The Quest Begins

Let me just start my blog career with this: thanks in large part to the "American Film" class I took during my freshman year in college, I am really into classic, critically acclaimed movies. This blog is devoted to that topic.

And through a few happenstance moments in my life recently, I realized that while there's the ever-popular "Books to Read Before You Die" lists people have, I have my own bucket list of "Movies to Watch Before I Die." Again, I blame my "American Film" class for this item being on my bucket list (actually, I could blame the professor, Leonard Oakland, as a guy who, just by giving a brief lecture on film, can stir up a great interest in movies).

And thanks to the support of my wife, the American Film Institute and their most recent "Top 100 Movies of All Time" list from 2007, and a public library system that has plenty of classic movies to borrow for free, I've begun aggressively watching as many movies as I can. And as I watch more of the movies, I will post my thoughts and an overall rating of how I liked each one.

But before I get to new movies I watch, I feel the need to list the movies I've already seen before this little quest began. So, in AFI's order, the movies I've already seen:

1. Citizen Kane (8/10 - I need to watch this one again, but I remember the techincal aspects of this movie were groundbreaking in just about every way possible)

2. The Godfather (9/10 -This movie gets better and better every time I watch it)

3. Casablanca (7/10)

5. Singin' in the Rain (8/10)

8. Schindler's List (8/10. Seeing "The Pianist" before seeing this movie took a lot of the shock factor out of it)

9. Vertigo (8/10 - I remember the bulk of this movie seemed slow, but the last 30 minutes was well worth it!)

10. Wizard of Oz (I haven't really watched this as an adult, so I can't think of what I should rate it)

13. Star Wars (10/10 - I grew up loving the original trilogy!)

15. 2001: A Space Odyssey (6/10 - I watched this in 8th grade, and the ending weirded me out)

16. Sunset Boulevard (8/10)

20. It's a Wonderful Life (10/10 - Such a great movie! The ending always chokes me up)

21. Chinatown (7/10)

24. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (5/10 - Didn't really like this one)

25. To Kill a Mockingbird (8/10 - Atticus Finch is the man!)

26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (8/10)

30. Apocalypse Now (6/10 - After this movie ended, I was trembling for the rest of the night. I'm not kidding)

31. The Maltese Falcon (4/10 - WAY too complex, and I don't think I'm a big film noir fan)

32. The Godfather, Part II (8/10 - I like the original better, but this is still a great movie)

33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (6/10 - I think I need to watch this one again)

34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (4/10 - I know why this is on AFI's list; it was the first animated feature film. But I grew up with Aladdin and Lion King and like those better)

35. Annie Hall (6/10 - My only Woody Allen experience, but a unique romantic comedy)

39. Dr. Strangelove (6/10 - A very different spoof)

40. The Sound of Music (7/10)

41. King Kong (8/10 - There's just something about the animation of King Kong that holds a very special place in film history to me)

44. The Philadelphia Story (7/10 - Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart in the same movie!)

48. Rear Window (9/10 - Awesome Hitchcock film)

50. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (9/10)

51. West Side Story (4/10 - Why do I seem to be the only non-fan of this musical?)

55. North by Northwest (10/10 - My favorite Hitchcock movie + my favorite Cary Grant movie = one of my favorite all-time movies)

56. JAWS (9/10)

57. Rocky (8.5/10 - I completely understand why this movie won "Best Picture" the year it came out)

59. Nashville (2/10 - Country music + 24 main characters + a political scene that took place before I was born = me no likey)

65. The African Queen (7/10 - A well done romantic adventure movie)

66. Raiders of the Lost Ark (8/10)

71. Saving Private Ryan (9/10 - I try to watch this one each Memorial Day)

72. The Shawshank Redemption (10/10 - MY FAVORITE MOVIE OF ALL TIME)

73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (5/10 - I really don't understand what is so amazing about this movie)

74. The Silence of the Lambs (7/10)

76. Forrest Gump (8/10)

81. Spartacus (I've seen this, but I don't remember enough about it to give it a rating)

83. Titanic (5/10 - The only thing worth watching in the movie is the boat sinking)

87. 12 Angry Men (10/10 - Amazing acting. I love this movie)

89. The Sixth Sense (7.5/10 - I didn't see it coming. Did you?)

92. Goodfellas (6/10 - I felt like I needed to shower and de-tox after seeing this movie)

94. Pulp Fiction (8/10)

99. Toy Story (9/10)


TOTAL # OF FILMS WATCHED: 46/100