The Inconsistent Writer

CITIZEN KANE (1941) As we finally pull into the station after this 60 day trek, I arrive at one of the most fascinating motion pictures ever put on screen - Citizen Kane . This was the one and only time that Orson Welles had full control over a studio picture - and it was his first film! The thought that went into each and every shot, every frame still astounds me. The vision that Welles possessed was revolutionary back in 1941 and it still amazes, as well as inspires me today. Brilliant motion picture and worthy of holding any and all top spots on anyone's list.

THE GODFATHER (1972) While everyone that loves movies has a favorite decade of film, I'm no different. The 1950s & 1960s brought great studio productions via post WWII. But the 1970s brought the Hollywood Studio system to its knees with a new generation of filmmakers who made extremely personal films and made it a visible art form for the entire nation to see. It also portrayed the world with gritty realism & violence that shocked its viewers with its honesty. Studios handed over the reigns to fledging film students who studied the craft and brought their own interpretation along with it. The 1970s brought to light such filmmakers as Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, William Friedkin, and Francis Ford Coppola - whose little film here called The Godfather - pulled Paramount Pictures out of financial trouble and became one of the biggest blockbusters of the decade (until Jaws and Star Wars hit theaters, that is). It also changed how we looked at organ

SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE (1978) Listen to the clip below and tell me that it doesn't give you chills. Best. Score. Ever. ( My only double-dip! )

PREDATOR (1987) I was going to pick Die Hard , which truly is my favorite action movie, but since I chose this already in the first 30 days - along with James now picking it as his favorite action movie - then this fits perfectly into position number two. I do find it funny that my top 2 favorite action films were directed by John McTiernan; it's somewhat coincidental, but interesting nonetheless. Besides, I feel better getting at least one Arnold Schwarzenegger movie in here!

ALIEN (1979) It's like Day 55/56 are paired together in a double feature. Alien is just as much science fiction as it is horror and very scary. While Halloween used to be my favorite horror movie, I think Alien took its place a while back but just forgot to tell me.

ALIENS (1986) James Cameron took a very successful film and made a sequel that was just as good, if not better by combining Sci-Fi, horror & action. If Alien was a haunted house film, Aliens became a roller coaster film. Still one of my favorites after all these years. I still have a soft spot Cameron's films still to this day.

THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998) One of the greatest comedies ever. Period. Need I say more? No.

L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (1997) I'm kind of at a loss for words today. Not for any other reason than it just shows how ignorant I can be sometimes. Searching for images of this film to put in this photo album for today, I came to the realization that L.A. Confidential is also the name of a particular strain of marijuana. This has nothing to do with how brilliant this film is, but I thought you should know what's tripped me up this morning. Enjoy!

CHINATOWN (1974) Chinatown has long been considered one of the greatest screenplays ever written. Robert Towne has yet to create anything better or at least equal to this masterpiece. It's a gritty noir with a tough-yet-flawed detective who has to dig his way around murder, lies, real estate ventures, and incest. The elements are so deeply-layered and inter-woven that it took me several viewings to finally piece all of its brilliance together.

SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993) Steven Spielberg's drama of Oskar Schindler and his purchase of 1200 Jews during WWII is the epitome of his directing abilities. To be such a captivating storyteller and an amazing visual artist, this film is unbelievably difficult to watch. I personally know people who won't watch this film on the knowledge of how hauntingly honest it is. No one could capture how truly lifeless a body became once their spirit left after being executed. This film, as hard as it is to watch, is still brilliant today - watching a master at work at what he could put on screen to tell this amazing and heartbreaking story.

JFK (1991) Anyone who's seen this film (even if they don't care for it) knows the massive amount of information that's shoved down your throat about conspiracy theories and second gunmen. However, there's so much information, that it would be impossible grasp everything if it hadn't been for such brilliant editing. The director's cut is 206 minutes long yet it's still engaging from beginning to end and that has everything to do with the master pacing that Joe Hutshing & Pietro Scalia set. They also won the well-deserved Oscar that year for this film.

A SERIOUS MAN (2009) Any film that combines the brilliant talents of the Coen Brothers and Roger Deakins is going to produce beautiful images. For some reason, this film stands out as my favorite of Deakin's work. The man's had 9 Academy Award Nominations, yet no wins as of yet (he wasn't even nominated for this movie). One of my favorite cinematographers, his use of light and shadow to create such beautiful images astounds me every time.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY I know I'm picking 3 films instead of one, but in all honesty, it's just three parts of one really long movie. When defining and explaining this to someone earlier, I decided that I was going to lean towards the Art Direction/Production Design that had to create a new world rather than recreating time from the past. These films were amazing and were finally recognized by the Academy with The Return of the King along with winning every other category it was nominated for that year.

RAN (1985) Influenced by Shakespeare's King Lear , Kurosawa loosely adapted it into his final epic. Kurosawa's use of color is amazing with the costumes in this film and it can be seen throughout the picture. The film had 1,400 extras, all who needed uniforms and suits of armor. It took over two years to produce all of the costumes, which were completely hand-made.

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE (2009) I'm not going to sit here and nitpick this movie because I honestly like the series. This was a hard category today, because I don't read a lot (I do read considerably more recreationally than I did when I was younger). When Lisa and I walked out of the theater after seeing this film I felt like the movie spent 2 1/2 hours running around in circles. For a movie this long there should have been more. They reduced and simplified the plot so much. It also had serious pacing issues. That's when I was encouraged to read the books. I've read the series twice now in that time I still feel that they missed the mark with this adaptation. They left out so much, especially with Voldemort's history and back-story, and I didn't feel that the relationship struggles with Hermoine and Ron didn't need SO MUCH screen time. I don't dislike this movie per se, but as a faithful adaptation, it was seriously lacking.

THE SANDLOT (1993) By far one of the best kid movies that's been made in the past 20 years. It's a great summer movie, baseball movie and it's hilarious. I never had as many friends as Smalls had made in the summer of 1962, but every time I watch this movie, it transports be back to my summers in Moorpark, CA playing with friends until the sun went down. There's nothing better than a film that evokes strong memories, especially good ones. This movie definitely makes me want to be a kid again. "I've been coming here every summer of my adult life, and every summer there she is oiling and lotioning, lotioning and oiling... smiling. I can't take this no more!"

WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (1988) I almost went in a different direction but glad I thought of this film last night. This film skillfully, ingeniously, and seamlessly combined live action with animation. You can't deny that this isn't an animated feature and it was all done without CGI.  Roger Rabbit has a fantastic script, with great humor along with a perfectly placed murder mystery all in the middle. I loved it as a kid and I still love it to this day... and I have yet to see another film like it since. Roger Rabbit : "Yeah. Check the probate. Why, my Uncle Thumper had a problem with HIS probate, and he had to take these big pills, and drink lots of water." Eddie Valiant : "Not prostate, you idiot, PROBATE!" (With an estimated production budget of $70 million at the time of its release, Who Framed Roger Rabbit was the most expensive film produced in the 1980s and had the longest on-screen credits for a film.)

THE KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS (2007) This category was difficult. There's always too many political or social commentary documentaries out there, along with the really good behind-the-scenes filmmaking ones as well. I chose King of Kong because it was neither. It just follows an ordinary guy, Steve Wiebe, as he attempts to beat the world record high score of Donkey Kong from reigning champ Billy Mitchell. Apparently Donkey Kong -- according to most critics and experts -- is one of the most difficult arcade games ever created. This film puts you in Steve Wiebe's shoes, as you tag along on his journey as the underdog in the competitive world of classic arcade game rivalry that still exists today. "I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do drugs. I play video games, which I think is a far superior addiction to any of those other ones."

A FEW GOOD MEN (1992) I almost picked 12 Angry Men until I realized that it had been a teleplay first, film second and then adapted into a play. A Few Good Men represents one Rob Reiner's best dramas, adapted from Aaron Sorkin's play of the same name. It's a personal favorite of mine, with Sorkin's dialog just practically brilliant in every scene.

SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE (1978) Even though I've read more Batman, this movie still hits me square in the gut, relating to me on a more personal level (especially as a child) and its faithful adaptation to the source material. Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve created the mold that was nearly invincible for 30 years until Christopher Nolan decided that he wanted to bring Batman back to the big screen. It is still, in my opinion, the best superhero movie put on film.

BRICK (2005) I think this was a hard film for the general viewing public to want to watch. Brick was a film festival darling and because of it, it never reached many theaters. And that's too bad, because it's amazing. Rian Johnson successfully combined Shakespeare and 1940s Noir to create one hell of a high school pulp murder mystery. All I know is that we never spoke like this at my high school... and it may take more than one viewing to completely grasp everything that's going on. "Throw one at me if you want, hash head. I've got all five senses and I slept last night, that puts me six up on the lot of you."

MOONRAKER (1979) I loved this movie when I was a kid. Then I grew up and watched it again. It hasn't aged well and I've discovered that studios will do anything to help promote James Bond to whatever is popular at that time. Science Fiction was big coming out of the 1970s so why not James Bond in... space? Yeah, not such a great idea after all.