favorite flicks
 

The Great Escape
Star Wars (all of 'em, yes even episode 1)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Morgan! (A Suitable Case for Treatment)
Harold and Maude
Silence of the Lambs
Psycho
Reservoir Dogs
Clockwork Orange
Code of Silence
Above the Law
Bladerunner
The Jungle Book (Disney animated)
Fight Club
American Psycho
Airplane!
2001: A Space Odyssey
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Excalibur
Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
Koyanisquaatsi
Airport
Taxi Driver
The Usual Suspects (and darn near ANYTHING starring Kevin Spacey)


I know I'm going to be back to edit this like half-a-dozen times ...
There are just too many to name.

Once Upon A Time In America

Not a western. Sergio Leone's last film. The 4-hour version, of course; the US got the butchered 2.5h version that made no sense. Pauline Kael saw that version, wrote a damning review, saw the full version, and fell in love with it. Once you've experienced it, life will never really look the same to you.

James Woods basically defines the performance that he'd try to imitate and give again and again for the rest of his career. His smooth malevolence is utterly stunning. DeNiro is utterly flawless as a sort of Kubrickian anti-hero, all stares and observations, his actions inhibited by childhood trauma and suddenly flaring violence. DeNiro is a man lost in society, formed by prison, and released upon an unsuspecting world. Yet he is emotionally crippled to an extent that allows Woods to emotionally outmaneuver him.

Tuesday Weld is unbelievable, her pain and struggle manifesting in a perfectly nuanced performance. Her drawn face when attempting to betray her lover to save his life is unforgettable; the ultimate irony that would follow gives you one of those feelings of dread and emptiness, having witnessed human weakness, yet being utterly unable to do anything about it.

Oh, and Elizabeth McGovern. Beautiful and yet so cold. Not a good actress by any means, yet perfect for the role. Distant and emotionally untouchable, she is betrayed by the man she herself pushed away, and in the end loses everything because she desired to be more than she is. The scene where she wipes the make-up off her aged face will stick in your memory forever. That is, if the rape scene hasn't already scarred you thoroughly. Traumatizing, paralyzing.

Forget everything you know about films. Go find the 227minute version of this film, pop it in, and spend 4 times UTTERLY GLUED to the screen. Ennio Morricone's best score, Tonino Delli Colli's soft focus-yet-hard edged photography, and the completely flawless art direction and production design will have you enthralled. The script is brilliant, to say the least. The temporal arrangement works so completely that it should be the stock teaching material in film schools regarding film logic and script direction. And if you think I exaggerating the acting of Woods and DeNiro - their 'young' counterparts are staggeringly convincing. Personally I think that they show the by far best teen/kid acting I've ever seen on film.

Do yourself a favour, and check it out:
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0087843

Alternatively, the VHS version can be bought here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6300271617/

You may also want to have a look at the review of the Laserdisc, as there's no DVD of it out (yet) (good review, as well).
http://www.filmsondisc.com/LaserRevi...in_america.htm

In addition, there's a very convincing outline of the film at
http://film.tierranet.com/directors/...e/america.html

And finally, although this probably isn't anyone's cup of tea (do NOT read this if you haven't seen the film yet), there is a very scholarly analysis of the film at: http://film.tierranet.com/directors/...s/bartual.html

The laserdisc review describes OUATIA as a 'hallucinatory' film; take that in the best possible way - it will draw you in, and never really let you go. A poetic work of genius.

X.

Braveheart
J.F.K.
The Godfather
Star Wars
The Empire Strikes Back
Die Hard
Clerks
Mallrats
Dogma
The Big Lebowski
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
The Matrix
Office Space
Rush Hour
Raiders of the Lost Ark
IJ & The Last Crusade
Silence of the Lambs
Hannibal
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Volcano
Face/Off
Gladiator
The Negotiator
The Devil's Advocate
American Beauty
As Good As It Gets
Outbreak
Trading Places
15 Minutes
The Pelican Brief
The Firm

I will be editing this as I go through my library. And wolf is right, I defy anyone to find a movie that Spacey starred in that wasn't good. Which reminds me, I gotta see K-PAX to make sure the thread continues...

~Mike

Dittos on most of that and I'll raise you:

Apocalypse Now
Shakespeare in Love - because it's the cleverest of the clever-clever films
Young Frankenstein
Duck Soup, Night at the Opera, Animal Crackers, Horse Feathers, Day at the Races
Raising Arizona

Okay then

Shakespeare in Love was good?
While i've never seen it bigtime shakespere frieds of mine (as in peform plays monologs etc as a hobby) thought it was pretty damn awful...

A blast from the past...
 

The gods at the cable mecca on Northeast Blvd. (aka Comcast) decided to grant us free Encore this weekend. I happened to flip by it just as "The Blues Brothers" was starting. God that movie is still great! And truth be told, I had forgotten some of the antics in the movie (e.g. James Brown as Rev. Cleophus Jones). The cop chase is still one of the best ever.

Add these 5 to your rental list if you've not seen them. I like them very much.

African Queen- Classic fun- sweaty Bogart, sweaty Hepburn, Jungle, WWII...See it again.

All About Eve- THE smartest, sharpest dialogue ever written, delivered with the skill of a surgeon by Bette Davis.

The Red Violin- visually stunning, and Im a sucker for the narrative built around an-object's-chance-encounter-through-time plot device.

Hands on a Hard Body- Documentary not to be believed. Whoever can keep one hand touching the pickup will win it. Let the games begin.

So I Married an Ax Murderer- many wonderfully silly lines. "We have a piper down, repeat, a piper is down." plus great cameos-Grodin, Hartman,Wright,Arkin.

Apocalypse Now - Meant to see it, haven't yet.

Shakespeare in Love - Kind of curious, will wait for HBO random showing

Young Frankenstein - saw it once ago, can't remember much of it

Duck Soup - Don't remember it

Night at the Opera - Don't remember it

Animal Crackers - Don't remember it

Horse Feathers - Don't remember it

Day at the Races - Don't remember it

Raising Arizona - Sounds familiar, can't quite place it

And to add to my list:

Nat'l Lampoon's Vacation
Nat'l Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Planes, Trains, & Automobiles
Ferris Beuller's Day Off
Michael Collins
Glory
Halloweens 1 & 2
Summer Of Sam

And I'm out.

~Mike