My rating: 9.2
I was really impressed with Gran Torino. It didn't get as much publicity as The Wrestler or Slumdog Millionaire, but in my opinion, this was the best movie of 2008.
Clint Eastwood plays a Korean War veteran living in a changing neighborhood dominated by Asian immigrants. The story revolves around his relationship with his next door neighbors.
The thing that really struck me about this movie was how believable the characters were. I wouldn't be surprised to run into one of them on the street. Clint Eastwood has proved that he is still one of the best actors in Hollywood. The other two stars, Bee Vang and Ahney Her, were first time actors, and judging by their performance, will probably be back for more movies in the future. All of these factors made the drama way more realistic and engaging.
Gran Torino is under just 2 hours, short compared to other movies in the top 100 list. There is a lot of adult language, and some mild violence, but nothing too bad. If you want to see an enjoyable and intense movie, give this one a shot.
Gran Torino - #83
Godfather: Part II - #3
IMDB rating: 9
My rating: 9.5
The Godfather: Part II was a phenomenal movie. I've heard people say this is better than the original and I have to agree.
My biggest complaint with this movie is the length. It was 3 hours and 20 minutes, which makes it one of the longest movies on the IMDB list. However, unlike the original Godfather, Part II seemed to fly by. I intended to watch it in 2 parts, but it was so good I had to finish it in one sitting.
The Godfather: Part II filled in all the gaps left by The Godfather. It tells the back story of how Vito Corleone started his crime empire and continues where the first movie left off with Michael Corleone. Because of this, it's necessary to watch them in order.
This deserves its spot as the 3rd best movie of all time. Everyone should see this at some point.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - #4
My rating: 9
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly was the first Clint Eastwood movie I've seen and it didn't disappoint. It was a 1966 Italian Western dubbed over in English so I was a little skeptical, but this was one of the more enjoyable movies I've seen.
The movie is listed at 160 minutes, but I watched the dvd special edition which added another 20. The first half went by slowly but it really picked up the pace in the second. I watched this film in 2 parts so it wasn't that bad.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly was a great movie by today's standards which makes it even more impressive that it was made 40 years ago. The music and camerawork were fantastic and really brought out the majestic beauty of the American West. I'm not sure I would put this as the 4th best movie of all time, but I might keep it in the top 10.
There is a lot of violence, but it's not too graphic. If you have the time, I recommend watching this.
American Beauty - #37
IMDB rating: 8.5
My rating: 9
I loved American Beauty. I would put this in the top 10 movies I've ever seen.
Kevin Spacey is creepy as always and he pulls it off beautifully. Thora Birch and Mena Suvari were also excellent.
I'm not sure exactly what it was about this movie that made it so enjoyable. The music, the camerawork, the voice overs, and the scenery all came together to create a dark comedy/tragedy/drama, or a tragecomedrama for short.
There is brief nudity in this movie and a very small amount of violence, but nothing too distracting. This is a movie everyone should watch, hands down.
Requiem for a Dream - #64
IMDB rating: 8.4
My rating: 8.5
Requiem for a Dream was a very unique film. It followed the lives of several people and how they coped with drug addiction.
I thought the acting was pretty good, but nothing to rave about. The actors were believable, but the thing that really stood out about this movie was the unique film style. As a side note, this was the only good movie I've seen with Marlon Wayans in it (sorry White Chicks).
There are many quick camera changes and extreme close-ups, which I thought fit the film perfectly. Another thing that really enhanced the experience was the great soundtrack.
Requiem had a lot of gore and graphic scenes and would certainly not appeal to many people. It's no where near as bad as Saw, but it does have its moments. If you can handle this, you should definitely watch this movie.
Movie E-Zines
I've been looking into some film E-Zines that focus on movie reviews. They were difficult to find, but I finally managed to locate a few of them. Here's a list of some of the better ones I found.
IO Film: Film Inside Out - http://www.iofilm.co.uk
Pop Culture Geek - http://popculturegeek.com/
Channel 4 Film - http://www.channel4.com/film/a2z/f-A_1_a2z.html
Guardian Film Reviews - http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/film+tone/reviews
Movie Gazette - http://www.movie-gazette.com/
About 90% of the film Zines listed in various directories don't exist anymore and some linked to Prescription Medication spam. The ones above exist and appear to be somewhat up to date.
Amadeus - #84
My rating: 9
Amadeus was a great movie, but I'm surprised it made the Top 100 list. It tells the story of Mozart through the eyes of Salieri, a mediocre composer living at the same time.
The only real downside to this movie was the length. I watched the extended edition, which was a little over 3 hours long. I watched it in 2 parts, so it wasn't that bad. I'm not sure I could have made it through the entire movie in one sitting. Another thing that got annoying was Mozart's laugh (you'll see what I mean).
Let me just say that I've played classical piano for 10 years and love classical music, so I might have a slightly bias opinion towards this movie. The soundtrack for Amadeus is the best I've heard, with the possible exception of The Pianist (IMDB #57). You get to hear many prime examples of Mozart's music in this film, including one of my favorites, Requiem aeternam.
The movie was also historically accurate, from the various composers to the costumes and sets and even the manner of speech. It really transported me back to the 18th century.
The reason I'm surprised it made the list is because I didn't think it appealed that much to a general audience. If you have any interest in classical music at all, you should definitely watch this movie. Otherwise, you might find yourself bored.
Pulp Fiction - #5
IMDB rating: 8.9
My rating: 8.5
I think Pulp Fiction is really out of place on the Top 100 list at #5. It was good and Tarantino's best work, but it wasn't one of the best films ever made.
Pulp Fiction seemed a little too long. It seemed to drag in some scenes. Some of the conversations took 10 minutes and didn't really say anything.
This film had an all star cast and they all acted well. Samuel L Jackson, Bruce Willis, John Travolta, and Uma Thurman all gave great performances. As a side note, I also noticed that almost the entire cast of Reservoir Dogs, also by Tarantino, made an appearance in Pulp Fiction.
Some people love this movie and some people hate it. I recommend you watch it, but don't expect it to be the best movie you've ever seen.
The Wrestler - #59
IMDB rating: 8.4
My rating: 8.6
I didn't think I would like The Wrestler when I saw the previews, but I trusted the critics and saw it anyway. I liked this movie a lot and agree with its placement on the list of best movies of all time.
Mickey Rourke was great in his role as a washed up wrestler. This was a very emotional film and all of the actors brought that through very well.
The Wrestler is definitely not for everyone. There was ample nudity and violence, but I think it was necessary for the message. I highly recommend this movie.
2001: A Space Odyssey - #87
IMDB rating: 8.3
My rating: 6
2001: A Space Odyssey gets the lowest rating I've given so far.
The movie was 144 minutes long, but only had about 20 minutes of plot. In between spurts of dialogue, there were 10 minute sequences of a spaceship slowly moving across the screen. Also, there were only about 6 actors in the movie. This made public areas seem like ghost towns.
The only reason I gave it a somewhat high rating is the fact that it was made in 1968. Some of the 21st century technology was very interesting to see. The characters were still using ancient computers, but they were running software that's at least 20 years away. One thing they did predict correctly was video conferencing. It was really cool to see them fake a video conferencing call when the technology to do it for real just came around a few years ago.
If you are going to watch this movie, I recommend keeping your finger on the fast forward button. That being said , I think about 20% of the movie is worth watching if only to understand all the modern references to it.
The Shawshank Redemption - #1
IMDB rating: 9.1
My rating: 9.3
I can see why The Shawshank Redemption is regarded so highly. I can't imagine a person not liking this movie. Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins were excellent.
I'm not sure I agree with it's position as the number 1 movie of all time, but it definitely deserves to be up near the top. The rating process gets a little political near the top since Godfather fans vote down Shawshank and vice versa.
Everyone should watch this movie, no exceptions.
Sin City - #91
My rating: 8.6
Sin City is definitely unique. The film style was a little over the top, but it wasn't too distracting. The action and dialogue were corny, but it managed to produce a very memorable experience.
As much as I like Jessica Alba, I don't think she was very convincing in her role. Also, the casting choice of Frodo Baggins (aka Elijah Woods) seemed odd to me. Bruce Willis and Mickey Rourke made up for this with great acting.
Sin City was the first movie I've seen that successfully made it seem as though I was watching a comic book. Others have tried, like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, but they just ended up as crappy movies.
This movie is not for everyone, but I found it entertaining.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - #8
IMDB rating: 8.8
My rating: 9
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was the best Jack Nicholson performance I've ever seen. There were also some great performances by a young Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd.
This movie was great to watch, but I'm not sure it deserves to be in the top 10. Nevertheless, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a classic and one that everybody should watch.
City of God - #17
IMDB rating: 8.7
My rating: 9.5
Wow. That's all I can say about City of God. This movie was incredible. It joined my rapidly growing list of potential best movies of all time.
Throughout the entire movie, I kept thinking of Slumdog Millionaire. The two movies use similar cinematic styles and have similar plots. I personally liked both movies, but I think City of God was way better. The storytelling style also reminded me a little of Quentin Tarantino.
City of God was a brutally honest look at Cidade de Deus, a slum outside Rio de Janeiro. It follows the narrator as he grows up in this city riddled with gangs, drugs, and violence.
This movie is not for the squeamish, but I highly recommend it.
Hotel Rwanda - #99
IMDB rating: 8.3
My rating: 7.5
I thought Hotel Rwanda was good, but I don't think it should be on this list. It just didn't seem as powerful as it could have been.
Also, I usually don't complain about this, but the movie seemed a little short. It was 2 hours long, but a lot of that time was wasted. The plot didn't develop as much as I would have liked.
Despite my criticisms, I still recommend people watch it. It was better than most and an all around solid movie.
Goodfellas - #15
IMDB rating: 8.7
My rating: 9
Goodfellas was a gangster movie. I don't really know what else to say about it.
The biggest thing that set it apart from others in the genre was the storytelling. The frequent voice overs made this movie very enjoyable to watch. It wasn't as cryptic as The Godfather and didn't make you think a lot. Goodfellas might have been easier to watch than The Godfather, but I don't think the two movies are quite at the same level.
Martin Scorsese directed this, along with several others on the IMDB top movies list (#199 Casino, #74 Raging Bull, #49 The Departed, and #37 Taxi Driver). The only other one of these movies I've seen is The Departed and I loved it. According to IMDB, he has 4 movies coming out by 2010. I'll probably give these a shot when they come out.
How the Web Changed my Life
The internets have had a huge impact on how I do things. The biggest impacts are in communication, entertainment, and work.
I used to have to call someone if I wanted to convey information to them, but now I mostly use email or text messaging. There are some advantages to calling, but for most cases, a text-based message works better. An email can't convey the same emotions as a human voice yet, but it might be able to in the future.
I used to sit on the couch after school and watch some TV. I only liked a few channels, so I was severely limited in what I could watch at any given time. If I wanted to watch a movie, I either had to go to Blockbuster or schedule ahead of time for HBO. Then, my family got a DVR. I now could record shows and watch them later. This was good, but I still had to decide ahead of time which shows I would want to watch. Now I watch most of my movies and TV online, through sites like Hulu, Justin.tv, and some sites of questionable legality. Now I have a virtually unlimited pool of entertainment options to choose from.
The only physical job I ever had was as a tennis instructor. I would drive to work at a set time and work for a set period. Now, I mostly work as a web designer from my home computer. I can work at 2 in the morning if I want, as long as I meet deadlines. While the vast majority of people go to a physical job, the number of people who can work from home, like me, is increasing at a very fast pace, mostly due to the internet.
I can't imagine life now without the web. I can't help but wonder what I won't be able to live without 10 years from now.