This film is not yet rated...

This was pretty interesting to see how films get rated - basically by a small group of folks that are not exactly qualified to make the decision for everyone.
I do think a rating system is needed or something that gives folks a bit of insight before they go to see something, but it certainly seems like the current system is flawed, judgmental and prejudice.
Possibly they need something like a list of ingredients, similar to what we find on products we eat. For example if something has msg it in or artificial coloring in it, some folks would choose not to eat it. If movies had a list of ingredients like 20 references to f_ck or masturbation scenes, the ingredients can list them and folks can choose to watch it based on the ingredients.

Since ratings are very subjective, another possible solution would be for raters to name themselves and give their opinions. Similar to reviewers like Siskel and Ebert - some folks may choose to see a movie or not see a movie based on Siskel and Eberts thumbs up or not.
Maybe they can list a variety of people with different point of view and say, this priest rates it a _, and this rabbi rates it _ and this lesbian mother rates it _. This way, folks can look at the opinions of people who's point of view they would value and align with, then base their opinion to see or not to see the movie on that.
Just some thoughts.

TOP 200 FILMS

This list includes my favorites, a good representation of great directors, genres and styles, historically important films and titles that anyone seriously interested in movies should see at least once. It is not meant to be perfect, just personal.

2001: A Space Odyssey
39 Steps, The
8 ½
Adventures of Robin Hood, The
Akira
Alexander Nevsky
Alien
Alphaville
American in Paris, An
Annie Hall
Apartment, The
Apocalypse Now
Asphalt Jungle, The
Augirre: the Wrath of God
Bad and the Beautiful, The
Bad Day at Black Rock
Battleship Potemkin
Beauty and the Beast (’46)
Bicycle Thief, The
Birth of a Nation, The
Black Cat, The (Karloff/Lugosi)
Blade Runner
Blow-Up
Blue Velvet
Bonnie and Clyde
Brazil
Bride of Frankenstein
Bridge on the River Kwai
Bringing Up Baby
Cabinet of Dr. Calagari, The (‘20)
Casablanca
Cat People (’42)
Chinatown
Citizen Kane
City Lights
Clockwork Orange
Conformist, The
Conversation, The
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Crowd, The
Day the Earth Stood Still, The
Detour (’45)
Diary of a Country Priest
Die Hard
Die Nibelungen
Dirty Harry
Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The
Do the Right Thing
Double Indemnity
Dr. Strangelove
Dracula (’31)
Duck Soup
Duel
Easy Rider
Eraserhead
Exorcist, The
Eyes Without a Face
Fall of the House of Usher, The (Corman)
Fantasia
Fargo
Flash Gordon (serial)
Fleischer Studios – animation
Footlight Parade
Forbidden Planet
Freaks
French Connection
General, The (’27)
George Meilies – films
Ghostbusters
Gladiator
Godfather, The
Gojira
Gold Rush, The
Goldfinger
Gone With the Wind
Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The
Graduate, The
Grand Illusion, The
Grapes of Wrath, The
Greed
Gun Crazy (’50)
High Noon
High Sierra
His Girl Friday
Hitch-Hiker, The
Hud
Hustler, The
I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang
Ikuru
In the Heat of the Night
Intolerance
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (’56)
It Happened One Night
It’s a Wonderful Life
Jason and the Argonauts
Jaws
Jules and Jim
King Kong (’33)
Kiss Me Deadly
L’Aventura
La Dolce Vita
La Strada
Last Laugh, The
Last Year at Marienbad
Laura
Lawrence of Arabia
Lord of the Rings, The (Jackson)
Lost Horizon
Luis Bunuel – early films
Lumiere Brothers – films
M (’31)
Maltese Falcon, The
Manchurian Candidate, The
Manhattan
Metropolis (’27)
Mr. Hulot’s Holiday
My Man Godfrey
Network
Night of the Living Dead
North by Northwest
Nosferatu (‘22)
Nothing But a Man
Notorious
On the Waterfront
Once Upon a Time in the West
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
Onibaba
Out of the Past
Passion of Joan of Arc, The
Peeping Tom
Persona
Phantom of the Opera (’25)
Place in the Sun, A
Playtime
Psycho
Raging Bull
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Ran
Rashomon
Rear Window
Rebecca
Rebel Without a Cause
Red Shoes, The
Repulsion
Road Warrior, The
Rome: Open City
Rules of the Game, The
Sacrifice, The
Salt of the Earth
Scarface (‘32)
Searchers, The
Set-Up, The
Seven Samurai, The
Seventh Seal, The
Shadows
Shock Corridor
Silence of the Lambs
Sin City
Singin’ In the Rain
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Some Like It Hot
Sons of the Desert
Spirited Away
Stagecoach
Stalker
Star Wars
Straw Dogs
Sullivan’s Travels
Sunrise
Sunset Boulevard
Taxi Driver
Terminator, The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The
Thief of Bagdad (’24)
Thief of Bagdad (’40)
Third Man, The
Throne of Blood
To Be or Not To Be (’42)
To Kill a Mockingbird
Top Hat
Touch of Evil
Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The
Triumph of the Will, The
Ugetsu
Unforgiven
Vampyr
Vertigo
Videodrome
Wages of Fear, The
Warner Bros. cartoons – Chuck Jones
West Side Story
White Heat
Wild Bunch, The
Wild Strawberries
Wind, The
Winsor McKay – films
Wizard of Oz, The
Wolf Man, The
Woman Under the Influence, A
Yojimbo

Seven Samurai

This was proabably the best movie we have seen so far. For a 1954 foreign action, it seemed pretty well done. The facial expressions and exaggerated movements seemed comical. I wonder if those things seemed comical when it was originally released. The strange bald wigs were very cheesy and I would bet they seemed cheesy in 1954 also. I didn't realize it was so long....until about an hour and a half into it, I looked to see where the cursor was and unhappily slumped back on the couch. My boyfriend gave up on it after 2 hours...and he likes action movies....normally. I had to endure the rest of it alone. It really dragged on. Most of the action was in the last hour, but by that time, I was just waiting for the time to pass. It could have been way shorter.

Nov 15th

Hope you are okay.
If we are having a test in class on the 15th, will the paper still be do also?

Mid-Term Exam and Grade

Hi everybody,
I just got home from the hospital. Everything is fine and I will be back to class next Monday. I have enough information to assign grades for the mid-term. There will be an exam in class on Monday the 15th. Please review and watch the assigned films on your syllabus through week six. See you then.
Best regards, Tom

Midterm

Hello Everyone,

I just spoke to Tom. He said the midterm will be posted here tomorrow.

just watched let the right one in. I thought it was absolutely beautiful. i love the score, character development was awesome, there was even times where you guessed what was happening but still knew. I was wondering though, during subtitles, is there a reason to why its sometimes on top then to the bottom??

Eraserhead

I have to say this one of the most disturbing films I have ever seen. I have heard many things about it, but after watching it I feel like I wasted two hours of my life. I do believe there are some commendable things to say about it, like thank god it was only two hours instead of three. Honestly, I was impressed with the set design and style of the piece simply based on the budget restrictions he(Lynch) was under. I also liked the quirkiness of Jack Nance. With that said, I thought not only was this movie a trip into the surreal, but I think not even David Lynch knew what he was trying accomplish. This movie should have been lost into obscurity, but people who are lost themselves and are searching for a deeper meaning in life somehow latched onto this film at the midnight showings! I will save all of you the time and energy.... this film has no meaning! There is no rhyme or reason to the chaos presented before us in this picture! I am almost inclined to think that Mr. Lynch was doing a social experiment to see if the audience can create meaning where there is none....

Let the right one in

The vampire was sexless in the remake also

Let the right one in book

Wow, those details from the book really change the story. Would you recommend the book to fans of the movie?

let the right one in

in the remake of this was the vampire also sexless or did they not mention that?

Let The Right One In.

I finally got my invite, woot.


Anyways, I thought it would be interesting to note that in the book that Let The Right One In was based off of, Eli was originally a boy. Yep. And he/she was castrated 200 years prior to the story by a demon and turned into a vampire. So there you go. She was actually a guy.


(Oh, and her father-figure type was a pedophile in the book... creepy.)

Let the right one in

I enjoyed watching Let the right one in. Not real scary, nor did it make me squeal like a pig, but definitely an interesting story. Glad this replaced The Exorcist.

I went to the theaters today to see Let me in; however, the local theater was no longer playing it.

Darn.

Will the horror ever end???

So, "Let the Right One In" story was okay. A bit sad actually. I am still not a fan of the things that are in horror movies...like blood sucking vampires and murder in this last one. This was definately, the best of all the films we have seen so far, but given a choice, I would steer clear of dark, scary, creepy movies.

I propose we watch something sweet and happy. Like "Tammy and the Bachelor". Here is a link to the scene from it. http://www.last.fm/music/Debbie+Reynolds/_/Tammy.
This to me is very sweet and happy. I suspect some of you may feel just as horrified by this as I have by what we have watched in the last few weeks.
I guess I like to live in a happy bubble.