A&E - AFI's New Top 100

Click the link above for the list.

Since it's pretty much required for anyone who fancies himself a film pundit to comment on such things, here are a few thoughts on the new AFI Top 100.

First, Citizen Kane absolutely deserves top honors. It's kind of become old hat to recognize it as such, but screw that. The fact is, the film (unlike any other I've seen from that era) still plays today. And I LOVE Casablanca, but it does play like a movie from the 40s. Citizen Kane has the kind of pacing and dialogue you find in films that have come out in the last five years, features an incredible leading performance, and is still one of the most innovative films ever made. Honestly, it's not in my Top 10 favorites, but if I had to make a Top 10 of the greatest achievements in film, this would easily be in the top 5.

I LOVE The Godfather, but The Godfather, Pt. II is a better movie. It just is. The two of them put together, though (as I and many others do) is the second-best film ever made (behind 2001: A Space Odyssey and just ahead of Apocalypse Now).

You have no idea how cool it is that Raging Bull is #4. To me, Scorsese's best film is The Last Temptation of Christ, but Raging Bull is an incredible piece of work that never, until now, got the respect it deserved, and I was beyond happy when that came up (yeah, I watched the 3-hour broadcast).

I've seen half the movies on the list. Sweet.

Schindler's List is...it's not the most overrated movie of the 90s (that'd be Forrest Gump), but it's not a Top 10 movie. I don't mean to demean it, and saying something like that is a little controversial, but the fact is that it works as well as it does because of the subject matter, not because of especially great performances or great direction.

They just kinda slided Do The Right Thing in there at 96, probably just to stave off the (justified) complaints that there were no black filmmakers represented on the last list.

I don't like Platoon or Forrest Gump. I'm on the verge of flat-out hating the latter, and nothing you can say can change the fact that it's a self-serving piece of nostalgia with the weakest lead characters I've ever seen in a major motion picture.

A Clockwork Orange plummeted almost 30 places since the last list. There's no good reason for that.

If they made Bonnie and Clyde today, it wouldn't be nearly as cool because there'd have to be a real love story between the two of them. They handled that so effing well in that movie.

For your convenience, movies that I've seen from the list that you should absolutely see, besides some of the more obvious stuff that I talk about all the time (since the main purpose of the list, to me at least, is to encourage people to go out and see great pieces of filmmaking).
Blade Runner
Do The Right Thing
Goodfellas
12 Angry Men
The Apartment
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
American Graffiti
The Deer Hunter
Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Chinatown
Double Indemnity
Lawrence of Arabia

Gonna Walk Around and Drink Some More

Not really. The song's just stuck in my head.

I am chock-full on energy today. I have no idea where it came from (four hours of sleep last night? Ish). But I'm riding a huge manic swing right now, and I'm just hoping it lasts the night.

From Yahoo! News today..."How to Spot a Counterfeit - There are specific ways to tell if your toothpaste is a real, safe product." I didn't even know this was a problem.

Yesterday was Father's Day, and I was at work. Before the store opens every morning, a woman comes on the loudspeaker and says good morning and makes announcements and so forth. She wished all the dads who were away from their families to be at work a happy Father's Day, and then someone...whoever's in charge of such things...put on "Cat's in the Cradle" for all the store to hear. I would've laughed but I think that would've just twisted the knife a touch too far. Even if I was in a women's department at the time.

S'yeah...I've decided it'd be really cool to start up our own radio station. Just saying.

My Jeep was supposed to be fixed today but it isn't. Another day with the Big Red Boat. Hurray.

Look at the time. Traffic's gonna be a bitch. See ya.

Squeezing In An Update...

Anyone wanna see the new Fantastic Four with me? Hello? Anyone? Anyone?

Seriously, I'm gonna see it anyway, but if someone wants to join me that'd be fun. Granted, it's supposed to be a pile, but what'll you do.

To fill out this post, the #1 song on the Christian/Gospel Billboard chart is by a guy named Big Daddy Weave, which sounds like nothing they would ever play in any church anywhere.

UPDATE:

This just in. I remember a few years back I kept updates going on Batman Begins news that ya'll seemed to enjoy, and with The Dark Knight production in full swing, I'll keep up with some cool tidbits here and there (even though I already sorta have when I geeked out about Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, which is still the coolest thing ever). This was just posted to Ain't it Cool News, scanned from Entertainment Weekly (bigger pic if you click it).



Might not seem like a big change, but luckily I'm a first-class loser. Most of the changes are listed, but the main thing I'm pumped about is it looks like they finally got the damn cowl right. I don't think I'm the only one who noticed Batman's head was enormous in Begins. Also, the suit as a whole is a little sleeker, and looks like it fits Christian Bale's physique a bit better.

The Dark Knight comes out July 18th, 2008 and I'm already first in line.

I Picked a Fantastic Time to Use the Bathroom Yesterday

Really. I did. I walked in and this dude was just talking. At first I thought it was to the guy in the stall next to him, but no one was there. Turns out he was calling his lawyer while on the crapper, letting out a fart here and there (this is kind of a disgusting story...I'm sorry). Anyway, he was trying to sue Nordstrom over...something...and he saying things like "We're going to nail them for this" and "We need that woman fired, can you make that happen?" and all those things that I want to be able to say to someone someday.

It's been a good week. Starting to slide into a great, easy routine at work, nights have been fun, and that movie Once is phenomenal. Seen a few really great movies as of late...I dunno which has been the best, but Waitress (Rachel saw it and loved it...why haven't you?), Knocked Up, and Once are all so much better than we deserve. I still need to see the rest of Pirates...for posterity.

Drink Viso.

I feel like I have absolutely no time to do anything anymore. I haven't read in weeks, I haven't been keeping up very well with my summer movie rental list, and I still haven't bought new sandals (mostly because I'm trying desperately to hang onto the pair I've had for years, which I adore). But it's mostly that I'm just lazy when I get home from work, and who wants to accomplish things on their day off? F that.

Well, the cursor on this thing isn't working anymore and it's getting harder to figure out where I'll be typing as I click between windows. So bye.

EDIT: There was a sign outside QFC yesterday saying they're looking to hire a "Grocery Night Stocker," which is fun to say because it sounds like the name that would be attributed to a creepy guy who hangs around supermarkets after dark.