Movie #377 - FernGully: The Last Rainforest

FernGully: The Last Rainforest
1992 - Rated G - 1 hr 16 min
Director: Bill Kroyer
Starring: Samantha Mathis, Christian Slater, Robin Williams, Tim Curry, Grace Zabriskie, Geoffrey Blake, Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Tone Loc

Now that we've got kids, we're starting to collect some of the animated films of our youth.  This one was always a favorite in my house growing up, so I had some fond memories going in for a revisit.  It's a little bit more.... how do I say this?... lame, then I remember. But it still has an all-star cast, so it must've been good for its day.

The environmentalist message is still very relevant, even 19 years (I know!) later. Not much else to report here. This is a fun kids movie that I'm sure my daughter will one day enjoy with lots of songs, a great cast, and a nice, positive message to share.

Is it the inspiration for Avatar? Why don't you be the judge....

Movie #376 - Black Swan

Black Swan
2010 - Rated R - 1 hr 48 min
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder, Benjamin Millepied

Yes, this movie got a lot of hype. And yes, so did Natalie Portman and her dancer-in-six-months training program. Usually hype drives me far away from a movie. I'm not a bandwagon rider, you know?

Something about the chilling previews sucked me in and so I went to see it in theaters. For weeks afterwards, I got chills every time I thought about it.  Now that's an impression. Owning it (finally) is really exciting for me. And I want everyone to watch it, but I'm acutely aware that Black Swan is not for everyone.

It's not a dancing movie, it's not a chick movie, and it's not a romance. So stop you're whining already.  Instead, it's been dubbed a "psychosexual thriller," a new category of weird mind-altering movie that's incomparable so far.  Aronofsky takes the art and beauty of The Fountain and combines it with the warped mind twists of a movie like American Psycho. Natalie Portman is perfect as the symbolic white swan, fighting against her inner black swan, stuck in a schizophrenic battle that plays itself out on the stage. I won't give anything away, because it's best to experience it as I did - not knowing much but expecting a wild, chilling story.

And that ending.... yup, still gives me chills.

Movie #375 - Army of Darkness

Army of Darkness
1992 - Rated R - 1 hr 21 min
Director: Sam Raimi
Starring: Bruce Campbell, Elizabeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, Bridget Fonda

Another recent acquisition (on top of the 50+ title haul from last month - ugh!).

But it's okay, because this is a great movie and one that was sorely missing from our collection until now.  And for $4, you can't pass that up. So here it is.

Who would've thought that a bad B movie (Evil Dead) would spawn this fantastic cult-classic sequel... well, a sequel to the remake Evil Dead 2. It's confusing, really.  And they're all thanks to the genius of Sam Raimi and the unparalleled "action" comedy of Bruce Campbell.  This, of all three movies, is my absolute favorite.  Just for quotability alone it ranks pretty highly!

It's campy and a little cornball, but I really didn't mind adding this one to the queue!

Movie #374 - End of Days

End of Days
1999 - Rated R - 2 hr 1 min
Director: Peter Hyams
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gabriel Byrne, Robin Tunney, Kevin Pollack

Isn't it great that Arnold's returning to movies so he can make more gems like this one? Hehehe.

Okay, it's not sooooo bad.  Gabriel Byrne's a pretty scary devil incarnate and Kevin Pollack plays a nice, sorta goofy sidekick to Arnold's Jericho character. Yeah, his name's Jericho.  Jericho. We already knew it was a religious movie, people. Easy already.

So the devil has to mate with chosen-one Robin Tunney, who's not digging Byrne's sideburns. Arnold has to intervene -- cuz mere priests can keep the hunky devil at bay, ya know -- and gets betrayed by just about everyone (thanks to the devil's mucho persuasive powers, obvi.) And btw, if you kill the devil's host body, you can get possessed yourself.... just an FYI, Arnold. Of course, the only one strong enough to kill Arnold is himself, so it's a good thing he's mentally strong enough to fight the devil inside too....

What a weird ending.