I've decided to start making lists. People want to read lists even if they don't care about the topic. They enjoy agreeing and disagreeing with the list maker. My cousin Clint had a blog of lists, however I believe he was banned from listing by his controlling wife (just kidding).
So, this week's topic will be my top ten favorite movies. The following choices may not be the most amazing films, but they are my favorites and the ones I enjoy watching over and over.
10. Goldfinger:
This is the quintessential Bond film. It's the one every other Bond movie is measured up against. It began what is known as the Bond formula. It blends plot, women, cars, gadgets, locations, and over the top action sequences seamlessly. The bond girls are unforgettable. The Aston Martin DB5 makes its first appearance. Oddjob is the first henchman to have an interesting method of killing, which would be copied by others like Jaws and Xenia Onatopp. Goldfinger was the third film in the franchise but it was the first true Bond film.
9. Casino:
This film is great because not only is it a Martin Scorcese film but it's also a Las Vegas movie. Las Vegas is my kind of town, so any movie set in the city limits of Vegas is dear to my heart. Casino shows the seedy side of Vegas. Robert DeNiro is a casino manager for the mafia and Joe Pesci plays DeNiro's friend who comes out to Sin City to help keep things in line. Scorsese shows how they had everything they could ever want and the events that led to the demise of paradise and how Vegas has become what it is today in its family based shows and themed casinos. Accompanied by the perfect soundtrack, this film is definetly a top ten film.
8. My Fair Lady:
"Wouldn't it be loverly?" It was. If the costumes, songs, and premise of this film wasn't enough for you, Audrey Hepburn should be. Her adorable face and irrestible charm lights up this film. Rex Harrison is all but forgotten in every scene alongside her. My Fair Lady was originally a musical adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, however when Warner Bros. brought it to film they wisely chose to replace Julie Andrews with Hepburn. Songs like The Rain in Spain and I Could Have Danced All Night stay with the viewer for days afterwards. This is by far the best musical I have ever seen.
7. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid:
If I said this was my favorite western it would be somewhat of a lie. Even though Butch and Sundance were cowboys in the West, this film is far from the standard western movie. Half of the film is set in Bolivia, which is a long ways away from Cowboy and Indian territory. Butch and Sundance, played by Paul Newman and Robert Redford, were bank robbers who ran the Hole in the Wall Gang. This film combines true facts, pleasing fiction and buddy humor to create an acceptable believability of the Old West coming to an end and what the rough and tough lawbreaking men of that time period had to do to survive the transformation throughout society.
6. King Kong:
King Kong (1933) is what basic is all about. It is a stop motion film like the Gumby cartoons and that creepy Rudolph movie. This film launched the career for Kong and he has been reincarnated several times, sometimes as a misunderstood creature who is placed in an uninhabitable landscape and sometimes as a fierce creature who must be stopped with WOMD. My favorite adaptation is the 1933 version with Fay Wray because it is simple and illustrates the creativity Hollywood had to use before computers. However, I am excited for the upcoming version by LOTR director Peter Jackson, who has cast Jack Black.
5. Rounders:
This movie may not have started the poker explosion that has occured today, but it didn't hurt. Rounders is considered by any guy under the age of 25 to be the greatest poker movie ever. However, you have to remember they also have never seen another poker movie except Maverick. The reason I like this movie is obviously because of its poker, but also because of Edward Norton, Matt Damon, John Turturro and John Malkovich. These four men are some of the greatest actors in Hollywood and I consider Edward Norton the greatest actor of my generation. I also think Matt Damon also has his best moment of acting in any of his movies. The instant he hears Worm's voice in the bar with the State Troopers, you can see in his eyes his utter disgust with his friend, but he doesn't show it anywhere else on his face. Poker enthusiasts should definetly see this movie, it is kind of a rite of passage (besides, you can learn the basics of poker from it so we don't have to teach you during a game).
4. Citizen Kane:
Considered by film critics to be the greatest film of all time, it is ranked this not because of its interesting plot or fast paced action, but because of its influence on modern filmmaking. Orson Welles, the director, screenwriter and star, was in his early 20s when he made this film with his Mercury Theatre. His techniques had never been done before and are now standard in film today. Citizen Kane is Welles' fictional tale based off of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. Hearst did everything he could to stop this movie from being released, however Welles won and got his movie made his way. To film geeks, it is the most important film to ever be made, but I can also admit to a normal movie goer it can be pretty boring.
3. From Russia With Love:
The film before Goldfinger, From Russia With Love is a true spy movie. Its utilization of fewer gadgets lets Bond use his wits rather than an Omega watch with built-in laser. Bond is targeted by SPECTRE to deliver a Lektor decoding machine and then be killed along with Tatiana Romanova, played by the stunning Daniela Bianchi. There are twists and turns throughout the film which begins during the first Bond pre-title sequence where our hero is hunted down by a homicidal asassin named Donald "Red" Grant. I enjoy this film more than the common Bond formula movie because From Russia With Love is more authentic than any other Bond film.
2. Casablanca:
"Play it again Sam." This is one of the most famous movie quotes of all time and it's not even said in the movie. Rick Blaine is the proprietor of a club in Casablanca. It is a haven for people who wish to acquire exit visas to America. Enter Blaine's lost love Ilsa. The two had a short love affair in Paris at the time of the occupation by Germany. Now, years later, they meet again and must choose between love and country. The chemistry between the hard, brash idealist and the pure, soft spoken love is electric. Bogie is at his finest as a man who was burned by love and Ingrid Bergman plays the torn and conflicted female perfectly. One can see how Casablanca has become the greatest love movie as time goes by.
1. The Godfather:
From the first glimpse of the title being held up by a puppeteer to the final scene of Diane Keaton having the door closed on her to hide a meeting between the other family, you are shown how important family, tradition and honor can be. Marlon Brando is the Godfather. I am fascinated by the mafia. It is one of my favorite topics. They believe in respect and values. They have a code that should not be broken. Francis Ford Coppola deserves every ounce of recognition he is shown for the Corleone trilogy alone (even though Godfather III sucks). As a complete set, it is one of the top three trilogies. On a side note, Godfather II is the only sequel to make the AFI's top 100 films. The Godfather fascinates me and everytime I watch it, I want to start it over and watch it again.
No comments:
Post a Comment