#102 - Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

This movie is epic, there's just no other way to describe it. It pits two screen divas against one another in an all-out cat fight, possibly the best, contentious chick battle ever put on film.

In this picture, Joan Crawford (surprisingly, playing the sympathetic sister) is a wheel-chair bound woman who is "at the mercy" of her absolutely insane sister played by Bette Davis.

I don't want to give away any of the plot because it's just so well told and it would ruin the surprise revelation that comes toward the end. This film is creepy but, fun. I watched it with one of my good friends and she and I had a great time watching these two divas going toe to toe as they "poured venom on one another."

It's a spectacular film. My friend and I speculated if they did a remake which two big-time actresses would they cast. My vote: Meryl Streep and Glenn Close.

#101 - Great Expectations

Like a lot of books to screen films this one is not as interesting or enjoyable when put on screen as it was on the page. What is good about it is that this movie adaptation of Great Expectations was very faithful to the book, however, it doesn't quite translate to the screen because it doesn't retain it's energy, and the film is flatter than the text on the page.

In addition, the performances were not attention grabbing and were rather stilted. They didn't bring the characters to life and I feel that when I was reading the book that my imaging of the characters in my head was more satisfying than the movie's portrayal.

This movie plodded along, and was rather boring. When I read the book I found the story riveting and a real page turner. When I read the story it flew by, but when I watched the movie it felt like it took forever to be over.

#99 & #100 - Captain Blood/The Adventures of Robin Hood

Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, and Basil Rathbone star in these two swashbuckling adventures that set a template or formula for all swashbuckling adventures to follow.

Captain Blood came first in 1935 and marked the first time Flynn and de Havilland were paired up. Both of them have classic good looks to spare and have fantastic chemistry. They seem natural and believable as love interests. As for Basil Rathbone, he is awesome as Flynn's adversary. He sets an example of what the "bad-guy" should be like.

As 1001 perfectly puts it: "This movie has everything you want from a swashbuckler: sea battles, and flashing blades, a dashing hero, an imperiled but plucky heroine, cutthroats, plumed hats, wrongs rights....it's super fun."



If you enjoy Captain Blood then watch The Adventures of Robin Hood. Flynn, de Havilland, and Rathbone are together in another enjoyable, fantastic, and fun "swashbuckler, costume romance."

Flynn is perfect as Robin Hood: handsome, athletic, and as 1001 says,"a light-hearted trickster one moment and a determined rebel the next." De Havilland is gorgeous and perfectly cast as the fairest lady in the land Marian. As in Captain Blood, the chemistry between her and Flynn is undeniable and watching them flirt with one another is so much fun. Basil Rathbone brings his evil "A" game as Sir Guy of Gisbourne.

This movie is a delightful adventure full of "sword-clashing and arrow-shooting battles" with a love story in between. Like Captain Blood, "it's super fun."

#98 - Philadelphia

This film is beautiful. It is artful, touching and entertaining. I may be a bit bias b/c I have spent a lot of time in Philly but, I found this to be one of the best films that takes place in Philly that I've seen.

For it's time "Philadelphia" was a revolutionary film. It was the first mainstream movie to tackle the subject of AIDS. In this picture, "Tom Hanks stars as Andrew Beckett, a homosexual Philadelphian lawyer who is fired by his firm after they discover he has AIDS. They claim to have fired him for being incompetent at work and so Andrew hires a homophobic, hotshot lawyer Joe Miller (Denzel Washington) who harbors many misconceptions about the disease."
(pg. 821)

From the 1st minute this film grabbed me. The opening scene/credit sequence is one of the most well-done credit sequences I've seen. As the credits roll, the viewer is treated to different views of the people, places, and well, the streets of Philadelphia. The sequence isn't just a treat for the eyes but a delight for the ears. As you see the sights of Philadelphia, Bruce Springsteen's beautiful song "The Streets of Philadelphia" serenades you. The opening is a perfect introduction for this film.

But, the greatness doesn't end after this opening sequence. This movie continues to be great all the way to the end. First, the performances are excellent and make you believe you are watching real life. Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington are magnificent. Casting or having a strong casting director working for him seems to be one of director Jonathan Demme's strengths. In one of Demme's more recent movies "Rachel Getting Married" the characters also seem real and are relatable. You feel like you know them and therefore care about them.

What also makes this movie so watchable is how it was shot. A majority of the time in this film is spent in the Philly Courthouse (Trivia: The courtroom scenes were filmed in an actual courtroom that the city let the producers used. It was not a set.) You'd think this would get repetitive & boring. However, it never does. Demme has us enter the courthouse from different vantage points, shows us different point of views in each scene, and keeps the dialogue interesting. The dialogue is mixed with emotion and humor that help advance the plot.

Another thing I like about how Demme shoots his movies is how he focuses close-up on people's faces and lingers on them. He allows the characters to use expressions or body language to convey emotion without telling us how they feel all the time. It gives the audience a richer and more intimate experience that helps make Philadelphia a very moving picture.

Philadelphia and Rachel Getting Married are two movies that caused me to get emotional b/c they had very relatable, flawed characters who just want to be loved for who they are, flaws and all.

#97 - Sideways

I settled in on a sunny afternoon and throughly enjoyed myself as I watched Sideways. This movie is thought provoking, funny, and emotional. A truely delightful little-film.

While it might be a "little film" (i.e. not a blockbuster) it has big performances from all four leads (Paul Giamatti, Thomas Hayden Church, Virginia Madsen, and Sandra Oh). There performances are what make this film shine. All four play their roles to perfection showing a range of emotions w/o being over dramatic.

This movie is a road-trip picture w/ a dash of mid-life crisis. Paul Giamatti and Thomas Hayden Church are great on screen as friends Miles and Jack, who on a tour of California's wine country a week before Jack is to be married.

As you might predict, some hilarity and awkwardness ensues. However, probably not exactly how you would think and w/ more heart then one might expect.

The script is great and if you are a fan of wine than this is a movie for you. I myself became more of a fan after seeing this enjoyable movie. It will leave you feeling like your time was well spent having watched it.

#96 - Bad Day at Black Rock

Going in I really thought I would like this movie. The concept of the movie has some "Lost" like qualities. However, for me "Bad Day at Black Rock" just fell flat. It has a great concept:




"It's 1945, just after World War II, and Spencer Tracy is a one-armed ex-army man who steps off the train in Black Rock, a remote California desert town. We don't know what he's come for, nor do the inhabitants. But they are hostile, and it soon becomes clear that they are hiding something." (pg. 308)

However, the execution is just not there. When the secret that the hostile town folk have been keeping is revealed it just doesn't really make an impact that I feel it should. The performances are unremarkable and overall it was just underwhemling.

I was disappointed because I expected to like this film. I somewhat question it's inclusion in the 1001 Movies you must see because it's not a very impressive, impactful, or entertaining movie.

#95 - The Graduate

"The Graduate" might have been scandalous in 1967 but by today's standards I don't really think it would be considered all that scandalous, considering that right now on ABC their is a show called "Cougartown."

Unless you've lived under a rock for some period of your life you know the story: Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) has just graduated from college, comes home and is spending lots of time contemplating what he's going to do with his life. All of this free time leads to him having an affair with his father's, partners wife Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) and then falling in love with her daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross).

Overall the acting is just okay. Dustin Hoffman is good and Anne Bancroft is pretty fantastic. However, Katharine Ross is very weak in her role as Elaine. There just isn't really any chemistry between her and Dustin Hoffman.

In my opinion, the real strength of this film is the sound and music. The sound or audio in many scenes is very effective. For example, when Dustin Hoffman is in his family's pool under water and we get to hear his perspective of "the world" above him, it really gives you an idea of how he is feeling in general about life: there is not enough silence or time for him to think. His parents and their friends are pushy & opinionated about what he should do with his future.

Secondly, the music is fantastic. All the songs throughout by Simon & Garfunkel are well placed, especially "The Sound of Silence" which accompanies the opening scene/credit sequence.

While this film didn't blow me away it was overall one of the better movies I've seen. It won't seem shocking or daring today. But, as your watching it you can see why it was scandalous or shocking in 1967.