32. Rio

32. Rio
Rated: PG
Released: 2011
Starring:  Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, George Lopez
Format Watched in: MAX Go

Animated movies these days are all about making something very bright and vibrant that looks really, really pretty.  Rio has exactly that but it also has heart.  I honestly think that Pixar in recent years has lost favor some favor with me as far as it's place as my favorite animation studio.I'm not saying they aren't my favorite, but rather with a pair of uninspiring releases for me and the increasing success of Dreamworks their spot as my favorite has come under some pressure.  Sure Dereamworks will still make a sequel out of any and all of their movies in an attempt to milk families for all of their money but they never pretended they didn't do that either.  I don't know what else to say here except I liked it and I eagerly wait for the seventeen sequels that will surely follow.

Rating: B

31. Cowboys & Aliens

31. Cowboys & Aliens
Rated: PG-13
Released: 2011
Starring:  Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde
Format Watched in: On Demand

What do you get when you combine James Bond with Han Solo and Aliens and Jon Favreau?  You get a giant cluster fuck of a movie that is a lot of fun but also pretty lacking in logic.  Then again the movie is called  Cowboys & Aliens so really what was I expecting?  Just shut your brain off (I feel like this sentence is a running theme on this blog.) and enjoy the ride for what it is.  At least this Harrison Ford movie is honest about how it involves aliens and there's no hiding in a fridge to avoid a nuclear blast, because holy shit that was stupid.

Rating: C+

30. American Dreamz

30. American Dreamz
Rated: PG-13
Released: 2006
Starring: Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Mandy Moore
Format Watched in: MAX Go

 Sometimes satire is so vague that people can't really see it and as a result the audience is left thinking the whole movie is stupid and miss the point the filmmakers were trying to make.  That isn't American Dreamz.  No instead this movie lays everything on so thick it's impossible to see anything but the point.  The cast was good, I mean Quaid looks very presidential and they cast Mandy Moore as a singer which is kinda perfect.  The only real complaint I have with the cast is they cast Hugh Grant as their Simon Cowell character when he is usually best suited to be affable and endearing.  If you like the oddball dark satire you will find this movie enjoyable.  It has it's flaws and at times is too silly for it's own good but in the end it worked for me.

Rating: C+

29. First Daughter

29. First Daughter
Rated: PG
Released: 2004
Starring:  Katie Holmes, Michael Keaton, Marc Blucas
Format Watched in: HBO Go

This may come as a shock to you dear reader but in 2004 there were two movies about the president's daughter going off to school and trying to be a real person and falling in love with someone the president secretly put into her life to watch her and keep her safe.  Yeah that plot was so mind blowingly awesome it had to be used TWICE.  Not surprisingly they were both terrible.  However what is surprising is the fact that this movie was directed by Forest Whitaker.  Yes FOREST WHITAKER.  I dare you to find something more surprising than that.  Go on I will wait.

Rating: D

28. Fierce Creatures

28. Fierce Creatures
Rated: PG-13
Released: 1997
Starring:  John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin
Format Watched in: HBO Go

One really can't understate the genius of A Fish Named Wanda.  It is easily one of the funniest and smartest movies to come out in the 1980's.  Nearly ten years later the cast reunited for Fierce Creatures.  While lacking some of the heart that made Wanda so endearing even after all these years Fierce Creatures still packs the laughs and the cast is still just as brilliant.  Michael Palin was probably my favorite part of this cast, once again stealing the show like he did with Wanda.  Kline pulls double duty and is wonderful as well.   As with most of these reunions after some time away it isn't as good the second time around, but it's still worth a watch.

Rating: B-

27. Me @ The Zoo

27. Me @ The Zoo
Rated: NR
Released: 2012
Starring:  Chris Crocker
Format Watched in: HBO Go

You would think a documentary on the life and rise to fame of a YouTube celebrity would be boring and hard to keep one's attention but with a personality as open and charismatic as Crocker you would absolutely be wrong.  Weaving through his evolution from normal kid discovering himself to polarizing figure that stands out as the future of this open and very public internet generation.  I couldn't turn away, and in the end I felt more comfortable in my own internet persona and the relationships I have garnered from it.

Rating: A

26. Drive Me Crazy

26. Drive Me Crazy
Rated: PG-13
Released: 1999
Starring:  Melissa Joan Hart, Adrian Grenier
Format Watched in: HBO Go

Remember when you had the innocence of not realizing everything rips off everything?  When the word 'trope' wasn't in your vocabulary?  Well I feel like that's exactly the audience Drive Me Crazy was hoping to attract.  The plot is laughably by the book.  Everything just seems contrived and paint by numbers.  The only real change from a mediocre episode of Saved By the Bell and Drive Me Crazy is that Drive Me Crazy is 60 minutes longer and told from primarily the female prospective.  I will say the Chemistry between Melissa and Adrian was enjoyable and as far as harmless teen fluff  this isn't terrible.  Just go ahead and make sure you remember back to simpler times.

Rating: C