Casablanca (1943)

I know I am going to be criticized and picked apart by most film lovers for not liking Casablanca. The movie was released 40 years before my birth so I grew up seeing this film spoofed so much that by the time I had to sit through the film in a college class, I felt I had already seen it.

It is your everyday boy meets girl, they have an epic love affair, turns out girl is married to anti-Nazi who is imprisoned at the time, "time goes by," boy opens a cafe in Casablanca, girl walks into his gin joint with husband, boy helps girl and husband flee the country. In the words of Peter Griffin, "I just saved you 2 boring hours."

The movie is also so over-quoted that it is annoying. "Play it again, Sam," is never even said in the movie yet people will argue tooth and nail that it is. I also could never bring myself to like Humphrey Bogart. I once read that he treated Audrey Hepburn terribly while filming Sabrina so I cannot like someone that treated her poorly, I am sorry. I am however, more fascinated with his marriage and love with Lauren Bacall than I am with this movie.

It is a classic and it is because of that I knew all the lines, how it ended, and the scene set-ups prior to viewing the actual film. I am not saying it would not be impressive to someone seeing it for the first time but I was left cold.

Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Is Shakespeare in Love cute? Sure. Was it enjoyable? Yeah. Did it deserve to win Best Picture over Saving Private Ryan? Wait, what? It beat Saving Private Ryan for the Best Picture of 1998? That was my initial reaction when seeing what the other Best Picture Nominees were that year.

I mean, it was a fun movie and I liked it but I don't think it was the Best Picture of 1998. I am going to guess that the Academy still had their heads up their asses because a year earlier they awarded Titanic the coveted award. Apparently the Academy needed more of the pretty, young, English girl (this time an American playing a Brit, the opposite of Kate Winslet the year before) engaged to be married to the stiff, upper class man but secretly wanting more. So she goes and screws the first artist she stumbles upon. In this case, he is a playwright, not a live-nude artist named Jack Dawson.

Again, I would pick the man the girl doesn't seem to want - in this case it is Colin Firth! I have nothing against Joseph Fiennes but he's not Colin Firth. In the same year, Joseph Fiennes played Shakespeare (who is told by Elizabeth I that Gwyneth needs to be with Colin) and Robert Dudley (who was shagging Elizabeth I). Oh, and I forgot Ben Affleck is in this movie. *groan* This was also the year that he was supposed to be left on an astroid but Bruce Willis had to go and be noble.

The opening music of the film is delightful though. I do own the soundtrack and I really did not mind the movie. I just think Saving Private Ryan was a better film and should have won.

Dances with Wolves (1990)

I am going to come out and just admit it; I cannot stand Kevin Costner. Mainly because he is an actor that cannot act. When he tries to do an accent, he fails miserably. Yet, he makes more money than anybody who actually does their job and does it well. That being said, he should stick to his baseball movies because he plays an arrogant son-of-bitch better than most because I maintain he is one.

I began watching Dances with Wolves secretly hoping I would not like it so I could go on about how awful it was and how terrible he is. Much to my displeasure, I loved the movie and Mr. Costner did not get under my skin like he usually does.

What really pisses me off about this movie is the killing of the animals. First the horse then the wolf. There is a short list of things that are going to really upset me when I watch a film and killing animals (although I know it is fake) is right at the top. I think it should be listed somewhere on the box of a film, "Animal Death Included" so I know to pass by it and go for another title.

It also really bothers me how those of European descent felt entitled to drive the Natives off of the lands they inhabited for thousands of years prior and think it was acceptable. This would include my own ancestors, at least on my father's side.

Even though I hate to admit it, Kevin Costner is credited with 2 Oscars assocaited with this film. He won for Best Director and Best Film. Although, I am just saying, neither award was for his acting. He has won a few Razzies for his acting though. Apparently, I am not alone in my thinking. You stick to those sports movies, Kevin and leave the real work to those who know how.

Schindler's List (1993)

I somehow managed to get through high school and college, as a history major no less, without ever having a single lesson on World War II. I fully intend to do more research on my own but I am not sure yet where to begin or how to go about it.

It was not until recently that I first saw Schindler's List. I hate to admit it but until the end of the film, I had no idea it was a true story. Seeing the survivors walk up to the real Schindler's grave and put roses on it was when it clicked for me.

This blog is meant to be about film so I will not go into my feelings about how negative and harmful religions can be. I just need to say that the events of the Holocaust were not in Biblical times. It was all happening less than a century ago. People being brainwashed by charismatic, yet vile, leaders is not something new and it is bound to continue into the future. We need to not be afraid to think for ourselves. It is important to education yourself and not be taken in by someone else's beliefs, thoughts, or actions.

I have yet to watch a film about the Holocaust that did not make my cry and really upset me. I am not Jewish and I cannot even say I am close to anyone that is. There is just something about hatred based on religion, a sin all religions are probably guilty of doing by at least some of its members, that is inherently hypocritical.

Ralph Fiennes always plays evil well. This role for him was no exception. Liam Neeson also does a stellar job, as he usually does. The film won 7 Oscars and Steven Spielberg won his first Best Director Oscar for the film.

If the viewer takes away nothing else from the film, just remember that if a self-serving business man can be changed into saving 1,100+ people from certain death, maybe you can do a little more to be a better person.

Tom Jones (1963)

Where can I even begin on this picture? Tom Jones, the movie, not the Welshman that sings, won Best Picture in 1963. Why it won Best Picture, I am not really sure. The Academy is known for making some questionable choices and this is one of those ones that I question.

I have not seen the other four films nominated for Best Picture that year so maybe Tom Jones was the best there was. Without having actually seen it, I would guess Cleopatra would be more interesting than this film.

The majority of the characters in Tom Jones, including the title character, are not likeable. The pace of the movie is odd. While there is an attempt at humor, something about it just does not work. The score was also borderline annoying.

I was amused when I figured out that the lead actor was Daddy Warbucks from the 1982 film version of Annie. I barely noticed him with hair.

The King's Speech (2010)

There is something to be said for seeing a Best Picture winner before it actually wins the award. As luck would have it, I got to see The King's Speech a few weeks before it won the award about an hour ago.

I do not hide the fact that I am an Anglophile. Foreign actors and actresses always just seem to be better than the American ones. There are a few American actors I would argue are wonderful at what they do but those ones seeking fame and cookie-cutter roles should never be praised or call what they do acting.

Now, for Colin Firth. I was not one of those people that saw his famous BBC production of Pride and Prejudice back in 1995. I did however, love him as the updated Mr. Darcy in Bridget Jones's Diary. One of my other favorite movies is Love Actually, also staring Mr. Firth.

The King's Speech was exactly what I expected from a British film. There were scenes that made the audience laugh, scenes that provided a lump in the back of your throat (one should never cry at a British film, it would be very un-British), and scenes that made you sympathize with a "king." As I was watching the film, I thought to myself, "This is Best Picture material."

Some of the works of Beethoven are used during the film which help add to my loving it. While the King is giving his speech to a nation about to enter World War II, the music complements the speech so well that it gave me goosebumps and a sense of pride that I would imagine would be patriotism, if I were a royal subject. I came home from the movie that evening and purchased one of the famous posters from Britain in WWII, "Keep Calm and Carry On."

I did notice that the woman who played Geoffrey Rush's wife in the film was Elizabeth Bennet to Colin Firth's Fitzwilliam Darcy. The entire cast was wonderful and even the corgis were precious. I am very glad this film won Best Picture and that Colin Firth took home the Best Actor award! God Save the King!

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

To my knowledge, The Silence of the Lambs is the only Best Picture winner to have been filmed in Pittsburgh. I grew up with Pittsburgh as the nearest urban area. I was probably 8 or 9 years old when I first saw this movie and I can remember my dad showing me filming locations for it.

The movie is a story of a young woman (played by Jodie Foster) who is training to become an FBI agent. While in her training, there is a serial killer on the loose that is killing larger women and skinning part of their bodies for unknown reasons. In order to catch this killer before he strikes again, the FBI sends the young agent to see a psychologist with a criminal profiling background to help them get an idea of who is doing it and why. There is just one small problem, the psychologist is locked up for having unusual eating habits.

As a child, I can remember going with my parents to get their VCR fixed or cleaned at this video rental store about 15 miles from their house. The man who owned the place looked just like the serial killer in this film and he scared the hell out of me. He later would dub my North and South Book III tapes for me - I bought them from the UK, not knowing they would not work in the US but by that time I was old enough to realize he was not the same guy.

For a few years, I wanted to be a Criminal Profiler and even started college as a psychology major. A few reasons played in to me changing majors but I think in the back of my mind, I had a fear of one day running into a real-life Hannibal Lector. The Silence of the Lambs came from a book and is the second part in a trilogy by Thomas Harris. I had to read the first book in the series, Red Dragon, in college. One film adaptation of Red Dragon features the adorable Edward Norton in the lead role.

This is one of my favorite Best Pictures winners. I love psychological thrillers. The movie came out long before the television shows such as Law and Order: SVU and Criminal Minds aired. Currently, The Silence of the Lambs is one of only three movies to win all of the Big Five Oscar awards (Picture, Screenplay, Director, Actor, and Actress). And to date, it is the most recent one to do so. The film has also been quoted and spoofed in many films and on television.