My Favorite Movies

Watching the film for the 8th time, I realize that this movie is the closest approximation of Kurosawa's lessons as a master filmmaker. Coppola mimics Kurosawa's brilliant composition, framing, story arcs, penchant for telephoto... I could go on. Starting with the lines "I believe in America"! this movie totally deserves being voted the 2nd greatest American movie of all time.

Where do I start. Awesome storyline, great characters, impeccable cinematography, the best actors in the biz, comedic in parts, musical in others. It's finally topped off with brilliant portrayals by Newman and Redford this is just unbelievable fare. The battle sequences, esp. the bloodbath scene is so Kurosawa, and the final scene is probably my all-time favorite.

A film of staggering emotional complexity and immense cinematographic beauty. A movie that reignites my hope in American cinema after the junk-food that it churns out summer after summer (not that there's anything wrong with that). Unorthodox yet brilliant direction by Sean Penn and an intensely reckless portrayal by Emile Hirsch, which is then topped off by the best motion picture soundtrack I've ever heard, unexpected cameos by Hal Holbrook, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener and her beatific smile. Please do yourself a favor and watch this movie, esp. if you love American cinema.

Watching it again, the movie still mesmerizes with its ability to startle, thrill and remind us of the history of violence. Fernando Meirelles is brilliant with a script that is so nuanced and the acting so freakin natural. It's like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (in this case Kids :) in all its gory detail. The movie is such a classic it'll be taught in film schools, in the years to come... and don't even get me started on the photography and editing! If only I could give the movie 6 stars out of 5.

Definitely, not better than the original but such a SOLID follow-up. From a script perspective this one was more difficult to pull off, owing to the two separate strands of stories (Corleone Jr. and Sr.) and the way he shows the genesis of why the Sr. and Jr. Corleone got into the business; one for the family, the other for revenge! This is definitely THE movie that Coppola was born to make. Too bad he didn't quit while he was at the Top (Thanks, Seinfeld) but instead chose to end this brilliant series in infamy (with the TERRIBLE Godfather III). This one however is a CLASSIC!

Despite the abrupt ending, I'd give this film a perfect score, since personally for me, it was a perfect blend of favorite genre (political thriller) meets favorite actor (Dustin Hoffman) meets realistic film-making. The script was razor sharp and it was one of those films were cinematography was used immaculately to convey the exact feeling inside the scene. A definite classic!

Watching it again, it reminded me how Terrence Mallick is the only other director (besides Kurosawa) who can film violence as visual poetry. Many scenes in this movie are reminiscent of Kurosawa's directorial technique as well as a shared philosophical insight into the nature of humanity (our search for truth) juxtaposed with the contradiction called war. If "Apocalypse Now" is the most over-rated war movie EVER, The Thin Red Line will take the award for most underrated. In my book, this is the pinnacle of poetic film making.

This is the stuff that most Bollywood movies are made of, but this movie is the very antithesis of -- simple script, truthful performances, brilliant improvisations, no songs, and featuring two of my favorite artists. Unfortunately, they don't make these kind of movies no more :(

This movie holds particular significance to me since I've been an ardent fan of the LOTR books (including Hobbit) and I was always skeptical about the casting. However, as I watch this film over again, I realize how well Peter Jackson brought to life an epic trilogy. The first part does a great job of setting up the characters, the quest, the challenges and the fellowship without which the other two wouldn't have been that successful. I'll definitely watch this over and over and will recommend it to any one who hasn't seen it yet! (D'uh)

Probably, one of the best films I've seen and inarguably, one of the greatest films ever made.

Very few artists posses the ability to speak the truth without fear and Chaplin is one of those.

Just check out the climactic speech given by the Barber in this movie: http://tinyurl.com/qreoq. Brilliance is an understatement when it comes to Chaplin and this movie is testament to that fact.

Awesome! A classic. I first heard about the movie via the documentary "Easy Riders, Raging bulls". The movie is probably one of the best written scripts. Wastes no time in setting up the characters and then plunges you into a roller-coaster of emotions, fun, comedy, romanticism and just plain masterful filmmaking. One of the very best of American Cinema!

Probably the best visual treatise on faith and the human condition from Hollywood. Expertly packaged (background score, cinematography, direction) and laced with metaphors and yielding new intelligence with each viewing, this is definitely one of M. Night Shyamalan's best efforts. I want this Shyamalan back!

Whoa! Refreshing...this film is at it's heart, more "Death of a Salesman" than "Rocky". Actually, it should have been titled the "Resurrection of a Salesman". Listen to the track - "keep hustling" for more clues, but in totality a breath of fresh air, and I think it just kicked the "Blues Brothers" out of my all-time favorite musical spot.

The "Citizen Kane" of all musicals. Brilliant casting, terrific choreography and dare I say, phenomenal direction highlighted by a few montages and subtle references to Hollywood mores of the time. Gene Kelly - the comedic timing and choreography of Chaplin w/ the looks of Clooney and O'Connor w/ his MADTV'esque performance and seemingly the inspiration for the rubber faced Jim Carrey's of our time only added to a nicely told story AND the song "Singing in the Rain". It just beat the "Blues Brothers" for my All-time favorite musical.