Top 100 Movies

Let me start by saying that I don't watch very many movies. The only movie I've seen in the theater in the past 5 years was "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". I know a lot of people hated that movie, but I kind of liked it. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to see how many "critically acclaimed" movies I have seen.

In 1998, the American Film Institute released a list of the top 100 movies of all time. Turns out that I've seen 17 of them. (Number 1 was "Citizen Kane", which I have on VHS but haven't gotten around to watching yet. Maybe someday...) Here are mini reviews of those I have seen:

1. The Wizard of Oz (#6 on AFI's list). A very familiar movie to many people. When I was young, this movie was shown on TV once per year. It was an exciting event. Now, with VCRs and DVDs, we can watch it whenever we want. I feel that this is unfortunate. Younger generations are losing the sense of anticipation that comes with a culture of instant gratification.

2. It's A Wonderful Life (AFI 11). Quite thought-provoking. How have I impacted the lives of those around me?

3. Star Wars (AFI 15). First of all, I refuse to call this movie "Episode IV: A New Hope" It was the first movie of this series to be made, so calling it the 4th is ridiculous. Secondly, I was around in 1977 and NOBODY called it A New Hope. It's just Star Wars. Don't make it so complicated! Regarding the movie itself, I never got into it. Which is funny, since I was 8 when it came out and have always been something of a nerd. I don't know exactly why I never became a huge fan of Star Wars (or Star Trek, for that matter).

4. Psycho (AFI 18). Frankly, I don't see what all the fuss is about. Maybe people were easier to scare in the old days.

5. 2001: A Space Odyssey (AFI 22). I saw a midnight screening of this when I was in college. Halfway through, the projector broke, so they needed some time to fix it. Add in the fact that this is a long movie, and it was practically morning by the time it was over. Needless to say, I don't remember much about it.

6. E.T. (AFI 25). This movie was pretty good. Interestingly, that is about all I would say if I was evaluating Reese's Pieces. (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, however, are awesome.)

7. Jaws (AFI 48). Anyone dumb enough to go out on that boat deserves whatever they get. Why not just stay on land and leave the shark alone?

8. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (AFI 49). You know what annoys me? The way Disney puts movies "back in the vault" and only sells the DVDs for a limited time. All of them should be available for purchase all the time! Walt Disney must be turning over in his freezer :-)

9. The Sound of Music (AFI 55). I like a lot of the songs from this movie.

10. Raiders of the Lost Ark (AFI 60). Finally, a good movie! This is the only movie I've ever seen twice in the theater.

11. Tootsie (AFI 62). I was relatively young when I saw this, so I probably missed a lot of the humor. As far as drag movies go, "The Birdcage" reigns supreme.

12. The Silence of the Lambs (AFI 65). My dislike of Jodie Foster biases me against this movie. I didn't like the accent she used in this role.

13. Forrest Gump (AFI 71). My second favorite on this list (after Raiders).

14. Rocky (AFI 78). I liked it better when he fought Mr. T.

15. Platoon (AFI 83). I don't generally like war movies. I did like Saving Private Ryan (which was released too late to be on AFI's list).

16. Fargo (AFI 84). The only thing I really remember about this movie was that they all talked funny.

17. Unforgiven (AFI 98). This movie didn't really do much for me. Perhaps this says more about me than about the film.

So there you go. I look forward to comments berating me for being an uncultured Neanderthal.