1970-1971: My Top Ten Favorite Movies

307   8.5  

For me, this movie exemplifies everything that I like about all things Kubrick. IMO, he tends to make movies that are an inch away from being abstract beyond understanding, but yet keeps the flow of the film reeled in just enough to make it seem like it makes sense on some kind of creative level. And while I don't mind discussing what the underlying meaning(s) of ACO might be, I find that too much discussion on it tends to get in the way of the enjoyment that I get from noticing things like how colorfully crafted the art-direction is for a movie that doesn't bat a single lashed eye towards subjects like ultra-violence & the old in-&-out.
Visually, a beautifully crafted film with such a bite in it's theme that it acts as a well-balanced counterweight against the brightly set designs. Seldom do we see the contrast of light & darkness stitched on film in a manner that is instinctual, crazy & perfect all at the same time.

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

38   7.7  

Steven Spielberg's first feature movie (albiet a short one running only about 70-90 minutes, depending on which version you see) and one in which he demostrates why he became the Steven Spielberg.
With just a lonely businessman, a remote dusty desert highway & big ol' rusty tanker semi-truck,
he takes us on a thrilling road journey of suspense & edge-of-your-seat thrills that will make you wanna stay on the main traffic arteries when going on those long business trips.

Just when you thought it was safe to go out on a two-lane highway.

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

16   8.3  

I was a big fan of the TV series, & often watched it in syndication during my tweener years, when my tastes in entertainment were just beginning to experience their own particular brand of puberty. I had heard that there was a movie from which this series was based off of, but never watched it until just a few years ago. After getting so used to the TV version, it took me a bit before I started becoming comfortable with the feel of the movie, which is more raw, not as tightly focused on "preaching" the anti-war message as it's small screen counterpart. However, once I began adjusting my viewing senses to more readily absorb the movie's integrity, it's brlliance of creativity, "war-time operating-room realism" & humor, all became more apparent. It's ability to interweave these aspects with such a spontanetic balance was not only a reminder of a director's (Robert Altman) prime, but also, why this movie is considered such a classic of the genre, particularly the one that regarded as dark comedy or satire.

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

4   8.5  

Every once in a while, a part comes around that helps to define the career of a certain actor. Popeye Doyle's was Gene Hackman's. From here on end, I always viewed Mr. Hackman's roles as a guy with a friendly smile, though with a slight slant of sinister intent.
Officer Doyle, as portrayed in this film was a guy out to do good, but is so determined to catch the bad guy, that he is willing to beat a suspect for info or haphazardly speed dangerously down a New York city street. In the end, he'll make sure the law wins, even if he has to break a few rules (and a few skulls) along the way.
Or rampage a stolen car thru rush hour traffic in a chase scene that all car chases from here on end will be measured by.

18   8.3  

Take a heist movie & combine it with a war movie & what do get?
Three Kings.
Take a heist film & combine it with a war movie both made in beginning the 70's decade & what do you get?
Kelly's Heroes.

A cool cast of actors that include Clint Eastwood, Teddy Savales, Carroll O'Connor, Don frikkin' Rickles & an offbeat yet definitely fun & memorable role from Donald Sutherland.

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

26   7.9  

Five Easy Pieces marked the beginning of a type of movie that was to spring forth more readily from the decade that was the 70's. A movie that was difficult to explain & driven more by the behaviors & reactions of the character. Trapped in a life situation so personal, that it's not the usual standard plotline that we're used to seeing being churned out by the Hollywood machine, even back then.
This is a work that recognizes that modern human beings, particularly in this society, each lead a life who's story meanders thru a string of events that isn't easy to categorize into some kind of linear plot.
And just like the lead character in this film, it can lead to an existance without structure or direction. Jack Nicholson, already a name in cinema by this point, but not so big that he was "Jack" yet, portrays Bobby Dupea, a man so lost within his lack of ambition & emotonal awareness, yet silently clasping for some way to have feel them. His reactions are dilegently somber, peppered with outbursts of exasperated frustration. His inability to understand coupled with his abilty to actually know better, trudges him thru an experience that offers no clues to any answer. So in the end, in his mind, sometimes the easiest thing to do to just run away & start over.
Considering the time it was released, Five Easy Pieces is a film that is much more unique that it may first appear to be.

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

4   8  

A 1951 black & white movie shot in 1971, in black & white.
The Last picture show is a film that, despite it's bleak theme of an era ending & its lack of color,
it's wide shots of a dusty little town on the brink of its own extinction is just as beautiful to look at as is the rapturous debut of the young stunning starlet, Sybil Sheppard.

15   7.8  

Clint Eastwood begins his tour as the S.F. cop with a 70's machismo chip on his shoulder who consistently talks thru incessantly gritted teeth & who enjoys pissing off his superiors & welding big handguns like they were just a natural extension of what makes Harry so dirty to begin with.



He's mad as hell and he's not gonna take it anymore, punk!

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

14   7.4  

She's crazy as hell and she's not gonna take it anymore, Clint!

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

20   7.6  

Tora!

The Mighty Celestial's rating: