My Favorite Movies

Before CGI or the special effects we've come to expect, "Zardoz" reaches levels of mythology and philosophy that go beyond 99.99999999999 % of movies.

The most romantic period for any society is its feudal era. Here the American and Japanese feudal eras overlap in a story possibly based on fact. The interplay of Mifune and Bronson is classic.

Based on the life of Lone Wolf and Cub, Itto Ogami and his son Daigoro. This is one episode in a series of films, although this is the only one I've ever seen.

Kurosawa was a great fan of Shakespeare, and based "Ran" on Shakespeare's "King Lear".
This remains one of the most consistently gorgeous and meaningful films I've seen.

Supposedly based on a true story, this was the inspiration for "The Magnificent Seven", which in turn spawned a movie series and a TV series.

This was one of Toshiro Mifune's first roles, and one of his best.

Based on a real story, this was later remade as the American western "The Outrage" with William Shatner.

The "Rashomon Phenomenon" illustrates the vulnerabilities of eyewitness testimony; for years some lawyers' bar associations made it part of their required training.

the film that inspired Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name, starting with "A Fistful of Dollars".

What most people don't realize is that this film is the logical followup to "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "2010: Odyssey Two".

. . .and it quite adequately explains why some people really, really hate clowns. . .

Titled "Gojira" in Japan. Raymond Burr ("Perry Mason", "Ironside" on TV) was spliced into the American Version of this film; decades later, he would reprise the role of "Steve Martin" in "Godzilla 1985", which I believe was his last role. Still a great movie to watch.

Based on the play, in turn based on the Scopes Trial, it's as relevant to the present time as it was then.

A group of German jurists are placed on trial for their collusion with the deceased Nazi regime. What is right, and what is wrong? When should one speak out?

Just about the best animated movie I ever saw, following on the heels of "Heavy Metal" magazine, known as "Metal Hurlant" in its native country of France.

Got an ASS-KICKIN' soundtrack, too. The music alone was worth the price of admission. . .

A beautiful modern fairy tale, with just the right mix of sex and violence and drugs and rock'n'roll. . .

Kurosawa Cowboys - with an all-star cast.

Loved trhe movie; brough back memories. I didn't like the way it left out some of the stories in the book; a lotta good material could have been used.

not so bad, if you like senseles guts and blood and gore. . .Rob Zombie's first movie. . .

sequel to "House of 1000 Corpses", and just as gory. . .bit more suspense, though. . .

The Kubrick-Clarke collaboration is a masterwork; yet its meaning cannot be commonly agreed on. Interpretation is left to the individual.

one of Bruce Lee's earliest and best movies. . .a must-see

First of the series, with Dudikoff as an American serviceman who moonlights as a ninja. Of course, almost everyone's against him.

A good film, full of action.

As has been said, "King Kong is 50 feet high; Godzilla is 400 feet high. . .NO WAY. . ."

the American version brought back Raymond Burr (possibly in his last movie) as reporter Steve Martin. A good movie, although a bit of campiness leaks in here and there.

not bad; here we see a lot of evidence that Godzilla has intelligence superior to humans

so hokey and campy it's perfect; the "environmentalist" Godzilla battles the smog monster by using--among other things--KUNG FU !

what i consider part one of a 2-part story followed by 'Tokyo SOS'

unlike the current model, the original was constructed by illegals. . .

great!

What's the difference between an 'actor' and a 'movie star'?

the continuation of the American Yojimbo. . .not as good as the first or the last, but still great

"Dorothy, wake up."

Sergio Leone adapted Akira Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" to the American West. The beginning of the "Man With No Name" series.

less introspective than "2001", but it gets to the point: what happened to the crew of the Discovery? A near-perfect adaptation of Clarke's novel, bolstered by recent discoveries by our probes to Jupiter. . .

probably the best of the movies, if for nothing else than the appearance of the "Rogues' Gallery" of enemies. . .not counting the aliens.

so the military wants to attack the mutants. . .let's see how well that works. . .

a masterwork. . .

Matthew Broderick was the only saving grace in this film. Otherwise it's basically "Jurassic Park 4: Giant Velociraptor in New York".

. . .on second thought, I take it back. . .VICKI LEWIS. . .she's totally hot hot hot HOT HOT HOT in ANYthing she's in, even if it's a turkey like this. . .

few changes in the storyline. . .instead of wearing the armor breatpplate, now he has a nuclear reactor inside his chest. . .lotsa good stuff in this movie

only took 40-45 years. . .what took so long?

It took about 50 years for this story to get done right. Thank God for Carpenter.

there have been a few changes in the comic book storyline, which don't detract from the action, but might upset pureheart Iron Man readers. Ivan Vankov, the original Crimson Dynamo, has become Whiplash. Natasha Romanov (the Black Widow) is already a member of SHIELD.

there's also a new Rhodey in this movie. . .and a couple other teases are presented. . .a certain shield and a certain hammer. . .

not bad. . .

the Surfer is, of course, the best part of the movie. . .outside of seeing Stan. wish Jack could have lived to be in it, too. . .

never, never get tired of this character. . .NEVER. . .

Bruce Lee wrote the story. He died. His followers, including David Carradine and James Coburn, put the story on film for him.

All the best stories are mythological. This is one of them.

5-part collection on the life of the greatest swordsman who ever lived. it stops with his last and most famous duel, years before he wrote the classic 'Book of Five Rings' (Gorin no Sho). fictionalized, but still great.

Great book, great movie. trapped within part of a body, unable to communicate. . .reliving the events of his life, leading to his taking part in World War I and being forever changed. . .forever trapped within himself. horrible and fascinating, gut-wrenching and provocative.