The Keith & the Movies ’10 Days of Horror’ is here. From now all the way until October 31st, everything on Keith & the Movies will be horror related. I’m kicking it off with a special Phenomenal 5 tomorrow. Then expect horror themed Throwdowns, special horror movie reviews, and a NEW inductee into the Keith & the Movies Valhalla. I love the horror genre and expect this to be a lot of fun. I hope you do too. Please stop by each day and share your thoughts on the content. Also share it with you friends. The more conversation the better. Now, let the horror begin…..

The Keith & the Movies Valhalla is a place of tribute for those movies that I hold in the highest regard. These are films that embody everything that is great about motion pictures. These are the best of the best – movies that I truly love and that stand above the rest. There are many great movies that won’t find their way into these sacred halls. But here you will find those films that I believe personify brilliance in filmmaking, storytelling, and entertainment. These glorious 5 star accomplishments are worthy of special recognition as the very best. In other words, these are my favorite movies of all time.

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CASABLANCA (1942) – This Humphrey Bogart movie is a classic in every sense of the word. It’s a beautifully written story driven by a superb cast including Bogart, the lovely Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Paul Henreid, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Conrad Veidt. Casablanca is loaded with memorable scenes and features some of cinema’s most recognized movie lines. It’s also one of the most romantic movies of all time sparked by a genuine chemistry between the two leads. I remember the first time I saw Casablanca and how it opened me up to the glory of classic cinema. It’s the perfect movie from start to finish.

Casablanca is the first inductee into The Keith & the Movies Valhalla. But there are more amazing movies to come in the near future so stay tuned. What are your thoughts on this Bogart classic? Is it worth the praise it’s received or is it an overrated picture? You now know my opinion. It’s one of the very best. Take time to share your comments below.

It looks like this could potentially be a tremendous fall movie season. We all know about the big movies that are scheduled for release – movies like “The Hobbit”, “Skyfall”, “Red Dawn”, “Django Unchained”, “Cloud Atlas”, and my personal most highly anticipated film “Lincoln”. But there are also several movies that will hit the big screen this year that may be flying under the radars of many moviegoers. So instead of listing the most anticipated fall films that you’ll see on many people’s list, I decided to mention five movies that may not be tops on your list but look very, very promising.

#5 – “ARGO”

Ben Affleck has shown that he is a more than capable director. “Argo” is his follow-up effort to last year’s “The Town”. It’s a political thriller that takes place during Iran hostage crisis of 1979. Affleck also stars in the picture which documents a government plan to rescue American hostages by posing as filmmakers in the country to make a fake film. Not only does this sound like an engaging story but it features a fantastic supporting cast including Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, Kyle Chandler, John Goodman, and Victor Garber. This one has a lot of potential.

#4 – “FLIGHT”

“Flight” is director Robert Zemeckis’ first life-action movie since “Cast Away” in 2000. Denzel Washington plays an airline pilot who miraculously saves the lives of everyone onboard his plane after making an emergency landing. But an investigation turns up evidence that the pilot may not be completely innocent. Washington is joined by Don Cheadle, Melissa Leo, John Goodman, and Bruce Greenwood along with Alan Silvestri handling the score. This is an intriguing concept with a superb cast and I’m anxious to see what Zemeckis has in store for us.

#3 – “THE MASTER”

“The Master” is written, co-produced, and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, the genius behind 2007’s “There Will Be Blood”. “The Master” is getting high praise from critics but not a lot of mention from moviegoers. Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams star in this movie about a charismatic man who starts his own religious organization following World War 2. It looks strikingly funny as well as bold and provocative. This is one that very well may be deserving of the early critical buzz. The best thing is it opens this weekend!

#2 – “ZERO, DARK, THIRTY”

I love Kathryn Bigelow and I was thrilled when she took home her Oscars for “The Hurt Locker”. Now she’s back with a military thriller that documents the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Mark Boal rejoins her and writes the story. Even more exciting is the wonderful cast attached to the project – Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Mark Strong, and Edgar Ramirez. The story has went through a pretty drastic change from its original conception, but I’m still completely sold on this picture. I was really excited about this film at first, but now the teaser trailer has me just plain giddy.

#1 – “LOOPER”

While it’s just now starting to get some TV commercial promotion, it was a while before Rian Johnson’s wild sci-fi thriller “Looper” garnered any attention. But how can you not be excited about a sci-fi action flick starring Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and the beautiful Emily Blunt that’s also from the director of “Brick”? This looks like a stylistic mindbender about hitmen who kill targets sent back to them from the future. From all indications this is a highly original film and one that could be a real treat of the movie year. A spectacular cast, an intelligent director, and some exciting material make “Looper” a must see during the fall movie season.

My thanks to Ruth over at the wonderful FlixChatter movie blog for passing on this cool award. To my shame, I was awarded this once before and I let it slip by without passing it on. This time I’m gonna do better. So, just so everyone knows, this award has its own unique rules”

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Answer the 11 questions the person giving the award has set for you.
3. Create 11 questions for the people you will be giving the award to
4. Choose 11 people to award and send them a link to your post.
5. Go to their page and tell them
6. No tag backs.

11 THINGS ABOUT ME (gulp)

1. I’m a funeral director. I’m not an embalmer or anything like that. I take care of families who have lost loved ones. Now you know one reason I loves movies. With this job I need an escape.
2. I have a ridiculous love for Humphrey Bogart. I have almost every movie of his either on DVD, Blu-Ray, or VHS, even the weird obscure titles. I have all sorts of Bogie collectibles including a limited issue stamp sheet, a neck tie, a certified death certificate, and a life-sized cut out standing right next to my side of the bed. Weird, huh?
3. I’m a deacon at my church.
4. *NERD ALERT* I have a huge collection of autographed baseball cards. Hall of Famers, current players, you name them. I have hundreds and hundreds of authentically signed cards. Also have a some signed football and hockey cards. I’m not into getting autographs any longer, but I’m still really impressed with my collection.
5. *NERD ALERT* I also have a massive comic book collection. I’m not buying books these days but I have comics dating back to the early 60’s including some of the first Avengers and Spider-Man books. I also have some awesome old Batman and Detective Comics stuff that I’m pretty proud of.
6. My wife and I are only two years from our 20th wedding anniversary. She’s simply the best. This past June we celebrated early by spending a week in Paris. What a ride it’s been.
7. I despise raunchy comedies.
8. I live in a small town with a population under 5,000 people.
9. I’m a huge fan of the Denver Broncos and the Texas Rangers.
10. Some people drink booze and some do drugs. French fries in ranch dressing are my vices.
11. I also have another blog site dedicated to my articles on Paris – Paris Through New Eyes

RUTH’S QUESTIONS:

1. Who’s your favorite movie actor who’s currently starring in a TV show? This is really tough mainly because, other than sports, I practically watch no television. But I guess I would say the underrated Sean Bean who is on “Game of Thrones”.
2. Could you date someone who does not love movies? No, my wife wouldn’t let me!
3. What makes you want to have a movie blog? From a really young age, I wanted to be a movie critic. Obviously that never happened but my enthusiasm over talking about movies hasn’t lessened. And while I’m not a very good writer, I love the idea of sharing my thoughts about something I love with people who share that love.
4. Which director/actor collaboration you’d like to see [it has to be people who have never worked together before? I would love to see the Coen Brothers write and direct a picture starring Johnny Depp. Can you imagine just how wild and nutty a film involving those three would be?
5. What dish are you good at making? Ribeye steaks on a charcoal grill. Steakhouses have nothing (and I do mean nothing) on me. My wife will testify to it.
6. Any encounter with a celebrity you care to share? The biggest encounter doesn’t involve a movie star. Bob Feller, the Hall of Fame pitcher for the Cleveland Indians and arguable the greatest right-handed pitcher of all time, bought me a chocolate milk-shake from McDonalds. I won’t go into detail about all the time we spent with him that day but it ended with this baseball great buying a kid a milk shake. Amazing.
7. Since the Olympics is still going on, what’s your favorite movie set in London? Wow, this is a great question. I think it might just be “Dial M for Murder”, one of my very favorite Alfred Hitchcock films.
8. Which is your favorite movie writer [could be a journalist, novelist, etc.] Screen writer? Joel and Ethen Coen. I think those guys are geniuses. They have such range and I love almost all of the stuff.
9. Which do you prefer: sweltering heat vs. cool, rainy days? I’m a sports guy so I guess sweltering hot days. But I do love cool rainy days as well.
10. Favorite outfit/costume from a movie? Christian Bale in the final version of the Bat Suit ala “Dark Knight Rises”.
11. Which actor/actress you initially detest but then slowly warming up to [feel free to reverse the question, that is an actor you initially love but now can’t stand]  This one was tough. I have to say Adam Sandler. Early, early in his career he put out some movies that weren’t great, but pointed to what I thought would be a good comic career. Instead, Sandler pumps out a junk movie every year and I’m instantly turned off whenever I see his name attached to a project.

MY 11 NOMINATIONS

I’m sure some of these great bloggers have already received this but they certainly deserve more recognition:

1. Marked Movies
2. All Eyes on Screen
3. 3 Guys 1 Movie
4. My FilmViews
5. Love Your Movies
6. I Love That Film
7. The Film Discussion
8. Today I Watched A Movie
9. Film Phage
10. nediunedited
11. dbmovies blog

AND NOW MY QUESTIONS….

1. What’s your biggest movie guilty pleasure (a movie you love so much even though you know it’s bad)?
2. What actor or actress do you vehemently dislike and why?
3. What are your thoughts on the current 3-D craze?
4. What do you think was the best decade for movies and why?
5. What the scariest movie you have ever seen?
6. Have you ever walked out on a bad movie at the theater? Which one and why?
7. What are your aspirations for your movie blog?
8. Siskel or Ebert? Why?
9. Who is the most beautiful woman or most handsome man in movies? (Heavy stuff here!)
10. Do you have any weird movie novelties or collectibles? If so, what are they?
11. Name three other movie blogs that you love to keep up with.

There ya go! Simple questions and to the point. Answer away my movie-going friends!!!