1. Persona (dir. Ingmar Bergman. Liv Ullman and Bibi Andersson)* 2. The Hours (dir. Stephen Daldry. Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep)* 3. Magnolia (dir. p.t. anderson. Julianne Moore and Tom Cruise)* 4. Aliens (dir. James Cameron. Sigourney Weaver)* 5. Reds (dir. Warren Beatty. Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton)* 6. Rebecca (dir. Alfred Hitchcock. Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine)* 7. Darling (dir. John Schlesinger. Julie Christie)* 8. Terms of Endearment (dir. James Brooks. Shirley Maclaine and Debra Winger)* 9. Network (dir. Sidney Lumet. Faye Dunaway and Peter Finch)* 10. Annie Hall (dir. Woody Allen. Diane Keaton)*
11. Basic Instinct (dir. Paul Verhoeven. Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone)* 12. Cabaret (dir. Bob Fosse. Liza Minnelli)* 13. Klute (dir. Alan Pakula. Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland) 14. Now, Voyager (Bette Davis)* 15. Hud (Paul Newman and Patricia Neal)* 16. The Exorcist (dir. William Friedkin. Ellen Burstyn)*
17. Fatal Attraction (dir. Adrian Lyne. Michael Douglas and Glenn Close)* 18. Rosemary's Baby (dir. Roman Polanski. Mia Farrow)* 19. Sunset BLVD. (Dir. Billy Wilder. William Holden and Gloria Swanson)* 20. Broadcast News (dir. James Brooks. Holly Hunter and William Hurt)
21. Birth 22. All About Eve 23. Alien 24. Closer 25. Cries and Whispers 26. The Departed 27. Don't Look Now 28. The Haunting 29. The Ice Storm 30. Kill Bill
31. The Long Kiss Goodnight 32. Lost in Translation 33. Repulsion 34. The Silence of the Lambs 35. Sisters 36. A Streetcar Named Desire 37. Thelma and Louise 38. Wonder Boys 39. 21 Grams 40. Badlands
41. Belle de Jour 42. The Big Chill 43. The Birds 44. Blade Runner 45. Blue 46. Boogie Nights 47. The Shining 48. Candyman 49. Carnival of Souls 50. Carrie
51. Casino 52. The Center of the World 53. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 54. Crash (1996) 55. Dead Man Walking 56. Damage 57. Elizabeth 58. Hilary and Jackie 59. I Heart Huckabees 60. In the Cut
61. In the Mood For Love 62. Jackie Brown 63. Last Tango in Paris 64. Laurel Canyon 65. Match Point 66. Pollock 67. Reflections in a Goldeneye 68. The Portrait of a Lady 69. The Royal Tenenbaums 70. Scream
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
71. Bull Durham 72. The Stepford Wives (70's) 73. Sunday Bloody Sunday 74. Suspiria 75. The Way We Were 76. Chinatown 77. 2001: A Space Odyssey 78. Double Indemnity 79. The Last Seduction 80. Funny Girl
I like Shirley MacLaine, but in this movie I really liked Jack Lemmon. He's that every man that we rarely see anymore (maybe Seth Rogen?). In his attempt to try and do the right thing he ends up with a cold and falls in love with the elevator girl (MacLaine), who is sleeping with his married boss. Made in 1960 the movie still sparkles with heart and humor.
82. Midnight Cowboy
Jon Voight was a force of nature back in the 70's. I did a little movie marathon of his films ("Coming Home", "Deliverance" and "Midnight Cowboy") and the man is phenomenally talented actor. Nobody plays stupid like he does. He sheds away all of his intelligence which shows up in the previously metioned films. The movie wants to be sad, but for me it glided by on a Wes Anderosn like melancholy; you can't help but laugh at some of the uncomfortable moments.
83. Monster's Ball
I think I cried in this movie for about an hour until Halle Berry asked Billy Bob Thorton to make her feel good. The movie starts out so depressing, so heavy hearted that we to want to feel good and that is exactly what the movie sets out to do with its last hour. It follows these two as they start a tentative romance that gives both of them hope for the future. This photo is the last shot in the movie I believe and it shows exactly what we were meant to take away from "Monster's Ball".
84. The Graduate
Still sexy, still funny. "The Graduate" may be a punchline now, but Anne Bancroft's Mrs. Robinson is still one sexy, cold character. I still think Dustin Hoffman is insanely sexy in this movie as the new graduate coming home for the summer. His relationship with Mrs. Robinson's daughter Elaine feels forced, but Katherine Ross makes it work. The last scene impliesimplies so much I'm still waiting for a sequel. (Not "Rumor Has It"!!)
You only have to see this clip below to understand the wacky, off the wall (yet close to many people's homes) characters that inhabit a Christopher guest movie. The camera swirls around the hotel guests who have entered their dogs in a pageant. To me this was his peak of insanity. His latter films teetered more towards real human beings and therefore, to me, less fun. In this film the ensemble of actors all stand out and find their own moments to shine.
92. Elevator to the Gallows
Louis Malle's first film, backed by the ultimate French acting queen Jeanne Moreau, is the first anticlimactic thriller. Nothing really happens. There are no loud explosions, intense chase scenes, just a man trapped in an elevator who has just killed his lovers husband. The wife, Moreau, who waits, confused and ends up wandering the streets after she sees her lovers car go off with another woman. This all plays out in front of a perfect score by Miles Davis. Very French.
93. A History of Violence
I always find it interesting that people have not seen this film. It's appears so generic, so formulaic in the trailer I had assumed people would run to it. not so much I guess. Everything about David Cronenberg's direction, having everything appear so apple cheeked normal, that when blood starts flying you are genuinely shocked.
I've re-watched it a few times and one thing that is very interesting to note; the violence is always instigating by someone other than the protagonist,(Viggo Mortensen, who tries his hand at diplomacy. Only when pushed does he respond with rather skilled attacks. Mortensen and Maria Bello (who has what could be called the dominant role) will always go down in my memory as two character actors who made more of the screenplay that there seemed to be on paper. A sex scene in the latter half of the movie proves my point that once provoked Mortensen will get rough. Rough indeed.
94. Battle Royale
I call this film bat shit crazy! Not a very proper English description, I know, how else to describe this movie? The prologue of this movie sets it up very well saying, "at the dawn of the millennium, the nation collapsed. At fifteen percent unemployment, ten million were out of work. 800,000 students boycotted school. The adults lost confidence, and fearing the youth, eventually passed the Millennium Educational Reform Act - AKA: The BR Act...".
So...they drop a group of kids on an island and inform them they have to kill each other and the one winner gets to go back home. There are all these rules in place so that you really must kill someone or you yourself will die. Drama and violence ensue. Friendships are declared then betrayed as they find ways to kill each other. Truly, an expert film about human nature and survival.
I have extra admiration for the girl who was sleeping with the horny boys and then killing them. Hey, they probably want to lose their virginity before they die, they probably just didn't realize it would be so sudden. Smart bitch.
The picture above is one of the films first images. That little girl managed to survive and look at that face. She'll make a nice housewife someday.
95. Breakfast at Tiffany's
As effervescent as champagne, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is not my favorite Audrey Hepburn movie, but it is my favorite Hepburn performance. She's magnificent, shooting sparks off at every minute, while managing to play the movie's quieter moments gracefully. The story traveled far from Truman Capote's original; the original Holly Golightly's hooker antics were a bit more detailed, but something about that final scene always grabs me, the song...the cat...the rain, its pure magic. Even if the characters spend the first hour as caricatures, Hepburn brings me to tears in the final scene looking for that damn cat! P.S. all movies benefit from a supporting role by Patricia Neal.
96. INLAND EMPIRE
"INLAND EMPIRE" succeeds because it does what every David Lynch movie should do, which is embedding its images deep in your mind. Lynch said the film should be viewed like an art installation and with this mind set you can fully enjoy the bumpy road trip. Remember enjoy the ride, not the destination. Trying to figure out the movie is not the point. The director does maximize the face of Laura Dern, who seriously deserved more credit than she will ever be given for following her director to strange, sometimes even insane places (sidewalks of Hollywood mingling with hookers and illegal immigrants, etc). After "Blue Velvet" and "Wild at Heart" it could be said that she's the muse in his crazy dream world. he even sat on the side of the highway with a cow and poster suggesting she be nominated for an Academy Award. It doesn't get any more "Lynchian" than that.
97. The Innocents This film would be ripe for remaking although I doubt anyone would give it the quiet tension it had in the 60's. Deborah Kerr plays a young governess who takes a job watching two children. Seems the previous governess had a fling with the valet and things ended badly. The couple begin showing up in the garden and creeping behind windows at night as the governess begins to suspect the children know more than they should. A simple retelling of Henry James "The Turn of the Screw", this movie has fallen to the sadly forgotten bin. Why? Truman Capote wrote the script. Kerr maximizes the suspense with her emotive performance. Never schlocky, always subtle and beautiful creepy this film goes down as one of my favorite scary movies. Just watch the clip to see what I mean.
98. The Pianist
I have only seen "The Pianist" once. The date who was with me was forgettable, but I distinctly remember crying so much in this movie I could never go out with him again. The pure emotion, the unrelenting sadness and violence that director Roman Polanski displayed shook me up. I'll be the first to say I'm not a huge fan of any Holocaust movie. This movie may be the reason why. Adrian Brody won a well deserved Oscar over such legendary actors like Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine and Daniel Day-Lewis.
99. The Talented Mr. Ripley
A beautiful, delicious photographed setting sets the the stage for Matt Damon's hardly repressed homosexual killer in my favorite Anthony Minghella adaption. After "The English Patient" and before "Cold Mountain", Minghella adapted Patricia Highsmith's suspense yarn, blowing up characters (like Cate Blanchett's American debutante) and casting such attractive, talented actors that the movie comes alive. Not a typical thriller where the leading lady is running from a knife wielding maniac, Minghella stages the suspense with deep probing dialogue. You feel for the knife wielding maniac (or in this film, an orr, a statue, a scarf, almost a razor blade). Damon, sadly overlooked for an Academy Award nomination, has a great supporting cast in Jude Law (seriously the most devilishly attractive he's ever been), Gwyneth Paltrow (playing a variation on her delicate intelligence to perfection) and Phillip Seymour Hoffman (brief, but memorably decadent.)
100. A Clockwork Orange
I saw this movie in High School and although I was very disturbed I didn't really get it. I have to say I've usually felt this with all of Stanley Kubrick's work. I'm drawn to them, but it takes a few weeks (or years) for me to figure out what he's saying or if he's saying anything at all. "A Clockwork Orange" definitely has something to say; something about the violence we as a society condemn then instigate, in essence paying forward. The movie plays circular as Alex (a very young Malcolm McDowell) must view all of the violence he has caused if only to be repulsed by it (in hopes that it will subvert it in his mind) and then back to his violent ways. Was Kubrick saying violence is breed deep in your genes, therefore your ARE violent? Who knows?
I always make lists and for a while I've been trying to narrow my favorite films down to 100. This is difficult. I like a lot of different films; films that challenge me, disturb me, inspire me. I can suggest films for particular people, but for me the movies that I ended up narrowing it down to are films I will forever remember, watch and still find a kernel of inspiration. Call them the 'Muses'.
These 10 almost made it onto the list but for some reason they were too recent, too commercial or I haven't formed a full appreciation of them. Remember these are my favorites, not the best or the most influential globally. They're just movies that I love.
101. We Don’t Live Here Anymore This domestic, frosty "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" doesn't equal the latter's intensity. In it's quiet energy and extremely pointed way it manages to get into your head instead of your heart. Strange direction to take for a relationship film, but I can't complain, it sizzles. The acting is beyond top notch, especially Laura Dern's searing, spurned wife.
102. Vanilla Sky "Vanilla Sky" made me fall in love with it's three stars. I was starting to like Tom Cruise in 1999 when he appeared in "magnolia" and "Eyes Wide Shut". After that film he started to do things that were more interesting, more provocative; "Vanilla Sky", "Minority Report", "Collateral", and then sadly he went downhill again. Cameron Diaz was lovable in almost everything she did, this movie helped me see she may actually have some chops. Those were tears behind her flacid smile this time around. Wonder what Paris Hilton could have done with this part? Penelope Cruz had infinitely annoyed me, mostly because you could tell she had memorized the script. I know this to be true because recently she admitted to it. In this film she set us up for what would become the next decade of wonderful, full roles in English and Spanish ("Volver", "Elegy" and "Vicky Cristina Barcelona").
The film itself managed to be both romantic and mysterious, including elements from the original and branded with Cameron Crowe's stamp of pop culture infusion. I fell in love with it in 2001 and although it still manages to pull at my brain, the over elaborated ending has me running for the remote before I'm told AGAIN how the movie 'really' played out.
103. Rachel Getting Married I don't think anybody likes this movie as much as I do. It touches me for some reason. I feel like I know Kym and her family. Many people complain about the scenes that go on and on, which is how I feel at weddings anyways, so it was typical for me to be bored during endless speeches. The actors breath so much life into these characters that every movement starts to feel very real and very raw.
104. Funny Games No movie has disturbed me as much as "Funny Games". It's not a movie I suggest for everyone. It doesn't give you what you want at every turn. Every scene manages to hide what you want to see, shows what you'd prefer not to view; it's exhausting. Nothing about this movie is enjoyable, except maybe the acting by Michael Pitt and Naomi Watts. I can't help but enjoying it for the art and the message its desperately trying to send out. Watch with caution.
105. A.I. Artificial Intelligence
This movie exhibits the bridge between the popcorn fare and the philosophical (yes I know "The Color Puprle", "Saving Private Ryan" and "Schindler's List" were before this). After this he took on deeper, stranger issues (i.e. "Minority Report" and "Munich"), maybe they just got more sci-fi and less fantasy. "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" is a fantasy gone bad. A fantasy that breed with a futuristic porn. Its strange, heartfelt and altogether amazing. It was layered even if some of the layers weren't satisfying.
106. American Beauty
My my my how this movie has aged. Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening are still miracle workers- tettering on the comedic-tragic edge, yet does the movie have as much punch now that it's been imitated, duplicated, repackaged? Sadly, no.
107. Copycat "Copycat" is a guilty pleasure for me. Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter play two professional women working together in a thriller. When was the last time we saw that on the screen? Anything Weaver does draws me in, she's a magnetic force to my movie mind. Holly Hunter has never been looser or more playful since. Sadly, the movie came out the same year as the more aesthetically pleasing "Seven", and "Copycat" got relegated to the background. Oh well, I'll always remember it.
108. Something’s Gotta Give
It's all about Diane Keaton and it confirmed to me that she is national treasure in every sense. Just look at her body of work and this performance compares favorably. I do wish it was less talky thou.
109. Safe
Strange in the best possible sense, Todd Haynes second feature manages to scare us and confuse us. Without Julianne Moore I can imagine this film would not be as powerful. Moore so inhabits her role that at times I worry about her physical condition. Long, drawn out and filled with environmental questions, "Safe" is one film that could actually benefit from a sequel in this climate.
110. Angels in America
Monumentally powerful. Monumentally epic. At times, it's just long and repetitious.
I've missed a few of these great movies, or maybe I just picked the best ones....who knows? All I know is watching Woody forced me to rent Bergman and compare. Even his comedies seem to be taking alot from the Swedish master; "Deconstructing Harry" is a good example of this. Most of Allen's drama's squeeze out all signs of comedy, nearly capsizing the film under it's weight (See: "Interiors"). Most of his characters are eloquent, intelligent, well read and therefore emotionally incompetent.
His men are endurable cheaters or shameless heartbreakers. His women; shrews or whores. A very broad, probably over simplified description, but either way, chances are the actors will get nominated for their work. Seriously, look at this list of people nominated for Woody Allen performances;
Diane Keaton "Annie Hall" Won Woody Allen "Annie Hall" Geraldine Page "Interiors" Maureen Stapleton "Interiors" Mariel Hemingway "Manhattan" Michael Caine "Hannah and Her Sisters" Won Dianne Weist "Hannah and Her Sisters" Won Martin Landau "Crimes and Misdemeanors" Judy Davis "Husband and Wives" Dianne Weist "Bullets over Broadway" Won Chazz Palminterri "Bullets over Broadway" Jennifer Tilly "Bullets over Broadway" Mira Sorvino "Mighty Aphrodite" Won Sean Penn "Sweet and Lowdown" Samantha Morton "Sweet and Lowdown" Penelope Cruz "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" Won
Who wouldn't want to work with him...besides Nicole Kidman.
*in bold i've seen Whatever Works (2009) Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) Cassandra's Dream (2007) Scoop (2006) Match Point (2005) Melinda and Melinda (2004) Anything Else (2003) Hollywood Ending (2002) The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001) Small Time Crooks (2000) Sweet and Lowdown (1999) Celebrity (1998) Deconstructing Harry (1997) Everyone Says I Love You (1996) Mighty Aphrodite (1995) Bullets Over Broadway (1994) Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) Husbands and Wives (1992) Shadows and Fog (1991) Alice (1990) Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) Another Woman (1988) September (1987) Radio Days (1987) Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) Broadway Danny Rose (1984) Zelig (1983) A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982) Stardust Memories (1980) Manhattan (1979) Interiors (1978) Annie Hall (1977)
One must never try to guess what makes actors choose the roles they do. After a run in the sixties starting with "The Apartment" and ending with "Two Mules For Sister Sara", Shirley Maclaine seemed to be one of the most bankable stars. At the point of making this she'd already amassed three Academy Award nominations, but like Hilary Swank after her she won her second Oscar Maclaine chose this semi-religious horror flick.
The movie starts out relatively well, Maclaine is an upper middle class divorced mother of two who demands her maid dress the kids in 15 minutes and make her breakfast and coffee. Her brother, a relationship that has a rather incestious undertone, is an attractive bohemian sort who lives with alot of Puerto Ricans in the east Village.
His behavior grows increasingly erratic and after minor investigation Maclaine is told he could be possessed by a dead puerto rican serial killer! Head chopping ensues. Atleast in "The Exorcist" she was possessed by the devil himself!
I guess in 1972 these were strange ideas and perhaps thats why Maclaine took the part. Its interesting and creepy, the acting is good, but nothing compares to the end. Maclaine has run from the city with her two young kids to a secluded beach house (natch). (SPOILERS) After finding a decapitated head on top of her fridge Maclaine realizes they are not alonei in the house. Her possessed brother shows up and holds the family hostage. He makes the son dance naked, forces the daughter to eat dog food; it was pretty intense considering the first hour was hum-drum. Disturbing considering you would not show that now in 2009. All in all I was entertained but never dazzled. Baffled a bit thou that Shirley Maclaine did not work for 5 more years (until her Oscar nominated work in "The Turning Point"). There's a story behind this movie somewhere.
