The homies over at Illroots.com put together one hell of a release party recently. If you were one of the lucky ones to witness the show I am currently jealous. From what I’ve heard and seen from the videos the concert was crazy. Kardinal Offishall, Sha Stimuli, K-Salaam, as well as Max Glazer and Cipha Sounds chewed up the mic all night long. Go get the album and check out this video in the meantime. The vibe is crazy.
This is it, number 1, it is my hope that you’ve been waiting up in bed like a child at Christmas. If not thats cool, your getting coal anyways. Unless of course you have similar tastes to mine. Feel free to post your top five in the comments. As I’ve stated before we love to hear our brethren’s input and thoughts, or if you just want to rip my picks apart feel free. Anyways on to the movie. #1 - Raging Bull. Thats it, I don’t really know what to say about it. If you’ve seen it you know why its my favorite. If you haven’t, stop what your doing and go watch it. It’s a mere 2 hours and 9 minutes of movie making brilliance. If you have even more time read the book, I’m not going to be one of those “the book is way better” guys, but the book is damn good nonetheless. In fact, why am I writing this garbage when I could be watching it…in it goes. I’m off to be happy for the next 2 hours.
Yes another sequel, and yes probably a movie you didn’t expect. Don’t care, on many days this movie could be at number one. It’s that interchangeable. Anytime your having a bad day, throw in either Evil Dead or Evil Dead II and you’ll instantly feel better. There’s something about seeing someone have an even worse day than you that quickly makes it all better, and nobody has ever had a worse day than Ashe (Bruce Campbell). It’s campy, its low budget, its moronic, its gory, and every bit wonderful. The first of the series might better represent the very same hustle we’re on, but I believe the second to be a much more complete movie. From the fight with his own hand, the blood spewing walls, and to the laughing room, the memorable scenes are endless. I’m not sure I’ll ever see a movie that puts me in a better mood than this one, in fact on many days, I’m not sure I’ll ever see a movie I enjoy more.
Yes, you read that right. It says Godfather Part II, not Part I. Don’t get me wrong Godfather is a great film, one of the best ever, but I just prefer Godfather Part II. Personal preference I guess. The movie itself really needs no explanation, but let me try to sum up why I love everything about this movie with one scene… During his show “Live on the Sunset Strip” Richard Pryor had a mafia bit about a guy giving one of the coldest looks to someone he had ever seen. It was a scene in the original Godfather. A scene where Tessio knowing he’s going to be killed after being led to a car asks Tom Hagen if he could get him off the hook for old times sake. Tom simply shakes his head and says “I can’t.” Very funny bit by Pryor, and awesome scene in The Godfather, but to me there was a even more chilling look that took place in that same series. It was given by Al Pacino (Michael) to Kay, his wife. Kay tells Michael that they’re child was not a miscarriage but an abortion. The change in Michael’s facial expression right before he puts her in her place, though subtle, gives me goose bumps every time I watch it it. Go ahead, check it out, its incredible. I could be stranded on a desert island with a television, dvd player, Godfather II, and never get bored.
Taxi Driver is one of those movies that will never seem dated. It isn’t carried by cheesy special effects, (although there are some) but by the story. It was the first anti-hero type movie I remember seeing and the rawness of this movie blew me away. The loneliness of Travis and thus, build-up of rage seemed so real to me. How DeNiro failed to win an Oscar is beyond me. The more I watched it and the more I paid attention to the cinematography, editing, acting, all the things that make a movie a movie, the more I appreciated this film. As far as I’m concerned it’s one of the finest films ever made, and probably will only get better with time.
This is another reoccurring post I would like to make while gracing you all with my presence. Now these types of lists can be very hard for me to come up with and I assume the same for you all. Choosing a small number of favorites out of many can be a tough task. These lists will consist of a top 5, my 5 favorites of something, anything. Being my favorites, these lists are strictly opinion, my opinion, which more often then not is correct. That being said, you are allowed to disagree with me, and I would more then love to hear everyone else’s top 5’s. Well enough blabbering, on with the list.
#5 - JAWS
This is a movie thats been around for longer than I have, yet never gets old. Granted the special effects might be dated, namely the motorized shark, but every time I’m flipping through the stations and come across JAWS, I have to stop and watch it. All of it. It’s one of those movies that fascinated me as a child. Because of it I spent much of my childhood studying sharks, lame I know, but true nonetheless. Not only that but it also made me ask my parents if “sharks could live there” before I jumped in any body of water I encountered, including pools. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one. If I remember correctly this movie made an entire nation afraid to go into the water.
Tomorrow I will continue the list and post my fourth favorite movie of all time. Stay tuned.
#4 - Taxi Driver