1) Best Film You Have Seen: “Apocalypse Now;” easily my favorite film, from the cinematography to the textured story telling, to the almost contagious feeling of impending madness. The performances Coppola gets out of his actors from Sheen to Duval to Brando are some of the best recorded of three already incredible actors. This movie exudes mood, place and voice in a voyage through mans heart of darkness.
2) Worst Film You Have Seen: “In search of Lovecraft;” this was an awful film, with awful acting and terrible camera work. It is doubly terrible for me as a lovecraft fan. I am reluctant to put this movie in this spot simply because im not sure it can be called a movie.
3) Most Re-Watchable Movie: “9th Gate;” I was suprised to find out this was niether critically nor commercially succesful. The latter is easier to understand then the former. Detractors argue that there werent enough chills and thrills in this thriller but i think the problem is in its label rather than its content. The performances of Johnny Depp and Frank Langalia are superb as are the performances of many characters ive never seen anywhere else. The movie has a methodical pacing that casual movie goers were sure to shun but its alot faster paced than the highly heralded “Ghost Writer,” also from Polanski. The movie seems to have an almost hypnotic rhythm to its unfolding story combined with a simple but effective score that serves to mesmerize the audience.
4) Movie You Like But Find Difficult To Re-Watch: “Grave of the Fireflies;” anime about a young boy and his little sister in WWII japan during the america saturation bombing and there struggle to survive. His toddler sister dies of malnutrition, he cremates her and keeps her ashes in a candy tin before he himself dies of the same malady at fourteen.
5) Favorite Poorly Recieved Movie: The original “Conan the Barbarian” with Arnold Swarzenegger. Is it shakespear…well yeah kind of. The son of a murdered father who seeks revenge on a cult leader isnt so diffrent than hamlet. Granted the bard had wittier dialogue but Arnold’s got 24″ biceps and a cool fucking sword.
As a fan of Robert E Howard and early pulp stories in general i enjoyed the movie for what it was. I loved the fathers opening speech, conans origin story (though diffrent from the pulps), thought James Earl Jones was genuinely creepy and enjoyed Max Von Sydow as the old king who simply wants his daughter back.
6) Favorite Big Budget Movie: big budget movies arent my favorite so i would have to say “Dark Knight” soley for the Joker.
7) Favorite Low Budget Movie (lower the better): For a long time this spot would have been taken by “Evil Dead 2” but as a rapid Lovecraft fan i must admit that Bruce Cambell has been overthrown by “The Whisperer in Darkness,” a black and white movie made by the hp lovecraft historical society for aproximately 500,000 dollars. It also features a very good leading man who should be getting far more work.
8) Favorite Drama: “Apocalypse now”, some of these are bound to repeat.
9) Favorite Comedy: “The Big Labowski;” this unwilling and unwitting slacker turned detective is quite simply the greatest comedy foil ever. You wont find stand up routine punch lines clumsily jammed into this story, nor will you have to sit through Jim Carrey/Adam Sandler style over acting or the obligatory nut shot.
10) Favorite Action Movie: “Predator;” there aren’t many straight action movies i still enjoy, this is one of them. Perhaps its the sci-fi angle, the alien that still holds up today (in fact far better than its sequels) or the blending of action, sci-fi, and bloody survival horror into a testosterone fueled popcorn extravaganza.
11) Favorite Horror: “Silence of the Lambs;” I initially had this entry listed diffrently, not because its a close race with another title but because it had completely slipped my mind that this excellent film belongs in the often laughable horror genre. I can think of no better compliment than that.
12) Favorite Sci-Fi: “2001” (followed very closely by Blade Runner) is the gold standard by which all other science fiction was measured for a very long time and i would argue still to this day.
13) Favorite Fantasy: “Fellowship of the Ring;” the tolkien books made me an avid reader and the films treated the subject matter with the gravitas that was so lacking in early animated attempts.
14) Favorite Sports Movie: “Raging Bull;” this was really a no brainer as its not only the best sports movie ever made (in my opinion) but one of cinemas top 100 films across any genre. The only trepidation i have in putting this film in this slot is that i hesitate to call it a sports movie since it is so much more than that.
15) Favorite Love Story: “The Wrestler;” ok, i realize this is a corruption of the intent of this category but it is a love story, it is one of my favorite movies, and i can’t think of a true “love story” i enjoyed.
16) Favorite Period Piece: “Chinatown;” the second entry by Polanski on the list. The 40’s-50’s noir flavor is one of my favorites in cinema and this is the best of them all in my opinion with L.A. confidential coming second.
17) Favorite Literary Adaptation: “One Flew Over the Cukoos Nest;” both book and movie are great and the adaptation is faithful to the source material. A breakout role for Jack Nicohlson who would go on to star in another literary adaptationt hat makes this list “The Shinning.”
18) Favorite Black and White Movie: “Raging bull”
19) Oldest Movie you Enjoy: “The Public Enemy;” made in 1931 it pre-dated the “hays code” of cinema censorship. That being said it still had a heavy handed epilogue that tried to turn the movie into a moral lesson instead of the fascinating character study it was. Cagney plays a pre Tony Montana two bit thug who rises from obscurity to wealthy bootlegging legend complete with violent death.
20) Most Recent Movie You Enjoyed: “The Hobbit,” not in 3-d
21) Movie With Your Favorite Performance In A Film: “Apocalypse Now;” Brando is at his bat-shit crazy best as a guerilla soldier with the soul of a poet who has lost his fragile grip on reality.
22) Movie You Enjoy By A Director You Dont Care For: “Reservoir Dogs” along with the very similar “Pulp Fiction” were two early movies by Tarrantino that had me thinking, like the rest of the movie going world, that this guy was the next Scorsese. He has followed up this success with steaming pile after steaming pile that critics are too afraid to admit stink lest they lose there i-get-it cards.
23) Movie You Enjoy With An Actor You Dont Care For: “12 Monkeys” is the first that springs to mind. I’m ambivalant about bruce willis in most roles but he’s not the actor im refering to, that honor goes to the usually unwatchable (unless you were a teenage girl in the early 90’s) Brad Pitt. In my opinion this is his only great performance.
24) Movie You Enjoy That Was A Box Office Smash: “Alien;” made for 11 million it went on to make over a hundred million and definetly makes my top ten sci-fi movies.
25) Movie You Enjoy That Was A Box Office Bomb: “Hudsucker Proxy;” Coen brothers comedy with a quirky sensibility, perhaps a little too quirky for main stream audiences that didnt know what to make of it.
26) Favorite Animated Movie: “Akira;” not only the finest anime ever made but probably my third favorite sci-fi movie behind only 2001 and blade runner!…..ghost in the shell also deserves an honorable mention.
27) Favorite “Kids” Movie: “Secret of Nymh;” dont remember caring about it as a kid but as an adult the themes became much more interesting ; from goverment experiments to psychadelic imagery and one bad-ass encounter a mouse has with an owl combine to make this one a winner).
28) Favorite Beyond “R” Rated Movie (NC-17 plus): “Clockwork Orange;” Kubrick and Mcdowell are at there finest. This film had a look all its own, a language all its own, and a philosophical question about what it is to have free will, all wrapped in an ultra violent horror show.
29) Favorite Feel Good Movie: “Tommy boy;” I loved chris farley on saturday night live and this is one of the only dumb comedies from my teenage years i still get a good chuckle out of.
30) Favorite Depressing Movie: “Taxi Driver;” Gods lonely man Travis Bickle, an outcast and wanna be hero travels the filthy streets of 70’s new york picking up fares and trying to conect to a society that has no place for him. A socially inept man teetering on the edge of sanity in a grimy cesspool.
Extra Credit Questions
– Favorite Comic Book Movie: “V for Vendetta,” the original crow is a close second
– Favorite War Movie: “Apocalypse Now”…i realize this has taken several spots on my list but what can i say, in my opinion its the finest film ever made.
– Favorite Buddy Movie: “Shawshank Redemption,” not your standard buddy flick but it is about the triumph of two friends over impossible adversity and its a damn fine film that needs to be represented somwhere on this list.
– Favorite Western: “For a Few Dollars More;” Eastwood and Van Cleef are at there squinting, bullseye shooting best while Gian Maria Volonte brings to life an unstable nihilist who is both sadistic and dreamily contemplative. All of this is literally underscored by a haunting melody from a murdered girls locket.
– Movie You Hate Everyone Else Seems To Love: “Dark Knight Rises;” from plot holes to the requirement of more suspension of disbelief than i can muster, this was the final chapter of a tired trilogy with only one real standout, the singular performance of heath ledger in the second film.
– Favorite Short Film: “The Call of Cthulhu;” not only a short film at 47 minutes, its also a black and white silent film shot in 2005 but constructed to look as though it were made in the late 20’s.