20. Bowling for Columbine (2002)
Moore excels at placing himself in the action and orchestrating events while filming them (a rarity for documentary film-makers who do most of their manipulating covertly while editing). Bowling is the best of the bunch. While I don’t always agree with his tactics, Moore makes some very valid points here: America is a violent county, guns do need to be controlled better, and Charleton Heston makes for a lousy spokesperson for any organization. Despite the nature and heavy tone of the main issues, Moore manages to spice his film with humor (loved that animated history of the U.S.) and sets a fine example of responsible citizenship. If more people in the world had more passion to fix the ills of the world like Moore, the world would be a much better place.
Why not rate this one higher? Did I mention I don’t always agree with his tactics? While I don’t think that disagreeing with his tactics makes, in itself, for poor film-making, the whole scene of accusing Kmart for selling the bullets that were eventually used at Columbine was wholly unfair.
19. North by Northwest (1959)
Okay, I know there’s a lot of Hitchcock on this list, but let me explain. For one thing, I’ve seen three times more Hitchcock-directed movies than those directed by anyone else. The reason why I have seen so many is because I enjoy his work. Not all of his stuff is that great, though, and I could name off several very mediocre films he directed (The Trouble with Harry, Lifeboat, Vertigo, Marnie, Family Plot) and even some I absolutely despise (Under Capricorn, for example). Still, there are plenty of good ones. Like North by Northwest…
Ah, yes, the epitome of all things Hitchcock. This film brings in everything Hitchcock perfected over the prior 30 years of his career. This action-packed, suspense laden flick is chock-full of memorable scenes. A crop duster may not be the most practical way to kill a man, but it's a great visual representation of the great Hitchcockian examination of "nowhere to run, nowhere to hide". The climb down, around and back up to Mount Rushmore is also memorable. Did I mention the innuendo – possibly the best comedic ending of a film ever?
Why not rate this higher? I just can not get over how old Cary Grant is for this role. And, there’s a few minor logistical holes to get the story going in the beginning; I wish the writer’s would have polished it up a little bit.
And now for five movies in a row that start with the letter ‘S’:
18. Strangers on a Train (1951)
Suspense! Suspense! Suspense! Hitchcock creates another gem in this 1951 classic. The hero seems partially to blame for all his woes, so you are continually debating whether to side with him or not. A murder scene filmed like none you've ever seen before (through the reflection of the victim's eyeglasses) & a climax that's equally unique (on a merry-go-round), make for one of the best dramas ever.
Why not rate this one higher? I used to rank this as one of my ten favorite films of all time, but subsequent viewings increasingly weaken the ending for me. The carousel sequence is great, but otherwise the final few minutes stretches believability a little bit.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
My 21st to 23rd Favorite Motion Pictures
23. Best in Show (2000)
I wasn’t too keen on seeing this picture. After viewing Christopher Guest’s earlier mockumentary – the overly-hyped This is Spiňal Tap – I was afraid this would not be that great either. Well, I was wrong. Guest and his troupe have all the elements of both halves of the contraction “mockumentary” down pat: the film looks and feels as if it’s a documentary, but the people are not real – they are actors. And those actors flawlessly capture all the little eccentricities of dog owners. This is probably one of the biggest crowd-pleasers on this list; when I’ve shown this list to friends, this is one of two films that they all agree should be on their lists, too.
Why not rank it higher? Sometimes the laughs are a bit awkward – I’m not sure if I’m supposed to laugh or feel sorry for the characters. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing (it shows the actors are convincing), but it does detract from the comedic element.
22. Star Trek (series) (1979 – 2002)
Okay, I’m throwing this whole series together as one entry – all ten motion pictures. It’s a mixed bag, really, but they do flow together quite well from one to the next. When this series is good, it is awesome. The action, dialogue and story-lines are exciting, witty and clever, respectively. Humor and pathos – all whilst saving the universe. If you love the television series (and I do love the television series), you’ll love these movies as they further the stories of the characters, and wrap up the loosed ends left by the TV episodes.
Why not rank it higher? Did I mention it’s a mixed bag? Part one is dreadfully slow, part five is simply an exercise in Shatner’s ego, and while the first seven enhance the TV series from which they are gleaned, the more recent three only detract from what was a perfect story arc in The Next Generation. Also, it’s tough to rate this series of movies without referencing the TV shows. As such, it seems unfair to rank this any higher, as the movies themselves are not as great without first having watched the TV shows from whence they were gleaned.
21. Back to the Future (1985)
Here we have the perfect plot. So many loose ends are left hanging, you wonder how they will all fit together. But in this sci-fi/comedy they do, well, perfectly. Watch closely; everything that happens in the first 20 minutes comes back around at the end. But even on a simpler level, this fast-paced picture is pure cinematic enjoyment. Yes, there are two other movies in the Back to the Future Trilogy, but we’re gonna pretend they don’t exist. I would easily put this motion picture in my top ten, except…
Why not rank it higher? There’s a whole ten minute segment – from the time Marty McFly is freed from the trunk of a car, until he arrives back downtown with Dr. Brown – that is just plain poor story-telling. It’s gratuitous and ignores temporal causality (an area at which this movie normally excels) for the sake of a few laughs. Worse, this portion of the movie throws in unnecessary mini-stories wherein George McFly inexplicably decides not to stand up for the girl he just stood up for while we watch Marty quickly ‘fading’ from life in nonconformance to his sibling’s prior, slower fades. And why does Lorraine suddenly ask if she’ll ever see Marty again? Why would she think that she wouldn’t? Nevermind, it’s just thrown in there for a (failed) attempt at a laugh.
I wasn’t too keen on seeing this picture. After viewing Christopher Guest’s earlier mockumentary – the overly-hyped This is Spiňal Tap – I was afraid this would not be that great either. Well, I was wrong. Guest and his troupe have all the elements of both halves of the contraction “mockumentary” down pat: the film looks and feels as if it’s a documentary, but the people are not real – they are actors. And those actors flawlessly capture all the little eccentricities of dog owners. This is probably one of the biggest crowd-pleasers on this list; when I’ve shown this list to friends, this is one of two films that they all agree should be on their lists, too.
Why not rank it higher? Sometimes the laughs are a bit awkward – I’m not sure if I’m supposed to laugh or feel sorry for the characters. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing (it shows the actors are convincing), but it does detract from the comedic element.
22. Star Trek (series) (1979 – 2002)
Okay, I’m throwing this whole series together as one entry – all ten motion pictures. It’s a mixed bag, really, but they do flow together quite well from one to the next. When this series is good, it is awesome. The action, dialogue and story-lines are exciting, witty and clever, respectively. Humor and pathos – all whilst saving the universe. If you love the television series (and I do love the television series), you’ll love these movies as they further the stories of the characters, and wrap up the loosed ends left by the TV episodes.
Why not rank it higher? Did I mention it’s a mixed bag? Part one is dreadfully slow, part five is simply an exercise in Shatner’s ego, and while the first seven enhance the TV series from which they are gleaned, the more recent three only detract from what was a perfect story arc in The Next Generation. Also, it’s tough to rate this series of movies without referencing the TV shows. As such, it seems unfair to rank this any higher, as the movies themselves are not as great without first having watched the TV shows from whence they were gleaned.
21. Back to the Future (1985)
Here we have the perfect plot. So many loose ends are left hanging, you wonder how they will all fit together. But in this sci-fi/comedy they do, well, perfectly. Watch closely; everything that happens in the first 20 minutes comes back around at the end. But even on a simpler level, this fast-paced picture is pure cinematic enjoyment. Yes, there are two other movies in the Back to the Future Trilogy, but we’re gonna pretend they don’t exist. I would easily put this motion picture in my top ten, except…
Why not rank it higher? There’s a whole ten minute segment – from the time Marty McFly is freed from the trunk of a car, until he arrives back downtown with Dr. Brown – that is just plain poor story-telling. It’s gratuitous and ignores temporal causality (an area at which this movie normally excels) for the sake of a few laughs. Worse, this portion of the movie throws in unnecessary mini-stories wherein George McFly inexplicably decides not to stand up for the girl he just stood up for while we watch Marty quickly ‘fading’ from life in nonconformance to his sibling’s prior, slower fades. And why does Lorraine suddenly ask if she’ll ever see Marty again? Why would she think that she wouldn’t? Nevermind, it’s just thrown in there for a (failed) attempt at a laugh.
Friday, September 7, 2007
My 24th to 26th Favorite Motion Pictures
26. The Iron Giant (1999)
Here's one of only two animated films on my list. This film (directed by Brad Bird, who later went on to direct The Incredibles) shows that cartoons need not be relegated to the dustbin of history, as Disney noew seems to think. But besides the cool, colorful animation, this animated tale goes one step futher than all those princess-falls-in-love pieces of crap by actually telling an intriguing, relevant story. There was suspense, excitement, romance, action and mystery - and this is a kid's movie! The big mystery, actually, kept me guessing right up until the climax. And the denouement is just about the most perfect ending I've ever seen in any film, animated or not. If I only ever buy my son one animated movie ever, this will be it.
Why not rate it higher? Some of the dialogue was unfortunately trite, and the film seems to wander a bit during the first quarter.
25. Trekkies (1999)
The final year of the 20th century was a good one for motion pictures (see #26, above and #42, below). The best documentary of that year, and one of the best documentries of all-time is Trekkies. What I loved most about this documentary was how unexpected it was. I assumed this would be just a light-hearted romp through the lives of people who were way more interested in Star Trek than is healthy. But instead, it was a poingiant, insightful, meaningful look at how Star Trek has shaped the lives' of its fans and how they deal with an often non-understanding society. Especially touching was the story of the handicapped man who wrote to Gene Roddenberry thanking him for helping him forget he was confined to a wheelchair and, conversely, the man who purposely confines himself to a wheelchair (similar to Captain Pike's) just so he can identify more fully with that character. Oh, and it's good fun too - if my dentist office actually looked like the Enterprise (like the one detailed in this documentary), I would actually make an appointment.
Why not rate it higher? Because a couple of the stories are uninteresting and/or too much time is spent on them.
24. The Birds (1963)
This episodic neo-noir thriller is, at the same time, both a continuation of what Hitchcock was creating at the time and something completely original. The action/suspense/stroyline continue to rise and fall every twenty minutes or so as if it is a series of short films rather than one long one. The characters are bizarre, the birds' attacks are horrific and the soundtrack...well, it's not there. Coming from the same person who directed Vertigo, Psycho and Rebecca, it's hard to believe there no music here, but there isn't. And that makes the film that much more frightening - the birds themselves furnish the 'music'. Another quirk I really like: the story doesn't really end, we just see our heroes driving off for what they think will be a safe spot, but which the radio voice-over tells us is not. The words "The End" do not appear on screen.
Why not rate it higher? That's easy. The first half hour or so is spent setting up the characters, but it's annoyingly slow. And Tippi Hedren isn't exactly the best actress I've ever seen.
Here's one of only two animated films on my list. This film (directed by Brad Bird, who later went on to direct The Incredibles) shows that cartoons need not be relegated to the dustbin of history, as Disney noew seems to think. But besides the cool, colorful animation, this animated tale goes one step futher than all those princess-falls-in-love pieces of crap by actually telling an intriguing, relevant story. There was suspense, excitement, romance, action and mystery - and this is a kid's movie! The big mystery, actually, kept me guessing right up until the climax. And the denouement is just about the most perfect ending I've ever seen in any film, animated or not. If I only ever buy my son one animated movie ever, this will be it.
Why not rate it higher? Some of the dialogue was unfortunately trite, and the film seems to wander a bit during the first quarter.
25. Trekkies (1999)
The final year of the 20th century was a good one for motion pictures (see #26, above and #42, below). The best documentary of that year, and one of the best documentries of all-time is Trekkies. What I loved most about this documentary was how unexpected it was. I assumed this would be just a light-hearted romp through the lives of people who were way more interested in Star Trek than is healthy. But instead, it was a poingiant, insightful, meaningful look at how Star Trek has shaped the lives' of its fans and how they deal with an often non-understanding society. Especially touching was the story of the handicapped man who wrote to Gene Roddenberry thanking him for helping him forget he was confined to a wheelchair and, conversely, the man who purposely confines himself to a wheelchair (similar to Captain Pike's) just so he can identify more fully with that character. Oh, and it's good fun too - if my dentist office actually looked like the Enterprise (like the one detailed in this documentary), I would actually make an appointment.
Why not rate it higher? Because a couple of the stories are uninteresting and/or too much time is spent on them.
24. The Birds (1963)
This episodic neo-noir thriller is, at the same time, both a continuation of what Hitchcock was creating at the time and something completely original. The action/suspense/stroyline continue to rise and fall every twenty minutes or so as if it is a series of short films rather than one long one. The characters are bizarre, the birds' attacks are horrific and the soundtrack...well, it's not there. Coming from the same person who directed Vertigo, Psycho and Rebecca, it's hard to believe there no music here, but there isn't. And that makes the film that much more frightening - the birds themselves furnish the 'music'. Another quirk I really like: the story doesn't really end, we just see our heroes driving off for what they think will be a safe spot, but which the radio voice-over tells us is not. The words "The End" do not appear on screen.
Why not rate it higher? That's easy. The first half hour or so is spent setting up the characters, but it's annoyingly slow. And Tippi Hedren isn't exactly the best actress I've ever seen.
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