A Personal Journey with The Gunslinger45 through the Movies: A Top 50+

Hilarious songs I've known since I remember. Never seen the whole movie.

__________________
San Franciscan lesbian dwarves and their tomato orgies.

T2! kickin' off the top 30 right.





oh, hoping to see Tokyo Story soon

27.



A Fistful of Dollars: 1964 (R) -11
Italy / United Artists
98% (CF)



I am going to break a taboo with regards to the Man with No Name trilogy and say that A Fistful of Dollars is my favorite of the trilogy, and not The Good the Bad and The Ugly. I do not know why but ever since I saw all three of these films in college on AMC this one was my personal favorite, and stood up after multiple viewings. It was my first introduction to Sergio Leone and added to the badass cred of Clint Eastwood (my favorite actor).

This was also viewed before I saw Yojimbo let alone heard of Kurosawa. So I can’t say it was a love of the first movie that made me like this one the best. In addition I like this movie more than Yojimbo (which should say something considering how much of a Kurosawa fanboy I am). Eastwood is simply badass in this flick, cigar clinched between his teeth and fast on the draw with his pistol. Eastwood was simply the epitome of cool in this movie! It has plenty of homage’s to the first movie. If by homage you mean it was an unauthorized remake that got Sergio sued by Toho. But it did birth the spaghetti western so who cares.

__________________
Fear and Loathing in MoFo... The Gunslinger 45's Top 50 Favorite Films

In the 10 Ring: Gunslinger45's reviews

I don't think it's nice, you laughin'. ya see, my mule don't like people laughin'. gets the crazy idea you're laughin' at him. Now if you apologize like I know you're going to, I might convince him that you really didn't mean it
---

the Dollars Trilogy is so great. i like how one can claim any of the three as their favorite, they're all cool.

what order did you intitally watch them in? probably still the coolest trilogy yet made

Watched them in order. 1st, 2nd, 3rd.

ah, okay. the standard

not sure why, but i watched em all out of whack. the Good, the Bad & the Ugly first, Fistful second, and For a Few Dollars More third

this led to me breaking the sacred taboo as well, although in a different way than you did

I can't remember what order I saw them the first time. It was over 40 years ago (but seems far less)! It certainly doesn't matter what order you watch them though.

__________________
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

26.



The Dark Knight: 2008 (PG-13) -13
USA / Warner Brothers
94% (CF)




One of the best movies of 2008 was Nolan’s take on my favorite superhero in the sequel to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight. Here was the strongest of the Nolan Batman trilogy. Batman versus the Joker. The unstoppable force versus the immovable object. Good versus evil, order versus chaos. It was simply epic!

This was the franchise that rebooted the Caped Crusader and erased the damage that was done by George Clooney and Joel Schumacher. The casting of Heath Ledger as the Joker originally had me extremely worried. That is until I saw the first trailer, then he became the star of the show. Literally. Bale was good as Batman, but Ledger was FANTASTIC as the Joker! I mean his portrayal of the Joker as an unhinged force of anarchy was spectacular, and really gave these films a real and terrifying proper villain that I felt was lacking in the other two movies. Mostly because Nolan wanted his films planted in reality and not a comic book universe. But this was still a very good movie despite that change. Either way it is my favorite movie to star my favorite superhero.

Is there a more badass look?

No

I enjoyed it, but it's far from my favourite films of 2008. Not trying to be an ******* or smartass, just share my 2008 favourites.

Mr Minio's favourite films of 2008:

1. Dust of Time - Theodoros Angelopoulos
2. Karamazov Brothers - Petr Zelenka
3. Gran Torino - Clint Eastwood
4. Departures - Yôjirô Takita
5. Doubt - John Patrick Shanley
6. Cherry Blossoms - Doris Dörrie
7. Tokyo Sonata - Kiyoshi Kurosawa
8. Hunger - Steve McQueen
9. Song of Sparrows - Majid Majidi
10. Yuri's Day - Kirill Serebrennikov

One of those movies show up later.

Let’s Go Out to the Movies! Fun Times at the theater!

Home video is only half the viewing experience when it comes to movies. Even today where I have to pinch pennies, pay bills, and try to save money, I still make time to go to the cinema. Ever since I saw Beauty and the Beast as a kid, going to the movie theater has been a life long past time. And thankfully I have had just as many awesome experiences going to the theater as I do Here are some of my most significant theatrical experiences.




Independence Day: 1996 (PG-13)
USA / 20th Century Fox
60%

Many of the best experiences I have had at the theater have been during the summer blockbuster season. And of all the summer blockbusters I have seen, this ranks as one of the best. Sure the movie is full of plot holes and has issues with it, but dammit all to hell this is just so damn fun to watch with some fun characters! Jeff Goldblum as the dorky science guy, Goldblum’s very Jewish dad, Dennis Quaid as the crazy drunk, and of course Will Smith as the bad ass fighter pilot! Add in an alien invasion, plenty of cool and funny moments, some memorable funny dialogue, and an awesome inspirational speech and you have one of the best popcorn flicks EVER!






Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back: 2001 (R)
USA / Dimension
54%

Ladies and gentlemen this is a giant cinematic version of one big in joke. Made for the View Askewniverse faithful, the constant side characters and supporting characters of the previous Kevin Smith movies finally get their own movie! And it plays like one big foul mouthed cartoon. Jay and Bob travel the country to put an end to a movie based off characters they inspired. Along the way they encounter sexy jewel thieves posing as animal rights activists, Will Ferrell as a Federal Wildlife Marshal, stolen apes, Miramax security guards, nuns, and even Scooby Doo and the gang. Weird, wild, and a lot of fun and laughs. This was a joy to see being the huge Kevin Smith fan I am.






The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: 2001, 2002, 2003 (PG-13)
USA / New Line Cinema
91% (CF), 96% (CF), 94% (CF)

THE franchise of the new millennium, and it was a fantastic trilogy of movies to watch in the theater. Since I never got to see Star Wars or Indiana Jones trilogies in the theater, it was nice to see a film series of a similar magnitude in the cinema. Only a handful of franchises have reached Star Wars levels of movie success and geek obsession, and the Lord of the Rings Franchise is easily one of these franchises. And to be able to be there from day one is pretty damn cool. While I never had the same love for these movies as say the Star Wars movies, I will admit it did come pretty close. Massive scale, fantastic production design, some pretty epic battles, and many cool characters makes this a notable addition to my cinema going experience.

all of them.



Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl: 2003 (PG-13)
USA / Disney
79% (CF)

A movie based off a theme park ride? This has to suck right? Turns out no, it's actually pretty badass! They story is simple, the effects are awesome, but let’s face it, two people make this movie awesome; Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow and Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa. These two people are what made this a delight to watch in the theater and were the only reason’s I kept coming back to the very mediocre sequels. This simply a swashbuckling good time for all.






Drive Angry: 2011 (R)
USA / Summit Entertainment
45%

I will be the first to say that I generally hate seeing movies in 3D. I have seen the practice as a cheap way to try and squeeze a few extra bucks out of me when I go to the movies. They just slap some 3D effects on a movie never intended to be seen in 3D, and comes out looking like crap. Very few times has seeing a movie in 3D ever been a good experience. For the longest time, if I was going to see a movie in 3D, it had to be shot just like this movie, where they intended it to be in 3D because that was part of a gimmick. Nic Cage escapes the pits of Hell itself to save his granddaughter from an evil cult. A throw back to 70’s grindhouse where all the 3D effects throw body parts, coins, the title, and various other things just thrown at me as the movie goes on! And while the movie is just as good without the 3D, I will still say the best viewing I have had for it was in the theater. And this for the longest time was the best 3D cinematic experience I ever had. Keep that in mind since I also saw Avatar in IMAX 3D. But that was a mediocre movie, this was fun as Hell! Literally! That was until I saw the next movie...






Gravity: 2013 (PG-13)
USA / Warner Brothers
97% (CF)

Probably not going to make my Top 100, but still deserves mention for being a pretty awesome movie going experience. This is the movie that really made me appreciate 3D in movies beyond the gimmicky stuff. Where Avatar failed to full grab my imagination with its crappy blue Smurf kitties, this movie finally convinced me that 3D could actually enhance the movie. Not gimmicky at all, this movie uses 3D effectively as atmosphere. It really helped pull me into the movie and gave the film an extra layer of visual spectacle! Stunningly beautiful and an equally thrilling experience makes me look forward to the day that MAYBE Hollywood makes 3D movies like this as the norm, and not the exception. But I doubt it.

I love that you put Vertigo, The Dark Knight, and The Fistful of Dollars in your personal journey list. Those are some amazing movies that everyone should experience once in their lifetime. The honorable mentions are quite good as well and I can't wait to read more of your list Gunslinger.

¡Piratas del Caribe! the movie that made me actually start paying attention to movies.. actor's names, director's names, soundtrack composer's names, etc. didn't pay attention to those things until Curse of the Black Pearl in 2003, at the age of 16

love the pick Gunslinger! & i'm sure some people think these are rubbish, but that doesn't change the sheer joy i was filled with when seeing this in theaters in 2003!

25.



Goodfellas: 1990 (R) +1
USA / Warner Brothers
97% (CF)



I actually have Steven Spielberg to thank for my love of Martin Scorsese. Not only was he a fixture of movies throughout my childhood, he was also responsible for three TV shows I loved growing up. Tiny Toons, Freakazoid, and Animaniacs in particular. In this TV show there were various shorts created to be shown during a typical hour hour cartoon period. One of these shorts was a show called Goodfeathers. Three New York pigeons and the various Warner Brother-esque types of adventures.

I took the cartoon short as it was and thought they were funny. At this time I had no idea who Scorsese was or that there was a movie called Goodfellas. But that all changed when the show name dropped Scorsese in an episode that was actually a musical parody of West Side Story.





In this episode the pigeons and the sparrows engage in a fight over who gets to perch on a statue of Martin Scorsese. This was the first time I had ever heard this guy’s name. Sometime later (remember this is pre Internet folks) I learned he was a filmmaker and made a film called “Goodfellas.” And that Goodfeathers was a kid friendly parody version of the film. So when I got old enough, I rented the movie (my first from Martin
Scorsese) from Blockbuster Video at around age twelve. My world was never the same since.

Needless to say this was not meant for kids. I loved it! Profanity, violence, De Niro and Liotta were cool as hell and Pesci acted like a complete psycho! These three guys in one movie plus the excellent story made this an instant classic! As I grew up more and became more schooled in cinema I learned to appreciate other parts of the movie as well. The soundtrack, the storytelling, and especially the shot where Henry and Karen walk through the restaurant to their table in one long uninterrupted shot became much more powerful with a little age. It was my first introduction to my favorite filmmaker of all time. So I would just like to say thanks to Spielberg and his staff for making that possible.

T2, Fistful of Dollars, Team America, Dark Knight, love em all. I haven't seen Tokyo Story yet.

And Goodfellas, my favorite of them all-surprised you have it that low.

LOL! Yeah still prefer The Dark Knight!