1/22/06--Playoff picks and a controversial list

Just for the record....I'm going with the Carolina Panthers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
I'm not a fan of any of the teams left in the playoffs, so as my judge would say..."I don't have a dog in this fight".

Now then....I picked up a special issue of Total Film magazine   Total Film - Home and enjoyed their thoughts on the 100 Greatest Films of Alltime.  Here's the list, and some of my thoughts on their picks.  Let me know what you think.


  A recent magazine put out by Total Film magazine.   Sort of controversial in my opinion, and I think it will spark a little conversation.  The list includes some movies that I've never even heard of, and I have to say that I'm a huge movie buff, so the fact that I've never heard of it says something--the ones I've never heard of are more along the lines of the classic French stuff from the 50's.   And away we go:   100) Goldfinger
 99) Three Kings
 98) Casablanca
 97) Trainspotting
 96) Stand by Me
 95) The Usual Suspects
 94) Magnolia
 93) Salvador
 92) Back to the Future
 91) Dekalog (1989 film from Poland)
 90) Psycho   Thoughts from the first ten:  I like that Goldfinger was included....I think Casablanca & The Usual Suspects are both rated too low IMO...Stand by Me=great coming-of-age film.   Next 10:
 89) Rio Bravo
 88) Get Carter (original with Michael Caine)
 87) Donnie Darko
 86) Kind Hearts and Coronets
 85) The King of Comedy
 84) Metropolis
 83) The Wizard of Oz
 82) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
 81) The Shining
 80) Day for Night   Thoughts--I like that The Shining is on the list.
Not your ordinary "horror" film.   Next:
 79) The Wicker Man
 78) The Graduate
 77) Lawrence of Arabia
 76) Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind
 75) The Wild Bunch
 74) Raiders of the Lost Ark
 73) Hoop Dreams
 72) The Terminator
 71) North by Northwest
 70) Dawn of the Dead   Notes:  Some great films here, although IMO The Graduate & Close Encounters seem a little dated.
Personally, I always thought T2 was better than the original.  The first one now seems so very "80's".   Next:
 69) Sideways
 68) This is Spinal Tap
 67) L'Atlante (1934 French film)
 66) Seven
 65) 8 1/2
 64) The Conversation
 63) The Matrix
 62) The Night of the Hunter
 61) Halloween
 60) The Outlaw Josey Wales   Notes:  Outlaw Josey Wales is in my own personal top 10...Spinal Tap is one of the greatest parody films ever.  I've heard that most rock bands on tour insist of having the film brought along so it can be played on the tour bus.   Next:
 59) Blue Velvet
 58) Die Hard
 57) Sweet Smell of Success
 56) The Shawshank Redemption
 55) Kiss Me Deadly
 54) Miller's Crossing
 53) The Deer Hunter
 52) Sullivan's Travels
 51) Aliens
 50) It Happened One Night   Notes:  Two of my personal top 10 in this grouping with Shawshank & Deerhunter.  If you're ever looking for one of the great twisted movies of alltime, look no further than Blue Velvet.   Next:
 
 49) Pulp Fiction
 48) Singin in the Rain
 47) Blade Runner
 46) Nashville
 45) Mean Streets
 44) Annie Hall
 43) Heat
 42) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
 41) The Last Picture Show
 40) ET   Notes:  this grouping includes my own choice for my favorite movie of alltime:  Blade Runner.
Pulp Fiction and Heat are both tremendous.
Didn't really enjoy Mean Streets that much, and always felt Annie Hall was overrated.   Next:    39) Monty Python & the Holy Grail
 38) Badlands
 37) Touch of Evil
 36) 2001:  Space Odyssey
 35) A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
 34) The Searchers
 33) Star Wars
 32) Les Enfants Du Paradis
 31) Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
 30) Reservoir Dogs   Notes:  Badlands has always had a reputation of being a film that critics loved.  The Searchers was, IMO, John Wayne's best film.   Next:    29) La Regle Du Jeu
 28) Raging Bull
 27) Some Like it Hot
 26) The Third Man
 25) Sunset Boulevard
 24) Rear Window
 23) The Godfather
 22) Sunrise
 21) Crash
 20) Apocalyspe Now   Notes:  this grouping will surely lead to some controversy.  The Godfather at #23??  Its in my personal top 10 and I think this is way too low.
Iloved Apocalyspe Now, but its no Godfather.   Next:    19) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
 18) All About Eve
 17) Once Upon a Time in the West
 16) The Apartment
 15) Its a Wonderful Life
 14) Taxi Driver
 13) Manhattan
 12) Chinatown
 11) Persona (1966 Sweden)
 10) His Girl Friday   Notes: my main problem with this group is that if you take the list as a whole, then it would mean that they believe that #17 is the best western ever made.  Puh-leeze.  Hello...."Unforgiven"?
I'm happy that Manhattan is rated higher than Annie Hall, but the Woodman's best work was his early stuff (Take the Money & Run, Bananas, Sleeper).  And I just don't buy Texas Chainsaw as the greatest horror film of alltime.  It was really good stuff, don't get me wrong....but I don't see it ranked above the freakin Godfather.   Next:    9) The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
 8) The Empire Strikes Back
 7) Tokyo Story
 6) Citizen Kane
 5) The Godfather Part 2
 4) Fight Club
 3) Jaws
 2) Vertigo   and the number one film of alltime....according to Total Film magazine?  
 1) Goodfellas   Notes:  I don't understand how the magazine can list the Lord of the Rings trilogy all together but seperate the Godfather movies and the Star Wars films.  This grouping had two of my top 10 with the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Jaws.
Thought Goodfellas was a great film...but #1??
Hmm.....   Later,
Jeff