GBGoodies 2015 Movie Logbook

Bunny Lake is Missing sounds like something I might like.

Bunny Lake is Missing is an interesting movie. My issues with it were mostly minor issues.

It wasn't too hard to figure out what happened to the girl pretty early in the movie, just based on watching the characters mannerisms, I just didn't know why.

Also, while watching Ann near the end of the movie, I had about 100 other options in my head of things she could have done, that I thought made more sense than what she did. (I don't know if that makes sense, but I don't want to give away the ending. It will probably make sense after you watch the movie.)

What's New Pussycat? (1965) - I watched this movie for the upcoming 1965 movie list. I seem to be hit and miss with Woody Allen's movies, but this movie has a fantastic cast, so I decided to give it a chance.

Fashion magazine editor Michael James, (Peter O'Toole), has a problem. Every woman he meets seems to fall in love with him, but he's in love with his fiancée Carole Werner, (Romy Schneider), and he wants to be faithful to her. He goes to psychoanalyst, Dr. Fritz Fassbender, (Peter Sellers), for help, but Dr. Fassbender is not much help because he is a sex maniac, and he's stalking his patient Renée Lefebvre, (Capucine), who likes Michael. Meanwhile, Michael's friend Victor Shakapopulis, (Woody Allen), who likes Michael's fiancée Carole, gets a job helping strippers dress and undress.

This movie is a screwball comedy with some very funny scenes, but overall, it's chaotic and silly, and it's just a mess of a movie. Peter Sellers' performance is WAY over the top, but he's very funny. Peter O'Toole is great as a womanizer who's afraid to settle down with the woman he loves. There are some very funny one-liners in the movie too, but the script is just all over the place. It almost feels like it was still being written while they were already filming the movie.

This movie is worth watching for the great cast and some very funny scenes, but don't expect the story to be a masterpiece. And the theme song sung by Tom Jones is wonderful.

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Zebra in the Kitchen (1965) - I watched this movie for the upcoming 1965 movie list. I found this movie while looking through Martin Milner's credits after seeing him in Sweet Smell of Success, and it sounded kind of unique. I pretty much expected a kids' movie, and I got what I expected. This movie is kind of like a Disney version of an actual event that occurred in Ohio in 2011, when the owner of a local zoo released all of the animals and then killed himself. As expected, the movie has a much happier ending than what happened in real life.

Chris Carlyle (Jay North) and his family move from the country to the city, but he doesn't want to leave behind his best friend, a mountain lion named Sunshine. Unfortunately when the neighbors find out, he is forced to give Sunshine to the zoo. When he goes to the zoo to visit Sunshine, he finds the animals are all locked in small cages, and he decides to give all the zoo animals their freedom.

The movie has some fun scenes with the animals, such as the bears in the ice cream parlor, and the monkeys in the toy store, but overall, it's a pretty predictable story. Jay North is mostly annoying and whiny as Chris. Martin Milner does a pretty good job as the zoo's doctor, Dr. Del Hartwood, but as a hero, the character is kind of boring.

If you're looking for a great animal film, stick with something like Lassie or Flipper, but even for kids, this one is just a waste of time.

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That's exactly the kind of 60's film that I wouldn't even bother with. The title and the poster and more than enough to have me passing by.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

I have kind of strange taste in movies sometimes, so I tend to look for the more unique stuff rather than the common movies.

Zebra in the Kitchen looked kind of childish, but I was looking for something light, and it had Martin Milner, who I've been a fan of since his "Adam-12" days, so I gave it a chance.

Oh well, you win some and you lose some.

The Imitation Game (2014) - I haven't been having much luck recently with the 1965 movies, so I decided to take a break with them for a day or two. Instead, I decided to try a few of the movies that are nominated for 2015 Best Picture Oscar.

The only thing I knew about this movie before watching it was that it was about Alan Turing, and the only thing I knew about Alan Turing was the bits and pieces that I vaguely remember from high school computer classes, so I went into this movie almost completely blind.

Alan Turing, (Benedict Cumberbatch), was a British mathematician who worked with a team of code-breakers to try to crack Nazi Germany's naval Enigma code. The film follows him in flashbacks through his time at boarding school as a bullied teenager, his work attempting to break the code, and his time after the war, when he was prosecuted for his homosexuality.

I don't know how historically accurate this movie is, but the movie was incredible. It has drama from one end of the scale to the other, the highest highs, and the lowest lows. Benedict Cumberbatch's performance was amazing.

I highly recommend this movie.

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Whiplash (2014) - Continuing with the 2015 Best Picture Oscar Nominees, I decided to watch Whiplash. I almost ignored this movie because based solely on the title, I thought it was a horror movie. (I don't know why, but it sounded like a good horror movie title. ) However the way everyone was raving about it here, I read a little bit about it, and I found out that I was wrong, so I gave it a chance, and I am so glad that I did.

Andrew Neiman, (Miles Teller), is a 19-year-old jazz drummer who gets accepted to the best music school in the country. Terence Fletcher, (J. K. Simmons), is his instructor/conductor who is determined to have the best orchestra, and he doesn't care how much pressure he puts on the students to get it. Andrew practices during every free moment he has, to the point that his hands literally bleed. He even breaks up with his girlfriend Nicole, (Melissa Benoist), because he knows that he won't have enough time for her to make her happy.

This movie is one of the most powerful and intense movies that I've ever seen. Miles Teller and J. K. Simmons both give outstanding performances. The tension between them is amazing. And without giving away any spoilers, this movie has one of the best endings ever.

I didn't have high expectations when I sat down to watch this movie, but after watching it, I think it deserves to win Best Picture. I highly recommend this incredible movie.

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I felt pretty much the same way about The Imitation Game. It looks like I'm going to have to check out Whiplash.

Definitely check out Whiplash. It's a must-see movie.

So now I have to watch The Imitation Game and Whiplash.....but I'm skipping Zebra in the Kitchen

Geez, I keep finding all these great movies here. I have The Dish to watch in the next day or two.

Yeah, you can skip Zebra in the Kitchen. The other three movies you mentioned are great, but if you only have time for one, I would recommend Whiplash, which is surprising because it's the one that I had the lowest expectations for before watching.

Whiplash doesn't look like my type of movie, BUT I've learned that if you recommend it there's a good chance I will like it.

I think the fact that I never heard of Zebra in the Kitchen despite it being a family type movie tells me it wasn't popular.

I didn't think that Whiplash was my type of movie either, but the way everyone raving about it made me give it a chance.

I rarely get hyped about the Oscars because I don't usually see the movies before the awards show, and even when I do, I rarely like the nominated movies. Hopefully this year will be different.

Hey gbgoodies, have you seen The Spy Who Came in from the Cold? It's my favorite 1965 film.

That would be worth watching just to see Richard Burton.

Not yet, but it's on my watchlist. It aired recently on a local cable movie channel, and I DVRed it, so I'll probably watch it within the next day or two.

Everytime I see a clip of Whiplash it just looks so ridiculously overwrought. Should I watch it, I hope it manages to somehow get me into the film so that it doesn't look so silly.

Glad you liked The Imitation Game. Another really high rating from someone outside the UK. This BBC thing of mine is getting stronger.

Birdman (2014) - Continuing with the 2015 Best Picture nominees, I chose this movie mostly because of Michael Keaton, but also because of the great reviews. I'm not really sure what I expected before watching it, but it definitely wasn't what I got. I definitely plan to watch this movie again, now that I have a better idea of what to expect.

Riggan Thomson, (Michael Keaton), is a washed-up actor who is remembered for the role of Birdman, a superhero that he played years earlier. He's hoping for a comeback with a role in a Broadway play, but his comeback is complicated by problems with his ex-wife Sylvia Thomson, (Amy Ryan), his daughter and assistant, Sam Thomson, (Emma Stone), his co-star, egotistical actor Mike Shiner, (Edward Norton), and more.

I didn't fall head-over-heels in love with this movie like many other people seem to have, but it was very entertaining. It's very complicated, and open to many different interpretations. We see Riggan levitate, fly, move objects with his mind, and more. Does he really have special powers? Or is it just a dream or hallucinations? There are clues that point to both explanations being possible.

I think this is the type of movie that you will pick up more and more clues every time you watch it, and you may even fall on both sides of the fence at times with what you believe is actually happening. Either way, it's worth seeing this movie just for the fantastic acting by the entire cast, especially Michael Keaton.

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I'm trying to avoid spoilers for Birdman. Practically everyone here seems to be enjoying it, so that's a good sign.