My ABC's of Cinema

There's a meme going around the movie blogosphere, posting your ABCs of Cinema. You can check out other movie blogger's lists on CitizenRobot, I Are Movies, and Rupert Pupkin Speaks. One favorite movie for every letter of the alphabet. I'm not saying it's the best for that letter, it's just my personal choice either for entertainment value, lasting impression, rewatchability, etc. Don't agree with my movie choices? Make your own list and put the link in the comments! I really want to know!

A is for ATONEMENT

B is for BACK TO THE FUTURE

C is for CLERKS

D is for THE DARK KNIGHT

E is for ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

F is for FIGHT CLUB

G is for THE GOONIES

H is for HEATHERS

Find out the rest of my alphabet after the break.

Fight Club for the Geriatric Club

Fight Club Performance at the Nursing Home - Watch more Funny Videos

Just a funny video to help you get through your Tuesday :)

100 Movies to See Before You Die: The Modern Classics

Yahoo! Movies listed out the best modern classics that you need to watch. I've listed them out below and highlighted the ones I've seen. I'm surprised how many are foreign films. To read the reasonings for why these films made the list, check out the original article on Yahoo.

1990
Goodfellas
Misery

1991
Beauty and the Beast
The Silence of the Lambs
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Thelma & Louise

1992
Hard Boiled (Lat sau san taam)
Malcolm X
The Player
Raise the Red Lantern (Da hong deng long gao gao gua)
Supercop (Ging chat goo si 3: Chiu kup ging chat)
Unforgiven

1993
Dazed and Confused
Groundhog Day
Schindler's List

1994
Chungking Express (Chung Hing sam lam)
Ed Wood
Forrest Gump
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Pulp Fiction
The Shawshank Redemption
Red (Trois couleurs: Rouge)

1995
Babe
Before Sunrise
Clueless
Heat
Living in Oblivion
Sense and Sensibility
Toy Story
The Usual Suspects

1996
Big Night
Dead Man
Fargo
Ghost in the Shell (Kokaku kidotai)
Lone Star
Scream
Secrets & Lies
Sling Blade
Swingers
Trainspotting


1997
Boogie Nights
Eve's Bayou
L.A. Confidential
The Sweet Hearafter
Titanic

1998
The Big Lebowski
Fireworks (Hana-bi)
Out of Sight
Saving Private Ryan
There's Something About Mary


1999
All About My Mother (Todo sobre mi madre)
American Beauty
Being John Malkovich
Election
Fight Club
The Matrix
Princess Mononoke (Mononoke-hime)
Run Lola Run (Lola rennt)
The Sixth Sense
Three Kings

2000
Almost Famous
Best in Show
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo hu cang long)
Yi Yi

2001
Amelie (Le fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain)
Donnie Darko
In the Mood For Love (Fa yeung nin wa)
The Lord of the Rings
Memento
Mulholland Drive
The Royal Tenenbaums

2002
The Pianist
Y Tu Mama Tambien

2003
City of God (Cidade de Deus)
Elephant
Finding Nemo

2004
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Shaun of the Dead
Sideways

2005
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Brokeback Mountain
A History of Violence
Oldboy

2006
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Children of Men
The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen)
Pan's Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno)

2007
4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (4 luni, 3 saptamani si 2 zile)
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le scaphandre et le papillon)
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

2008
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E

2009
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds

Top Ten Films (from 1999)

Note: I'm leaving for Las Vegas in the morning. So no updates for a few days. Please feel free to check around my older posts. See you guys next week!

It's been 10 years since 1999. It is a year that will be remembered for the Y2K scare and the Columbine shootings, a time of upheaval and everyone on the brink of panic. Or at least some of the extremes. The films of the time definitely reflected the era, with The Matrix and American Beauty among the top earners of the year. But this year is more remembered for the films that didn't break the box office records, for the movies that had real staying power and still feel relevant today. Here's my list of the Top Ten films from 1999. It's totally subjective and in no particular order:

Fight Club

This movie is among my favorites of all time. The look of the film, the voice over narration done perfectly by Edward Norton, and the big twist at the end, this movie's got it all. It reflected the apocalyptic feel of 1999 and the anti-consumerism sentiment that was prevalent since the mad spending of the 1980s.

Toy Story 2

Pixar was still new at this point and didn't have the audiences guaranteed. They deserve every single one of their fans, myself included. The film follows the story of childhood lost, teaching us to hold on to what we have when we have it, and just appreciate it while it lasts. There's nothing better in life than making people happy, and Pixar does that with every film they make.

Election

It's hard to believe MTV used to make quality content like this. The story of Tracy Flick is still relevant today - just look at Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. Women in power, and how they got there, hold the attention of America because it is still a rarity (sadly). Plus, this is the film that broke Reese Witherspoon into Hollywood, and she has continued to prove her acting chops since.

The Sixth Sense

M. Night Shamalyan has never been able to live up to the quality of this film. Seeing this movie for the first time, I was so terrified while watching it. It's a good horror story without being about blood and gore. The ending will live in film history as one of the best twists.

10 Things I Hate About You

It's kind of sad to watch now, since Heath Ledger's untimely passing, but it's still one of my favorite teen flicks. It took Shakespeare and made it hip and relatable, by being barely recognizable. But still, a great movie with a talented cast that went on to play other great roles: Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordan-Lovitt, and Julia Stiles. Plus, it has one of my favorite film moments in it:

Dogma

My favorite of Kevin Smith films (followed closely by Mallrats), follows two fallen angels as they try to get back into God's good graces. The cast is hilarious, as they are in every other Kevin Smith movie, but they way this film skewers religion while not insulting it and its followers is something more movies should learn. Also, the casting of God was a stroke of genius.

Galaxy Quest

As a Star Trek fan since the womb, I know a thing or two about sci fi shows and conventions. This lovingly mocks the whole world, but doesn't do it maliciously. It's funny and snarky, without being mean. For anyone who's even touched upon the sci fi lifestyle, I recommend watching this movie for a laugh.

The Matrix

What can I say about this movie? It changed the entire way action scenes were shot! It had great action, a mind bending plot, and was perfectly cast with Keanu Reeves. He does that confused thing so well. This movie stands the test of time, yet still reflects the sentiment of 1999. Just ignore the sequels, and we've got ourselves a new classic.

October Sky

This is the movie that made me fall in love with Jake Gyllenhaal. It's an inspirational tale, based on a true story of course, about 4 small town boys who use science and rocket building to escape their small coal mining town. They did it without proper help from their school, with just their own motivation to keep them chugging along.

Office Space

Everyone loves this movie. It may not have been a box office smash, but everyone I know has seen it and likely owns the dvd. I couldn't appreciate this movie when it came out, but now that I'm in the working world, I can definitely see more of its appeal. It's a hilarious film about surviving the office.

Did I leave off any of your 1999 favorites? What do you think of these ten films?