Blog UPDATE for our few fans...

Today is the 17th of November and we have not posted anything since August 23rd. Since then we have watched several more movies from the list...I feel as though we need to let you know why the movie watching (and blogging) have taken a hiatus...The move, well, the move was horrific. There was a flood in the new house. Our landlord (for the Wheaton house) had asked if we could leave our lease early so that a new tenant could move in. Over half our new house was unlivable...it was lovely. So that was a set back. And then summer hit and we Bells don't like being inside when the weather is terrific...we had a family wedding, a vacation, friends from out of town, multiple trips into the city, the Botanic Garden and the Arboretum. Our tans were really great...the blog was really not high on the list.
Alas here we are. The weather is getting chilly. The leaves almost entirely raked. The entertainment season (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years' Eve and Day) is upon us. We've just finished watching Ratatouille, in the middle of Grapes of Wrath, Gone with the Wind, The Sting, Chinatown, Apocalypse Now, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Toy Story 2, Hotel Rwanda, we decided to skip Crash(2005) (since we watched it already and HATED IT!)
So our promise, though we won't be done with the list by December 31, 2010, is to finish the list, including the new movies that have bumped the original list from this blog, by the time spring hits in 2011.
Thank you all for your patience and eagerness!

#137 Ed Wood: Future events such as these will affect you in the future

1994. dir. Tim Burton, starring Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Jeffery Jones.

Seen it before? No.

#136 City Lights: Am I driving?

1931. dir. Charlie Chaplin, starring Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee, Harry Myers.

Seen it before? No.



Another "little tramp" movie... meh, I didn't really feel this one. This time he's trying to woo a blind girl, and to do so, he tries to pass himself off as a millionaire. I liked the boxing scene, that was pretty damn funny. I also enjoyed the millionaire's oddly specific amnesia - he only remembers Charlie when he's drunk. I don't understand why Charlie didn't just slip him booze when he needed to at the end.

Position on the list: 68
In real life: Charlie Chaplin fired Virginia Cherrill from the movie, but had to rehire her because reshoots would have been too expensive

#135 Memento: I've told you this before, haven't I?

2000. dir. Christopher Nolan, starring Guy Pearce, Joe Pantoliano, Carrie-Anne Moss.

Seen it before? Yes.

In my opinion, this is Christopher Nolan's best movie, although I haven't seen Inception yet. By the way, it's #3 on the Top 250 now!? It bumped Godfather Part II. Now I have to see it. Actually, looking over the list, there's a bunch of new movies on there... How To Train Your Dragon? Really, it was that good? Toy Story 3 is #12? Huh.

OK, so, Memento. It's the backwards movie. Well, not really - the black and white scenes go forward, and the color scenes go backwards. Neat device, and it works especially well because the protagonist has no short-term memory. Seeing this for the first time is very disorienting because basically everybody is lying to him and manipulating him, the poor guy.

Position on the list: 29
Hey! It's that guy! Stephen Tobolowsky! I sure as heck-fire remember you! Ned? Ryerson! Bing! Ok, I'm done.

#134 To Kill A Mockingbird: Stand up.. your father's passing

1962. dir. Robert Mulligan, starring Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Phillip Alford, Brock Peters.

Seen it before? Parts of it, in HS English class

A great movie, but I still think the book was better. Here's a tip: if you want an A on your "To Kill a Mockingbird" essay in your Freshman English class, draw a comparison between Atticus shooting the dog, the police shooting Tom Robinson, and what happens to Boo Radley at the end. You know, the obvious stuff. High school was so easy.

While watching it, my wife and I were talking about what would happen if they tried to make this movie now, with the consensus being "they'd fuck it up royally", probably by casting Hannah Montana as Scout or some shit.

Position on the list: 55
The girl who played Scout: Had some "daddy" issues... watch the bonus features on the DVD and you'll see what I mean.

#133 American History X: Annnnzyle and Itterpretnl

1999. dir. Tony Kaye, starring Ed Norton, Edward Furlong, Fairuza Balk, Ethan Suplee, Stacy Keach, Beverly D'Angelo.

Seen it before? Yes.

and seeing it 10 years later, I realize it's genius. All white supremacists need is to be in prison with a black guy who does part of a Chris Rock routine, and boom, they're not racist anymore.

seriously though, this movie is just grating and annoying now, with a gratuitous "shocker" ending that comes out of nowhere.

Position on the list: 40

#132 Up: I do not like the cone of shame.

dir. Pete Docter and Bob Peterson, starring Ed Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer.

Seen it before? Yes.

LOVED the first ten minutes, where it shows all the decades of Carl and Ellie's life pass by, with all the joy and heartbreak. You NEVER see shit like that in a kid's movie. it's just... wow. OK, but then the rest of the movie: Carl somehow floats to South America by attaching balloons to his house, and there's a kid with him, and then it just gets silly, with talking dogs and shit. The main part of this movie is just as stupid as Bolt or any of the other dumb cartoons my son likes. Oh well.

Position on the list: 85
I did the math: You'd need about 1.2 million balloons

#131 Treasure of the Sierra Madre: We ain't got no badges... We don't need no badges!

1948. dir. John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt.

Seen it before? No.

#117 Shadow of a Doubt - oh the creepiness that arises from naming your daughter after her uncle...

1943. dir. Alfred Hitchcock, starring Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten, Macdonald Carey.

Seen it before? No.

The movie The Truth About Cats and Dogs with Uma Thurman and Janeane Garofalo had a line about loving your pets...

Abby: We can love our pets, we just can't LOVE our pets.

This movie reminded me of that because the admiration of the female Charlie, the niece to the real Charlie, for her uncle was really creepy. And there was also something creepy about the real Charlie...I'm sure it was a story telling device but he was duplicitous to say the least and I'm pretty certain he didn't really have a heart. It's thrilling but not nearly as much as the rest of Hitchcock's works.

See it again? Yes, surely I missed something...but I doubt it.
Own it? Why not?
Spoiler alert - glad Charlie snapped out of it in the end ha ha ha

#116 Judgment at Nuremberg - Star date May 16, 2010...oh wait...

1961. dir. Stanley Kramer, starring Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Maximilian Schell, Marlene Dietrich.

Seen it before? No

Sam wrote, "This DVD has been sitting on the entertainment unit for about a week and a half. Staring at us with its unblinking eye. Taunting us. Daring us to watch it. "I'm 3 hours long! In black and white! I'm about the Holocaust!" So finally we watched it, and I have to say, we were riveted the whole time. Did not feel 3 hours long." It's like he took the words right out of my mouth! Another surprising movie that I stayed up for. And we watched it pretty late in the night if I recall.

A middle of the road judge from the northeastern part of the United States is flown to Germany to be the judge over a trial of former Nazi judges (including Burt Lancaster)...the defense attorney was impressive - passionate, willing to do virtually anything to lessen the sentences of the (sorry, I am totally judging) clearly guilty Nazi judges...Burt Lancaster as the judge who knew what he did was wrong and showed remorse was just amazing. Marlene Dietrich, who played Mrs. Bertholdt, was stunning (as usual).

I don't think I'll ever fully understand what happened in Nazi Germany. I don't ever want to time travel to that era in our world's history to find out. But I can tell you this right now...the actors in this movie played out the complexities of what it must have been like to be a part of something so cruel, so vicious, so unnecessary, with such elegance, stoicism and grace that you would have to be a vegetable not to see how terrific this movie is.

Watch it again? ABSOLUTELY
Own it? Sure
PS Sam, you spelled judgment incorrectly...
Last notes - Judy Garland looked like Liza does now...horrible and Chris Pine (who plays Capt. Kirk in the newest Star Trek) really does resemble the young Shatner... Finally...why does America always seem to be throwing down judgment on other countries? I so don't understand that.

#115 The Terminator - watched it again...I mean, for the first time.

1984. dir. James Cameron, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton.

Seen it before? kind of...

So I finally understand what Sam means when he says this is one of the best movies ever. I had seen only parts of this movie before May 16th which is when we actually viewed it...yes, I realize it's already August 9th but we'be been super busy and that's all I'm going to say about it so leave it alone!

In a phrase, this movie is SCREWED UP! From seeing the second one you know that Sara Connor is John Connor's mother. I get that. You meet her here. She's kind of weird. She's a server at a restaurant. And Arnold is BAD in this movie (as in the bad guy not horrible)! You do see his butt though...take that America you now have a governor (of over 7 years) who has shown his ass on film in front of millions and you still voted for him? Anyhow, I think I know why Maria Shriver married him...ANYWAY...so this guy from the future comes back (just like Arnold) to save Sara Connor...only the guy falls in love with her and gets her pregnant...My head hurts.

Seriously you need to see this movie. It was really great (it must have been since I stayed awake for the entire thing!).

See it again? Sure
Own it? Already do
Regarding Sam's comment - Hey, it's that guy! Bill Paxton is one of the punks at the beginning. I always get Bill Paxton and Bill Pullman confused. REALLY?!?!? You're CONFUSED!?!??! Bill Paxton has a gap between his teeth and is awful...Bill Pullman is the adorable guy next door...it's not like Jeff Daniels and Jeff Bridges who actually DO kind of look alike!!! Get with the program Bell!

#130 No Country for Old Men: Aw, hell's bells, they even shot the dog...

2007. dir. Joel and Ethan Coen, starring Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Kelly Macdonald.

Seen it before? Yes.

#114 Gran Torino - the tale of a cranky man who befriends Asians and begins to feel needed again

2008. dir. Clint Eastwood, starring Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Ahney Her, Christopher Carley.

Seen it before? yes.

Before we started this cockamamie project Sam wanted to watch all the movies that were up for Academy Awards in previous years. This was one of them. And I'm pretty sure we saw it in December or November of last year...meaning it was watched exceptionally recently!

The first time I watched this movie I saw a cranky man with Hmong neighbors who reached out to him because he did them a favor. There were Hmong gang members trying to recruit one of their cousins. There was a brassy (untypical Asian female) character and it was refreshing to see she wasn't your run of the mill stereo-type. His family pissed me off. They got what was coming to them.

But the second time I watched the film I saw the movie for what it really is, a tale of an old, widowed man whose family didn't need him anymore claiming they didn't understand him when all they needed to do was take their heads out of their asses and interact with their dad/grandfather more...need him more. The kids knew nothing about their grandfather. Where I come from elders are to be treated with respect. Is that really a true depiction of how American kids act toward their elders? If so, YIKES! If Daniel ever acts like that I'll smack him!!! I digress. The relationship with the Hmong family was great because there was a reciprocity, a genuine feeling of caring. Clintwood's Kowalski visually changed in the movie from a gruff sounding old man to a gruff sounding NICE old man.

There were some parts of this movie that made me uneasy. You'll see what I mean when you watch it...and you definitely should.

See it again? In a while maybe
Own it? No need...I'm sure it will be in cable soon.

#129 Trainspotting: Never Say Never Again

1996. dir. Danny Boyle, starring Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kelly Macdonald.

yeah... Scotland's worst toilet.

#128 Platoon: No right or wrong in them

1986. dir. Oliver Stone, starring Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe.

fortunately they were able to patch up their differences and play on the Indians.

#127 Nights of Cabiria: She's a countess

1957. dir. Frederico Fellini, starring Giulietta Masina, François Périer, Franca Marzi. Italian with subtitles.

Seen it before? No.

Sometimes I think this whole project is ill-advised. Some of these movies are clearly meant to be enjoyed and savored like fine wine, and here we are gulping them down like a freshman playing Century Club.



Oh well, too late to stop now... on to Nights of Cabiria, starring Giulietta Masina as the titular Cabiria. She's a hooker, living in Rome with all of her hatchet-faced hooker friends, and she has various misadventures. In the first scene in the movie, her boyfriend shoves her into a river to steal her money. This pretty much sets the tone.

It's got kind of a Random Events Plot, but it's worth seeing for Masina's performance. She reminds me of Lucille Ball, or Charlie Chaplin.

Position on the list: 194
For those of you who did not attend college in the Midwest: It's a drinking game in which you attempt to drink 100 shots of beer (or cider) in 100 minutes. Not recommended.

#126 High Noon: Do not forsake me O my darling

1952. dir. Fred Zinnemann, starring Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Lloyd Bridges.

Seen it before? No.

Gary Cooper plays Marshal Will Kane, who retires to marry nagging wet blanket Grace Kelly, who is like 30 years younger than him, but whatever. But on the day of his retirement/marriage, this criminal that he helped convict has gotten out of prison on a technicality, and is headed back to town on the noon train to get revenge on Kane. Kane tries to put together a posse to defend himself, but nobody is willing to help because they all suck.

The movie is shot in real time, sort of; you can watch the clocks in the background tick closer to 12 noon. (I think they stole that idea for a Johnny Depp movie a few years ago.) (EDIT: Yep. They did.) John Wayne hated it, because he thought it was un-American, somehow? He thought it was a metaphor for the HUAC and the blacklist, which, yeah, maybe, but you really have to strain to see it that way.

Position on the list: 127
Number of times Bill Clinton watched this movie while he was president: 17

#125 Spartacus: I fought fire with oil

1960. dir. Stanley Kubrick, starring Kirk Douglas, Jean Simmons, Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov.

Seen it before? Some of it. We watched it in World History class and Mr. Paris kept fast-forwarding the non-educational parts, i.e. most of it. So I probably saw 1/3 of this before.

Another big, 3-hour Roman epic. This came out a year after Ben-Hur and is comparable in scope and subject matter, so I guess comparisons are inevitable...

Protagonist: Kirk Douglas vs. Charlton Heston. These guys basically delivered the same performance, so it's a tie

Villain: Laurence Olivier vs. Stephen Boyd. Oh, this one is easy. Olivier by a mile.

Tacked-on love interest: Jean Simmons vs. Haya Harareet. I honestly don't remember anything about Harareet's performance. In six weeks, I don't think I'll remember Simmons either. Tie!

Score: Alex North vs. Miklos Rosza. North's work was okay, but Rosza is the clear winner here.

Gay subtext: The "snails and oysters" scene in Spartacus is gayer than anything in Ben-Hur, but not by much.

Big cool action scenes: Ben-Hur had the naval battle and the chariot race, both of which top anything here.

Oscars: Ben-Hur wins 11-4 in that department.

Position on the list: 241
Ben-Hur's position on the list: 142

#124 Million Dollar Baby: I think I did alright.

2004. dir. Clint Eastwood, starring Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman.

I just want what's best for you and Manushka...

#123 Dog Day Afternoon: Wyoming's not a country

1975. dir, Sidney Lumet, starring Al Pacino, John Cazale, Chris Sarandon, Charles Durning.

Seen it before? No.

Hola, amigos. How's it hangin'? I know it's been a long time since I last rapped at ya but we're moving, and there was a flood, and we've been too freakin busy to watch any movies lately. In fact i can see by the scoreboard that our projected finish date has slipped into 2011 - Oh shit! - so here's this.

Based on a true story. Sonny (Michael) and Sal (Fredo) decide to rob a bank. (oh, and a third guy, but he chickens out at the beginning, and we never see him again.) Since they are amateurs and don't really know what they're doing, what should have been a quick in-and-out turns into a multi-hour hostage situation. Oh yeah and the reason they are robbing the bank is to pay for Sonny's wife's sex change operation.

Good movie. Now I somehow have to find time to watch Spartacus so it might be awhile.

Position on the list: 166
The real guy: Died in 2006.