#18: Labyrinth

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While Labyrinth has been around for a while, and is even considered to some to be a cult classic, I had never watched it before. I never realized that it was a Jim Henson movie, so once I discovered that I decided to give it a chance. I'm a huge fan of anything muppets, and have been since I was a little kid. Labyrinth was extremely 80's with a young Jennifer Connelly as the main character and David Bowie as the evil goblin king.

One night while babysitting her little brother, Sarah (Connelly) is annoyed with him and her parents for making her watch him in the first place. Sarah has a very vivid imagination, and tends to read a lot of mythical novels. So, voicing her frustrations, she wishes that Jareth the Goblin King (Bowie) would come and take her little brother away so she can be an only child again. When this actually happens and the baby is taken away, Sarah realizes quickly that she has made a huge mistake and must go through an extreme maze to rescue her little brother. The film is full of colorful characters, and was quite comical. I enjoyed all the big hair and 80's rock and roll soundtrack. I can see why a lot of people grew up with this film being one of their favorites.

#17: How To Marry A Millionaire

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Continuing with the theme of watching new-to-me Marilyn Monroe movies, I watched the film How To Marry A Millionaire. This movie was a huge deal when it first came out in 1953, because it was one of the first to use Cinemescope. This technique would allow the audience to view more of the picture and provided a better quality. Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, and Lauren Bacall play three young women with one goal only: find rich men to take care of them for the rest of their lives. Their plan starts with all three ladies renting an apartment in a building known to have many wealthy residents. To pay for their rent, Schatze Page (Bacall), who has come up with the entire plan is somewhat of the ring leader, sells almost all of the expensive furniture in the leased apartment. The story line follows the three ladies while they try to find a wealthy bachelor to marry and take care of them. Of course in the middle of all this, they do not realize that they are falling love with men who seem to not even meet their requirement of millionaire status.

How To Marry A Millionaire was full of cute and hilarious scenes, including Monroe's character Pola Debevoise constantly running in to things because she refuses to wear her glasses. Obviously this film is not the best movie for feminists since the women seem to find self worth and importance based solely on the attention from men. However, I thought it was great, and see why it's a classic. I recommend this film to anyone who wants to be whisked away by unrealistic glamour and humor.

#16: Fanboys

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I've had the movie Fanboys for a while in my collection, and never watched it, and now I wish I would have watched it sooner. The cameos in this movie are insane and extremely funny. From William Shatner, to Seth Rogen (as two different hilarious characters).

A group of nerdy, Star Wars obsessed best friends decide to set out on a journey to break in to Skywalker Ranch, they have no idea what is in store for them. Eric (Sam Huntington), Windows (Jay Baruchel), Hutch (Dan Fogler), and Linus (Chris Marquette) have been friends and loyal Star Wars fanatics since they were little. When they find out that Linus has cancer, they decide they need to see the uncut version of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phanton Menance 6 months early, which is located in a secret chamber on George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch. There all kinds of hilarious hijinks that take place along the way, and every obstacle threatens their chance at seeing the film. Kristen Bell plays the female counterpart of this geek troop and she does a pretty good job at it. I literally laughed out loud during this movie, and would watch it again any time. It's a nerd's favorite type of movie, especially a science fiction nerd. There's two different hilariously amazing cameos by Seth Rogen, where he plays a Trekkie and a Southern Pimp in Vegas. I highly recommend Fanboys to anyone who loves to laugh.

#15: She's the Man

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Many of my friends have recommended She's the Man to me for years, and I have always put it off. I mean, really? Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, and Robert Hoffman are not my idea of Oscar winners. However, I set my judgements aside, and gave this movie a chance.

When Viola (played by Amanda Bynes) finds out the the girl's soccer team at her high school will be cut and she's not allowed to join the boys team, she takes matters in to her own hands. Meanwhile, her twin brother Sebastian (James Kirk) is supposed to transfer to a different school, but instead runs off to London to play a show with his band. To cover for her brother and in turn prove that she is just as good as the boys, Viola decides to impersonate her brother at his new school, join their soccer team, and beat her school at their first match. Of course, this is all easier said than done. Viola ends up falling for her roommate, Duke (Channing Tatum) who is falling for a different girl, Olivia (Laura Ramsey), who in turn is falling for Viola as Sebastian. Whew.

Overall, I thought this movie was hilarious, and Amanda Bynes physical comedy was really funny. While She's the Man is definitely not picture of the year, it was cute and made me laugh. So, if you're looking for a fun pick-me-up type of movie, then She's the Man is just the ticket.

#14: The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)

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This cult classic film is quirky and hilarious, with a little touch of disturbing. The Little Shop of Horrors, the original version from 1960, stars Jonathan Haze as Seymour Krelboyne, a clumsy loner who works at a small plant shop in Skidrow. On the verge of losing his job, Seymour tries growing his own plant that is a hybrid of a venus flytrap and a seed found next to a chemical plant. Seymour decides to bring the plant to the shop to try and save his job, while attracting more customers. What he doesn't realize is the food that will make the plant grow, is human flesh. Throughout the film, Seymour struggles with feeding his plant, saving his job, falling in love, and dealing with his crazy hypochondriac mother. There is also a great and creepy cameo by a very young Jack Nicholson. The Little Shop of Horrors was hilariously sketchy, and I can fully understand why Steve Martin was in the remake in the 80's. The only thing that could make this film better was if it was in color, but then again the black and white adds to the overall creepiness.

#13: The Departed

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If someone were to know just the cast of stellar actors in this film, that would be reason enough to watch The Departed. Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Mark Wahlberg did an amazing job at portraying violent men, each with something to prove or protect. Directed by Martin Scorsese, this game of cat mouse type of movie takes place in Boston where the police force has decided to place a mole within the highest ranking violent mob around. Frank Costello (Nicholson) is the head man in charge of said mob, who has also placed a mole within the police department. Billy (DiCaprio) was raised around violence and criminal activity, because most of the men in his family were apart of the mob scene. Even though Billy is nothing like his family when he joins the police department, he will soon have to follow in their footsteps to go undercover as the newest bad boy under Frank Costello.

Collin (Damon) was raised by Frank like he was his own son, therefor it's no surprise to the viewer when Collin joins the police force as a mole for Frank. The entire film is full of suspense, action, violence, and superb acting by everyone involved. Even Vera Farmiga, who plays the love interest of more than one main character, does an excellent job. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who appreciates a thrilling movie with hardcore criminals and silent heroes.  

#12: The Tree of Life

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I'm sure there are many people who will disagree with me when I say that I could not stand The Tree of Life, but I'm sticking by my opinion. I had such high hopes for this film, because the cast and the scenery looked amazing, but when I sat down and actually watched it, it was indeed a struggle. I literally had to force myself to sit through the entire movie, just to make sure I wasn't missing something or having a bad acid trip. When I asked around to see how others felt about The Tree of Life, one of my closest friends told me she thought it was like watching a screensaver for two and a half hours, and she was completely right. Now, while there are plenty of people that will see this film for its "artistic beauty," I am not one of them. Sure, the scenes themselves were gorgeous, but I think everything just got carried away. At one point I was waiting for Morgan Freeman to start narrating, because I quite honestly felt like I was watching an Earth movie.

The Tree of Life is supposed to follow Sean Penn's character through his childhood, where his father (Brad Pitt) plays a controlling tyrant, while his mother (Jessica Chastain) attempts to be the peacekeeper in the family. I wish there would have been more dialogue and maybe more character development, there was probably an hour display of the creation of Earth, and random people walking around a beach at the end. I understand that there is supposed to be some deep symbolism with everything in this movie, but that was not what I wanted or expected from this movie. Overall, I would not recommend The Tree of Life, because it was boring and did not really make a definite point. Obviously people disagree with me, because this movie was just nominated for a few Oscars, including Best Picture. Take it or leave it, but I don't feel enriched at all by Tree of Life.