"Screeners" Movie Marathon

So I woke up and turned on the TV and of course Lifetime channel was on and again got addicted to their Christmas specials. Since yesterday I have done nothing but watch these specials. They have gotten me into the Christmas spirit so much that I decided to pull out my Christmas stuff and put it up early (maybe tomorrow).

Because I have so many screeners and have nothing planned for this weekend, I couldn't work on painting the outside of the house as planned because of the rain, I put out a request on twitter and facebook and asked if anyone wanted to join me and watch some of my screeners. I had one taker.. my buddy Aaron.

He got to my house around 11:30 (he drove up from San Diego), when he got here we went out to El Pollo Loco for some lunch before returning home and starting our movie marathon. I left it up to Aaron on what he wanted to watch. I had only seen two of the movies from my selection of screeners so anything he choose would be fine. After he choose five movies I asked him to put them in order of viewing. So for today we are going to watch The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Frankenweenie, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Beasts of the Southern Wild and finally Moonrise Kingdom.

First up The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I remember when this came out and was interested in seeing it because it starred Emma Watson, who play Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies.

Here's a synopsis: Based on the novel written by Stephen Chbosky, this is about 15-year-old Charlie (Logan Lerman), an endearing and naive outsider, coping with first love (Emma Watson), the suicide of his best friend, and his own mental illness while struggling to find a group of people with whom he belongs. The introvert freshman is taken under the wings of two seniors, Sam and Patrick, who welcome him to the real world.

My Review.. I loved this movie, well written, acted and a twist at the end that I never expected. It made me laugh, cheer and cry. Maybe because I could identify with the main character as being an outsider in high school. I didn't expect to love this movie like I did. Emma, the reason I wanted to see this film was so good, no signs of Hermione and with her short hair I never once thought of Hermione when watching her. The main character "Charlie" is just so dame adorkable, you can't help but fall in love with him. This movie is based on a book, I now what to read the book. I can't wait to watch this again. I give this movie a solid A.

Next was Frankenweenie, synopsis: When young Victor's pet dog Sparky (who stars in Victor's home-made monster movies) is hit by a car, Victor decides to bring him back to life the only way he knows how. When classmates find out how he did it, they all bring back dead pets of their own with a monstrous outcome.

My Review.. Tim Burton is a hit or miss with me and I'm sad to say this was a miss. I found the story to be good, but the characters were boring, the animation is okay, maybe the B&W had something to do with me not enjoying it, I understand why they did it but I just didn't think it worked. Glad I watched this but won't watch it again. I give this movie an C+.

We then watched The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, synopsis: A group of British retirees decide to "outsource" their retirement to less expensive and seemingly exotic India. Enticed by advertisements for the newly restored Marigold Hotel, they arrive to find the palace a shell of its former self.

My Review.. This was a very enjoyable movie. It's a who's who of older British actors. It was lighthearted, funny, sad and sweet. I loved seeing the various lives of these older people and watching how each one deals with growing old. Of course Maggie Smith is my favorite character of the bunch, but each one was special and brought their unique take to their characters. I give this movie a solid B.

Now it was time for Beasts of the Southern Wild, synopsis: Hushpuppy, an intrepid six-year-old girl, lives with her father, Wink, in the Bathtub, a southern Delta community at the edge of the world. Wink's tough love prepares her for the unraveling of the universe; for a time when he's no longer there to protect her. When Wink contracts a mysterious illness, nature flies out of whack, temperatures rise, and the ice caps melt, unleashing an army of prehistoric creatures called aurochs. With the waters rising, the aurochs coming, and Wink's health fading, Hushpuppy goes in search of her lost mother.

My Review.. I did not enjoy this movie, that's not to say I hated it, but it was just to bizarre for me. I was completely confused by the story, the acting was great but the majority of the time I was just thinking to myself.. "wow this is such a bizarre movie". Am I glad I watched this? I don't know.. but I do know that I won't be watching it again. I'm not saying it's a bad movie.. just not a movie for me. I give this movie a C-.

And for our final movie we watched Moonrise Kingdom, here's a synopsis: Set on an island off the coast of New England in the 1960s, as a young boy and girl fall in love they are moved to run away together. Various factions of the town mobilize to search for them and the town is turned upside down -- which might not be such a bad thing.  

My Review.. This movie was okay.. just okay. I heard so many great things about this movie so maybe the hype got to me. I mean lots of great actors are in this film. And I'm into quirky kind of things but this was a bit to quirky for me. Again like Beasts I just don't think this is my type of movie. I'm glad I watched it and it was enjoyable but I won't ever watch it again. I give this film a C+.

Thanks Aaron for sharing this movie marathon experience with me.