through. I liked it.

Twelve. About loss. Truly Madly deeply. I love just about everything starring Alan Rickman, but this one not so much. It’s a great idea for a story, but the performances didn’t do much for me–even Rickman’s. I didn’t like it until the last fifteen-twenty minutes.

Thirteen. About man vs. man. Unbroken. God, it is LONG, and I’m sure this is intentional. Yes, the man’s an inspiration. Yes, his strength is superhuman. Yes, the story is remarkable and fantastic and good… every positive adjective you can find works here. But the film itself… bleh.

Fourteen. About man vs. nature. Deepwater Horizon. GOOD.

Fifteen. One that has a monster or monstrous individual. The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug. So the first of the Hobbit films bored the HELL out of me, and I didn’t give a rats ass about watching the rest of’m because of that, but also because it’s one book that’s been broken into three movies and that trend needs to DIE. NOW. This category, though, I don’t like monster movies. AT ALL. So I figured I’d watch this one, and I am SO GLAD I did because Luke Evans is a handsome lad. And this one’s MUCH better than its predecessor.

Sixteen. Shot or set in Pennsylvania. Flashdance. Let’s ignore the fact that A) I’m jealous as hell that any girl could have a figure like the chicks in this flick AND be so limber; B) let’s also ignore the fact that every time I saw Michael Nouri, I thought ZIVA’S DADDY. It’s ninety-five minutes long, which part of me liked because, hey, films are never so short anymore. But this one glossed over all the things that would’ve made me like it (like my writing critique group likes to say I gloss over all the things that would make them like my story more, so that’s probably why it’s in my head). She’s cute. It’s predictable as shit. I liked it, but I’ve NO desire to see it again (and I’m a girl who can watch a movie DOZENS of times, so that should tell you something).

Seventeen. About a character’s quest of some kind. The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies. Better than the first Hobbit. Not as good as the second one.

Eighteen. About a character who goes from rags to riches. Joy. Good.

Nineteen. About a man. vs. society. Allied. BLECH. Don’t bother. Seriously. It’s shite.

Twenty. Originally released in the thirties. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. I liked it.

Twenty-One. About undesirable individuals or elements. Ghostbusters. Entertaining. spectacular, but more because it’s a spectacle than because it’s superb. I actually liked Melissa McCarthy, and that NEVER happens. Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones were good. Kristen Wiig is typical. Also… Chris Hemsworth. He’s pretty. :] So were the special effects.

Twenty-Two. About a voyage and return. The Martian. It’s better than I expected. I can’t say I loved it, though. It’s good. I liked Damon’s character a lot.

Twenty-Three. About wizards or witchcraft. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Good.

Twenty-Four. Originally released in the sixties. Tom Jones. Holy crap. HOLY CRAP. I could NOT WAIT for this one to be over.

Twenty-Five. About a yearning or obsession. Hugo. Pretty like a child’s storybook. The first half or so is SLOW. Wish Jude Law’d had more screen time. If you can hang through the first, the finish is good.

The third bonus round…

  • One. Big Stone Gap.
  • Two. Bleed for This.
  • Three. The Book Thief.
  • Four. Bridge of Spies.
  • Five. The Choice.
  • Six. Concussion.
  • Seven. Eighty-Four Charing Cross Road.
  • Eight. Election.
  • Nine. Evening.
  • Ten. Flags of Our Fathers.
  • Eleven. Gleason.
  • Twelve. Hacksaw Ridge.
  • Thirteen. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.
  • Fourteen. Ladies in Lavender.
  • Fifteen. Loving.
  • Sixteen. The Other Boleyn Girl.
  • Seventeen. The Perfect Storm.
  • Eighteen. The Queen.
  • Nineteen. The Remains of the Day.
  • Twenty. Remember the Titans.
  • Twenty-One. Spotlight.
  • Twenty-Two. A Street Cat Named Bob.
  • Twenty-Three. Thirteen Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.
  • Twenty-Four. The Thirty-Three.
  • Twenty-Five. The Three Musketeers.

One. Big Stone Gap. It’s cheesy as heck — like Where the Heart Is kind of cheesy. I don’t know that I could recommend it, but I didn’t mind watching it.

Two. Concussion. I agree with Andrea, who said, Been meaning to watch this one for awhile now. It moved slowly, but interesting subject matter.

Three. Eighty-Four Charing Cross Road. Meh.

Four. Hacksaw Ridge. GREAT story. GOOD movie.

Five. Loving. SO, SO, SO GOOD. Also, watch this interview. This one, by the way, was my favorite of my selections.

Six. Remember the Titans. It’s okay.

Seven. The Thirty-Three. It’s well-done, save for the fact that after being buried for some sixty days the men are fairly clean-shaven. That’s probably a petty thing. Of the roles I’ve seen of Antonio anderas’, this one’s probably the best so far. I enjoyed the performances of quite a few in the cast.

The Fourth Annual Fall Film Challenge…

One. Jackie. Category: Reviewed last year on slothsandmovies. Natalie Portman is a talented chick. Jackie Kennedy was a remarkable woman, and Portman plays her well. I liked the way the story’s told, but, despite all that, something’s keeping me from saying this film is amazing, and I can’t tell you what that is exactly. Just that’s it’s there. It’s really good, just shy of great. Worth seeing for the history.

Two. Room. Category: About fortitude. This movie had me bawling. That little boy is adorable, and Brie Larson is amazing. They both play their roles so, so well. I hadn’t expected to like this one as much as I did. I was wary of watching it. Borrowed it from the library and kept it for some time after its due date because I wanted to keep it; reviewed several scenes from this film on many occasions. SO GOOD. One of three that I would say is the best from my list.

Three. Gifted. Category: About temperance. LOVE this movie SO much. Chris Evans is phenomenal, best work he’s ever done. Hands down. I love the little girl’s sass and smarts. This is the best movie I’ve seen on my list.

Four. Wind River. Category: About justice. AMAZING. SO, SO incredibly good. Solid storytelling through and through. Chilling film, but so worth watching. One of the three best on my list.

Five. The Founder. Category: About pride. Before I watched this, I thought it was better suited for greed, but it turns out it works better for this category because it’s a fine example of pride going before the fall. I’ve mixed feelings about Michael Keaton’s character in this one. He’s persistent, tenacious, determined, fearless, forward-thinking, clever… such admirable characteristics, and it’s not that he doesn’t use them well. He’s not necessarily a villain. I’d say he’s more an opportunist. He doesn’t give a fuck whom he hurts. He has no conscience. I don’t want to like him. I don’t think he’s an admirable dude, and yet… the men he steamrolls, they could’ve avoided it. Had they been willing to consider his ideas, they could have profited from them, but they were so unwilling to consider any ideals but their own… they should’ve done a better job of protecting their dream, so I didn’t feel as much sympathy for them as I would’ve liked. It’s a horrible train wreck of story; its collision is impressive. Keaton does fine work. But I never want to see it again. Never want to eat at McDonald’s again, either.

Six. Footloose. Category: Starring Kevin Bacon. Okay. I have NEVER liked that song, yall. I thought it was cheesy as shit, and I assumed this movie was just as cheesy. When those opening credits rolled, I was sure my original thought was right. And then it started… I really liked this film, as predictable as it was. The casting’s great, and there are some really, really good scenes in this thing. Some of the dialogue is just perfect, like when the preacher’s wife says: You can lift a congregation up so high they have to look down to see heaven, but it’s the one-one-one where you need the work. I love Dianne Wiest, yall, but never more than in this movie. I’ve never cared much for Kevin Bacon, but after having seen this film, I can understand the world’s fascination with him.

Seven. Chef. Category: About gluttony. I dig this one. Good stuff. I live about Six hours from New Orleans and have never wanted to visit that city. Jon Favreau’s movie has tempted me to give it a look.

Eight. Their Finest. Category: Starring Jeremy Irons. It’s a good story and a pretty film, and I enjoyed it well enough. I had been happy about it, eager to tell folks I really liked it… until this one thing happened in the story (completely unnecessary, badness for the sake of badness, could’ve and should’ve been avoided, really annoyed that it wasn’t) toward the end. I had been thinking it was one I’d watch again, and maybe I will because it’s certainly got merit and shows a bit of history with which I was not familiar, but my enthusiasm for this one’s gone, and I’d really been looking forward to watching it because I love Bill Nighy. Also I’m with Michael, who said, Jeremy Irons has an amazing voice, and I would listen to him read a grocery list for Home Depot. His role is brief (and maybe a little annoying) in this film, but yeah. He does have a damned fine voice.

Nine. Spider-Man: Homecoming. Category: Starring Robert Downey, Jr. God, I love that man. He’s pretty damned awesome. and this was a pretty good flick. I’ve never really cared for Spider-Man, and all the other Spidey flicks I’ve seen haven’t ever inspired me to do so. But this guy, Tom Holland, he does alright. And Michael Keaton’s not so bad at playing the villain. But mostly, Iron Man’s presence make this movie for me.

Ten. The Wolf of Wall Street. Category: About greed. Of the films on my list, this was the one I was least interested in seeing. I loathe the subject matter. I’m not a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio and have never cared for any of his films I’ve seen. I can’t say I care for this one, but he does good work here. It’s a horrible story about utterly despicable people who choose to use their talents for ill. It’s well done, save for the fact that it’s LONG.

Eleven. The Case for Christ. Category: about prudence. Good story. Done well enough. Didn’t inspire me a lick (and I like my God movies to make me love God). Not one I want to watch again.

Twelve. Don Jon.Category: About lust. I actually liked this one and wasn’t expecting to do so. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a manwhore who has to watch porn to really get off. I thought it was going to be awful. I liked seeing his character grow. I loved that he would do Catholic penance (saying his Hail Marys and Our Fathers) while working out. That made me laugh. And I like Brie Larson in this one. She doesn’t say much, but what she says is good. It’s got some sweetness in it that I really hadn’t expected to find.

Thirteen. Bottle Shock. Category: Starring Alan Rickman. Good story. Chris Pine annoyed the crap out of me, and that’s never happened, but despite his character’s antics, the guy had a good heart. That hair though, gah. Anyway. Alan’s his usual bad self. It plods along at times, but it’s good. Yall should watch it, at least for the history.

Fourteen. Mr. Holmes. Category: Starring Ian McKellen. Didn’t love this one. Was bored through most of it. Can’t recommend it.

Fifteen. Megan Leavey. Category: About charity. Good story. The movie’s not bad, but I wanted it to be better.

Sixteen. War Room. Category: About faith. It’s not unrealistic like other religion-based films I’ve seen. I did enjoy it, more than I thought I would. There are some really good moments in this story, and I was surprised to find them. I do think it’s cheesy, but I didn’t mind it so much. It inspired me, which is what movies like this are supposed to do.

Seventeen. Elizabeth. Category: Set in a castle. Everybody wants to rule the world. I didn’t love this one; it’s not one I’d ever want to see again. But I didn’t loathe it either. I did like Geoffrey Rush, which is a rare thing for me. I wasn’t sure I was going to at first, but then… he played a pretty cool dude.

Eighteen. Creed. Category: About hope. It’s like every other Rocky flick, and I knew it would be going into it, but I kind of hoped it would be better than the rest, and it wasn’t.

Nineteen. The Big Sleep. Category: Listed on Nathan Bransford’s best hundred movies challenge. I wanted to love this one because Bogart and Bacall. It’s got some good lines and great camera work, and I did love seeing these two, but it’s hard to follow (or maybe I was too tired when I watched it). LOTS of tampering with evidence. Lots of people dying. Lots of me thinking What the fuck? Meh.

Twenty. Snow White and the Huntsman. Category: About envy. Never seen Charlize Theron overact more than in this film, and Rupert Sanders sure did love to have the camera on Kristen Stewart. There’s some cheesy moments. But the special effects are pretty nifty, and I don’t mind looking at and listening to Chris Hemsworth.

Twenty-One. Dunkirk. Category: Set in an exotic locale. Didn’t care for this. Definitely NOT the best war film ever made. Not even anywhere near the best. And for a story as badassed as this one is, it should’ve been AWESOME. The beginning was strong enough, and the conclusion was alright. The middle sucked ass. I was really disappointed in this one, and the music, if you could call it that, definitely didn’t help sway my opinion in the least.

Twenty-Two. Logan. Category: About wrath. Of the Wolverine flicks, it’s the best, I guess. Of the X-Men films, I liked it about as much as I liked the third one where Jean Grey’s on Magneto’s team. i’m not a fan.

Twenty-Three. Howards End. Category: Starring Anthony Hopkins. LOATHED this one. Too fucking long and boring. Didn’t give a shit about the characters or their plights. STUPID movie.

Twenty-Four. The Space Between Us. Category: Set in space. SO BAD. SO, SO BAD. I knew it was gonna be stupid, but I hadn’t realized the extent. Every time I thought it couldn’t possibly get more ridiculous, they’d pile on another outlandish plot device. I don’t understand why Gary Oldman would agree to be in such a pathetic excuse for a film.

Twenty-Five. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Category: Starring Val Kilmer. The only good thing is this movie was Val. STUPID story, stupid script.

Originally published September twenty-ninth, ‘seventeen.

The fourth bonus round…

I watched The Choice and Captain America: Civil War. They were decent — typical Sparks and Marvel fare.

Originally published October fifteenth, ‘seventeen.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Anticipated Releases for the Remainder of ‘Twenty

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I’m taking a break from rebuilding Picky (i.e. regurgitating ancient content whilst transferring things over from Blogger… I promise the end result with regard to format is not going to look quite like this, but the black most definitely IS a keeper… when I first built Picky, it had a black background and white text, and I LOVED it because I think it’s so much easier on the eyes) to bring yall something NEW and EXCITING! Yall know how I LOVE making lists. Once upon a time I hosted a link called Tuesday Topics… well hosting, it seems, ain’t my strong suit so I’ve put that aside (still debating on whether the Fall Film Challenge will persist… last year we only had three players). I am picking up what Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl long ago threw down with the weekly link-up: Top Ten Tuesday. This week’s theme is anticipated upcoming releases for the rest of this year.

And since Erin’s Book Challenge starts TOMORROW, what better time to talk about books??

One. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. So this is the only upcoming title on my list for her challenge. The main character is immortal and yet is not remembered by anyone. Doesn’t that sound INTERESTING? I’m so intrigued by this idea! I’ve not read any of her previous works so I’m a little wary there, but… that idea, yall. That’s pretty much gold, I think.

Two. Loveless by Alice Oseman. Georgia has never been in love, never kissed anyone, never even had a crush – but as a fanfic-obsessed romantic she’s sure she’ll find her person one day... Georgia ends up in her own comedy of errors, and she starts to question why love seems so easy for other people but not for her. With new terms thrown at her – asexual, aromantic – Georgia is more uncertain about her feelings than ever (from Goodreads). I’m not a hundred percent positive about this one, but some of it speaks to me, so…

Three. Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour. Mila is used to being alone. Maybe that’s why she said yes to the opportunity: living in this remote place, among the flowers and the fog and the crash of waves far below. But she hadn’t known about the ghosts (from Goodreads). I LOVE the way this woman writes. We Are Okay is one of the fastest books I’ve read. I have Hold Still on the shelves. Happy to add this to the lot.

Four. The Truth Project by Dante Medema. Seventeen-year-old Cordelia Koenig… wasn’t going to stress over the senior project all her peers were dreading—she’d just use the same find-your-roots genealogy idea that her older sister used for hers… She’d put all that time spent not worrying about the project toward getting reacquainted with former best friend and longtime crush Kodiak Jones who, conveniently, gets assigned as Cordelia’s partner… But when Cordelia’s GeneQuest results reveal that her father is not the man she thought he was but a stranger who lives thousands of miles away, Cordelia realizes she isn’t sure of anything anymore—not the mother who lied, the life she was born into or the girl staring back at her in the mirror (from Goodreads). So this little blurb piqued my interest well enough. I’m curious enough that I look forward to giving it a go. Looks like this is Medema’s debut. Here’s hoping it’ll be a good one.

Five. This Is Your Brain on Food: An Indispensable Guide to the Surprising Foods that Fight Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, OCD, ADHD, and More by Uma Naidoo. I’m pretty sure this one speaks for itself.

Six. With or Without You by Caroline Leavitt. After almost twenty years together, Stella and Simon are starting to run into problems. An up-and-coming rock musician when they first met, Simon has been clinging to dreams of fame even as the possibility of it has grown dimmer, and now that his band might finally be on the brink again, he wants to go on the road, leaving Stella behind. But when she falls into a coma on the eve of his departure, he has to make a choice between stardom and his wife—and when she wakes a different person, with an incredible artistic talent of her own, the two of them must examine what it is that they really want (from Goodreads). I’m intrigued by the adjustments these two characters are forced to make and curious to know whether they regain their equilibrium.

Seven. Not Like the Movies by Kerry Winfrey. Chloe Sanderson is an optimist, and not because her life is easy. As the sole caregiver for her father, who has early-onset Alzheimer’s, she’s pretty much responsible for everything. She has no time—or interest—in getting swept up in some dazzling romance. Not like her best friend, Annie, who literally wrote a rom-com that’s about to premiere in theaters across America . . . and happens to be inspired by Chloe and her cute but no-nonsense boss, Nick Velez. As the buzz for the movie grows, Chloe reads one too many listicles about why Nick is the perfect man, and now she can’t see him as anything but Reason #4: The scruffy-bearded hunk who’s always there when you need him. But unlike the romance Annie has written for them, Chloe isn’t so sure her own story will end in a happily-ever-after (from Random House). Not ready anything by this author, but the title caught my attention and the blurb seems interesting enough. I’m a little worried it might be too cutesy and predictable, but… maybe it will surprise me.

Eight. Death and Other Happy Endings by Melanie Cantor. The title appeals. Gal discovers she’s got basically days to live and starts truth-telling. Sign me up.

Nine. Paris Is Always a Good Idea by Jenn McKinlay. When her introverted mathematician father announces he’s getting remarried, Chelsea is forced to acknowledge that her life stopped after her mother died and that the last time she can remember being happy, in love, or enjoying her life was on her year abroad. Inspired to retrace her steps—to find Colin in Ireland, Jean Claude in France, and Marcelino in Italy—Chelsea hopes that one of these three men who stole her heart so many years ago can help her find it again. From the start of her journey nothing goes as planned, but as Chelsea reconnects with her old self, she also finds love in the very last place she expected (From Random House). So this one appeals to my wistful, what-would-happen-if, need-to-understand-EVERYTHING nature.

Ten. The End of Food Allergy by Kari Nadeau and Sloan Barnett. I’m pretty sure this one speaks for itself, too.

And yall… I’ve joined a few gifting groups on Facebook but am curious to know whom in the blogosphere with aversion to that site has an Amazon (or some other such site) wishlist they’d care to share? Because I love the idea of putting good out into the cosmos! If you’ve got a wish list, drop it like it’s hot in the comments! For those interested, I’ve got TONS of books on mine, which is partitioned because, with my parents’ health failing… I’ve had a lot of time on my hands to do some wishful thinking: linktr.ee/griffingoods. I’m eager to add the above titles to the list!

The Fall Film Challenge: A History of Quirky Picks — Volume the Third

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The Fifth Annual Fall Film Challenge…

One. Tag. I LOVED this movie, yall. It was HILARIOUS. What made it awesome for me was knowing this was based on a true story. These guys have been playing tag FOREVER. Once a year, just for the month of May, the game resumes. These guys had FUN making this movie, and it shows. I’ve watched this one twice. Ed Helms starred in We’re the Millers with Jennifer Aniston who starred with Bacon in Picture Perfect.

Two. Still Alice. This was beautiful. BEAUTIFUL. Julianne Moore is amazing. My paternal grandparents suffered Alzheimer’s. I expect my father will do so as well. Her portrayal is pretty spot on, and the supporting cast does a good job, as well. My only complaint is that I expected this one to make me cry, and it did not. Julianne Moore starred with Bacon in Crazy Stupid Love.

Three. Life Itself. This one’s my favorite on my list, so far. It’s PACKED with conflict, yall, and the cast — everyone of’m — does a phenomenal job relaying how that conflict affects them. Oscar Isaac is INCREDIBLE. I’ve watched this one twice. HOLY FUCK THIS WAS GOOD. Definitely NOT a date movie, but DAMN Dan Fogelman knows how to write a script… someone on Twitter said she’d walked out after the first forty minutes because it was excruciating… it’s NOT an easy film to watch, and the beginning isn’t great by any stretch… but the last forty minutes are EXCEPTIONAL. Yall, the more I watch this, the more I LOVE it. Oscar Isaac starred in Inside Llewyn Davis with John Goodman who starred with Bacon in Patriots Day.

Four. The Bookshop. This one packs a punch, too, and I didn’t think that it would. To be honest, I was kind of bored through the first half, and then all the sudden there’s this power — a kind of quiet rage. I really hadn’t expected that, and I love that something so simple could be THAT powerful. Love Bill Nighy here. Might be my favorite of his performances. Love Patricia Clarkson. Might be her best work, but my God her character’s repulsive and vindictive. Clarkson starred in Playing by Heart with Jay Mohr who starred with Bacon in Picture Perfect.

Five. Destination Wedding. Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder had a damned fine time making this one, I think. Their characters aren’t very likable, and yet I loved them. I’ve watched this one three times. This one made me laugh a lot. I had a feeling it would, and I’m glad it did. It’s VERY focused on the two characters and dialogue HEAVY, which I didn’t mind. They are unhappy people with biting wit, and it does get to be a bit much, but right about the time you think oh God… there’s just enough sentiment, just enough goodness in them to get you to the end. After the first viewing, I wasn’t sure that I would want to watch it again, and yet, I missed these characters. Winona Ryder starred in Edward Scissorhands with Johnny Depp who starred with Bacon in Black Mass.

Six. Darkest Hour. This one was good. There’s a couple of instances where the story’s a bit overdramatic; there’s a couple of instances of cinematography for the sake of a pretty picture. But it’s good. Yall should watch it. I got a little teary-eyed in this one, which I hadn’t expected. God love Winston Churchill. We need more men like him in the world. God love Gary Oldman for playing him so well. Oldman starred with Bacon in Murder in the First.

Seven. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I liked this one. Pretty film, pretty story. Mathew Goode starred in Watchmen with Billy Crudup who starred with Bacon in Sleepers.

Eight. Sleeping with Other People. NOT a fan of Jason Sudeikis, but I didn’t mind him in this movie. Liked the story well enough. It had some moments that i felt were pretty strong. Amanda Peet starred in Playing by Heart with Jay Mohr who starred with Bacon in Picture Perfect.

Nine. Love, Simon. This was good. I liked it. Love Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel. I thought the cast did a pretty good job with this one. Good stuff. Jennifer Garner starred in Thirteen Going on Thirty with Judy Greer who starred in Love Happens with Jennifer Aniston who starred with Bacon in Picture Perfect.

Ten. Operation Finale. Hell of a story, this one. Everyone should watch it. AMAZING. WATCH THIS NOW. Oscar Isaac is my hero. Melanie Laurent starred in Inglorious Basterds with Brad Pitt who starred with Bacon in Sleepers.

Eleven. Hired Gun. This one made me not like Billy Joel, but it made me see Alice Cooper in a very positive way, which I appreciated. I enjoyed learning more about how the music industry works. I decided to watch this because my dad was a musician in high school and college — he played with the Winters brothers — and I sometimes wonder what life would’ve been like had he chosen to follow the musical path. This made me feel sorry for musicians, actually. I no longer like Billy Joel or Richard Patrick. Jason Newsted looks like an idiot. I saw Neal Schon, Aaron Lewis and Mike Mushok in the credits… would’ve been interesting to see their clips. Loved seeing Pink. loved listening to Rudy Sarzo, Kenny Aronoff and Alice Cooper talk. Jon Bon Jovi starred in New Year’s Eve with Robert Deniro who starred with Bacon in Sleepers.

Twelve. Stronger. So I watched Patriots Day, which was a really good look at the first responders and law enforcement agencies who worked to save those affected by the Boston bombers. I wanted to watch this one because it kind of focused on one person and how the event affected him and those close to him. It was difficult to watch, but the ending impressed me quite a bit. Jake Gyllenhaal starred in A Dangerous Woman with Debra Winger who starred in Terms of Endearment with Jack Nicholson who starred with Bacon in A Few Good Men.

Thirteen. Before I Fall. I liked this one. Good story. Predictable, but good. Interesting. This one was a hard one for me to watch, and I pegged the ending. But I liked it. Jennifer Beals starred in Four Rooms with Marisa Tomei who starred with Bacon in Crazy Stupid Love.

Fourteen. How to Make an American Quilt. I wanted this one to be better. SO much better. I didn’t much care for this one. For such a STRONG cast and decent amount of conflict, this movie is WEAK. Samantha Mathis starred in Pump Up the Volume with Christian Slater who starred with Bacon in Murder in the First.

Fifteen. Outside Providence. This one was alright. I wish Alec Baldwin had been in it more. Not bad. Not one I’d want to watch again. Richard Jenkins starred in Eat Pray Love with Julia Roberts who starred with Bacon in Flatliners.

Sixteen. The Miracle Season. Meh. I didn’t care much for this one, either. So I’m the girl who looked at the main photo on IMDB’s site for this film and thought West, Texas. Like the volleyball team there came back to win a championship after the town suffered a tragedy. It’s Iowa City West… and they lost a player. It’s a good story, but the execution’s typical, predictable, formulaic schmaltz. I loved the credits. Would’ve liked the film better if it had had as much heart as that player had. Helen Hunt starred in As Good as It Gets with Jack Nicholson who starred with Bacon in A Few Good Men.

Seventeen. Deadpool Two. Didn’t like this one nearly as much as the first. Not sure they should’ve made a second one, actually. All the things that made the first one so good were absent from the sequel. Brad Pitt starred with Bacon in Sleepers.

Eighteen. Unbroken: Path to Redemption. I picked this one because I watched the first part of this story last year and wanted to see the continuation of it. The sequel’s MUCH more well-done than the original. But there’s no reason why these two films couldn’t have been one. Gary Cole starred in Darkness Falls with Shawn Ashmore who starred in X-Men: Days of Future Past with Hugh Jackman who starred with Bacon in X-Men: First Class.

Nineteen. Why Him. Meh. I thought I was going to love this one. The trailer CRACKED ME UP. The movie did not. I did like Megan Mullaly in it, though, and i’ve never cared much for her work before so it was really nice that I could appreciate it here. It’s funny. Just not as funny as I wanted it to be. James Franco starred in Alien Covenant with Billy Crudup who starred with Bacon in Sleepers.

Twenty. Every Day. This one SUCKED. It was such a STUPID, STUPID story. Don’t waste your time. SO, SO, SO, VERY, VERY, VERY B A D. DO NOT watch this shit. Maria Bello starred in Coyote Ugly with John Goodman who starred with Bacon in Patriot’s Day.

Originally published September twenty-seventh, ‘eighteen.

Twenty-One. Haunted Mansion. This was not a film I’d selected. I’d spent an evening with my younger brother, his children, his wife, her sister and niece. We had an outdoor movie night, swimming and soaking in a hot tub. The ghosts make this movie. Eddie Murphy does NOT. It was this or Hocus Pocus, and I’d already seen the latter, so… I voted for this one. I think I would’ve preferred to watch Hocus Pocus again. It wasn’t awful. But it wasn’t awesome, either. The kids enjoyed it. Terence Ttamp starred in Valkyrie with Tom Cruise who starred with Bacon in A Few Good Men.

Twenty-Two. Before the Flood. Watched this one to learn about some work I’m doing. It’s interesting enough. I can’t STAND Leonardo DiCrapio. He was in The Departed with Jack Nicholson who starred in A Few Good Men with Bacon.

Twenty-Three. Easy A. I love Emma Stone, and she’s her typical, cute self here. It’s an interesting story, and I enjoyed it. It can be pretty ridiculous at times, but then almost immediately following the silly, there comes a scene that is really sweet. I like it. I’d watch it again. It’s the only movie of the five mentioned here about which I can say that. Emma Stone starred with Bacon in Crazy Stupid Love.

Twenty-Four. John Wick. I do love Keanu Reeves and Ian McShane. This movie is all special effects and gratuitous violence for the sake of those things. Not a fan. I thought the story was stupid — the film another excuse for special effects and techno music.The only good thing about it was Ian McShane and Willem Dafoe. I’d planned on watching the sequel. That’s not happening now. Keanu Reeves starred in Something’s Gotta Give with Jack Nicholson who starred with Bacon in A Few Good Men.

Twenty-Five. Peter Rabbit. Another flick the kids picked. I was really glad when it was over. Yall, this movie was SO, SO stupid. The only good thing I can say about it is that the end comes quickly. Rose Byrne starred with Bacon in X-Men: First Class.

Originally published October twenty-seventh, ‘eighteen.

The fifth bonus round…

Once again, I lost my film-viewing mojo. I worked on a bonus list but didn’t post it because I didn’t love it. I actually watched four films, not three, but damned if I can remember what the fourth one was (so that’s a rave review, right?), and of course I didn’t log them in the Facebook group (because I didn’t post the list, so I figured why post in the group). So…

One. Sing. Yall, I can’t STAND Matthew McConaughey, but he was PERFECT for this movie. He did GOOD. I liked his character. I liked the story. STRONG cast. The first half is MUCH better than the second. The end was disappointing. Had the first half been as weak as the second, I NEVER would’ve made it through the movie. It was cute. Not one I’d want to see again. Starring Jason Pace… as in Pace Picante Sauce.

Two. The First Time. Found this one on Netflix. I didn’t love the beginning, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn it off — maybe because I liked the characters. The story was kind of weak, though. The ending was okay. not one I’d want to see again, but I wouldn’t turn it off it were on. Starring Halston Sage… as in the spice.

Three. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Yall, I am SO, SO over Johnny Depp, and I can’t tell you how much it pains me to say this because I’ve been in awe of his skills and work for much of my adult life. But now when I see him on screen… ugh. Jude Law, though. I still love him. I LOVE, LOVE him as Dumbledore. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE J.K. Rowling for giving us such glorious magic. This one was GOOD. I liked it better than the first. I’d watch it again and again. Starring Thea Lamb… as in the animal.

Originally published December twenty-eighth, ‘eighteen.

The Sixth Annual Fall Film Challenge…

I did not watch a single film.

Originally published August twenty-third, ‘nineteen.

The Fall Film Challenge: A History

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Six years ago, I began hosting a fall film challenge in which participants dared to watch, ultimately, as many as fifty movies in a three-month period. Some succeeded. Each year’s challenge included a regular round of twenty-five flicks and a bonus round of another twenty-five flicks. Categories were different for each round. The rules…

Begins one minute past twelve a.m. September first / concludes midnight November thirtieth. You may NOT use a film you have already seen, even in part (excluding trailers), for this challenge. All films MUST be new to you. Each film chosen for the challenge may be used ONLY ONCE, i.e. a film used for the best cinematography category may not be used for the best picture one as well. All films selected for the challenge MUST have a page on the Internet Movie Database. Films can be viewed in the theater or at home, but all films must have (had) a theatrical release; made for television movies are not eligible for the challenge.

The first five people to complete the challenge prior to November thirtieth will each receive a Redbox gift card valued at ten dollars. The one person to accumulate the most points will receive an Amazon gift card valued at fifty dollars. Each film is valued at ten points, yielding a total points of two hundred fifty. Details of a bonus round will be revealed October fifteenth. 

To participate, you must be a member of The Fall Film Challenge Facebook group. Once you have joined and chosen your films to fit the below categories, post your list to the group’s page or email it to quirkypickings at icloud dot com so that I may add your selections to a master list. Only those who have submitted lists to me are eligible for the prizes. 

The original categories…

Originally published August eleventh, ‘fourteen.

Bonus round categories…

Originally published October fifteenth, ‘fourteen.

The Second Annual Fall Film Challenge…

  • One. Any set in New York City.
  • Two. Any incorporating hot air balloons in the story.
  • Three. Any featuring a child as the main character.
  • Four. Any Disney film.
  • Five. Any set in Egypt OR that has an Egyptian character OR that stars an Egyptian actor/actress.
  • Six. A close friend or family member’s favorite film.
  • Seven. Any with the word great in the title.
  • Eight. Any starring Harrison Ford.
  • Nine. Any featuring an idiot as the main character.
  • Ten. Any mentioned in Levis Strauss’ list: Denim in the Oscars: A Look at Jeans in Cinema.
  • Eleven. A film about a knight.
  • Twelve. A love story.
  • Thirteen. A movie about something miraculous.
  • Fourteen. Any starring an actor/actress with the same first name as yours.
  • Fifteen. A film about the Olympics.
  • Sixteen. A film on Time magazine’s list: The Top Ten Newspaper Movies.
  • Seventeen. Any with a question in the title.
  • Eighteen. Any with a score of ninety percent or greater on Rotten Tomatoes.
  • Nineteen. A film about a superhero.
  • Twenty. Any with subtitles.
  • Twenty-One. Any incorporating unicorns in the story.
  • Twenty-Two. a film about a personal victory.
  • Twenty-Three. a film with black or white in the title.
  • Twenty-Four. Any set in a country you would most like to visit.
  • Twenty-Five. A film set in a zoo.

Originally published July thirty-first, ‘fifteen.

The second bonus round…

  • One. Anne Hathaway.
  • Two. Ben Stiller.
  • Three. Miley Cyrus.
  • Four. Vin Diesel.
  • Five. Eddie Murphy.
  • Six. Will Ferrell.
  • Seven. Gwyneth Paltrow.
  • Eight. Katie Holmes.
  • Nine. Ione Skye.
  • Ten. Jonah Hill.
  • Eleven. Ashton Kutcher.
  • Twelve. Justin Long.
  • Thirteen. Maggie Gyllenhaal.
  • Fourteen. Nicolas Cage.
  • Fifteen. Owen Wilson.
  • Sixteen. Pauly Shore.
  • Seventeen. John C. Reilly.
  • Eighteen. Sylvester Stallone.
  • Nineteen. Tyler Perry.
  • Twenty. Channing Tatum.
  • Twenty-One. Vince Vaughn.
  • Twenty-Two. Patrick Wilson.
  • Twenty-Three. Megan Fox.
  • Twenty-Four. Gary Busey.
  • Twenty-Five. Renee Zellwegger.

Originally published October fourteenth, ‘fifteen.

The Third Annual Fall Film Challenge…

  • One. About adolescence.
  • Two. About a character’s rebirth or rite of passage.
  • Three. About a comic book character.
  • Four. Shot or set in Washington, D.C.
  • Five. Set in an academic environment.
  • Six. About failure.
  • Seven. About a man vs. God or gods.
  • Eight. About a man vs. himself.
  • Nine. About an invention or an ingenuous individual.
  • Ten. Set in a jail or prison.
  • Eleven. About a dog.
  • Twelve. About loss.
  • Thirteen. About man vs. man.
  • Fourteen. About man vs. nature.
  • Fifteen. One that has a monster or monstrous individual.
  • Sixteen. Shot or set in Pennsylvania.
  • Seventeen. About a character’s quest of some kind.
  • Eighteen. About a character who goes from rags to riches.
  • Nineteen. About a man. vs. society.
  • Twenty. Originally released in the thirties.
  • Twenty-One. About undesirable individuals or elements.
  • Twenty-Two. About a voyage and return.
  • Twenty-Three. About wizards or witchcraft.
  • Twenty-Four. Originally released in the sixties.
  • Twenty-Five. About a yearning or obsession.

The third bonus round… pick twenty-five films based on books or actual events.

Originally published October fifteenth, ‘sixteen.

The Fourth Annual Fall Film Challenge…

  • One. Starring Anthony Hopkins.
  • Two. Listed on Nathan Bransford’s Best Hundred Movies Challenge.
  • Three. About charity: an organization, an individual, a cause, an act… interpret this as you will.
  • Four. Starring Robert Downey, Jr.
  • Five. about envy: a character, a plot device… use your imagination.
  • Six. About faith.
  • Seven. About greed.
  • Eight. About hope.
  • Nine. Starring Jeremy Irons.
  • Ten. About justice.
  • Eleven. Starring Kevin Bacon.
  • Twelve. About lust.
  • Thirteen. Starring Ian McKellen.
  • Fourteen. Set in a castle.
  • Fifteen. About fortitude.
  • Sixteen. about pride.
  • Seventeen. Starring Alan Rickman.
  • Eighteen. Released last year and reviewed on slothsandmovies.com.
  • Nineteen. About temperance.
  • Twenty. About prudence.
  • Twenty-One. Starring Val Kilmer.
  • Twenty-Two. About wrath.
  • Twenty-Three. Set in an exotic locale.
  • Twenty-Four. About gluttony.
  • Twenty-Five. Set in space.

Originally published July twenty-seventh, ‘seventeen.

The fourth bonus round…

I’ve chosen twenty-five television series, past and present. For each program, choose a film which stars an actor or actress who has appeared on that show at least once. That individual does not have to be a member of the main cast. See the sample bonus round list (centered). The catch (and this is what makes it a wee bit tricky): two selected actors can’t be in the same movie. If you choose a Robert Downey Jr. movie for one series, he can’t also star in another film selected for a different show, i.e. both he and Rachel McAdams are in Sherlock Holmes, so you couldn’t pick that film for True Detective.

You would have to pick another McAdams flick, one in which he does not star, such as Doctor Strange. Be sure to check the other actors listed alphabetically section on IMDB’s site… sometimes filmmakers will sneak in an uncredited cameo. What if instead of Chris Hemsworth as Thor, the director had opted to include a scene starring Iron Man? I wouldn’t let you count that film, that’s what, and you’d stand to lose some points. But Rachel wasn’t cast in Spidey, and Robert’s not got a role in Strange, so you’re good. Got it? God, I hope so.

Originally published October fifteenth, ‘seventeen.

The Fifth Annual Fall Film Challenge…

This time, I opted a game of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Choose twenty-five films that you can connect to others in which he has starred in SIX FILMS OR LESS, counting his work and your choice. For example, the cast of Black Panther includes Lupita Nyong’o… who starred with Michael Fassbender in Twelve Years a slave… who starred with bacon in X-Men: Days of Future Past. DO NOT show the connections in your list. Some of the fun this year is in seeing how others connect the films you’ve selected with Kevin Bacon. Sample shown to the right.

  • One. Black Panther.
  • Two. Avengers: Infinity War.
  • Three. Incredibles Two.
  • Four. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
  • Five. Deadpool Two.

Originally published July thirty-first, ‘eighteen.

The fifth bonus round…

Choose one film for each of the following actors:

  • Kevin Bacon
  • Sean Bean
  • Jim Beaver
  • Halle Berry
  • Emily Blunt
  • Alison Brie
  • John Candy
  • Peter Coyote
  • Russell Crowe
  • Peter Finch
  • Megan Fox
  • Michael J. Fox
  • Vivica A. Fox
  • Jamie Foxx
  • Ryan Gosling
  • Heather Graham
  • Gloria Grahame
  • Alec Guiness
  • Jon Hamm
  • Ethan Hawke
  • John Hawkes
  • Jack Lemmon
  • Walter Pidgeon
  • Anthony Quayle
  • Brett Rice

If you notice, the last names of these actors sort of have something in common: Bacon, Bean, Berry, Brie, Crowe, Graham, Guiness, Hamm, Lemon — kind of like something edible. You can make substitutions to the list, so long as the actor’s last name is in that vein — Lucy Pickles, for example — but they must be approved by me. If you have seen one film by each actor listed above, you can watch other films by those actors for extra credit. Each movie is valued at ten points.

Originally published October fourteenth, ‘eighteen.

This is a serious journey, not a hobbit walking party.

Peregrin Took, portrayed by Billy Boyd — by J.R.R Tolkien in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

The Sixth Annual Fall Film Challenge…

This year, we celebrate the cast of Tolkien’s tales. Choose one film for each actor.

  • Richard Armitage
  • Sean Astin
  • Sean Bean
  • Cate Blanchett
  • Orlando Bloom
  • Billy Boyd
  • Marton Csokas
  • Benedict Cumberbatch
  • John Rhys-Davies
  • Luke Evans
  • Martin Freeman
  • Ian Holm
  • Christopher Lee
  • Evangeline Lilly
  • Ian McKellan
  • Dominic Monaghan
  • Viggo Mortensen
  • Mirando Otto
  • Lee Pace
  • Andy Serkis
  • Liv Tyler
  • Karl Urban
  • Hugo Weaving
  • David Wenham
  • Elijah Wood

The sixth bonus round…

Choose twenty-five films that have been based on science-fiction/fantasy novels.

Originally published July thirty-first, ‘nineteen.

The Hundred Best Songs Challenge

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So since I did a list for books and another for movies I figured I should do one for my first love: music. Of the lists this one’s been the biggest bitch to compose. My library is vast, yall, and not all in one place so given that I’m weeding the iTunes account on my mother’s desktop rather than on my laptop or the archives I’ve got from the laptop before or my disc collection… given that… these are what I think are the best songs ever written with the performing artist following the title. Also please understand that of these three lists this is the least concrete. Also there were some three hundred songs on here. This one hurt me. I had to take off Van Halen and Def Leppard and ACDC and Jimi Hendrix… It hurt, yall. And then clicking publish… I was actually nervous about that, and that’s never happened.

  • Anna Begins. Counting Crows.
  • Anna Molly. Incubus.
  • Angel. Sarah McLachlan.
  • At This Moment. Billy Vera.
  • Baker Baker. Tori Amos.
  • Bend and Not Break. Dashboard Confessional.
  • Between the Lines. Sara Bareilles.
  • The Blower’s Daughter. Damien Rice.
  • Breathe (Two A.M.). Anna Nalick.
  • The Chain. Ingrid Michaelson.
  • Cheap Wine. What Made Milwaukee Famous.
  • The Climb. Miley Cyrus.
  • A Common Disaster. Cowboy Junkies.
  • Control. Poe.
  • Crash into Me. Dave Matthews Band.
  • Desperado. The Eagles.
  • The Dog Days Are Over. Florence and the Machine.
  • Everybody Knows. Concrete Blonde.
  • Faithfully. Journey.
  • Fast Car. Tracy Chapman.
  • Fire Away. Chris Stapleton.
  • Fortress Around Your Heart. Sting.
  • The Freshmen. The Verve Pipe.
  • Gates of the Country. Black Lab.
  • The God of Wine. Third Eye Blind.
  • Hallelujah. Jeff Buckley.
  • Hang. Matchbox Twenty.
  • Happiness. Abra Moore.
  • Hemorrhage. Fuel.
  • Here’s a Quarter. Travis Tritt.
  • Hope for the Hopeless. A Fine Frenzy.
  • I Will Always Love You. Whitney Houston.
  • I’ll Lead You Home. Michael W. Smith.
  • I’ll Stand by You. The Pretenders.
  • I’m Gonna Be (Five Hundred Miles). The Proclaimers
  • I’m Gonna Love You Through It. Martina McBride.
  • I’m Sorry. Adam Wakefield.
  • Innocent. Our Lady Peace.
  • Invisible City. The Wallflowers.
  • Judith. A Perfect Circle.
  • Just Give Me a Reason. Pink and Nate Ruess.
  • Just Go. Staind.
  • King of Pain. The Police.
  • Leave the Light on. Beth Hart.
  • Let It Be Me. Ray Lamontagne.
  • Like a Friend. Pulp.
  • Like a Stone. Audioslave.
  • A Little Less Conversation. Elvis Presley.
  • Live to Tell. Madonna.
  • Lonely Boy. The Black Keys.
  • Lose Yourself. Eminem.
  • Me and Bobby McGee. Janis Joplin.
  • Missing You. John Waite.
  • Must Be Dreaming. Frou Frou.
  • My Immortal. Evanescence.
  • Name. Goo Goo Dolls.
  • Not Even the Trees. Hootie and the Blowfish.
  • Nothing. The Script.
  • Nothing Compares to You. Sinead O’Connor.
  • Nothing Left to Lose. Kari Kimmel.
  • Numb. Linkin Park.
  • On Fire. Switchfoot.
  • One. Metallica.
  • One More Try. George Michael.
  • Operation Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition). Live.
  • Paint It Black. The Rolling Stones.
  • Payphone. Maroon Five.
  • Pour Me. Trick Pony.
  • Prince of Darkness. Indigo Girls.
  • Rescue. Lauren Daigle.
  • Roads. Portishead.
  • The Rose. Bette Midler.
  • Rumour Has It. Adele.
  • San Francisco Mabel Joy. John Denver.
  • Say Hello to Heaven. Temple of the Dog.
  • The Scientist. Coldplay.
  • Secret Garden. Bruce Springsteen.
  • Seen It All Before. Amos Lee.
  • She Talks to Angels. The Black Crowes.
  • Sleep to Dream. Fiona Apple.
  • Sometime Around Midnight. The Airborne Toxic Event.
  • Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough. Patty Smyth and Don Henley.
  • The Song Remembers When. Trisha Yearwood.
  • Stand Inside Your Love. Smashing Pumpkins.
  • Stay. Lisa Loeb.
  • Sway. Bic Runga.
  • A Thousand Miles. Vanessa Carlton.
  • ‘Til It Happens to You. Lady Gaga.
  • Underneath Your Clothes. Shakira.
  • Uninvited. Alanis Morrisette.
  • Uptown Funk. Bruno Mars.
  • Vienna. The Fray.
  • Wander This World. Jonny Lang.
  • We Belong. Pat Benatar.
  • When I Look to the Sky. Train.
  • Why Go. Pearl Jam.
  • Wild Horses. The Sundays.
  • With or Without You. U2.
  • Wolves. Garth Brooks.
  • You Raise Me Up. Josh Groban.

*Could not add the John Denver version of San Francisco Mabel Joy, and while I love Waylon Jennings’ voice, his version which is on the Spotify playlist is NOT NEAR as good as Denver’s. PLEASE check it out. Also… I couldn’t add Garth Brooks’ version of Wolves, but the one that’s on here’s good enough.

Originally published May twelfth, ‘seventeen.

An Army of One

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In the religion (renamed the politically-correct Belief) section of the Houston Chronicle‘s Sunday, November thirteenth issue, there was an article entitled The Silent (Mis)Treatment: Show Hospitality to Everyone You Encounter by Ben Byrum. In it he talked about the experiment he conducted as a college freshman. New in town, new to the church and having difficulty making friends, he decided one Sunday that if after services had gotten underway no one had greeted him he would walk out. He waited for five minutes and nothing. Thirty seconds before the service, he began gathering his things.

I was planning to go back to my room and stay there for the rest of the day; after all, nobody seemed to pay attention to me. With fifteen seconds left, my math professor turned around in her chair, which was a couple of rows in front of me, and almost as if she had turned around just for me, she flashed a me a smile and said, “I’m glad you’re here, Ben.”

He stayed. He couldn’t tell you what the service was about, what songs were sung, but he remembers feeling noticed and how painful not being noticed was.

Further in the article, Byrum shares a tale from the seventies about a man in his thirties who wrote a letter, walked from his San Francisco apartment to the Golden Gate Bridge and jumped. Byrum said the man had left the letter in his dresser.

It was discovered by investigators when they searched his apartment. It was a suicide letter that read, “I’m going to walk to the bridge. If one person smiles at me on the way, I won’t jump.” 

I wept when my mother told me about this article, these stories of invisibility. The writer had gone to that church on several occasions. He’d chosen it because it was the most popular among the student body. That man… I can’t even begin to imagine how his despair must’ve grown with each step toward that bridge.

Christ, how difficult is it to smile at someone? Just smile? That simple act of kindness could’ve been the light for that man. Could’ve meant LIFE.

Today, I spent my afternoon at Pappadeaux’s. I went to Barnes and Nobles for a couple of books. I got gas for the journey home. When I pulled into the station, I noticed a girl huddled on the corner of the curb. I asked her if she needed a ride. She asked me if I was going to Tomball. I wasn’t. That’s twenty minutes southwest of where I was, and home is Ten minutes north, but I told her I could take her wherever she needed to go. In my mind I’m praying Please God, don’t be some psycho bent on wreaking havoc. I mucked out my car, gave her a bag of chips, which was the only food I had on me. She’d not eaten all day. She had no money. Her phone was dead. Her friends had left her there. She was a twenty-seven-year-old psychology student and a mother of two. She reminded me a little bit of my brother’s wife: petite, blonde with pigtails dyed blue, dressed in a sweatshirt, jeans and chucks. Her birthday was in three days. Her friends had left her there. I told her she needed to get some new friends.

She’d been waiting at that gas station since ten a.m. When I’d met it her, it was half-past eight.

Now sure, a whole lot of bad shit could’ve happened. I can imagine all kinds of scary, yall. I knew the risks. I just kept thinking if someone had left me there, and I had no way of getting home, I would’ve been praying hard for someone to show me some kindness. I asked her if anyone had offered to give her a ride, thinking that maybe they’d asked and refused because it was out of their way. She said no. I thought of the story in the paper, of the man, and asked if anyone had even smiled at her. She said no.

I’m a Christian woman, but I don’t go around bragging about it. That’s not how I define myself. Those commandments? I’m pretty sure I’ve broken at least half of’m, some of’m I break with phenomenal consistency. I say God a hell of a lot more than I should, which means I break that third commandment several times a day. My faith’s a crazy mix of Catholicism, astrology and Greek mythology, which means I’m breaking the second one with pretty much every breath. and I love my mama and daddy, but I do not live the way they want me to, so… there’s three of’m that I’ve all but obliterated. But that passage in Matthew… twenty-five: forty: Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me… I’m not always good about it, but I try to keep that one in mind.

So there’s that. But more… I’ve gone through too much of my life feeling as invisible as that author and the man who’d made that godawful trek to that bridge. Nobody should ever have to feel like they don’t matter.

Can you imagine how many had gawked at that girl today? How they’d thought so little of her?

Ain’t no way in hell I would’ve left her sitting there. Ain’t no way.

I’m not some social justice warrior. I don’t think I get up on my soap box too often. Not nearly as much as some of my friends do, anyway.

But good God, yall… we can do better. We can do so much better. It just takes one person… one kind word. One gesture. One smile. It just takes one.

Originally published November fourteenth, ‘sixteen.

A Sadness I Can’t Erase

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Not Even the Trees
Hootie and the Blowfish

Someone please talk to me cause I feel you cry
and you're sitting with Him, and I know I'll never see you again...
I wonder if you're looking down at me and smiling right now
I wanna know if it's true when He looks at me, won't you tell me
does He realize He came down here and He took you too soon...
Right now I just can't see cause I'm feeling weak
and my soul begins to bleed
and no one's listening to me, not even the trees
God of Wine
Third Eye Blind

Every thought that I repent
there's another chip you haven't spent
and you're cashing them all in...
The god of wine comes crashing through the headlights of a car
that took you farther than you thought you'd ever want to go...
She takes a drink, and then she waits. The alcohol, it permeates
and soon the cells give way and cancels out the day...
Every glamorous sunrise throws the planets out of line
a star sign out of whack, a fraudulent zodiac
and the god of wine is crouched down in my room
You let me down. I said it. Now I'm going down
and you're not even around


There’s not a day where I don’t think of my brother and get either, if not both, of these songs in my head soon after. I, who lived in San Antonio at the time, was listening to the first one right around the time the cops in Lake Charles were calling my parents in Conroe to tell them that their older son, their firstborn had died.

And when my parents called me six hours later, when I made the roughly four-hour drive home, the second song was on repeat. I played it most of the way home because I didn’t know the circumstances. My brother had a drinking problem. It developed when I was in high school. So for a decade, I’d been living under the assumption that, yes, chances were quite good that I would see his death sooner rather than later, and that he would most likely die in an automobile accident. So while I’m making that trek, I’m imagining the physical, literal wreckage. I should’ve been more preoccupied with the figurative kind.

The sky was white that day. There was no break in the clouds, no variance in the hue. It was raining, but it wasn’t. It was more like a mist, like the air was sweating. But it was the middle of March, not hot enough for that. It was like that the whole way home, halfway across Texas.

There’s not a day where I don’t see that sky and think, That’s how it was. And every memory of that day and the events to follow flood my consciousness.

I’ve always felt as though my brother was the best of the three of us. Imagined him being born on a day that began with a glamorous sunrise, that maybe if he’d been born on a different one, things would be different. It’s a silly thing to think. It does me no good whatsoever.

He didn’t die in a car. He died alone, in front of L’auberge Casino Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He’d spent his last day on earth fishing with friends. drinking buddies. They’d hightailed it to my parents’ house after he died. I remember greeting them at the door. I remember the air outside feeling oppressed by their grief. The sun had come out sometime between my arrival home and their appearance on our doorstep. I remember their faces, the guilt on them. Like they thought it was their fault he’d died because they’d left him alone.

My brother could be a vicious bastard when he was drunk. I was unfortunate in my life that I got to see how callous he could be. He’d gotten so drunk the day he’d died that he’d become that cranky jackass, and they’d left him in his room while they’d gone to dinner, figuring a nap would do him some good. They came back afterward to find that he was still cranky and left him again to go to the casino. When they came back at around ten that night, he was not in his room.

A stranger found him face down on concrete at half past midnight on March twelfth, fifty feet from the resort’s entrance.

The guilt on those men’s faces haunts me. They couldn’t have saved him. No one could.

I spent that first week running errands: calling on his oldest friend to get the word out about the memorial service we had here for him; gathering the things my mother requested; packing for the trip to Colorado for his funeral; turning a bulletin board into a photo collage:

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I kept busy. I was so concerned with whether my parents and younger brother and our friends and Jon’s friends were alright. I hadn’t been that close with my older brother. I’d been preparing myself for this moment since I was in college so I hadn’t expected grief would sucker punch me.

But it did.

It waited a couple of months, waited until I was back in my apartment in San Antonio. until I was alone. And then…

There were days I didn’t leave my apartment. Days I didn’t bother to brush my teeth or comb my hair or change my clothes or shower. It was disgusting. I was disgusting. Not so much because I missed him but because I’d fucked things up with him. I’d not loved him well enough. I’d spent the first two decades of my life putting him on a pedestal, and then when he’d broken it, I’d thought he was no better than the rubbish beneath the debris. I’d never bothered to know him.

And I couldn’t lean on my family, didn’t want to weigh them down with my guilt and grief when they were struggling with their own. Didn’t want to lean on his friends. Didn’t really have friends of my own on whom I could call for help.

Here’s the thing, though: the only person I would’ve allowed myself to lean on would’ve been a romantic partner, had I had one. I wouldn’t’ve shared my feelings. I would’ve wanted him to distract me.

I can’t tell you what else happened in two thousand three. That whole year was March. That month dragged on and on and on. I don’t remember anything but death and grief.

I wish this weren’t the case. How awful is it that a whole year could be so significant and so ghostly at once?

You would think the first year would be the hardest. It’s not. It’s the second one. There’s the anniversary of the death. There’s all the holidays and birthdays that he’s not here to celebrate with us.

Then you fall into a routine, acclimate yourself to the new normal. You start to forget him: the sound of his voice, the things he loved, the stories he told, the horrible taste in music, the way he could NEVER sing in key. Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe it helps you heal. You can’t cling to him, to the grief, the loss. He’s not there anymore. Not anywhere.

And then people kind of forget that you’ve lost him.

Of his friends, the only one who makes a consistent effort to keep in touch is one of his Corps buddies from A & M. He tells me stories. He doesn’t mind sharing them. His daughter was born a few years after my brother died, on the anniversary of his death. I have no trouble remembering her birthday. I need to be reminded when her brother’s is.

A few days before I’d written this post a friend messaged me because a friend of hers had lost her brother, and she wanted to know how to best help her friend. I told her that my grief might be different from her friend’s because I felt my brother’s death had been intentional: he’d put himself on that path and chosen to walk it to its dead end. I have a lot of anger, still: at God because he couldn’t save him, because he took him instead of me when my brother’s presence in this world was so much more appreciated and by so many (When he was sober, he was amazing, yall. He was beautiful, and I am not); at him for not finding the strength to conquer his demons, for not appreciating how much he was loved; at myself for being angry with God and him and myself, for not loving him, for thinking all these things. I told her I needed to think on this some.

So how could I have been helped…

I don’t need to talk about him. He’s buried in the mountains of Colorado, near the rivers and slopes, where his spirit is free to fish in the warmer months and ski in the winter… or so I like to think.

But on the occasion that I want to talk about him, I want people to be willing to engage. My younger brother is never interested in doing this, but he’s an Olympic internalizer. I know not to bring Jon up with him. Every now and then, I’ll see Jon in him: in the sound of his voice, his mannerisms, the way he expresses himself. prior to my brother’s death, I’d never seen the similarities. It’s kind of nice to see them now.

I wish I could remember that year. I wish I could I remember the good that occurred then. I wish more of his friends were present in our lives now, not because I want them to help me keep his memory alive but because his death is enough… the death of those friendships just adds to the grief, makes the loss that much more prevalent.

I’d want someone there… often. Not to grieve with me but to brighten my world because it was so, so unbearably bleak. I needed color and chaos, the kind that’s born from creativity rather than tragedy.

My mother struggled with what to put on my brother’s headstone. One of the television programs I liked the year he died was called Ed. There was an episode where the main character was struggling with something — can’t tell you what exactly because, again, I can’t remember much from that year — but I do recall from that episode the words Life was his art. My mother liked that. And so on my brother’s headstone are the words Laughter was his art. Of the things I’ve written, the pieces I love the most have come from the most hideous experiences. Art’s one of the best therapies there is.

What I miss most is my brother’s laugh and the ease with which he could make others laugh.

In the film Steel Magnolias Truvy says Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion. THAT’S how you get through grief, yall. Laughter. The more, the merrier.

Originally published September third, ‘seventeen.