Well, it's getting late, and UDM never sent me his #3. Hopefully he'll do it posthaste.
MOVIE #3
Big day for Hitch and Coppola.
Shrykespeare
Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) – Director: George Lucas; starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, Peter Cushing, David Prowse and James Earl Jones. Geezer pretty much said it all yesterday: “It’s freaking
STAR WARS.” I remember when this first came out… in the great metropolis of Phoenix, AZ, there was exactly ONE theater that was playing this movie, a huge venue with a three-story screen called the Cine Capri. Of course, when you are seven years old, the notion of waiting in line for ANYTHING will make your shoulders slump and your tiny mind wander. But in retrospect, waiting for this movie (probably still the longest I’ve ever waited in line for a movie) was sooooooooo worth it. I mean, when you’re seven years old, it doesn’t take much to blow your mind, but nothing like
Star Wars, albiet in size, scope and technical flair had ever been conceived up till that point. Never had an entire universe been created so expertly and awesomely, and in so easy a way for a young mind to become engrossed in. In an era when CGI was nothing more than a coalition of letters you might find floating in a bowl of alphabet soup, this film re-set the bar at just what could be achieved on the big screen. I doubt there was a preteen (or teen) in America who, after seeing this movie, wasn’t pretending to be Luke Skywalker, flying his pretend X-wing fighter down whatever invisible trench his imagination could create in his front yard or on the playground. Every stick or sawed-off tree branch instantly became a light-saber. And, of course, the empire (pun semi-intended) that this film created for Lucas, complete with its decade-long marketing and advertising blitz, raked in a gajillion bucks because I and millions of tykes like me just couldn’t… get… enough. Some (well, many) think that
The Empire Strikes Back is the best chapter of the trilogy, but I just can’t. Even if
Empire or
Return of the Jedi had never been created, this film stands so perfectly on its own. It’s the film that pushed me hard into sci-fi, a genre that included
Star Trek, Dr. Who and so many others. This movie WAS my childhood. How could it not be one of my all-time favorites?
(5th appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v5VahaEL7s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQFrl5rpXMg
(Death Star battle scene, re-edited… quite possibly the most famous action sequence of all time)
silversurfer
Alien (1979) - Director: Ridley Scott; starring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt and John Hurt. Is there a more terrifying, thrilling movie ever than Ridley Scott's stunning chiller? Has a tagline ever had such an immediate impact? "In space, no-one can hear you scream." That line in itself sends shivers down my spine. A movie which tipped it's genre on its head, avoided the wonder and awe of science fiction and the future in favour of one which is isolated, haunting, claustrophobic and truly, truly fearsome. I can still remember that first time I watched the movie, which, like many movies which my parents were wary of allowing me to watch, had to be watched when I was a little older, probably around 8 or 9, and I literally felt a chill come over me, I went cold with the fear Scott induced within me. He crafted a truly stunning story, one which revels in its slow pace, decisive and alluring, and one filled with tension. Even before the now infamous chest bursting scene, we are introduced to a set of characters who are not at all at ease with one another, where in a prison-like, claustrophobic ship they respond to an SOS signal from a nearby planet. Those long, sparse moments as we Scott uses eerie camera movements to glance around the ship, building up the tension and anticipation for something which we are uneasy of, unsure of what is to come. And what indeed does come? Man, while we are rarely shown the terror which is unearthed from Hurt's chest, that only serves to make it all the more fearful, all the more terrifying, as they say you always fear what you cannot see. A phenomenal, ruthless and unstoppable force with no weaknesses, it truly is the ultimate weapon, and it's understandable why the corporation wanted to study it. But what I think separates this from the sequel was that the crew were a team of everyday people. They were not soldiers, they everyday guys like you and me, with their own human weaknesses, fears and motives. And I suppose that is why Ripley became such a worthy adversary to the alien. She is literally fighting for her life, deflecting all her fears back onto the alien with all her might. It makes for a thrilling battle, one which reflects your own fears, sending your heart rate into the stratosphere. But the fears are not stemmed from just these two characters, Scott's use of visuals to heighten the tension through the use of ominous light and shadows, Goldsmith's haunting score, H.R Giger's organic visuals and a script which evokes so much realism that it makes it all the more disturbing. There was a time Ridley Scott was the most innovative, interesting and influential director working, and we may never see him return again to that status, but for this suspenseful movie, which reveals all our own fears in a claustrophobic and isolated atmosphere, I will forever hold out hope.
(5th appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eIpvZsEky4
thegreenarrow
Rear Window (1954) - Director: Alfred Hitchcock; starring James Stewart, Grace Kelly and Thelma Ritter. While a few have mentioned my obvious love for Tim Burton movies, even he can't come close to the iconic talent of Alfred Hitchcock. Hitch had an ability to tell a story with an unequalled style, and
Rear Window is one of my favourites. The story of an injured photographer reduced to observing his neighbours as he sits bound to his apartment is a fascinating murder mystery movie, filled with intrigue, suspense romance and humour. There are so many subtleties to the movie, with numerous subplots adding to the story as you witness the goings on of the surrounding neighbourhood. For instance, the first 30 minutes or so, we simply get to know the characters. Grace Kelly is ideal in the role of his perfect girlfriend, who can never find a way to break down Stewart's reserve. The study of their relationship would have made a good movie by itself. Almost every action and every word between them is filled with meaning, and what they see in the lives of others is an interesting reflection of the tensions and possibilities in their own present and future. The action and suspense that occur later serves in large part as a catalyst that resolves some of the important issues between the two. Add to that the scenes of the numerous neighbours who inhabit the area surrounding Stewart's apartment and you have a film which plays so well on repeated viewings, revealing moments of intrigue within each relationship. But what makes the story so fulfilling is the manner in which Hitchcock directs it, he builds up the suspense so expertly, using a variety of camera angles which heighten the viewers intrigue and reveal the depth of the story. It's a thrilling psychological study and one which brings into question the morality and ethics of its characters, it asks the viewers the same questions in which we have become voyeurs of celebrity culture, eager to cast judgement using only a binocular sized viewpoint. But more than anything it's an entertaining movie which can appeal to so many different audiences, one which keeps you glued to the screen from beginning to end.
(8th appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kCcZCMYw38
transformers
Fight Club (1999) - Director: David Fincher; starring: Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter and Jared Leto. A lot of people tend to say “the book is better than the movie”, I am not much of a reader myself, but I did read the novel
Fight Club and it's fucking fantastic. That being said the movie blows it out of the water and that's saying something considering how great the book is. What makes this movie so special is how batshit crazy it is. Tyler Durden is one of psychotic characters in movie history. Brad Pitt really brought Durden to life in an insane way and he is mesmerizing in the part. The whole film is just as clever as the book, with black comedy, wit and brutal violence worked ingeniously into the script. When it comes to endings. There is seriously none better than this (even though I knew what was coming), it's jaw dropping.
(9th appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ8imPmQ0js
englishozzy
Die Hard (1988) - Director: John McTiernan; starring Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Paul Gleason and Reginald VelJohnson. Bruce Willis started something with the everyman action hero that has been repeated so many times, but unlike most of the failures
Die Hard stands up as the pinnacle of every man's action movie. A reliable fixture in everyone's DVD collection there is not much to say about this film but just sit back, stereo up and prepared to be blown away by Willis' smart-mouthed cop who takes it upon himself to save the day.
(10th appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qxBXm7ZUTM
Ron Burgundy
Pulp Fiction (1994) - Director: Quentin Tarantino; starring Samuel L Jackson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Eric Stoltz, Rosanna Arquette, Christopher Walken, Harvey Keitel, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Tim Roth and Phil LaMarr. Tarantino, will you ever make something similar to this again? Probably not, but does he need to? Sort of. This is one helluva awesome piece of cinema.
Pulp Fiction has great and very cool characters, innovative editing, unforgettable scenarios and one sweet soundtrack. Whats there not to like? (ask my old man, he doesn’t like it, but wont tell me why). I’d also like to know the relationship between several of these actors and Tarantino, surely Travolta has a lot to be thankful for, QT must love Jackson, Thurman too, Willis and Rhames must have lots of respect for QT, and Keitel too.
(11th appearance)
Dance contest scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik-RsDGPI5Y
Buscemi
The Godfather (1972) - Director: Francis Ford Coppola; starring Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, John Cazale, James Caan and Robert Duvall. The first chapter of the greatest trilogy in cinematic history. Focusing on the rise of Michael Corleone into becoming the title character, the film is a masterfully written and directed work of art with excellent performances from everyone involved. The story (based on Mario Puzo's novel) is sprawling and gets us into the story immediately with Vito Corleone's "I believe in America" speech. Though these are characters that are flawed and do bad things, Coppola manages to get us to care and know these people and why they do the things they do. Not many gangster films can do that. Also the film teaches us that gangsters are like family and that they almost always stick together (unless you betray your own or do something unforgiveable). This helps make the film easy to relate to. Though the film has often been imitated and parodied (and made into a great video game styled after
Grand Theft Auto), the original trilogy is still the way to go.
(8th appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAfWMr26KQk
Chienfantome
Amelie (Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain) (2002) – Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet, starring Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Jamel Debbouze, Dominique Pinon, Isabelle Nanty and Yolande Moreau. After all my ecstatic comments each time it has appeared in one of your Tops, it must come as no surprise to you that Amelie is placed so high in my Top. Believe it or not,
Amelie has a lot of haters in France. To this day, I can only explain that by the lack of imagination, and a lack of the adventurous spirit. For
Amelie really is an adventure. No film could ever embark you on a cinematographic journey like Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s. His film is for the dreamers, those willing to let imagination be part of our lives. It is a journey through life, and everything there is to love about it. The little pleasures. The friendships. The dreams. And of course love.
Amelie travels through a reinvented Paris, a Paris where everything is possible. The hopes and dreams become palpable. Jeunet films them with such creativity and virtuosity. I’ve loved Amelie from the very first time I saw it because it’s a film you get out of a different person from the one you were just before. It breathes into you, it makes you look at life with a different perspective. It makes you believe that anything is possible.
Amelie is a film for the dreamers, a film that makes you love life more than you ever loved it. That’s the effect it has on me each time I watch it. And each time I watch it, I love it even more.
(8th appearance)
Here’s a sweet and hilarious clip (subtitled) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDuWnv8fovo
numbersix
Vertigo (1958) - Director: Alfred Hitchcock; starring James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes and Tom Helmore. Hitchcock may have been erratic in terms of quality, but he made so many films in his 50 or so active years that there’s bound to be good and bad. What I love about Hitchcock was his attempts to take the cerebral (he read philosophy and psychology) and mould it into something anyone can enjoy, whether they get the references or not. And for me
Vertigo is the ultimate achievement in this. Every element of the production, from costume to music to art design to framing, combines together to convey a story about obsession. The plot should be familiar: an ex-cop suffering from vertigo is hired by an old friend to trail his wife who is acting as if she’s possessed. There’s plenty of twists and turns (some convoluted, some not), but all of it amounts to Stewart’s obsession. When he loses the woman he’s tailing (and who he started to fall for), he finds someone similar that he attempts to mould into the original. It’s almost a cliché now but no one did it as effectively as Hitch in this film. There are all sorts of fucked-up ideas going on in this movie: desire for loss, irreplaceable desire that destroys subsequent relationships, and an unconscious drive towards death. All of which spells tragedy. While most thrillers contain betrayal and conspiracy, this film takes it to the extremes, showing that the consequences (i.e. guilt) go so deep that it can destroy someone.
(4th appearance)
Here’s one of the greatest nightmare sequences I’ve ever seen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgBQyhrQJJo
Banks
The Matrix (1999) - Director: The Wachowski Brothers; starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hugo Weaving. Sitting in the theater as a 12-year-old kid, staring in awe as Keanu zooms off in the air at the end of the movie, I had no idea what had just hit me – I just knew it was goddamn awesome.
The Matrix mixes a great mythology of following your destiny and coming into your own as a person, threw in some of the best action set pieces known to man, added some very cool machines, and produced what is probably one of the great action films of all-time. Not to mention it introduced bullet-time, something nobody had ever seen before. From the tension filled escape from the office building to the always iconic lobby shootout,
The Matrix never lets up, alternating action with one of the best “What If?” premises: what if everything we knew was a façade? The thought of machines that had taken over the Earth and were using humans as makeshift batteries, while those humans languished in a glorified computer simulation was something that Little Kid Me was not ready for. Even if the Wachowskis spun out of control with the twisted mythology of the two sequels,
The Matrix will always remain as perfect as it was the day I saw it in 1999.
(10th appearance)
Neo realizes He is the One:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oHOv9p9dHQ
BarcaRulz
The Godfather Part II (1974) – Director: Francis Ford Coppola; starring Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton and Robert DeNiro. (Sorry, no comments, too busy today.)
(4th appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJr92K_hKl0
Geezer
Saving Private Ryan (1998) - Director: Steven Spielberg; starring Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Giovanni Ribisi and Jeremy Davies. I am completely stunned to read that anyone actually has anything to criticize about this film. Not only is it the greatest war film ever made, it’s truly in a class by itself. At no point in this breathtaking cinematic achievement have I found myself bored, disinterested, or anything but completely enthralled with what is happening on screen. The opening scene, where Spielberg expertly depicts the storming of Omaha Beach not only inspired me to become so interested by the D-Day invasions that I wound up doing not one but two of the largest school projects of my life on the subject, but it was the greatest 30 minutes of film I'd seen at the time, and probably ever. Most of you seem to agree that this portion of the film deserves its praise, but in my opinion, there is no drop off from the first scene to the rest of the film. The plot is excellent, emotional and deep. The acting from every single character is top notch. Tom Hanks is at his very best. Tom Sizemore, Barry Pepper and Edward Burns are superb in support. The battle sequences are the best in any film I have ever seen. The final sequence holds up just as well as the opening scene, perhaps even better due to the emotional attachment you have grown to know over the course of the film. Whenever I stayed home sick from school, this is the movie I'd put on to pass the time. It's my father's favorite movie of all time. There is not one single flaw, not one single down moment, not a single frame is wasted. Its the greatest film from the greatest director of all time. The fact that it didn't win Best Picture is the greatest injustice in a long line of tragic mistakes the Academy Awards has made. It's just
perfect.
(7th appearance)
Opening scene (Omaha Beach):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_0muwlB8tc
leestu
The Shining (1980) – Director: Stanley Kubrick; starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd and Scatman Crothers. One of the first times my parents thought I was old enough to be left at home to look after myself while they went out for the evening we rented a couple of videos to keep me occupied. This was one of them and watching it alone at night in my early teens was an experience I’ll never forget. I’ll admit it scared the hell out of me (figuratively speaking of course) but for some reason I loved that. I loved that a movie could be that powerful that it breaks through your reason and affects your raw emotions. I think now that this experience might be a reason why I watch and like horror movies. Maybe I’m forever (safely) chasing that feeling of being that terrified again much like I imagine a junkie continually chases that first high again. For the record: the longer version is without doubt the superior version.
(9th appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgMdz2fe0CY
W
Elf (2003) - Director: Jon Favreau; starring Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Bob Newhart and Ed Asner. Everyone's favorite Christmas film should probably have made their list, after all it's a "favorite." This fantasy comedy is easily Will Ferrell's best role in my opinion. He's zany, full of joy, and so innocent, similar to a child. He's got some of my favorite lines in a comedy like "You smell like beef and cheese, you don't smell like Santa," and the way he says "Franciscoooo..." it really is fun to say. He really drives the film with the character. Other than that, Ed Asner and and Bob Newhart play a great Santa and Papa Elf. James Caan plays a great... well, what I imagine James Caan to be. And Zooey, who doesn't love that girl (probably Buscemi, he hates everyone
) And yes, it's schmaltzy at the end, but it wouldn't be a Christmas film if it weren't.
Buddy in New York:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6yYd6Pq7Ic
NSpan
Buffalo ’66 (1998) – Director: Vincent Gallo; starring Vincent Gallo, Christina Ricci, Ben Gazzara and Mickey Rourke. Taking a cue from
Paris, Texas, this passion project of Vincent Gallo's resulted in one of the most memorable, funny, and endearing films ever made. I think people oftentimes approach this movie in the wrong way. This is a comedy through and through. Sure, there are plenty of serious themes--and the humor itself is black as night... but, if you "get" it, you'll be laughing from start to finish. Anjelica Huston and Ben Gazzara are simply amazing--and they play off each other wonderfully. The dinner scene is, at once, hysterical and painful to endure. Gallo may be a bit of an ass in the real world, but every aspect of this movie came together so well, and he gets full credit for that. Between his score and the soundtrack itself,
Buffalo '66 effectively utilizes music in a way few films do. My only explanation for the Brown Bunny is that the universe decided this: Vinny Gallo had made one of the best movies ever made; to maintain balance in the cosmos, he must then make one of the worst films ever released on the big screen. And, with that, we once again achieve harmony with nature. PS. If you love
Buffalo '66, give
Big Fan a watch--it captures a lot of the same dark humor.
Kidnapping scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfjlqZf6Aao
undeadmonkey
The Lion King (1994) - Directors: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff; starring Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons and James Earl Jones. I remember when i first saw it. Sitting in a auditorium, middle row, to the left. it was movie-time friday at kindergarten. Was about 5 or 6. The opening sequence was fantastic, the imagery, the music. it was mesmerizing. For the longest time i expected africa to look like that. A little part of me still expects that when i finally get to see Africa i expect the animals to all bow down and the music to start. I still remember the majestic parts, scary uncle Scar, The funny side characters, Timon and Pumba, Zazu, Rafiki. The love, the friendship. My favorite part though, is the scene with Rafiki and Simba in the pasture, before and after Mufasa's arrival. Just that interaction between the two has always been very special and interesting to me.
(6th appearance)
JohnErle
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) – Director: Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam; starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam. I'd never heard of Monty Python until a friend of mine acted out the entire Black Knight sequence hopping on one leg in our high school parking lot. The Pythons inspire that kind of geekish obsession and I'll probably be able to quote from this movie until the day I die. "Can't I have just a bit of peril?" Just typing that quote made me laugh.
(10th appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKhEw7nD9C4