005/100 - #077 All The President's Men

I remember watching All the President's Men in a high school government class. I vaguely remember enjoying it, but wasn't necessarily  thrilled to be watching it again. Before I sat down to watch, I wanted to refresh my memory about the true identity of Deep Throat with a quick Google search. I am so glad I did, it made the movie seem that much more believable and impactful. It also helped to read Hal Holbrook's portrayal of the unknown source was fairly accurate in the film.

As someone who is admittedly not a huge Dustin Hoffman fan, I was impressed yet again. What a fabulous pairing he and Robert Redford make! It's like the smart-guy's buddy movie in a sense. Not that the characters are the best of friends but the relationship onscreen is outstanding.

I was born the year the Watergate break-in occurred. I know the basic facts about the event and the outcome. I forget sometimes how BIG an event that really was, how it continues to color our view of politics and presidents and power. This story certainly remains relevant today. Not only does it continue to be talked about in the press and in political conversation, it has a place in modern movies (Dick is a must-see satirical take on the Nixon White House and Watergate) and pop culture as well. Who amongst has has never put up the peace signs and growled, "I am not a crook"?

While my husband thought the movie moved slowly, I did not. I thought it was quick and intriguing and perfectly paced. This is a movie I would sit down and watch again if I saw it on late-night TV and a movie I will continue to talk about as being important for every American to watch.

All the President's Men is based on the book of the same name by Woodward and Bernstein. I rated All the President's Men 5 out of 5 at Netflix and 10 out of 10 at IMDB. And I have already purchased Dick to watch again. Love that movie!

004/100 - #017 The Graduate

Before watching, I had a peripheral familiarity with The Graduate. I knew, of course, about Mrs. Robinson (whom I thought was the mother of his college roommate, not so) and I knew the songs from  the fabulous soundtrack. I don't consider myself a huge fan of Dustin Hoffman, though, and I didn't know what to expect from his performance. I expected to think the movie was, frankly, just "okay".

How wrong I was!

The Graduate is surprisingly funny! Real "laugh out loud" funny. Strange when I didn't expect the film to be humorous at all. That made it all the more uncomfortable for me when Dustin Hoffman's Ben started acting like NOT such a lovable, nerdy, drifting college grad. He became a more clear rebel, bucking the system, his parents and eventually Mrs. Robinson herself. Rebellion is all fun and games for Ben until he starts to see some consequences to his actions.

My favorite part of the film, and I'll try not to give too much away since I recommend you see it, is the moment at the very end, the look on Ben's face when he's riding away from the church. Ben has descended into calm, created chaos and, on his way out... has no idea what to do with it. Then what? That's kind of a running theme in this movie for Ben. Okay... then what?

I did like The Graduate. I think there will ALWAYS be kids who graduate from college because their parents expect it of them... but then what? Ben has no idea what to do with his life. He's bored and inexperienced and looking to break the rules a bit. Problem is... then what?

I rated this movie 4 out of 5 at Netflix and 8 out of 10 at IMDB. I highly recommend it!

003/100 - #087 12 Angry Men

My husband offers us the male perspective on our next classic film, 12 Angry Men.

There were twelve. They were angry. They were men. Reginald Rose’s drama about jury deliberations in a death penalty case follows the ups and downs of their struggle as they decide the fate of young man on trial for the murder of  his father with a knife. It begins with the judge instructing them that if he is found guilty, he will be executed, and the verdict has to be unanimous. The judge speaks flatly as if he has somewhere else he would rather be. This sets the tone for the jurors, aware that a man’s life is as stake and that the jurors would all rather be somewhere else.

This ensemble drama includes many fine actors—Henry Fonda, Jack Klugman, Jack Warner, E G Marshall, and Lee J Cobb. It’s fun to watch Fonda in his prime—the voice of reason, looking unflinchingly into the souls of his fellow jurors, and Klugman as a young man from the tenements. The film was made in the 1950s and even at its most confrontational, they are more polite than they would be today. As they leave, Fonda helps Cobb put on his blazer. If it took place today, there were be numerous fistfights and they would walk out missing teeth.

What first appears to be an unquestionable case of guilt becomes less certain as they deliberate. Doubt creeps in the room until it fills each juror. The reliability of witnesses, the timeline, the uniqueness of the weapon all fade into uncertainty. This drama does a wonderful job of illustrating reasonable doubt as it might work with our jury system still. The claustrophobic room and the stifling heat ratchet up the tension. While this drama holds up, it’s not without its faults. Fonda brings another knife into the jury room to illustrate a point. If a lawyer or judge found out, it would likely be considered jury misconduct and grounds for a mistrial. Also, jurors discuss things such as the finer points of knife fights, which weren’t introduced at the trial. And finally, Cobb’s overacting at the climax lessens its impact. However, this movie is worth watching--well written and for the most part, very well acted.

I rate it 4 out of 5 stars at Netflix and 8 out of 10 at IMDB.

002/100 - #060 Duck Soup

Okay, I need to start this entry by letting you know up front that the appeal of the Marx Brothers is just lost on me. I can appreciate the innovation and the originality of the Marx Brothers but I am not a fan. So...

Duck Soup is supposedly the greatest of all the movies made by the Marx Brothers. You know, Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo. I know many people find them laugh-out-loud hysterical. I did not. It had a few moments of brilliance, I concede. An infamous mirror routine between Groucho and Harpo, a hat switch bit with a lemonade vendor that actually made me smile and a fabulous Busby Berkeley entrance set up for Groucho which, of course, he misses. That said, I was put off by the fat jokes, the flat delivery of lines by Groucho and the many, many bits of humor that I simply think did not work.



I had high expectations for Duck Soup. I knew it to be a satire about war and government and I also had some recollection about this NOT being about contemporary leaders of the day: Hitler and Mussolini. I expected to laugh but I didn't. Not once.

The relevance of this film today is difficult for me to determine. It wasn't about the history we now know of the day and it wasn't exactly a "slice of life" from 1933. But it does convey how ridiculous politics and government can be... something that's surely not changed since the days this movie was conceived. While I'm sure this classic continues to be referenced by name in contemporary storytelling, I can't recall a recent example of the film's overall influence. I am sure someone will quickly correct me!

Duck Soup is not a movie I'll be queueing up again soon at Netflix. It does not make me want to Tivo the next Marx Brothers marathon on AMC. And while this movie did not convert me into a Marx Brothers fan, it does make me understand how someone else could love them.

I rated Duck Soup 6 out of 10 stars at IMDB and 2 out of 5 stars at Netflix.

001/100 - #042 Bonnie and Clyde

The first movie of my AFI challenge is Bonnie and Clyde. I admit to not knowing much about the pair when I chose this film, though I am sure I've referenced them in conversation and I've even visited their death car on display in Primm, Nevada.

I thought the film would be quick and easy, which is was, but would I be blown away (so to speak)?

There is a lot to enjoy about this 1967 classic -- Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway are gorgeous to look at and the supporting cast is amazing (I don't think I've seen Denver Pyle in anything other than The Dukes of Hazzard). Though Faye Dunaway and Estelle Parsons are often glaringly over the top, Warren Beatty and the supporting cast are natural and interesting. Despite their life of crime, you're rooting for Bonnie and Clyde for much of the film because they are simply so charismatic and appealing. But, like most good crime spree movies, the tone of the film changes and you know they are headed toward the well-known ambush on a lonely country road.

One of my reasons for watching these classic films is so I can better understand and recognize their influence in contemporary cinema. I thought about the 1994 movie Natural Born Killers several times while watching Bonnie and Clyde. While this movie is a romanticized historical drama and Natural Born Killers is a fictional commentary on modern society, the relationships, the violence and the desperation are similar. The success of Natural Born Killers is the perfect example of why Bonnie and Clyde is still a relevant movie and why the actual people involved are so interesting to us almost a century later.

While I started to become less sympathetic toward the characters as the seriousness of their crimes escalated, the final scene took my breath away. They were unsuspecting (though, of course, we suspect), trusting, unaware. And my favorite bit about the entire movie is that before you can process what you've just seen on screen... fade to black. The movie forces you to think about it long after it's over... a brilliant ending.

Though I don't have my own rating system yet (I'll edit this when I come up with something), I rated Bonnie and Clyde 3 out of 5 stars on Netflix and 7 out of 10 at Internet Movie Data Base. Overall, I enjoyed the film and I understand why it remains so popular and influential but the questionable acting and some strange editing choices in several scenes left it short of being a cinematic masterpiece to me.



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000/100 - #000 Introduction

This little introduction is also a test of format for me. This year, 2011, I have made it a personal goal to watch all of the AFI Top 100 Movies (as listed in 2007). I do not plan to watch them in any particular order, just queueing them from Netflix in pairs that interest me. I am eternally grateful for those movies available online, streaming from Netflix right to my TV or iPhone.

I do not consider the AFI list to be the be-all and end-all list of the best movies of all-time, but I chose this list because it is so well-known... and all the films are easily available to me. If I find some time (ha!), I may try to include some of the 23 classics that AFI dropped from their original 1997 list when they updated in 2007.

As a busy mom and foster mom of five small children, I don't know what makes me think I can tackle this goal in a year (other than the fact two classic movies each week for a year sounds kind of fun). I also don't know what makes me think anyone will care about my opinions of the movies or my take on their continued relevance. I just know if I am going to watch these movies, I'd like to share my thoughts... and hear yours! Please feel free to comment on this blog and join in the discussion about your favorite films. I also hope to include the thoughts of my husband from time to time as well as my son who will join me for a few of the more family-friendly movies.

Finally, I hope to use these movies for inspiration in my other hobby: scrapbooking. I might use titles or share quotes, share relevant photos or links or scrapbook pages. I hope my fellow scrapbookers will find inspiration from movies they watch after seeing some ideas here.

Thanks for your interest and for joining me on my journey! Let's talk about the AFI Top 100 Movies of all time!