My 25 Favorite Movies

It's been quite a while since I posted anything and I'm going to (hopefully) use this post as a blog rebirth of sorts (mostly some refound motivation). It occured to me that I've never really given a list of flicks I love so people can see where I'm coming from. The following is a list of my 25 (26 really since I cheated) favorite movies of all time. Keep in mind that this is by no means what I consider the best movies of all time. There are some choices on here that would be nowhere near that list if I decided to make it (though a lot would). I do consider all the movies here to be either imminently rewatchable, highly quotable or maybe they just appeal to me in a way I can't explain. These are also not in any numerical order and just listed alphabetically as I can't make those kind of decisions within the movies I love.

Triumphant Return Video: Ike Reilly - "Good Work (If You Can Get It)"

It's been a while since I posted anything but there's no better time to start again than with the new video from Ike Reilly, one of my favorite artists making music today. The video is a very good representation of Ike's music and persona. It's working class rock & roll at it's finest. Enjoy.

Mystery Team (2009)

Mystery Team is the first feature fim from the internet comedy group Derrick Comedy (the dudes that brought you bro rape). It's a hit and miss affair that works far more often than it doesn't, offering up consistent laughs for an hour and a half.

The Mystery Team consist of  three 18 year old "detectives." Jason, the "master of disguise" (Donald Glover, Community) Duncan, the "boy genius" (D.C. Pierson) and Charlie, the "strongest kid in the town" (Dominic Dierkes). They have been solving low level "crimes" (i.e. who put their finger in an elderly woman's pie) since they were 7 years old. When a murder occurs in their neighborhood they attempt to solve the crime and prove to everyone that they are real detectives.

I'm a fan of Community and NBC's Thursday night comedy in general (there are numerous familiar faces that pop up throughout the movie) but have only seen a few Derrick Comedy sketches. I was interested to see if they could pull off a full length movie. There is a very strong focus on gross out gags with plenty of dumb (but undeniably funny) comedy on display. Not everything works and the pace of the movie drags when they focus on the plot instead of jokes but for the most part the movie is a success. Glover is the most familiar face and he gives the most memorable performance but the whole cast does show some excellent comedic skills throughout. There's not a whole lot of overly memorable stuff and the move is rarely laugh out loud funny but it is consistently humorous and very clever in spots. This is not highbrow comedy by any means but there is enough imagination involved to keep it from being the lowest common denominator too.

Mystery Team is worth checking out for some easy laughs and shows the promise the Derrick Comedy group has overall. It's a worthwhile film debut that should be viewed with limited expectations but could easily establish a large cult following in the future.

Rating: 3/5

Stagecoach: Blu-ray (1939)

John Ford's Stagecoach is one of the most influential films of all time. Orson Welles reportedly viewed it around 40 times while making Citizen Kane in order to watch a perfect example of filmmaking. It's the movie that made John Wayne a star and helped reestablish the western as a commercially successful genre in the sound era (they had become low budget B-movies at this point). Stagecoach features and establishes what would become (for better or for worse) archetypes of the western genre. There's the hero who lives on the outside of the law, the hooker with the heart of gold, the alcoholic doctor, the evil banker, the sheriff who struggles with balancing his personal feelings and his commitment to the law and the portrayal of Native Americans as savage killers.

Stagecoach is also far more than just a historical document. All the characters are brought together in a tightly paced and impeccably shot movie that still ranks as one of the finest westerns off all time. The performances by the entire cast are excellent and Wayne's screen presence is extremely powerful, even in his younger years. The introductory crane shot of his character is legendary and an extended action sequence involving an Cherokee attack on the stagecoach is one of the most exciting action scenes of the black and white era. The characters are all developed and the movie's pace never drags. Ford is one of the most highly regarded directors of all time and this is where his legacy was really established.

The blu-ray is about as high quality as anyone could hope for. It must be kept in mind that the movie over 60 years old and the original print was destroyed long ago. There are plenty of scratches throughout the film and detail is good but not great even compared to other blu-ray's from this time period (M, The General). It still looks pretty damn good but expectations should be kept in check. Audio wise it comes with a standard mono track that doesn't have any annoying scratches and is a clear and faithful representation of the film.

Stagecoach is obviously a very important film but even beyond it's historical impact it's an enjoyable and exciting movie that holds up very well today. The blu-ray is probably as good a presentation that we will ever see and is well worth checking out for anyone interested in film history or great westerns in general.

Ratings:
Movie: 5/5
Blu-ray: 4/5

Mid-Week Video: Drive-By Truckers - "This Fucking Job"

My apologies for the language but I don't fucking believe in censorship. Here's the dirty version of this video from The Drive-By Truckers new album The Big To-Do. In this case dirty means they show the word "fuck" in the beginning and don't edit it out during the song. Anyway it's a pretty fucking sweet video/short film. Well now I'm just being fucking juvenile and crass and it's lost it's fucking luster. Fuck.

Mid-Week Video: The Black Keys - "Tighten Up" official video.

While the Black Keys previously released a video for "Tighten Up" the lead single off the new album Brothers it apparently wasn't official. This one is and it's pretty sweet. I'm a big fan of violent children and beautiful women and it's got both, enjoy. 


The Black Keys "Tighten Up"

The Black Keys | MySpace Music Videos

The Rolling Stones: Exile on Main Street Remastered Edition (1972, RM 2010)

As I noted in my Rolling Stone album ratings earlier this week, I think Exile on Main Street is one of the 5 greatest albums of all time, by any artist. It's a messy, shambolic run through a batch of styles that run together in an amazing fashion to create an album that is the definitive "grower" in rock history. The sound of Exile is one of it's most distinguishing features and also a reason that a full blown remaster of it is tricky. Cleaning the album up too much could easily rob it of some of it's mystique. For these reasons I was excited but skeptical when this remastered version was announced. I do have to admit that I have never heard an original vinyl pressing and all of my experience comes from the 1994 CD mix so that's what I'm basing my everything on.

The album is noticeably cleaner and longtime fans my cry foul. Jagger's vocals are predominantly higher in the mix throughout and from when female backup singers are used (at least half the tracks) they can almost overpower everything else. Guitars are definitely crisper and in general individual instruments are easier to pick out than before. That's not to say they ruined the album or anything, the songs are all far too great for the mix to be of great importance. If anything they have made the album sound much more immediate and I can easily see newcomers and casual fans preferring this mix to the old muddy one. As for me, I don't think at this point there's much that could diminish Exile in my eyes. The remastered version is probably what I'll put on my Ipod as the volume will now be closer to most everything else.

In addition to the remastered proper album there is a bonus disc with 10 "undiscovered" songs. There have been some overdubs made to all of them but the band claims to have tried to leave them as found as possible. None of them are on the level of what made the album but they are all more than just curiosities as well. "Pass the Wine (Sophia Loren)" has been heavily bootlegged for years and it is the vein of War's "Spill the Wine." "Plundered My Soul" is a decent mid-tempo rock song with newly recorded backup vocals that was the choice for a "new" single. "I'm Not Signifying" (also heavily bootlegged) is a pretty sweet country-blues that probably wouldn't have fit on the album but should have been revisited before now. The slow gospel of "Following the River" doesn't approach the Stones best ballads but it's not a bad tune by any means, though it does feel terribly overproduced. "Dancing in the Light" is a fun track that features the Stones at their most loose. "So Divine (Aladdin Story)" is basically a slow version of "Paint it Black" with horns substituting for Brian Jones' sitar. Alternate version of "Loving Cup" and a Keith sung "Soul Survivor" offer interesting vies of the songs development. "Good Time Women" is an early far lesser version of "Tumbling Dice." Finally "Title 5" is an apparently unfinished instrumental that is short but fun.

Exile on Main Street is a masterpiece no matter what mix you're listening too. Whether it's worth people buying is hard to say. Hardcore fans will want the bonus tracks but may be put off by the cleanliness. Newcomers will likely find it more immediate and closer in line to what they expect the Stones to sound like. Either way anyone with a interest in rock and roll should a copy of at least some version.