Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic romantic-comedy-drama film (genre hybrid) based on the 1986 novel Forrest Gump by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and starred Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, and Sally Field. The story beautifuly illustrates several decades in the life of Forrest Gump, a slow and naïve, but good-hearted and athletically gifted, man from Alabama who witnesses, and in some peculiar cases influences, some of the defining events of the latter half of the 20th century in the United States (the period between Forrest's birth in 1944 and 1982). The film is much different from the novel on which it was based, including Gump's personality and some of the events that took place.

The main sets took place in late 1993, mainly in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Extensive visual effects were used to incorporate Gump (Tom Hanks) into archived footage and to develop other fun scenes. A compelling soundtrack was featured in the film, using music intended to pinpoint specific time periods portrayed on screen. Its commercial release made it a top-selling soundtrack, selling over twelve million copies worldwide.  Some of the songs include Hound Dog by Elvis Presley, Fortunate Son by Creedance Clearwater, Respect by Aretha Franklin, and many more American favorites. 

This famous film was released in the United States on July 6, 1994.  The film became a commercial success as the top grossing film in North America released in that year, being the first major success for Paramount Pictures since the studio's sale to Viacom, earning over $677 million worldwide during its theatrical run. Forrest Gump holds a high rating of 8.8 on the Internet Movie Database, which makes it the 13th best movie of all time for the website and in 1995 it won the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director for Robert Zemeckis, Best Actor for Tom Hanks, Best Adapted Screenplay for Eric Roth, Best Visual Effects, and Best Film Editing. Forrest Gump also easily attained multiple other awards and nominations, including Golden Globes, People's Choice Awards, and Young Artist Awards, among others. Ever since the film was released, many variations of interpretations of its protagonist (Forrest Gump) and its political symbolism have been made.  

In 1996, a themed restaurant, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, opened based on the film and has since expanded to multiple locations worldwide.  If that doesn't show you have much of an impact this film made, I don't know what will!  One of the scenes of the American classic of Gump running across the country is often referred to when real-life people attempt the feat. In 2011, the Library of Congress selected Forrest Gump for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".  

After all these facts, can you even argue that this movie isn't the best movie of all time?! If you haven't seen this film yet, it's time to stop whatever you are doing, sit down, and focus your attention on the best movie of all time. 

Oscar Time!!

 The biggest night in showbiz is around the corner everybody, with the 85th annual Academy Awards being this Sunday night! I am extremely excited to watch them as this year has not only seen some incredible films, but the awards are being hosted by the immensely funny Seth Macfarlane. Seth will surely bring some much needed spice to the awards this year, which is something it's severely lacked the past couple of years.

Now on to the nominees!

One of the biggest stories at this years Oscars is the fact that Daniel Day Lewis could win his third Academy Award for Best Actor thanks to his unbelievable performance as Abraham Lincoln in "Lincoln". If Day-Lewis wins, it will mark the first time in history that an actor has won the award three times, an unprecedented achievement. I personally have no doubt that he'll succeed in doing so, as any of you who has seen Lincoln will agree with me, not to mention he's brought home every major acting award this year.

Another big story is the nomination of 9 year old Quvenzhané Wallis for Best Actress, making her the youngest nominee for the category in Oscar histroy. That's pretty damn amazing. With fellow nominees Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain, Emmanuelle Riva (who consequently is the oldest best actress nominee in history at 85) and Naomi Watts, she's up against some stiff competition. I'm rooting for her to pull off the upset though!

This years Oscar's will be one to watch, WATCH THEM. I know I am.

Gladiator

Gladiator is a movie set during the Roman Empire starring Russell Crowe.  It is a beautiful epic that tells a fantastic story and leads the view through an amazing journey through the brutality of Ancient Rome.  What I love about Gladiator is how beautiful each scene looks and how grand each scene is.  The opening scene of Gladiator shows the Roman army about to take on barbarians.  The scene is beautiful, there is a light snow as the army ready for battle.  Russell Crowe leads them in the charge and sure enough the romans over power the Barbarians.

Part of the reason I am such a fan of gladiator is that I am a big fan of Roman history and I love watching epics, so this suits me quite perfectly.  After this battle the emperor comes to visit and tells him (Russell Crowe) that he is to become emperor after him instead of his son (Joaquin Phoenix).  Well his son finds out about this and after his father's death he attempts to kill Russell Crowe.  Though Russell Crowe escapes and this is where the story really starts.  He becomes a slave and then he is forced to fight as a Gladiator.  These scenes look stunning and the arena is amazing.  Every arena battle is amazing and very well done.  One of his early gladiator fights leads Russell Crowe to say the now famous line "Are you not entertained"

Gladiator is a must watch for anyone and especially anyone who likes Russell Crowe or Ridley Scott.  You will be taken on a fantastic journey that will have you wanting to find out what happens next at every moment.  Luckily for me I have the extended edition so I can watch it over and over.  If you want a glimpse here it is.