Top 100: 100-91

     I have been wanting to do my own "Top 100 movies" list for a long time now. Lists like these have become an obsession in pop culture over the last decade or so, and while ranking any great art does somewhat of a disservice to the art, and all lists are more likely to start arguments more than anything else, the fun of seeing great films ranked and debating what should and shouldn't make the list ultimately outweighs the negative aspects in my mind. With any two individuals, their opinion on what constitutes a great movie is going to vary somewhat, and I would be shocked to find any two human beings on earth with the exact same list of their 100 favorite films, but that's kind of the point with these lists. There meant to start debates, and more than anything, they get people thinking and talking about good movies, which is definitely a positive thing.

     The only other negative aspect of making a top 100 list, and the only reason I considered not making the list, is that there are always more great films to see. In fact, three of the films that made my list I saw for the first time just within this last month, so unless you have seen every film in existence, your list is never really complete. I know for me at least, there are a lot of famous films I have yet to see, so every once and a great while, I may make updates to my top 100 list as I see new films and my opinions on older films change. I would also like to take the time here to make a little disclaimer: There were a lot of really great films that didn't quite make my top 100. It doesn't mean I don't think they're really good movies, but they just happened not to be in my top 100. So once I finish releasing my whole list, if one of your favorite films is not on it, it doesn't necessarily mean I didn't like it. In fact, I may love it, but once you have seen a lot of movies, 100 isn't as big a number as it sounds. This means a lot of really great films were left off my list, so after you see my complete list, let me know of some films that would be in your top 100, and I will let you know my thoughts on the films and whether they just missed my top 100 list.

     Before we get started, I thought I would just list some interesting facts about my list. The decade with the most movies in my top 100 was the last decade. It doesn't necessarily mean the last decade was the greatest in cinema history, but it makes sense that the decade I have seen the most movies from would have more films in my top 100 than any other. That being said, the 1970's had only one film less than the 2000's, so like most big top 100 movies lists, I guess I am a pretty big fan of the movies that were made during the 1970's as well. In terms of directors (or auteurs since this is auteurfan), there is a four way tie for the most movies directed in my top 100 list. Each of these auteurs directed five movies each on my list, but I don't want to give any hints as to which movies are on my list, so I won't mention their names yet (if you have any guesses though, feel free to guess).

     And now finally, the list. Each week I will be revealing 10 more movies on my list and writing a bit about why I love them. I will reveal the list in countdown fashion, so I will start with 100 and count my way down to my all-time favorite film. This week I will be revealing 100-91. Out of the ten movies for this week, five of them are comedies (although two of the comedies are a little on the serious side), one is a Best Picture film, and another is a foreign film that was a co-production between two different countries. All the films skew a bit older this week, as the newest film on here comes from the mid-80's. Enough teasing though, it is time to get to movies!

Review: Iron Man 2

     Continuing my recent trend of catching up with summer movies I wasn't willing to pay for at the theaters, I checked out "Iron Man 2", one of the many summer sequels earlier this year. The first "Iron Man" was a pleasant surprise back in 2008 and was well reviewed by critics who are usually not too fond of superhero or action movies. One of the main reasons for the film's positive responses was that the film moved along at a quick pace and had a very likable care-free attitude, personified by its lead actor, Robert Downey Jr. Anyone familiar with Hollywood's obsession with sequels will know that the second time around, things are rarely as fresh. So how about "Iron Man 2"? Does it pull off the rare feet of being a great sequel, a la "The Godfather Part 2" and "The Empire Strikes Back", or does it go the typical route of most sequels in being lackluster versions of the original?

Review: Robin Hood

     Have you ever felt like you have done something before? Been somewhere before? Seen something before? That feeling of deja vu, is the feeling I had watching Robin Hood, a movie that does not contain a single original frame in its film reel (although I think it was shot digitally, but you get the drift). The cliches ticked off so fast, that I lost track of how many there are. It felt like a blitzkrieg of action/period piece stereo-types, and it left me totally dazed and confused, but nevertheless, I will give it my best effort to document as much of the blatant unoriginal parts of "Robin Hood" I can remember.

     First, let's start with the story. Instead of going the traditional route of telling the warmed over story of Robin Hood taking from the rich and giving to the poor (an actual misnomer since in reality, Robin Hood took money from the government and gave it back to the people), Ridley Scott and crew decided to tell a prequel of sorts. The film's story gives us a glimpse into the early years of Robin Hood, and how he changed from being a soldier in the crusades to a man of people fighting for justice and the anglo-saxon way. The decision to change the story is the only non-traditional thing about "Robin Hood", but unfortunately it was a poor decision. I understand the desire to tackle the story of Robin Hood from a new perspective, as the traditional story of Robin Hood has been done ad nausiem by Hollywood over the years, but to include a preposterous back story about Robin Hood's father drafting the Magna Carta and put to death because of it, only to have Robin Hood rediscover it and introduce to Prince John, is just stupid.