AFI Top 100 (2nd 10)

This was an exciting set of movies to watch. They spanned a lot of ground from silent, to the first talkie to one of the newest films on the list. Again, there were films Betsy didn't like that I did, and some that I think are majorly overrated.

90. The Jazz Singer - This makes the list because it was the first major film made with sound. If it wasn't for that, I'm sure it would still be a classic silent film, but nothing too extraordinary. It's a pretty bland story about a Jewish singer that wants to play Jazz, rather than use his talents at the local synagogue, like his mammy and pappy want. Al Jolson is a great entertainer and fun to watch, but his relationship with his mom is slightly creepy at times. All in all, it's a little forgettable, but it makes the Looney Toon cartoons more memorable knowing what they are referencing.




89. Patton - Drumroll please. This is a badass movie about a total badass. He slapped a soldier! Yeah! And he beat Rommel by reading his book. This movie is so well made. In my opinion, one of the best bio pics ever made. It doesn't just follow his WWII career, it shows his impact and the politics surrounding him. Coppola's script is so smart. The production is great, and of course George C. Scott is playing the role of his life. Betsy was super bored. I think we had to break this up into two viewings, and through most of the second half she was doing something else and I had to keep bringing her attention back.
"Like crap through a goose!"



88. - Easy Rider - It was this movie that gave Betsy her rating system. "It was good, but I'd rather watch The Little Mermaid," was what she said afterward. And now she rates a movie by whether she'd watch that or The Little Mermaid. I had never seen this one before and was excited to finally peep it. It's a pretty revolutionary film, and one of the best independent films ever made. At times it's a little sketchy and bouncy, but I think that's because it was made by hippies. Despite that fact, I loved it, even though maybe I would rather see The Little Mermaid, but only because the Seagull in that is so hilarious. Easy Rider didn't have any seagulls, just a bunch of judgmental Southerners. I love the metaphors in the film and the protaganists inner search for America. I think the film itself was a symbol for the late 60's and America redefining itself. Change is inevitable and Americans can be slow to accept it. This film epitomizes that tragedy. Plus, Jack Nicholson is in it. He steals every scene he is in.


87. Frankenstein - This was another classic I hadn't seen, and like Easy Rider, was way more familiar with the cultural references than with the film itself. Unlike oft made fun of movies like The Godfather, Frankenstein did not live up to the legend. It was so slow and uninteresting, except for the two most classic scenes; the lab creation scene where Dr. Frankenstein screams "It's alive" and the scene where the Monster kills the girl. The lab scene was actually very impressive. I was surprised by the quality of the production and that they did this in the early thirties. The rest of the film is made as some kind of bland drama, with Dr Frankenstein and his family and fiance. Plus, it was super weird that Frankenstein's friend was so chummy with his fiance.
What was interesting, though, was that the DVD came with the sequel Bride of Frankenstein, which I watched immediately following this. That film is so much better than the original. So much so that I think they should have put that film on the list, rather than this one.


86. Mutiny on the Bounty - This one I had seen before, but only the first 15 minutes when I turned it off because it was so boring. Thankfully, this time around I managed to wade through that first boring 15 minutes to get to the rest of this fantastic film. Betsy and I agreed, this was a great film. We even did some research on Wikipedia to find out what happened in real life. Apparently, the mutinous crew did land on Pitcairn Island and founded a colony. Unfortunately, that colony turned into what is today an incestuous slum. The best part of the movie is Captain Bligh. He is so funny. I'm sure the crew didn't think so, but since I wasn't on the boat I can laugh. I think this is on the list for two reasons. It was really a remarkable production. At the time, this was landmark because they shot a lot of it on water and had a lot of location shooting. The second reason is that this was such a remarkable movie, even without the production value. The script is tight and the acting is great. This is a film that truly deserves a place on this list, not just because of a breakthrough in filmmaking, but because they made a stellar film that was few and far between in those days.

85. Duck Soup - And speaking of few and far between, now we have this film. I think every time I see this I laugh less and less, kind of like Napolean Dynamite. Betsy didn't laugh that much, and I don't really blame her. The Marx Bros deserve a place in film history, like the other great comedians, but any single project has so many faults that it's hard to exemplify it. That's the problem with Duck Soup. You can see what they're doing, and it's really unique, but it also gets tiresome. Especially Groucho, his scenes are so dumb. They build up the scene just so he can say something clever. Comedy should be the other way around; building up the scene for an actual point, and you build the jokes off of that. Groucho stops the scene time and time again to say something off topic, then follow it up with a line that's supposed to be a joke. The lasting comedy in the film is the other brothers physical humor, i.e. the lemonade stand scenes, or the door scene, and of course the mirror scene(that does have Groucho). The mirror scene makes it all worth it. This movie is often cited as being imitated by later comedians, but it's only the physical comedy scenes that are, rather than Groucho's insistent non sequiturs.

84. Fargo - How fitting that this film should be next. This is the film that I laughed the most and hardest the first time ever seeing it. Now when I see it, I smile the whole time. The funniest version, though, is the version they make for TV, when they make up new words to fill in the F bombs. "No fruisin' way, Jerry." Betsy didn't like this movie so much, mainly because I built it up so much and she didn't like that I was saying lines before they occured. Annoying, I know, so I stopped mid-way in. This film doesn't seem like it should be a comedy, but it is, maybe the best black comedy ever made. Comedy is serious, and in this movie everyone takes themselves a little too seriously, which is why it's so funny. Dr Strangelove is another example of this. It's the exact opposite of Duck Soup, where nothing is serious. I could probably write an essay on this film and it's use of comedy, but this will suffice. For those of you who loved this film, see A Serious Man, the Coen's newest film. I smiled the whole time and loved it. "Just a minute."


83. Platoon - Oh Platoon, Platoon, what could have been. Oliver Stone, you could have made the best war film of all time, except you forgot one rule of screenwriting; Narration is a last resort, and for the love of all that's holy, never, ever, ever say in narration what you are seeing or have seen on the screen. The film, actually would have been exceptional, even with narration if Charlie Sheen had not ruined the film with the narration at the end. For those who haven't seen, or can't remember, I'll recap the film and what Charlie says at the end in narration. The whole film follows a dysfunctional infantry platoon in Vietnam. The sergeants fight each other, the officers don't always know what they're doing, and the grunts squabble and cower and sometimes kill and rape innocent villagers. For two hours we watch this platoon fight with itself, while trying to fight the North Vietnamese. For two hours, that was what was shown. A first grader could gather that from watching it. I'll repeat, for two hours that's what we watched, and without narration, we'd probably think to ourselves, "Gosh, those guys fought more with themselves than with the enemy, what a great metaphor for Vietnam. Oliver Stone, good work." But no, as the movie ends, Charlie, the King of Obvious, Sheen tells us through narration, "Duh.....it was like we fought more with ourselves than the enemy."
You think, Charlie Sheen? Are we idiots? Didn't we just watch that for two hours, very clearly and blatantly? Yeah, we did. We did, Charlie Sheen. Thanks so much for TELLING us what to think, even though Olive Stone's heavy handed direction basically already did. Let me ask all the aspiring writers and filmmakers out there what they think. Is it better to show, or to tell? I'll go ahead and answer, since I graduated elementary school and that qualifies me as a human being to answer. Yes, it is better to show than to tell. Maybe Oliver Stone, you should have gone to film school(maybe he did, how should I know, but I'm being sarcastic anyway.) instead of fantasizing in your head how you were going to show(actaully tell) how it really was "over there."
So, in closing, great film. Willem Dafoe is awesome, and Tom Berenger, who would have thought. Charlie Sheen? Not so much. Oliver Stone? Ehh.

82. Giant - After reviewing Platoon, I almost don't feel like talking about this film in any good light, so I'll skip the good things I could say, and stick to the bad. Whose idea was it to make this a film? It's so long. Too long. It's a giant film. This was a mini-series. It should be on TV Guide's list for best mini-series of all time behind Roots. But no, they decided to turn this epic novel into a giant film. And the giant puns don't end there, it's about Texas, this biggest state. And the characters are giant, Rock Hudson, Liz Taylor and James Dean. Again, Liz Taylor is being Liz Taylor and Rock Hudson I guess is being Rock Hudson(the screen version, not the Laguna Beach loving gay man), and then James Dean is....well, I don't know what to think. James Dean isn't the best actor ever. He's not bad, but...He just didn't fit in this movie. I think because he's a "legend" no one ever says that, but it's true. This movie spans like 30 years of his life, and he plays a young guy, then an little bit older, then a older middle aged guy, and the whole time you're just wondering how this futsy shy guy got to be a GIANT millionaire! All in all, it was okay, but in my opinion should not be on this list.
81. Modern Times - I was really excited to see this. I'm not a huge Chaplin fan, but I do think he's the greatest comedian of all time. I was so excited to finally see this because I had seen all the great bits before; Charlie going through the gears and the roller skating scene, but never the whole thing. Chaplin was the best comedian because he could do it all, from physical comedy to social satire, and all of that is in here. This could be the best of his physical comedy because he uses his surroundings so well. And part of his satire involves just that, that in these modern times people are so controlled by forces outside of their power. For example, on the assembly line, he's stuck on the line for better or worse screwing on those bolts. If he falls behind he's got to make up for it, even if that means knocking out the other workers.
A few of his films are higher on the list, and having already seen those and this, I like this one better, and I also think it is a better film and funnier. Incidentally, this was the last major film made as a silent movie, despite a few "sounds" in the film, but there is never any direct talking by a character.