30). The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011, David Fincher) - AFI Ranking: N/A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqQe3OrsMKI A Fincher-directed movie about a decades-old murder mystery on a rich Swedish family's snowy island compound? I'm in. Although there is traveling involved in the movie, a large chunk of it is spent isolated from much of the outside world …
Continue reading "MO Top 100 Thrillers – Part VII: Nos. 30 -21"
40). John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017, Chad Stahelski) - AFI Ranking: N/A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct-zGV4TgKY BABA YAGAAAAA! I've written about the franchise, and particularly #2, before. I love it. John Wick 2 replaces Raging Bull (AFI #51) on the grounds that both Wick and Jake LaMotta are tough, iron-willed forces of nature that make everybody else's life …
Continue reading "MO Top 100 Thrillers: Part VI – Nos. 40 – 31"
50) Body Heat (1981, Lawrence Kasdan) - AFI Ranking: 92nd https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJidhWBuRPQ "You're not too smart, I like that in a man" - Matty Walker A remake/reimagining of another AFI list-ee, Double Indemnity, Body Heat ratchets up the sex, and the literal heat. Set in Florida, as opposed to Los Angeles, the muggy humidity is palpable, …
Continue reading "MO Top 100 Thrillers – Part V: Nos. 50 – 41"
60). Rocky (1976, John G. Avildsen) - AFI Ranking: 52nd https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YYmfM2TfUA The ultimate sports movie. Like some other entries from the AFI, Rocky is more drama than thriller, but it's too enjoyable of a movie to remove from the list. It's spawned several sequels that are largely very enjoyable, but it's easy to forget that …
Continue reading "MO Top 100 Thrillers – Part IV: Nos. 60 – 51"
70). Blood Simple (1984, Coen Brothers) - AFI Ranking: #98 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFzPVLdGtAg "Now, in Russia, they got it mapped out so that everyone pulls for everyone else... that's the theory, anyway. But what I know about is Texas, an' down here... you're on your own." -Private Detective Visser (M. Emmet Walsh). Blood Simple is the Coen …
Continue reading "MO Top 100 Thrillers – Part III: Nos. 70 – 61"
80). Taken (2008, Pierre Morel) - AFI Ranking: N/A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZOywn1qArI Is there a more fun entry on this list? I don't think so. Taken brought back the revenge thriller in full force, and kicked off a series of 50+ year-old actors starring as ex-special forces-type guys who go on "justifiable" killing sprees to get revenge …
Continue reading "MO Top 100 Thrillers: Part II – Nos. 80 – 71"
Hello! Around September of last year (2020), my only reader and I embarked on a journey we called Hitchcock Monday's. Every Monday, I would pick an Alfred Hitchcock movie, and we would watch it over dinner. Toward the end of the year, there were a lot of consistent themes from movie to movie, and I …
Continue reading "MO Top 100 Thrillers: Part I – Nos. 100 – 81"
Gone Girl and My Best Friend's Wedding, both good movies, but that's where the similarities end. One of them is a Rom-Com, and one of them is not. Which one is which? Well, how do most Rom-Com's start? Often there is a meet-cute, aka an amusing or charming first encounter between two characters that leads …
Continue reading "Gone Girl vs My Best Friend’s Wedding – Which is the real Rom-Com?"
As with the last post, below will be a list of my 9 favorite movies from this particular decade. It isn't a "best movies" list and it isn't a "quintessential movies" list. I will say off the top that the 80's isn't the best decade for many artistic or cultural items. Unfortunately it is sandwiched …
With the recent end of another decade, this post marks the first in a series of posts where I'll look at my favorite movies from individual decades. I'm starting with the 90's because it is arguably my favorite decade, and for me, had the deepest roster of movies. A few things to note about this …
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