Oh The Grapes of Wrath...

The Grapes of Wrath(dir. John Ford)
REVIEW PENDING...
***1/2 out of ****

Oh Decade Lists...

Going to do Top 10's for decades and put it on here:
2000's(one film per director with some either or's since I feel I need to rewatch some of these)
1. Lilya 4-Ever(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
2. Miami Vice(dir. Michael Mann)
3. Fay Grim(dir. Hal Hartley)
4. Pistol Opera(dir. Seijun Suzuki)
5. The New World(dir. Terrence Malick)
6. Platform(dir. Jia Zhangke)[Not sure if I should put this here or below Mulholland Dr.]
7. Mulholland Dr.(dir. David Lynch)
8. The Royal Tenenbaums(dir. Wes Anderson)
9. Millenium Mambo(dir. Hou Hsiao-Hsien)[It feels strange rating one of his films higher than Tsai's, but Tsai's 90's output easily trumps Hou's best]
10. What Time Is It There? or Goodbye, Dragon Inn(dir. Tsai Ming-Liang)[Not sure which is better because I feel Time is overrated and Goodbye is underrated]
Honorable mentions: Last Life in the Universe(dir. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang), Little Children(dir. Todd Field), Marie Antoinette or Lost in Translation(dir. Sofia Coppola), Kill Bill Vol. 2(dir. Quentin Tarantino)[maybe?], George Washington(dir. David Gordon Green), Morvern Callar(dir. Lynne Ramsay)[maybe?], 2046(dir. Wong Kar-Wai)[maybe?], and more...

2000's(by year)
2000. Platform(dir. Jia Zhang Ke)
2001. Mulholland Dr.(dir. David Lynch)
2002. Femme Fatale(dir. Brian De Palma)
2003. Lilya 4-Ever(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
2004. Goodbye, Dragon Inn(dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
2005. The New World(dir. Terrence Malick)
2006. Miami Vice(dir. Michael Mann)
2007. Fay Grim(dir. Hal Hartley)

1990's(no limit per director)
1. Henry Fool(dir. Hal Hartley)
2. Simple Men(dir. Hal Hartley)
3. Trust(dir. Hal Hartley)
4. Show Me Love/Fucking Åmål(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
5. The Hole(dir. Tsai Ming-Liang)
6. Heat(dir. Michael Mann)
7. Lessons of Darkness(dir. Werner Herzog)
8. Chungking Express(dir. Wong Kar-Wai)
9. First Comes Love(dir. Su Friedrich)
10. Small Deaths(dir. Lynne Ramsay)
Honorable mentions: Wonderland(dir. Michael Winterbottom), Dead Man(dir. Jim Jarmusch), The Wind Will Carry Us(dir. Abbas Kiarostami), The Sweet Hereafter(dir. Atom Egoyan), Rebels of the Neon God(dir. Tsai Ming-Liang), Magnolia(dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)[maybe?], The Player or Short Cuts(dir. Robert Altman), The Lion King(dir. Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff)[maybe?] Light Sleeper(dir. Paul Schrader)[maybe?], Clueless(dir. Amy Heckerling)[maybe?], Little Dieter Needs to Fly(dir. Werner Herzog), The Big Lebowski(dir. Coens Brothers)[slightly?], King of New York(dir. Abel Ferrara)[maybe?], Hard-Boiled(dir. John Woo)[maybe?], Barcelona(dir. Whit Stillman), Clueless(dir. Amy Heckerling), and more...

1990's(one film per director this time)
1. Henry Fool(dir. Hal Hartley)
2. Show Me Love/Fucking Åmål(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
3. The Hole(dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
4. Heat(dir. Michael Mann)
5. Lessons of Darkness(dir. Werner Herzog)
6. Chungking Express(dir. Wong Kar-wai)
7. First Comes Love(dir. Su Friedrich)
8. Small Deaths(dir. Lynne Ramsay)
9. Barcelona(dir. Whit Stillman)
10. The Player(dir. Robert Altman)

1990's(by year)
1990. Die Hard 2: Die Harder(dir. ?)
1991. Trust(dir. Hal Hartley)
1992. Simple Men(dir. Hal Hartley)
1993. Short Cuts(dir. Robert Altman)
1994. Chungking Express(dir. Wong Kar-Wai)
1995. Heat(dir. Michael Mann)
1996. Dead Man(dir. Jim Jarmusch)
1997. The Sweet Hereafter(dir. Atom Egoyan)
1998. Henry Fool(dir. Hal Hartley)
1999. Show Me Love(dir. Lukas Moodysson)

1980's(no limit per director)
1. L'Argent(dir. Robert Bresson)
2. The Sacrifice(dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
3. Damned If You Don't(dir. Su Friedrich)
4. The Ties That Bind(dir. Su Friedrich)
5. Choose Me(dir. Alan Rudolph)
6. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters(dir. Paul Schrader)
7. Down By Law(dir. Jim Jarmusch)
8. Paris, Texas(dir. Wim Wenders)
9. Landscape in the Mist(dir. Theo Angelopoulos)
10. Do the Right Thing(dir. Spike Lee)
Honorable mentions: Day of the Dead(dir. George A. Romero), Dekalog Six(dir. Krzysztof Kieslowski), Full Metal Jacket(dir. Stanley Kubrick)[maybe?], White Dog or The Big Red One(dir. Samuel Fuller)[maybe?] and more...

1970's(one film per director)
1. A Woman Under the Influence(dir. John Cassavetes)
2. Hospital(dir. Frederick Wiseman)
3. The Mirror(dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
4. M*A*S*H(dir. Robert Altman)
5. Days of Heaven(dir. Terrence Malick)
6. Suspiria(dir. Dario Argento)
7. Aguirre, the Wrath of God(dir. Werner Herzog)
8. The Passenger(dir. Michelangelo Antonioni)
9. Killer of Sheep(dir. Charles Burnett)
10. Lancelot of the Lake(dir. Robert Bresson)
Honorable mentions: Apocalypse Now, The Marriage of Maria Braun

1960's(one film per director for now)
1. Titicut Follies(dir. Frederick Wiseman)
2. Woman in the Dunes(dir. Hiroshi Teshigahara)
3. Masculin, feminin(dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
4. Branded to Kill(dir. Seijun Suzuki)
5. The Battle of Algiers(dir. Gillo Pontrevico)
6. Double Suicide(dir. Masahiro Shinoda)
7. Scorpio Rising(dir. Kenneth Anger)
8. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance(dir. John Ford)
9. 8 1/2 or La Dolce Vita(dir. Federico Fellini)
10. Mouchette(dir. Robert Bresson)
Honorable mentions: Harakiri(dir. Masaki Kobayashi), Rocco and His Brothers(dir. Luchino Visconti), Winter Light(dir. Ingmar Bergman), Andrei Rublev(dir. Andrei Tarkovsky), The Pawnbroker(dir. Sidney Lumet), 2001: A Space Oddysey or Dr. Strangelove(dir. Stanley Kubrick), Psycho or The Birds(dir. Alfred Hitchcock), The Naked Kiss(dir. Samuel Fuller), and more...

1950's
1. In a Lonely Place(dir. Nicholas Ray)
2. Ace in the Hole(dir. Billy Wilder)
3. On Dangerous Ground(dir. Nicholas Ray)
4. Shadows(dir. John Cassavetes)
5. The Searchers(dir. John Ford)
6. Ashes and Diamonds(dir. Andzrej Wajda)
7. The Killing(dir. Stanley Kubrick)
8. Rear Window(dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
9. Vertigo(dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
10. Diary of a Country Priest(dir. Robert Bresson)
Honorable mentions: The Big Heat(dir. Fritz Lang), Kiss Me Deadly(dir. Robert Aldrich), The Steel Helmet(dir. Samuel Fuller)[maybe?], The Seventh Seal(dir. Ingmar Bergman), Hiroshima, Mon Amour(dir. Alain Resnais), and others that I most likely forgot about...

1950's(by year)
1950. In a Lonely Place(dir. Nicholas Ray)
1951. Ace in the Hole(dir. Billy Wilder)
1952. On Dangerous Ground(dir. Nicholas Ray)
1959. Shadows(dir. John Cassavetes)

1940's
1. My Darling Clementine(dir. John Ford)
2. The Lady From Shanghai(dir. Orson Welles)

1930's
1. You Only Live Once(dir. Fritz Lang)
2. Vampyr(dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer)
3. The Grand Illusion(dir. Jean Renoir)
4. Rules of the Game(dir. Jean Renoir)

UPDATE:
2000's(excluding 2008 release):
[i]The New World[/i][Extended Cut](dir. Terrence Malick)
[i]Miami Vice[/i](dir. Michael Mann)
[i]Fay Grim[/i](dir. Hal Hartley)
[i]Pat Garett and Billy the Kid[/i][2005 Cut](dir. Sam Peckinpah)
[i]George Washington[/i](dir. David Gordon Green)
[i]Mulholland Drive[/i](dir. David Lynch)
[i]Femme Fatale[/i](dir. Brian De Palma)
[i]Marie Antoinette[/i](dir. Sofia Coppola)
[i]Punch-Drunk Love[/i](dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)
[i]Pistol Opera[/i](dir. Seijun Suzuki)
[i]Lilya 4-Ever[/i](dir. Lukas Moodysson)
[i]INLAND EMPIRE[/i](dir. David Lynch)
[i]Death Proof[/i](dir. Quentin Tarantino)
[i]Platform[/i](dir. Jia Zhangke)
[i]Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy[/i](dir. Adam McKay)
[i]Twentynine Palms[/i](dir. Bruno Dumont)
[i]L'Enfant[/i](dir. Dardenne Brothers)
[i]The Girl From Monday[/i](dir. Hal Hartley)
[i]2046[/i](dir. Wong Kar-wai)

1990's:
[i]Henry Fool[/i](dir. Hal Hartley)
[i]Trust[/i](dir. Hal Hartley)
[i]Simple Men[/i](dir. Hal Hartley)
[i]Heat[/i](dir. Michael Mann)
[i]Clueless[/i](dir. Amy Heckerling)
[i]The Hole[/i](dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
[i]Vive L'Amour[/i](dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
[i]Rebels of the Neon God[/i](dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
[i]Show Me Love[/i]/[i]Fucking Åmål[/i](dir. Lukas Moodysson)
[i]First Comes Love[/i](dir. Su Friedrich)
[i]Small Deaths[/i](dir. Lynne Ramsay)
[i]Chungking Express[/i](dir. Wong Kar-wai)
[i]The Big Lebowski[/i](dir. Coen Brothers)
[i]Hard Boiled[/i](dir. John Woo)
[i]King of New York[/i](dir. Abel Ferrara)

1980's:
[i]Choose Me[/i](dir. Alan Rudolph)
[i]Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom[/i](dir. Steven Spielberg)
[i]Paris, Texas[/i](dir. Wim Wenders)
[i]L'Argent[/i](dir. Robert Bresson)
[i]The Sacrifice[/i](dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
[i]The Ties That Bind[/i](dir. Su Friedrich)

1960's
[i]Titicut Follies[/i](dir. Frederick Wiseman)
[i]Woman in the Dunes[/i](dir. Hiroshi Teshigahara)
[i]Branded to Kill[/i](dir. Seijun Suzuki)
[i]Tokyo Drifter[/i](dir. Seijun Suzuki)
[i]Double Suicide[/i](dir. Masahiro Shinoda)
[i]The Wild Bunch[/i](dir. Sam Peckinpah)
[i]The Battle of Algiers[/i](dir. Gillo Pontrevico)
[i]Masculin, feminin[/i](dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
[i]Pierrot le Fou[/i](dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
[i]Andrei Rublev[/i](dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
[i]Scorpio Rising[/i](dir. Kenneth Anger)
[i]Harakiri[/i](dir. Masaki Kobayashi)
[i]Rocco and His Brothers[/i](dir. Luchino Visconti)
[i]Mouchette[/i](dir. Robert Bresson)
[i]Through a Glass Darkly[/i](dir. Ingmar Bergman)

1950's
[i]In a Lonely Place[/i](dir. Nicholas Ray)
[i]Ace in the Hole[/i](dir. Billy Wilder)
[i]The Big Heat[/i](dir. Fritz Lang)

Oh Jennifer...

Duel in the Sun(dir. King Vidor)
I've been interested in King Vidor lately since I read an article that lumped him with John Ford and Howard Hawks. I'm sure, that nobody will say this film is his masterpiece or anything since I've read that David O. Selznick couldn't stop meddling with the picture. This is one grand epic soap opera with some scenes that are just completely ridiculous and some scenes that are just completely brilliant. The whole dispute over the train and all the men riding on horses was compelling in its grandness. The dance in town is also another moment that had me in awe over the grand scale of it. This western probably has the best production values of any western I've ever seen probably due to the fact it was one of the most expensive films of its time. Best scene in the film is actually not grand at all, but small and personal. It is between the Senator and his wife. She is dying and their relationship has been in a rut. She thinks he hates her and he professes his love to her. It such a small touching moment that could easily get lost in all the grand operatic scenes. Theres also scenes that are just laugh out loud bad like when Jennifer Jones's character wants to go with Gregory Peck's character and starts screaming and clinging to his leg to take her with him. The ending is in a way brilliant and completely presposterous. Allmovie says, "It's still good fun to watch, especially the riotous ending." I have to agree with that. Probably one of the most fascinating endings in it's sheer craziness and originality. I wouldn't say the end really works, but it still makes an interesting watch. There are moments that are just kind of dull and bland as well, but they are very uncommon. The lighting in some of the scenes are out of this world. I would label this movie as a flawed masterpiece.
***1/2 out of ****

Oh Ida...

While the City Sleeps(dir. Fritz Lang)
I liked the core story concerning the mystery around who the killer is, even though we, the audience, already know since they showed him in the beginning and throughout the experience before the other characters know. I wouldn't really say that finding out his identity is the point of the movie since we know, but how the other characters find out the identity of the man. There are some subplots that are given a lot of focus within its last ten or so minutes that I wasn't particurlarly fond of, but other than those subplots, I really had no problem with the movie. Ida Lupino is easily the best part of the movie.
***1/2 out of ****
The Lady from Shanghai(dir. Orson Welles)
My DVR cut off recording it right before the end. I read the script so I know what he says in his narration at the end. I'll just assume he walks away from the amusement park narrating. His style seemed to fit with this story a lot more to me than say Citizen Kane. It is more narrative-driven while Kane is more character-driven. His acting works well with this film while with Kane, he just seemed unlikeable. All the actors play the roles at a certain intensity and the style of the film is about as intense. The scenes in the aquarium and the crazy house were pretty awesome. The guy who played George was particurlarly memorable. Rita is definately better looking than Ida, but how Ida just exudes sexiness with her performance. I loved it.
**** out of ****

Oh Gloria...

El Dorado(dir. Howard Hawks)
Has its moments. Wanna check out Rio Bravo now.
*** out of ****
Crossfire(dir. Edward Dmytryk)
Becomes kind of preachy when the detective starts talking about hate and why its bad, but I guess you have to expect that for the first Hollywood movie dealing with anti-semitism. Robert Ryan gave the best performance and Gloria Grahame, while gorgeous, just feels out of place in this movie. It started to pick up alot towards the end. The scene where Genny's husband started playing mindgames with Mitch was brilliant. It was quite compelling stuff.
***1/2 out of ****

Oh Zachary...

The Southerner(dir. Jean Renoir)
Definately not as good as The Grand Illusion or Rules of the Game. In a way, I was pleased throughout the film and never got bored, but in a way, it just seemed generic and forgettable in some way. The scene where his friend starts throwing rocks at a bar window was pretty amazing. I liked it.
*** out of ****

Oh Edward...

Woman in the Window(dir. Fritz Lang)
Not one of his best. I really liked the beginning between Edward G. Robinson and the "Woman in the Window." I spread this over two days. I have a feeling that was part of my problem with the movie because I was generally not interested it today. Its still good. Better than Scarlet Street.
*** out of ****

Oh Val...

Heat(dir. Michael Mann)
I have to say this is his best movie and maybe the best movie ever. I loved it.
**** out of ****
The Big Sleep(dir. Howard Hawks)
Definately an improvement over Red River. I'll admit that I was restless in the beginning. It started to pick up during it's last 40 minutes or so. Best moments in the film were between Bacall and Bogart. I liked it a lot.
**** out of ****

Oh Paris...

Branded to Kill(dir. Seijun Suzuki)
This movie is pretty much insane. Any movie that has a hero that gets turned on by the smell of hot rice is awesome in my book. Any movie that has the hero's love interest living in a house full of dead butterflies is also awesome in my book. I wouldn't say it is quite as good as Tokyo Drifter, but it's pretty close. Way way way better than Youth of the Beast.
**** out of ****
Double Indemnity(dir. Billy Wilder)
Is this the greatest film noir ever made? Not quite. Edward G. Robinson's character is quite awesome. The murder seemed sort of rushed because the guy did not seem like he knew the woman at all and was willing to kill her husband for her. This is a minor complaint, but yeah. Not quite as good as some of Fritz Lang's noirs or Kiss Me Deadly, but still really good.
**** out of ****
Brick(dir. Rian Johnson)
Stylish. Probably the best way to describe the whole experience. Transporting film noir into a high school is pretty unique even if it feels kind of strange. I can see how someone can despise this movie. I, however, liked it alot.
**** out of ****

Oh Donald...

Tropical Malady(dir. some Thai guy)
Strange. Mysterious. Unusual. Original. Spellbinding. Bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S.
This movie is one of the strangest movies I've ever seen. I didn't really have an emotional response to it because I haven't really grasped it mentally. Unlike anything I've ever seen.
**** out of ****
Letter from an Unknown Woman(dir. Max Ophuls)
This movie was like the delicate white rose Stefan gives Lisa in it. I liked it alot and I will surely check out more of his work.
**** out of ****

Oh Rosie...

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon(dir. John Ford)
Dragged on at the end.
*** out of ****
All the Real Girls(dir. David Gordon Green)
Reminded me of my emotions towards Fat City, it obviously isn't the greatest movie in the world, but has a lot of heart. Not nearly as beautiful or grand as George Washington, but more intimate.
**** out of ****