Some of my Favorite Movies...

First let me say congratulations to the Godfather for winning the Tournament of Champions and becoming the Griffith Cup winners by defeated Kill Bill Volume 1.  I am glad it is over because I was getting quite burned out but I kept my word that I would see it through.  I am going to start doing different random blogs roughly every Wednesday and not necessarily movie blogs, some might be personal.  Week after week, I recommend 10 movies to everyone but I never said they were all my favorites, these movies are really high on my list of favorites and they are in no particular order and they are not all of them, just some I can think of.

The Godfather Trilogy:  Part 1 won the Griffith Cup.  It is a mafia movie which focuses more on family than on the mafia and the word is intentionally never used.  I can never really know which one I like most between parts 1 and 2.  I especially love the flashback scenes in Part 2 and the conflict between Michael Corleone and Fredo.  I don't see Part 3 as a bad movie, just not as good as the first two but I like seeing an aging Michael Corleone who thinks he is out but learns it is very difficult to get out.  The bad part about Part 3 is Sofia Coppola, who plays Michael Corleone's daughter who was just way too inexperienced to play the role.  In the commentary to Part 3, Francis defends her saying that she really wasn't that bad but even I have to disagree with him on that and I'm glad that Sofia has found her niche in directing.  These movies have many great quotable moments and star-making performances.

Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2:  I remember being in the theater for Volume 1 and was just excited the whole way through.  This is Tarantino's dream film and it was almost like a live-action anime where the gore was purposely exaggerated and I also like the way he included Japanese Martial Arts legend Sonny Chiba as Hattori Honzo as well as a good comeback roles to David Carradine and Daryl Hannah who hadn't really had many notable roles to that point.  That is what I love about Quentin is that he gives has-been or struggling actors really good comeback roles including Lawrence Tierney in Reservoir Dogs, John Travolta in Pulp Fiction, and Pam Grier in Jackie Brown plus what he did in the Kill Bills.  I loved Uma Thurman as the bride as she sets out to avenge her attack by her assassin group taking her to many different worlds including the samarai world where Bruce Lee is paid a bit of tribute with the Kato masks and the Bride's yellow outfit which is a replica to Game of Death.  In Volume 2, it is more of a western where we see where she gets the powers that she had in Volume 1. 

King Kong (2005):  Yes, as you see the 2005 version, I like the original as well but this one is higher for me.  This is what all remakes should be like.  So now you're saying, it's because of the special effects and no that is not why at all.  What I liked about this version is the relationship between King Kong and Ann Darrow.  In the original, their relationship was very one-sided where the actress wanted nothing to do with the big ape but here, she befriends him and here I felt there was good character development with King Kong and I actually felt for both of them and a scene I really liked was when Ann was standing on Kong's paw and they were both looking out in the distance together and the end was where I was really in tears.

Gladiator:  Some people I know don't really like this one but it's one of my favorites for me and Russell Crowe's performance is probably one of my favorite portrayals of all time.  I saw this as more of a character study of this noble General of Rome who is betrayed after Marcus Aurelius dies and must become a slave and a gladiator and finds a way to avenge his murdered wife and son.  I also really liked the final speech from Lucilla (Connie Nielson) along with the haunting musical score. 

Waking the Dead:  I found this randomly at the library, never hearing of it and seeing pretty good reviews so I decided to try it out and I loved every minute of it.  Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly are a married couple in the 70s, one of which an aspiring politician (Crudup) and the other a left-wing radical (Connelly) and Connelly ends up getting blown up in an explosion.  It goes back and forth from the 70s to the 80s and in the 80s, Crudup is a political candidate who swears he keeps seeing his presumed-dead wife which begins to cloud his judgement to his campaign.  It was a great story between these two people and even the price of love and as if it couldn't get any better, the end included Peter Gabriel's song "Mercy Street".  For those of you who don't know, Gabriel is my absolute favorite singer and I loved that they used a lesser known song rather than using his big hit "Sledgehammer" or "In Your Eyes". 

It's a Wonderful Life:  This is what I look forward to on Christmas Eve every year.  I can't ever get enough of this movie.  Watching this movie gives me hope every time I watch it and I begin to realize that maybe I have done some pretty good things.  James Stewart is George Bailey who has a lot of setbacks in his life and does not feel he has made any difference but many of his friends and family pray for help and get it in the form of Clarence who shows George what he has done and that the world would not be better off without him.  It is a storyline borrowed by many movies and tv shows including the series finale of Highlander:  The Series where Duncan McLeod sees what would have happened to his friends if he did not exist.  Also look for a grown-up Alfalfa from the Little Rascals in the reunion scene as the one who pulls the lever to let the swimming pool out.

Leon:  The Professional:  Like Kong, I guess I am a sucker for odd relationships.  Natalie Portman, in her great film debut, plays a young girl whose family is killed by corrupt DEA agents, being lead by Gary Oldman, and is reluctantly taken in by a hitman who helps her avenge the death of her younger brother, the only one in the family that she liked, and she helps him to see life much differently.  Again, I liked the interaction between the two and the DVD I have of this has an additional 20 minutes which I felt made more sense of some scenes in the originally released American version.

Harvey:  This is my other favorite with James Stewart where he plays Elwood P. Dowd who has a really tall rabbit friend that only he seems to be able to see.  I thought that Stewart was absolutely perfect for this role where he was very content in his life with his rabbit friend but his family wanted him to mature and get a job.  Elwood shares a lot of my views on life in this and the movie just absolutely cracked me up.

Moulin Rouge:  I thought this was a very clever musical that took place in the 1900s and had a modern-day soundtrack which I felt was worked in very well.  I really liked Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman and felt they did a wonderful job.  What is interesting is that when I have shown this movie to a couple of people, both just assumed that Jim Broadbent's character was the villain of the movie due to his flamboyance and such but I explain that he does what he has to do but he is very caring to his dancers, and to Satine.  There were lots of musical numbers I loved but my favorite was his song "The Show Must Go On". 

Catch Me if You Can:  I really liked this true story of former con-artist Frank Abagnale played very well by Leonardo DiCaprio.  Tom Hanks was also very good as the cop who tried to catch him and also came to respect and admire the con-artist. 

Once Upon a Time in China trilogy:  I am big on Asian Martial arts films and these are no exception.  Jet Li plays Chinese Folk Hero Wong Fei-Hung, considered by some to be a Chinese version of Robin Hood.  What I like about a lot of Jet's movies, especially in the 90s, is there is comedy mixed in with honor and good messages, especially at the end of part 3.  With Jackie Chan, sometimes there is a little too much comedy for me.  I love the theme song and in part 3 is where they actually give subtitles as to what is being said.

House of Flying Daggers:  In the new format that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon started, this has emerged as my favorite.  I love the imagery, the music, the action, and Ziyi Zhang, plus the tragic love story factor I have noted on many of these movies.  I don't have much else to say here, just that I love Hong Kong.

The Killer:  Now we go a little different route in the Hong Kong cinema with John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat.  Long before Bulletproof Monk and the Corruptor, he made some very compelling action films most notably with John Woo.  This once again focuses on the odd friendship between a hitman (Yun-Fat) who accidently blinds a beautiful singer and is determined to get money to get a procedure done and a cop who comes to admire the hit-man and has one of John Woo's trademark scenes where guns are pointed everywhere is some may remember Face/Off where everyone had a gun on someone and part of Tarantino's inspiration on Reservoir Dogs in a similar scene. 

Rent:  Well, I am a fan of musicals and I really like this one and I sing songs randomly from it all the time.  This takes place at the advent of AIDS and focuses on the conflict of 6 different people and their power to overcome.  Many of the actors of the Broadway version are in this movie trying to make it as true to the original as possible. 

A Better Tomorrow Trilogy:  Once again I come to Chow Yun-Fat who again plays a hitman named Mark Lee, then he returns in part 2 as his twin brother Ken who owns a restaurant in America.  Part 3 is not great but interesting for the rise of Mark Lee and how he comes to have his trademark black trenchcoat and sunglasses, a big trademark for Chow in many movies as well as two guns in his hand.  This also focuses on two brothers, especially in part 1, one is a criminal who wants to reform and the other a cop who is very bitter towards him brother.

Sling Blade:  I really love watching this story of a man returning to his small-town after many years in a mental institution after killing his abusive mother and her boyfriend as a child.  He is befriended by a young boy who lacks a positive father-figure in his life and the family takes him in but his peace is ruined by the boy's mother's abusive boyfriend played very well by country singer Dwight Yoakam.  Also, the late John Ritter is in the movie and I didn't even know it was him until my dad said something.  Again, I guess this is also the odd friendship theme that I seem to have fallen in love with. 

Red Rock West:  This is my favorite movie from Nicolas Cage.  The storyline is very unrealistic but it kept me in the whole way through.  Cage plays a drifter looking for work and is mistaken for a hitman in a small-town of Red Rock.  He is hired by a corrupt sheriff to kill his wife and he goes to warn her of the hit so she doubles his payment for him to kill her husband and things get out of control from there, especially when the real hitman, played by Dennis Hopper, arrives. 

A Clockwork Orange:  I can't leave this bizarre movie out.  This was very ahead of its time and focuses on Alex, played by Malcolm McDowell, who leads a gang called the droogs and they betray him and leave him to the police.  In jail, he agrees to a "cure" which makes him fear everything he loves including violence, Beethoven, and even Singin' in the Rain.  One of my favorite scenes was when he tortured that couple while singing Singin' in the Rain.  This movie is not for everyone and has some very bizarre imagery and a strange musical score.

Sin City:  What more can I say about this?  This is Mickey Rourke's best performance in years, he has been in movies here and there but usually just small roles, including Enrique Iglesius' video "Hero" which really excited me, I didn't care about Jennifer Love Hewitt's role in the video, I saw my hero.  Also in the movie was Clive Owen, the man who quite possibly will play me in my biopic and the other will be named in this blog as well, plays Dwight who finds himself in a lot of trouble when he kills a corrupt cop.  Bruce Willis is also a cop who is determined to find a kidnapped girl and is willing to do anything to do so.  Seeing Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Brittany Murphy and Alexis Bledel didn't hurt things either.  Again, not for all tastes.

Casino Royale:  I have been into the 007 franchise for years and I'm pretty lenient besides with A View to a Kill, though I like the theme song but I have always liked the darker portrayal of James Bond which started with Timothy Dalton, now we have the great Daniel Craig, the other choice in the person who will play me in "The Rise and Fall of Shaun Berkey".  Yes, I that is my real name, real different I know.  Now back to the movie, this is actually the original James Bond novel which United Artists was not allowed to do at the time because of the rights were with NBC I believe so this focused on the rise of James Bond and was more of a character study this time and focuses on a villain Le Chiffre who has a lot of issues of his own.  In previous Bond films he is very emotionally unattached and cold-hearted and this movie focuses on why he became that way.  If you don't like the dark portrayal of Bond, you better go to the charming Sean Connery, Roger Moore or Pierce Brosnan.

In America:  This was another underrated movie I felt had to be featured because I enjoyed every minute of it and again focuses on an odd friendship.  This movie focuses on an Irish immigrant family who tries to adjust to life in the U.S. and the death of one of the children.  It is seen through the eyes of a the older daughter who forms a relationship with a reclusive African-American man played by Djimou Hounsou.  I apoligize for the political correctness there.  There might not be any violence in this movie but it is still very enjoyable

Romeo and Juliet (1968):  I remember seeing this in high school and taking a real liking to this movie.  This is my favorite of Shakespeare and this version was great.  Also look for a split second of Juliet's boob.  I also love the song sung at the party "What is a Youth".  This movie did not have any real known actors, just actors who worked very well, though look for British character actor Michael York who plays Tybalt.  Many might know him from Austin Powers as Basil Exposition. 

These aren't necessarily my top favorite or all of them, just films I thought of off the top of my head.  Thank you everyone who has supported me even though I'm not really a reviewer, you all respect my choices and the diversity I provide.