Movie #17: Psycho

Movie #: 17
Movie Title: Psycho
Year Released: 1960

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Notable Cast: Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, John McIntire, Janet Leigh

Short Description: A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run, and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: #14
IMDB.com: #29
Ranker.com: #41
Lifed.com: #21
Empire.com: #45
FilmCrave.com: #32
FlickChart.com: #45



Date Watched: 11/19/2016

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
Adjusted Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)

Rationale: Even though I knew the identity of the killer was **spoiler for a 56-year-old movie** Norman Bates well before I watched Psycho for the first time, I still had my doubts about if I was right or somehow mistaken. That's how good of a twist the ending is and how solid the setup up to that point is. I was surprised that Marion Crane was killed off just before the halfway point of the movie because it's not super common for a main character to die that early, but thankfully the last hour made good use of her death in building towards the conclusion. Anthony Perkins was particularly good as Norman with his wholesome, dutiful son act and liar trying to avoid and climb out of holes he dug act.

Movie #18: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Movie #: 18
Movie Title: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Year Released: 2001

Director: Peter Jackson
Notable Cast: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, Sean Bean, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis

Short Description: A meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle Earth from the Dark Lord Sauron. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: #50
IMDB.com: #13
Ranker.com: #36
Lifed.com: #44
Empire.com: #24
FilmCrave.com: #8
FlickChart.com: #59



Date Watched: 11/19/2016

Grade: 5 out of 5 (Exceptional)

Rationale: In movie history there may not be another film that more perfectly sets up the rest of the movies in a series as well as The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Peter Jackson takes the best parts of J.R.R. Tolkien's opening novel in the trilogy and adapts it with exquisite expertise. The stakes are laid out in a way that makes the quest of the movies seem urgent and important with Sauron and Saruman as clear and very evil bad guys. The lands of the Shire, Rivendell, Moria, and Lothlórien all have real qualities yet are exotic in very unique ways. The relationships between the hobbits and Gandalf are fleshed out well while leaving room for growth in the next entries between Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli. I adore this movie and only wish I hadn't passed on seeing it in theaters after judging it like a book by its cover.

Movie #20: The Matrix

Movie #: 20
Movie Title: The Matrix
Year Released: 1999

Director: Larry and Andy Wachowski
Notable Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Joe Pantoliano

Short Description: A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: #18
Ranker.com: #11
Lifed.com: #40
Empire.com: #39
FilmCrave.com: #9
FlickChart.com: #41



Date Watched: 11/17/2016

Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)

Rationale: Damn Keanu Reeves. The concept and visuals of The Matrix alone make the movie deserve better than 4 out of 5, but Keanu's acting is bad enough that the grade had to be negatively impacted. Good performances by Lawrence Fishburne, Hugo Weaving, and to a point Carrie-Anne Moss weren't enough to carry Reeves either. Moving on, as I mentioned, the concept of The Matrix is fascinating and although it may seem like something that would only exist in a science fiction movie, questioning our own reality doesn't seem out of the question. The use of slow motion and camera angles were masterful and greatly helped bring alive a world where anything is possible if you believe and know it is.

Movie #21: The Silence of the Lambs

Movie #: 21
Movie Title: The Silence of the Lambs
Year Released: 1991

Director: Jonathan Demme
Notable Cast: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine

Short Description: A young F.B.I. cadet must confide in an incarcerated and manipulative killer to receive his help on catching another serial killer who skins his victims. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: #74
IMDB.com: #24
Ranker.com: #14
Lifed.com: #25
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: #12
FlickChart.com: #28



Date Watched: 11/15/2016

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)

Rationale: Unsurprisingly, the cold and calculated Hannibal Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins, steals every scene he's in and, up until the climax when Jodie Foster's Clarice Starling tracks down and confronts the killer "Buffalo Bill", Hannibal's conversations with Clarice are the only reason you need to watch The Silence of the Lambs. Though not scary, Lecter is a character that can easily cause chills. Foster is ok in her role as an FBI trainee in charge of taking down "Buffalo Bill" and Ted Levine is more than adequately creepy as "Buffalo Bill" himself.

Movie #22: Back to the Future

Movie #: 22
Movie Title: Back to the Future
Year Released: 1985

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Notable Cast: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, Thomas F. Wilson

Short Description: Marty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: #48
Ranker.com: #20
Lifed.com: #63
Empire.com: #23
FilmCrave.com: #21
FlickChart.com: #9



Date Watched: 11/14/2016

Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)

Rationale: Arguably there may not be a more fun movie to watch from my list than Back to the Future. Just make sure to check your nerdom at the door first because the complete lack of accurate science is part of the joy. Christopher Lloyd is wonderful as kooky Dr. Emmett Brown and Michael J. Fox's Marty McFly is a character worth rooting for as he attempts to fix the past he accidentally broke and save his existence. Also, the DeLorean is a cool looking car from a time period of mostly boring and/or ugly cars.

Movie #23: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Movie #: 23
Movie Title: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Year Released: 1964

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Notable Cast: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens, Tracy Reed

Short Description: An insane general triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically try to stop. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: #39
IMDB.com: #37
Ranker.com: #55
Lifed.com: #22
Empire.com: #26
FilmCrave.com: #98
FlickChart.com: #19



Date Watched: 11/13/2016

Grade: 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)

Rationale: While the latest Stanley Kubrick movie I watched wasn't bad like 2001: A Space Odyssey or A Clockwork Orange, I don't get why Dr. Strangelove is so well thought of and ranked so high on the top 251 list. The interactions between the President, General Turgidson, the Soviet Ambassador, the Russian Premier, and Dr. Strangelove in the war room were mildly humorous at best and if there was comedy in the rest of the movie I failed to catch it. At this point Kubrick is what I once thought of Quentin Tarantino: highly overrated.

Movie #24: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Movie #: 24
Movie Title: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Year Released: 2003

Director: Peter Jackson
Notable Cast: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, Bernard Hill, Miranda Otto, Karl Urban, David Wenham, John Noble, Ian Holm

Short Description: Gandalf and Aragorn lead the World of Men against Sauron's army to draw his gaze from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom with the One Ring. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: #9
Ranker.com: #24
Lifed.com: #47
Empire.com: #34
FilmCrave.com: #7
FlickChart.com: #79



Date Watched: 11/12/2016

Grade: 5 out of 5 (Exceptional)

Rationale: Wait, Sauron doesn't take the ring from Frodo and plunge Middle Earth into eternal darkness? While the happy ending of The Return of the King doesn't come as a surprise, the journey to that point is still incredible. Peter Jackson somehow manages to increase the scope of The Return of the King compared to The Two Towers without losing any of the focus on the various groups of main characters and each important storyline. Visually, The Return of the King is as good if not better than its predecessors as armies of thousands both on horse and foot needed to be rendered in a believable fashion with CGI while still maintaining a semblance of realism with actual costumes, props, and locations. The final goodbyes may feel super drawn out in the closing minutes, but after 3.5+ hours of just The Return of the King and 11+ hours of the entire trilogy, a few additional minutes can be forgiven.

Movie #25: The Usual Suspects

Movie #: 25
Movie Title: The Usual Suspects
Year Released: 1995

Director: Bryan Singer
Notable Cast: Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Kevin Pollak, Pete Postlethwaite, Kevin Spacey, Suzy Amis, Benicio del Toro, Giancarlo Esposito

Short Description: A sole survivor tells of the twisty events leading up to a horrific gun battle on a boat, which begin when five criminals meet at a seemingly random police lineup. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: #26
Ranker.com: #26
Lifed.com: #24
Empire.com: #61
FilmCrave.com: #29
FlickChart.com: #42



Date Watched: 11/12/2016

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)

Rationale: In my reviews I try to talk in vague terms so as to not spoil films if you wish to see them later. Be warned as I won't be able to do that from this point on with The Usual Suspects. Ok, so just after the scene where the legend of Keyser Söze was introduced I was certain that one of the five thieves was Söze, likely Gabriel Byrne's Dean Keaton. Minutes before Kevin Spacey's Verbal Kint wrapped up his story to Special Agent Kujan in the police station I was (accurately) certain he was Söze. What I didn't expect, and still has me questioning the validity of everything Verbal said, is that he was looking at the bulletin board behind Special Agent Kujan and feeding his story with random names and details off of the board the entire time. Was anything in that story real or did Verbal concoct everything before waltzing out a free but very guilty man? I have no clue and that's what made The Usual Suspects end on such a high note. That, and Kevin Spacey rocks once again.

Recap of Movies #26-50

Adjustments

Movie #: 26
Movie Title: Forrest Gump (1994)
Original Grade: 4.5 out of 5 (Outstanding)
Adjusted Grade: 5 out of 5 (Exceptional)


Movie #: 31
Movie Title: The Shining (1980)
Original Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)
Adjusted Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)


Movie #: 33
Movie Title: Se7en (1995)
Original Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
Adjusted Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)


Movie #: 36
Movie Title: Seven Samurai (1954)
Original Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
Adjusted Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)


Movie #: 50
Movie Title: Gone with the Wind (1939)
Original Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)
Adjusted Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)




My Best to Worst of #26-50

Movie #	Movie Title	My Grade
26	Forrest Gump (1994)	5 out of 5 (Exceptional)
34	Inception (2010)	4.5 out of 5 (Outstanding)
35	Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)	4.5 out of 5 (Outstanding)
46	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)	4.5 out of 5 (Outstanding)
47	Memento (2000)	4 out of 5 (Excellent)
32	Saving Private Ryan (1998)	4 out of 5 (Excellent)
48	Reservoir Dogs (1992)	4 out of 5 (Excellent)
30	12 Angry Men (1957)	4 out of 5 (Excellent)
36	Seven Samurai (1954)	4 out of 5 (Excellent)
31	The Shining (1980)	3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
40	Die Hard (1988)	3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
44	Jaws (1975)	3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
38	It's a Wonderful Life (1946)	3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
42	North by Northwest (1959)	3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
50	Gone with the Wind (1939)	3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
33	Se7en (1995)	3 out of 5 (Good)
28	Alien (1979)	3 out of 5 (Good)
27	Rear Window (1954)	3 out of 5 (Good)
43	City Lights (1931)	3 out of 5 (Good)
39	Raging Bull (1980)	3 out of 5 (Good)
49	Once Upon a Time in the West (1969)	3 out of 5 (Good)
41	Sunset Boulevard (1950)	2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)
37	A Clockwork Orange (1971)	2 out of 5 (Fair)
45	2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)	1.5 out of 5 (Marginal)
29	Vertigo (1958)	1.5 out of 5 (Marginal)

Movie #26: Forrest Gump

Movie #: 26
Movie Title: Forrest Gump
Year Released: 1994

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Notable Cast: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, Sally Field

Short Description: Forrest Gump, while not intelligent, has accidentally been present at many historic moments, but his true love, Jenny Curran, eludes him. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: #76
IMDB.com: #19
Ranker.com: #7
Lifed.com: #42
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: #6
FlickChart.com: #62



Date Watched: 11/12/2016

Grade: 4.5 out of 5 (Outstanding)
Adjusted Grade: 5 out of 5 (Exceptional)

Rationale: If there's any one movie that shows off what an outstanding actor Tom Hanks is, Forrest Gump is it. I absolutely love Hank's portrayal of the titular character with good intentions and a heart of gold despite his cognitive shortcomings and constant detractors. I've also always appreciated how well Gump's story intertwines with events throughout history and that technology in the 90's, while obviously not as good as today's, was advanced enough to put him into old video footage and have historical figures "address" him. What made me reconsider my grade and bump it up to the highest I can give is the scene where Forrest talks to Jenny's grave and lets her know how their son is doing. It's always been a touching scene, but as a father with two young children it made me more emotional than I had been during any previous viewing. A tear or two may or may not have been shed and to me that's a strong indicator of an exceptional movie.

Movie #27: Rear Window

Movie #: 27
Movie Title: Rear Window
Year Released: 1954

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Notable Cast: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter, Raymond Burr

Short Description: A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbours from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: #48
IMDB.com: #28
Ranker.com: #77
Lifed.com: #15
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: #42
FlickChart.com: #10



Date Watched: 11/11/2016

Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)

Rationale: Let me start by saying that Rear Window was quite the improvement on the last James Stewart/Alfred Hitchcock collaboration I watched (Vertigo). I only gave Rear Window a 3 out of 5, though, because I was expecting a twist in the story regarding the suspected murderer and it never happened. All of the main actors and actresses did a fine job building upon the sense of suspense as the story progresses towards a confrontation with the suspected murderer. I just wish it wasn't so black and white that the killer was indeed the killer.

Movie #28: Alien

Movie #: 28
Movie Title: Alien
Year Released: 1979

Director: Ridley Scott
Notable Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto

Short Description: After a space merchant vessel perceives an unknown transmission as distress call, their landing on the source moon finds one of the crew attacked by a mysterious lifeform. Continuing their journey back to Earth with the attacked crew having recovered and the critter deceased, they soon realize that its life cycle has merely begun. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: #39
Ranker.com: #49
Lifed.com: #45
Empire.com: #33
FilmCrave.com: #34
FlickChart.com: #22



Date Watched: 11/10/2016

Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)

Rationale: Alien was fine overall, but I expected I'd be into it more than I was. Once the alien itself started to wreak havoc I was hooked. Up until that point, though, it felt too similar to other scf-fi/horror movies where a group of people blatantly disobey or ignore rules that, little to their knowledge, will put themselves in grave danger with inevitable deaths. Also, I'm not particularly a fan of Sigourney Weaver, but she does an adequate job as main character Ripley.

Movie #29: Vertigo

Movie #: 29
Movie Title: Vertigo
Year Released: 1958

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Notable Cast: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore, Henry Jones

Short Description: A San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: #9
IMDB.com: #49
Ranker.com: #53
Lifed.com: #33
Empire.com: #40
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: #44



Date Watched: 11/9/2016

Grade: 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal)

Rationale: By the time the twist in the story is revealed, three-quarters of a boring movie has gone by and one could be forgiven for not caring about the not-very-surprising twist and easy-to-see-coming conclusion that follows. The fact that Hollywood legend James Stewart is the lead actor and the acclaimed Alfred Hitchcock is the director just isn't enough to help hold interest, either. Vertigo is another unimpressive Hitchcock offering on my list and Stewart has better films to his name that I'd rather watch again.

Movie #30: 12 Angry Men

Movie #: 30
Movie Title: 12 Angry Men
Year Released: 1957

Director: Sidney Lumet
Notable Cast: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, E. G. Marshall, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler, Jack Klugman, Edward Binns, Joseph Sweeney, George Voskovec, Robert Webber

Short Description: A jury holdout attempts to prevent a miscarriage of justice by forcing his colleagues to reconsider the evidence. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: #87
IMDB.com: #6
Ranker.com: #59
Lifed.com: #17
Empire.com: #72
FilmCrave.com: #41
FlickChart.com: #52



Date Watched: 11/5/2016

Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)

Rationale: What I've noticed while watching over 200 movies for this list is that character driven story telling focused around even just a couple of characters can be difficult. What 12 Angry Men does is nothing short of astounding. Each of the 12 jurors has their moment to shine over the length of the film as they take turns adding to the increasingly tense drama of murder trial deliberation. While none of the 12 jurors ends up as a complete character by the end, all 12 walk out of the room as far more complex and interesting characters than when they walked in.