Most liked to least

1) The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
2) Psycho
3) Shawshank Redemption
4) Citizen Kane
5) V For Vendetta
6) The Simpsons Movie
7) Cinema Paradiso
8) Gone With the Wind
9) Ben Hur
10) The Graduate
11) The Great Debaters

The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly

The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly is truly a masterpiece of both Western/Adventure epic movies and filmmaker in general. The main plot of this movie revolves around three men: The Good, “Blondie” .or “The Man With No Name” (Clint Eastwood); The Bad, Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef); and The Ugly, Tuco (Eli Wallach). They all have very different personalities but are alike in one aspect—they all want the $200,000 in Confederate gold buried in a cemetery. Both Blondie and Tuco have different information leading to the gold so they are forced into working together while continuously being pursued by Angel Eyes.

For me, the best part about this movie is how well their titles fit with their characteristics. The Bad is evil personified and is willing to do anything to get the gold, even if it means killing indiscriminately. The Good is not what many would consider “good” today, but he does have a sense of honor and fair play which was lacking in the Old West. Also, the scene where he shares a puff of his cigar with Confederate soldier is powerful, and it sums up everything that the Man With No Name is all about, without saying a single word. Finally, the Ugly is definitely the most complex and central figure of this movie. Unlike Angel Eyes who is just evil, Tuco is a product of a very terrible environment. He worked hard keeping his family together but eventually took the more difficult route of being a vigilante (as opposed to his brother who became a priest). He really represents the ugly side of people, not good or bad just doing what one must to survive.

This is definitely one of my favorite movies of all time and I highly recommend it to anyone anywhere. There is hardly a Western cliché that is either given a unique twist or utterly destroyed by the director’s (Sergio Leone) storytelling.

Shawshank Redemption

            Shawshank Redemption is a Crime/Drama which takes place at the Shawshank Prison. The main cast includes Tim Robbins as Andy Dufrene and Morgan Freeman as “Red” Redding. This stories main focus is, as explained in the title, a tale of redemption. Andy is wrongly imprisoned and sent to the Shawshank Prison and meets many friends and enemies while he’s there. The best of these friends is Red and they form a very close but difficult relationship. I would like to talk about my favorite part of the movie and how it relates to the movies overall message.

            A recurring plot devise is how, after decades of imprisonment, the inmates become institutionalized. Brooks, an inmate of over fifty years, finally gets out of prison but is overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of modern life that he ends up committing suicide. This appears to be one of the many anti-prison messages that the director, Frank Darabont, is trying to imbed in the audience. This change in lifestyles almost gets to Red as well, but he has the thought of Andy to keep him sane.

            Overall I love this movie. Though I had a good feeling about the ending, I really was surprised when the twist ending occurred and it definitely made my heart start pounding. I would recommend this movie, not just to a few thespians or critics, but to anyone looking for both aesthetically and spiritually fulfilling drama.

V for Vendetta

I give this movie XI v's out of X

            This movie takes place in the fictional dystopian future of London. This movie is a combination of Action, Sci-Fi, and Thriller movies. The primary plot follows the exploits of our anarchist protagonist V (Hugo Weaving) who wears a Guy Fawkes mask and clothing covering his whole body and Evey (Natalie Portman) as they attempt to take down the totalitarian government that has sprung up after a resent biological disaster.

            The most important parts of this movie are the characters and they do an excellent job of portraying them. Evey starts out as a pretty typical woman, but soon begins to realize that the world around her is not the way that it is supposed to be. She ends up saving the life of V as he escapes from delivering his message (over the centralized television screens) and he takes her to his secret lair. Throughout the movie the relationship of these two evolves from an acquaintance to a fully developed romance (though V never reveals who he is).

            While this is happening, the world is beginning to crumble around them, as V’s plan for England unfolds with the date of November the 5^th quickly approaching (the date of Guy Fawkes’s attempted blowing up of Parliament). The government, led by Chancellor Sutler (John Hurt), has gained power through fear by unleashing a powerful virus on the people. And “by the grace of God”, they have found a cure and give it to the people to win their hearts and minds. It is also revealed that many of V’s victims were a part of this conspiracy and that V was the lone survivor of the experiments.

            Overall, the movie is fantastic. I have to recommend it to any fan of revolution, anarchy, or just a good vs. evil story. There are still problems, but what movie doesn’t have some. This film is based on a graphic novel, so the oversimplifications and added drama are to be expected.

The Great Debaters

I will give this movie 7 lynched Negros of 10

This film was very emotionally driven and that seems to be appropriate for a movie Drama/Biography about the Jim Crow Laws of the South and the discrimination of Negros under them. This film focuses on the exploits of Mr. Melvin Tolson B. (Denzel Washington) as he trains an elite group of three college debaters: Henry Lowe (Nate Parker) as the down-on-his-luck black man who is not to optimistic about the world, Samantha Booke (Jurnee Smollett) as the neo-feminist who wants to show the men what's-what, James Farmer Jr. (Denzel Whitaker) as the shy but strong willed and smart one who saves the day through sheer willpower and determination.

The plot revolves around the increasingly tense race relations of the south as the Great Depression continues and the debate team goes undefeated. One startling fact is how well educated the Negros are in comparison to the average white folks. Though the Negros are more literate, they still must treat themselves as second-class citizens and inferior to the white man. The tension of the story comes from the protagonists struggling against the oppressors and coming out on top.

There are several subplots ranging from relationship conflicts between the three debaters to the discrimination of Mr. Tolson for being a communist/socialist/labor leader and his push for workers' rights, and the main plot climaxing with their debate at Harvard University. There is even a point near the third act where the gang comes across a group of Texans lynching and burning a Negro and they barely escape with their lives.

For all of its good parts, there is still one part of this movie that does not go over well with me. the debate at the end of the movie. The debate is well done and invokes plenty of emotion—but that is the problem—the original speech was less glamorous and more poignant and does not end with a triumphant victory. The white characters are also pretty stock and one-dimensional and don’t offer much except to be the antagonists of the story.

Overall, this movie is worth watching and it really takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions. Even for its flaws, I would still give this movie for someone to watch and enjoy. The final speech at the end, while not like the original, is still worth waiting an hour and a half to see.