There is a lot of Charlie Brown in me. My middle name is Charles, I had a dog named Snoopy when I was a kid, my love for baseball has always exceeded my ability to play it well, and like the storied definition of insanity, I often do the same thing and expect different results
This is particularly true regarding my annual plan to watch 12 movies I've never seen before and post the reviews here. The way it works is supposed to work is each year, I choose 12 films I haven't seen or haven't seen in their entirety, watch them, and then write a quick review and post here. I also add a few wrinkles to the plan:
1. The movies have to come out no earlier than the year before the challenge. In this case 2024.
2. Although this is not a hard and fast rule, I generally do not count movies I watched in their original theatrical run if they came out the year prior. For example. I watched A Complete Unknown tonight at the theatre where I work. Technically, it was released in 2024 and I watched it in 2025 so it could count, but since it hasn't left my theatre yet I'm going with the spirit of the law and not counting it. If I had not watched it today and then watched it on DVD or streaming in a few months after its theatrical run ended I would certainly count it.
3. I divide the movies into 6 sections by years released. This year the sections are:
Films released from 2009 to 2024
Films released from 1994 to 2008
Films released from 1979 to 1993
Films released from 1964 to 1978
Films released from 1949 to 1963
Films released before 1934 and up to 1948
4. Since I'm trying to watch 12 films, I choose 2 films from each section.
This year I have already watched 2 films but have yet to review them. This is where I usually get into trouble because until I review them and post them and have documentation of them, it is easy to lose track of what I've already seen. In one of the first posts I did this year I mentioned the
1976 Gene Wilder , Richard Pryor movie, Silver Streak. In preparing that post, I discovered that there was also a 1935 film with the same name. I have since watched that film and hope to post a review here before the end of the month.
The other "new" film I saw was at a staff party for the movie theatre I work at. After all the last runs of movies in the theatre had begun they had a special showing of cartoons, and tow feature length movies. the first film they showed, I had seen parts if but never in it's entirety, so I counted it as new to me. I hope to reveal the name of that film, and a review sometime in February.
Until then I see a girl holding a football for me, and I'm off to kick it.
Welcome to the 1st 2024 Iteration of Team Sturdazzle, a hopefully weekly postpourri of random thoughts and regular segments.
Occasionally I will try to curate ideas from my FB pages and share some of the comments here. Today was supposed to be one of those occasions. On Thursday night I posted the following on both my personal FB page and the FB page for my blog:
Am approaching the 16th anniversary of my blog. On Jan 6th 2009 I published the first post there http://dave-homeschooldad.blogspot.com/2009/01/why-we-home-school.html A few years ago I changed the name from Home School Dad to Leap of Dave. I’m considering changing the name once again. Here are some ideas I have for a new name:
1. Sustainable Bedlam
2. Toaster Pastries w/o A Toaster
3. Blogging, People Still Do That?
4. A Hat, A Brooch, A Pterodactyl
Let me know which one you like, or If I should stick with Leap of Dave, or perhaps make a title suggestion of your own. I'll post results and suggestions in my next Team Saturdazzle post.
As of 11:30 Friday night I had no comments on either page. I did ask 3 members of my family the same question over a rousing game of Catopoly, which I am winning. The results were mixed: my wife Amy prefers Sustainable Bedlam, my daughter Emma is a fan of Toaster Pastries w/o a Toaster, my daughter Lucy likes Blogging, people still do that?, and I am fond of A Hat, A Brooch, A Pterodactyl. Certainly, there is no consensus on the nonsensical.
I will put this post on both my FB pages again and see if I can get more votes. If you happen to be reading this, please leave a comment with which one you prefer or a suggestion of your own.
The Mountain Dew Code Red of Trailers
On January 3rd, 2022, I published a post called The Mountain Dew Code Red of Trailers about a movie trailer for The Unbreakable Boy, which was due in theatres in March 2022. The movie, based on a book based on a true story, starred Chuck actor Zachary Levi as the father of a middle school boy who had brittle bone disease and autism.
Days before the March 22 release date The Unbreakable Boy was pulled from its release schedule with little to no explanation. Fast forward to yesterday, January 3, 2025 when I was working at my movie theatre 3 years from the date of my original post. I was patrolling the theatre and ensuring all the movies started successfully when I saw this new trailer for The Unbreakable Boy:
Apparently, Lionsgate has a February 21st 2025 release date. I'll believe it when I see it.
25. The Fall Guy 92.9 M 24. Red One 96.81 M 23. Bob Marley, One Love 96.89 M
22. Alien Romulus 105.31 M 21. IF 111.15 M 20. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire 113.38 M
19. Mufasa: The Lion King 128.14 M 18. A Quiet Place: Day One 138.93 M
17. Venom: The Last Dance 137.73M 16. The Wild Robot 143.19 M 15. It Ends With Us 148.51 M
14. Sonic The Hedgehog 3 151.56M 13. Gladiator II 164.55 M
12. Kingdom of the Planet pf the Apes 171.13 M 11. Bad Boys: Ride or Die 193.57 M
10. Kung Fu Panda 4 193.59 M 9. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire 196.35 M 8. Twisters 267.76 M
7. Dune: Part Two 282.14 M 6. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 294.1 M 5. Despicable Me 4 361 M
4. Moana 2 404.02 M 3. Wicked 432.94 M 2. Deadpool & Wolverine 636.75 M
1. Inside Out 2 652.98 M (Movies I watched are in bold)
10 highest-grossing movies I watched this year by rank on Box Office Mojo
90. Here 70. Cabrini 68. Unsung Hero 53. The Forge 52. Reagan 51. The Boys in the Boat 27. Wonka and the aforementioned The Wild Robot (16), Twisters (8), and Wicked (3).
Top 10 Films December 2024
10. Interstellar 2024 Re-release
9. Kraven The Hunter
8. Red One - Down 3 from November
7. A Complete Unknown
6. Nosefartu
5. Gladiator II - Down 2 from November
4. Mufasa: The Lion King
3. Sonic The Hedgehog 3
2. Wicked Down 1 from November
1. Moana 2 - Up 1 from November
Top 5 Films for 2025
5. Wicked
4. Nosferatu
3. Moana 2
2. Sonic The Hedgehog 3
1. Mufasa The Lion King
That's all I have today, for your weekly dose of Saturdazzle. Please comment especially about changing the blog's name or anything else that struck your fancy today.
