Holy Wowzer! My Blog is 2 Years Old!

My 2nd Blogiversary!!!

With Christmas and work taking up most of my time, I didn't even get a chance to remember, that on December 1st, my blog turned 2 years old. It's amazing to think, that it has been around since December of 2008. I really am so happy to still be sticking around here and I will make 2011, an even bigger and better year for my blog. I hope you guys and gals, had a marvelous holiday and I'll talk to you soon!

Humphrey Bogart: The Essential Collection

When I was given the task of reviewing the EPIC Humphrey Bogart: The Essential Collection, I was a little hesitant. The collection holds 24 of Humphrey's films and also includes the amazing documentary, "Brothers Warner", which I highly recommend. After some thought, I decided to give it a go. The film really shows Humphrey from his early days in this 1930's, to his all-time during the 1940's.

A lot of the films, show Humphrey as a dark and twisted character, who tries to do what is right in the end. I really liked the array of films, that the collections provides but I must admit, I wish they had included "It All Came True", where you honestly see a funnier side of him. Overall, I really loved the films, that were included.

I think the most shocking for me, was the 1937 film "Black Legion", where Bogart joins a white supremacist group and realizes after joining, the repercussions of joining. The film is dark but at the same time, thoroughly interesting. Bogart's performance is solid and heartbreaking, and it's a film, that is incredibly underrated.

You do end up, getting a lot of known Bogart films, such as "Casablanca"(His Most Famous), "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre", and "The Maltese Falcon". With her later roles, you saw Humphrey really develop his own brand of acting. He was a first of his kind. He was similar to Cagney but with an even moodier and darker side to him.

This collection is the ultimate in Bogart films, and shows what an amazing actor he truly was. From his early days, when he was playing side parts in films like "Dark Victory" and "Kid Galahad" to his more stellar and well known performances in films like "To Have and Have Not" and "High Sierra".

I should also mention, that also included is a booklet on Bogart's films, and pictures and letters about Bogie. I was definitely drooling when I got this in the mail. The collection is amazing and it really is one of the best collections, I've seen in a really long time.

Thanks to WB for sending the collection my way, I thoroughly enjoyed eacoh and every film. I was originally going to review each and every film, included in the collection, but I figured I would just comment on my favorite out of the collection. Of course, I didn't mention above, but one of my favorites of the collection was "The Roaring Twenties", which starred Cagney, Bogart, Lane, and Lynn. It's probably my favorite gangster film, and I would definitely choose this gangster film, over any other.

I definitely relished in every film, that was included inside. It's a perfect array of films for the ultimate Bogie fan!

My Favorites from the Collection:

"The Petrified Forest"

"Marked Woman"

"Black Legion"

"The Roaring Twenties"

"Dark Victory"

"High Sierra"

"They Drive By Night"

"All Through the Night"

"Brother Orchid"

"The Treasure of the Sierra Madre"

List of Films in the Collection:

"The Petrified Forest"

"Marked Woman"

"Kid Galahad"

"Black Legion"

"San Quentin"

"The Roaring Twenties"

"Dark Victory"

"Virginia City"

"The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse"

"Invisible Stripes"

"High Sierra"

"They Drive By Night"

"The Maltese Falcon"

"Across the Pacific"

"All Through the Night"

"Brother Orchid"

"Action in the North Atlantic"

"Passage to Marseille"

"To Have and Have Not"

"The Big Sleep"

"Dark Passage"

"Key Largo"

"Casablanca"

"The Treasure of the Sierra Madre"

The Perfect Book If You Want An Adventure, Old Movie Style

Just recently, I finished reading the adventure/romance book, "Jack and the Jungle Lion", written by Stephen Jared. Though, it's a fairly new book, it has a bit of a classic adventure, on the edge of your seat type feeling, that a lot of the older books have. The book is about movie star, Jack Hunter, a suave and witty gentleman, who is set to go to the amazon for his next movie. Problems occur almost immediately, when the pilot of the plane has an apparent heart attack, and the plane then has to take, an emergency landing. Jack's not the only one, who was on the plane, also on board are the drunken co-pilot, Clancy and animal trainer, Max and her two kids, Tyler and Lindy. Jack tries to remain hero, like he does in his movies, but Max always knocks him down a peg, bringing him down to reality. It's a fun and well written book, that I really enjoyed reading. While reading, I could completely envision who the characters would be. As Jack, I could completely picture Cary Grant, as Maxine, I could picture Carole Lombard and as Clancy, I envisioned Thomas Mitchell as the drunken buddy. Overall, the book is a lot of fun to read, and it has the perfect amount of adventure in it, to make it interesting, without being cheesy. Definitely recommend to my fellow old movie lovers. Hope you all enjoy!