I'm a movie loving sheep.

[gridlore]

Since grimmwire posted his top ten films, I am compelled to do the same.

In no particular order...

1. Major League (1989). OK, it's predictable, low-brow, and silly. but it's also my favorite baseball movie of all time, and no matter how many times I watch I'm holding my breath in the final game. Best feature? Bob Uecker as Harry Doyle, radio voice of the hapless Cleveland Indians. Much of his work was unscripted. Favorite flub: In that final game, watch as Vaughn pitches. When the camera angle is from home plate, the bleachers behind him are empty.


2. The Usual Suspects (1995). The best caper film I've seen in some time, and luckily I hadn't been spoiled on the ending. You get drawn into the story Verbal weaves, and following the threads keeps you completely engaged until the end. Then the twist. This is a film you need to see multiple times to catch all the nuances and hints.


3. Aliens (1986). This makes my list because I believed in the Colonial Marines. They acted like soldiers act, which is hard to get from actors (amazingly enough, Dale Dye was not involved in this project.) Believing in your characters makes accepting the fantastic easier. The action sequences were brilliant, the setting was appropriately claustrophobic, and I'm so happy they didn't make anymore Alien movies. You hear me? There were only TWO movies in this series.


4. The Longest Day (1962) There are many great war movies, but none so ambitious as this one. Telling the complete story of D-Day, from all sides in the correct languages? Not only successful, but manages to connect you to all the people fighting that day. Some star-system miscasting (John Wayne could not have been more wrong for Lt.Col. Vandervoot) but overall an amazing film. This is one film I'd like to see remade with modern CGI to fill in the battle sequences.


5. The Maltese Falcon (1941). Noir at its best. What more can you say? Bogart, Greenstreet, Lorre.. all wrapped in a convoluted tale of false identities and double crosses.


6. Repo Man (1984). Low budget, extremely weird, and I'm still quoting it a quarter century later. The story of Otto, a LA punk who, much against his wishes, becomes a repo man and ends up on the trail of a car with something very odd in the trunk. Talented cast and good direction keeps things moving. This film is the reason i insist on having a pine tree air freshener in every vehicle I drive. Because there's one in every car. You'll see.


7. Aleksandr Nevskiy (1938). I could fill this list with films from Sergei Eisenstein, but this is his masterwork. The story of a Russian prince rallying his people to defeat Germanic invaders, the film featured hundreds of extras and the epic final battle scene has to be seen to be believed. Amusingly, Stalin encouraged the project as a propaganda tool. Then, after signing the non-aggression pact with Germany, ordered it shelved. When the Germans invaded, it was taken off the shelves and shown all across the Soviet Union.


8. Ran (1985). Kurosawa is the other director I could use to fill this list. The man's eye for color and movement is never shown so well as in his interpretation of Shakespeare's King Lear. Strong acting, beautiful vistas, and oh, the battles! The soldiers flying color coded baners are just stunning. I was lucky enough to see this on the big screen.


9. Them! (1954). Gotta have one classic sci-fi monster flick here. Them is the best, cheesiest, scientists-know-everything monster movie ever made. Watching this film today makes me miss Creature Features.


10. Star Wars (1977). Not "Episode IV", not "A New Hope". Star Wars. The film I watched in near-empty theater thanks to my grandfather and the film that rip my brain out the moment the Star Destroyer rumbled over head. Yes, Lucas stole tropes from everyone, and yes, it's Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress in space suits, but it worked! Everything worked! Luckily, George Lucas was never allowed to make another movie again. Right? Am I right? He made one Star Wars film, then moved on. That's my delusion, and I'm clinging to it.

Comments

[biomekanic.livejournal.com]

I've but one thing to say: let's go do some crimes..

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

yeah, like eat sushi.. and not pay!

[biomekanic.livejournal.com]

The other thing I have to say; have you seen M (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022100/)?

That's in my top 10. Seven Samurai is my favorite Kurosawa movie.

[notthebuddha.livejournal.com]

Re Verbal Kint, how do you explain a "dumb" con man? SCAMS FOR DUMMIES?

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

A succesful con man doesn't have to be smart, just be able to get people to trust him. Most of the cons around today are variations on games invented during the Renaissance.

http://www.safetycops.com/scams.htm

Has some of the classics.

[lizzibabe.livejournal.com]

Michelle Rodriguez is one of the few actresses who can play a soldier and mean it.

[fusijui.livejournal.com]

Yes, but her phony Latina thing is distracting. Jenette Goldstein for the win!