the critic

as promised, i'd like to rant briefly on time magazine's list of the 100 greatest films. i've seen 17 of the films on this list, and while 2 of my all-time favorites are on there ("a hard day's night" and "the 400 blows"), some were overlooked.

"a hard days night" is a sticking point between me and bassi and eel. in short, bassi and eel love the movie "field of dreams" and i think it's a steaming turd of a movie, and i tell them so at every opportunity. in turn, bassi and eel call me all sorts of nasty names - fascist, unamerican, "she who is dead inside" - and they make fun of my favorite movies, one of which is "a hard day's night." (guilty admission: i do own "the object of my affection" and i love it.) anyway, even though bassi and eel have never seen "a hard day's night," they mock it merely out of spite. if you're a beatles fan, you're doing yourself a disservice by not seeing this movie. that's all i have to say about that.

as for "the 400 blows": the title is midleading, there are actually no blow jobs in the movie, but there is beautiful cinematography and it takes place in paris. need i say more? i love love love truffaut.

hey, time magazine, where the fuck is "THE GRADUATE"? seriously, this is a movie that hit me hard from the opening sequence, and has stayed with me ever since. it totally captures that feeling, that feeling of restlessness and ineffectualness that comes with graduating from college. mike nichols is one of the greatest living directors, and this movie is fucking great. it's so good, i don't even know where to begin. first of all, the casting of dustin hoffman: brilliant. the soundtrack: genius. the cinematography is just super, and there are some pretty sweet lines of dialogue. "plastics, ben." plus, it was considered slightly subversive, which gives it cred in the book of danger. this is one of the few films that was based on a book that didn't disappoint.

which brings me to....."wonder boys." i have to credit eel and bassi for introducing me to this film. i literally NEVER get tired of this movie. it's funny and sad, it's smart, it's got frances mcdormand and a kick-ass soundtrack. it also features toby maguire and katie holmes before they lost their souls. it's based on the novel by michael chabon (who writes so beautifully, it hurts), and it's just...so well done. the characters are exceptional. seriously, see it.

other films i love but didn't make the list (and that's okay, they're great, but maybe not cinematically superior):

-when harry met sally (bassi and i spent an entire 2 hour drive to foxwoods reciting the script)
-the royal tenenbaums
-being john malkovich
-hannah and her sisters (i had to pick a woody allen, and today this one is my favorite)
-waking life (this movie literally blew my mind open)

can someone explain why "finding nemo" made the list? that's bull.


p.s., in the spirit of film criticism, i have added "the critic: the complete series" to my amazon wish list. feel free to buy it for me.