So I had this idea that I’m tentatively calling a “movie loop”. It’s a little game that goes something like pick a movie to start, and then from there pick another movie that one of the actors stars in, then link a third movie based on another actor, etc. until you can close the loop back to the first movie. So for this one I started with the movie Boogie Nights, and I used Julianne Moore as the link to the second movie Still Alice. Then I used Kate Bosworth to link to Remember the Titans, and so on. It’s an idea I had been mulling over, and a rainy weekend finally had me put it into action!
Boogie Nights (1997)
Synopsis: Boogie Nights follows the journey of big-time porn director Jack Horner and new star Eddie Adams (whom Jack discovered as a bus boy at a local club). Eddie picks the stage name Dirk Diggler, and he’s an overnight success. But the world of fame and porn is not an easy one to navigate, and soon these challenges come between Dirk and Jack.
The characters: Burt Reynolds plays the director Jack Horner who is very good at his job but yearns to create a “real movie”. Mark Wahlberg plays the young star Dirk Diggler. Julianne Moore is Jack’s wife Amber who co-stars with Dirk but also comes to be a sort of mother figure. John C. Reilly, Heather Graham, Don Cheadle, and Nicole Ari Parker all play fellow stars, while Phillip Seymour Hoffman and William H. Macy are there as staff working on the films. There are plenty more stars in here; the cast is huge!
Final thoughts: This movie was far too long in my opinion, so it lost me towards the end. The cast goes through a roller coaster ride of highs and lows, and there was some interesting subject matter sprinkled in during the lows that I wasn’t expecting. Overall it was cool to see an ensemble cast tackle the porn industry, but I wouldn’t say I loved it.
Watch this when: you have no kids around, time to devote to a movie, and are in the mood for a star-studded line up featuring a young Mark Wahlberg!
Movie Loop Link: Julianne Moore
Still Alice (2014)
Synopsis: Alice Howland is an esteemed linguistics professor at Columbia University. So it is especially awful when Alice, whose life’s work is around words, begins to forget vocabulary and freeze in front of her students. Alice is married to a research doctor and has three children who are starting lives of their own, and their world is flipped upside down by her early-stage Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
The characters: Julianne Moore plays Alice, and she did an incredible job showing the hardships that come from this disease. Alec Baldwin played her supportive husband John, and their three children were played by Kate Bosworth, Hunter Parrish, and Kristen Stewart. Stephen Kunken got some decent screen time as Kate’s doctor who made the diagnosis.
Final thoughts: This one hit pretty close to home as my grandfather was suffering from dementia prior to his passing in October. I won’t lie, I cried like a baby during at least two poignant scenes. It was amazing to get just a small glimpse into what it is like for people with this awful disease. Julianne Moore won her first Oscar with this role, and she was truly deserving; her performance was phenomenal.
Watch this when: you want some insight into what a loved one might be going through, or if you are looking for a change in perspective. And of course, watch this (with) tissues handy.
Movie Loop Link: Kate Bosworth
Remember the Titans (2000)
Synopsis: T.C. Williams is the first school in the area to force integration in the school district, and the people of 1970’s Virginia were not exactly welcome to the idea. The story follows the football team and the struggle to build a unified team from two separate teams that want nothing to do with each other. But with the help of Coaches Boone and Yoast, the team embarks on a winning streak that might just unify the town.
The characters: This one is another ensemble cast, with so many familiar faces you’ve likely forgotten about! Denzel Washington stars as Coach Boone, who has moved to town and been given the head coaching position. Bill Paxton plays Coach Yoast, who was the successful head coach of the team. Ryan Hurst and Wood Harris play the respective captains Gerry Bertier and Julius Campbell, and are instrumental in how the team will get along during the season. Ryan Gosling, Donald Faison, Ethan Suplee and Craig Kirkwood play other prominent players, and a young Hayden Panettiere plays Coach Yoast’s tomboy daughter Sheryl. There are too many more amazing actors to name in this star-studded cast!
Final thoughts: This is one of my favorite movies of all time, so I was happy to have an excuse to rewatch. The 5 star rating might be a bit biased, but I think the casting is excellent, and you can’t help but root for the Titans. It goes slightly deeper than the surface of the issues that are segregation and racism, but it’s a Disney movie at the end so definitely more light-hearted. Left side, strong side forever!
Watch this when: you want a victory! Also when you are in the mood for a great sports story that features unlikely pairs overcoming adversity.
Movie Loop Link: Ethan Suplee
Walk of Shame (2014)
Synopsis: Meghan Miles is a local newscaster who is putting on a show for the whole city; she’s been recently dumped and passed over for the job of a lifetime. She finally caves in and joins two friends for a night out at the club, gets very drunk, and goes home with the bartender. When she wakes and realizes where she is, she sneaks out only to watch her car get towed and realize her purse was inside. Chaos ensues as she tries to make her way back home.
The characters: Meghan Miles is played by Elizabeth Banks, who is professional on air but clearly down on her luck doing the “walk of shame”. James Marsden plays the bartender Gordon, who also happens to be a romantic novelist. Gillian Jacobs and Sarah Wright play Meghan’s two well-meaning friends. The cast is pretty large as Meghan encounters many people on her journey (unhelpful cops, helpful gang members, drug dealers and cab drivers, etc), and there are some other familiar faces in there!
Final thoughts: I definitely wanted something light-hearted after Still Alice and Remember the Titans, so I thought this would do the trick – it was short and the plot looked funny, so I gave it a shot. I still haven’t gotten over how this would NEVER pan out in real life, but for a silly movie I guess it works. I also had just watched Jury Duty (outstanding FYI), so any excuse to see James Marsden again I will take!
Watch this when: you’re looking for something silly to pass the time OR on a James Marsden kick!
Movie Loop Link: James Marsden
2 Guns (2013)
Synopsis: The movie opens on two men at a diner, whom you quickly come to learn are scoping out the place for a larger plan of robbing the bank across the street. The two men, Bobby and Stig, seem to make a great pair, but they are hiding a secret or two from each other! After robbing the bank we find out they are involved with the Mexican cartels, and then they also unknowingly become involved with the CIA. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game, where each turn you don’t know who to trust!
The characters: Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg play the main stars Robert “Bobby” Trench and Michael “Stig” Stigman, and I thought they worked really well together. Paula Patton and Robert John Burke play Rees and Jessup (acquaintances of Bobby), and James Marsden plays Harold Quince (an acquaintance of Stig). Edward James Olmos plays the cartel leader “Papi”, and Bill Paxton plays the main CIA agent Earl.
Final thoughts: I won’t lie, this movie was mad confusing (almost to the point of frustration), and Mark Wahlberg’s incessant gum chewing definitely got on my nerves. It wasn’t the best action movie I have ever seen, but it wasn’t the worst either. Not sure I would watch again, but glad I gave it a shot!
Watch this when: you are in the mood for some action and quippy dialogue that requires your attention.
Movie Loop Link: Mark Wahlberg (closing the loop back to Boogie Nights)
And there you have it, the first official movie loop on Amanda Rates Movies! What do you think about the idea? Tell me what your movie loop starting with Boogie Nights would have looked like! Funny story, it would have been soooo much easier to loop back to Boogie Nights from Remember the Titans – I had to do a bit of digging once I looped to Walk of Shame, but that’s the stuff I enjoy! I had a lot of fun with the idea; the possibilities are endless, and I can’t wait to start my next one.
PS I have newly discovered the app Letterboxd that lets you track and rate movies – obviously I am obsessed! Follow me there, my username is agilligan9!