December Film Festival

Just as a refresher, back at the beginning of the month I decided to work my way up the AFI 100 Years, 100 Movies lists (both editions), watching about five classic movies a month until I reach what should be the best movie of all time.  Well, now it’s the end of the month, and I’ve made it through the first five.  Things went remarkably well, actually, and I saw all that I had planned to.  Here are my thoughts on the first five, ranked from worst to best.

5) Unforgiven (1992) – I had already seen this, since it was given as part of a 2-pack of DVDs for a Christmas present one year.  Neither Stacia nor I liked it at all, but then I had to go and start this new list, so I had to watch it again.  Not a lot better the second time.  First, it’s a Western, which I don’t usually love, but I probably could have gotten over that.  What I couldn’t get over was how long and boring it felt, with the same things repeated over and over again.  I get that it was made to be the kind-of anti-Western, showing that it wasn’t all gunfights and excitement, but by about halfway through you are willing Clint Eastwood on to get to Big Whiskey (no joke) and start killing bad guys already.  On the plus side, some of the wild west scenery was pretty and well-photographed.  Also, there’s the possibility of a fun drinking game, taking a drink every time Clint Eastwood says, “I ain’t like that no more.”  But aside from that, I probably would never watch this again.

4) Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) – To be fair, I didn’t see this all the way through, thanks to the crappy condition of the Clive Library’s copy, and the fact that they are the only metro library to hold this movie.  What I did see seemed okay, but not spectacular.  It’s a biopic of George M. Cohan, who apparently was some sort of singing, dancing, acting entertainer-guy.  Maybe his life got more interesting down the line, but in the part I saw it was basically a recounting of his family moving to a town, performing a show, moving to a new town and repeating.  There was some nice stuff about his family supporting him (morally, not financially) and hopefully the later songs got better so they were entertaining.  It’s hard for me to judge, since I missed so much of the movie, but I didn’t really get emotionally invested in the part I did see.  I’ll probably have to try to find this again so I can feel good about crossing it off the list without an asterisk.

3) Ben-Hur (1959) – This was actually better than I thought it would be, and only ranks third because the other two were very good.  It’s over three hours long, but once I started watching, I went the whole way through, which surprised even me.  Being an epic, lots of stuff happens, from the Romans first arriving in Judea to being a galley slave to Rome back to Judea to chariot races, with a little bit of Jesus thrown in.  Since there’s so much story, you are kept hooked even though there’s not a ton of emotional depth (note that I am not religious, so ymmv).  Oh, and the chariot scene is awesome.  I know that it’s the one thing Ben-Hur is known for, and deservedly so.  It’s about 10 minutes of insane action and death-defying stunts that are essentially the thing to watch the movie for.  I’d recommend seeing the whole thing to really get the backstory as to why the chariot race is so important, but that scene is really where you get your money’s worth.

2) Toy Story (1995) – How much fun was it that Toy Story showed up on my list?  A ton, that’s how much.  I’m sure you’re familiar with this one, so I won’t needlessly bore you with plot, but let me just say that for the most part, this movie holds up very well.  Stacia and I were laughing aloud on more than one occasion at the pun-ny jokes and great sight gags.  Toy Story really defined the genre in terms of CGI movies, and also the kids movie that adults will enjoy too.  The story is clever and well-paced, with nicely distributed sentimentality and humor.  After 14 years, the CGI effects are looking a little dated; things are too shiny and the humans are just damn creepy looking.  But this is a modern classic.  I can’t imagine having kids without them seeing Toy Story sometime.

1)  Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (1967) – Top movie of the first month, and there’s a lot to like about it.  The subject matter (interracial marriage), though less shocking than in the 1960s, offers insight into prejudices and human behavior that are still pertinent today.  Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn are spectacular together, and bring their real-life love for one another to the film as caring parents faced with a difficult situation.  Sidney Poitier, in one of his early roles, exudes grace and charm as the source of the “problem.”  And the writing is great – each main character has a speech at some point in the movie that epitomizes and defines who they are.  Tracy’s in particular, at the end, is hard to watch with a dry eye, especially knowing this was his last film, and the relationship he and Hepburn had in real life makes it even more poignant.  The more I think about it, the more I like this movie, and it seems unjust that it is ranked #99.

So there they are.  The first 5 out of 123, if I remember correctly.  Already one film has made it to my mental list of movies I love, and there are certainly a lot more to go.  Here’s what I have to look forward to in January.

97(1) – Bringing Up Baby (1938)

97(2) – Blade Runner (1982)

96(1) – The Searchers (1956)

96(2) – Do the Right Thing (1989)

95(1) – Pulp Fiction (1994)

95(2) – The Last Picture Show (1971)