'1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die' Challenge

Have I Seen It Before?: Yes Running Time: 178 minutes Directed By: Sergio Leone Written By: Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Leone Primary Cast: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef Summary: A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery. My Thoughts: I can't possibly think of a more exciting cinematic experience.  From start to finish, I cannot think of single dull moment throughout its three hour running time.  It never fails to ooze of pure love for cinema.  Highly stylized, a billion dollar screenplay, insanely good atmosphere/soundtrack and a great sense of humor; it's just a flawlessly executed film.   The Mexican stand off sequence near the end just might be my favorite moment in cinema.  Does It Belong In The Book?: Oh yes.  One of the most epic, iconic and groundbreaking films of all time.  The king of Spaghetti Westerns and ...

Have I Seen It Before?: Yes Running Time: 110 minutes Directed By: Billy Wilder Written By: Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder Primary Cast: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim Summary: A screenwriter is hired to rework a faded silent film star's script, only to find himself developing a dangerous relationship. My Thoughts: The ultimate Hollywood film noir.  It's a fascinating and endlessly entertaining study on the grit of Hollywood and the effects of being a has-been celebrity.  This thematically reminds me of David Lynch's Mulholland Drive (2001).  No wonder he considers this to be his favorite film.  It's an absolute gothic masterpiece.  It's top tier classic cinema in every way.  I feel very fortunate to have experienced this in theaters. Does It Belong In The Book?: Absolutely.  It's a top tier noir experience.  My Rating: 9/10

Have I Seen It Before?: Yes Running Time: 149 minutes Directed By: Stanley Kubrick Written By: Stanley Kubrick Primary Cast: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester Summary: Humanity finds a mysterious, obviously artificial object buried beneath the Lunar surface and, with the intelligent computer HAL 9000, sets off on a quest. My Thoughts: Oh my, where do I even begin with my favorite film of all time?  It's so epic and massive that it's overwhelming to even write about it.  It's a film that will mean something slightly different to just about everyone who watches it.  Even my interpretation of it changes with time.  I feel that a film that has the power to grow up with a person is the sign of an all time masterwork.  This is just an insane achievement on every level.  How this was made in 1968 is unfathomable.  The filmmaking technique still seems futuristic by todays standards.  There simply isn't another film lik...

Have I Seen It Before?: Yes Running Time: 165 minutes Directed By: Richard Linklater Written By: Richard Linklater Primary Cast: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke Summary: The life of Mason, from early childhood to his arrival at college. My Thoughts: This is one of my all time favorite films.  Truly a special one of a kind cinematic experience that I hold dearly.  This is the kind of film I just love coming back to every few years or so.  It never fails to move me deeply.  It's full of endless warmth, joy, reflection, honesty and depth.  Simply the greatest coming of age film I've ever seen.  It brings me so much joy to know a film this good exists that explores childhood all throughout the 2000's (I'm a few years older than Mason, so I naturally connect with being a child in this time period).  What really struck me on this viewing is how it isn't characters themselves are that makes this film work so well.  I...

Have I Seen It Before?: Yes Running Time: 102 minutes Directed By: Victor Fleming Written By: Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson Primary Cast: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger Summary: Dorothy Gale is swept away from a farm in Kansas to a magical land in Oz in a tornado and embarks on a quest with her new friends to see the Wizard who can help her return home in Kansas and help her friends as well. My Thoughts: This is just a timeless and endlessly magical film.  Everyone has seen or at least heard of it.  This takes me back to plenty of fond childhood memories of watching this with my grandmother, so naturally I have plenty of sentimentality attached with this one.  But it's honestly just a great film at any age.  The music is absolutely catchy and fun, the technicolor is stunning (goodness I bet people were blown away in 1939) and it's just an all around charming film.  Does It Belong In The Book?: Absolutely.  A groundbreaking ...

Forever Changes (1967)

A strong contender for my favorite album of all time.  The places this record takes me are absolutely magical and dreamy.  It's one of the most unique and timeless things I've ever heard, yet it's the perfect counterculture album of 1967.  One of the few albums where I find that every single song makes some kind of special impact on me (a few other examples of albums I feel this way about include R.E.M.'s Murmur (1983) and Miles Davis's In A Silent Way (1969)).  To me, this will always be a life affirming masterpiece. 1. Alone Again Or- ***** The most well known song off the album.  Love its unique Spanish influenced vibe.  Has an excellent soul searching vibe. 2. A House Is Not A Motel- ***** A groovy rocker with some great energy.  Unbelievable that Love could create this much energy with an acoustic set.  It's such a rocker.  Especially in the final minute or so. 3. AndMoreAgain- ***** This one just takes me to a dreamy pl...

Have I Seen It Before?: No Running Time: 96 minutes Directed By: Kenji Mizoguchi Written By: Matsutaro Kawaguchi Primary Cast: Masayuki Mori, Machiko Kyo, Kinuyo Tanaka Summary: A tale of ambition, family, love and war set in the midst of the Japanese Civil Wars of the sixteenth century. My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this one!  Glad I went into it without knowing anything about it.  It's essentially a morality tale on the consequences of choosing greed over family.  The most notable aspect of this film is the excellent cinematography.  It truly gave the film a uniquely mystical air, which really kept me captivated.  Does It Belong In The Book?: Yes.  An excellent morality tale with a magical cinematography approach. My Rating: 8/10

Have I Seen It Before?: No Running Time: 96 minutes Directed By: Dario Argento Written By: Dario Argento Primary Cast: Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno Summary: A witness of an attack, a writer becomes stalked by a serial killer. My Thoughts: I was pretty underwhelmed by this one.  I've absolutely loved the two Dario Argento films I've seen (Deep Red (1975) and Suspiria (1977)).  I felt like this was essentially a much lesser Deep Red.  I really don't have anything to complain about here, it just seems dated now that we have films doing this kind of thing much better.  For a Dario Argento film, I was a bit disappointed by the lack of over the top color schemes and, for the most part, a low key soundtrack (especially coming from Ennio Morricone of all people).  Does It Belong In The Book?: Yes.  The blueprint for the slasher horror genre, although films like Deep Red (1975) and Halloween (1978) greatly improve upon it. ...