#50 The Lord of the Rings/ #86 Platoon/ #42 Bonnie and Clyde

So yea...who dropped the ball on this goal? I DID! But gimme a freaking break! I finished school, moved across the country, am taking care of my little boy while my husband is overseas AND have access to babysitters which gives me access to BARS! But I'm still going to finish the fucking list dammit. Soo here's the latest reviews:

The Lord of the Rings

Totally over rated. Great production values, and a decent cast but I couldn't stand Tolkien when I read him in high school and it took me a week to get through this movie because I just couldn't stay interested. Sorry but I don't think it deserves to be as high as #50.

Platoon

Very good movie with an incredible cast (Hello Dr. Cox waaaayyy before Scrubs). Really shows the insanity of war and how it can change civilized men into fucking barbaric animals. Certainly had a few words with Kiel telling him he better not be doing that shit over there. Plus if one wants to analyze it further, could Sgt. Elias and Sgt. Barnes be personifications of good/evil or God/Satan? Think about it!

Bonnie and Clyde

LOVED IT!!! Beatty was adorable and Dunaway was spectacular, they really made Bonnie and Clyde seem relatable to the point where you really sympathize with these murderers when they are shot. They seemed complex and at the same time innocent.

Now on to Goodfellas.................

# 21 Chinatown

This is such a good movie! But I knew it would be as soon as I saw that good ol' Jack Nicholson starred in it. This movie was full of twists and had everything- sex, murder, intrique....and Faye Dunaway's pencilled on eyebrows....ugh. It was kinda hard for me to really pay attention to her because I kept looking at those damn pencilled on eyebrows wondering who the hell told her they looked good? Seriously?! Her big eyebrows in Mommy Dearest were much better then those hideous things! Crap, now I'm being super catty, my bad. So I love that it took place in during the 30's and that our hero is a rough and tumble P.I.......Also...the movies opens with pictures of people having sex. Great way to start a film, huh? This was my second Polanski film that I had seen (the first was Rosemary's Baby...which BTW don't watch if you are pregnant) and I have to say that I am impressed with his style...doesn't make me like him any though....pervert.

# 98 Yankee Doodle Dandy

Well no one can deny that James Cagney was a helluva performer. The man could dance, sing and act but the movie just seemed like a two hour long concert. Number after number which was really entertaining but it seemed like there wasn't much in between the numbers, it was just like the boring little transitional chit chat crap they do during shows when they are changing scenery. It could be just be me, but as a movie, I couldn't really enjoy it. If they cut out the dialogue in between and simply had it as number after number (like sketches perhaps) I probably would've liked it, but I can't really grasp it as a movie.

# 3 Casablanca

We have all heard of this movie and the quotes from it ("Here's looking at you kid..."), but you really have to see it. The movie is beautiful and heartbreaking. To truly love someone is to love them so much that you place their happiness above your own, even if it means they are with someone else. You can tells that Ilsa and Rick still have a strong connection and that they love each other but you also know that Ilsa loves her husband very much and that he is the man she is supposed to be with. It's passionate and beautiful and I know that Kiel probably would've hated it because of the lack of violence. LOL. But still Humphrey Bogart was such a man's man in this movie wasn't he? Even with his wrinkley forehead he was still pretty sexy.

#30 Apocalypse Now

"You can kill me, but don't judge me."

Holy shit this movie totally blew my mind. The insanity and chaos of it all and nothing being as it seems. Holy effin shit! I wonder if there are times where it is like that for Kiel (not right now, though...he is too busy being bored. YAY!). This movie really showcases what an incredible director Coppola is because he is able to create movies that don't just stick him into one specific style or genre. I knew Brando would be amazing and Martin Sheen just floored me. You can tell that he really pushed himself to accurately portray Capt. Willard's journey to the depths of insanity and uncertainty while remaining a man that was relatable to in that situation. Great fucking movie! But I probably would've liked it more if Kiel was there to reassure me that things aren't that crazy for him. I miss him so much.

#63 Cabaret

While I found the movie to be adorable (Liza Minelli is wonderful as Sally Bowles, you can certainly tell Judy Garland is her mother because she immersed herself in the role and was able to capture Sally's sexuality, naivety and vulnerability ) it wasn't as good as I expected it to be from all the hype I have heard about it over the years. The soundtrack is wonderful, there is no denying it and Fosse does a great job depicting the ambiguity of Brian and Sally towards the Nazi uprising and impending World War 2 in Berlin because they are so distracted by their love affair and the night life of the Kit Kat Club, which is so true. (I can't tell you the exact date of when our troops first landed in Afghanistan or Irag.....some time after 9/11 right? But I CAN tell you all about the retard I was dating at the time and how for some stupid reason....young and clueless....I thought he was the one). Ahhhh to be young and in love and have the whole world ahead of you. I remember when Kiel and I were dating and when we first got married how we felt like the world existed just to give us a play place. Nothing else mattered, nothing else existed. But then the world shoved itself into our lives and now our world is dictated by politics and war. But.....right when he first gets back from a deployment, before the dust has settled, and before there is any indication that he has to do anything other than be with me, we have a bit of that beautiful ambiguity as well.

#9 Vertigo

Well I love James Stewart....so thats a perk. I love Alfred Hitchcock...so that's a perk. I love movies with a twist...so that's a perk. This movie was great! It was certainly better than Psycho but probably because of the wonderful leading cast of James Stewart and Kim Novak. They were both amazing and able to give their characters all the complexities and dimensions they needed in order for this movie to be believable and as successful as it was/is. The audience is really able to feel Scottie's sense of paranoia as he unravels a case of murder, love, deception and betrayal. I'm glad it was able to show the love between Madeline/Judy and Scottie without being overt or cheesy because I just wouldn't be able to take it. Yesterday, I said goodbye as my husband left for a trip that would eventually place him in Afghanistan (I'm assuming he is almost there or perhaps somewhere in Europe on a layover). Thankfully I was able to avoid that horrible first night of crying hysterically and being lost in my own negtive thoughts by going out with my girlfriend Krissi and getting ridiculously smashed (I even did a couple shots for my husband and the other spouses that are in my position).

Well fuck me sideways. I am getting ready to enter the last month and have only viewed 44 movies. I had to take a break because over the past week I was in Norfolk, VA, spending time with Kiel. I am so thankful that I was able to have that week with him but now he is gone, it is over and I gotta get back to all the chores and tasks I eft behind (which will also keep me so busy I won't think about how lonely the holidays are without my husband). I really gotta get cracking. Well I am watching Cabaret right now. I have Bonnie and Clyde and Yankee Doodle Dandy at my house and The Lord of the Rings, Apocalypse Now and Intolerance (*shudder*) on my instant queue and I'm going to borrow Schindler's List  from my Dad and closer to Christmas will borrow It's a Wonderful Life from my in laws. I'm going to finish this list dammit!!!!!!!