Favorite Eleven Films of 2011

Favorite Eleven Films of 2011 Moneyball The Artist The Descendants Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy The Ides of March Take Shelter Hugo Drive Midnight in Paris Super 8 Attack the Block Honorable Mentions: Warrior, 50/50, and Win Win

The Jungle Book (2016)

A Little Background: The story of The Jungle Book has always meant a lot to me. The very first time I ever went to see a movie in the theaters, it was a re-showing of the 1967 animated classic. I absolutely loved it. I had the soundtrack on cassette and would listen to it with…

Prince

Born: June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, MN Died: April 21, 2016 in Chanhassen, MN I just wanted to write a short post today to pay tribute to the great Prince Rogers Nelson. Also known as Jamie Starr, Christopher, Alexander Nevermind, The Purple One, Joey Coco, O(+>, and The Artist Formerly Known as Prince. While he did…

Super 8 (2011)

A Little Background: After watching this the other day, I felt compelled to write something up on it. This wasn’t the first time I had seen it, I went to see it twice in the theater and probably four or five times since then. I still believe that this film is the best tribute to…

Favorite Six Films for Tax Day

The Untouchables (1987) Shawshank Redemption (1994) The Firm (1993) The Producers (1967) The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Adrien Brody

Born: April 14, 1973 in New York, NY Notable Works: The Pianist (2002) King Kong (2005) The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) Academy Award Nominations: 2003 Best Actor for The Pianist (won) Personal Favorite: The Village (2004) After working with Terrence Malick, Spike Lee, and Barry Levinson in the late 1990s, it was only a matter…

Vincent Gallo

Born: April 11, 1961 in Buffalo, NY Notable Works: Arizona Dream (1992) Palookaville (1995) Buffalo ’66 (1998) Personal Favorite: The Funeral (1996) The character of Paul Leger in Arizona Dream is one of my favorite movie characters of all time. Gallo joins Johnny Depp, Jerry Lewis, Faye Dunaway, and Lili Taylor in one of the…

Favorite Eleven Films of 2012

Favorite Eleven Films of 2012 Django Unchained Flight The Life of Pi Silver Linings Playbook Hitchcock  Frankenweenie Killing Them Softly The Dark Knight Rises Moonrise Kingdom Lincoln Argo Honorable Mentions: Arbitrage, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Safety Not Guaranteed

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

A Little Background: One of my favorite movie sub-genres is Film Noir. A genre famous for it’s gritty black & white portrayal of morally ambiguous characters in compromising situations. These crime dramas dominated the 1940s and 1950s, and they only get better with age. Director John Huston is cited as making the first major film noir The…

Francis Ford Coppola

Born: April 7, 1939 in Detroit, MI Notable Works: The Godfather (1972) The Conversation (1974) Apocalypse Now (1979) Academy Award Nominations: 1971 Best Adapted Screenplay for Patton (won) 1973 Best Director for The Godfather 1973 Best Adapted Screenplay for The Godfather (won) 1974 Best Picture for American Graffiti  1975 Best Picture for The Conversation 1975…

Arlington Road (1999)

A Little Background: A couple months ago, I watched the American Masters documentary,  Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides. I’ve always been a fan of Jeff Bridges, The Big Lebowski and The Fisher King are two of my favorite films. But this documentary made me want to dig into some of his older or lesser-known pictures. So I’ve…

Favorite Eleven Film of 2013

Favorite Eleven Film of 2013 Prisoners  Inside Llewyn Davis  Drinking Buddies  12 Years a Slave  Much Ado About Nothing   Mud  Nebraska  The Lone Ranger  Blue Jasmine  The Place Beyond the Pines  Fruitvale Station Honorable Mentions: The World’s End, Zero Dark Thirty, and Saving Mr. Banks