Baumer's ridiculous, uninformed, stupid list of MY BEST 105 FILMS EVER , FULL LIST PG 42

[vc2002]

""Jeez you got a big pussy. Jeez you got a big pussy."

[4815162342]

Baumer, you son of a bitch!

[Kalo]

 

34) Goodfellas (1990)

Martin Scorsese

 

"As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster."

 

One of the finest films in history, Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas is a true phenomenon and stands out as the leading film in the gangster movie genre.

The film tells the story of the life of mobster, Henry Hill, portrayed by Ray Liotta, and his and his fellow "wiseguys" Jimmy(Robert De Niro), Tommy(Joe Pesci) and boss Paulie(Paul Sorvino). The casting for the film is absolutely spot on,as every character is played with complete conviction and credibility. Everyone in the film has insecurities and conflicting emotions shown throughout, and whats amazing about these characters is how their personalities lead them into dissolution. 

Despite how disturbing these mobsters are, the maniacal and unpredictable Joe Pesci especially, there is something likable about them, and even as Liotta's character slowly goes from rise to fall into a life of excessive drug abuse, it still feels as if he is the protagonist in the film.

Another actor deserving a mention for a brilliant performance in the film is Lorraine Bracco, who plays Karen, Henry's first wife, from first meeting her character when she goes out with a reluctant Henry, you wouldn't believe throughout all the troubles she sticks by Henry and eventually succumbs to his lifestyle, as quoted "it turns her on".

 

The sense of family in the mob is ever present in the film, with Paulie acting as a father figure for Henry, who is inspired by Jimmy and Tommy, and the three embark down a violent road of crime, from robberies to murder, meanwhile getting married and having children.

The screenplay for the movie, based on Nicolas Pileggi's book "Wiseguy" is completely flawless, gripping and intense throughout, keeping the audience fixated on how the characters are going to respond or take action next.

This was Marty's best film....until.....

 

Trivia:  

 

The "You think I'm funny?" scene was based on a story that Joe Pesci acted out forMartin Scorsese. While working in a restaurant as a young man, Pesci once told a mobster that he was funny and the mobster became very angry. Scorsese allowed Pesci and Ray Liotta to improvise the scene. He did not tell the other actors in the scene what would happen because he wanted their genuine surprised reactions.

According to the real Henry Hill, whose life was the basis for the book and film, Joe Pesci's portrayal of Tommy DeSimone was 90% to 99% accurate, with one notable exception; the real Tommy DeSimone was a massively built, strapping man.

Director Martin Scorsese's mother, Catherine Scorsese, plays Tommy's mother. She and the cast ad-libbed the dinner scene. Scorsese's father, Charles Scorsese, plays the prisoner who puts too many onions in the tomato sauce.

 

and yet you call the Godfather Overrated   .. 

[baumer]

33) The Mothman Prophecies (2002)

Mark Pellington 

 

 This film hit me like a sledgehammer when I first saw it.  I couldn't stop thinking about it.  It's one of the most brilliant films I've seen and my review of it is long, but worth reading. 

 

 

Some people, perhaps most people go through life not really wondering about much. They go to work, punch the clock and then go home and do it all again the next day. But what about the ostensibly small percentage of people that seem to think, like Neo from the Matrix did, that there is just something not quite right with the world we inhabit? These people have a slightly askewed perspective of what is right, what is wrong and how it all comes together. These are the people that are always asking why? Why does something happen and in the greater scheme of things, how does it all matter? Is there really a reason for everything or do some things just happen....because?

The Mothman Prophecies is a riveting story about how some people seem just slightly ahead of the rest of us. It is a story of trusting your feelings and not going mad or getting committed in the process. And finally it is one of the scariest films I have ever seen. Make no mistake about that.

 

Based on true events.

I read an article that stated that this is a film that Hollywood actually had to tone down. In most cases, when film makers get a hold of material, they have to beef it up to make it more palpable for an audience. But this is just the opposite. Mark Pellington had to simmer some of the events in the film because he felt that if they actually filmed what was purportedly claimed, the audience would not believe the absurdity those events. If that is the case, it frightens me to think what was left out because as it stands, this film is on the brink of utter temerity. There is a head first slide into the bizarre and the film never fails to literally chill your bones. No film that I can think of, and that includes my favourites like Jaws, Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street, has made me feel as helpless, insignificant or as small as this film does.

 

Richard Gere plays John Klein, which one can only assume is really a character based on the novelist John A. Keel, who wrote about the events the film is based on. He is a Washington Post reporter who has just bought a new house with his wife, whom he loves very much. After a horrible car accident, his wife is hospitalized and just before she dies, she draws numerous pictures of what can only be described as an evil looking moth like creature, or perhaps even the Angel of Death. She begs the question to John, "You didn't see it did you?" Which begs the question to us, why not?

Soon after, John ends up in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and has no recollection of arriving there. Here he meets Sgt. Connie Parker, played by Laura Linney and Gordon and Denise Smallwood, two of the locals. Soon after he arrives, strange things begin to happen and shortly he and Connie become entangled in an imbroglio with mysterious implications. Many of the locals claim they have seen something similar to what John's wife drew just before her death. And Gordon, played with pure twilight zonesque manerisms by Will Patton, seems to be the most affected by this phenomenon. He begins to hear voices, predicts future disasters, and finally claims to have met a mysterious figure. All the while Klein begins to see and hear unexplainable things. And here in, in my opinion, lies the key to the film.

Mark Pellington, John A. Keel and screenwriter Richard Hatem, seem to explore the subliminal irrational workings of the unknown. There are too many subtle, yet distinct elements that show up in the film. But they are not at the surface, they are just beneath. They're in front of our eyes the whole time, but only if you look hard enough. Much of this film deals with paranormal activities and the paranoid revelations of the people in one town. But it doesn't stop there. Klein is from a town six hours away and eventually he seeks the opinion of a man in Chicago who wrote a book that claims he felt the same things. So there are people that have experienced these unexplainable phenoms all over the country. And this is where the film goes off into a level that I have never seen before.

In order for people to have seen this figure or to be able to comprehend it, the film suggests that there has to be an open mind. As an old proverb once said, "the mind is like a parachute, it only works if you open it." Klein seems to have his eyes and mind wide open after his wife's death. He hasn't quite let go of her and this somehow enables him to communicate with whatever it is that is out there. There are times when whatever it is seems ripe with duplicity but more times than not, whatever this figure says, what he predicts, what he prophecises, it comes true. Klein's wife's death marks the nascency of his exploration into the abnormal.

The theory of the unknown is what is dissected in such infintismal but succinct ways, that on a first viewing, you may not recognize them. We hear stories about people being committed to psyche hospitals because of their failed attempted interpretations. We hear of people that claim they are being watched by a higher being, but feeling this is not really God-like and not really evil. It is just an entity. We see people predict future disasters, we see dreams that prophecize death. And all the while, these people are looked upon as being pariahs. It is much easier to get up, go to work and watch television than it is to think and perhaps accept the fact that there is something just beyond our control that lurks in murky places in our minds. There is even further sublime evidence that the director and writers feel this way. There are constant anomalous images filmed with an ethereal glance. These are images that we now take for granted without batting an eyelash. Things like phones, televisions, pictures and electricity are all given to us in metaphoric and literal glimpses. The creators of this film seem to be telling us that if we can believe in the use of technology, technology like capturing a moment in time on a piece of paper or if we can receive someone's voice transmitting hours away through a few cords and wires, then why is it preposterously inconceivable that Dark Angels or Mothmen really do exist? Perhaps, like the film tells us, they only exist to those of us that can open our stagnant minds a little more than the next person.

More times than can be counted, horror films insult us with loud computer generated noises and blood that seeps from the walls and CG monsters that chase characters that no one cares about. It is easier to make a horror movie like the modern version of the Haunting or the modern version of 13 Ghosts. Those are paint by number horror flicks that require no thought and no effort. But when you get a master like Shyamalan and now Pellington, creators that are intransigent in their beliefs and vision, it creates pictures that not only scare you to your very soul, they create pictures that open your eyes and minds to whole other possibilities. Mark Pellington has now proven to me that he is a master. Arlington Road was a surprising film that left you paralyzed with fear and your mind spewing questions long after the curtains came up. The Mothman Prophecies (especially for horror fans) will invoke discussions long after the lights come on. I realize this review may be a little long but this is the tip of the iceberg when it comes all that can be discussed in the film. There is a whole other religious element to the movie that hasn't even been explored. For instance, notice that both major events in the film happen on Christmas Eve. Why?

 

One final note to critics that lambaste this film for all of it's so called short comings. True, this film does not offer an explanation or a true conclusion to what took place. But isn't that just the perfect note for it to end on? According to the prophet-like character, Alexander Leek, you are not supposed to understand this phenom. He tells Klein that you will go mad trying to figure it out. This is the only way to end the film. In a lesser film with an inferior director and writer, this film would have culminated with Klein and Connie finding some ancient manuscript in the basement of the library that tells them how to destroy it. They would have went to hallowed ground and summoned it and gotten rid of it. But this is not the tenth sequel of Friday the 13th and this certainly isn't ( with all due respect to Miner and Cunningham) Steve Miner and Sean Cunningham. This is an astute director teamed with a cunning and observant writer who believe in the pulchritude and darkness of the story and give it the respect that it deserves. This is not only one of the best horror films I have ever seen, it is one of the best films I have experienced in my 30 years. This is the pinnacle of film making from all parties involved.

***One final note. I just wanted to give special mention to the entire sound crew who did such a brilliant job with this film. Pellington and Hatem collaborated beautifully to give me one of the most harrowing experiences I have been privy to in a theater, but the film would not have been quite as pulse pounding if it weren't for the sound team. Kelly Cabral, Pud Cusack, Claude Letessier, David Parker, Ross Simpson and Mark Jan Wlodarkiewicz working with musical composers Tom Hajdu, Andy Milburn and Jeff Rona created some of the creepiest sounds and musical overtures in quite some time. When you think of great music and sounds from the horror genre, you think of Carpenter's eerie piano piece from Halloween, Charles Bernstein's dream-like haunting score from Nightmare On Elm Street and John Williams ominous cello from Jaws. This is on par with all of those. And even though this team of musicians may never know it, your work is appreciated by all of who love horror films. Thanks.

 

Trivia:  The film is based on actual events that occurred between November 1966 and December 1967 in Point Pleasant, West Virginia.

 

The studio cut $2 million out of the film's budget just days before shooting began. Director Mark Pellington was furious, having vowed not to make the same concessions that plagued his previous film Arlington Road (1999).

Edited March 5, 2015 by baumer

[Kalo]

I'm not sure I even heard of that movie.. it sounds really interesting though.

[baumer]

32) The Breakfast Club (1985)

John Hughes

 

 

I can only assume times have changed since I went to high school in the 80's.  I have no idea if the youth of today will relate to this film but when I first saw it, I recognized every one of the characters in the film.  I went to school with the jock, the nerd, the basket case, the princess and the criminal.  In some ways, I was every one of those characters.  And that was kind of the point of the film.  We're all going through a journey, all of us.  We're all fighting with ourselves to be a better person and that's fine.  But you have to be careful who you step on, make fun of, degrade, berate, make fun of and ridicule as you don't know the effects you have on someone else.  The Breakfast Club explores teen age social issues better than any film before it and better than any film after it.  

 

 

I've added some very long reviews in the last few.  I'll leave this one short.  This is a classic film and one that should be seen by all.

 

Trivia:  John Hughes almost fired Judd Nelson because of his negative attitude towards Molly Ringwald off camera. Paul Gleason convinced Hughes that Nelson was a great actor and was merely trying to stay in character.

 

John Hughes wrote the screenplay to this movie in just two days (4 and 5 July 1982).

 

Judd Nelson made up many of the terms used in the movie, including 'Neo-Maxi Zoomdweebie'.

 

John Cusack auditioned several times for John Bender, even travelling between Chicago and Los Angeles before being cast. But director John Hughes went in a different direction and dropped Cusack in favor of Judd Nelson, which was heavily influenced by the casting director.

[baumer]

I'm not sure I even heard of that movie.. it sounds really interesting though.

 

Find it.  Not sure if it will effect you the way it did me but it's an outstanding film.

[baumer]

and yet you call the Godfather Overrated   .. 

 

Goodfellas makes Godfather look pedestrian.

[Kalo]

Breakfast Club   I was homeschooled. in the 90s and 00s. and I could related to it.

[The Stingray]

Predator at #35??

 

What happened to you, baumer? You used to be someone I could trust.

[baumer]

31) Schindler's List (1993)

Steven Spielberg

 

 

 

Few movies really stay with me for years and years, but this one does. I think it will leave an impact on anybody, for that matter. Both the cruelty of the Nazis as well as the grotesque Holocaust are very realistic in this movie, and a lot of the scenes are very difficult to watch. The film makes you see the Holocuast through the eyes of someone you can relate to, which makes it feel like more than just a movie. Much has been made of the little girl in red walking alone in a ghetto, who we later see dead in a pile of corpses. This is a moment you will remember for the rest of your life. In a lot of other movies, you can comfort yourself by reassuring your mind that the violence is only fiction, but in Schindler's List you are forced to face the brutal fact that this actually happened. So why even watch this? Because Spielberg makes it worth seeing.  The Holocaust is one of darkest chapters in our history.  IMO, a master story teller like Spielberg really had to tell this story.The famous scene (unfortunately Seinfeld made it even more famous) where Schindler is lamenting that he could have done more to save one more...is almost a direct quote on the poster.  This is not just a film, but an experience. 

 

 

Trivia:

 

The Krakow ghetto "liquidation" scene was only a page of action in the script, butSteven Spielberg turned it into 20 pages and 20 minutes of screen action "based on living witness testimony". For example, the scene in which the young man escapes capture by German soldiers by telling them he was ordered to clear the luggage from the street was taken directly from a survivor's story.

Steven Spielberg was not paid for this film. He refused to accept a salary, citing that it would be "blood money". Instead, he gave the money to the Shoah Foundation.

Steven Spielberg offered the job of director to Roman Polanski. Polanski turned it down because the subject was too personal. He had lived in the Krakow ghetto until the age of 8, when he escaped on the day of the liquidation. His mother later died at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Polanski would later direct his own film about the Holocaust, The Pianist (2002).

[baumer]

Predator at #35??

 

What happened to you, baumer? You used to be someone I could trust.

 

I woke up.  Why don't you?  Predator is an asset...an expendable asset, and I used it to get the countdown done...got it!?

[Kalo]

Star Wars and Lord of the Rings are on this list right?

[baumer]

Star Wars and Lord of the Rings are on this list right?

 

[Plain Old Tele]

MOTHMAN PROPHESIES is definitely worth seeing. I think it kinda falls apart in the end, but it's really creepy and unsettling for the most part.

Edited March 5, 2015 by Telemachos

[baumer]

Has anyone seen or even heard of Mothman?  

[baumer]

MOTHMAN PROPHESY is definitely worth seeing. I think it kinda falls apart in the end, but it's really creepy and unsettling for the most part.

 

I'm so glad you have seen it.  

 

Obviously I disagree with you about the end, but I'm glad you have positive things to say about it otherwise.

[baumer]

Star Wars and Lord of the Rings are on this list right?

 

Are they foreign films?

[Plain Old Tele]

People like to compare GODFATHER and GOODFELLAS, and that's understandable, but what's interesting is that they're focusing on different tiers in the overall Mafia structure. GODFATHER is concerned with people at the very top, the leaders of the families. GOODFELLAS is more about the mid-tier guys who ultimate answer to others.

And, for another comparison, DONNIE BRASCO is about the low-level lieutenants.

[Plain Old Tele]

I'm so glad you have seen it.

Obviously I disagree with you about the end, but I'm glad you have positive things to say about it otherwise.

Oh yeah, it's a good movie. Definitely entertaining and worth seeking out. And IMO the ending was only a disappointment because the rest of the film was so strong. It's been awhile since I've seen it, though.