Monday, June 21, 2010

Dirty Dozen Blogfest


I’m taking part in the June 21st Blogfest. It is sponsered by Alex J. Cavanaugh. The theme is my favorite dozen movies. It is impossible to pare the list down to a mere 12. In no particular order, here goes…

Godfather Part 2
It’s not very common that the second movie in a series is better than the first. But that is truly the case with this movie. I don’t have to say anything about it, because everybody has seen it.

Godfather
This movie not only made me want to be Italian, it made me want to be a gangster.

Shawshank Redemption
Without Morgan Freeman it only would have been a great movie. With him, it was an incredible movie. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched it.

Pulp Fiction
I pretty much love all Tarantino flicks, this one is no exception. The dialogue is some of the best ever.

The Dark Knight
Heath Ledger as the Joker, was one of the best performances EVER…

Goodfellas
The long unbroken scene when Ray Liotta and Lorraine Bracco walk into the back door of the “Copacabana” restaurant, go through the kitchen and all the way out to the night club in front, went 184 seconds in one continuous shot. IT WAS AMAZING… The coordination of that must have been a nightmare. The actors and roles they played were fantastic. Robert DeNiro was great (for a change).

Silence of the Lambs
Talk about a psychological thriller! An amazing edge of your seat movie.

Apocalypse Now
Realistic? Not at all! But it didn’t matter.

Forrest Gump
Great storyline and incredible job by Tom Hanks. “There’s my boat!”

Full Metal Jacket
The first 35 minutes is the most realistic and hilarious portrayal of Marine Corps Boot Camp ever done. The rest of the movie was average. Most people don’t care that much about it, but it’s my list!

Fargo
The script was amazing and the offbeat actors in the movie made it run like a Swiss watch.

The Big Lebowski
You knew this had to be in here somewhere, right? If you haven’t seen it, you really should.  Know in advance, that when it gets weird, he's not dreaming, he's having acid flashbacks. Okay?

Seriously, I could go on for at least another 75-100 movies. But that is not the task at hand. I don’t apologize for my list. It's maybe not a list of the "best" movies ever made, but this isn't about that, it's about me! 

34 comments:

  1. I'm with you on Shawshank, Silence, and Gump. I'm not as familiar with the others, but have watched those three on numerous occasions and love them. Especially Shawshank!

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  2. I've seen forrest gump and shawshank redemption, but none of the others.... So don't go assuming you don't need to go into detail about the godfather.... You do.

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  3. When you have to cut the list down to 12 you liked more, you just mention the first 12 that come to mind. And then when you look at the list again.. you might want to add another twelve. And so on.
    There are so many worth mentioning.
    But I would agree with those you mention here.
    Have a great day Patrick.
    Costas

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  4. Most definitely the Godfather saga.

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  5. Made you want to be Sicilian not Italian. We Sicilians take that very seriously, lol.

    All good picks, but I have to say I have never understood why people like The Big Lebowksi. Maybe I need to watch it again considering it has been about 6 years.

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  6. I'm a shawshank fan too! And Pulp F almost made the cut, but not quite. Great picks!

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  7. Great list. I would add all of those to mine except apocalypse now, I haven't seen it yet. It's Heath ledger, not Keith. Just thought I would point that out. Ishould of put the dude on my list. Dammit.

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  8. I'm with you on (almost) all of them! Full Metal Jacket is like one of the best war movies ever, it's just so clever, and good. Cool list :D

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  9. Great picks!

    I love most of those movies as well...but I would probably have some girly movies in my top list.

    What, I'm a girl.

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  10. I could never choose just twelve of my favourite movies. All of Heath Ledger movies has to be there, and classics like "Wuthering Heights" and "Rebecca", but "Shawshank" and "Saving Private Ryan" is up there too, along with a handful of Horrors too.
    This would be a good challenge!

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  11. This was a great list. Forrest Gump was one of my favorite movies of all time.

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  12. Some good choices here, sir! I'm going to go against the grain and say I think Godfather is better than part 2. So ner.

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  13. A lot of these are on mine as well!!
    My all time fav. is Forrest Gump.
    I laughed out loud when I read: "there's my boat". ahahahaha
    Thanks for the laugh today :)

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  14. Pretty cool.. I agree with 10 out of 12..smart minds do what?

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  15. That scene in Goodfellas is one of my favourites. I often wonder how many people actually notice that it is unbroken.
    In the Silence of the Lambs, there is a similar scene that always makes me go "Wow, what if they had messed that up?" It's the scene where the new agents are graduating and they zoom in on this cake with an intricate FBI logo on it. The scene shows someone slicing into the cake perfectly and I always wonder, "What if they messed that shot up and they had to get a new cake?" OK, so maybe it's not the same thing - I notice weird details like that. (Have you ever seen the Stormtropper that runs into a wall and then falls out of view in StarWars?) - G

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  16. Apocalypse now probally wouldn't make my list, but I enjoy those Coen brothers!

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  17. I like alot of the same movies, Pat... I would have thought The Usual Suspects would have been on your list....
    Betsy

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  18. Great batch of movies. Shawshank... I keep expecting to get tired of the movie with as many viewings as I've had over the years, but it's always good.

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  19. LOVED Shawshank Redemption....and thanks to you, have added The Big Lebowski as a "must see again" to my list.

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  20. Ms A - I agree, I've seen Shawshank many times.

    Ashley - I thought of you when I said "there's my boat!"

    Costas - It is really impossible to cut it down.

    Faye - Yep, I loved them so much.

    Jump_Raven - Sicilian! You are so right. In TBL, to me, Jeff Bridges character "The Dude" is one of my all time favorite roles and acting jobs. If there ever was a 60's burnout, it was him...

    TAA - I honestly could have substituted several others also...

    PTM - Keith? geez...I guess I should be proofing what I write every once in a while. Thanks, I changed it. It's okay "the Dude abides."

    xen - I agree, I especially like the boot camp porition.

    Cara - thanks!

    Alice - I agree! I was shocked at how good Heath Ledger was a the Joker. Private Ryan...DARN IT...See, it's just too hard to limit the list to 12.

    Mr. Stupid - Thanks! I agree on FG.

    TUM - Those two movies could go either way. I love them both...

    Penny - My pleasure and thanks!

    Lynne H - They "think alike!" Which two didn't you like?

    baygirl - oh yeah, the bros make awesome movies...

    Georgina - I didn't see that stormtrooper scene. I remember seeing Titanic when it came out and was almost yelling in the theater, "look at the camera reflection in the door!!!"

    Betsy - "The Usual Suspects" easily could have been there. If I was asked to name 50 or so, it would have been. It was just too hard to remember them all.

    TS - I'm right there with you on Shawshank...

    Marlene - Me too. You better get to steppin' and see TBL!!!

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  21. All of the movies are on the list that I'm going to review LOL. I was surprised I liked Goodfellas so much.

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  22. Excellent choices-- I'd watch them all. Can you believe I still have never seen any of the Godfather movies? I do plan to watch them all someday-- even III.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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  23. Minoccio - That's great! I'll be looking forward to your reviews...

    Arlee bird - Thanks! You can live without III, but the first two for sure!

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  24. and i know you totally were talking about me and my feet when you said that.... thanks.... a lot.

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  25. i forgot i saw silence of the lambs.... all i can remember from that movie was when the guy did the "fruit cup" thing and was dancing in front of the mirror. ew. boundaries. sorry.

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  26. Sorry, almost missed your picks. Big Lebowski was hilarious.
    Really awesome list!

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  27. Ashley - You are correct my dear! It was your tiny little feet I had in mind...

    Alex - My likes are all over the place, so thanks!

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  28. Pat, everyone of yours could have made my list. Stopping at twelve (which I really didn't) was a cruel thing. I didn't realize it though until I started listing movies. Great list, Dude!

    http://www.apackalipsnow.blogspot.com

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  29. EVERYONE--is on my list.

    Great choices.


    and THE BIG CHILL!

    John

    I cannot NOT watch Pulp Fiction or the Kill Bill's, or George Clooney's and Quentin in the Vampire Movie...without watching them wherever I catch them!

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  30. A nice manly set of films if I ever saw one. I forgot about the Dark Knight, such an awesome movie. If I considered Batman to be a superhero, it would be the best superhero movie made to date.

    I've still not seen any of the Godfather movies, or any gangster movies at all for that matter (with the exception of the Guy Ritchie Brit-gangster flicks). I really need some schooling in that area.

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  31. A very interesting list! I can't really argue with any of them although I don't know how many would make my top 12. I need to see Goodfellas again. It's been years and years...

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  32. Holy Moley you get the comments now. I feel so little. Many of those would be on my list too. I can watch the first part of 'Full Metal Jacket' anytime. It's just brilliant.

    Oh and 'Silence of the Lambs'? He escaped because someone overlooked a PAPERCLIP!!!!! Soon he takes off a guy's FACE that helped him escape. I just filled my diaper again.

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  33. Can't you please post 12 more? It would be fun to see more of your list, and this certainly has sparked great discussion!

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  34. Chuck - Great minds think alike! I thought it was good that you added a few more.

    John - I know what you're saying. There are some movies that I watch everytime I see them. even if it's in the middle.

    Jamie - I'm kind of the opposite. It seems like I really like gangster movies and see them all.

    Megan - Yeah, I think a top 50 would be better (and easier).

    Cal - I totally agree. the first half hour of "FMJ" is just awesome. R. Lee Ermey's performance was worthy of an Oscar!

    Brenda - I just might! Thanks...

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