1. Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow - Tom Cruise wows audiences once again with this movie about a battle he has to continually fight.

2. Looper - This is my favorite JGL movie.

3. Don Jon - This is my least favorite JGL movie.

4. ​Run Lola Run - This crazy German thriller is intense as the synthesized beat runs almost all the way through the film.

5. Deja Vu - I haven't seen this one yet, but you can't go wrong with Denzel Washington!

6. Interstellar - This film will blow your mind and make you question what life is, as does every Christopher Nolan film.

And finally the featured pick of the week:

7. Donnie Darko - I watched this one for the first time during my first year of college.  Don't ask me what the twist is at the end because I still don't have a clue.  The film is very enjoyable, but will rack your mind for days, or years, or maybe your whole life.

Image credit: ​By DaftClub - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40203018

1. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving: It's short and simple, but why not spend some time with the Peanuts gang this Thanksgiving?

2. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: This buddy-style comedy is sure to get the whole table laughing as Steve Martin and John Candy travel together during the holiday season.

3. Free Birds: I made it about 5 minutes into this film and decided to listen to the Lynyrd Skynyrd song instead.  Probably a wiser choice...

4. Super Size Me: This film works with any feast that you know you will regret after-the-fact.

5. Pocahontas: If you are a history buff or a child bored out of your mind, this Disney flick will surely entertain you.
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And finally, the featured pick of the holiday:

6. The Blind Side: Okay, it's football season and Thanksgiving has become a football celebration as well as a feast.  While your home-cooked meal might satisfy your taste-buds, The Blind Side will quench your thirst for some hard tackles and emotional impacts.  

Image credit: ​By U.S. Department of Agriculture - 11.09.11 Turkey top questions blog, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17796530

1. The Nightmare Before Christmas: This film has an odd balance between a lot of different holidays, creating a fun and creepy animated atmosphere for Tim Burton fans to enjoy!

2. Hocus Pocus:  As a really good Disney channel film, Hocus Pocus creeped the hell out of me as a child.  Yet I loved watching it every fall!

3. Casper:  It's not everyday that you see a ghost, let alone a friendly one.

4. The Babadook:  "If it's in a word, or it's in a look, you can't get rid of the Babadook."  This film still haunts me today.

5. The Nightmare:  Sleep paralysis is awfully terrifying, but some of the re-enactments in this documentary also make it seem kind of funny.

6. It Follows:  A look back at an older genre through a creative new story that features some of the best conventions in 80s horror films.

7. Jaws: Da-Dum.....Da-Dum...Da-Dum-Da-Dum-Da-Dum-Da-Dum.  You are gonna need a bigger boat for this one!

8. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: If you like musicals, this is a great horror musical to enjoy on Halloween.

9. Final Destination:  These are hilariously gruesome movies that you can play in the background of any activity.  I highly recommend throwing it on the television if you are having a Halloween party!

And finally, the featured pick of the week:

10. Halloween:  You cannot go wrong with one of the greatest horror movies ever created.  Although it was released in 1978, it helped to set up the well-known 80s horror genre.  Plus, John Carpenter now tours as a musician, proving that he can sell-out venues because of his pop culture relevance 35+ years after the release of Halloween.  

1. Air Force One: I might get a lot of flack for this, but this might be my favorite Harrison Ford film ever!  Ford plays a great butt-kicking president.

2. Independence Day: The aliens invaded again, but the original invasion was far superior with an outstanding speech from Bill Pullman.

3. W.:  I really want to watch this film and see Josh Brolin's attempt at playing President George W. Bush.

4. Lincoln: This Oscar-winner is full of talent with method actor, Daniel Day-Lewis taking the lead role as Honest Abe.

5. Lee Daniels' The Butler: Forest Whitaker brings the role of a leader-spanning butler as the audience gets to see multiple actors as different presidents.

And finally, the featured pick of the week:

6. Election: Considering how crazy this year's election has become, this might be a more fitting film.  Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick wage war over a school election, as their teacher has to deal with the fallout.  The film is directed by a brilliant writer and director who brought us The Descendants and Sideways.

Image credit: ​By VectorOpenStock - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50393387

1. Stranger Things: Get on this show if you haven't yet!  It is one of Netflix's finest attempts at creating a genre specific television show that is perfect for binge-watching.

2. Luke Cage: I am currently watching this one and so far I am impressed by how relevant the topics are in each episode.  Definitely a good reflection on race relations in the United States.

3. Designated Survivor: I am happy that this show is finally running because I was getting quite tired of seeing the same ads every night that I watched anything on ABC for the past two months.

4. The Exorcist: I hear this one is pretty good, even if it doesn't quite stand up to it's preceding classic film.

5. Son of Zorn: Hmmmm, mixing live action and animation might break through in television if this show turns out to be a hit.  However, the early reviews state otherwise!

And finally, the featured show of the week:
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6. Westworld: I really liked the first episode of this new HBO show.  It stood up to my expectations and left a lot of room for depth and expansion in future episodes.  Hopefully, this will be HBO's new Game of Thrones, considering that winter has come and GoT is almost done.  The soundtrack for this show certainly stands out, with original and classic hits to command the ear's attention.  I cannot wait for more of the awesome cast to guide me through the diabolical amusement park that seems to be on the edge of total chaos. 

1. Shaun of the Dead - Don't stop me as I join the Cornetto Trilogy gang in the pub where it all started.

2. Dazed and Confused - Relive the college days with Matthew McConaughey in this film directed by Richard Linklater.

3. Revenge of the Nerds - A true classic filled with panty-stealing shenanigans and literally nerds taking revenge on the people who oppress them.

​4. Superbad - You can't go wrong with this inappropriate comedy.  That is, as long as you remember to bring the bottle with the gold flakes at the bottom.

5. National Lampoon's Animal House - I have not seen this film yet, but I hear it is a college necessity.

6. ​The Social Network - For those of you that need a serious film, here's one about the creation of Facebook.

7. Monsters University - This one is family friendly and features one of my favorite Pixar characters, Mike Wazowski.

And finally, the featured flick of the week:

8. Beerfest - This movie is crazy, based around the idea of an underground drinking competition.  The film features lederhosen and a heck of a lot of beer pints.  The best part of all is definitely Das Boot, which amazingly I have conquered with my own friends at a German bar in Seattle!

Rent/buy the films via these links:

The Emmys are tonight, so let's look back at some great Emmy-winning TV shows that everyone should watch!

1. Game of Thrones - Anyone who has not watched GoT should hop on the bandwagon now before it's too late.

2. Homeland - This show is suspenseful and relevant to modern terrorism.  Claire Danes and Damian Lewis are both spectacular in their respective roles.

3. The Newsroom - I very highly recommend the first season and a half of this show.  I don't recommend watching much after that, but you might get so hooked that you have to.

4. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - Yep, this is one of my guilty pleasure shows.  Plus, it is always on tv so you can always rely on it to be there for you.

5. Roseanne - Watch Roseanne Barr help John Goodman become a modern-day star through his early roots in this great sitcom.

6. The Golden Girls - This classic got leading actress awards for three years in a row, rightfully claiming its dominance over the market of old-lady sitcoms.

7. The Colbert Report - I don't have a lot to say about this show, other than the fact that I miss Colbert's conservative character.

And finally, the featured show of the week:

8. Breaking Bad - Many regard this show as the best show ever created.  Who knew that Bryan Cranston could rebound from his role in Malcolm in the Middle to become Heisenberg?  Vince Gilligan's creation is a true marvel about drugs and family.  It starts off as an odd sort of dramatic comedy, but trust me it escalates quite quickly.  Definitely watch this whole series if you haven't already!

As a former Seattlite, I am ashamed to say that I have never been to Bumbershoot.  The spectacular music festival is this Labor Day weekend, so I thought it would be fun to do a What to Watch segment based around music films to honor the festival.

1. Almost Famous - Become a groupie for Stillwater, witnessing all of the shenanigans that come with a band on tour.

2. The Sound of Music - Everyone needs to see this movie at least once in their lifetime.  Watch as the hills come alive during World War II.

3. Walk the Line - Follow Johnny Cash through struggle and hardship, performed by the ever-so-great Joaquin Phoenix.

4. Pitch Perfect - Personally, I'm not a big fan of this one.  However, it is everything you want in a film about acapella.

5. Straight Outta Compton - Young punks lead this outstanding cast of misfits who portray the famous rap group, NWA.

6.  8 Mile - This would make for a nice double feature with Straight Outta Compton, but beware that you might lose yourself in the music.

7. Amadeus - Who knew all of the shenanigans that Mozart got into before the release of this film?

8. School of Rock - Watch Jack Black at his finest as he leads a group of school kids forming their own band.  This film accurately portrays the importance of music education.

9. 20,000 Days on Earth - This was my favorite film at SIFF a few years back, even though I had no idea who Nick Cave was before I watched it.

And finally, the featured flick of the week:

10. Sing Street - John Carney creates a majestic story of two young lovers who connect through music.  All of John Carney's films revolving around music are spectacles, but this one has the best whole soundtrack of his career so far.  To see more of my praises for the film, you can head over to the review that I made for the film.  Also, Sing Street still sits as my third favorite film of the year!

Image credit: ​By PunkToad from oakland, us - "Sing Street" Director John Carney, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47071153

Here are some book pairings that go well with films -

1. Cloud Atlas: This is for serious readers who like oddly organized, but really well written books.

2. The Disaster Artist:  All of you Tommy Wiseau fanatics can enjoy this book that stands on the same pedestal as The Room.  It's hilarious, sad, and one of the weirdest books I have ever read.

3. A Walk in the Woods: The book is fantastic, just trust me on that.  Actually this is one of my favorite books of all time and I refuse to watch the film in fear that it will ruin the book.  So for that, I applaud Bill Bryson on his funny and charming writing.

4, Angels and Demons: With Inferno coming to theaters soon, I recommend Angels and Demons as a fun mystery with Robert Langdon.  I honestly cannot get all the way through Inferno, but Angels and Demons was a breeze of a read.

5. Inherent Vice: Yep, it's just as hard to comprehend as the film was, but why not give it a shot?

6. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl: A unique writing format creates this lovely read for young adults and old adults alike.  Basically, anyone can find something to enjoy in this book.

7. The Hobbit: I love this book and it is much easier to read than The Lord of the Rings trilogy.  However, if I were just starting to check out The Lord of the Rings universe, I would read The Hobbit and watch Peter Jackson's first three LOTR films.

8. As You Wish: I am currently reading this book, so I will get back to you when I finish it.  So far it is a great companion to The Princess Bride!

And finally, the featured flick of the week:

9. Les Miserables: You may be required to read it in school, but I read it on my own and loved it.  The book took me close to a year to finish (I'm a slow reader), but every bit of it was worth the time.  For this one, the book beats the film by a long shot.  Still, the film has some really good performances, even if Russell Crowe destroyed the best character.  If you like the film, I also encourage you to see a good production of the musical on-stage.  It's awesome to see such a spectacle right in front of you instead of on the big screen sometimes.  

On August 25, 1932 Amelia Earhart completed her trans-continental flight, so here are some awesome movies about flight to remember the occasion:

1. Snakes on a Plane: Depending on which version you watch, you might get to see some monkey-fighting snakes on a Monday to Friday plane!

2. Up in the Air: This is my favorite Jason Reitman film, featuring George Clooney flying around the world to tell people their fired.  He is much more graceful about it than Donald Trump was though!

3. Con Air: It's scary, it's funny, and it's the greatest ensemble cast you will ever see in a Nicholas Cage movie.

4. ​The Aviator: I don't really remember much about this film, but it's Scorsese so it must be good.

5. Top Gun:  If you've never been to The Danger Zone, you need to take a trip there with Tom Cruise.

6. Air Force One: Maybe we need to elect Harrison Ford as president in 2016...

7. Flight: One of Zemeckis's greatest films with one of Denzel Washington's greatest performances!

And finally, the featured flick of the week:

8. Airplane!: This is a hilarious story about a pilot with some issues.  Actually, the whole crew has some issues.  It's a wholly original spoof of a regular flight on an airplane, with a lot of twists and turns throughout.  I haven't seen the sequel yet, so let me know if you've seen Airplane II: The Sequel so that I know if I should give it a view.