95 - "Ghost" (1990)

     I might take a little ribbing for this one but that's okay, I really enjoy the movie Ghost. I bought into it hook, line and sinker. Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore star as Sam and Molly, a happy couple who are returning from a date one night when Sam is murdered in an alleyway. As Molly mourns the loss, Sam is stuck in a ghost form because he is not ready to "move on". Here he learns that his murder was not just a random coincidence but was planned by someone he considered a friend. He tries to warn Molly about this news but he cannot communicate with her directly. In steps Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg as a "psychic" who frauds clients out of their money by claiming she can communicate with lost relatives. There's a catch though, she can actually hear Sam. When Sam realizes this he uses Oda Mae, Goldberg's character, to communicate with Molly who is skeptical at first but eventually realizes the danger she is in. Ghost usually gets labeled a "chick flick" but I completely disagree with that labeling in this case. Yeah there are some sappy parts but there is more action than you might initially realize and the suspense is well played at times. Whoopi Goldberg provides some comic relief and was deserving of her Oscar win for this role. Oh yeah, there is also the pottery scene...

96 - "Red Dawn" (1984)

     The 1980's decade is filled with some very "cheesy" things....but what an awesome decade of "cheese" it was. Red Dawn is quintessential 80's cheese. The movie is about the start of World War III and the Soviets and Cubans are invading America, including air dropping troops into rural parts of Colorado......Okay, you really have to suspend your belief a "tiny" bit for this movie but if you do so there is a lot here to enjoy and have some fun with. A group of high school kids escapes the initial assault and take flight to the Rocky Mountains to hideout. There they band together to survive but also engage in guerilla warfare to fight the invaders. They call themselves the Wolverines and leave their trademark graffiti wherever they attack. Along the way they pick up a US soldier and a couple of female hideouts who all assist in the fight. The cast is filled with a who's who of stars from the 80's including Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, C.Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson and Jennifer Grey. Swayze and Grey would team up again a few years later to make Dirty Dancing. Red Dawn is filled with flaws and requires you to look past a couple of things but overall it is just a fun ride. It is definitely a product of it's time and that isn't a bad thing.

97 - "Million Dollar Baby" (2004)

     What is it about boxing that makes it a sport that has turned out so many great movies? I don't know, but there have been so many wonderful films about the sport and this one is no exception. In fact, I think it's one of the best (although not the best....more to come later in the list). Million Dollar Baby stars Clint Eastwood as Frankie Dunn, a washed up boxing trainer who because of personal relationships in his life has not let himself get too close to anyone on a personal level in many years. He runs a training gym with longtime friend and assistant Eddie, portrayed by the always stellar Morgan Freeman. One day a young country girl comes into his gym and starts working out. At first Frankie is annoyed by her but her determination and will to keep trying slowly works on him and he agrees to train her eventually. The two slowly develop a bond and reach a point where they both realize they are what has been missing from each others lives. The girl, Maggie, is played by Hilary Swank and she picked up her second Best Actress Oscar for this role and it is very deserving. The movie also took home Oscars for Best Picture, Director (Eastwood) and Supporting Actor (Freeman). One of the finest films of the past decade and is a must see.

98 - "Forget Paris" (1995)

     This is one movie on the list that I don't think a lot of people may have seen and that's unfortunate. Forget Paris is a very underrated comedy and there are several times in the film when I find myself laughing out loud. Billy Crystal stars as Mickey Gordon, an NBA referee who loses his father and takes his body to Paris where his father helped fight WWII and his last wish was to be buried next to where his war friends passed away. While in Paris, Mickey meets a woman named Ellen, played by the wonderful actress Debra Winger. The two have an instant chemistry together and start dating. Mickey convinces Ellen to come back to the States and the two begin an on-again, off-again relationship. This doesn't sound like a typical comedy plot but trust me, the laughs come fast and furious. Some of the funniest scenes deal with Mickey doing his job as an NBA referee. He is several feet shorter than most of the players and this fact alone leads to a lot of good laughs. The romantic-comedy genre is one of my least favorites and I can tell you ahead of time that there will not be a lot of them on this list, but Forget Paris is too good to be omitted. If you haven't seen it, make sure you find it somewhere and give it a shot, I don't think you will regret it.

99 - "The Sixth Sense" (1999)

     I'm a big fan of movies that have a big twist as long as it is done properly. The Sixth Sense is one of those films that really gets it right. I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen the movie yet, don't worry. The film stars Bruce Willis as child psychologist Malcolm Crowe. He starts treating a little boy named Cole Sear, played by Haley Joel Osment, who displays problems very similar to a patient Malcolm treated previously and failed to cure. This patient from Malcom's past ended up taking his own life after breaking into Malcolm's home and shooting Malcolm. Some time has passed and Malcolm has recovered from his gunshot wounds and is now troubled by Cole's similar problems. Can Malcolm cure Cole and exorcise those demons from his past? The Sixth Sense is directed by M. Night Shyamalan who would go on to make the films Unbreakable and Signs, two other films I enjoyed but this one is the cream of the crop.

100 - "Ocean's Eleven" (2001)

     Ocean's Eleven kicks off the list of my 100 favorite films. George Clooney stars as Danny Ocean who hires 10 assistants including his best friend Rusty (Brad Pitt) to knock off 3 Las Vegas casinos owned by Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia). There are personal reasons involved as Benedict is with Ocean's ex-wife Tess, played by Julia Roberts. Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Don Cheadle and Bernie Mac also have roles as members of Ocean's crew. Ocean's Eleven is one of those movies that's just simply fun to watch. The heist is one of those things where you have to suspend your belief for a little bit and go with it, but the way everything unfolds is enjoyable. You can tell the actors are having fun with their roles. Most of them would go onto bigger, more dramatic roles, but occasionally it's nice to just have some fun and Ocean's Eleven provides plenty of that.
(Also recommended:  Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen)

100 Favorite Films Of All-Time - How I Got There

     Well, I wanted to do a big project to give my blog a kick and make something that people would want to come back and check out. Back in the late 90's I actually got crazy enough and came up with my list of the 100 films that I enjoyed the most. It was a big task but it was fun doing it. So I decided to give it a try again as a big project for this blog. I knew it would take some time and it did. I started by going on Wikipedia year by year and looking at every film that was released each year. This was a daunting task to say the least and took several days to accomplish. I pulled out and made a list of any film that I thought had even a slight chance to make it. I initially ended up with a list of 170 and started paring down from there. It was easy to cut the first 20 or so but after that I had to start making some tough decisions. When I got down to 110, I was really splitting hairs but ultimately I did get it narrowed down to 100. Then I proceeded to rank them which was a whole new level of difficulty. What I ended up with is my 100 favorite films of all-time. Some notes regarding the list:
     1. The main thing to remember about the list is it is strictly my opinion and is not to be taken seriously. These are movies that I really enjoyed and think you might as well if you give them a chance. That's why I am not calling this the 100 Best Movies of All-Time. Are there films out there that are better than stuff on my list? Absolutely. I'm sure there are. I've seen a small, minute fraction of movies that have been released. So please take it with a grain of salt.
     2. This list is VERY heavy with movies released in the 1980's and 1990's. There are only a handful of films on my list that were released prior to 1970. I know this will be blasphemous to some people but refer back to note number one if you have any issues. The reason there so many films from these 2 decades actually makes perfect sense....These are the times when I saw the most movies. Pure and simple. The more movies you see, the better chance one has of making the list. I lived in theaters in the 90's and saw just about everything major that came out. My exposure to movies from the "Golden Age" is very limited, hence the list being very modern. Also, I stopped at 2010, so there will be nothing from the current year in the list but it will be interesting to see if anything can crack the list down the line. I hope so, that will keep my faith in movies alive.
     3. I did not list sequels. That would have made things even more difficult. If a movie on my list has a sequel worth mentioning, I will put it in the review. Yes, this is a way of cheating a bit since it's "technically" more than 100 movies, but what can you do. It's just for fun.
     4. The reviews will be just mini reviews. Some of these movies I will eventually get around to doing full reviews for later on but for the purposes of this list I will keep it short.
     5. When it comes to the rankings part, this is another thing to take with a grain of salt. Is there really going to be much difference between movie number 62 and 79? No, not really. I gave it a legitimate effort to put them in order but these are all movies that I would consider 4 or 5 star movies. The cut off line seems to be in around the 30 range. Anything above that give or take is a 5 star film, anything below is a 4 star film using my ratings system. Plus the 70 movies I cut would probably all make the 4 star list, 3 1/2 stars at worst.
     6. I plan to keep this list and update it as need be. My opinions on some movies have changed over time, and therefore the list might as well. I remember the first time I saw Pulp Fiction, I hated it. Then years later I saw it again and got a better appreciation for it. Then I started seeing it more and more and it grew on me. Did it make the list? Spoiler alert: No it didn't, but it was one of the last films cut. But if you would have asked if it was even possible after seeing it the first time I would have called you crazy. So things do change as some movies gain appreciation, and vice versa, over time.

Anyways, that's the deal. I will probably release one or two movies at a time in countdown form. Hopefully, that will give it some suspense (What will be next??) I hope you enjoy it at least. Feel free to leave comments. Tell me I'm crazy for putting a certain movie on the list, just keep it clean. Remember these are opinions. If you find a movie on the list you totally agree with, let me know that too. I look forward to the ride and I hope you enjoy it.