Basil's Blog

Monday, December 14, 2009

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 (2004)
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.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Thoughts for 2009-12-13

It's been raining for days. I must find a Sun Dome. #
Working on the mini-reviews of the "best movies" Got 100 done #
Grandchildren are watching Christmas programs on the TiVo. Just finished "Charlie Brown" and now watching "Rudolph" #
A day of Christmas TV for the grandchildren continues. "A Christmas Story" is on now. #
The grandchildren are all movied out and have gone home. Now, I can watch a film for grown-ups. First up: The Wizard of Oz. #
William to be part-time queen: http://bit.ly/4JakNk #
Amazon has Discovery Channel's "When We Left The Earth" for free on Video On Demand (TiVo, etc). Yay! Free space stuff! #
One of my sisters asked me: What's the diference between Tiger Woods and Santa? Santa stopped after three ho's. #

The "Best" Movies: Recap, part 5

Some time ago, I decided to watch the "best" movies. I put together a big list from several other lists:

American Film Institute (AFI) 100 years, 100 movies (1998)
AFI's 100 years, 100 movies, 10th Anniversary Listing. (2007)
AFI's "10 Top 10" (Animation, Romantic comedy, Westerns, Sports, Mystery, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Gangster, Courtroom Dramas, Epics)
Academy Award® Best Pictures winners.

A couple of weeks back, I finally finished the list. Now, I'm offering my thoughts on each of the movies. Going in alphabetical order, I've done 40. Here's the next 10:

Cat Ballou
#10 Western
What began as a serious western novel was turned into a comedy. And, you get to see Nat King Cole slowly dying of lung cancer over the length of the film. I didn't care for the film. Parts were okay, but really, Barbarella and Dobie Gillis in a western?
Cavalcade
Best Picture (1933)
You won't be able to watch this movie on TV or DVD. It's just not available in the U.S. I found different clips on YouTube -- uploaded from European versions with sub-titles, Italian, I think -- and put them together to make a complete film. Quite honestly, it wasn't worth the effort.
Chariots of Fire
Best Picture (1981)
Boring.
Chicago
Best Picture (2002)
Not as boring, but not entertaining, either.
Chinatown
#19 Top 100 (1998)
#21 Top 100 (2007)
#2 Mystery
It was an okay film. Nicholson was good. Others were okay. If you've seen it, you don't really need to see it again. If you haven't, what can I say but: Forget it. It's Chinatown.
Cimarron
Best Picture (1931)
Not much to this one. Richard Dix film. If you've heard of him, odds are it's because of his being mentioned in Blazing Saddles ("Our fathers came across the prairies, fought Indians, fought drought, fought locusts, fought Dix... remember when Richard Dix came in here and tried to take over this town?"). The best way to describe this movie is ... a silent film with sound dialog. Really. If you do watch it, you'll understand.
Cinderella
#9 Animation
A good Disney film. Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo.
Citizen Kane
#1 Top 100 (1998)
#1 Top 100 (2007)
Yes, it is a good film. It's not as good as Casablanca. But all the experts seem to think this is the best ever. It's not. But, yes, it's a good movie.
City Lights
#11 Top 100 (2007)
#76 Top 100 (1998)
#1 Romantic comedy
Charlie Chaplain and the blind girl who thinks he's a rich man. Funny in places. Touching in places. Worth a view.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
#64 Top 100 (1998)
Richard Dreyfuss gets half a sunburn and builds a mountain out of mashed potatoes. Oh, and aliens play techno-pop. Good film anyway.

That's 50. More to come.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Thoughts for 2009-12-12

Nike sponsors Tiger, right? And Nike's slogan is "Just Do It" right? Well, Tiger did it. #

The "Best" Movies: Recap, part 4

A while back I decided to watch the "best" movies. I put together a big list from several other lists:

American Film Institute (AFI) 100 years, 100 movies (1998)
AFI's 100 years, 100 movies, 10th Anniversary Listing. (2007)
AFI's "10 Top 10" (Animation, Romantic comedy, Westerns, Sports, Mystery, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Gangster, Courtroom Dramas, Epics)
Academy Award® Best Pictures winners.

Earlier this month, I finally finished the list. Now, I'm offering my thoughts on each of the movies. I've done 30 so far. Here's the next 10:

Blue Velvet
#8 Mystery
Weird. Not as weird as, say, "Liquid Sky," but still weird. I don't remember much about it. Except, Dennis Hopper sucking on inhalant and yelling "Don't look at me! Don't you f***ing look at me!" That, alone, almost makes it worthwhile. Other than that, a forgettable movie.
Bonnie and Clyde
#27 Top 100 (1998)
#42 Top 100 (2007)
#5 Gangster movie
Wasn't allowed to see it when it came out. It was rated "M" -- which was what PG was called before it was GP before it was PG. Saw it later. Pretty good film.
Braveheart
Best Picture (1995)
Another movie based on real people that took some liberties with history. I liked the movie, despite some of the unpleasant scenes of torture.
Breaking Away
#8 Sports movie
Yes, it's a sports movie ... about riding a bicycle. And, surprisingly, I enjoyed it.
Bringing Up Baby
#88 Top 100 (2007)
#97 Top 100 (1998)
Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn. Great film. Funny film. Oh, and Baby is a leopard. But not every leopard is Baby. When it comes on TCM, watch it.
Bull Durham
#5 Sports movie
It has its moments. The best part is the baseball. But, maybe that's because I like baseball.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
#50 Top 100 (1998)
#73 Top 100 (2007)
#7 Western
Didn't see it when it came out. But I heard that blasted B. J. Thomas song over and over and over on the radio. Finally saw the movie a few years later. I enjoyed it.
Cabaret
#63 Top 100 (2007)
I sort of didn't care for this film. Oh, some parts were good. And Joel Grey was wonderful as the Master of Ceremonies. And the music was great. Just, something. I don't know. If it was on the TV, I might not change the channel, but I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it.
Caddyshack
#7 Sports movie
Yes, it pretends to be a golf movie. Of course, it's not. It's a comedy. And a funny, funny movie.
Casablanca
#2 Top 100 (1998)
#3 Top 100 (2997)
Best Picture (1943)
The best movie ever made, hands down. It is a classic. And has some of the best lines ever uttered on film. I saw it for the first time ... in Kuwait. Fell in love with it. Quick story: They scheduled it to be shown at Camp Doha, and the little theatre was packed. At the last minute, they announced they were going to play some other, more recent movie in its place. The crowd split into two loud camps: Casablanca or that other film. They consulted, then decided to show Casablanca. At the end, even those who wanted to see the other film said they enjoyed it. If you haven't seen it, shame on you.

Now, that's 40 movies done. More to come.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Thoughts for 2009-12-11

Headline: Tiger is 'ready to quit' http://bit.ly/8y0lHP Quit? Golf? Or being a dick? #
If the big buzz about a movie is that it's in 3-D, I'm thinking the movie sucks http://bit.ly/8HSjBb #
A guilty pleasure for first lady: 'really bad TV' http://bit.ly/6yMgCY That explains all of Barack's press conferences #
Increase in crime at Georgia Tech http://bit.ly/6EMalv Finally! The Jackets catch up to the Bulldogs! #
Larry Flynt suing nephews over tarnishing his name http://bit.ly/7f8EZU No, really. I am not making this up. #
One of my sisters just sent me an email with a video attached called "strip_tease.wmv" I'm scared to open it. Any volunteers? #

The "Best" Movies: Recap, part 3