One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Not what I expected, but I absolutely loved it.  It started out slow, but once we got to know Nicholson's character I got drawn in.  I couldn't figure him out and I had to know what he was going to do next.  I needed to know what he was thinking.  That to me, seems to be the mark of an extraordinary actor.  How does he do it?  How does he express so much and make me want to know so much more?  There is a scene near the end of the movie when I want him to do something.  I'm screaming for him to go just go, and the camera lingers on his face.  There is so much expression on his face, but it is unclear what the heck he is thinking.  I couldn't figure him out, and I loved that.

It wasn't just him.  Nurse Ratched had me scratching my head as well.  Was she a brilliant nurse, saying and doing the things she did for a purpose?  Or was she a crazy bitch acting in pride?  I wondered throughout the movie what she was thinking and what her motives were.

I really loved all of the characters.  Especially Chief.  I just want to give him a big "secret hug."  I wish someday that I could write a screenplay like this.

2001: A Space Odyssey & The General

2 films down: Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey," and Buster Keaton's "The General."  I have completely opposite responses to both.

2001: A Space Odyssey
I watched it last night.  Here's what I know about this movie.  It seems to be a really reflexive film.  You're not really force-fed anything.  You observe and you come to the conclusions on your own.  Conclusions about life, technology, and how those interact.  I think that's what I know about this film.  But I have to confess - I slept through most of it.  And the music really irritated me, waking me up a lot.

I love movies because of characters.  I love getting to know them, learning to love them, and being involved in what happens in their story.  This is definitely not a character piece.  I don't get these kinds of films.  I know they're important and artistic and intellectual, but it's just not my thing.  I had the same response to 8 1/2.

I was confused when it was over and I woke up.  I always thought that this was the movie about the evil computer with the red eye.  I googled it, and apparently it is - I just slept through it.  So I'm watching it again, right now.  I felt too guilty crossing it off of my list when I barely saw any of it.  And I have always wanted to see what happens with HAL.

The General
I haven't seen a lot of silent films, nor any Buster Keaton.  I was instantly in love with this movie.  How he could play such a lovable character without even speaking just baffles me.  His movements, gestures, facial expressions were perfectly hilarious.

Keaton is a train engineer  for the South during the Civil War.  The woman that he is in love with is on board his train "The General" when it is stolen by the northern army.  He sets out to rescue her in a chase that is filled with disaster after disaster.

I was in awe of how well they did this film.  It was made in 1927 without the mass of technology that we have today.  Shots were coordinated so perfectly while most of the film took place on board a moving train.

I could watch this movie again and again, and I think that I might.  I will have to watch more of his other films too.  I think I might try and make a short silent film next quarter.

12 Great Movies in 10 Days

When I was a sophomore in high school one of my teachers handed out AFI's list of 100 greatest movies.  It quickly became my goal to watch all of the listed films.  12 years later, and I've only seen 43 out of 100 (seen movies in black).

1. Citizen Kane
2. The Godfather
3. Casablanca
4. Raging Bull
5. Singin' In the Rain
6. Gone With the Wind
7. Lawrence of Arabia
8. Schindler's List
9. Vertigo
10. Wizard of Oz
11. City Lights
12. The Searchers
13. Star Wars
14. Psycho
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey
16. Sunset Blvd.
17. The Graduate
18. The General
19. On the Waterfront
20. It's a Wonderful Life
21. Chinatown
22. Some Like It Hot
23. The Grapes of Wrath
24. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
25. To Kill a Mockingbird
26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
27. High Noon
28. All About Eve
29. Double Indemnity
30. Apocalypse Now
31. The Maltese Falcon
32. The Godfather Part II
33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
35. Annie Hall
36. The Bridge Over the River Kai
37. The Best Years of our Lives
38. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
39. Dr. Strangelove
40. The Sound of Music
41. King Kong
42. Bonnie and Clyde
43. Midnight Cowboy
44. The Philadelphia Story
45. Shane
46. It Happened One Night
47. A Streetcar Named Desire
48. Rear Window
49. Intolerance
50. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
51. West Side Story
52. Taxi Driver
53. The Deer Hunter
54. M*A*S*H
55. North By Northwest
56. Jaws
57. Rocky
58. The Gold Rush
59. Nashville
60. Duck Soup
61. Sullivan's Travels
62. American Graffiti
63. Cabaret
64. Network
65. The African Queen
66. Raiders of the Lost Ark
67. Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf?
68. Unforgiven
69. Tootsie
70. A Clockwork Orange
71. Saving Private Ryan
72. The Shawshank Redemption
73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
74. The Silence of the Lambs
75. In the Heat of the Night
76. Forrest Gump
77. All the Presiden'ts Men
78. Modern Times
79. The Wild Bunch
80. The Apartment
81. Spartacus
82. Sunrise
83. Titanic
84. Easy Rider
85. A Night at the Opera
86. Platoon
87. 12 Angry Men
88. Bringing Up Baby
89. The Sixth Sense
90. Swing Time
91. Sophie's Choice
92. Goodfellas
93. The French Connection
94. Pulp Fiction
95. The Last Picture Show
96. Do The Right Thing
97. Blade Runner
98. Yankee Doodle Dandy
99. Toy Story
100. Ben Hur

That, being a FVS major, is absolutely unforgivable.

12 of the films that I haven't seen are on instant view, and it's my goal to watch all of them before spring break is over: 2001: A Space Odyssey, The General, High Noon, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Bonnie and Clyde, Intolerance, Jaws, The Gold Rush, Network, A Clockwork Orange, Platoon, Do The Right Thing

First up, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick, 1968