50 Films of 2011: Conclusion

Well, it's all over.

I first started this list to get myself to watch some of the great films I have neglected to see. With the list it forced me to sit down and watch these movies - I knew I would like, if not love, most of them, but for some reason I just never found the time - or never selected these particularly films to check out.

Well, it worked. I was able to watch 50 films that I have been wanting to see, and I did it in a pretty great time frame.

Most of the films were good if not great, but I did manage to have a few less than mediocre films or stinkers.

I liked doing this so much that I have decided this is the perfect way to catch up on many films I have not seen yet. So, I think I am going to make this my new common practice. After each conclusion of a 50 list - I will go back into my list (and get suggestions) for a new 50 list. Which will allow me to catch up on so many films I have missed over the years.

So, here are some of my favorites from the films that I have watched during this original 50 list.

Top 10 Characters

(10) Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford)

Ford stars as Richard Kimble in The Fugitive. He is wrongfully accused of murdering his wife, and accidentally is allowed to escape from custody. During his time on the run he must prove his innocence by finding the man with one arm.

(9) The Geek (Anthony Michael Hall)

On this 50 list I watched both Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles. Thanks to characters like Anthony Michael Hall's The Geek, Sixteen Candles blew the other out of the water. He was such a great nerd, but came off with a lot of self-esteem (even if he really didn't have any). His inclusion (along with Long Duk Dong) is one of the many reasons Sixteen Candles is far superior to Pretty in Pink.

(8) Ivy Walker (Bryce Dallas Howard)

Again, I feel that The Village takes a lot of heat for being a horrible movie. But, I feel it is just the build up that M. Night Shyamalan's films seem to take ever since Sixth Sense. One of the great performances of the film came from Howard, who portrayed Ivy. She braved the treacherous jungle to go into town and find medication for her boyfriend, all while being blind.

(7) Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal)

As I said before, Gyllenhaal has never jumped off of the screen in anything that I have seen him in before. But, as the titular character in Donnie Darko he did just that. A great performance that I feel he really encompassed all around.

(6) The Bride (Uma Thurman)

Tons of great characters in the Kill Bill series, but the best character is probably the main one. Uma Thurman stars as The Bride who spends the entire length of the two films out for revenge for the murder of her fiance, her unborn baby and the attempted murder on herself.

(5) Teardrop (John Hawkes)

Hawkes stars as Teardrop, the uncle of Jennifer Lawrence's Ree in Winter's Bone. Teardrop is sort of the anti-hero's hero. He doesn't want to get involved in his niece's attempt to track down her father, but his paternal instincts end up getting the best of him.

(4) Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick)

Kendrick needs way more roles like this one as Natalie Keener in Up in the Air. For some reason since this film she has been in small roles in Twilight and Scot Pilgrim. She plays perfectly against a much more seasoned actor in George Clooney, but it was her performance that truly stood out to me.

(3) Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson)

Again, Pulp Fiction has a ton of great characters in it, but it was what Samuel L. Jackson did as Jules Winnfield in his little screen time that truly made the film and his character memorable. He is a hitman with a heart that wants out, and his dialogue (mostly with John Travolta's Vincent) that makes the character standout.

(2) Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer)

I liked Tombstone, but I didn't love it. However, Val Kilmer's portrayal as Doc Holliday made me enjoy the film even more than I would have without him. I watched a lot of Kilmer's films during this list, and he is definitely underused as an actor. He really knocked this character out of the park.

(1) Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt)/Col. Hans Landa (Cristoph Waltz)

I just watched Inglourious Basterds, but I don't think that is the reason for marking them the best. They were both so good in their roles that I couldn't really separate them. Waltz is new to me, but he was so evil and likable at the same time in this role. Where Pitt continues to impress as a Jewish-soldier from Tennessee.

Top 10 Films

(10) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

(9) The Fugitive

(8) Frozen River

(7) Walk the Line

(6) Winter's Bone

(5) Up in the Air

(4) The Social Network

(3) Inception

(2) Inglourious Basterds

(1) Pulp Fiction

50/50: Inglourious Basterds

Well, I did it. I managed to get through my first official 50 films list.

Within the next few days I will have a recap of the 50 films, but first let's get to my final film - and boy was it worth the wait.

I don't know why I have waited so long to get into Quentin Tarantino films. I watched Jackie Brown in the theaters when it first came out, but that was my first and only film of his I had ever watched. And, although I enjoyed it, is quite possibly his worst film.

I'll tell you one thing, I will definitely have a hard time picking which of his films is my favorite - because I absolutely loved Inglourious Basterds.

The film is basically an alternate version of Nazi takeover in Paris, France.

First, we meet Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), or 'The Jew Hunter' as he has been named for his outstanding ability to locate the Jewish inhabitants - which he is now doing in Paris.

On the other side of things we have 'The Basterds', a band of Jewish-American military men led by Lt. Aldo Raine, or 'Aldo the Apache'. His motto is to kill every Nazi in uniform that they find - and every man is to bring him 100 Nazi scalps.

So those are the main characters, but we are also introduced (sort of) to Shosanna (Melanie Laurent) in the very first scene with Col. Landa. She is the only one to escape a mass murder and ends up as the owner of a theater.

What is so relevant about this? Well, it just so happens that her theater is now the home of 'Nazi Night', where a new film by Joseph Goebbels (Sylvester Groth) will be shown - and a ton of Nazi officials will be in attendance. So, it's obvious that 'The Basterds' will do their best to hit this theater and take out as many Nazis at once as they can.

But, what actually happens is pretty interesting.

First off, just amazing acting all around. Two standouts, however, as Brad Pitt and Christoph Waltz were just downright spectacular. Laurent, who I had never heard of before, was also a standout as Shosanna.

Second, Mike Myers was in this film. Yeah, that Mike Myers. You know, Wayne? Schwing?

And, you know what. He was great in his small role. It actually gave me hope that Myers could do something outside of comedy (the cameo reminded me a lot of Cruise in Tropic Thunder, but just not as long).

I was worried a little about the blood and gore factor in this film, as I had heard it was a little more than in his previous films - but it wasn't too bad. Nothing was too much for me to handle.

The only true question I had coming away from the film was where was Samm Levine's character at the conclusion of the film? Levine played Pfc. Hirschberg, part of 'The Basterds'. But, at the conclusion - when I believe everyone has been accounted for, he is missing. I just found it odd that he was introduced, but lost at the end.

So, there you have it. My final film - and I am glad I went out with a bang. If you haven't seen it, make sure you do.

Grade:

49/50: Where the Wild Things Are

Wow, I am so torn on this one.

I am a huge fan of the source material - which isn't much - and the film itself looked amazing, but there was just something missing.

When I was younger Where the Wild Things Are was one of my, if not my, favorite book. And now that I have my own child, I was so excited to start reading it to him as well.

So, when the movie was announced I was so excited. But, how would they turn a 10-sentence book, beloved by children into a full-length feature film?

Well, again I am torn.

I sort of liked it, but then again I didn't. I felt bored throughout most of the film, which to me is a huge negative. I am pretty lenient on many films because there is usually something that can hold my attention - but I just didn't have that here.

First, the positives. The 'Wild Things' looked amazing. And they didn't look fake at all - I was so pleasantly surprised. (Its great to see how far we have come, just finished TMNT the movie and the lips were so off when talking, but not in this film).

The second was the voice talent - most notably James Gandolfini as Carol (his voice to me was almost sounding like Bruce Willis, I kept thinking it was him).

Finally, the expanded story needed names, voices, backgrounds, personalities and even genders for the 'Wild Things' something that the filmmakers and writers did somewhat well. And you know what? The actual story/meaning of the film was great - but getting there was just so boring to me.

The bad was the story line on the actual island. A lot supposed to be going on, but just didn't work for me.

Two decent actors were way underused - Catherine Keener, who played the mother, and Mark Ruffalo, as her boyfriend. Ruffalo had like half a line the entire film, way underused. Why even get him?

And to me, as a fan of the book, Max (Max Records) seemed a bit too old for me. As those who have read the book know, the story goes that Max is a bit too rambunctious one night and is sent to bed without dinner. His imagination brings him to this island and he becomes the king of the 'Wild Things'. It's here that he starts to realize just how difficult it is to put up with characters that are well - just like him. And he returns home to his bedroom - his food was on his table, still hot.

Here, Max actually leaves the house - and goes missing. So, I am sort of lost on where exactly he was the entire time.

I give this a little higher grade than I probably should because the movie itself looked amazing - and the overall meaning of the film was great. Getting there was just way too yawnish.

Grade:

48/50: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

I knew this movie was a bit of a mind bending film. Something that you would need to pay close attention to, however, I still decided to watch it pretty late. It was pretty much the only time I could watch it.

That being said, it was still a very interesting film.

It just goes to prove (like I said in my review of Reign Over Me with Adam Sandler) that some of these comedic performers can actually act.

So, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (which was said in a perfect way during the film, a quote from Alexander Pope) stars Jim Carrey stars as Joel Barish, a pretty dull person that seems pretty dull to the world.

As the movie opens you see Barish eyeing a certain young lady, Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) who is waiting for a train. She is the total opposite of Barish's introvert as her extrovert personality is the perfect ying to Barish's yang.

They have a pretty amazing time together as we see, over a few day or weeks (I am not sure of the time table that is shown), but the next thing you see is Barish in his car crying his eyes out. But, what happened?

Well, we find out that they have broken up, and Barish is having a difficult time getting over her. He runs into Kruczynski at her job at a library and tries to speak to her - but something is different, she appears to have no idea who he is.

Staying with his friends, Carrie (Jane Adams) and Rob (David Cross), Barish finds a card that simply reads (paraphrasing here) that Clementine has had Joel Barish erased from her memory and to not mention him in front of her.

Well, Barish decides to see what is up and has a meeting setup with the doctor that did the procedure, Dr. Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson). Wilkinson explains the procedure and Barish, although pissed that Clementine did it, decides to erase her as well.

This is sort of fun in a way. A new way of showing a back story, as Stan (Mark Ruffalo) comes into Barish's house to erase Clementine from his memory during his sleep. We go through a ton of Barish's memories of his time with Clementine - not really in order, but enough that we see their true feelings for each other and some of the reasons for their breakup.

During this time, Barish is re-living these memories as well. And midway through realizes he doesn't want to let go of Clementine - but what can he do about it now?

At first I was very confused - which may have been because I watched it so late and was tired - but as the movie went on I really started to enjoy it more. And things started to become more and more clear to me as it rolled on.

Some great performances in this film from some great actors. Carrey was amazing out of his normal comedic roles. Ruffalo, though a small role, continues to impress. Kirsten Dunst plays Mary a receptionist in the doctors office, who plays an important role that I will not identify here.

Finally, we have Elijah Wood, who plays Patrick. A leech who also works in the doctors office and I despised in this role - who also plays an important role that I cannot reveal here for those who have not seen it.

It started off a little odd for me, but like I said, I really came around. It looked amazing and the acting was spectacular in all roles.

Grade:

47/50: Reservoir Dogs

This is the second to last film in the Quentin Tarantino pictures that I had on my list. The only one remaining is the newest - Inglourious Basterds.

Like I mentioned in my Kill Bill post, Tarantino has a way of telling a story in flashbacks and language so well that we understand everything without actually seeing it.

Reservoir Dogs is a film about a heist - a heist that we never actually see.

Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) has pieced together a crew of individuals to pull off a heist. In case anything goes wrong, the individuals had been instructed to not divulge anything personal about themselves - including their names.

So, they are given the aliases of Mr. Blonde (Mark Madsen), Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), Mr. Blue (Eddie Bunker) and Mr. Brown (Tarantino).

Of course, something goes wrong. The police are clued into the heist by a mole somewhere in the organization, and Mr. Blonde goes on a shooting rampage.

(BEST TO NOT READ MORE IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN IT)

Anyway, during the shootout Mr. Brown is killed during the getaway and Mr. Blue is killed at the scene. Mr. Orange is shot in the stomach and Mr. White is able to get him back to the gang's hideout. Mr. Pink also makes it back to the hideout - and with the loot in tow as well.

The rest of the film is trying to weed out the mole and figure out what exactly they are going to do now.

Again, it is so amazing that I was able to go this long without anything important being revealed to me. Sure, I knew all about the ear cutting scene, and Mr. Pink complaining about being called Mr. Pink, but the actual plot and all of the important spoilers I was able to stay away from - and I am glad I did. I think it made me enjoy the film even more.

Grade:

46/50: Sixteen Candles

What a difference.

I was so hoping that Sixteen Candles wouldn't be another Pretty in Pink. Honestly, I enjoy the Breakfast Club and Weird Science, but I just could net get into Pretty in Pink.

Sixteen Candles just had so much more going for it, and I really came away enjoying it.

Again, we have a young lady, Samantha Baker (Molly Ringwald), who is jonesing on one of the most popular boys at school, Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling). It also just so happens to be her sixteenth birthday - and her sister is getting married the next day.

Oh, and because of all the commotion at her house for her sister's wedding - her entire family, including those visiting for the wedding - have forgotten her birthday.

Meanwhile, Jake has noticed that Samantha stares at him, and well he actually starts to 'notice' her.

Then there's The Geek (Anthony Michael Hall), who has a huge crush on Samantha, and is trying desperately to get laid and impress his friends. The Geek is able to talk to Samantha, and this gets him to be friends with Jake as he tries to find out more about her.

Finally, we get the very odd and not entirely need - but very glad he was - Long Duk Dong (Gedde Watanabe). An exchange student who is staying with Samantha's grandparents, and comes for the wedding. He heads to a dance with Samantha, finds a lady and gets totally plastered at a party - he was hilarious.

And really, that is what made all of the difference comparing this movie with Pretty in Pink. The latter film was just far too serious for my taste. It as lacking the comedy that The Geek and Long Duk Dong provided so well in this film.

Another thing I really enjoyed about this film was the way the romance developed. Samantha and Jake are the whole point of the film, but they aren't even together at all through most of it. Sure, we get that kiss at the birthday cake, but (SPOILER ALERT) that was their only real interaction throughout the entire film (SPOILER OVER). And, I loved it.

This probably ranks around the sames as Weird Science for me in the John Hughes' films. Breakfast Club is still the king of the pack for me - that film was able to mix the comedy and the drama so well, it has to be at the top.

Grade:

45/50: Valyrkie

I wasn't too familiar with this particular part of World War II. It is actually good to know that this actually happened.

Anyway, Valkyrie is a code name for an attack on Adolph Hitler by rogue Germans during World War II. This was not covered in any of my world history classes in high school or college, so I was unaware that this happened. I am actually happy that there were some people that chose not to follow Hitler's Nazi regime.

Well, this film is based on that attack on all that subsequently happened. Tom Cruise stars as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, a soldier who gets his hand blown off and loses an eye all for Hitler's Nazi Germany. Upon getting released from the hospital, Cruise's character (much easier to type, sorry) is promoted and thus begins his plans for Operation Valkyrie.

Cruise's character attempts the assassination on Hitler's life multiple times before the bomb actually goes off and they assume that Hitler has been killed - throwing into action the arrest of all SS officers.

This was a decent film, but honestly I felt like something was missing the entire time. Nothing really captured me like other films of this nature have - this was no Saving Private Ryan.

I normally am not a huge fan of Cruise, but here he was very good. Plus, he was the only true star in the film - a lot of secondary actors filled out the other roles.

Grade:

44/50: Killers

Well, once I put this on the list I sort of figured what the response would be. People told me to skip it, it's horrible.

So, I went into this film expecting the absolute worst, and I came away liking it a bit more than I expected. So, I guess the worst your expectations are you can feel any film is better than it actually is.

Killers stars Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl. I do not hate Kutcher's career, but for some reason I really have no film that sticks out that I enjoyed him in. He was great in "That 70s Show", but his movie career has definitely been mostly miss than hit - I guess the lone movie I truly enjoy of his is Butterfly Effect.

As for Heigl, I have sort of lost all respect for her. She was the cute girl that stayed in the background of all of those movies you watched when you were younger - no one really knew who she was. Then came her breakout role in "Grey's Anatomy" and Knocked Up. And I was actually excited for her career. But, the inevitable happened and she became way bigger than she should be - at least in her mind.

Anyway, back to the film. Kutcher is Spencer Aimes, an assassin who falls for Heigl's Jen Kornfeldt. He gives up his life as an assassin, which she doesn't know about, to live in suburbia and settle down.

Well, the expected happens and Aimes is called back into action, only find that his boss, Holbrook (Martin Mull), has been killed - and there is a huge bounty placed on his head. And, everyone is trying to kill him.

Jen, of course, finds out about his true identity and is thrust into action in order to save both of their skins. All the while struggling with if she knows the man she married - and if she will stay with him in the end.

I enjoyed the action and a few of the jokes tossed around. I didn't hate Kutcher in the role, and I tolerated Heigl. It was pretty funny to see Tom Selleck as Jen's father though.

Like I said, I didn't absolutely hate it because that it what I was expecting. But, it isn't amazing - I tolerated it.

Grade:

43/50: Kill Bill, Vol. 2

As I said in yesterday's 'post' I have decided to combine the two Kill Bill films. I know it is technically two movies - but it is more or less one film split into two.

First off, I have to admit, I never much thought of Uma Thurman as one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood. The Poison Ivy part in Batman was supposed to go to the most beautiful woman in Hollywood, and it went to her - but I just didn't see it. Well, despite being covered in blood for most of the films, I can see now what others were thinking - she looked amazing.

So, Thurman stars as the Bride in this revenge-filled film - both Kill Bill, Volume 1 and Kill Bill, Volume 2.

In the first film, we see that the Bride was 'killed' on the night before her wedding - while pregnant. She is found by the local police and taken to the hospital, where she laid in the hospital in a coma for months.

Once she came to, she escapes a nasty orderly and one of Adam Sandler's pals, and claims her revenge upon the people that put her in the hospital.

If my memory serves, during the first film the Bride takes on Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox) and also O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu).

The first of the two films is much more bloody - the scene where the Bride takes on Ishii is amazing as she fights an entire mob of people before having to take on Ishii herself.

The second film is a little less bloody - and I have to admit I thought it was going somewhere else at the conclusion, but I am so glad it didn't. It would have taken away from everything we were building towards.

In Volume 2, the Bride takes on Budd (Mark Madsen) and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) before finally making her way to her primary target, Bill (David Carradine).

Quentin Tarantino has a pretty great way of telling a story without telling it in a straight way. He is all over the place with flashbacks and out of whack placement of parts, but somehow it all comes together - and it works here just as well as in Pulp Fiction.

Like I said, I fell in love with Thurman and her quest to find those who tried to kill her - did kill her fiancé - all while she was pregnant.

The movies weren't perfect - I felt there were some extremely slow scenes that I guess ere needed for the overall effect of the film, but I didn't really enjoy. It took away from the action sequences and her journey. I was not a fan of the slow, somewhat boring scenes between Bill and the Bride (the flashback scenes, not the end sequence). And, I definitely did not enjoy the part (that was really drawn out) between the Bride and Pai Mei (Chia Hui Liu), her training master.

Overall, however, I was thoroughly enjoyed. Not as much as Pulp Fiction, but the story was great and told in an amazing way. And, like I said, so glad they went the way they did for the ending - I would have been totally pissed if they went the other way.

If this were two grades I would probably put the first film higher. I felt it was more action packed and had less slow-down scenes. But, this is an overall grade for the pair of films.

Grade:

42/50: Kill Bill, Vol. 1

I know these are technically two films, but I have decided to combine both Kill Bill, Vol. 1 and Kill Bill, Vol. 2 into one review.

This is a placeholder post, however, to make sure I have all 50 for my list. And, to add the Volume 1 poster.

For the full review, check out Kill Bill, Vol. 2. Due out tomorrow.

41/50: Faster

When I first saw the trailer for this film I though, "Finally".

I have been screaming at The Rock for years to stop making the kid-centric films and get back to what you should be doing - making action films.

Since the upper-tier of action stars are getting way up in years (I am looking at Stallone) or having housekeeper babies (insert Schwarzenegger), we need a new breed of action star. Sure, Vin Diesel can do a decent enough job, and Jason Statham can be pretty bad ass - but The Rock has the charisma and the ability to be the next big thing.

Anyway, I finally got around to watching Faster and it really lived up to what I thought it was going to be. Nothing but pure action, shoot 'em up type fun - and a pretty decent twist ending, that I should have figured out, but didn't.

So, Driver (Dwayne Johnson) is in prison for a bank crime he committed with his brother and a bunch of his brother's friends. We find out that he is lucky to be alive after he was shot in the end by a rival crew that stole the money they originally stole - and killed his entire crew, including his brother, in front of him.

While inside, Driver gets pumped and revenge is on his mind. He tracks down a list of all members of the crew and their informants, and plans to hunt them down and kill them for the death of his brother.

The film also stars Billy Bob Thornton as Cop (I know the names in the movie are so generic), one of the people in charge of finding and stopping Driver's killing rampage. Cop is only a few weeks away from retirement - but this case becomes pretty important to him, and will most likely be his last.

As Driver continues to roll through his hit list, he meets up with an unexpected foe - Killer (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), a hitman hired by one of the people on his list to kill Driver.

What I really enjoyed about this film was The Rock's performance with so few lines. He was pissed and we knew it - everything we needed to know came in flashback scenes and his actions. Just a total bad ass role for him - and it was very welcomed.

Of course, Thornton had the role with most of the talking - and he plays the deadbeat cop so well.

So, yes I enjoyed the film. It was everything I was expecting. An action film with car chases, guns blazing and tons of fighting. It's nice to have this type of film in your rotation every so often.

Grade:

40/50: Pulp Fiction

I don't know what took so long for me to finally watch this. Despite thinking I knew most about the film itself, I was still blown away.

Pulp Fiction is basically the telling of a series of events, not exactly told in chronological order.

It was a lot less bloody than I was expecting, but that was ok because it didn't take anything away from the actual film.

As good as the story was, the best part about the film was the dialogue. I absolutely loved the dialogue in The Social Network because it was so smart and it seemed like each and every word was so important. I got that same feeling when watching Pulp Fiction. Most of the film really has no important dialogue, but the way it is spoken in the film - even about a stupid quarter pounder with cheese - it seems important.

Anyway, the film mostly revolves around a man that we do not actually see for most of the film. Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) is a crime lord, who employs two hit men, Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson). Wallace also makes a deal with a boxer, Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis), to take a fall in a match and make Wallace a ton of money.

Those are the two main stories of the film. Two other smaller stories involve Vega and Wallace's wife, Mia (Uma Thurman) - you know that iconic dancing scene, right? The final story is both the beginning and the ending of the film, featuring a couple of wanna-be criminals, Pumpkin (Tim Roth) and Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer).

The absolute best part of the film are the scenes involving Travolta and Jackson. The dialogue between the two of them is amazing and I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Just perfection in words.

This was my second Quentin Tarantino film (Jackie Brown being the other), and this was much better. I hope the other Tarantino films are as good as this one - I am very intrigued now and can't wait to see them.

Grade:

39/50: Robin Hood

I don't know the true/main story of the original Robin Hood. My memories of Robin Hood stem from Disney's version and Kevin Costner's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. I guess you can also toss in Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

So, when I watched the Russell Crowe version of Robin Hood I was immediately confused. Isn't the Sheriff of Nottingham supposed to be the bad guy? Well, according to the Prince of Thieves he is. Or, was it Prince John?

In this version it appears to be France that

is the enemy. Until we get to the end, but I am getting ahead of myself.

So, Crowe stars as Robin Longstride, and fights in the Crusades with a man called Robert Loxley. Longstride along with a trio of others, Will Scarlett (Scott Grimes), Little John (Kevin Durand) and Allan A'Dayle (Alan Doyle) return to England to notify Loxley of his son's death and Robin is asked to pretend that he is in fact Loxley returned from the war - and also take care of Loxley's girlfriend, Lady Marian (Cate Blanchett). Did you get all of that? I know it's confusing.

Anyway, in my opinion this film was setup as the beginning of a series of films. The ending, after Robin helps defeat the French, Prince John burns the treaty that was drawn up to relieve taxes against the commoners. He also declares that Robin is an outlaw.

Here is where the film, or next film, should start up. This is the setup we needed to begin where everything belongs. Robin is an outlaw. Prince John is the villain.

But, we will probably not get another film because this one was mediocre in its reception. Too bad because I feel they were setting up for something that could be fun. I have said before I am not a Crowe fan, but I handled him here. I am a fan of Durand, Grimes and Mark Addy (who played Friar Tuck), however, so I would have liked to have seen what happened next.

So, my grade reflects this particular film, not how good I feel the future films could have been.

Grade:

38/50: Bullitt

Steve McQueen was apparently the action star of the 60's, and died too young. I loved him in The Great Escape and had heard that Bullitt was one of his best action roles.

So, I added it to my list in hopes that it would be as good or as close to The Great Escape as possible - but i was wrong.

Yes, it had an amazing car chase scene - which is ranked as one of the 10 best on a ton of polls - but the rest of the film just fell flat to me. Maybe it was because of its age, but

I am not sure that is entirely the case.

So, Bullitt (Steve McQueen) is tasked in protecting a witness in a criminal case. And, of course, the person being prosecuted has his cronies attempt to kill that witness.

That is it basically, not too much of a story, just a few chase scenes and gun fights. Which in most cases I would love, but it really didn't do too much for me here.

It was sort of neat to see a young Robert Duvall in probably one of his smallest roles ever, a cab driver named Weissberg. And, that wacky landlord from "Three's Company" Norman Fell as Baker.

If you want to see one of the best car chase scenes in cinema history, check out the film or look it up on youtube. I don't really suggest partaking in this entire film for just one scene though.

Grade:

37/50: Fargo

Have you ever seen a movie without actually seeing it?

I have never actually sat down to watch Fargo but it as like I had seen the entire film before.

Anyway, Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) has a money making idea, but needs a bunch of money to get it started - so he decides to have his wife kidnapped in order for his rich father-in-law to pay the fake ransom and therefore, front the money for his idea.

He hires a pair of crazy criminals, Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife - in return he would give them a small fee and a car.

Of course, everything goes wrong. The pair of criminals go on a sudden killing spree and all hell basically breaks loose.

Everything would be fine for the group of criminals if it wasn't for small-town cop Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand), who takes it upon herself to solve the murders of the town, and leads her to Jerry and the kidnapping.

Like I said, I felt as if I had seen all of this before, I knew basically everything that was going to happen - but still it was great to finally see it.

Buscemi was, as always, amazing. And McDormand, who has never really resonated with me before, was brilliant in this role.

Grade:

36/50: Young Frankenstein

Like a lot of the older films on my list, I really feared watching this movie because I had really high hopes for it and had heard great things. That is why I sort of held off in watching it - that and I really enjoy Gene Wilder.

Anyway, Wilder plays Dr. Frankenstein, one of the descendents of the other Dr. Frankenstein, in Young Frankenstein. He tries to distance himself from that family even going so far as pronouncing his name differently.

But, he ends up being lured back to Transylvania and continues his grandfather's experiments after inheriting the castle. He finds a backroom where his grandfather was doing his reanimation projects and becomes infatuated with it - then begins to try and perfect his grandfather's experiment.

Teamed with his partner, Inga (Teri Garr) and his servant, Igor (Marty Feldman), Dr. Frankenstein steals a body and creates The Monster (Peter Boyle).

I have to admit, a lot scared me about this film. It is old; it is filmed in black and white; and Mel Brooks is sort of hit or miss with me. But, this one was a hit.

It definitely had a lot of the Brooks' humor - for instance the horse whinnying every time Frau Blucher's (Cloris Leachman) name is said, that had me laughing each and ever time. I really found myself laughing a lot.

Wilder was in true form, I can honestly say I can't think of another actor that could have played this part. He was so over the top and his voice gets so loud and crazy when he gets excited. Just amazing.

Peter Boyle was great as The Monster. He didn't have many lines, but almost stole the show. The song and dance number (which I had actually seen before) was outstanding. I was also not familiar with Marty Feldman, but he was awesome as Igor - his facial expressions were so funny.

Grade: