My Top Ten Favorite Films (Part 1 of 2)

One of my favorite online film reviewers, the Angry Videogame Nerd on Cinemassacre.com, recently made his top 30 favorite films list. The internet is notorious for people making top favorite lists or top best films lists. I always enjoy reading them because, although not one person can say what the "best" movie is and have everyone agree with him, someone could suggest their favorites and their reasons why, inspiring others to go out and watch new movies. This always sparks my own personal love for my favorite films and intrigues me to see what the writer see's in their favorites. So I thought I would share my top ten, add a little feedback into what the general story is about and add insight into why it makes my list.
I have a list of my top 50 on Facebook Movies, which is a general ranking of my favorites. Although my top ten could all be considered my favorite, this is the rank I would put them in in terms of how much I enjoy them, appreciate them, and feel they have inspired me.
The ones that almost made the cut:
15. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
14. Good Will Hunting (1997)
13. Taxi Driver (1976)
12. Pulp Fiction (1994)
11. Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)


10. Schindler's List (1993): This film did a doozie on me when I first checked it out back in 2005. I honestly can tell you I have only seen it once in my entire life so this review can be a little dry. I had always heard about it's accolades and I gave it a shot back when I was in my sophomore year of high school and boy did it inspire me. Not only is the true story of Oscar Schindler (played by Liam Neeson), so moving and fascinating, it shows true genious behind the camera done by the great Steven Spielberg. The film is shot in black and white but adds a few shots of color correction seen in candle lights or a little girls coat that I always remember. It's so well done, this film will break your heart.
9. Groundhog Day (1993): The best comedy of all time. Harold Ramis directs the story of a man who's stuck in the same day and must repeat it over and over until he gets it right. Seeing Bill Murray go through the motions of a typical groundhog day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. He is stuck as a weatherman covering the story of Punxsutawney Phil and shows so much disdain for his position in this town. As he repeats his days and meets the people, he goes through the insanity I feel anyone would in his situation. He at one point believes he's a god, tricks a woman into dating him, tries to kill himself repeatidly, and eats as much as he wants, all in different sequences. But after all this, he finds himself learning to love the townspeople and ends up helping everyone and falling in love with his producer. Its a really genuine film that only gets better with repeated viewing and showcases Bill Murrays best comedic performance ever, in my opinion.
8. The Graduate (1967): When I tell you this film is about the story of Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddock, a man who has just graduated college, has everything going for him, feels hes missing something in his life, and then finds himself sleeping with his parents friend named Mrs. Robinson, only to realize he has fallen in love with her daughter who is also his age...you would probably think this is nuts. But the story unfolds brilliantly, with the help of the best soundtrack ever to be showcased in a film by Simon and Garfunkel, and has brilliant direction by Mike Nichols. One scene that always stood out for me is when Benjamin first sleeps with Mrs. Robinson and a montage ensues that goes through the songs "Sound of Silence" and "April Come She Will". The progression shows him going through the affairs he has and shows time passing as he slowly goes through this act secretly and effortlessly. We see him walk out of a pool and into his poollhouse, only to see the next cut he is in a hotel room with Mrs. Robinson. The next show the camera closes up on Benjamins face and zooms out to show him somewhere else. It's a terrific showcasing of editing I would recommend to anyone.
7. Se7en (1995): Se7en, directed by David Fincher, is so dark and twisted it blows my mind everytime. It's an old cop and new cop dynamic shown this time by Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt. We love both these characters, identifying with Morgan Freemans hatred of the violence he's seen in the world due to his seniority as a cop, and Brad Pitt's eagerness to join in on destroying this violence. These two characters work together to find killer, John Doe, who is murdering to the tune of the seven deadly sins shown in Biblical writings. I do not want to spoil anything about this movie but the ending twist still gives me a shiver down my spine. A sidenote also: the film takes place in seven days and the seventh day is the only day not to rain. I always liked that.
6. Its A Wonderful Life (1946): James Stewart was an Oscar winning comedic actor when he volunteered to fight in World War II. When he came back, he was awarded medals for his bravery and service. He returned to acting with his friend, director Frank Capra, in a darker role, in this "wonderful" film we see in syndication every Christmas season. Apparently this film did not due well in the box office and was only a success due to later distribution on television and video tapes in later years. Thank God for this because James Stewart plays a character that I feel is the most worthy of rooting for to succeed in the end in the history of cinema. The entire film, his character George Bailey is given one problem after another, as the angel Clarence (and we as viewers) watch him grow up. His life is a precious thing and when George Bailey finally hits his breaking point and considers suicide, Clarence comes down and shows him a world where he had never been born. Bailey sees how he has effected the world around him and see's how much he has meant to everyone in the town of Bedford Falls. When he finally wishes to live again and sees his old life restored, he is so happy that it radiates off the screen and makes us all happy to be around the people we love in our lives. If you don't shed a tear when George Baileys brother utters the line, "A toast...to my big brother George. The richest man in town!", towards the end of the movie...well I don't know what to say to you.

To be continued in Blog Part 2

A Movie I Have Always Wanted To See Made

Hello there fellow bloggers. You ever think to yourself, "man all these movies in the theaters are sequels or i feel like they've been made before and i just want something i haven't seen before"? Well I have an idea..something I have always wanted to see in theaters and has never been touched upon. A Hamilton vs. Burr movie. Yes, I mean the duel between Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton and Vice President Aaron Burr on July 11, 1804, better known as the "Duel at Dawn". Why hasn't anyone made a "Duel at Dawn" movie yet?
I got into this idea basically from an early age. I was watching a history channel film on historical events in American history, sometime around 6th or 7th grade. This story was the one that intrigued me the most and I have always wanted to see it told on screen with an actual studio-driven budget. Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were both high figures in American politics during this time. They had longstanding political quarrel and belonged to two different political parties. When Aaron Burr finally challenged Hamilton to a gentleman's duel by the Hudson river, Hamilton accepted and was given the choice to pick a weapon. He chose for the battle to involve pistols, and on the early morning of July 11, Burr shot Hamilton which ultimately killed him and tarnished his reputation until the day he died.
The most famous duel in American history deserves a good movie. When I have pitched this idea to many of my friends they usually respond with enthusiasm and interest. My favorite feedback on this idea was my friend saying, "Oh yeah awesome dude, the guy on the ten dollar bill in a movie!".
I've had a lot of time to cast this picture in my head and find myself my dream director for the project. Sure there's plenty of directors that have had historical pictures come out within the past two decades, but lets spice it up a bit. Who do I see making the most interesting film on "the Duel"? Just for fun, here are my choices, and leave some feedback as to who you would imagine fitting the roles.

Alexander Hamilton played by Colin Firth: Colin Firth is an underrated actor. He has been great antagonists in Shakespeare in Love and The English Patient and was a great love-able character in Love Actually. He has good range and I see him fitting the role of a well respected political figure who takes much ridicule and opposition from the likes of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
Aaron Burr played by Christian Bale: Christian Bale can be a hero and a villain. He can be intense and suttle when he wants to. Why not have him in a role as the man who's career and reputation fall apart after being on such a high pedestal of political excellence. I would want Burr portrayed like Casey Affleck's character Robert Ford in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, where you completely feel sorry for his circumstance though you find yourself slightly not rooting for him.
Thomas Jefferson played by Joseph Fiennes
James Madison played by Jonathon Pryce
John Adams played by Paul Giamatti
George Washington played by Ralph Fiennes
Governor George Clinton played by Brandon Gleeson
Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton played by Natalie Portman

Top 5 Directing Choices
1. Steven Speilberg (Who would have guessed this one?)
2. Christopher Nolan
3. Quentin Tarantino
4. Paul Thomas Anderson
5. Alfonso Cuaron

Marvel Superhero films, the Avengers, and my ten bucks for a ticket

Lately what has been on my mind is the idea of actor Chris Evans (Fantastic Four, Not Another Teen Movie), as Captain America in the new superhero film The First Avenger: Captain America, which is slated to come out in 2011. Joe Johnston, director of Jumanji and Wolf-Man, is set to helm the piece that is sure to lead up the inevitable Avengers film showing superheros from the Marvel universe team up to fight super villains and save the world. This is all exciting to me as an avid superhero/comic book fan ever since I was a kid. Although I've moved on from buying comics and action figures, I still sometimes catch the superhero 90's cartoons on late night television and I am a huge fan of what the Marvel Studios have been doing with these films. Iron Man was a huge achievement. In 2008, when i thought the Dark Knight was to be the only superhero film to hold my interest, Iron Man came out and changed the genre in it's own right. Casting the risky choice of Robert Downey Jr in the lead role sure did pay off. He was the perfect balance of wit, charm, cockiness, intelligence, and style while still containing the "everyday man" human quality to his character. With this being the framework of the Avengers lineup soon following, I thought I would take some time and update you as a reader on the casting choices of the Avengers, a little information on rumored casting choices, and an overview on the films to come.

Here are the films of the Avengers characters whose films have been released
1. Iron Man (2008) : Directed by Jon Favreau, Starring Robert Downey Jr.
2. The Incredible Hulk (2008) : Directed by Louis Leterrier, Starring Edward Norton as the Hulk

Now here are the ones soon to come...
1. Iron Man 2 (2010): Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. are set to return. Scarlet Johannson joins the cast as Black Widdow who will most likely appear in the Avengers film, and fan-favorite War Machine will be played by Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle.
2. Thor (2011): Directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Chris Hemsworth as Thor, this is sure to be an interesting film. With a master thespian of a director taking on a mythical subject matter set in a superhero universe, it will be the most interesting film to watch succeed or fail, in my opinion. With big name actors such as Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury (soon to be an Avenger as well), how can you not be excited?
3. The First Avenger: Captain America (2011) : This film will be interesting because Captain America has one of the best superhero stories never to be shown on screen at its fullest quality. When the Americans in World War II create a super-soldier serium to fight the Nazi's, the test it on character Steve Rogers, who becomes the greatest American soldier of all time : Captain America. When the comics began to decrease in sales, the character was frozen only to be unthawed by the Avengers to defeat his archnemesis, Red Skull. It will be interesting to see how they will play this storyline out and how they will show this hero adapt to life in the present day.
4. Ant-man (2012) : Being directed by Edgar Wright from Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz is a terrific choice. This lesser known Avenger completes the original team and this film will be terrific if they decide to use this underdog tone and make him a humorous and fun character to root for and introduce just in time for the Avengers film release. No casting has been done but it will be nice to see this actually be made into a live-action piece instead of the original idea to let Pixar take on the character. He may be a character who can only shrink himself and control insects, but he's still an Avenger!



All in all, if all these films are made in time and made on nearly the same level as Iron Man, we're in for a treat. With intertwining film cameos and casting rumors such as Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye and Hugo Weaving as Red Skull appearing in this film, we may just see an awesome achievement in the action film genre. Surely a well thought out and developed action film that shows a brain in its script is worth my ten bucks of a ticket much more than a Jennifer Aniston comedy or another Transformers disaster sequel, am i right!?

- all information can be sited back to imdb.com, slashfilm.com, superherohype.com, and general Marvel comic-book knowledge

Post numero dos right here. I've recently just re-watched one of my favorite James Bond films that i got from my netflix this week. The film was On Her Majesty's Secret Service. For those who don't know who James Bond is and have lived under a rock for the past fifty years, he is a fictional spy character created by Ian Fleming in the late 1950's, also known as Agent 007. I have seen all the Bond films, some probably in the viewcount reaching the double-digits. The films always have terrific action sequences that always topped each other with the latest and most spectacular stunt work. The films show 007 working for Mi6 and brittish intelligence, foiling an over-the-top villian, and getting the supermodel-esque leading lady in the end.
I feel there is a lot of flaws one could point out with James Bond, but in terms of entertainment value, "no body does it better". (quote intended). Everyone has their favorite Bond actor. Mine is the first actor to don the tuxedo, Sean Connery, who established the characters suave, athletic, and superhero style attitude to the role. Connery gives off the impression he is in complete control of every situation and we as viewers want to go along for the ride with him. I highly recommend seeing his first four bond adventures, because they could be some of the greatest action films ever put to screen.
I end this blog with my top 10 James Bond films, and hopefully when Spike, AMC, USA, SYFY, or whatever network puts on a marathon, you will check them out. With Six actors having portrayed 007, and 22 films made, i can honestly say i cannot wait to see what they make next.
10. From Russia With Love- 1963, Connery as Bond
9. License to Kill-1989, Timothy Dalton as Bond
8. Live and Let Die- 1973, Roger Moore as Bond
7. The Spy Who Loved Me- 1977, Moore as Bond
6. On Her Majesty's Secret Service- 1969, George Lazenby as Bond
5. Dr. No- 1962, Connery as Bond (First Bond film)
4. Goldeneye-1995, Pierce Brosnan as Bond
3. Casino Royale- 2006, Daniel Craig as Bond
2. Thunderball- 1965, Connery as Bond
1. Goldfinger-1964, Connery as Bond

Oscars 2010

Well this is my first blog and in true blogging tradition, i'm going to spew out all my feelings on the Oscars this year. "The Hurt Locker" won Best Picture this year over the juggernaut that was "Avatar" and i say it was deservedly so. "The Hurt Locker" really hit a stride by not only keeping me on the edge of my seat but introducing the idea that a film based around the Iraq conflict can be a decent watch and not seem to preachy or political. "Avatar" was an amazing experience in the theater. It is like comparing apples and oranges when it comes to these to films but i feel i will re-watch "The Hurt Locker" more than "Avatar" and "Avatar" will probably loose its grand scope and encompassing dynamics when put on the small screen on dvd and taken away from its "3-D" theatrical wonder.

All the acting wins were predicted by websites previous to their wins and this made the ceremony almost a little more uninteresting than others i've seen in the past. The Oscars have come and gone and i really have no gripes, except i must throw out these two ideas.

1. (500) days of summer, seemingly the most realistic, true, heartbreaking romantic comedy of recent memory should have received a best original screenplay nomination and for that i will be forever upset with the Academy voters about.

2. Inglorious Basterds aka Quentin Tarantinos comeback film for the awards circuit, only received one award for best supporting actor, Christoph Waltz. Why not best picture or original screenplay wins? I know Tarantino is a nut as a personality but this man will end up just getting an honorary award someday and we will have missed out awarding one of the most unique and sharp director/writer of our time.