86. Platoon (1986) (our #4)

“Maybe I finally found it, way down here in the mud. Maybe from down here I can start up again, be something I can be proud of, without having to fake it, be a fake human being.” - Chris Taylor

After a little over a month long hiatus, somewhat due to the Christmas holiday but mostly to our inability to decide on a movie, my sister and I are picking up on our quest to watch all 100 of AFI’s top movies before we become old. Tonight we settled on Platoon, another movie I know strikingly little about. My knowledge of Platoon equates to knowing that it is about war...and that is it. Platoon was written and directed by Oliver Stone in 1986, and coincidently comes in at number 86 on AFI’s list. The movie stars Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, and Charlie Sheen. Thanks to the pizza war occurring in town nearby, in which 5 restaurants are all offering $5 pizzas, I am comfortably full on food and will hopefully not overindulge in the sweets leftover from the Christmas stocking. And thanks to the most amazing Christmas gifts of a large pillow and a popcorn tin, I am ready for movie night.

Well, that was depressing. I think I now understand why I don’t enjoy war movies. Platoon follows a group of soldiers during the Vietnam War. There’s a Lieutenant who probably slept his way to that title because clearly he is not qualified, three Sergeants who clash throughout the movie, and a handful of mostly memorable soldiers. At times I found the movie to be slow, very slow. It just wasn’t my cup of tea. Though it was nice to see stars pop up throughout the movie in small roles, Forest Whitaker, Kevin Dillon, Johnny Depp, just to name a few.

There’s a reason Platoon made the top 100 list, unfortunately I cannot identify that reason. Platoon was not the movie for me. It may be the movie for you. I’d recommend this movie just so you can say you’ve watched it. 

92. Goodfellas (1990) (our #3)

“As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.” - Henry Hill

It’s time again to continue on our path of conquering the AFI’s Top 100 Films list before I get old. At the rate we are going, it will be close. Tonight is a lovely Saturday night (my Wednesday night so it sounds less lame that I’m staying in), it’s perfect weather outside to watch a movie. I have my favorite Louisville Cardinals sweats on, a McDonald’s sweet tea in hand, and a very comfy spot on the couch.

Tonight, we set out to watch Goodfellas, a movie I know shockingly very little about; I believe it’s about gangsters, and any movie with Ray Liotta in it is fine by me. He stars alongside Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci in this movie from 1990 which comes in at number 92 on AFI’s list.

The movie instantly grabbed my attention. I have always loved mob movies, though I have only seen a few. The movie is based on a true life story of Henry Hill and follows him and two other as they work their way up the mafia hierarchy. Goodfellas is directed by Martin Scorcese, who happened to co-write the film. It was nominated for 6 Academy Awards, winning one (Best Supporting Actor for Joe Pesci). The movie is considered one of the greatest mafia movies of all time (listed by AFI just below The Godfather). In 2000 in was deemed “culturally significant” by the Library of Congress and placed for preservation into the National Film Registry. 

I really enjoyed watching Goodfellas and hope to watch again soon, see if I can notice stuff I may have missed the first time around. I would highly recommend this movie, it’s another that I believe should be higher on AFI’s list. What can I say? I really liked it!

94. Pulp Fiction (1994) (our #2)

"Just because you are a character, doesn't mean you have character." - The Wolf

After perusing the list of movies, my sister and I have decided to watch Pulp Fiction. I vaguely remember seeing a scene when the movie first came out. I'm pretty sure it was the root of a particular nightmare I had growing up involving John Travolta and Bruce Willis. I can remember seeing someone jab a needle into someone else and they take a deep breath and wake up again. And I think there is a hamburger called the Big Kahuna. There may have also been some vintage dance moves.

It's 8:30 on a Sunday night (Thursday night for me). I have my comfy sweats on (gray UofL pants) and a Grateful Dead shirt. No popcorn or candy tonight, I'm still recovering from last night's movie. I've decided to switch it up a bit and am sitting in the comfy recliner, a blanket and pillow are soon to accompany me. From watching the first scene I feel like I may need the subtitles on, then again, I just got out of the shower and may still have water in my ears. We watched about half of the movie before calling it a night. The movie took us a couple of nights to watch, between getting a cold and being too exhausted from work to be able to pay attention to the movie, we finished watching Pulp Fiction on Saturday Night (my Wednesday).

Pulp Fiction was pretty much amazing. The frank violence of the movie had to be progressive for the time. I was 9 when the movie came out, yet the movie still shows it's influence in popular culture today: the Royale with Cheese, the Big Kahuna, and "I'm 'a get medieval on your ass," not to mention the soundtrack. The movie featured stars in their prime, picture Samuel L. Jackson prior to Snakes on a Plane when he was still considered cool and smooth. 

The movie follows three main characters, Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta play two hit men who are assigned to pick up a mystery suitcase and bring it in, and Bruce Willis plays a boxer paid to throw a fight only to end up knocking the other fighter out. Through some slightly confusing time jumps, we watched as their story lines intertwined in a very entertaining fashion.

Pulp Fiction was a great movie. Before watching the other 98 movies on the list, I would place Pulp Fiction a lot higher on the list of great movies, it may change after watching the other movies though. Pulp Fiction is definitely a movie you should watch if you haven't yet.

35. Annie Hall (1977) (our #1)

"I don't use any major hallucinogenics...Five years ago at a party, I tried to take my pants off over my head." - Alvy Singer

I put on my sweatpants and a hoodie, popped some popcorn, poured in some reese's pieces, and grabbed a can of red cream soda. I found my spot on the couch and settled in for our first movie into the journey of the 100 greatest movies of all time. Feeling romantic and comedic, we found Annie Hall through Netflix and hit play. I may have heard of the movie before but I certainly did not know what it was about.

The movie details the development and fall of the relationship between a neurotic comedian (Woody Allen) and a ditzy aspiring singer (Diane Keaton) in New York. I found the movie to be slow to get into but I can definitely see myself enjoying this movie the more times I watch it. The relationship between Allen and Keaton is anything but normal, seems very dysfunctional, but it's fun to watch them on screen. At times the cars in the background become slightly distracting, all I could think of was where those cars are today and how much they would be worth now. All in all, the movie was enjoyable.

I will say I was left slightly puzzled why this movie came in at #35. However, the effect the movie has had on the fashion industry (Keaton provided her own outfits and a fashion movement was created afterwards because of her look), the love Allen's fans have for this movie, the impact this film has had on the industry, and the awards won by the movie (took home 4 academy awards and a golden globe) may all be reasons why this movie ranks high on the list. We will see how it compares with the others. 

I would recommend seeing the movie if you haven't already. I'd give it 7 stars for the first viewing with the possibility of gaining stars the more times I see it. 

afi top 100 movies in a year...

I have always considered myself a movie buff. I really like movies, I really like buying movies too. It has occurred to me recently that there are a lot of movies out there I have yet to watch, some really good classics. Before I get old, I want to watch them, all of them. To narrow the list of every movie ever created down, I shall start with the AFI Top 100 movies of all time. I'll use this list, the 10th anniversary list published in 2007. I'm planning on watching them with my sister and her boyfriend in no particular order. The goal is to have them all watched by this time next year. I think I can make it happen!

1. Citizen Kane 

2. The Godfather 

3. Casablanca 

4. Raging Bull 

5. Singin' in the Rain 

6. Gone with the Wind 

7. Lawrence of Arabia 

8. Schindler's List 

9. Vertigo 

10. The Wizard of Oz 

11. City Lights 

12. The Searchers 

13. Star Wars 

14. Psycho 

15. 2001: A Space Odyssey 

16. Sunset Boulevard 

17. The Graduate 

18. The General 

19. On the Waterfront 

20. It's a Wonderful Life 

21. Chinatown 

22. Some Like it Hot 

23. The Grapes of Wrath 

24. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

25. To Kill a Mockingbird 

26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 

27. High Noon 

28. All About Eve 

29. Double Indemnity 

30. Apocalypse Now 

31. The Maltese Falcon 

32. The Godfather, Part II 

33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 

34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

35. Annie Hall 

36. The Bridge on the River Kwai 

37. The Best Years of Our Lives 

38. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 

39. Dr. Strangelove 

40. The Sound of Music 

41. King Kong 

42. Bonnie and Clyde 

43. Midnight Cowboy 

44. The Philadelphia Story 

45. Shane 

46. It Happened One Night 

47. A Streetcar Named Desire 

48. Rear Window 

49. Intolerance 

50. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 

51. West Side Story 

52. Taxi Driver 

53. The Deer Hunter 

54. M*A*S*H 

55. North by Northwest 

56. Jaws 

57. Rocky 

58. The Gold Rush 

59. Nashville 

60. Duck Soup 

61. Sullivan's Travels 

62. American Graffiti 

63. Cabaret 

64. Network 

65. The African Queen 

66. Raiders of the Lost Ark 

67. Who's Afraid of Virginla Wolf? 

68. Unforgiven 

69. Tootsie 

70. A Clockwork Orange 

71. Saving Private Ryan 

72. The Shawshank Redemption 

73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 

74. The Silence of the Lambs 

75. In the Heat of the Night 

76. Forrest Gump 

77. All the President's Men 

78. Modern Times 

79. The Wild Bunch 

80. The Apartment 

81. Spartacus 

82. Sunrise

83. Titanic 

84. Easy Rider 

85. A Night at the Opera 

86. Platoon

87. 12 Angry Men 

88. Bringing Up Baby 

89. The Sixth Sense 

90. Swing Time 

91. Sophie's Choice 

92. Goodfellas 

93. The French Connection 

94. Pulp Fiction 

95. The Last Picture Show 

96. Do the Right Thing 

97. Blade Runner 

98. Yankee Doodle Dandy 

99. Toy Story 

100. Ben-Hur

the beginning is a good place to start...

I graduated college two years ago. When I couldn't find a job in my field, I picked up jobs with a bank, a fleamarket, and most recently, a men's medium security prison. It's funny how life takes you places you never thought you would go. Being unable to afford my own life on those salaries, I moved back home with my parents. Before I started working in the prison, I decided I needed to get a master's degree, hoping it would make me more competitive in my field. I am now three quarters of my way through the master's program.  I moved in with my sister and her boyfriend in February. Recently I bought a new car. Things are looking pretty positive right now. This is why I am starting this blog. My sister has decided to start a "before I'm thirty" list, I am starting a "before I'm old" list, or affectionately named "before I mold". So, here it is. Enjoy!