Wednesday, January 5, 2011

My Favorite 100 Movies

[Updated 1.5.11]
Films in gold won Best Picture Oscars®
(* = recent addition)

The Top 20 (alpha order): 2001, All About Eve, Babe, The Best Years of Our Lives, City of God (Brazil), Cinema Paradiso (Italy), The Conformist (Italy), Dr. Strangelove, The Godfather II, Hannah and Her Sisters, Hero (China), Jean de Florette/Manon of the Spring (France), Lawrence of Arabia, Lord of the Rings Trilogy, My Fair Lady, Once Upon a Time in America, Parenthood, Requiem for a Dream, The Seven Samurai (Japan), The Shawshank Redemption, Wall-E

Top 100 in alphabetical order
  1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
  2. The 400 Blows * (France, bw)
  3. A Clockwork Orange
  4. A Room With a View
  5. A Wednesday (India) *
  6. After the Wedding (Denmark) *
  7. Aliens
  8. All About Eve (bw)
  9. Amadeus
  10. Annie Hall
  11. Apocalypse Now!
  12. As Good as It Gets
  13. Babel (Mexico)
  14. Babe
  15. Baraka * (Documentary)
  16. Battle of Algiers (France-Algiers, bw)
  17. The Best Years of Our Lives (bw)
  18. Big Fish
  19. Brazil
  20. The Bridge On the River Kwai
  21. Carmen (Spain, flamenco version)
  22. Casablanca (bw)
  23. Central Station * (Brazil)
  24. Chicago
  25. Chungking Express * (China/Hong Kong)
  26. Cinema Paradiso (Italy)
  27. City of God (Brazil)
  28. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
  29. Conformist, The (Italy)
  30. Conversation, The
  31. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (China)
  32. Dances With Wolves
  33. Dangerous Liaisons
  34. Departures * (Japan)
  35. Devils on the Doorstep * (China)
  36. Diva (France)
  37. Doctor Strangelove (bw)
  38. Double Indemnity (bw)
  39. The Empire Strikes Back
  40. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
  41. Field of Dreams
  42. Finding Neverland
  43. Finding Nemo
  44. Fitzcarraldo (Germany)
  45. Gandhi
  46. The Godfather
  47. The Godfather, Part II
  48. Good Bye, Lenin! * (Germany)
  49. Goodfellas
  50. Goodnight Mister Tom
  51. Graduate, The
  52. The Gray Fox
  53. Groundhog Day
  54. Hannah and Her Sisters
  55. Hero (China)
  56. Hoop Dreams (Documentary)
  57. Hope and Glory
  58. House of Games
  59. Jean de Florette/Manon of the Spring (France)
  60. Kolya (Czech Republic)
  61. L'america (Italy)
  62. The Last Emperor
  63. L'avventura (Italy, bw)
  64. Lawrence of Arabia
  65. La Femme Nikita (France)
  66. The Last Emperor
  67. The Last Picture Show (bw)
  68. The Lives of Others (Germany)
  69. Lord of the Rings Trilogy
  70. Manhattan (bw)
  71. The Maltese Falcon (bw)
  72. Memento
  73. Million Dollar Baby
  74. Minority Report
  75. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington *
  76. My Brilliant Career
  77. My Fair Lady
  78. The Namesake *
  79. Network
  80. Night of the Hunter (bw)
  81. Norma Rae
  82. Nowhere in Africa (Germany)
  83. October Sky
  84. On the Waterfront (bw)
  85. Once Upon a Time in America
  86. Open Range
  87. Out of the Past (bw)
  88. Parenthood
  89. The Philadelphia Story (bw)
  90. Platoon
  91. The Player
  92. Rabbit-Proof Fence *
  93. Raging Bull (bw)
  94. Raising Arizona
  95. Requiem for a Dream *
  96. The Road Warrior (aka Mad Max 2)
  97. Run Lola Run (Germany)
  98. Salaam Bombay! * (India)
  99. Schindler's List (bw)
  100. The Seven Samurai (Japan, bw)
  101. Shakespeare in Love
  102. Shane
  103. The Shawshank Redemption
  104. The Silence of the Lambs
  105. Singin' in the Rain
  106. Sunset Boulevard (bw)
  107. The Sweet Smell of Success (bw)
  108. To Kill a Mockingbird (bw)
  109. To Live (China)
  110. Together (China) *
  111. Traffic
  112. Turtles Can Fly (Iraq-Iran-France) *
  113. The Twilight Samurai (Japan)
  114. Umberto D * (Italy)
  115. V for Vendetta
  116. Walkabout
  117. Wall-E
  118. Whale Rider
  119. Winged Migration (Documentary)
  120. When Harry Met Sally
  121. Zelary (Czech Republic)
Ok, so I can't count - that's why I had them auto-numbered.. call this a "baker's 100", you get ten dozens. 'So many movies, so little time..' (to paraphrase Raising Arizona)

Thirty are foreign language films.. always watch the subtitled and not the 'dubbed into English' versions.. once you know the dialogue (usually once), you can watch them without subtitles and see just the film itself.. A few more titles are films in English from foreign directors, such as Once Upon a Time in America (Leone, Italy), The Last Emperor (Bertolucci, Italy), and The Namesake (Nair, India).

This list is always changing.
Newer: Departures, A Wednesday, After the Wedding, Whale Rider, Central Station, Umberto D, L'avventura, Wall-E, Good Bye Lenin, Baraka, Devils on the Doorstep, The Namesake, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Together, Turtles Can Fly

Just Removed: It's a Wonderful Life, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Citizen Kane, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Ugetsu (Japan), Slumdog Millionaire, Duck Soup, Auntie Mame, Patton, Mephisto, A Christmas Story, Sybil, Gangs of New York, Back to the Future

Low on the List (next to go): The Last Picture Show, As Good As It Gets, Devils on the Doorstep, Norma Rae, Manhattan, Goodfellas TV Miniseries (that would be in the top 100): 1. Band of Brothers (10 hrs) 2. Planet Earth (12 hrs) 3. Into the West (12 hrs) 4. Brideshead Revisited (10 hrs) 5. Lonesome Dove (6 hrs) 6. The Prisoner (13 hrs, 17 episodes)

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Great Movie Quotes

[Great quotes from films, which includes tv, comedy specials and film personalities, as I didn't want to limit myself. Our aim is to entertain first.. ]

Movie Quotes

I have nothing, I am a river to my people - Anthony Quinn, Lawrence of Arabia

War is for young men of courage and valor, keeping the peace is for old men with nothing else to do. - Alec Guiness, Lawrence of Arabia

He likes your lemonade. - Peter O'Toole, Lawrence of Arabia Thank Allah that when he made you a fool he gave you a fool's face - Anthony Quinn, Lawrence of Arabia

Lend all men thine ear, but lend few your tongue - Hamlet
Neither a borrower nor a lender be. - Hamlet

Doubt that the stars are fire; doubt that the moon's above; doubt that the truth's a liar; but never doubt my love - Hamlet
[all from the Kenneth Branagh version, the first film of the entire play]

Cheese it, the copse - Macbeth (a copse is a small patch of woods, not the police)

A man's capacity is often relative to his goals - John Wayne, The Sea Chase

.. You shouldn't be alone.
.. Perhaps, but I can do without you - John Wayne, The Sea Chase

Well, the mug that was rubbed out, miss, was a snoop for the chiefs runnin with the Hardy mob, flippin us the lowdown. Hardy gets hep to it and he puts the rat on the spot, they nab the boss's telly and plant it. Your old man jobbed the mob and the Hardy mob grabs the typewriters and the ukeleles. - A Free Soul (1931)

Why not? I'm free, white, and 21. I love to dance AND I'm going to dance - Joan Blondell, Dames (1934)

- Isn't there going to be any comedy in the show?
- Oh, plenty! The gay side, the hard-boiled side, the cynical and funny side of the depression! I'll make 'em laugh at you starving to death, honey. It'll be the funniest thing you ever did. - Golddiggers of 1933

I coulda been somebody, I coulda been a contenda; instead I got a one way ticket to Palookaville - Marlon Brando, On the Waterfront

.. What are you rebeling against?
.. What have you got? - Marlon Brando, The Wild One

I AM big, it's the pictures that got small - Gloria Swanson, Sunset Boulevard

.. I hear they're gonna replace us secretaries with machines (Jean Harlow)
 .. (looking Harlow up and down) You don't have a thing to worry about - Marie Dressler, Dinner at Eight

Aw, you can’t fool me, there ain’t no sanity clause – Chico Marx, A Night at the Opera

I could dance with you til the cows come home – on second thought, I’ll dance with the cows til YOU come home – Groucho Marx, Duck Soup

Chance is the fool’s name for fate – The Gay Divorcee
Fate is foolish – take a chance! – The Gay Divorcee
If-a you like-a spaghetti, stick-a with Tonetti – The Gay Divorcee

We need a doctor! I don’t know nothing bout birthin no babies! – Butterfly McQueen, Gone With the Wind

We're gonna raise this boy to be a decent, God-fearing Christian if we have to break every bone in his body. - Auntie Mame

Are you talking to me? Well, I don't see anybody else here - Robert DeNiro, Taxi Driver (talking to himself in the mirror)

Hey Billy Boy! Come and get one in the yarbles, that is, if you have any yarbles, ya eunuch jelly thou!. - Malcolm MacDowell, A Clockwork Orange [phoro rt]

'ello, 'ello, 'ello, little sisters! Wot you got at home to play yer fuzzy warbles on? - Malcolm MacDowell, A Clockwork Orange

.. My son, why do you think you're God?
.. Because when I pray, I find that I'm talking to myself - Peter O'Toole, The Ruling Class

 .. Why, you must be God! - (Andie MacDowell)
.. A god, yes, but not THE God. - Bill Murray, Groundhog Day

That is ONE wacky hospital! - Bill Murray, Tootsie (after Michael unmasks himself on live tv)

You're not one of them outside agitators, are you? - Norman Fell, The Graduate

I'm walkin' here! I'm walkin' here! - Dustin Hoffman, Midnight Cowboy (this was actually improvised, as the taxi drove through during shooting; Ratso Rizzo remains Dustin Hoffman's favorite role of his)

There's always some poor soul out there that hasn't learned that one man can't make a difference; you have to kill him to convince him otherwise. That's the trouble with democracy. - Shooter

.. It must have been great to meet the queen - what did she ask you?
.. Who we were, and then to get out" - Eric Idle, The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978)

Eeeuwwww – get offa me - As If! - Alicia Silverstone, Clueless
I had to give my gf snaps for fashion bravery - Alicia Silverstone, Clueless
My gf and I were both named after once-famous singers who now do infomercials - Alicia Silverstone, Clueless (as Cher, who's friend is Dionne)

Hey kid, just cuz Sammy Davis Jr. died doesn't mean there's an opening in the rat pack. - Dan Hedaya, Clueless Just remember this when you're out with my daughter, I got a .44 and a shovel and I doubt anyone would miss you. - Dan Hedaya, Clueless

I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me. - In a Lonely Place (1950)

You can't handle the truth - Jack Nicholson, A Few Good Men

The doctor said her insides were a rocky place where my seed could find no purchase – Nicholas Cage, Raising Arizona
Boy, did you know you got a panty on yer head? - Raising Arizona
You want I should freeze, or you want I should drop to the floor, cuz I don’t wanna get shot if I move – Raising Arizona
So many social engagements, so little time – John Goodman, Raising Arizona

Stop yer grinnin and drop yer linen - Bill Paxton, Aliens

Ain't you keeping up with current events, pal? We're gettin our asses kicked! - Bill Paxton, Aliens
Game over, man - game over! - Bill Paxton, Aliens
We’re in some purty shit now! - Bill Paxton, Aliens

- This little girl survived. (Sigourney Weaver)
- Then, why don't you put her in charge? - Bill Paxton, Aliens

.. Hey, Vasquez, anyone ever mistake you for a man? .
. No, how bout you? - Aliens

Relevant to said mission is the following query which I now put forth to you: wherein this most streamlined and trunkless of transports, boner-inspiring though it may be, wherein are we to reposit our most recently deceased cargo?” - Sin City

It's a girl and a midget, 'gidget', get it? - Gidget


Go ahead, make my millenium! - Michael Keaton, Beetlejuice
The ghost with the most! – Michael Keaton, Beetlejuice
Hey, this could be a new look for me – Michael Keaton, Beetlejuice (after getting his head shrunk by a native in the afterlife)

Hey, senor, how much for the leetul girl? How much for the women? - John Belushi, The Blues Brothers
We’re on a mission from God – Dan Akroyd, The Blues Brothers

I've worked in the private sector, they expect results. - Dan Akroyd, Ghostbusters
Man, that's one big twinkie! - Ernie Hudson, Ghostbusters

I put the grrr in swinger, baby! - Mike Myers, Austin Powers
So, we finally got rid of those capitalist pigs, eh comrade? – Mike Myers, Austin Powers (on waking up in the future and first seeing a Russian general)
As long as I can still do massive amounts of drugs and make love to anyone I want to, I’ll be ok – Mike Myers, Austin Powers (on waking up in the future)

Badges? We don’ got to show you no stinkin badges! - Alfonso Bedoyo, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Boredom's the first step on the road to relapse - Clerks II

I ain't 'people'! I am a.. 'a shimmering, glowing star in the cinema firmament' - Singin' in the Rain
If we bring a little joy into your humdrum lives, it makes us feel as though our hard work ain't been in vain for nothin'. - Singin' in the Rain (both from Jean Hagen, who deserved an Oscar for perhaps the funniest performance in all of cinema)

I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not gonna take it anymore! - Peter Finch, Network, photo left (Finch was awarded a posthumous Oscar for Best Actor)

I picked a helluva week to give up _____ - Lloyd Bridges, Airplane! (fill in the blank: coffee, cigarettes, marijuana, cocaine, speed, heroin - he used em all)

You can always pay half the poor to kill the other half. - Boss Tweed, Gangs of New York
The first rule of politics: the ballots don't make the election winner, the counters make the winner. - Boss Tweed, Gangs of New York

Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night – Bette Davis, All About Eve

You can still dish it out, but you just can't take it anymore – Edward G. Robinson, Little Caesar

They're screaming 'sell, sell!- I ain't gonna have enough money to buy the G.I. Joe with the Kung Fu grip!' – Eddie Murphy, Trading Places

Hello – I am Long Duc Dong! – Getty Watanabe, Sixteen Candles

There's an ocean of money out there, I can always make money. - Michael Douglas, The Perfect Murder

Back off, big guy, that may work with the chorus girls... - Bill Murray, Scrooged

..Hit me one more time, I'm gonna rip your wings off! (Bill Murray)
..Ooo, you know I like the rough stuff! - Carol Kane, Scrooged

The view's no good unless you've got someone to share it with. - Robert Mitchum, Out of the Past

I thought that Mr. Clutter was a nice gentleman, right up to when I slit his throat - Robert Blake, In Cold Blood

I've eaten a lot of humble bread in the years I've known you. - When Ladies Meet

Whew! Do NOT go in there! – Jim Carrey, Ace Ventura Pet Detective

It must be some kind of.. hot tub time machine – Hot Tub Time Machine

.. When they opened Disneyland in 1956, nothing worked!
.. But, John, but if the Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists – Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic Park

You have the most.. eyes I’ve ever seen – Woody Allen, Play It Again Sam

.. oh look, there was another rape in Berkeley last night (Diane Keaton, reading the paper)
.. I was nowhere NEAR the East Bay! - Woody Allen, Play It Again Sam

.. You have a way with women, how do you get them to understand you (Woody)
.. I never met a dame yet that didn't understand a slap in the face or a slug from a 38 - 'Bogart', Play It Again Sam

..This is worse than that time I had a spot on my back (Woody Allen)
..The spot was on your SHIRT! (Julie Kavner) – Hannah and Her Sisters [photo rt]

Why don't you go back to groups who look like they're gonna stab their mother? – Woody Allen (at a punk rock concert), Hannah and Her Sisters

How do I know why there were Nazis? I don’t know how the can opener works – Woody Allen’s father, Hannah and Her Sisters

'Flick saw some grizzly bears down around Pulaski’s candy store..' – my parents looked at me like I had lobsters crawling out of my ears – Peter Billingsley (Ralphie), A Christmas Story

My brother Randy looked like a tick about to pop – narrator Jean Shepherd, A Christmas Story

Schwartz broke all playground etiquette by going straight to the triple dog dare – narrator Jean Shepherd, A Christmas Story

He had yellow eyes – I swear, yellow eyes! – narrator Jean Shepherd, A Christmas Story (speaking of the bully Scut Farcus)

In my world, you were either a bully, a toadie, or one of the nameless rabble of victims - narrator Jean Shepherd, A Christmas Story

I love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like .. victory – Robert Duvall, Apocalypse Now! [photo rt]
Yeah, but Charlie don’t surf! – Robert Duvall, Apocalypse Now!

.. Damn! You stepped on my face!
.. I thought you were dead..
.. Well you thought wrong, dammit! – Apocalypse Now!

.. Fuck You, G.I.! Fuck You!
.. Listen, Roach – there's a gook out on the wire.. you need a flare?
.. No, man – he’s close… real close – Apocalypse Now!

They hate you cuz you represent freedom, and they don’t have any cuz they’ve sold out to the man – Easy Rider

.. He likes to butt things with his head.
.. You must be SO proud – Rick Moranis, Parenthood

Call me Cowboy Gill, as in Gill T – Steve Martin, Parenthood

Come down off that garage or I’ll gouge your eyes out! – the hostage negotiator to his son, Best In Show

Now where’s my arm, I hear they can sew em back on good as new – Wild at Heart (cut to a dog carrying the arm off like a bone)
This whole world’s wild at heart and weird on top – Laura Dern, Wild at Heart

Your advertisin’s just dandy, too bad you don’t have a thing to sell – Faye Dunaway, Bonnie and Clyde

I'll bet you a Mexican dollar or whatever you use for currency that those two women in the next compartment aren't going to have an easy journey on this train - Shanghai Express
It took more than one man to give me the name.. Shanghai Lilly - Shanghai Express

The ayatollah of rocknrollah, the lord of the humungous! – The Road Warrior

You beat the snake.. never saw a man beat the snake before - Gyro Captain, Road Warrior

You do know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow – Lauren Becall, To Have and Have Not

That’s not 'good night', that’s 'I really admire your ass, I'd like to wear it for a hat' – Bruno Kirby, City Slickers

Why does it always have to be snakes? – Harrison Ford, Raiders of the Lost Ark

Otis! My man! – Peter Riegert, Animal House
Do you mind if we dance with your dates? – big dude at the all-black bar, Animal House
Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! – John Belushi, Animal House
They confiscated everything, even the stuff we didn't steal! - Animal House

..But Delta's already on probation.
..They are? Well as of now they’re on double secret probation! – Dean Wormer, Animal House (his character was partially based on Richard Nixon)

Greg, honey, is it supposed to be this soft? – Babs, Animal House

But you can't hold a whole fraternity responsible for the behavior of a few, sick twisted individuals. For if you do, then shouldn't we blame the whole fraternity system? And if the whole fraternity system is guilty, then isn't this an indictment of our educational institutions in general? I put it to you, Greg - isn't this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can do whatever you want to us, but we're not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America. Gentlemen! – Otter, Animal House

[Animal House was the first film for John Belushi, Karen Allen, Peter Riegert, Tom Hulce, Tim Matheson.. and many others; all the authors also had cameo roles except Harold Ramis, who boycotted b/c he was told he was too old for one of the main parts by direcor Jon Landis; he was 32, Riegert was 29]

.. Oh my god, they shot him!
.. Hoolihan, you idiot, that’s the gun for halftime – Col. Henry Blake, M*A*S*H

.. How did a man of such despicable moral quality attain a position of rank in the army? (Major Hoolihan)
.. He was drafted (Father Mulkahey) - M*A*S*H

Bring me the tall sultry blond with the pouty lips - Eliot Gould, M*A*S*H

.. Just who do you think you are?
.. Lady, we are the pros from Dover; we’re gonna crack this kid’s chest and be on the tee by two o’clock – Hawkeye, M*A*S*H

.. You’re gonna be sorry you met me (Nick Nolte)
.. I’m already sorry I met you – Eddie Murphy, 48 Hours

The Japanese soldier I know can live two weeks on a cup of rice with maggots.. until you’re ready to go through the hell he goes through every day, then show him some respect – The Pacific .

. Soldier, why do you have 'peace' and 'war' on your helmet?
.. I suppose it says something about the dichotomy of war, sir – Matthew Modine, Full Metal Jacket

Shaken, not stirred – James Bond (you pick the film, photo rt.)

Try to bring this one back in one piece, double-0 seven – Goldfinger

.. Have you ever had angry sex? (Kathleen Turner)
.. There’s another kind? – Danny Devito, War of the Roses

We may run out of Pan Am coffee, but we never run out of TWA tea – Kathleen Turner, Crimes of Passion

Where’s that big mouth cooz with the motor driven ass? – Anthony Perkins, Crimes of Passion

.. Do you want some coffee?
.. No. I could use a shot of morphine if you’ve got it – enough to kill the last twelve years – Crimes of Passion

If you think you're gonna get back in my panties, forget it. There's one asshole in there already. – Crimes of Passion

You fuck with me? You fuck with me? You know who I am? – (the naked Asian guy in the trunk, the only funny scene in this boring comedy) The Hangover

I hope that whoever you are, you escape this place. I hope that the worlds turns, and that things get better. But what I hope most of all is that you understand what I mean when I tell you that, even though I do not know you, and even though I may never meet you, laugh with you, cry with you, or kiss you, I love you. With all my heart, I love you. - V for Vendetta (2006)

[Two famous quotes I never saw as special: 'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn' from GWTW is only famous b/c 'damn' wasn't allowed back then and they had to argue w the censors to keep it in; plus 'frankly' wasn't in Mitchell's book and frankly, who uses that in conversation anyway? Another is 'say hello to my leetul frin', from Scarface, which is such a dreary bore that it's not worth remembering, and the scenery-chewing Pacino is a caricature in his worst performance]

Film People

A verbal contract ain't worth the paper it's printed on - Louis B. Mayer

"This is the age of insincerity. The movies had the misfortune to come along in the twentieth century, and because they appeal to the masses there can be no sincerity in them. Hollywood is tied hand and foot to the demands for artificiality of the masses all over the world." - Lionel Barrymore (Best Actor winner, 1931)

If you kiss a breast, it’s an R rating, but if you slice if off, it’s only PG – Quentin Tarentino

Do I think sex is dirty? Is IS if you’re doing it right – Woody Allen
My only regret in life is that I'm not somebody else - Woody Allen

Spielberg probably didn't say 'the best actor in the world', he most likely said 'the actor who thinks he's the best in the world - Pete Postlethwaite (on a Steven Spielberg quote after working with Pete on 'Lost World')

He’s holding a sword, and he has no genitalia – William Hurt (accepting his Oscar for playing a transvestite in Kiss of the Spider Woman)

Homage to Richard Pryor
Black guys always be lying about their size.. two were walking over the Bay Bridge in San Francisco one night, and had to pee.. one says 'damn, this water's cold!' and the other said 'Yeah, and it's deep too!' - Richard Pryor, Something I Said

Television ..

Help me out, you know the postmaster general don't you? (Tina Fey) ..
Yes, but the postmaster general and I had a falling out over the Jerry Garcia stamp. I mean, if I want to lick a hippie, I'll return Joan Baez's phone calls. - Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Cosby led me astray about parenthood; I thought my biggest problems would be that me and Rudy would spend half an hour making a sandwich, and that Ashley went to a concert - Tracy Morgan, 30 Rock

I had the weirdest dream that I was on a pirate ship and the only one who wasn’t gay was Oliver Bloom – Peter Griffin, Family Guy

All the best things end in O-Rama – Homer, The Simpsons
I can’t be a missionary – I don’t even believe in Jeebus – Homer, The Simpsons (later during a typhoon, he says 'Save me Jeebus! only you can save me now!)
It looks like someone is Hoggin the Daas! – Apu (when Homer is buying every flavor of Haagen Daas in the Qwickie Mart)

No – don’t blow up the church – Jesus lives there! – the preacher, The Simpsons
Not me shack – I finally got it just the way I want it – Groundskeeper Willie, The Simpsons (when Bart went nuts on ridlin and stole an army tank and was gonna stop if they just let him blow up one thing)

You could put me in a castle in the Spanish desert with some wine, and pay me just to write jokes for Mr. Burns, and I'd be happy - Conan O'Brian (the first producer of the Simpsons)

.. Hi mom, where’s dad? (Wally)
.. He’s downtown looking for Beaver – Mrs. Cleaver, Leave It to Beaver

.. It’s all in your head, Ralph (Alice)
.. Oh yeah? Well, you can look up there all you want – know what you’ll find? Nothing! – Ralph Kramden, The Honeymooners
I had it, I went with it! - Ralph Kramden, The Honeymooners (on frivolously spending the money he found in a lost briefcase, after having to return it)
Ummmmm, you're a good one! - Ralph Kramden to Alice, The Honeymooners

.. You girls are too young to be into sex, you have your whole adult lives for that (Sarah Jessica Parker)
.. Talk to the hand, grandma (a 13 yr old at her Bat Mitzvah) - Sex in the City

When I got my Showtime special, my mom said 'A fortune on college, pissed away!' - comedienne Elayne Boosler, Party of One
My mom always says her floor's so clean that you can eat off of it; you can eat off my floor too because there's already plenty of food down there - comedienne Elayne Boosler (also, "when I asked a friend of hers how the dinner with my mom was, she said 'fine, but we had to eat off the floor and drink out of the toilet'")

When skinny women say 'I forgot to eat', I just wanna slap em.. I never knew the kitchen cupboards were for food, I always ate it all out of the bags when I brought it home - comedienne Elayne Boosler
When you guys go out and get mugged, you can say 'I left my wallet at home'; we ladies can't do that, we have the goods on us, I can't leave my vagina at home - comedienne Elayne Boosler

Women! You can’t live with ‘em, you can’t kill ‘em! – comedian Sam Kenison

Who ever said 'six on one hand, half a dozen on the other?' - I just wanna slap em; when I look down I see five on one hand, half a ten on the other - comedian George Wallace

If God had wanted us to use the metric system, he would've given us ten fingers and ten toes - George Wallace Who in the hell said 'screw you and the horse you rode in on?' - the last time this could apply was to Paul Revere - George Wallace

I told a bartender to surprise me, and he pulled out a picture of my wife naked – comedian Rodney Dangerfield

I told the cabbie to take me where I could find some action, and he drove to my house! – Rodney Dangerfield

Even as a kid I didn’t get no respect. On Christmas Eve, my dad would go outside, fire a shotgun, and come back in and say ‘Santa just killed himself’ – Rodney Dangerfield

Why do we drive on a parkway and park in a driveway? Why do they call em buildings when they're already done building em? - they should be called builts. Why do they call them apartments when they're all stuck together? - comedian Gallagher (The Accountant)

.. So how do you feel about her (Niles)
.. I’m not sure, I’m exactly 50-50 (Frasier)
.. Then you know that modern psychiatry can’t help you, we only get you to reaffirm the decision you've already made (Niles) – Frasier (tv show)

From ESPN
He done made his kinfolks so proud - Mookie, Tiny, all the others - Stuart Scott, ESPN

Some Len Berman nicknames on ESPN: - Terry 'Swimming' Puhl - Jim 'Two Silouettes On' Deshaes - Bishop Desmond 'Tied At' Tutu

[A special bullet for all those sportscasters who say 'they're within a point' - you can't be 'within' a point unless you're awarded fractions.. you are a FULL POINT behind.. if you're 'within a field goal', then you're only 2 pts behind, not 3]

[Another special bullet for anyone using the non-word 'alls' - all is all inclusive, alls is not a word, it's not possessive nor can it be a contraction of "all is" cuz that isn't English.. someone shoot these people.. even Murphy Brown had a whole episode making fun of Wallace Shawn for writing a book called "Alls I Know".. now Auburn coach Gene Chizik (sp?) is on a tv commercial saying "If I want to go to Tuscaloosa, alls I gotta do.." - is GO BACK TO GRAMMER SCHOOL, GENE! You're supposed to be representing a freakin' college, that means 'higher learning']

10 Movies That Need A Sequel

Here's a link to an article I enjoyed.. though I wouldn't pick all her choices (Top Gun? ughhh..) Plus she didn't know that A Christmas Story has a sequel already, My Summer Story, with Mary Steenburgen and Charles Grodin as Ralphie's parents.. or that they also filmed "Ollie Hoopnoodle's Haven of Bliss" and "The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Coznowski".. but then, it's a movie fan and not a film blogger/cinephile, obviously..

 The '10 movies that need a sequel' article link

In my opinion, most sequels suck big time, so I see them as little more than an attempt to capitalize on a film's success and milk the public for as much money as possible (capitalists should be shot! Art, also healthcare, should not be motivated by profits..)

However, that being said, my top choice for a sequel, E.T. - The Extraterrestrial, actually had a novel commissioned by Spielberg for an intended sequel, William Kotzwinkle's excellent "E.T. - Another Green Planet". In this novel, E.T. is actually an expert botanist over 600 yrs old who lives on a planet that's a botanical museum for all the plants in the galaxy. They were sent to earth to gather plant specimens when E.T. was separated from the group and left behind. After his rescue, his punishment was to be relagated back to field work weeding huge plant beds. Elliott travels to E.T.'s home planet in this one and they have an adventure in one of E.T.'s small space ships, that resemble potatoes!

Monday, January 3, 2011

IMDB Top 50 Films of the Decade (2000-2009)

The original list and other links at IMDB.. check it out if you haven't, join, and be able to rate and review films, and post topics and comments in forums.

There are pages there for over 70,000 film professionals.




Rank - avg rating - title (year) - total ratings

1. 8.8 The Dark Knight (2008) 489,357
2. 8.8 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 381,650
3. 8.7 City of God (2002) 176,589
4. 8.7 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 404,782
5. 8.6 Memento (2000) 289,119
6. 8.6 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) 342,196
7. 8.5 Amélie (2001) 191,011
8. 8.5 Spirited Away (2001) 107,784
9. 8.5 The Lives of Others (2006) 80,100
10. 8.5 WALL·E (2008) 195,338
11. 8.5 The Pianist (2002) 142,329
12. 8.5 The Departed (2006) 278,638
13. 8.4 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) 230,936
14. 8.4 Requiem for a Dream (2000) 195,094
15. 8.4 Pan's Labyrinth (2006) 163,521
16. 8.4 The Prestige (2006) 221,585
17. 8.4 Downfall (2004) 87,057
18. 8.3 Inglourious Basterds (2009) 196,498
19. 8.3 Up (2009) 124,195
20. 8.3 Gran Torino (2008) 140,395
21. 8.3 Oldboy (2003) 103,617
22. 8.3 Gladiator (2000) 294,021
23. 8.3 The Best of Youth (2003) 8,237
24. 8.3 Sin City (2005) 266,992
25. 8.3 Hotel Rwanda (2004) 97,153
26. 8.3 Batman Begins (2005) 283,046
27. 8.3 Slumdog Millionaire (2008) 188,407
28. 8.2 No Country for Old Men (2007) 208,571
29. 8.2 The Secret in Their Eyes (2009) 23,248
30. 8.2 Mary and Max (2009) 15,040
31. 8.2 Snatch. (2000) 183,330
32. 8.2 District 9 (2009) 165,384
33. 8.2 Donnie Darko (2001) 220,537
34. 8.2 Into the Wild (2007) 108,204
35. 8.2 Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) 244,026
36. 8.2 There Will Be Blood (2007) 138,101
37. 8.2 Avatar (2009) 284,203
38. 8.2 Swades (2004) 6,674
39. 8.2 Million Dollar Baby (2004) 149,534
40. 8.2 My Sassy Girl (2001) 14,632
41. 8.2 Amores Perros (2000) 64,037
42. 8.2 The Wrestler (2008) 100,685
43. 8.1 The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) 155,148
44. 8.1 Finding Nemo (2003) 175,294
45. 8.1 Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (2004) 16,576
46. 8.1 Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003) 19,074
47. 8.1 Ip Man (2008) 16,596
48. 8.1 Rang De Basanti (2006) 12,854
49. 8.1 The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) 33,425
50. 8.1 Departures (2008) 10,408

Lord of the Rings - Return is vitually tied for the top spot.. it was #2 on my list as well (and really could be #1, it's a tossup), but was certainly the most ambitious and successful film achievement of the decade..

my #1, Hero, was China's top-grossing film of all time, deservedly.. Zhang Yimou's eye-popping action film also had a great story, and was immediately 'to the point' at under 100 minutes..

City of God is #7 on my list, and could really be 3rd also.. an amazing Brazilian film, director Fernando Mierelles, who got an Oscar nomination for this, has gone on to direct The Constant Gardner in English..

Memento is also very unique and worthy. Christopher Nolan's film takes a man with short-term memory loss searching for his wife's killer in a story that goes backwards. A newer edition of the dvd has an 'easter egg' that will play the film in reverse order, or in chronologically correct sequence for the mind-impaired and less adventurous film fans.

The Lives of Others, a brilliant espionage film, is one of just 5 to win both the Academy Award and the British Academy award for foreign language film. The secret police in East Germany spies on a subversive writer of popular plays.

WALL-E is my favorite animated film of all time now, is also a terrific science fiction story, with NO bad guys or evil, further proof (like 2001) this is possible (remember we later found that HAL in 2001 was pre-programmed to complete the mission at all costs, which it did, as the mission was the tranformation of Bowman into a spiritual entity, who is still around in 2010)

Requiem for a Dream was also one of my favorites. Requiem should have won 3-4 Oscars, especially Ellen Burstyn's acting, and also Jennifer Connally's supporting performance, both jaw-dropping and almost too much to bear in this film about addiction.

Eternal Sunshine was one of my favorite stories, an Oscar® winner for Charles Kaufman's quirky screenplay about the ability to erase just portions of one's memory, like the failed romances, as Kate Winslet does (along with changing her hair color in every scene). Fans will also like his Being John Malkovich (which allows visitors to a tiny office's hole in the wall to enter the brain of actor John Malkovich), and Synecdoche, New York (in which a playwright builds a near life-size set of Manhattan to perform a realistic play of his life, down to having an actor play him directing this play); but fans probably will not enjoy The Science of Sleep, which is less fully realized.

Other good ones were Batman Begins, Gran Torino, Downfall, The Prestige, The Best of Youth (Italy), The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina), Million Dollar Baby, Bourne Ultimatum, The Departed, Oldboy (Korea), Finding Nemo, and Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter.. and Spring (Korea) I think Amelie (France), Amores Perros (Mexico), District 9, Pan's Labyrinth (Spain), and especially Up, are all overrated. Amores is the best of these but features some horrible scenes of violence that are not for the squeamish. Amelie is clever and inventive but I prefer Jean-Pierre Jeunet's other films, Micmacs and A Very Long Engagement, which aren't as lighthearted.

Pete Postlethwaite

Everyone knows the face if not the tongue-twisting name of Pete Postlethwaite, who just passed away at 64 after a long bout with cancer. His face was described as "ideal for Mount Rushmore", with the most prominent cheeks in all of film. It's a sad day for those of us who have seen him in mostly British works for the last four decades.

He is best known as Daniel-Day Lewis' father in In the Name of the Father, which garnered an Oscar® nomination for supporting actor. Some of the biggest films that I remember are Hamlet, Last of the Mohicans, The Usual Suspects, Martin Chuzzlewit (miniseries), The Lost World, Romeo + Juliet, In the Name of the Father, Inception, The Town.

After filming Lost World, Steven Spielberg called him the "greatest actor in the world". Pete quipped "he most likely said 'the actor who thinks he's the greatest in the world'".

My own personal favorite was as Tigg Montague in the TV miniseries of Charles Dickens' first novel Martin Chuzzlewit, probably because it was so long (6 hrs) that Pete had many indelible scenes as a man so devious, and with tongue planted firmly in cheek, that you knew he was reveling in playing the role and let the audience share his devilish delight. Paul Schofield was brilliant in the title role, one of his last, as a dying family patriarch with a large estate which draws relatives from miles around like flies feasting on a rotting corpse.

His bio page and filmography at IMDB

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Best 100 Films of the Decade (2000-2009)


The Best 100 Films of the First Decade of the Millenium
(2000-2009)
AA = Academy award winner for best picture Click those with links for our review at "1000 Dvds to See"

1. Hero (China, 2002) [poster above] I like this because it has action, a compelling story that twists and turns, so you can't predict the outcome, incredible jaw-dropping visuals and sound (it was used for a Bose surround sound tv ad), terrific pacing. There are scenes you'll play over and over. It's the top-grossing film in Chinese history, which means hundreds of millions have seen it. Actor Jet Li said he wept when he read the script. Director Zhang Yimou is China's best, and was chosen to direct the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, easily the best of those in history, the entire world was amazed.

2. Requiem For a Dream (2000) - Darren Aronofsky's creative film is an eye-popping masterpiece. One of the scariest films ever made, it's supposed to make viewers uneasy.

3. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (AA, New Zealand, 2003) - Had I rated the trilogy as one film, it would have been #1 due to it's incredibly ambitious and successful recreation of the trilogy of novels by J.R.R. Tolkien.. That said, no one film has the pace or plotting of Yimou's Hero

4. City of God (Brazil, 2002) - director Fernando Meirelles got four Oscar® nominations for his best, including director. He also got directing help from still photographer Katia Lund, who worked in these ghettos of Rio.

5. The Namesake (India-US, 2006) - Mira Nair's finest is great literature made into a classic multi-generation tale of a Bengali family growing up in America

6. Turtles Can Fly (Iran-Iraq-France, 2004) - an amazing anti-war film filmed with a cast of real war orphans in nortern Iraq, about a village that sits in both Turkey and Iraq, with a barbed wire border in between

7. After the Wedding (Denmark, 2006) - Susanne Bier's masterpiece, one of the finest ensemble casts you'll see, the four leads won six international acting awards between them

8. WALL-E (2008) - my favorite animated film ever, a great science fiction story mixed with Pixar's best animation work; I usually cry when he gives EVA the green plant

9. Finding Neverland (2004) - a wonderfully touching story about the man who gave us Peter Pan and his inspiration

10. Million Dollar Baby (AA, 2004) - Eastwood's best, also Oscar® winner Hilary Swank's best, who is almost inconceivably good in this, an all-time top 10 performance, and Morgan Freeman's Oscar®-winning performance too; as a bonus, the best boxing film ever

11. Traffic (2000) - won every Oscar® it was up for that year except picture, 4 of 5, losing to Gladiator
12. A Wednesday (India, 2008) - the best film yet about terrorism, from any country, and it was Panjay's debut film as a director
13. Memento (2000) - winner of 5 Indie Spirit Awards, including best pic, a mind-blowing homicide mystery, unique in every aspect
14. Whale Rider (New Zealand, 2003) - Keisha Castle-Hughes was picked out of a New Zealand schoolroom with no acting experience and won 5 best actress awards worldwide at age 13; she absolutely makes this film what it is, a powerful coming-of-age Maori folk tale
15. Minority Report (2002) - one of Spielberg's best SF films mixes in crime-mystery, from a Philip K. Dick story (the Blade Runner novelist, which was really titled 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep')
16. The Lives of Others (Germany, 2007) - the European 'Conversation' about electronic eavesdropping, one of 5 films to win the U.S. and British academy awards for foreign language film
17. Open Range (2003) - one of my favorite westerns, in the John Ford tradition by Kevin Costner, is also one of Robert Duvall's best, breathtaking settings they found by helicopter search
18. Water (India, 2005) - every frame is a work of art, beautifully shot by Deepa Mehta, a tale of Hindu widows in a commune, with matinee idol John Abraham a young lawyer trying to help them
19. Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (India, 2002) - touching and powerful yet without sentimentality, a simple tale of travelers helping each other in time of need regardless of their cultural and religious differences
20. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (China, 2000) - Ang Lee's epic Chinese martial arts film, with a great cast, including 80-lb Ziyi Zhang as a tiny master, and Chou Yun-Fat as her persuer, winner of 5 Oscars®

21. Atonement (2007) - Saiorse Ronan won a slew of acting awards for her integral role in this epic romance
interrupted by war, and Vanessa Redgrave won a couple for a five minute performance that blew me away
22. United 93 (2006) - Paul Greengrass's almost real-time chronicle of 9/11 is the best film of that day, by far; it's riveting even though we know the outcome of every event set in motion
23. Babel (2006) - several families around the globe are all affected by a single rifle, which becomes a metaphor for strangers all being touched by one act by just one of them, it's ripple effect through humanity
24. Good Bye Lenin! (Germany, 2003) - one of the most heart-warming comedies ever, as a son tries to hide the fall of communist East Germany from his socialist mother who missed the event while in a coma; this is the most loving son in perhaps all of cinema
25. In Bruges (2008) - according to director McDonagh, when you're in Bruges (oldest preserved medieval city in Europe) the only thing to do is see all the old historic sites, then after that, boredom - so his two hitmen characters, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleason, hilariously show us both sides; Gleason is a master thespian, one of the world's best
26. Chaos (France, 2001) - the ultimate women's lib revenge film, an incredible story that's a spiraling chain of events that will leave you applauding
27. An Education (2009) - Carey Mulligan won a bunch of acting awards and an Oscar® nomination for this simple coming-of-age tale about a prep school girl's first romance; moving and believable from Danish director Lone Scherfig - she has a great touch with people
28. Big Fish (2003) - Tim Burton's best is a southern U.S. tall tale, the proverbial fish story, but so much more; lovable characters all around, this one is a very unique and lovable fantasy.
29. V For Vendetta (2005) - a great SF revolution film from the Warshowski brothers of Matrix fame; some people are now using this V symbol and committing mayhem - I think that's call 'a movement' - very pro-independence
30. Zelary (Czech Rep., 2003) - a Jewish double agent escapes the Gestapo by fleeing into the Yugoslavian mountains in WW2; beautiful story in a beautiful setting, some winter scenes were shot at thirty below

31. The Prestige (2006) - dazzling magic film with many plot twists about competing magicians Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, circa 1900
32. The Hurt Locker (AA, 2009) - riveting war film made Kathryn Bigelow the first female Oscar®-winning director, 6 Oscars® overall and should've won cinematography as well (lost to Avatar, with all CGI visuals? that I don't get)
33. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) - author Charles Kaufman's script won an Oscar® for this quirky romance about being able to have selected parts of your memory erased, so Kate Winslet does that with all her romances when they end
34. The Twilight Samurai (Japan, 2002) - beautiful and touching film about an aging samurai who now has to work in the food warehouse of a rich baron because there are no more wars
35. Together (China, 2002) - the best father-son film I've seen; about a poor father dedicated to helping his violinist son succeed in a music career
36. Nowhere in Africa (2002) Germany - the film that beat out Hero for the foreign language film Oscar®, about a mother who takes her daughter to Kenya to escape Germany in WW2
37. The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina, 2009) - Oscar® winner about an old homicide case recounted by two aging detectives (who may have had a romance) when they meet again years later
38. A Very Long Engagement (France, 2004) - beautifully shot French epic war-romance from director Jean-Pierre Jeunet
39. Batman Begins (2005) - for me, the best of all Batman films, from director Christopher Nolan (Memento, Following), with Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne at the time he begins to fight crime
40. Slumdog Millionaire (AA, 2008) - seemingly inspired by Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay!, this improbable tale is one of both optimism and degradation among Mumbai orphans

41. The Fountain (2006) - another Aronofsky masterpiece is a complex tale of past (a knight hunts for the fountain of youth), a present (a researcher attacks brain cancer while his wife fights it), and future (a space traveler searches the cosmos for the Tree of Life); mind-blowing
42. Mystic River (2003) - another Eastwood gem, about a murder, acting Oscars® for both Sean Penn and Tim Robbins
43. Chicago (AA, 2002) - six Oscars® for the best of the Bob Fosse musicals, filmed with a stellar cast, about women in prison for murdering their men, usually cuz they deserved it (but in one case, 'he wouldn't stop popping his gum')
44. Gran Torino (2008) - just another Eastwood classic, about a disgruntled, bigoted war vet who won't leave his home even though now surrounded by Hmong immigrants from SE Asia; his classic Detroit car becomes a metaphor for an America of the past that we keep in our memory
45. The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) - Ernesto 'Che' Guevara's motorcyle trip around So America with his buddy Alberto Granada after medical student days to see how best to help mankind; touching and inspiring, from Brazilian director John Salles (who also directed the even better Central Station (98), about a letter writer who decides to help a boy find his parents in rural Brazil)
46. The Visitor (2008) - a man returns to his rarely-used 2nd apartment in NYC to find a family of immigrant squatters there, and they touch something deep within his soul; Richard Jenkins was superb, Oscar-nominated
47. Munich (2005) - Spielberg's take on what happend in the aftermath of the Munich Olympic terrorism, as a dedicated Israeli agent seeks the perpetrators
48. Zodiac (2007) - fascinating story of a journalists dogged determination to unravel the Zodiac killer's true identity, perhaps David Fincher's best film
49. 13 Tzameti (France, 2006) - mind-blowing bw crime film of a man out for some easy money who gets more than he bargained for
50. The Departed (AA, 2006) -Scorsese's remake of the mediocre Hong Kong police film, Infernal Affairs, became his first directing and picture Oscar® thanks to a brilliant script and cast

51. Gladiator (AA, 2000) - after seeing this in the theater, I told friends (who laughed), "this will win 4-5 Oscars®, no kidding" - it won 6, including best picture
52. The Triplets of Belleville (France-Belgium-Canada-UK, 2003) - incredible hand-drawn animation was modeled on 50's Disney films; hilarious and without dialogue; Bruno is the best dog in movies, ever
53. The Chorus (France, 2004) - along with 39's Goodbye, Mr. Chips, the best films ever that pay homage to the power of good teachers in influencing lives positively
54. Everything Is Illuminated (2005) - a young American Jew travels to Russia to find his historical roots, and his travel guide provides hysteria in this unique comedy
55. Finding Nemo (2003) - touching and heart-warming, AA winner for animated film has a great cast and story
56. Jodhaa Akbar (India, 2007) - winner of many Indian awards, recounts the story of the Mughal king to united Hindustan and tried to erase religious bigotry
57. The Good Shepherd (2006) - Robert de Niro proved he can direct in this subtle spy story based on a true CIA operative's life
58. Hidalgo (2004) - classic Disney horse film with Viggo Mortenson in the true story of the greatest long-distance race horse in history
59. The Cuckoo (Russia, 2002) - the strongest woman in film is a Finnish widow in neverland who rescues two soldiers
60. The Road Home (China, 2000) - touching story of a marriage told in flashback as the husband's body is brought given "the road home" by friends

61. Micmacs (France, 2009) - clever and inventive revenge comedy of a man wronged twice by arms manufacturers who now carries a bullet in his brain
62. Nothing But the Truth (2008) - topical legal story about a journalist who refuses to give up her source for a story about the U.S. falsifying intelligence to invade Venezuela (sound familiar?)
63. Gangs of New York (2002) - one of Scorsese's most ambitious and large-scale films, the 1850's when street gangs dominated lower Manhattan
64. No Man's Land (Bosnia, 2001) - anti-war tale won many awards, about the 'free zone' between the lines in Bosnia, and people trapped there
65. Friday Night Lights (2004) - one of the best sports films ever is the true story of a west Texas high school team fighting to get to the state championship
66. Star Trek (2008) - featuring neither tv 'generation', a refreshing new look at this genre from J.J. Abrams, more like a Star Wars film, thankfully - best of the series by far
67. The Claim (2000) - Canadian western about a mining claim is unlike any other, subtle and intelligent
68. American Splendor (2003) - clever and inventive, mixing live action and animation
69. Thank You For Smoking (2005) - hilarious tongue-in-cheek poke at U.S. corporate capitalism using the concept of 'freedom' to promote smoking, alcohol, and firearms
70. Warriors (aka Guerreros, Spain, 2002) - riveting war film as a tank squad from Spain gets lost in Bosnia and finds the 'enemy' everywhere as everyone shoots at everyone

71. No Country For Old Men (AA, 2007) - the Coen Bros most successful is a bounty hunter, Javier Bardem, on a homicide spree while hunted by sheriff Tommy Lee Jones
72. The Girl in the Cafe (2005) - surprising small tale of a diplomat who meets a girl in a crowded cafe who changes his life
73. Almost Famous (2000) - Camerone Crowe's autobiographical tale of a teenage writer for Rolling Stone sent on tour with a rock band
74. The Children of Huang Shi (2008) - inspiring tale of orphans in Nanking who escape w the help of a British journalist when the Japanese invade
75. In the Mood for Love (China, 2001) - Wong Kar-Wai's moody love story is beautifully shot by ace cinematographer Christopher Doyle (also used by Zhang Yimou on HERO)
76. Devils on the Doorstep (China, 2000) - film of Japanese occupation of a small coastal village in WW2
77. Sideways (2004) - wonderful romantic comedy penned by director Alexander Payne, with a stellar cast, an unusual, unlikely romance
78. The Dark Knight (2008) - a cult fave due to Heath Ledger's bizarre Oscar®-winning take on the Joker character; thanks to the artistic direction of Christopher Nolan
79. Revolutionary Road (2008) - a look at the dark side of suburban life in the 50's, a fight for individuality in a mass of dull conformity
80. Downfall (Germany, 2004) - the last days of Hitler from the memoirs of his last secretary, who survives to tell this tale to the world

81. Kinamand (Denmark, 2005) - Danish for "Chinaman", a beautiful story of interracial romance
82. Spring Summer Fall Winter.. and Spring (Korea, 2003) - a Zen odyssey at an isolated lake home of a monk
83. Milk (2008) - true story of SF gay politician Harvey Milk won another Oscar® for Sean Penn
84. Rabbit-Proof Fence (Australia, 2002) - inspiring true story of three Aborinine half-caste sisters who escape a 'prison' called a girls school
85. The Constant Gardener (2005) - little known John Le Carre novel of corporate corruption costing lives in Africa
86. Brothers (Denmark, 2004) - one brothers is captured in Afghanistan, while the other tries to become the man of his household back home; emotionally powerful story from Susanne Bier, remade in the west, stick with the original as Connie Nielsen won 5 acting awards
87. Lost in Translation (2003) - Bill Murray's best as a jaded American star in Japan for an endorsement, who meets bored young wife Scarlett Johansson and becomes her friend
88. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) - best of the Bourne trilogy, the most action, from master director Paul Greengrass
89. The Beautiful Country (Norway, 2004) - beautiful story of a Vietnamese youth w an American father who dreams of finding him in the U.S.

90. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) - best of the trilogy features some eye-popping and creative Oscar®-winning special effects, a swordfight inside a rolling water wheel, a net cage full of pirates hanging off a mountain cliff
91. A Prophet (France, 2009) - gut-wrenching crime drama of an Arab youth in prison
92. Into the Wild (2007) - true story of a American youth who wants to find himself in the Alaskan wilderness after college rather than continue studying or starting a career
93. Donnie Darko (2001) - bizarre sf-fantasy tale of a disturbed teen and his rabbit friend
94. The Barbarian Invasions (Canada, 2003) - a man's last days are spent with family and relatives
95. Cinderella Man (2005) - true story of a boxer making a comeback after a bad injury, a very good realistic boxing film as opposed to the contrived Rocky series
96. The Incredibles (2004) - wonderful animated tale of a family of super-heroes
97. Best in Show (2000) - great spoof on the pedigreed dog-show crowd, features all types of people in director Christopher Guest's best ever; Catherine O'Hara leads a hilarious cast
98. Runaway Jury (2003) - riveting John Grisham tale of how each side manipulates a trial using jury tampering and bribes, as a widow takes on an assault gun manufacturer in a landmark case
99. Mongol (Russia, 2007) - first of intended trilogy on Genghis Khan, who was actually a benevolent ruler that banned torture and built Beijing, the first Asian city - with just 10,000 men on horses, he controlled three million square miles!
100. The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) - heart-shaking story of the Irish revolution in the 20's that pits brother against brother
100. The Counterfeiters (Austria, 2007) - true story of the Nazi effort to use Jewish forgers to counterfiet British pounds and US dollars to topple those currencies during the war

Just off the list Changeling (2009), Valkyrie (2008), The Last Station (2008), Dreamland (2006), Touching the Void (2003), The Reader (2008), Che (2008), Closer (2004), Frequency (2000), In the Valley of Elah (2007), Frost/Nixon (2008), Bloody Sunday (2003), Australia (2008), Catch Me If You Can (2002), The White Ribbon (Germany, 2009), Inglourious Basterds (2009), Chocolat (France, 2000), The Contender (2000), A Beautiful Mind (AA, 2001), 50 First Dates (2004), Angels and Demons (2009), Perfume (Germany, 2006), There Will Be Blood (2007), Vatel (France, 2000), Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008), The Wrestler (2008)

Director of the Decade: Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino, Letters From Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers, Mystic River, Changeling, Invictus) - is there any doubt he had the best decade of any director?

Runner-Up: Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler)

TV Miniseries A series with a planned finite lifespan, usually one story told completely, such as a novel (Gormenghast, Dune), non-fiction book (Band of Brothers), or set period in history, such as a biography (John Adams is one of the best, Longitude one of the most compelling stories in history, of an invention which changed mankind). A very few are successful when written for the series (Into the West, Broken Trail, The Lost Room). I could only rate ones that I had seen entirely, which left out Scorsese’s blues series for PBS.

1. Band of Brothers (2001, hbo) 10 hr – costing over 100m, co-produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, this is a good as tv gets, or will likely ever get. Each one–hour film has a different director. A perfect 10/10 rating (Rated 9.6 at IMDB, if included in their top 250 films, it would easily be #1, well ahead of Shawshank at 9.2)

2. Planet Earth (2007, bbc) 12 hr - nature
3. Into the West (2005, tnt) 10 hr - western epic
4. Broken Trail (2006, tnt) 4 hr - western
5. Gormenghast (2000, bbc) 4 hr - fantasy adventure epic
6. Longitude (2000, bbc) 4 hr - true biopic of inventor
7. John Adams (2008, hbo) 6 hr - historical biopic of President
8. The Best of Youth (Italy, 2003) 4 hr - tale of brothers lives
9. Dune (2000, syfy) 4 hr - science fiction epic
10. Carrie's War (2004, bbc) 4 hr - coming-of-age tale of wartime at home
11. The Lost Room (2006, syfy) 6 hr - science fiction mystery

Documentaries
These are tough to rank – I have to be moved, either to tears, anger, or both (Memory Loss Tapes, God Grew Tired of Us.) I usually need to be exposed to something I didn’t know in order to gain my interest, in an engrossing manner so it’s not like a classroom on film. A few are also innovative visually, offering unique images never seen (Winged Migration, Rivers and Tides), even some about still photographers (War Photographer, Manufactured Landscapes). Touch the Sound is the first one I’ve ever seen about sound, the story of deaf percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie. The Beck is merely a live concert filmed well.

1. Winged Migration (France, doc., 2001) – 7 yrs in the making, filmed at over 200 locations, likely the best nature film you will ever see
2. War Photographer (2001) - biopic of a still photographer
3. Control Room (2004) - inside Al Jazeera during the invasion of Iraq
4. The Memory Loss Tapes (2009) - heart-rending look at Alzheimer's
5. Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001) - biopic of the greatest director
6. Rivers and Tides (2003) - biopic of an environmental artist
7. The Power of Nightmares (2007) – free at archive.org, 3 hr look at rise of Al Quaeda and US christian fundamentalism, who feed off each other
8. God Grew Tired of Us (2006) - the lost boys of Somali, follows some to the U.S.
9. The Story of the Weeping Camel (Germany, 2003) - heart-rending story of a camel that rejects its offspring
10. Jeff Beck Live at Ronnie Scotts (2008) - live concert film shows that Beck can still outrock the best in his 60's
11. Sleepwalking Through the Mekong (2009) - follows L.A. Cambodian rock band Dengue Fever on its tour of Cambodia
12. Touch the Sound (2004) - the story of deaf percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie, very inspiring and musical
13. Manufactured Landscapes (2006) - a still photogrpher's global trek to show the effects of man on the natural world

The complete honor roll of the decade
Year by Year [202 total listed] (Bold is an attempt to show my favorite, very hard. AA is the Academy Award winner)

2009 (15) - lean on quantity, but high in quality, I'd say 4-5 of these are destined 'classics' (Education, Secret, Ribbon, Locker, Prophet, Micmacs)
The Hurt Locker (AA), An Education, The Time Traveler's Wife, The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina), A Prophet (France), The White Ribbon (Germany, bw), The Last Station, Avatar, Inglourious Basterds, Angels and Demons, The Memory Loss Tapes (tv, doc.), Sleepwalking Through the Mekong (doc.), Micmacs (France) , In The Loop, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

2008 (25) - the best films this year were all ignored for even the AA nomination! A Wednesday deserved the foreign AA, perhaps the best terrorism film yet from any nation
WALL-E (anim.), In Bruges, A Wednesday (India), The Dark Knight, The Children of Huang Shi, Changeling, Red Cliff (China), Jeff Beck Live at Ronnie Scott's (concert doc.), Nothing But the Truth, Che, Star Trek, Gran Torino, Defiance, Australia, Revolutionary Road, The Reader, The Wrestler, Valkyrie, John Adams (TV), Milk, Frost/Nixon, The Visitor, Slumdog Millionaire (AA), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Vicky Christina Barcelona

2007 (22) - Lives is one of 5 in history to win the US and UK AA's for foreign language film
The Lives of Others (Germany), Atonement, No Country For Old Men (AA), Blood of My Blood (Mexico), Youth Without Youth, I'm Not There, The Kite Runner, Rendition, Jodhaa Akbar (India), My Blueberry Nights, Assassination of Jesse James, In the Valley of Elah, The Kingdom, There Will Be Blood, Mongol (Russia), The Bourne Ultimatum, American Gangster, The Counterfeiters (Austria), Zodiac, Into the Wild, The Power of Nightmares (doc.), Volver (Spain), Eastern Promises

2006 (27) - a terrific year for foreign films, if you include the UK
The Namesake (India-US), United 93, After the Wedding (Denmark), God Grew Tired of Us (doc.), 13 Tzameti (France, bw), The Tiger's Tail, The Fountain, The Prestige, Half Moon (Iran-Iraq-France), Manufactured Landscapes (doc.), The Fall, A Good Year, Quinceanera, Happy Feet (anim.), Dreamland, The Wind That Shakes the Barley (Ireland), The Good Shepherd, Cars (anim.), Babel, The Departed (AA), The Lost Room (TV), Broken Trail (TV), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Children of Men, The Last King of Scotland, Blood Diamond, Perfume (Germany), Letters From Iwo Jima

2005 (15) - a lean year, with V the underrated sleeper, a SF classic
V For Vendetta, Water (India), The Italian (Russia), Junebug, Fateless (Hungary-Germany-UK, bw), Kinamand (Denmark, The Girl in the Cafe, Munich, Cinderella Man, The Constant Gardener, Thank You For Smoking, Batman Begins, Everything Is Illuminated, Sin City, Into the West (TV)
[the AA winner Crash did not make my list]

2004 (27) - what a great year overall, and really 4-5 classics
Million Dollar Baby (AA), Finding Neverland, Turtles Can Fly (Iran-Iraq-France), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Chorus (France), Vera Drake, Zhou Yu's Train (China), Touch the Sound (Germany, doc.), A Very Long Engagement (France), Millions, Carrie's War (TV), Veer-Zaara (India), Brothers (Denmark), Control Room (doc., aka Central Al Jazeera), The Incredibles (anim.), House of Flying Daggers (China), The Bourne Supremacy, 50 First Dates, Spiderman 2, Ned Kelly, Sideways, The Motorcycle Diaries (Brazil-US), Friday Night Lights, Closer, Hidalgo, The Beautiful Country (Norway)

2003 (21) - the best year ever for New Zealand
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (New Zealand, AA), Whale Rider (New Zealand), Open Range, American Splendor, The Story of the Weeping Camel (Germany, doc.), The Triplets of Belleville (anim., France-Belgium-Canada-UK), Secondhand Lions, Good Bye Lenin! (Germany), Rivers and Tides (doc.), Spring Summer Fall Winter.. and Spring (Korea), The Barbarian Invasions (Canada), Lost in Translation, Zelary (Czech Rep.), Big Fish, Finding Nemo (anim.), Touching the Void, Runaway Jury, Mystic River, Seabiscuit, Oldboy (S. Korea), The Best of Youth (Italy, tv)

2002 (17) - no one noticed the top-grossing film in Chinese history in the west (except the Online Film Critics, with 6 nominations and 2 wins for foreign film and cinematography), or Spielberg's best SF film, another geat year for foreign films, esp Asia
Hero (China), Minority Report, Chicago (AA), Catch Me If You Can, City of God, Gangs of New York, The Bourne Identity, Bloody Sunday, El Alamein (Italy), Warriors (Spain), Together (China), Rabbit-Proof Fence (Australia), The Cuckoo (Russia), Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (India), The Twilight Samurai (Japan), Spiderman, The Importance of Being Earnest

2001 (11) - ok, it was tv but Spielberg and Hanks spent 100 mil on the 10-hr Band, based on a non-fiction book, and Winged Migration was a documentary following birds worldwide that took 7 years to make
Band of Brothers (TV), Winged Migration (France, doc.), Chaos (France), War Photographer (Switzerland, doc.), Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (doc.), No Man's Land (Bosnia), The Tunnel
(Germany), Monsoon Wedding (India), In the Mood for Love (China), A Beautiful Mind (AA)

2000 (21) - any of five pics could've been best pic, the only award that Traffic lost, while Requiem scared the bejeezus out of everyone, especially Hollywood, it's a masterpiece and not intended to be easy to watch
Traffic, Memento, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (China), Gladiator (AA), Requiem For a Dream, Almost Famous, Devils on the Doorstep (China), Vatel (France), Longitude (TV), Malena (Italy), The Contender, Best in Show, Nine Queens (Argentina), Boiler Room, Frequency, The Road Home (China), Not One Less (China), Chocolat (France), Gormenghast (TV mini.), Dune (TV mini.), Woman on Top (Spain), The Claim (Canada)

[Note: nothing on this site is final or written in stone, so as I find more films to list I will update this post - like most viewers, I cannot have possibly seen every film so I expect more to be added slowly over time.]

"Your results may vary" - "As always, no wagering"

"That's just my opinion, I could be wrong" - Dennis Miller