by Sandy | Aug 28, 2009 | Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Film, Movies
The usual suspects, not the film, but the movies you would expect, made the list of the 2008 American Film Institute’s “100 films/100 years” – “All About Eve”, “Casablanca”, “Lawrence of Arabia” and the same #1 as 10 years ago when AFI published its 1st poll, Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane”. (Don’t quite know how accurate this all is, since it is all opinion, but, it is fun.)
Chosen from ballots sent to 1,500 Hollywood filmmakers, actors, writers, critics, etc, a few of the films have moved around, up, down or a complete move out into the ether. And, there were additions: “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (#50), “Saving Private Ryan” (# 71), “Titanic” (#83) and “The Sixth Sense” (#89).
Those that dropped from the 1998 “100” were: “Doctor Zhivago” 1965, “Amadeus” 1984, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” 1977 , “Dances With Wolves” 1990 and “The Jazz Singer” 1927.
How many have you seen/ missed/ want to revisit? See the top 25 below:
1. “Citizen Kane,” 1941.
2. “The Godfather,” 1972.
3. “Casablanca,” 1942.
4. “Raging Bull,” 1980.
5. “Singin’ in the Rain,” 1952.
6. “Gone With the Wind,” 1939.
7. “Lawrence of Arabia,” 1962.
8. “Schindler’s List,” 1993.
9. “Vertigo,” 1958.
10. “The Wizard of Oz,” 1939.
11. “City Lights,” 1931.
12. “The Searchers,” 1956.
13. “Star Wars,” 1977.
14. “Psycho,” 1960.
15. “2001: A Space Odyssey,” 1968.
16. “Sunset Blvd.”, 1950.
17. “The Graduate,” 1967.
18. “The General,” 1927.
19. “On the Waterfront,” 1954.
20. “It’s a Wonderful Life,” 1946.
21. “Chinatown,” 1974.
22. “Some Like It Hot,” 1959.
23. “The Grapes of Wrath,” 1940.
24. “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” 1982.
25. “To Kill a Mockingbird,” 1962.
(Some of my favorites: # 51- “Westside Story”1959, and #92 -“Goodfellas” 1990)
AFI 100 List
by Sandy | Aug 26, 2009 | Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Film, Movies, music
“I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day…”
The opening bass line that precedes the above lyric to the “Temptations” song “My Girl”, is instantly recognizable, instantly evoking a time/ place/age gone but still very much alive when the music plays. (I still know all the words.)
I watched the 2002 DVD, “Standing in the Shadows of Motown” again. It tells the story of the “Funk Brothers”, those musicians who rhythmically supported the stars of Motown with their piano, drums, horn section and guitars. According to the liner notes, “They played on more #1 records than the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Elvis combined…”
There are interviews, funny and touching, with the guys as they reminisce about their experiences at “Hitsville, USA”. Unknown by the thousands of us that religiously bought a new 45 whenever possible, they drove the beat behind the Motown hit records from the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder (he was “little” then), the Miracles, etc. The stars were good, but so was the band.
We are also treated to concert footage – artists of today singing the old songs. It’s been a long time, but the music lives – they do a great job, different but still great.
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by Sandy | Aug 24, 2009 | Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Film, Movies
The 2004 thriller is really worth a look. And the term “thriller” is accurate, especially when a train ride is involved.
Tom Cruise, as “Vincent” the deadly, grey haired mystery man, jumps into a cab driven by “Max”, Jamie Foxx, and the 2 of them are off on a fast night of cat & mouse games.
Foxx is excellent. He was nominated for Academy Awards for “Collateral” and the Ray Charles movie – he won for his portrayal of the legendary singer – but, I think he could have won for his work in this film. His turn as the confused, terrorized, Los Angeles cabbie is terrific – the viewer becomes invested in the suspense and the action and wants the good guy to win. (In this case, “winning” means staying alive.)
Well directed by Michael Mann, (“Heat”, “Inside Man” “Miami Vice”),besides the great work of Cruise and Foxx, the super cast includes Jada Pinkett Smith, Mark Ruffalo, Javier Bardem, Barry Shabaka Henley, and Irma P. Hall.
“Collateral” – good movie!
by Sandy | Aug 17, 2009 | Actors, Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Film, Movies
A special box set of 17 DVDs/13 films, along with an illustrated coffee-table book, will be released this September as a celebration of this actors work.
Some of the films included:
The Long, Hot Summer (1958), From the Terrace (1960), Exodus (1960), The Hustler (1961), Hombre (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Quintet (1979), The Verdict (1982
(Some of my favorites are not included in this tribute, but all are available on DVD: The Sting, The Hustler, Road to Perdition, Hud)
Paul Newman passed away in September, 2008 at age 83. A good actor and humanitarian, he had a long, full and varied life – he entertained us and he contributed to us.
“Paul Newman: The Tribute Collection” to be released 9/22/09
by Sandy | Aug 14, 2009 | Actors, Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Books, Film, Movies
Whether he is acting in a film of serious social commentary, “Traffic” and “Crash” or fun stuff, the “Ocean’s” films – (11, 12 and 13), Mr. Cheadle always stands out.
Whether crying with him in “Hotel Rwanda” or laughing with him as he “attitudes” his way thru “Talk to Me”, a story about 60’s/70’s activist, and Washington, DC, disk jockey Ralph “Petey” Greene directed by Kasi Lemmons, he just elevates it all to another level.
Also a stage actor, he appeared in Lori Parks Pulitzer Prize winning play, “Top Dog/Under Dog”, on Broadway to much acclaim. But, Don Cheadle also has an activist streak. While filming “Hotel Rwanda”, he learned the plight of people in the Sudan and after visiting Darfur in 2005, he’s made a committed effort to bring the horrors and violence of the region to the attention of the American people. He wrote a book with John Prendergast called, “Not On Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond”. An accompanying documentary was released in 2007.
Don Cheadle is outstanding.
by Sandy | Aug 13, 2009 | Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Creativity, Culture, Film, Movies
“I Bring What I Love” – is a documentary film about Youssou N’Dour, the pop music superstar from Senegal, West Africa.
N’Dour is revered for his “remarkable range and poise and for his prodigious musical intelligence as a writer, bandleader and producer. He absorbs the entire Senegalese musical spectrum in his work, often filtering it through the lens of genre-defying rock or pop music from outside his culture. N’Dour has made “mbalax”—a blend of Senegal‘s traditional griot percussion and praise-singing with Afro-Cuban music—famous throughout the world during more than 20 years of recording and touring outside of Senegal with his band, The Super Étoile”.
The director of “I Bring What I Love”, Elizabeth Chai Vasahelyi, followed the singer for 2 years throughout Africa, Europe and the U.S. to bring us a picture of this super talented and complex man who spread the music and rhythms of his homeland worldwide.
Youssou N’Dour * “I Bring What I Love“
