Yet Another Listal Member's Top 50 Fave Movies

  At the time of it's release, The Contender is a story which, while otherwise intelligently scripted, the main characters came off to me to be portrayed with some pretty simplistically drawn party lines. But, that's something that I found to be forgivable considering how using this type of situation as a plot device seems like it would be necessary in order to move the plot from point A to point B  and make the point that the story does within the running time of a movie. Of course, little did anyone know that the kind of monolithic level partisan mindset depicted here would eventually be a pretty good description of the political atmosphere that has been forming the real world in recent years. And it does beg the question, is it a coincidence that it would happen at a time when a woman was vying for the seat in the Oval Office for the first time ever?

Not only is Deep Throat a codename for a central figure in All The President's Men, it's also the name of one of the first x-rated flix I ever watched, back when puberty was knocking at my adolescence.
Now here I am, years later, wasting my life away in front of the computer, if not spending vast amounts of time downloading onion booty porn,
then I'm either posting up classless ghetto girlfight videos on youtube
or I'm here on this site, aimlessly commiseratin' with all of my fellow Listophiles.
So, yeah....
I know exactly where that particular "left turn" was that led me down the empty road of existance that is currently my life.

Which I know has almost next to nothing to do with this movie, but I guess that term "Deep Throat" sparked off a nerve or something.

Anyways,
back to the list.....

Before the lead character in this movie was a werewolf, he was a Pepper. And for some subliminal reason, that made me want to be a Pepper too.
(Sorry kids. I know that the majority of you most likely won't understand that comment, b'cuz it's before your time. Look it up on youtube if you don't wanna be left in the dark.
And you don't wanna be in the dark.
Because the dark is where werewolves like dwell.)



IMO,
the best werewolf movie ever.

One of my favorite court dramas of all time.
With almost a seasoned ease, Paul portrays a disheveled, aging, never-has-been, malpractice lawyer who finds within himself the humanity which never really had a chance to surface due to the layered weight of his chronic alcoholism.



The movie & Newman's performance sets up very well the desolation & loneliness that the main character moves his life thru as he goes up against the legal system that giganticly favors the "big guys" over the "little guys". One can really get the sense that Newman knows that he stands no chance of winning the case, but continues moving on forward because he is, for the 1st. time in his barely neglible career, fueled by the honesty & goodness of what is right. A feeling that is so new to this character, that, combined with the realizaton that a human life is totally dependent him for justice, it becomes emotion exhilirating enough to keep an almost broken old man to keep fighting on, no matter how high the price.
One of those rare times when the performance comes thru real enough to make us (oh, what am I'm talkin' about this "us" bullsh#t? What I really mean is "me") almost believe that even under the most insurmountable odds, there is always some kind of hope.

After this movie came out, could you feel it?
Could you feel the idea & use of special effects in the entire sci-fi genre take a major step forward?
I know I did.

At the outset of the first western movies, the cowboy characters had been categorized between two basic types: Those who wore the white hats, & those who wore the black ones.
As time passed though, the hat colors began to blur between who was good, who was bad, and then to eventually who was just plain ugly.
Inspired by the samurai of the East and fueled with the advent of the spaghetti westerns (despite the simplicity of the dialogue), the icon of the gunslinging cowboy had begun to evolve into a more complex figure, of the quiet lone wolf who's only personality traits were marked by the mystery of his identity and by the grit of his character.

It seems like these days, every season, an animated movie comes out displaying the next level of computer-generated visuals. For the year of 2008, it was this film & Kung Fu Panda. While not so surprising in that I (we?) expected the details in the graphics to be as detail & realistic as they were, it's still quite stunning to behold.



And even though Wall-E contains the basic formula elements one would expect from such a family film, it's still quite surprising how often & consistantly filmmakers are able to intergrate the amazing graphics into the quality of the storytelling in a manner that seems fresh & keeps the messages from feeling too cliche. At the rate that these types of highly sophisticated computer animated flicks are being released, it's remarkble that the ratio has been so much more good than bad.
A futuristic story that despite it's epic themes of environmentalism, technological over-dependence & the effects of idleness on the soul of humanity when it is stripped away from the natural strife of life, at it's heart, it's also an effective story of loneliness and longing between two computer-animated robots that despite their mechanical make-up, offer up enough heartfelt human emotion that is depicted with just a simple vocabulary that consists of nothing more than their names and a directive.

Before there were special effects, CGI graphics and matrix-style action sequences in film, there was human physical talent.
And in the early 1900's, the height of this talent was displayed to movie viewing audiences through the almost impossible stunt routines of Charlie Chaplin.
back then, watching his ability to choreograph and incorporate his crazy stunts into the props and background sets (particularly in this film, with the complicated set designs of the factory) must've been the equivalent of watching a summer blockbuster of today.

Okay, seriously...



... do I really need to explain this one?

Ridley Scott directs a tale of "in-your-face" first contact, followed by a fatal game of hide and seek between an interstellar search party crew and a xenomorph, just one of what will turn out in following sequels to be a hive-race of double-mouthed acid-blooded slick black visitors who take the role of their hosts quite literally.
Never have the film genres of horror and science fiction been so perfectly blended as in this stylish, dark and damp first entry into the franchise which first introduced what is, in my opinion, one of the most unique and simply bad-@ss alien life-forms ever produced for film.

The "2001: A Space Odyssey" of the war genre in that it's a story of a long journey that culminates into a meeting with a strange godlike figure. And even though you might not know what it all meant, what you do know is that whatever it was, it was pretty damn epic and pretty damn cool.
The imagery and the surrealness of the film all lead up into a piece of work that could've easily been a number one film fave on any other director's filmography. And yet, for Francis Ford Coppola, the fact that there are still two more movies that IMO, are even better than this grand "arty" war epic (The Godfather Parts I and II), is a great testament that the 70's was a period of time that showcased his abilities as that of a great director who was in his prime.

While I tend to agree with the general consensus that the original Rock shouldn't have beaten out other contenders like All The President's Men or Taxi Driver for the Best Picture Oscar, I still consider it to be my favorite of 1976.
One of the main reasons is just the nostalgic connection I have to this movie. I remember watching this first installment of the Italian Stallion franchise as a child, and even at an age when I believed that the female side of our species was rife with cooties, still finding myself adoring the love story between the two "loser" types of the painfully shy pet shop attendant (Adrian) and the slow-witted boxer/leg-breaker. And this was probably the first movie I ever watched that literally hand me jumping up and down at the end.
Rocky's plot just seemed to be able to pull all the right heart-strings for me, that even to this day, I still tend to feel a slight jitter in my chest whenever I watch this flick.
Either that, or maybe I've developed a life-long heart murmur. I dunno.

Before movies like Crouching Tiger/ Hidden Dragon and Hero came along and added the artistically flair fantasy elements to these types of epic movies, there was Ran. Some of the most beautiful and grand visuals ever in an Akira Kurosawa film. The fact that his name was associated with this project guaranteed this film's sweeping quality. And, the added high budget seemed to compromise his vision not in the slightest. Instead, it seemed to open up the potentiality that Mr. Kurosawa had holding in his already abundant visionary dreams.
Definitely my favorite of his works.

Duck Soup is truly a classic in the realm of comedy classics, with the Marx Brothers carrying on with their timeless mayhem antics and spouting out timeless lines like "I could dance with you till the cows come home. On second thought, I'd rather dance with the cows till you came home."
For any of you who haven't yet seen this, in my opinion, it is the best of all the Marx movies and I highly recommend that you give it a looksee. And if any of you who do decide to give it a view and it is a first time, then I must say that I envy your position. It will truly be a "gala day" for you. And if you're anything like Groucho, the Marx's head hermano, a gal a day is more than enough for you. You probably couldn't handle any more.

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 and 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 and darkness stitched on film in a manner that is instinctual, crazy and perfect all at the same time.

A gruffy mental patient is ready to be de-institutionalized and is set free, out into the world, to try and assimilate into normal society. Not too long after, through the kindness of others, he finds the merest of jobs, finds the merest of homes, heck, he even finds the merest of family. Hopefully, to begin a life of normalcy. Until he finds out that in certain parts of life, normalcy includes dysfunctionality. And with his past, dysfunction is something that can turn out to be pretty dangerous.



For my money, Billy Bob Thornton's break out role, the portrayal of the mentally handicapped Karl Childers, is one of the most unique characters to come onto the silver screen in a long time.


And BTW, after watching Sling Blade the first time, I went out and bought a can of potted meat, just to see of it's true what they say in this movie.
And gosh darn it if it isn't right there on label....it actually say's so right on the list o' ingredients..... "pork shoulders, lips, peckers & intestines....".
Hunh.
Go reckon.

"Close Encounters Of The Under-Water Kind".
Or maybe even "The Day The Ocean Stood Still".



We humans are a species capable of our own destruction. Or of our own salvation.
And though sometimes, it's can seem like we're going down the road of total annihilation, there's still enough within us to choose otherwise.
At least, that's the kind of hope the water-breathing life-forms from outer space in this film seem to hold about us.
Personally, I think this is James Cameron's masterpiece. And it's actually two stories in one. The alien storyline that provides the twist for the film, crossed over with the tension building plot involving the conflict between the scientific crew & the naval SEAL team. And both plots, while differently paced, are still very excellently executed. Now, while the edited version that was originally released into theatres is a fine film, for my money, the uncut version is what truly reveals the kind of glorious light that can emit from The Abyss.

Kevin Costner reaches his career peak in this non-stereotypical tale of how the West was truly won. A really great movie that really was one KC's last great movies.
No, seriously.....
If you were to take all the things that were wrong with Coster's follow-up flicks, like Waterworld and the Postman,
irradiate them with the energies that bind, compose and allow the Bizarro world to exist (i.e. "the opposite"), then what you would get would be this movie.
No, seriously....
you would.
I tried it once.

In my opinion, this is the role that should've won Mr. Washington the Oscar, even more so than Training Day. In this movie, Denzel is Malcolm X. This is one of those rare instances where an actor actually becomes the person whom he is portraying. Denzel Washington tranforms himself into the man who went from being a small-time crook named "Little", to become the larger than life civil rights leader named "X".
A great biopic that intrinsically depicts the various transitions involved in one man's spiritual journey that led a singular letter in the alphabet to become a definitive part of American history books.
Definitely my favorite Spike Lee Joint.

By far, my fave of the Apatow comedies. And like his other sex-themed comedy, Knocked Up, his best films seem to be the ones in which he does triple duty as director, writer, and producer.
In this case, this triple-combo results in a movie whose strength lies not just with the high level of comedy (which probably would've been enough), but also for the fact that at it's core, this is a story of a "late bloomer" that is handled not just intelligently, but even more importantly, with a genuine heart.



Ofttimes, throughout the story, many of the characters seem to deliver their punchlines with a tempered sense of sympathy towards the plight of the lead character, even when the results lead to a an exasperated situation of disintegrated success (a tried and true formula of the genre).
This movie can be touching and even socially in-depth at times, but without any cost the number of out-loud laughs.

Okay,
saying that this is M. Knight Shyamalan's best film (by far) may sound overly obvious (by far),
but,
it is (by far).



A very good from-the-beyond-yarn that starts out by depicting the debilitating effects that may result from being able to percieve ghosts. Then, almost completely, turns it around to show how this paranormal ability can be more of a help than a hindrance, if we just gave the spooky spectres a chance.
Maybe seeing dead people ain't so bad.
Though when I think about it,
if I had to deal with any kind of communication with lost spirits,
I'd rather just stick to commiserating online with all of my fellow "Listalolites" on this site.

Okay, let's be honest here....



at some point in life,
we're ALL gonna need a bigger boat.

The very 1st. incredibly realistic portrayal of a sci-fi story. Great visuals back when this stuff was incredible difficult to create (without the help of computers). Also, a suspense thriller plot-line that is masterfully and almost quietly delivered.
Plus, if you're not on drugs whilst viewing this film, by the time you get to the ending, you will you feel as though you are.
Definitely a movie that you wouldn't want to just say no to.

A movie that deliberately straddles the line on the subject of the death penalty and excellently shows both sides without taking either one.
When Susan Sarandan's character exposes to Sean Penn's to the real extent of his racism " ... so it's lazy people that you don't like...?"
and later on when she finally has him take responsibility for his sins as a "true son of God", those two scenes from this film are two of my favorite scenes in any movie, ever.

For me, there is no other way that I can describe this movie other than just plain stupid, simple and funny.
Which is probably why it is not only my favorite comedy ever, but also one of my movies of all time.

Judgment Day is one of those rare times where an original that was already pretty bad-ass is followed up by a sequel that is even more bad-asser.
As someone who enjoys the category of science fiction probably more than any other genre when it comes to films, I seriously think that Judgment Day, along with his efforts on Aliens, shows why there should be a law that states that James Cameron should be in charge of directing all sequels from now on.
After a going thru a summer this year that has been epitomized by listlessly plotted blockbusters such as the other movie known as T-2 (Michael Bay's), this T-2 is a reminder that even though a certain degree of suspension of belief is required from one's brain in order to accept a movie about battling robots, you do not have to completely revert to the mind level of a five-year old in order to enjoy it.



Mannn....
I wish I was made outta liquid metal.

The chemistry that results from Clint Eastwood's and Morgan Freeman's presence in this movie epitomizes the main thing I like about Million Dollar Baby. These are two seasoned actors so comfortable in their craft, that they both simply move in this film with a flowing ease of two veterans of their field who are just willing to allow the emotion of the story and the naturalness and trust of each other's acting ability to drive the momentum of this movie. And their chemistry of friendship, as cliche as it sounds, truly belies on the phrase of that "indescribable something" and yet, it's so tangible that the much younger yet equally talented Hilary Swank can't help but to follow suit in doing. It all leads to an overall performance from the trio that makes this a film whose power stems not from the boxing themes that one would usually expect from a boxing flick, but more from the emotions that weave and tie the characters together & allows the plot to unfold at it's own volition. In the end, it seems almost overkill to describe Million Dollar Baby as anything other than a boxing film that focuses on the female contingent of the sport directed by and starring Eastwood, along with Swank and Freeman.
Or in other words, this is a film that had me at "Mo Cuishle".

  I've mentioned this other horror film entries, for me, the genre of fear had been dead for quite a while throughout the 80's and the 90's. There were several reasons for this that I talk about in more detail in other lists that focus of the horror genre, but for the purposes of this entry, one of the reasons is the way that the lore of vampire had been diluted down from grim and gritty bloodsuckers that hardcore fans who were hungry for scary thrills to more of a romance vehicle for a younger female demographic who were hungry for heatrthrobbing bad boys, even if they were undead. Obviuosly this was a decades long trend that eventually led to the who Trilight franchise that raged throughout cinemas worldwide.



  In 2008, when Twilight seem to have an iron grip on the vampire entertainment establishment, from a small corner of the world, namely Sweden, there came a sliver of daylight that was rising and would bring hope to genre as its original form as a macabre monster who instilled fear in to chest of the intended victim instead of a heart pumping seduction. And beam of hope was called Let the Right One In. 
  Ironically, LTROI, is, just like Twilight, still a story of romance between an undead bloodsucker and a younf tweening adolescent  human. However, the big difference here is that the movie's approach was a big step towards the classic lore that the corpuscle consuming creature was based on at the start. On top of that, not only was the romance treated with integrity towards the affairs of the heart in which the real like drama was a big point to the plot as opposed to looking the other way of what the consequences would entail when beginning a trist with a  neck-hungry necrophile.
 In other words, Right One is told more in an adult manner, yet still with enough of an escapist sensibility that is respective to the genre. Instead of the Harlequin novel formula that was raking in big box office everywhere, this is a soft, beautiful and beguiling story of two 12 year olds finding love for the first time through the flaws of each of their separate (and sometimes desperate) life situations.
The child actors chosen for this movie are perfect in portraying their characters with a true down to earth awkwardness that is usually found with kids at this age, along with a longing that is both sincere and convincing. The art direction uses its limited budget with a barebone effectiveness that both beautiful and true to it's small town ruralistic setting, the storytelling is shot almost like a documentary, allowing the shock and horrors to really scream out when they intermittenly appear with a "just enough" rate of intervals. 
 Let The Right One In a vampire movie that came out just when it was most needed, at a time when the monster and the mythology seemed dead and buried in a formula that had totally sucked the lifeblood out of its horror. 

Whenever I watch this movie, I'm always reminded that, for me, this is about as good as it gets (...sorry). Randall McMurphy is a mischievious criminal who first ends up becoming a leader of squirrelly rebellion and then, eventually, a friend to Billy and the rest the cracked eggs residing in the Cuckoo's Nest.
Jack's performance in this movie is not of a self-centered man of a salty background who becomes overly or angelically transformed, but as someone steeped in his own irresponsibility, with a hard to reach ability to care that is gradually bought up to the surface by the only type of people who could cause such a subtle and internal catalyst: a group of guys who are crazier than he is.

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   These days, because of the way that film franchises have become the dominate way to present movies with multiple chapters to them, it is generally believed that volumes 1 and 2 of Kill Bill are two separate works of cinema. But if one were to ask Quentin Tarantino, the creator of KB, he would tell you this it's only one movie that was divided into two volumes in order to avoid having the original four hour plus running time severly cut down into one. So, technically speaking, as first glance, Kill Bill: Vol. 2 may seem like it's QT's fifth film, when in reality, it's simply the second half to his fourth film.
And if someone were to ask me to describe both halves of Tarantino's fourth film, only two words would come to mind: Bad ass.
Not only is this Quentin's homage to martial arts flix, but it also includes homage's to anime and those funky, grainy 70's Bruce Lee's wannabe's that made us laugh with their unsynchronized voice-overs, jagged camera movements and b-level musical sound effects. And yet, he was able to combine all this in a manner that was just plain...
  well, as I said....
  ... bad-ass.

12 Angry Men is such a good courtroom drama, that for me, it simply blows the majority of every other film in this genre out of the water (okay, technically this isn't really a "courtroom" drama because the entire film happens in the jury-room. But let's face it, the plot's purpose is one that leads into the most important part of the courtroom process, the verdict).
The combination of a tight script with a solid ensemble cast (oh, and lets not forget a big screen directorial debut for Sidney Lumet) make for a tense, compelling movie that even though it keeps 99% it's entire length within one room, a viewer can't help but to be spellbound.

   So far, at this point in time, this is my favorite animated feature ever.
   Not only does The Incredibles have one of the best voice castings for the lead roles I've seen (or is it heard?) but also, on top of that, it has a really great story, written by Brad Bird, the same guy responsible for the Iron Giant (another one of my favorite all-time animated flicks). From beginning to end, this semi-origin of The I's is full of charm, wit and a family chemistry that is entertaining for all audiences, not just for the younger demographic. I always thought that Hollywood never seem to be able to put out 100% in any feature dealing with superheroes, but with Bird's eye on what makes science fiction and superheroes functionable towards the tastes of both mainstream and hardcore movie goers, this is a computer generated comic book caper was able to pull it off with beyond any mild manneres expectations. The effects are incredibly cool (even at a CGI level), the over-all visuals are stunning, and the characters are all drawn with an equally high level of quality and dynamicism. When viewed with the "Jack Jack Attack" extra featurette on the DVD, I feel pretty confident that it will probably be a long time before the family "I's" get dethroned from #1 on my list of fave computer animation movies of all time. 

The year that this film was released, I had a girlfriend who liked to go out with me, but only when she planned it & was in control of the date. On one week-end night, I was supposed to go see Joy Luck Club with her, but since it was at my suggestion, she, as always, phoned me to tell that she felt like maybe she was (conveniently) coming down with something. Now don't get me wrong, she wanted us to see this film, just not at my suggestion (I'll skip any psycho-analyzations as to why she was always like this).
Well I had finally had it, so I called her bluff, & told her that if there was a chance she'd get sick or somethin', we should just call the whole night off.
Before she could respond, I hung up the phone & then went to go see this movie by myself, more to piss her off than anything else.
By the time this stunningly moving, mother-daughter generation-crossing epic-fare was over, my hairy pimp-ass found it quite difficult to refrain from repeatingly dabbing at that "something in my eye" that seemed annoyingly persistent during the final two sob-strewn scenes. Because of my gf, there I was sitting alone in a theatre, effeminately misty-eyed over a god@mn chick-flick.
Right there & then, I knew that my relationship with my then-girlfriend was over.
Cuz no one makes me cry my own tears.
No one.

A truly romantic story of how the escapist fantasy high/feeling that initially results with falling in love must eventually be realistically dealt with, as the conditions and responsibilities of one's current situation come quickly creeping back in. This movie always reminds of something I heard once: that couples pairing up for the sake of true love is still a relatively young concept in the context of human history. That we as both a society and a species over-all, have not evolved enough yet to be able to deal and accept each other in a manner that would be considered as total unconditional love (which is the only real love). And it is because of this that the world population has yet been unable to formulate an effective means of discussion that would truly begin a process of unity between it's racial, social & in this case, gender factions. Maybe, like this film depicts, this is why so many make decisions more for the sake of a security based on social and financial reasons than what is right for us on an emotional level. And as they impeded on Robert Kincaid (Eastwood) and Francesca Johnson (Streep), decisions which may impede on our ability to follow our hearts and therefore sway us, individually and socially, from a path that would lead to true love before it's too late.

In this one, Peter Parker roughs thru his dilemmas with the same down-to-earth frustrations as in the comic-books, his relationship with Mary Jane convincingly reaches it's next level, and Doc Ock is portrayed much better as a villain than he ever was on the printed age.
As a hardcore nerd of this genre, I was pretty satisfied at Marvel's initial effort at trying to do what Burton did with the Batman; introduce the webhead as a serious legitimate property for film.
The most I could've hoped for this sequel was that it be at least half as good as it's predecessor.
Instead, Spidey-2 turned out to become one of my favorite movie adaptations of a comic-book superhero ever.
Which I guess I should've anticipated since before I even entered the theater, my spider-senses didn't go off, all atingling an' sh*t.

He was once a real tough hombre who was good with a gun and never hesitated to use it.
But now, after so many years of trying to build a "normal life" away from that of a gunslinger, Will Munny comes to realize that when times get hard, old habits in old people die hard.
The manner in which the icon of the ol' western gunslinger is portrayed here,
as an aged man with a mysterious past which he would preferred forgotten, yet soon ultimately, comes to rely on for the survival of the redemptive life he has built, shows how this film could've also been called The Final Chapter Of The Man With No Name, But Now We've Given Him A Name.... Punk.

This movie has gotten such a stigma attached to it, that I easily forget how much I enjoy watching it. After several years of this movie collecting dust on my video collection, I watched it with my six year old niece a couple of months ago, and I'll be honest with you: I don't know which one of us was left sitting there with more childlike awe and wonder on our faces.
Her, b'cuz as a child, she thought that E.T., was one amazing tale.
Or me, b'cuz as an adult, I thought that Elliot's mom was one amazing tail.
Seriously, though, as a kid or as a grown up, I think that this is Steven Spielberg's sci-fi masterpiece. With the exception of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, of course.
An extra-terrestrial becomes trapped on our planet and befriends an Earthling boy who shares it's love for Reese's Pieces. From there, these two beings "from different worlds" (one of the rare times that this phrase is used in the most literal sense possible), begin to share each other's experiences in a bond that can only result from unconditional acceptance.
A moving picture which teaches that when it comes to a deep longing for love in the form of kindness and friendship, we humans are not alone.
And all we have to do to get it, even on a universally galactic level, is to just simply "be.... good".

First of all, movies don't scare me all that easily. A few did when I was a kid, but not anymore now as an adult. Therefore I rarely watch "scary" movies with the idea that I'm going to get frightened in any way. These days, I just judge 'em based more on the quality of entertainment that I get from the story, art direction, acting, blah blah blah....
That said,
this is film that tried to "realistically" (for it's time) entertain the idea of possession not just by a demon, but by the Devil himself (I know that in the book version, it wasn't Satan himself, but, at the young age when I first saw the Exorcist film, the line "she think's she's the Devil himself" had me convinced that it was truly the Prince of Lies who was responsible for this whole vomit-inducing, head-twisting debacle).
Boy, when I think of the time that this movie was first released and watching it as a kid, I know now why there hasn't been a horror movie since, that has been able to induce within the fright that the intention of such films. This one got it all out of my system in one shot (my mentality is probably still scarred from this flick in a manner that I, even as an adult, have yet to realize). From here on end, all other horror flix are just a step down for my traumatized pimp-@ss.
Even before I saw the movie, I remember catching a preview of this on T.V., as it depicted the scene of when the young girl inflicted with the soul-violating "ailment" was struggling on her bed, cryin for help as it violently shook on it's "own" volition. That night, at bedtime, I was scared as hell to go upstairs to my f#ckin' bedroom.

That f#ckin' movie.......

In this second chapter, Francis Ford Coppola continues the saga of la famiglia Corleone. And even though this one lacks the presence of the trio of exemplary actors I mentioned above, those empty spaces are superbly filled up by the strength Al Pacino's complete grasp and laser-beam portrayal of the lead character,
along with an interjecting prologue story starring a Sicilian speaking Robert Deniro.



After lightning struck once with the first Godfather film, it was almost impossible to believe that it could strike twice in the same series, especially with the absence of Marlon Brando, James Caan and Abe Vigoda (oh c'mon! Y'know his presence added a certain dimension to the whole of the movie.....).
Yet strike it did.
And with even more intensity than could be expected.

No matter how many times I view it, no matter what time of the day it is, I never get tired of watching this film.
Because Pulp Fiction is like pie.
And any time is a good time for pie.

For the movie itself, what can I say about it that hasn't already been said?
Instead, I'll just relay my opinion on the experience of this film.
This was back when movies would stay in theaters, not for weeks at a time, but for months.
I think that, on the majority, audiences today have been so desensitized from so-so blockbusters being released every other week-end, that they will never get to experience the feeling a big movie-event like Star Wars. The year of Empire was one of my fave summers ever as a kid. It was really cool knowing that I could hop on the city bus at any point during the season and go watch TESB. And every time that I did, the other audience members were just as excited to be seeing this film at the end of the summer as they were at the beginning. Every year that one of the three original films was released, you could not only feel the power of the "Force" within the air, but also, you could feel it in the air all season long.

The British Empire, humbled via one man and the power of peaceful resistance.
Nuff said.

   When it comes to personal favorite movies of all time lists, most people will respond with at least one “oddball” in the bunch. Whether it be an obscure title, one that is commonly rated as “rotten”,  or just some movie that comes outta left field.

   For me, House of Flying Daggers is that film. It’s not my absolute favorite of all time but it does come within my top ten.  As a kid, I had always loved the idea of martial arts films but the truth is, outside of Bruce Lee’s work, very very few of them were any good. However, slowly but surely, there were a couple of people in the industry, such as Jackets Chan and John Woo who were doing their best to elevate the genre. And while most cinephiles believe that the quality of both story and action for "kung fu flix" reached their zenith with Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, I tend to lead more towards Daggers. As great as I think Crouching Tiger is, for my money, HoFD packs more punch. Not just in the action, but also, in the drama, the characters, storyline, even in the romantic element. Not mention that the set designs and costumes will drop kick the eyeballs of any movie viewer to the back of his/her head.

  Every aspect of this production is wrapped up beautifully together to showcase a fighting style of cinema that is all its own. Enough so that, not only is it my favorite film of the year it was released, 2004, but also, it has landed a spot in the top ten of my favorite films of all time.

   Since the beginning of his movie career, Robin Williams was a manic style comedian who had an underlying talent for dramatic acting that was obviously buried ubderneath the frenzied formula of his stand up act.  Here, the usually overblown movements he utilized for big laughs takes a back seat for a down to earth South Boston therapist with a sympathetic ear for hardcase cases.



  And on the other end of the psychiatrist's chair is neo-star Matt Damon as Will Hunting, a "wicked smaht" young Southie with fist talking trauma who must come to terms with his past, his brawling behavior, his law enforced therapy, his extra-ordinary math skillz, and his tendency to continually talk himself away from responsibility.
  And in the process, finds that sometimes, the best path towards healing old wounds, is to simply, go see about a girl.
  This was one of those films that really surprised me when I first watched it back in 1997, not just because it instantly turned out to be my favorite movie of that year, but also one of my favorite top ten films ever, let alone my second favorite of the 90's (see the next entry for the film that came in at number one for that decade).

  After it's release, there was no question of the commercial and cultural impact that Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 masterpiece The Godfather had in the world of cinema. The bar for mobster movies had been raised to one of the highest level that was thought possible. After I watched it, it quickly rose to the very top of my list of favorite movies of all time, and TBH, outside of its sequel, I didn't expect any other film would be able to come along and give it much, if any, competition in the Best Of categories, including mine. Oh, there were some flicks that made the effort...    
Once Upon a Time in America, Miller's Crossing, The Long Good Friday, are  examples of the few that made a worthy effort. But it wasn't until 1990, when Martin Scorcese's Goodfellas not only made a run for the championship belt, but according to some, actually ending up obtaining it. 
  Now, IMO, it came close, really close, but didn't quite reach the very top. On my list, it  managed to reach number 2 in the top 5, but I still rank The Godfather in the number one spot. That doesn't mean, that I would disagree with anyone else who would challenge my own personal assessment. But for my tastes, when it comes to gangster movies, you just can't beat this one just for its charismatic energy. alone.
   Demonstrating the abilities that has made him one of the most well regarded directors of this generation, Scorcese grabs viewers by the arm and plants 'em right smack dab in the middle of the mafia lifestyle and all the mental, physical and emotional aspirations that are required in order to survive, let alone, prosper in this gun-toting dog-devour-dog world. And it truly is a world within itself, that attempts to organize its crime in an atmosphere that is stuffed with unorganized morals and codes that can quickly evaporate as the reality outside of the criminally static Cosa Nostra continually changes and evolves. A thinly veiled borderline in which a wiseguy  can easily become a rat with just a flip of a conviction. In which the lavish lifestyle of goodfella can instantly become the average life of a shnook. 

  These days, James Cameron gets a lot flack for his movie makin' skillz. I mean, honestly speaking, the stories in his recent films from the Avatar franchise aren't anyhwere near as good as his earlier works. But we all know (although some of us don't want to admit) that a big part of it is just simply backlash from the record breaking box office that his movies have made since Titanic. Sure, the scripts aren't as strong as they used to be, but IMHO, I don't think they're anyhwere as bad as his detractors try and project. And visually, his talents and vision in special effects have only gotten better. 
  All that said, my favorite film out of all that he has made so far is still Aliens.  The sequel to Ridley Scott's non-plural installment of the series, it is a perfect example of a movie that has everything that I look forward to in a sci-fi adventure-thriller.  Lots of suspenseful action, a solid story, a group of distinct characters (with great chemistry), great visuals, kick-ass lookin' aliens, a turning plot-twist (we all thought for sure, that Bishop couldn't be trusted), and of course, a catch-phrase that made the entire theater that I saw this movie in to roar ("Get away from her, you b#tch!").



  After being rescued from an overlong extended hyper-sleep in space, Ellen Ripley must come to terms with the fact that she is now a woman out of time, and yet, one who still bears the emotional scars of what transpired half a century earlier on the Nostromo. In this story, she comes to realize that the only way to self-healing is to go back "out there", arm herself with some big guns (not to mention an exosuit cargo loader), and take on not just one, but a whole hive of Xenomorphs. 
And their momma too.

Mannnn....
I wish I had acid for blood.

In this this Spielberg classic, the otherworlders have made contact.
And at first, that makes us humans afraid.
But when we finally come face to face with 'em, we realize that the fear we felt was based more on own insecurities than it was on these bug-eyed long-fingered lil' grey angels from space (although, you have to admit, the fact that they have a knack of kidnapping a few of our jet-fighters, not to mention a kid or two, and then instill mental images of their landing site in own minds, urging us to ruin a plateful of perfectly good mash potatoes, doesn't help much to quell our apprehension of the little buggers).
To this day, even with jaded eyes overwhelmed with modern CGI gimmicktry , the special effects in Close Encounters, combined with their elegant integration to the story's premise,
this film still leaves me with a sense of awe after each viewing.
The kind of awe that I used to feel as kid whenever I would look up all the stars in the sky on clear summer night, and wonder at all of the possibilities that must've been up there.

Mannnn....
I wish a UFO would come down and fly my fat, hairy pimp-ass away into the limitless potential of space.

(Sans anal-probes, of course.)

  As someone who grew up a hardcore comic book nerd during in the 1970's, it shouldn't be a big surprise that that this is the movie that comes in as second one my list of favorite of all time (the only real surprise, to be honest, is that both my second fave and my first fave have Marlon Brando in 'em and that they were both scripted by Mario Puzo... which probably isn't so much a surprise as it is a coincidence).

   With the movie theater screens being dominated by big blockbusting of the MCU and the DCCU, this is a good place to remind everyone that the whole idea of movies based on superheroes becoming big blockbusting successes began with Superman: the Movie. Before this one, the idea of giving a film centered around a guy who flies around in a brightly covered tights and a cape the same level of treatment a "real" movie wasn't something that was on anyone's radar. 
But when the project was approached with serious consideration of making it as a blockbuster, scripted by a prize-winning writer, and starring actors of the level of Brando and Gene Hackman, the end result wasn't a win for fans of comic books, but also demonstrated that mainsream audiences were willing suspend their sense of disbelief for the sake of quality entertainment.
   And as any comic nerd will tell you, Kal-El is the original gangsta of superheroes. So it is only fitting that the last son of Krypton's big-budget movie debut should turn out to be the one that all other comic-book based superhero movies must be measured by. And while I know that this movie does have  has its fair share of flaws due to the time it was made in, it was, just like the character whom it portrayed, it's still the one that started on how epic the idea of a superhero could truly be.

  The Godfather isn't just my favorite film that begins with a 'G", it's also my favorite film of all time.

  But I won't go much into why this is such a great movie, or why it's my fave of all time, because, let's be honest here, what can I add that hasn't already been said a thousand times before about a movie that is often labeled "one of the greatest of all time"? 

   What I will mention is is about the changing times that was going on in the world cinema when this was first released.
There was a movement in the motion pictures industry that began in the late 60's and reached it's height throughout the entirety of the 1970's. Not only did a new generation of actors and filmmakers rise from it, but it was also the point in which the director and not the studio took the primary role of authority over the vision and direction of the production of a movie project. The Godfather is considered one of the primary examples of this. Sure, it famously revived the career of Marlon Brando, considered one of the greatest actors ever, but it also put names like Al Pacino, James Caan, and Robert Duvall. It also made the director's name, Francis Ford Coppola, a household name.  And even though Coppola had to continually fight for control, he was one of those New Hollywooders whose vision provided the DNA for The Godfather and it's franchise. 



 There are many elements of the director's "direction" that left an imprint in this story that have lasted for decades, and I could go on and on and on on what are. Bit for the sake of simplicity, I'll just bring up my favorite: Francis Ford Coppola's masterful use of foreshadowing.
Example: When Luca Brasi (the guy who ends up sleeping with the fishes) goes to make a deal with the rival crime-family, he walks thru a glass door that leads to the bar where his fate will become sealed. As the door closes, the scene is shot looking at Luca from behind, setting up the shot to so that you will notice the fish designs that have been engraved into the glass and it will visually give the impression that the fish are surrounding Luca's body.
Awesome.
Simply awesome.