There's actually a reason why I'm not doing a typical "Top 100".
And I'll tell you why after I start cussing out loud because I accidentaly pressed the "Make Post Go" button and posted the thread before anything was actually put on here...
__________________ Everything I do, I do to make my second stepdad proud.
That's true, and while I admit it takes the suspense out of the list process a little, it'll be interesting to see what he writes about each film.
Yeah, when I was typing this thread up, I accidentally hit the post button. Then I got sidetracked, blah-blah-blah...
But I'm glad you're interested in hearing what I have to say, which is really why I'm doing this list... to show everyone how each of my favorite films effected my life.
Just another review done my style - adding my own personal story to it, as always.
Last edited by MovieMaker5087; 02-01-08 at 01:04 AM.
There's actually two reasons why I never put together a "Top 100" list...
1. Too much time to think about it. 2. Sure, I love a lot of movies. I own a sexload of them on DVD and VHS, and even on some film reels. So it's quite common for me to say "Oh, I love that movie!" or "Oh yeah, that's one of my favorites." Those are all either numbers 11 and up or just honorable mentions when it comes to the list below, because the list below are the films that either inspired me to go into film, carved out my personality, or are just my plain favorite films for various reasons*:
* - This list is tentative to change, as Hollywood releases 400-500 films each year. I think it's safe to say that out of that large number, I might legitmately enjoy one of them. The same goes if I catch one on TV or rental.
(And yes, this is my same top 10 favorite films under my MoFo page, but that option doesn't let me put in my personal thoughts on each film)
10.
I saw this film when I was a wee lad... and it stuck with me ever since. It's just a great and unique story that gets everyone each time I talk to them about it, because its premise is great, and the continuity within the series fits like a glove. And, really, unlike any other film on my top favorites which really make want to go out and either live in the film itself or try and pay homage to it in a film that it inspired me to make, this is one of the few films out there that I can just sit down and enjoy time and time again, with no wishes or wants to come from it.
And I'm a fan of quarky genres, and this being a sci-fi comedy, it's a great example of it. Growing up, I remember watching the cartoon show, and arguing with my whole family (yes - I was about four and was screaming at them "THERE IS A BACK TO THE FUTURE CARTOON SHOW!" and they were all quite and looked at me and went "Oh.")
9.
April 1st, 2005.
April Fool's Day.
I really was hoping this was no joke when I went to go see this film.
I was super-stoked for it - I had just discovered film-noir the previous year as a freshman in high school, and fell in love with the genre thanks to a little video game called Max Payne. I loved the dialogue, the typical cast of shady characters, the underground crime syndicates, the big crime-filled city, and the hardboiled detective. I loved it all.
And Sin City was no April fool's joke, that's for sure.
It was spring time, too.
Spring time. God, I love spring.
It was the perfect spring time for me, for many reasons. This being one of them.
And this film also reminds that I love seeing spring movies.
It was the first R-rated movie I could see by myself, and I'll never forget that. What a movie to legally go see by yourself, huh? What more of a perfect time to turn 17.
The film - gosh, what can't there be said about it that doesn't have noir... the music, the characters, the cars... everything well shown, thanks to the careful watch of Robert Rodriguez and the man himself, Frank Miller. This film inspired me heavily to further observe and study the film-noir. I went as far as writing 2 full length screenplays that played massive homage to this film and the world of noir. And, just like Sin City, its plot was twisting and had you going, but in the end, it all came together.
I'll let any one of you read it if you let me know. I consider it one of my best amateur work, and the whole story I had worked out in my head is still pretty cool I feel.
The above clip is the first part of the film which has my favorite character Dwight. I loved his coolness, his attitude, and his love and respect for ladies. For a period of time, I tried my best to mimic him - both by looks and dialogue. Obsessed much?
8.
Another great film-noir. Only this film plays homages to the novels of the genre, and eliminates the basic character representations, and fills them in with cool and suave high schoolers. I had heard about this film on IMDb, and had made it a goal to pick it up. I did, and I swear to you, I wanted my high school life to be Brick. I prayed for it to happen... needless to say it never did, and I guess that's a good thing (you'd know what I mean if you saw the film)
The dialogue in this film is superb. I'd almost call it the language of noir, because it flows so well and crisp, especially for the genre's sake. And the music - God, I love it. No other music would work other than the one that was created by the director's cousin. It's plain, but it's also unique, poetic, and it fits perfectly in, again, with the noir genre. The director, Rian Johnson, did his homework when researching this film, and gets an A+ for it from me. The casting is well done as well - this is probably Joseph Gordon-Levitt's better work in my opinion. I loved how this film was able to break the noir-norm and put kids in the place. It brought on a new look for the film, but the basic bad guys and shady characters and the ugly situations remained complete with your hardboiled dick, polished up for a new generation. I love the ending to it as well. It's sort of a sick fantasy that I wish would happen in my life, haha. I recommend you see this nifty little independent film if you haven't done so already.
7.
Truly, one of the real reasons why I love Jaws is because I feel it's the only film by Spielberg before he became Spielberg. It was his second film, his first theatrical release, and while they say the rest is history, I think that it would have been a rough one had this film not had been the masterpiece it was, and still is. He should thank it, because it launched him to great honors in show business.
Like Back to the Future, Jaws didn't spark the film making interest in me. It's just enjoyable to watch, especially in the summer. My friends and I still sing "Show Me the Way to Go Home" (if that's what it's even really called), and Robert Shaw's lines on the sinking of the Indianapolis is still one of the more eeriest soliloquies to ever be shown on the silver screen, and it is certainly my favorite.
My uncle used to have a fake tooth, much like Quint's, and would pull it out and laugh just like him. Heck, he even looked like Quint.
I remember I used to be afraid of the shark in general, thinking of it coming out of the walls or up from the carpet and try to eat me, or just plain be lying in my house, dead, but still just having that big mouth ready to snap at me.
...
What?
6.
I can name an anus load of people who have cited Star Wars to be the reason why they wanted to go into film. Count me in.
I tell you what I love most about the trilogy - it's music, and it's special effects. Seeing that as a kid made me giddy each time in my stomach. Sure, the characters and plot are amazing as well, don't get me wrong, but without any music to drive them or special effects to create them, you get nothing.
I'll tell you another thing I love about Star Wars - George Lucas not giving a sh*t. Sure, the prequels, save for Episode III, may have sucked, but Lucas didn't care. He wanted to tell his story, not everyone else's. Granted, it may not have been the best, but I respect him in that regard that he didn't let anyone make his decisions, he made them himself and took full responsibility for them. That, to me, is a filmmaker.
Honestly, I really don't have much to say about Star Wars that hasn't been said before by quadrillions of people, other than it's teaser trailer is the best teaser trailer I've ever seen, because it's so plain but yet it grabs on to you. (It's the posted YouTube clip, by the way)
5.
You may have your Dirty Harry's. You may have your John McClane's. You'll even have your Lee Marvin's.
But none of them will be as bad-ass, in my opinion, as "Blondie" from what I consider to be Sergio Leone's magnum opus.
The only other film to rival this, again, in my opinion, in regards to cinematography, is Citizen Kane. But these are two completely different movies with two different plots that use the camera angles to bring that plot to life. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly used great camera shots and lens', that it's just beautiful. I've studied the angles personally and have tried to incorporate them into a film of mine here and there, primarily into a project that didn't get as far as I had wanted it to. But still, if you're an amateur filmmaker such as myself, studying this film helps out a lot. It did for me. It's plot, the McGuffin, all of it is here, and is displayed marvelously in the most bad-ass way possible. You just have to see it to understand it. I know it can be argued, but I feel that this is the best western ever made, period. As well as Eastwood's best film, acting-wise.
This is also a film trilogy in which I consider this to be one of the rarer sequels to be better than its predecessors.
I think the clip I provided is not only one of the more important clips in cinematic history, it's also one of the best scored and shot, as well. I mean, you may not know the film's title, but at least you're familiar with its music, amazingly scored by Ennio Morricone. I consider its theme to be one of Hollywood's more iconic ones, right up there with Ghostbuster's and Star Wars.
4.
Be warned: this film isn't for everyone.
I like it, because I feel it ties in with my generations taste for independent film. It's dry and witty humor complete with its stunning artistic camera work is only the half of it. The other half of the film is Wes Anderson's typical cast of outcasts who defy the society norm in the way's their lives are ran.
I guess that out of all my favorite films, this one probably has the best cast to bring out the best characters, and I like that. I love films with lots of characters that have to work with each other. This is another common theme I try to put into my films, lots of character interaction.
It's a tradition for me to watch this film every Thanksgiving, because I feel that it's an appropriate time to view it. I don't know why, but I do.
I also own a "Team Zissou" red beanie hat that's actually really warm during the winter months here in my suburb town of Cleveland, Ohio.
Warning: I guess the clip I've selected for this one contains major spoilers, so view at your own risk.
3.
5th grade, 2000.
I refused to watch horror films.
I didn't want to get scared.
Then I caught this on the Sci-Fi channel one night.
Not only was I frightened, but I was mesmerized by it.
Not only did horror scare you, but it entertained you as well.
I remember feeling all grown up after watching this.
Like I just got my first cinematic pubic hair.
Plus, being a fan of sci-fi, it was my first time I can really recall being afraid of the genre (I had grown up chewing up all the famous "B" classics of the 50s), next to Aliens and Predator. But I manned up. That next few years, I was able to catch The Thing on television, and it was one of the few films, especially for me at that young age to be watching a genre I had always tread around, that I could not change the channel on. It's true what they say about things you grow up with - they always stick with you. This film is like that with me. It introduced me to horror and the amazing special effects that you can create to scare people using your own two hands and creative imagination. A great cult classic with some great actors and director, and, again, another great score from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly's Ennio Morricone. This is one true example where the remake is better than the original, because this film stuck true to its roots in the form of the short story, Who Go's There?. Plus, I love the opening credit sequence with the title burning in. That was in the original version as well, and even that still looked real cool.
2.
That's the complete film, thanks to the Public Domain. Cool, huh?
...But it was this film that made me almost poop my pants.
I kid you not - after watching this film, I was so scared, I had to sleep in my parents bedroom and on their floor.
At age 14.
This film was the one that popped my cinematic cherry.
After overcoming the fear that movies can give people, I was ready to take on the world.
I must say, I've never really have been afraid of any horror movie since this classic from the master himself, George A. Romero, broke me in.
And an ongoing passion for zombies rotted my brain for the following years.
George Romero inspired me to become a director because he proved to me that with any budget, you can film the movie you want to make. He proved this by not only on this film, but as well as his other Dead films. I felt that this director's task work, as well as Lucas' way of telling stories the way he wants without anyone telling him how to write it, really brought out the filmmaker I wanted to be. I called it "The Two George's Theory", the theory that if you can write your own film the way you want it to be shown, then you can make the film as it's meant to be shown on any budget.
Going back to the film now, I mean, look at it... Romero was definitely ahead of his time, both in gore and in storytelling. The level of violence in this film was the first film to ever achieve, in my opinion, the most realistic form of violence on the screen up until that time. Realistic in terms of special effects and onto each other. Romero had done something bold at this time - he casted a black lead actor, a taboo of sorts back in this time period. All of Romero's zombie flicks are a reflection of society at the time, and the struggle of survival and tension between those trying to survive clearly shows what the director's point was.
It's funny to state that a month after Night of the Living Dead was released, the ratings board system that we now commonly refer to as the MPAA was established to create ratings for films based on their violence and sexual content, as well as language. I know this because the actor who played Johnny in this film told me. I met all of the living cast from the film, save for Barbara, those who have passed on, and Romero himself. I've even been to the cemetery where they filmed the movie, as well as the mall where Romero filmed its sequel, Dawn of the Dead. Fun times.
And, finally...
1.
Minus dressing up like a woman, this is my life.
And, it's also a life I don't wish to live forever, in terms of filmmaking.
You see, when I see Ed Wood, I see me... a struggling filmmaker who wishes to make it big. Already, you can see the personal connection. Big dreams, but bad actors and special effects. In every filmmaker's life, they go through this Ed Wood phase... some of us just enjoy it more than others.
Honestly, this is my favorite Johnny Depp character because it's a clueless and oblivious one. I love people in real life who are like that - the fun things you can do to them.
I also compare myself to Ed because I too have a weird group of friends who make movies with me - former criminals, folk singers, weird sex people, etc. But, unlike the real Ed Wood, I have actors who can legitimately act and pull off the gig, unlike poor Ed, who was deemed the worst director of all time. And I use him as an example of what not to turn out to be later on in life, as funny as that may sound.
The film is just so goofy, and I appreciate it more because of its biographical side. To think that, for the most part, the stuff in this film really did happen makes you laugh. And there is another thing I like about this film and I like to put in my own - things that go outside the norm.
I also envy this film's musical score from Howard Shore. It is one of his better scores, playing true to the 1950s "B" movies. And I also feel that this film is one of Tim Burton's underrated works, and, again, I like stuff that really isn't mainstream because it makes me feel different and popular (haha). I remember when I was asked after seeing Sweeney Todd what film did Tim Burton direct that was my favorite of all time, and when I told him that it was Ed Wood, a lot of people acted sort of surprised by my answer, which I, again, liked. I like telling people that my favorite movie of all time is one that they've never heard of, because it always brings about curious and interesting conversations about the film and the reasons behind my personal connection to it, which is cool to engage in and talk about.
But it's not about me when it comes to liking this film. This film just really struck to me - the hardships of trying to make a movie along with your crazy friends, as well as just the whole atmosphere being a weird comedy, it's no wonder this film is my favorite film of all time.
And, aside from the filmmaking aspect, I just plain enjoy this film. Everything about it just appeals to me. It's funny, because I don't ever remember asking this film for Christmas, but for some reason, I received it as a DVD gift three times that day, each given to me from my dad, brother and sister. I kept my old man's copy since he's the coolest of the bunch and knew I would love the film, despite not having to ask for it for Christmas.
Nice job, pops.
Last edited by MovieMaker5087; 02-02-08 at 09:38 AM.
Excellent work there, man. Out of all the movies included that I've seen (about 8) I have to agree, they range from good to excellent. Interesting that you would compare yourself as a filmmaker to Ed Wood, of all people, but at least he's got some half-decent recognition (his films are actually so bad they're good, after all)
Now I really should bother going out to see Brick...
Excellent! Thank you for making a list... I just love these and I really appreciate it. You get to go into the Hall of Fame now and forever have your name in lights. I too love Zombie films so if I win you're little movie maker proposal I'll be sure to come up with some sort of Zombie film.
__________________ We are both the source of the problem and the solution, yet we do not see ourselves in this light...
Excellent! Thank you for making a list... I just love these and I really appreciate it. You get to go into the Hall of Fame now and forever have your name in lights. I too love Zombie films so if I win you're little movie maker proposal I'll be sure to come up with some sort of Zombie film.
Thanks... but what Hall of Fame are you talking about? As honored as I am, I would at least like to know what it is.
And, consider this a major bump for this thread, now that you mention it.
Thanks... but what Hall of Fame are you talking about? As honored as I am, I would at least like to know what it is.
That would be this puppy right here, and perhaps your name in lights is overstating it a bit. Because now that I look at it there definitely aren't any lights and I also don't even hear any bells or whistles, but hey its an imperfect world is it not?
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