Movie Update X: The Sequel

As of right now, the only movies left on my list are the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Silence of the Lambs, and Leon.

Lawrence of Arabia (#32) – a good movie, but way too long. This movie was 3 2/3 hours long!!! It’s obvious this movie was meat to be a masterpiece, and it is. The shots were beautiful. The acting was excellent. The plot was interesting but it did drag at times. Alec Guinness was in it, and isn't that enough? Perhaps the best piece of information I got out of this movie was that I now know it is acceptable for a man to ride a camel side-saddle.

Modern Times (#74) – The second Chaplin movie on the list. I wasn’t so crazy about this one, but there are some iconic scenes in it. It is worth seeing simply for the “Nonsense Song” scene, it is great (and I believe it's the only time Chaplin is seen in a film speaking). I think this is still considered a silent movie, but I think a better classification is a non-talkie, while there was dialog, it came from inanimate objects – the characters were silent with very few exceptions (the aforementioned song is the only one I can think of). I preferred City Lights over this one, I think that one captured the genius of Chaplin more than this one, IMO, because it was more character driven (although this one is also character driven). I think CL was better in terms of showing off Chaplin’s talents. Also, I don't like it when films are so overt in their politics. This one was blatantly anti-capitalist.

City of God (#17) – I think this movie was excellent and went right were The Pianist and Hotel Rwanda went wrong. The director and cast were able to depict a horrible, real-life situation that that most people are unfamiliar with and told a compelling story with complex characters and actors doing an exceptional job. Maybe it’s the subtitles that keep this movie from getting its proper due, but this is an excellent film.

Amelie (#41) – I don’t think I’m qualified to say this, but I’m going to say it anyway – this movie was Very French. It’s a good story about a young girl who touches the lives of almost everyone she comes into contact with. I think it would have been nice to have followed the subplots a little further, but I can see how that would have taken way too much time and made this a much more complex movie than it was. I have to say there did seem to be unnecessary nudity and sex in this movie. Normally I wouldn’t mind this, but this movie would have made an excellent PG-13 or even PG movie, and therefore more accessible, but because of nudity and sex that is completely unnecessary, it gets slapped with an R. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think this movie, while not necessarily a children’s movie would have been great for young adults. Is this typical of French movies?

Singing in the Rain (#77) – I don’t like musicals. There, I said it. This was no exception. This was one of those movies that I kept tuning out (usually when the singing started). I’ve read that this is the best musical out there, but I think that award has to go to the Blues Brothers. Sure, some purists might say the BB isn’t really a comedy, but I once saw it called a “musical comedy” and that’s good enough for me. (And where the hell is the Blues Brothers on this list?)

Casablanca (#9) – Before this endeavor, I’ve never had any desire to see Casablanca because I thought it was just some sappy love story. I was wrong. This is a great movie with a lot of suspense, action, mystery, and yes – love. This movie is so much more than a love story. I’ve seen criticism of Bogart and Bacall’s acting in this movie, but those critics must have been watching something else. I highly recommend this movie to everyone.

The Elephant Man (#90) – How have I not known about this movie? This was a fantastic movie. The black & white really adds to the movie and it’s authenticity. I also like the intentional hiding of the Elephant Man for a significant part of the movie. This is a movie about much more than the man himself. My one complaint about the movie is that it didn’t explore the Dr’s internal conflict more. Then again, maybe it’s better the audience work through that on its own. I highly recommend this one.

UPDATE: I edited this post. I know I usually don't do that but this was bad, even by my standards. Sorry.