Forgotten Classics
Reviews of films that are the best of all time. These films are ones that we suggest you see before you expire.
Artificial Intelligence
David is 11 years old. He weighs 60 pounds. He is 4 feet, 6 inches tall. He has brown hair. His love is real. But he is not.
January 1st, 2011
The Fountain
Therefore, the Lord God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and placed a flaming sword to protect the tree of life. - Genesis 3:24
January 1st, 2011
The Mission
One man sought redemption, the other sought parity for the weak, powerless. Together they found themselves working for the Lord against those who were called to represent Him - the Catholic Church.
January 1st, 2011
The Phantom of the Opera
If you draw back in fear from this film, you will surely regret it.
December 31st, 2010
Fiddler on the Roof
The 1971 film adaptation of the classic musical Fiddler on the Roof is not only one of the best musicals of all time; it is also one of the best movies ever made.
December 31st, 2010
Full Metal Jacket
"Goodbye My Sweetheart, Hello Vietnam" This refrain from Dave Dudley's country ditty, an integral melody in the soundtrack of the classic "Full Metal Jacket" regarding a more patriotic approach to the Vietnam predicament, is etched in my subconscious as I reconsider Stanley Kubrick's grim satirical
December 31st, 2010
Being John Malkovich
All Things Malkovich And the film works. I know it sounds crazy, but that is essentially why this film is so alluring. An entire film built around seeing the world through the eyes of one of America's great current character actors - John Malkovich - and it works due to the outstanding story / scree
December 31st, 2010
Donnie Darko
Looking to the Future can be Hazardous to your Health Or maybe I could be wrong. That's what the coming of age / sci-fi film "Donnie Darko" does to me - every time I see it. By the time it is over, I don't know whether I'm coming or going - more questions than answers - and then I get it. And then I
December 31st, 2010
Gladiator
Ridley Scott employed the perfect balance of narrative, cinematic imagery and adventure to build the timeless tale of a once great empire beginning its fall into the moral decay that was Rome.
December 31st, 2010
Being There
Naivety and Innocence are Comfortable Collaborators in this humorous farce, Peter Sellers' second to his last movie, before his death in 1980, may also be his second best. "Being There," directed by Hal Ashby, is a humorous farce that marries the innocence of an illegitimate child; sheltered from the
December 31st, 2010
The Whole Wide World
The Story of the Best Pulp Fiction Writer in "The Whole Wide World" was a Whale of a Tale Pulp Fiction Writer Robert Ervin Howard, who in life was successful in the most difficult of economic times and in death celebrated for his effusive talent of "spinning" the most powerful of "yarns," is the sub
December 31st, 2010
To Kill a Mockingbird
I always wanted to know an Atticus Finch, and yet I never quite met him. I never found him in any of my coaches, my teachers, my friends, the fathers of my friends.
December 31st, 2010
The Lost Boys
Not just another teen angst meets brood vampire movie, "The Lost Boys" has always been special to me.
December 31st, 2010
Wyatt Earp
"But Now he's (Wyatt) Going to be a Marshal and an Outlaw. Best of Both Worlds, Son." These words were spoken by a tubercular Doc Holliday, played by a gaunt 145 pound Dennis Quaid, to Warren Earp, played by a young Jim Caviezel, in the junior classic "Wyatt Earp," which sums up the life of a comple
December 30th, 2010
Pulp Fiction
Lightweight Subject is Built into a Heavyweight Classic Just the film title itself, "Pulp Fiction" denotes a lightweight film. If one dissects the story, the message, the importance of the film, "Pulp Fiction" comes up light. Under most circumstances most people should ask themselves why they could
December 30th, 2010
E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial
Director Steven Spielberg chooses relatively unknown actors for his cast to go one step further to create a sense of familiarity in the audience.
December 30th, 2010
It's a Wonderful Life
Major Capra was fresh from his stint in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Colonel Stewart had just provided the U.S. Army Air Corps his best years. And these two great patriots made one great film.
December 30th, 2010
Taxi Driver
Travis Bickle is "God's lonely man," peering at New York through the rear-view mirror of his taxi cab. Though he tries to make sincere human connections, Bickle finds himself lonelier.
December 30th, 2010
The Royal Tenenbaums
"The Royal Tenenbaums" is the Wes Anderson / Owen Wilson classic that put their fine films on the radar screen for me.
December 30th, 2010
Unforgiven
Clint Eastwood directs this classic, for which he won the Oscar, and he proved, once again, in his role as former gun for hire, William Munny, that he is also a great actor.
December 30th, 2010
The Godfather: Part II
Michael Corleone, the youngest son of the venerable Don, grew into the role of the crime family's Godfather, but it was never a good fit.
December 30th, 2010
The Godfather
This Francis Ford Coppola classic, about a man trying to hold his family together while seeking the American Dream, launched the careers of a number of America's greatest actors.
December 30th, 2010
Band of Brothers
They came from all over the United States to become part of something new - the 101st Airborne. These young Americans learned how to fight, but moreover, they learned to be brothers.
December 30th, 2010
Vanilla Sky versus Open Your Eyes
Vanilla Sky, as the remake of the Spanish film Open Your Eyes, is one of the most misunderstood films of that decade, and is generally faded as the lesser film as the remake.
December 30th, 2010
Cold Mountain
Inman is driven toward his inevitable purpose in this love story set against the backdrop of the Civil War in Virginia and North Carolina.
December 30th, 2010
Once Upon a Time in the West
Once Upon a Time in the West is a surreal exploration of an Italian director's view of the lawless West.
December 30th, 2010
Big Fish
One of the 10 best films in the last 25 years is the film that offers each of us a unique perspective into our well considered lives.
December 30th, 2010
Sling Blade
This tiny independent film is an enigma. It is also one of the ten most important indies in the last 25 years for one reason: It could not have survived, and prospered without its singular visionary.
December 30th, 2010
The Last Waltz
The Last Waltz is arguably Oscar Winner Martin Scorsese's best film as it documents The Band as they bid fairwell to an eclectic collection of their most adoring fans.
December 30th, 2010
Once Upon a Time in America
Once Upon a Time in America, one of the three best films ever made about the crime gang motif, is equally outstanding as a surreal depiction of an immigrant's lot in 1920's America.
December 30th, 2010