"The Last Picture Show" (1971)

Rank on the AFI List: #95

WHAT I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Nothing, but reading the back cover, it's something to do with high school kids and a small town.

LET ME EXPLAIN...
Mark this as the low point in My Quest.   Not only because I hated this film, but because this is the sixth film in a row that I've watched for the first time and didn't really like.  This streak needs to end because I'm getting really uninspired to blog about what I've watched.

Nevertheless, I'm dedicated to blogging about every single film on the AFI List, so here's my take on "The Last Picture Show."

I think this film was vaguely about the sad transformation of Small Town America into a deserted ghost town.  That premise intrigues me a bit.  Unfortunately, what this movie really seems to be about is small town teens having sex with everybody.  It tries to convey depth and layers in its story, but it really just comes across as a porn trying to be more than just a porn.

What makes this a "Top 100" Movie?
Sometimes, when I don't have an answer to this question, I check out the Special Features on the DVD.  They usually give helpful insight into what made the movie so important and critically acclaimed when it came out.  The special features for "That Last Picture Show"?  Nothing more than a making-of segment that literally only talked about how the director saw the book in a check-out stand and decided to make it into a movie, and how they casted the different characters.  There was nothing mentioned at all about the relevance of the movie itself.  But for some reason, it was nominated for 8 Academy Awards (half of them for acting, which is one thing I think was good in the movie), winning 2 of them (both for acting).

Complaints:
How about all the sex scenes and really disturbing sexual pairings they have throughout the movie?  This was not fun to watch at all.

LET ME SUM UP...
I think some porn producer came up with the premise of a small town where everybody does everybody, and then some Hollywood director came along and said, "I think I'll turn that into an actual film."  Take out all the sex and nudity, and I might kind of like a film that takes a look at Small Town America turning into a ghost town.  But this movie focuses on sexual libidos way too much.

MY RATING: 2/10

TOTAL # OF FILMS WATCHED: 84

"The Apartment" (1960)

Rank on the AFI List: #80

WHAT I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THE MOVIE:

Nothing at all, but after checking out the DVD sleeve, I learned that it stars Jack Lemmon and has a pretty raunchy premise of an employee of a big insurance company who lets executives use his apartment for extra-marital affairs.

LET ME EXPLAIN...

Eh.  That's pretty much how I felt about this movie.  I followed the plot easily and didn't get too bored, but I just wasn't that impressed.  The comedy wasn't very good, the story was all about affairs and cheating, and there just wasn't really anything outstanding to me.  So I say again..."eh".

What makes this a "Top 100" Movie?
No idea.  Again, I was not really impressed with anything about this film.  Maybe the focus on "Corporate America" and the scandals within companies is something?  That seems like quite a stretch actually, so nevermind.......hmmm.......well, it did win five Academy Awards including Best Picture.  I was shocked when I learned that, but then I saw the other nominees: Elmer Gantry, Sons and Lovers, The Alamo, and The Sundowners.  Must have been the lack of competition that helped "The Apartment" do so well that year.

Complaints:

It's not really a complaint, but rather something odd I wanted to bring up: the way Jack Lemmon's character tries to impress Fran.  I never realized that telling a girl you know everything about her - including her social security number - was an endearing pickup line.

LET ME SUM UP...

Eh.  Nothing special.  Nothing too funny.  Nothing very memorable.

MY RATING: 4.5/10

TOTAL # OF FILMS WATCHED: 83

"Modern Times" (1936)

Rank on the AFI List: #78

WHAT I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Only that it's a Charlie Chaplin film.

LET ME EXPLAIN...
After watching The Gold Rush and deciding that we were Charlie Chaplin fans, my wife and I were looking forward to watching the remaining two Chaplin films on this list (the other one being "City Lights").  "Modern Times", while having its moments, wasn't as funny as "The Gold Rush".  On the other hand, I definitely found this film to be an interesting social commentary.

Unlike the Marx Brothers, who I am convinced put no thought into their films or jokes other than what they thought was funny, Charlie Chaplin really seemed like not only a comic genius, but he used his films to make a serious comment in a humorous way.  For example, "The Gold Rush" was about the real events of desperate people making the dangerous trek to Alaska in the hope of finding gold.  He took a light-hearted yet caring look at a sad reality.

Similarly, "Modern Times" focused on both the cons of the Industrial Revolution as well as the sad reality of the Depression.  Making observations on the monotony of working in factories, bosses maximizing work hours to increase production (the automatic feeder was probably the funniest part of the movie), the strikes, and people stealing bread were all thought-provoking.  So while I didn't think it was the funniest movie, it was still interesting to me.

What makes this a "Top 100" Movie?
Thank goodness for Special Features, because when this ended, I didn't really understand why it was on the list.  Nothing about it seemed particularly amazing or groundbreaking.  Fortunately, I learned that this was in fact the final film to feature Chaplin's famous "tramp" character (which, as I also learned, is evidently the most recognizible fictional character EVER).  That, and possibly the social commentary mentioned above (especially for being made in 1936), may be the reason it's on the AFI List.

Complaints
Already mentioned it above, but this film just wasn't as funny as "The Gold Rush".

LET ME SUM UP...
An interesting Chaplin film that I think is more a clever commentary on industry and the Depression than it is a funny movie.  Some good scenes, but otherwise, this seemed a bit too mediocre for me.

MY RATING: 5/10

TOTAL # OF FILMS WATCHED: 82

"All About Eve" (1950)

Rank on the AFI List: #28

WHAT I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Nothing, except that, judging by its cover, it doesn't quite look like a movie geared toward men.

LET ME EXPLAIN...
There are some films I've watched during My Quest that I refused to learn or read anything about before viewing.  Sometimes it's fun to learn what a movie is about as you're watching.  On the other hand, some films I decided I wanted to know the synopsis beforehand, so I'd read the back of the DVD cover to get a general idea.

"All About Eve" was one that I decided to go in clueless about.  And I think that was a mistake.

I feel this way because I was lost on the point of the story.  I thought it was going to be an uplifting story on a young actress's climb to fame.  This simple idea I had caused me to misjudge nearly every character.

Aside from all that, I just wasn't a big fan of this film.  I never really cared about any of the characters, and it's all about the theatre and the desire to be famous.  I do not have those same goals, nor do I empathize with those who do.

The end of the movie was good because it brought the story full circle and added a new element to each of the characters.  But until then, I had spent almost 2 hours essentially waiting for the movie to end.

What makes this a "Top 100" Movie?
I'm learning that, if you want to increase your chances of getting a film onto the AFI list, focus on either the theatre/acting world or the Holocaust.  The AFI seems to LOVE these.  Aside from that, I'm really not the best person to answer this question because I didn't really like it, but it amazingly holds the record (along with Titanic) for most Academy Award nominations EVER with 14 (winning 6 including Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay).  That fact, along with "All About Eve" being rated so high on the AFI List at #28, is baffling to me.  Apparently I missed something.

Complaints:
Nothing specific, but I'm just not a big fan of the movie overall.

LET ME SUM UP...
I wish I had known something about the story before watching this.  Nevertheless, I didn't really care much about the characters or the story because I can't relate to "the theatre world".  However, it is surprising that this movie is not more well known.  I had never even heard of it before seeing it ranked so high on the AFI List, and it's only one of two films in history to receive 14 Academy Award nominations.  Either I missed something, or the Academy really loved the focus on theatre and fame.

MY RATING: 3/10

TOTAL # OF FILMS WATCHED: 81