The "Best" Movies: Recap, part 11

I'm giving a rundown of the "best" movies (details about the list are here). I've covered 100 films so far. Here are the next 10:

• MASH
  #54 Top 100 (2007)
  #56 Top 100 (1998)
  It was okay. Funny in places. Not as preachy as the TV show ended up being.
• McCabe & Mrs. Miller
  #8 Western
  This has so much potential. What a waste of two hours.
• Midnight Cowboy
  #36 Top 100 (1998)
  #43 Top 100 (2007)
  Best Picture (1969)
  An okay film. The only X-rated movie to win the Academy Award® for Best Picture. It was later re-rated as an R movie.
• Million Dollar Baby
  Best Picture (2004)
  An okay film, but not great. Of course, 2004 is the year that gave us "Along Came Polly," "White Chicks," and "You Got Served," and the top-grossing films were "Shrek 2," "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," and "Spider-Man 2," so it's not like "Million Dollar Baby" had any serious competition. Would have been better if the chick had died at the end.
• Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
  #5 Fantasy
  Saw it on TV a long time ago. And many times. Good, fun film.
• Modern Times
  #78 Top 100 (2007)
  #81 Top 100 (1998)
  Charlie Chaplain keeps getting arrested, eats cocaine in prison, and then runs into trouble. Not a silent film, except in the way it's filmed. This is the one where Chaplain sings. It's a pretty good film.
• Moonstruck
  #8 Romantic comedy
  Cher and Nicolas Cage fall in love. That's about it.
• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
  #26 Top 100 (2007)
  #29 Top 100 (1998)
  Jimmy Stewart/Frank Capra classic. Good film.
• Mrs. Miniver
  Best Picture (1942)
  The well-to-do go to war.
• Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
  #86 Top 100 (1998)
  Best Picture (1935)
  Based on a book, not the actual events. Charles Laughton is great as Bligh. Movie's not too bad.

That's 110. More soon.

Thoughts for 2009-12-18

• Toys 'R Us is the awesome! #
  
• How bad is it when you try to spell "the" as "teh" but spell it "the" by accident?! #
• Howard Dean: I Won't 'Vigorously' Back Obama Re-election Bid http://bit.ly/8vW1zu Hmm. Me either. #
• "Iranian Cyber Army" hacked Twitter? http://bit.ly/6kE80e Oh, it's on! #
• Yes, there still are schools where the children sing Christmas songs and have the American flag on the wall. #
  

The "Best" Movies: Recap, part 10

I'm giving a rundown of the "best" movies (details about the list are here). I've covered 90 of the 222 films so far. Here are the next 10:

• It's a Wonderful Life
  #11 Top 100 (1998)
  #20 Top 100 (2007)
  #3 Fantasy
  Good movie. A Christmas classic.
• Jaws
  #48 Top 100 (1998)
  #56 Top 100 (2007)
  Now you know why I don't swim. Actually, this has nothing to do with that, but it's as good excuse as any. Excellent film.
• Jerry Maguire
  #10 Sports movie
  Yawn. Oh, I do take exception to this being called a sports movie. It's a chick-flick. Starring a chick.
• Judgment at Nuremberg
  #10 Courtroom drama
  Oh, this is a good film. And starred Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich, Maximilian Schell, Judy Garland, Montgomery Clift, and William Shatner. And great performances all around.
• King Kong
  #43 Top 100 (1998)
  #41 Top 100 (2007)
  #4 Fantasy
  This 1933 classic is a great film. A must-see.
• Kramer vs. Kramer
  #3 Courtroom drama
  Best Picture (1979)
  Yawn. I was never so happy to see a set of elevator doors close in all my life.
• Laura
  #4 Mystery
  Actually, I didn't care much for this one. I don't know why. It just didn't click for me.
• Lawrence of Arabia
  #5 Top 100 (1998)
  #7 Top 100 (2007)
  #1 Epics
  Best Picture (1962)
  The shortest version of this film is over 3 hours long. The longest, nearly 4 hours. Still, a great film. This is how you make an epic.
• Little Caesar
  #9 Gangster movie
  A great gangster movie. "Mother of mercy, is this the end of Rico?"
• Marty
  Best Picture (1955)
  Should have been a TV movie.

That's 100. Another 10 coming soon.

Thoughts for 2009-12-17

• Waiting on daughter and her husband to arrive from Texas. Maybe they'll want to go to breakfast. (I'm hungry) #
• Karl Rove says Obama is no B+ http://bit.ly/56dRi2 #
• Anybody notice that Facebook runs lots of ads with Obama's picture or name? You'd think a 45% approval rate would mean less of those ads #
• Obama: If we don't spend a sh*tload of money we don't have, we'll go broke! http://bit.ly/5Mf8qd #
• Those that laughed when Obama said that caulking our windows will save the economy forget that tire gauges brought down gas prices... #
• I've decided that I probably should watch at least one episode of Seinfeld before I die. That way, I never die! #
• OH NOES!! The Twitter has kilt the RT button again! #
• BlackBerry seems to have fixed their little issue. Now, every email sent to me since this morning is arriving. Happy, happy, joy, joy. #
• Of Ron Paul, Rand Paul, and RuPaul, I'd rather listen to RuPaul. He's funny on purpose. #
• Drunk Cross-dressing 4-Year-Old Steals Christmas Presents http://bit.ly/8Jqo6c If "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" had a 4th verse, this would be it. #
• Lunch. Mmmm pizza. #
  
• Daughter called. Running late. Won't be here this morning. (Looks at watch. It's after noon.) #
• Time to kill until daughter arrives. I know! What about a fun movie? Like Murnau's "Faust"? #
• Just in case you thought I was joking about "Faust" #
  
• Yay! Daughter and son-in-law made it. She's napping. He's checking out FBGA housing. #
• The entire Columbus Police Department seems to be at the Walmart at Hooterville. I'm safe. The rest of Columbus is SOL. #
• Walmart in December. It's a madhouse! A madhouse! #

The "Best" Movies: Recap, part 9

Continuing my rundown of the "best" movies (details about the list are here), I've covered 80 of the films. Here are the next 10:

• Harold and Maude
  #9 Romantic comedy
  Creepy. I mean, a teen in bed with Ruth Gordon? And I'll never hear Cat Stevens' "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" without being creeped out.
• Harvey
  #7 Fantasy
  Another good Jimmy Stewart film. If you haven't seen it, make a point to see it. If you have, you'll want to see it again.
• High Noon
  #33 Top 100 (1998)
  #27 Top 100 (2007)
  #2 Western
  Never saw this movie until earlier this year. Been meaning to, just never go around to it. Then, when TiVo recorded it, the timing was wrong; either the movie ended late, or TiVo's clock was off. I missed the last couple of minutes. So, I had to record it again when it aired on TCM later. But then, it gave me an excuse to watch it again. Classic western.
• Hoosiers
  #4 Sports movie
  I don't care for basketball. But this was a pretty good movie.
• How Green Was My Valley
  Best Picture (1941)
  Yawner. In one of the worst decisions every, the Academy Awards gave this the Best Picture Oscar over "Citizen Kane," "Here Comes Mr. Jordan," "The Maltese Falcon," "Sergeant York," and "Suspicion." If you want to watch the best movie of 1941, pick any of those and forget about "How Green Was My Valley."
• In Cold Blood
  #8 Courtroom drama
  Really good film. Powerful.
• In the Heat of the Night
  #75 Top 100 (2007)
  Best Picture (1967)
  Beat out another "can't we all just get along" film for Best Picture: "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner." Also beat out "The Graduate," "Bonnie & Clyde," and "Doctor Doolittle." As good as "In The Heat Of The Night" was, those others were better. Well, not "Doctor Doolittle," but the others.
• Intolerance
  #49 Top 100 (2007)
  Boring. Filmed to show the world that "Birth Of A Nation" wasn't racist. Oh, and Lillian Gish sits in a rocking chair. Really, that's her role.
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers
  #9 Science fiction
  Excellent Sci-Fi film. And, you've been warned: "They're here already! You're next! You're next, You're next!" But the best line in the movie? "I never knew fear until I kissed Becky."
• It Happened One Night
  #35 Top 100 (1998)
  #46 Top 100 (2007)
  #3 Romantic comedy
  Best Picture (1934)
  Good film. Funny film. It was the first movie to win Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Director (the others were "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "The Silence of the Lambs").

90 films down. 132 to go. The next 10 will come soon.

Thoughts for 2009-12-16

• Obama's security is so incompetent ... that a couple crashed breakfast with the president ... by accident. http://bit.ly/61iipE #
• Leave Beer for Santa Instead of Milk http://bit.ly/7m4kuI #
• 14? And now a U-Haul? http://bit.ly/4rMauK #
• If it wasn't for TiVo, I would have to stay up on weekends to watch Venture Brothers. #
• Looks like Oral Roberts couldn't raise $8-million to pay off the Grim Reaper like he did in '87 http://bit.ly/6lOH3n #
• I'm as excited about James Cameron's "Avatar" as I was for Michael Cimino's "Heaven's Gate" or Warren Beatty's "Ishtar" #
• McDonald's to Offer Free Wifi http://bit.ly/8e58ra If only the local McD's with WiFi had WiFi that worked... #
• If the Big 10 adds a 12th team, will they still call themselves the "Big 10"? Or will there be two Big 12s? http://bit.ly/6fsBx0 #
• US moves to ban 'excessively noisy' TV advertisements http://bit.ly/6IwlbA My TiVo's "mute" button will be obsolete! #
• Chile weightlifter has unexpected baby during training http://bit.ly/6u9XoO Should have done the clean and jerk nine months ago #
• Woman ordered to not make loud noises during sex http://bit.ly/5t7YDI #
• U.S. to move some Guantanamo prisoners to Illinois http://bit.ly/8G5YeA Will ACORN try to register them to vote? #
• Scientists find way to block fearful memories http://bit.ly/6Pw3Td Will come in handy on January 21, 2013 #
• Fewer French restaurants offering horse on the menu http://bit.ly/4N1xo3 Does it come with a side saddle ... uh, salad? #
• For Westerners, it’s not easy to join the Taliban http://bit.ly/8kgSLr Maybe Obama will offer a bailout? #
• NYC seeking condom wrapper designs http://bit.ly/79jady Big Apple to offer banana bandanas #
• 'Bed Jumping' Craze Storms the Internet http://bit.ly/6aqLmj Then: an ass-whuppin' from parents; now: Internet stardom #
• Son runs up dad's cell phone bill with excessive data usage. The bill? $21,917 http://bit.ly/7QJXKg #
• PETA, Ringling Bros. at odds http://bit.ly/66avoz Which group has more clowns? #
• Finding AT&T DSL down every couple of weeks is really getting old. #
• If Tiger's doc gave him any performance-enhancing drugs, it was probably a little blue pill. #
• Bernanke is Time's Person of the Year? Wait until Obama finds out! #
• How many "one of those days" in a row must occur before it's not "one of those days" but a normal day? #
• Yay! Zaxby's for lunch! (It's a Georgia thing. You wouldn't understand.) #
• At lunch, a nearby table's loud conversation included the phrase "white lesbian." I'm either sitting too close ... or too far away. #
• Make sure the freezer is plugged in; Roy needs a space next to Uncle Walt http://bit.ly/91BvxD #
• Georgia Supreme Court stays execution http://bit.ly/4JQqus Seems that 23 years isn't long enough to mount a proper defense #
• Tiger Woods is AP's "Athlete of the Decade" http://bit.ly/6QmR2d His event? The 40-whore dash #
• AT&T DSL is still down. Repair promises a technician by noon tomorrow. #

The "Best" Movies: Recap, part 8

I've been doing a rundown of the "best" movies (details about the list are here). I've given a brief review of 70 of the films on the list. Here are the next 10:

• Giant
  #82 Top 100 (1998)
  I think this was about oil. Or Mexicans. I'm not sure. I don't remember. And the fact that I don't remember much about it says a lot. I know more trivia about the film than I remember from the plot. Like this was James Dean's last role and Nick Adams re-dubbed some of his lines after Dean's death. Oh, and Elizabeth Taylor's daughter was older than her.
• Gigi
  Best Picture (1958)
  Forgettable film with two unforgettable songs: "Thank Heaven for Little Girls," and "I Remember It Well."
• Gladiator
  Best Picture (2000)
  I bet he was.
• Going My Way
  Best Picture (1944)
  Bing Crosby film. If you like Bing Crosby films, you'll like it. I suppose. I didn't think much of it. Wasn't bad. But wasn't great. It did have the song "Swinging on a Star" -- which won Best Song at the Oscars that year, beating out Judy Garland's "The Trolley Song"
• Gone with the Wind
  #4 Top 100 (1998)
  #6 Top 100 (2007)
  #4 Epics
  Best Picture (1939)
  Saw this in the theatres back in the 1960s, during a rerelease. The fact that it won the Best Picture Oscar in 1939 says something. 1939 was the best year ever for movies. Look at the film that were nominated, and didn't win, that year: Dark Victory, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Love Affair, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Of Mice and Men, Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz, and Wuthering Heights. In any other year, any of those could have won.
• Goodfellas
  #94 Top 100 (1998)
  #92 Top 100 (2007)
  #2 Gangster movie
  Should have won the Oscar in 1990 (Dances With Wolves won). Violent, but a great film.
• Grand Hotel
  Best Picture (1932)
  It was okay. This is the movie where Garbo tells the Baron "I want to be alone."
• Groundhog Day
  #8 Fantasy
  I enjoyed this movie, and do every time I see it. Oh, and I enjoyed this movie, and do every time I see it. And, by the way, I enjoyed this movie, and do every time I see it.
• Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
  #99 Top 100 (1998)
  Tracy and Hepburn's last movie together. Filmed when interracial marriage was illegal in 1/3 of the states, but released when it was legal in all 50 states. If only Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher had done a remake...
• Hamlet
  Best Picture (1948)
  While it has only about 1/2 to 2/3 of the play (it's a really long play), this was a very well-done film version of the Shakespeare masterpiece. It looks like a play. A very well-done play. If you haven't seen it, see it.

I'll cover another 10 soon.

Thoughts for 2009-12-15

• Georgia town outlaws cocks http://bit.ly/5HknAm #
• Is http://support.microsoft.com/ down? And if so, who do they call? #
• So, when will the networks get wise and start airing Al Gore's speeches on SyFy instead of C-SPAN? #
• Jackass #AlGoreTV #
• Scare Tactics #AlGoreTV #
• Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader #AlGoreTV #
• Numb3rs #AlGoreTV #
• Psych #AlGoreTV #
• The Prentender #AlGoreTV #
• As If #AlGoreTV #
• Privileged #AlGoreTV #
• Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales #AlGoreTV #
• Fat Albert #AlGoreTV #
• Fat Albert #
• Aaahh!! Real Monsters #AlGoreTV #
• Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! #AlGoreTV #
• Arrested Development #AlGoreTV #
• Dream On #AlGoreTV #
• Gimme A Break #AlGoreTV #
• My World and Welcome to It #AlGoreTV #
• Robot Chicken #AlGoreTV #
• Temperature's Rising #AlGoreTV #
• Amazing Stories #AlGoreTV #
• Fantasy Island #AlGoreTV #
• Big Brother #AlGoreTV #
• Fringe #AlGoreTV #
• Lost #AlGoreTV #
• The Magic Clown #AlGoreTV #
• Misfits of Science #AlGoreTV #
• Not Necessarily the News #AlGoreTV #
• Press Your Luck #AlGoreTV #
• The Surreal Life #AlGoreTV #

The "Best" Movies: Recap, part 7

Continuing my rundown of the "best" movies (details about the list are here), I've covered 60. Now, are the next 10:

• Easy Rider
  #84 Top 100 (2007)
  #88 Top 100 (1998)
  Wasn't allowed to see this one when it came out. I finally saw it years later. I wish I hadn't.
• Fantasia
  #58 Top 100 (1998)
  #5 Animation
  Good movie. If you like classical music, you'll love this one. If you don't like classical movie, you'll like the movie anyway. Actually, I never saw it in its entirety until recently. I'd seen bits and pieces, but never sat and watched it from start to finish. And, now, it's not available in the U.S. Disney will re-release it, I believe, in the next year. I ended up finding pieces on YouTube, and putting it all together to make a complete film. Oh, and you can find the "deleted" and "edited" scenes on YouTube. Trust me, it's not worth the effort. The edits (for politically correctness) are actually well-done, and do not harm the movie in any way.
• Fargo
  #84 Top 100 (1998)
  One of the Cohen brothers' better films, dontchaknow.
• Field of Dreams
  #6 Fantasy
  Eh. Okay film. Although the idea of having my very own baseball field is appealing.
• Finding Nemo
  #10 Animation
  It's okay. Not up to the quality of Fantasia or Beauty and the Beast, but okay.
• Forrest Gump
  #71 Top 100 (1998)
  #76 Top 100 (2007)
  Best Picture (1994)
  Pretty good film. Although the movie's Savannah geography is a little mixed up. The soundtrack was great. Except for the CCR songs. I never did care for CCR.
• Frankenstein
  #87 Top 100 (1998)
  Saw the movie a long, long time ago. Then, back in the 1985, I decided to read the book. I enjoyed the book. And discovered that the movie is only loosely based on the book. Still, the Karloff classic is ... classic. And, if you want to really be an prick, bet someone that Boris Karloff did not play Frankenstein (Colin Clive played Frankenstein; Karloff played the monster).
• From Here to Eternity
  #52 Top 100 (1998)
  Best Picture (1953)
  It was okay.
• Gandhi
  Best Picture (1982)
  Man of peace gets shot dead. I get it. Didn't need to 3 hours and 8 minutes to tell us this.
• Gentleman's Agreement
  Best Picture (1947)
  Now you know where John Howard Griffin ("Black Like Me") got the idea. Only, the movie is "Jewish Like Me." Pretty good film.

Out of 222 films on the list, that's 70. Another 10 will come up soon.

The "Best" Movies: Recap, part 6

Continuing my rundown of the "best" movies (details about the list are here), I've covered 50 of the films. Here are the next 10:

• Crash
  Best Picture (2005)
  Yawn. A bunch of things happened before a car crash. I don't remember anything about it other than that.
• Dances with Wolves
  #75 Top 100 (1998)
  Best Picture (1990)
  Kevin Costner flick. I didn't think the thing would ever end. Thankfully, it did. If only I had been able to fall asleep during it, I would have liked it better.
• Dial M for Murder
  #9 Mystery
  Good Hitchcock murder mystery. In a twist, something went wrong with the plan. Like happens in every other Hitchcock murder mystery. I enjoyed it.
• Do the Right Thing
  #96 Top 100 (2007)
  Some Spike Lee movie. I think it had a message, but I wasn't sure what it was. I think it was that white folks are bad. Maybe I'm thinking of another film. Either way, I wasn't impressed.
• Doctor Zhivago
  #39 Top 100 (1998)
  About an hour too long.
• Double Indemnity
  #29 Top 100 (2007)
  #38 Top 100 (1998)
  I saw this after having permanently associated Fred MacMurray as the dad in My Three Sons, and Barbara Stanwyck as Victoria Barkley in The Big Valley. Once I got past that, I really enjoyed this.
• Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
  #26 Top 100 (1998)
  #39 Top 100 (2007)
  Saw it on TV a long, long time ago. The only parts I remembered were the Coke machine and Slim Pickens riding the bomb. Saw it much later, understood it, and still liked it.
• Driving Miss Daisy
  Best Picture (1989)
  Good film.
• Duck Soup
  #60 Top 100 (2007)
  #85 Top 100 (1998)
  This is the Marx Brothers movie with the mirror scene. If that alone doesn't inspire you to see this movie, I don't know what will. A classic. Hail, Freedonia!
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
  #24 Top 100 (2007)
  #25 Top 100 (1998)
  #3 Science fiction
  Pretty good film. Although, the Steven Spielberg film that came out seven days before this one (Poltergeist) is the one I enjoyed more.

That brings the total up to 60. Another 10 coming soon.