My Favorite Films Part 2 (75-51)

Yesterday I posted my number 100-76 picks, so here is 75-51.

#75 Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

 Directed By: Jack Arnold 

Starring: Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, and Antonio Moreno 

#74 Ed Wood (1994)

Directed By: Tim Burton

Starring: Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Patricia Arquette

#73 Anchors Aweigh (1945)

Directed By: George Sydney

Starring: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Kathryn Grayson

#72 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Directed By: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, and Alison Doody

#71 Casablanca (1942)

Directed By: Michael Curtiz

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henreid

#70 Cool Hand Luke (1967)

Directed By: Stuart Rosenberg

Starring: Paul Newman and George Kennedy

#69 Manhattan (1979)

Directed By: Woody Allen

Starring Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, Mariel Hemingway

#68 The Nice Guys (2016)

Directed By Shane Black

Starring: Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling

#67 From Russia with Love (1963)

Directed By: Terence Young

Starring: Sean Connery, Pedro Armendáriz, Lotte Lenya, Robert Shaw, and Daniela Bianchi

#66 The Trouble with Harry (1955)

Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock

Starring: John Forsythe and Shirley MacLaine

#65 The Wolf Man (1941)

Directed By: George Waggner

Starring: Lon Chaney Jr., Claude Rains, and Evelyn Ankers

#64 Jaws (1975)

Directed By: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss

#63 It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

Directed By: Stanley Kramer

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn, Phil Silvers, Terry-Thomas, Jonathan Winters, Edie Adams, and Dorothy Provine

#62 The Public Enemy (1931)

Directed By: William Wellman

Starring:  James Cagney, Jean Harlow, and Edward Woods

#61 The Artist (2011)

Directed By: Michel Hazanavicius

Starring: Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo

#60 Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Directed By: Frank Oz

Starring: Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, and Steve Martin

#59 His Girl Friday (1940)

Directed By: Howard Hawks

Starring: Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant

#58 Moneyball (2011)

Directed By: Bennett Miller

Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, and Philip Seymour Hoffman

#57 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) 

Directed By: John Ford 

Starring: John Wayne and James Stewart

#56 Field of Dreams (1989)

Directed By: Phil Alden Robinson

Starring: Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta and Burt Lancaster

#55 Superman (1978)

Directed By: Richard Donner

Starring: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, and Marlon Brando 

#54 M.A.S.H. (1970) 

Directed By: Robert Altman

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Tom Skerritt, and Elliott Gould

#53 Scarface (1983)

Directed By: Brian De Palma

Starring: Al Pacino

#52 Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Directed By: Stanley Kubrick

Starring: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott and Slim Pickens 

#51 Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Directed By: Quentin Tarantino

Starring: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, and Michael Madsen

Tomorrow will be #50-#26, and if you missed yesterday's post you can click HERE to check out #100-#76

My Favorite Films Part 1 (100-76)

A common topic of discussion among ‘movie-buffs’ is the idea of top films of all-time list. The American Film Institute’s list, (AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movies) is probably the most famous of such rankings.  I’ve been writing this blog for a few years and this is a topic that I have often thought about covering but, compiling my own list of 100 films always seemed like a pretty daunting task. The question was always ‘how do I pick just 100 when there are so many films I love?’ Well, I finally decided to take a swing at it. Now, this isn’t necessarily the all-time 100 best films in my opinion, just my 100 favorites. These are the films that have stuck with me, the ones I find myself going back to time and time again, and the ones I’ll regularly find myself quoting or thinking about. Consider it more as “100 Movies I Recommend” rather than a true “Top 100 Best Ever Made” list. Obviously, new films are being released in theaters all the time and I’m constantly finding something I’ve never seen before, so this isn’t a definitive ranking and will almost certainly change a little over time. 

#100 Re-Animator (1985)

Directed By: Stuart Gordon

Starring: Jeffery Combs, Bruce Abbott, and Barbara Crampton

#99 My Cousin Vinny (1992)

 Directed By: Johnathan Lynn 

Starring: Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei, Ralph Macchio, and Fred Gwynne

#98 Torn Curtain (1966) 

Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock 

Starring: Paul Newman and Julie Andrews

#97 City Slickers (1991) 

Directed By: Ron Underwood 

Starring: Billy Crystal, Bruno Kirby, Daniel Stern, Helen Slater, and Jack Palence

#96 Total Recall (1990)

Directed By: Paul Verhoeven 

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox and Michael Ironside

#95 Highlander (1986)

Directed By: Russell Mulcahy 

Starring: Christopher Laambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown, and Roxanne Hart

#94 Birdman (2014)

Directed By: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Starring: Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone and Andrea Riseborough

#93 Casino Royale (2006)

Directed By: Martin Campbell

Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, and Mads Mikkelsen

#92 Moon (2009)

Directed By: Duncan Jones

Starring: Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey

#91 Grease (1978)

Directed By: Randal Kleiser

Starring: John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John

#90 Hot Fuzz (2007)

Directed By: Edgar Wright

Starring: Simon Pegg and Nick Frost

#89 The French Connection (1971)

Directed By: William Friedkin

Starring: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, and Fernando Rey

  #88 The Usual Suspects (1995)
Directed By: Bryan Singer
Starring: Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Kevin Pollak, Chazz Palminteri, Pete Postlethwaite, and Kevin Spacey. 

#87 The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: James Stewart and Doris Day

  #86 Stripes (1981)

Directed By: Ivan Reitman

Starring: Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Warren Oates, P. J. Soles, Sean Young, and John Candy

#85 The Firm (1993)

Directed By: Sydney Pollack

Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman

#84 High Anxiety (1977)

Directed By: Mel Brooks

Starring: Mel Brooks, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, and Madeline Kahn

#83 The Hustler (1961)

Directed By: Robert Rossen

Starring: Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, and Piper Laurie

#82 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) 

Directed By: Shane Black

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, and Michelle Monaghan

#81 The Naked Gun (1988)

Directed By: David Zucker

Starring: Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalbán, George Kennedy, and O. J. Simpson

  #80 Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Directed By: Doug Liman

Starring: Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt

#79 The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Directed By: John Sturges

 Starring: Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter, James Coburn and Horst Buchholz

#78 Frankenstein (1931)

Directed By: James Whale

Starring: Colin Clive, Boris Karloff, Mae Clarke, and Dwight Frye

#77 The Sting (1973)

Directed By: George Roy Hill

Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Robert Shaw

#76 The Godfather (1972)

Directed By: Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano, and Robert Duvall

Tomorrow I'll post Part 2 #75-#51

Bullitt

Although probably most known for it's iconic car chase through the streets of San Francisco, which is often regarded as one of the best car chases in cinema history, 1968's Bullitt is worth checking out for more than just one chase sequence. 

The film stars Steve McQueen as Frank Bullitt, a detective assigned to what seems like a routine protective custody detail. The man he's protecting is a key witness set to testify against a mob boss, but early on two hitmen take him out. This turns the protective custody assignment into a hunt for the murderers, with a few twists and turns along the way. It's a simple premise but, it's done so well that the film is incredibly entertaining throughout.

Overall, while not my all-time favorite Steve McQueen role, this is still a terrific flick. It's well paced and effectively uses every minute of it's 113 minute runtime. In addition to McQueen, the film also boast a strong cast consisting of such actors as Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset, and Robert Duvall. If you've never seen Bullitt before, or just haven't seen it in awhile, it's definitely worth checking out.

4.5 out of 5

Return to Sender

I'm always up for a good psychological-thriller. Unfortunately, 2015's Return to Sender isn't a very good movie. The film is about a nurse named Miranda (played by Rosamund Pike). One afternoon, while waiting for her blind date to arrive Miranda is assaulted and raped by a man named William (played by Shiloh Fernandez), who she initially mistook for her date. Obviously traumatized by the event, Miranda becomes a bit reclusive. However, after awhile she begins writing and later starts visiting William in prison. This is, of course, just to lull her rapist into a false sense of security. Once William is out of prison, Miranda asks him over to help repair her front porch. All the while she is poisoning the lemonade she keeps offering him and she eventually tortures him in her basement.

It's a pretty simple and straight-forward plot, it just isn't executed well. It's a predictable film with some lackluster acting from the two leads. The only memorable character in the film is Miranda's father played by Nick Nolte and even then, he's not a really interesting character.

I don't recommend this one.
1 out of 5

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Released in 1953, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is probably best known today for the famous "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend' sequence. However, the rest of the film does deserve credit for being a well-made, fun, light-hearted, musical-comedy. 

Directed by Howard Hawks (who also made classics like His Girl Friday, El Dorado, The Big Sleep, Red River, and Bringing Up Baby just to name a few), the film stars Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe as two best friends that work as showgirls. Russell plays the witty, down-to-earth Dorothy and Monroe plays the diamond-obsessed, ditsy Lorelei. Early on the two board a cruise ship bound for France as Lorelei is engaged to a wealthy man named Gus (played by Tommy Noonan) who plans to marry her in Paris, and Dorothy is along to make sure she doesn't get into any trouble. Of course she does get into a bit of trouble when she learns that there happens to be a man that owns a diamond mine aboard the ship. Lorelei does her thing and begins flirting with the man while unbeknownst to her that there is a private detective hired by her fiancée's father on the ship looking to catch her in the act. The whole situation plays out in a very fun way and makes for an overall enjoyable flick.

If you've never seen the film, I do recommend checking it out. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, after all it is a musical that's nearly 70 year old. However, I think it's a fun movie and it is definitely one of the better films to star Marilyn Monroe.
I give it a 4 out of 5.

Rage

2014's Rage is a crime-thriller Starring Nicolas Cage, Rachel Nichols, and Danny Glover. 

In the film Cage plays a former criminal turned legitimate businessman named Paul Maguire. When Paul's 16 year old daughter is murdered, he gets his old crew back together and they start trying to figure out who was responsible. Several years prior the crew had killed the brother of a high ranking Russian mobster which set off a gang war and they think this may be retaliation for that. It's not, and in a pretty anticlimactic twist it turns out that the daughter was accidentally killed by her friend. In a panic it was made to look like a home invasion and all of this could've been solved if the kid just came clean from the start.

This isn't a good movie. It's not unwatchable but, it does feel a bit dull, unoriginal, and overall not particularly well-made. For example; there is a car chase in the film that is so frantically edited, with so many cuts that it's actually unpleasant to watch, and honestly that same goes for all of the action scenes in the film. I'm sure there are some people that might find this one pretty enjoyable but, I wouldn't personally recommend it.

1.5 out of 5