Da 2nd Movie Page of Lamentable Laziness!
My Favorite Movies
Westerns - I've just started to devour Westerns, having previously believed that all Westerns were mindless, violent action movies that had hokey morals and a lot of racism towards Native Americans (which isn't cool, considering I am 1/16th Cherokee). I've been enlighted since then have found that Westerns can rule it hard.
- The films of Sergio Leone - Who would have thought that a director from Italy could revolutionize how people viewed the American West? Leone made Clint Eastwood a household name, as well as influenced Eastwood's directing style, and Leone made the West a dirty place to live. I like his Westerns because of the moral ambiguity found in them. The traditional "good guy seeks revenge" themes are either deleted or turned on their ear in Lenoe's films. Also, no man has ever come close to equalling Leone's use of landscape and closeups. The man is one of the most visually creative directors ever.
- A Fistful of Dollars - The first of Leone's informal "The Man With No Name" Trilogy, stars Clint Eastwood as Joe, a drifter who comes to a town with two rival crime families. Joe cleans the town up by playing the families off of each other, both for profit and his harsh sense of honor. This movie is based on Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo and is able to translate the samurai tale into a very good Western.
- For A Few Dollars More - The Man With No Name (Eastwood) returns, this time called Monco. He's a bounty hunter who's after a dangerous criminal. He has compition from the cool as ice Colonel Mortimer (Lee Van Cleef). When the two decide to work together, the bad guys don't stand a chance. This on is also notable because it's the first Leone Western to feature Ennio Morricone's score. Trust me, it's important.
- The Good, The Bad, The Ugly - Holy crap does this movie rule it hard. Eastwood returns as the Man With No Name, this time called Blondie, and this film is actually set before the previous films. Set during the Civil War, this film has a great epic scope. The moral ambiguity I talked about above is a central theme to this story. All of the main characters, Eastwood (The Good), Lee Van Cleef as "Angel Eyes" (The Bad), and Eli Wallach as "Tuco" (The Ugly) are not very nice people. Eastwood utter coolness, though, rocks the house. The man is THE MAN. Angel Eyes also rocks, and his first appearance is a memorable one. But Tuco absolutely steals this move because he's so funny...and loud. While Eastwood and Van Cleef let their actions and their faces do all their talking, Tuco never, ever shuts up. Ennio Morricone's score is wonderful, especially when Tuco finally finds the cemetary.
- Once Upon A Time In The West - You know, I'm torn on whether I like this film better that GBU. The score is just as good, the characters are just as cool, the themes are just as epic, and the visuals are just as fantastic. I have to give Time two aspects that are better than GBU. The main protaganist, Harmonica (Charles Bronson), is just as cool as the Man with No Name, but his backstory is just so tragic and brutal that he actually seems more real than Eastwood's character. Also the villain, Frank (Henry Fonda, really playing against type and relishing it), is even more heartless and evil than Angel Eyes. Frank's entrance may just be the greatest entrance of all time, and what he does in that entrance is shocking and let's the viewer know Frank is a bad mother, shut yo' mouth. Frank and Harmonica both get great one-liners as well. Frank - "People scare easier when they're dying." Harmonica - "There were three dusters. Inside the dusters were three men. Inside the men were three bullets."
- Others
- High Noon - Whoo boy, this is an interesting Western. The heroics are realistic and the sense of duty is great. Cary Cooper plays the sheriff of a western town. On his wedding day, and his retirement, news comes that a hardened killer he sent to jail years before is arriving by train at noon in order to kill him. Despite his new wife's pleading, and the fact that no one in town will stand up to the killers with him, Cooper refuses to back down. It's interesting to know that this movie basically occurs in real time, decades before the TV show "24".
- The Magnificent Seven - Based on Kurosawa's wonderful Seven Samurai, this Western deals with standing up for the little man. The Seven, led by cool as hell Yule Brenner, must protect a Mexican village from the bandit Callavera (Eli Wallach, who would develop this character into Tuco for GBU) because it's the right thing to do. Steve McQueen tries to steal the movie away from Brenner, and ,despite some great lines like "Mister, we deal in lead", he never really pulls it off. James Coburn and Charles Bronson have strong roles as well.
- The Searchers - Considered by many to be both director John Ford and star John Wayne's greatest achievement, this Western is a classic. On first viewing, I thought it was a great film, but not the all out classic others thought it was. I read up a little on the film though, and I found various little levels to the film that I had not noticed before. I was uncomfortable with Ethan's (John Wayne) view of Native Americans, but the subtle levels I read about made it somewhat more believable and less racist. For a kick, compare the scene from Star Wars Episode II where Anakin sneaks into the Tuskan Raiders camp to find his mother to a scene very, very, very (re: stolen almost shot for shot) similiar in this film.
Comedies
- The Blues Brothers - I absolutely love this movie. It's probably my third favorite movie ever. It's funny as hell, with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi at their absolute best. The music is also great, and it helped to get me into Blues music. If you don't think I'm right about Jake and Elwood, just remember, They're on a mission from God. Heh
- Ghostbusters - Oh yeah, Bill Murray is the man, and he has never been as much the man as in this film (well, he was the man in Lost In Translation too). This is probably the greatest comedy to come out of the '80s, and that's saying something.
- The Goonies - This one is stilll funny today. Before Sean Astin became Samwise, before Josh Brolin fell off the face of the earth, before Corey Feldman became, well, creepily unfunny, they made this movie. Who can forget Sloth? "Hey you guys!" Heheh. BTW, did you see Sloth on steriods in Return of the King? I sure did.
- Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Stopped Worrrying and Learned To Love the Bomb - The end of the world has never been funnier. One of the darkest comedies ever written, director Stanely Kubrick and star Petter Sellers hit this one out of the park. Sellers masterfully plays three different roles. See if you can tell which ones. Sterling Hayden plays the unforgettable General Jack D. Ripper, whose concern about precious bodily fluids is both funny and disturbing. Slim Pickens riding the nuclear bomb will forever be etched into the minds of anyone who sees this movie.
- Blazing Saddles - Speaking of Slim Pickens, he has a hilarious role in this film too. The movie, however, belongs to the suave Cleavon Little as Sheriff Bart and Gene Wilder as the Waco Kid. The dialogue, the sight gags, the entire movie is classic. The ending is pretty bizarre, but in a good way. I wish Mel Brooks made films as funny as this one still.
- Young Frankenstein - Speaking of good Mel Brooks movies, this came out the same year as Blazing Saddles, 1974. Talk about a great year for comedy. This film stands as one of the best comedies ever as well as a great homage to the classic Universal Frankenstein movies. Marty Feldman (Igor) comes close to stealing the movie from Gene Wilder (Dr. Frederick Frankenstein), but Wilder owns this movie.
Dramas
- The Godfather Trilogy by Francis Ford Coppola
- The Godfather - Anything I say cannot do this film justice. This may be, hell probably is, the greatest movie ever made. This tale of a father's love for his family and his son's duty to the Family is perfect. This movie made Al Pacino, when he still knew how to underact, into a superstar. It also proved that Marlon Brando was still one of the greatest actors ever (even though he never memorized the script. He kept reading off of cue cards or had parts of dialogue written on parts of the set or on actor's faces). Watch Brando's sadness as he realizes that everything he did to protect his family will someday destroy it.
- The Godfather Part II - The great debate is over whether this film is better than the first. I personally feel that the first Godfather is slightly better than this one. The last hour of this film, however, is some of the most powerful stuff to ever be put on film. Watch in cinematic awe and joy as Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) utterly destroys everything he ever loved.
- The Godfather Part III - This film gets a lot of flack from a lot of people. I happen to think it's a great film, but it's not quite up to the level of the first two installments. The weakest link is probably Sofia Coppola's turn as Mary Corleone. Nepotism doesn't always work out. Andy Garcia and Eli Wallach shine, however. Still, this story is about Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), and his doomed quest for legitamacy and redemption is fascinating to watch. The ending is absolutely great, from the beginning of the opera to the tragic shot of Michael all alone in his old age. BTW, Francis Ford Coppola did not want to call this movie The Godfather Part III. He wanted to call it The Death of Michael Corleone.
- Others
- Apocalypse Now - Yeah, it's slow and confusing at times, but this is a highly stylized nightmarish account of Viet Nam. The darkness that lies in man is given a deep analysis through Francis Ford Coppola's eye. "The horror, the horror" indeed.
- A Clockwork Orange - This is one messed up movie. Who doesn't like a little bit of the ole ultra-violence though? Violent and disturbing, it takes a director the likes of Stanley Kubrick and an actor as good as Malcolm McDowell to make the viewer sympathize with an utter bastard like Alex.
- The Road to Perdition - My second favorite film of 2002, this is a powerful movie on the idea of father-son relationships. Paul Newman really deserved an Oscar for his performance.
- Silence of the Lambs - I probably should file this under horror, but the great acting elevates this beyond the usual horror film. Anthony Hopkins creates one of the greatest characters in recent memory in Dr. Hannibal Lector. Jodie Foster is also great. Wanna know something though? The book is even better.
Phew, wasn't that a long list? You know what, though? I didn't even tell you what my favorite movie is. Get this, it's Conan The Barbarian. The story of revenge and trusting one's personal strength gets me every time.
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