Best of the Year: 1984 - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

 

I grew up loving George Lucas' fantastic creations like Star Wars, Willow, and  Labyrinth. I could pretend to be Han Solo, Madmartigan, or the Goblin King, but it was always a bit of a stretch. This film series is different though... I could really grow up to be Indiana Jones. He was an archaeologist and a teacher. He lived on a real historical Earth. He was a great fighter and adventurer, but he wasn't superhuman. I have grown to appreciate Raiders and The Last Crusade as I have gotten older, but when I was growing up this one was always my favorite. I think this was mainly because of "Short-round": the unfortunately named kid surrogate for everyone like me who wanted to team up with their hero. 

My take from 2010.

The Year in Movies: 1984

1984

It's happened. I've fallen behind. This is mainly because I wanted to see Amadeus before writing this one. I'll track it down eventually...

Number of Movies I've Seen: 10

Number of Movies from my original top 365:  5

Oscar Winner:
Amadeus - See above. Probably my most egregious best picture miss.

Box Office Winner:
Ghostbusters - This one never really stuck with me. I think I may have been a couple years too young for it. I actually have much fonder memories of the sequel.

My Top Ten:
1. NEXT POST!

2. The Natural - I really need to rewatch this, but it blew me away on the first viewing. I even added it to my original blog while it was still underway.

3. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind - PICTURED ABOVE. Another I really need to rewatch. Especially because I don't think Abby has seen it. It brings in some of my favorite things: A plucky female heroine, an environmental message, and Miyazaki's stunning hand-drawn animation. My original post.

4. The Neverending Story - Unlike Ghostbusters, this one DID resonate with me as a kid. There's no telling how many times I rented this one. I bet my parents thought the title was a self-fulfilling prophecy! I still want a luckdragon!

5. The Karate Kid - Another that I endlessly copied as a child. Every kid in my elementary school tried to crane kick at least once a week. Wax-on...Wax-off...

6. Blood Simple - The Coen's first film isn't there most accessible, but you definitely get treated to all of the hallmarks that they would bring for the next 30+ years. Also the first from Frances McDormand!

7. 28 Up - Michael Apted's super-doc really takes off here as the children's lives begin to take drastic and diverse turns.

8. This is Spinal Tap - I don't love this one as much as Christopher Guest's other mockumentaries (where he would take over directing duties), but it still is important for pretty much founding the genre.

9. Ghostbusters

10. Gremlins - I often say in these capsule reviews that I need to rewatch the movie in question. I kind of wish I hadn't rewatched this one. It isn't as funny or even as fun as I remembered.

Best of the Year: 1974 - Young Frankenstein

 Yep... My favorite two films from 1974 are both from Mel Brooks. This one edges out Blazing Saddles for me because of the interesting female characters. Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, and Peter Boyle are great, but Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, and Teri Garr really sell this one for me. Elizabeth, Frau Blucher, and Inga complement the leading men in such a way that humanizes all of them more than any other of Brooks' movies. It may not have taken as many risks as Saddles, but for me it is funnier and much more timeless. 

I was lucky enough to catch a theatrical production of the musical version of this in Winston-Salem a few years back and I was reminded how much I adore this story.

Here's my take from 2010.

The Year in Movies: 1974

 1974

Number of Movies I've Seen: 10

Number of Movies from my original top 365:  2

Oscar Winner:
The Godfather Part II - I remember back when I was posting on the Rotten Tomatoes forums everyone told me how much I would love this movie after reading my takedown of part 1.... Welp... they were wrong. All of my problems with Part I still exist in this one. Part of me wishes this had just been a prequel and really fleshed out the DeNiro part of the film. Everything set in "present day" was just an utter bore. What can I say? These movies aren't for me.

Box Office Winner:
Blazing Saddles - (Pictured above) Spoiler alert! I'll have more to say about Mel Brooks' genius in the next post, but this movie is simply impressive. An R-rated, N-word dropping, Oscar-nominated take-down of the most popular genre in American filmmaking that makes more money than any other movie of the year. The performances are perfect, but what makes this one is the screenplay that isn't afraid of anything. I'm not sure this movie could've been made at any other time in history. 

My Top Ten:
1. NEXT POST!

2. Blazing Saddles

3. Chinatown - Polanski's skeeviness aside, this movie is a masterpiece. Nicholson's performance coupled with a noir plot straight from the '40s make for an astounding experience.

4. Where the Red Fern Grows - I saw this in middle school. I remember like it, but it's been a long time.

5. Hearts and Minds - Essential (albeit tedious) documentary viewing about the Vietnam war.

6. The Godfather Part II 

7. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - I am not the biggest fan of the slasher genre, but if you are going to do it, this is how its done.

8. Female Trouble - I love John Waters as a human being and artist, but his movies are VERY hit and miss. For me, this one was the latter.

9. Emmanuelle - This may sound strange, but maybe I need to give this one another shot. Roger Ebert gave it three stars after all... I think college Will may have been watching this one with a bit of an unsophisticated eye.

10. Gone in 60 Seconds - Like me, when you discover that the Nic Cage/Angelina Jolie street racing romp was actually a remake, you may be tempted to check out the original. Don't. It is trash...

Best of the Year: 1964 - My Fair Lady

 I think it was Ms. Layman. Somewhere around the 4th or 5th grade, in general music class at Grifton school we spent what felt like two weeks watching this movie. It was lost on me at the time, but little did I know how much this movie would entwine itself in my life. It was my high school girlfriend's favorite musical and I have grown to love it more with every viewing. I got a chance to see an ECU production of it a decade ago, and it may have been the most fun I've ever had at a theatre outside of New York. I usually don't like dubbing, but Audrey Hepburn's acting and Marni Nixon's singing voice blend perfectly together. I do admit that I would love to have seen the Julie Andrews version, but this will do for now.

Here's my original blog post.

The Year in Movies: 1964

 

1964

Number of Movies I've Seen: 11

Number of Movies from my original top 365:  1

Oscar Winner:
NEXT POST! (2 in a row!)

Box Office Winner:
Mary Poppins - (Pictured above) Julie Andrews is a treasure. Legend has it that she only got this role because the producers of the movie in the next post thought she wasn't famous enough for a lead role. Walt Disney knew better and Andrews won Best Actress at the Academy Awards for playing the title role in her debut film (a feat I'm pretty sure has never been done since and will not likely ever be repeated). As for the story..... eh..... it's okay (I always need a romance which this film is clearly lacking), but film is surely quite magical and none of it brings you down from the flabbergasting performance at its center.

My Top Ten:
1. NEXT POST!

2. Mary Poppins 

3. 7 Up - This is the first film in the "Up" series and the only one not directed by then assistant director Michael Apted. On its surface 7 Up is pretty simple: A filmcrew interviews a group of British seven-year-olds from slightly diverse backgrounds on what their future will look like. What separates this series from other "slice-of-life" documentaries is that Apted would return every 7 years to catch up with the children (63 Up was released last year, but still isn't available in the US). Watched in concert with the other films, this series is one of the most powerful movie experiences I have ever had. The interviewees lives have such surprising and sometimes heartbreaking twists and turns, and the viewer learns that our futures are not written in stone.

4. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - I discovered this movie as it was listed as a powerful influence on Damien Chazelle for the movie La La Land (which you will absolutely see on this blog). It is definitely something different. I liked it, but I do feel I lose something in musicals with subtitles.

5. Band of Outsiders - I admit that I have quite a bit of work today catching up with "French New Wave". I dug this one from Jean-Luc Godard as he riffed on '40s Hollywood noir and would, in turn, have Tarantino and company riff on his riffs.

6. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb - Another from Kubrick that didn't quite do it for me. I get it, I just don't get the overwhelming love for it...

7. Three Outlaw Samurai - Very interesting Japanese "noir"-like tale. I watched this one after reading that Rian Johnson told all of his actors to watch it before filming The Last Jedi.

8. Goldfinger - Solid Connery-era Bond.

9. The Incredible Mr. Limpet - Don Knots turns into a fish or something like that. I don't really remember much about this one, but I think I dug it as a kid.

10. A Fistful of Dollars - My first spaghetti western (I know...). It is going to take a heck of a movie to break me from my disdain for bad 60s/70s dubs. This one wasn't it. 

Best of the Year: 1954 - On the Waterfront

 This is such an interesting film. I struggle with how I feel about it mainly because the director Elia Kazan says that it is an allegory for why he "named names" at the HUAC anti-communism hearings. I certainly do not view communism with the same vitriol as thugs willing to kill their fellow man to maintain control over the docks. ....

Annnddddd I just got the news about RGB....  This is how I feel right now:

The Year in Movies: 1954

1954

Number of Movies I've Seen: 6

Number of Movies from my original top 365:  1

Oscar Winner:
NEXT POST!

Box Office Winner:
White Christmas - Scattered thoughts while watching this movie specifically for this blog:

    -This is so much better than "Holiday Inn"... and with 100% less blackface

    -How is this a Christmas movie? 

    -HD is not kind to anybody in this cast except for maybe Vera Allen. 

    -51-year-old Bing Crosby is not convincing as a young vet or a love interest for 26-year-old Rosemary Clooney

    -Danny Kaye's song/dance numbers are actually pretty great but have nothing to do with the movie

    -Singing, dancing, and WWII nostalgia... I guess I see why this made so much money in 1954

My Top Ten:
1. NEXT POST!

2. Seven Samurai - (Pictured above) Probably the most copied action movie of the 20th century. There is a reason for that. A tale of a ragtag group of misfits coming together to defeat an evil, money-hungry oppressor is timeless, but Kurasawa tells it in such a way that it sticks with the viewer long after we lament the lost samurai as pictured above. It was the lone movie from this year that made my original top 365. Mainly because I hadn't seen my #1 yet.

3. Rear Window - This is not my favorite Hitchcock. It is solid, but I have to admit that I was a bit bored. The setup and film-making are flawless, but I just didn't connect with this one as much as I know others have.

4. White Christmas

5. Athena - This movie is wild. Kind of a mess plot-wise, but worth it for Jane Powell and Debbie Reynolds singing, dancing, and owning the screen.

6. The Long, Long Trailer - I don't really remember much about this one except I watched it one rainy afternoon when I was very young. Slapstick Lucy and Desi? I guess.

Best of the Year: 1944 - To Have and Have Not

 

A few years back I was wandering the AGHS library and I happened to see To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway. I guess I knew it was a book, but I had never really thought of the film as an adaptation of a Hemingway novel. It looked pretty short, so I picked it up. About eighty pages in I had to head to Wikipedia. This wasn't the movie as I remembered it... maybe this book just shared a title with the movie... but what a strange title to share. Sure enough, wiki had the answer: Director Howard Hawks and Ernest Hemingway were fishing buddies. One drunken even Hawks bet Hemingway that he could turn his worst book into a great film. Hemingway called his bluff and chose To Have and Have Not. Hawks immediately went to work enlisting a team of writers including Pulitzer prize winner William Faulkner. He scrapped nearly all of Hemingway's story, kept a vague semblance of the main character and the setting, added a love story, and possibly modeled it after the wildly successful Casablanca. It worked. Hawks crafted a super cool movie even though he may have cheated just a bit.

What struck me most about my most recent viewing is the absolute brilliance of Lauren Bacall. She was only nineteen years old during filming in her debut film and completely owns the screen. There may not be a more modestly seductive performance in all of cinema. This film doesn't hold up to Casablanca, but Bacall's performance molds it into something entirely different and more than worthy of your time.

My take from 2010 with a short ode to the late Bacall and my late Grandma Becton.

The Year in Movies: 1944

 

1944

Number of Movies I've Seen: 3

Number of Movies from my original top 365:  All 3!

Oscar Winner:
Going My Way - I've never really been a huge Bing Crosby fan so I didn't really "go out of my way" to track down this movie (get it....). I'll catch it next time it airs on TCM, I promise.

Box Office Winner:
Going My Way - see above

My Top Ten:
1. NEXT POST!

2. Arsenic and Old Lace - (Pictured above) Cary Grant in probably his best comedic role ever. It has been far too long since I've seen this one. Here's my quick take from 2010.

3. Double Indemnity - For my 1934 post I had real trouble finding a favorite. The reason I've only watched three movies from this year is because I would have been fine with any of them being my favorite of the year. I have shuffled these three movies 10 times over the past week and there is no reason this is third other than one of the three simply has to be. This movie is darn near perfect and an excellent thriller that few have matched since. Here's a little rant about it in 2010.

Best of the year: 1934 - It Happened One Night

 

I admit... I don't adore this movie as much as some, and I actively sought out movies that could bump it from this spot on my list. Alas, it was mean to be. Something must be said for this movie birthing the romantic comedy into existence. Gable and Colbert's performances are darn near perfect I just wish there was about 15-20 minutes tacked onto the end that allows the viewer to actually get to enjoy the final act along with the reluctant couple. My Grandma sure loved this movie though and the scene above deserves a spot on any greatest ever list.

The Year in the Movies: 1934

  1934

Number of Movies I've Seen: 5

Number of Movies from my original top 365:  0

Oscar Winner:
NEXT POST!

Box Office Winner:
NEXT POST!

My Top Ten:
1. NEXT POST!

2. The Man Who Knew Too Much - (Pictured above) Peter Lorre in his first English-speaking role directed by Alfred Hitchcock. I was sure this would supplant my number one pick for 1934, but alas it wasn't to be. This is certainly an important film for the history of thrillers, but being first doesn't mean it's anywhere near the best.

3. The Thin Man - I get it. It just isn’t for me. Not funny enough to compete with classic comedies and not cool enough to compete with classic mysteries. The entire runtime I couldn’t help but hunger for Groucho Marx or Sam Spade.

4. The Gay Divorcee  - You get to watch Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers which is always a treat. Too bad the story is just plain strange (a woman wants to divorce her husband, but can't fall in love because she thinks the guy was sent by her lawyer to pretend to fake a relationship... echh....).

5. Anne of Green Gables - It was fine... I guess. The acting was very stiff, but Anne Shirley's breakout performance makes sense because her big eyes and confidant demeanor own the screen. I will admit dozing off a bit in the middle. Just such a bland story...

Best of the Year:1924 - Sherlock Jr.

 I'm not sure what I expected from this one, but the title definitely led me astray. It's only relationship with 221B Baker Street is that the protagonist dreams of being a detective and the "movie within the movie" is about a detective with the title name. The picture above was one of the many things that blew me away with this one. During a dream sequence, Buster Keaton leaves his projectionist station and climbs into the movie. For the entire second act, he lives the life of the title character in the film. In doing so, he is able to solve his real-life mystery and win his love. I am reluctant to suggest silent movies to people, but I'd say anybody who appreciates cinema will dig this one. As you can probably tell, it's pretty clear where I fall on the Chaplin/Keaton discussion.

The Year in Movies: 1924

 1924

Number of Movies I've Seen: 3

Number of Movies from my original top 365:  0

Oscar Winner:
Didn't exist yet

Box Office Winner:
The Sea Hawk - This movie was a trip. I'll be honest, it was really tough to tell the main characters apart during the first act, but once our hero adopted Islam and begin to wear traditional Algerian garb things got a bit easier. I was surprised how the movie that made the most money nearly a century ago could be so tough on Christianity. The antagonist's religion is constantly called out and they are judged as hypocrites while the "Moslems" (as the movie decided to call them) come to the hero's aid and adopt him as one of their own. The sea battles were especially impressive and most of the time I couldn't tell if the shots were miniature or full-scale. As with most movies from this time, this one is free on Youtube. It is a fun one if you are feeling adventurous.

My Top Ten:
1. NEXT POST!

2. The Iron Horse - (Pictured above) John Ford directed 130 feature films during his career. Including this one, I have seen 5 (the others are Stagecoach, The Grapes of Wrath, How Green was My Valley, and The Searchers). I am always amazed by the reverence I hear in directors' voices when they speak of Ford, and with my small taste of his filmography I certainly see why. He has an eye for screen like an artist. Every shot is magnificent and his landscapes look like tapestries that belong in museums. These talents are certainly on display here and even though the movie probably needs about a half-hour cut, it still plays well today. This one is also free on Youtube.

3. The Sea Hawk

Best of the Year - 2013: Short Term 12

 

A melodrama about trouble teenagers in a group home may not sound like something you'd want to watch, but this movie is transcendent. We follow multiple young people as they try to get their life in order through difficult times. What makes this movie unique is that the leaders of the home are imperfect as well. The drama between the adults blurs the distinction between those who are helping and those who need help. This movie is streaming on Amazon Prime and I strongly urge you to check it out even though my mom thought it "too much heavy troubled behavior to be entertaining."