Weekly Round Up Part 2 of 2: a lot of AFI movies

Continuing on from last time, I knocked back a whopping four more movies on the AFI Top 100 list last week.   My "grade" is up to a 78 so I'm rocking a C+.  While I haven't loved every single movie, I am very happy with most of them and it's a nice shakeup to trying to find something on Netflix.

I was in a grove of watching movies in line with the episodes on the Unspooled podcast, but I went through a streak of movies that I'd already watched so I started working on my "I haven't seen this and I want to" list.

Goodfellas.  I feel that a large part of the reason why I never got into the Godfather movies was that I saw the Sopranos first.  My first thought about Goodfellas was that it seemed similar to the Sopranos, and then Google told me that I wasn't imaging the connection.

Overall I really liked the movie and was hugely entertained by it, but I'm not sure where it fits on my rating scale.  I didn't like it enough for "I agree that it's great but I don't have the special feels" but it's most definitely higher than "I've seen it and it was just OK".  I may have to add a category for "I liked it but don't think it's top 100." But...I really liked it and I wouldn't have seen it if it wasn't on the list so...give me a minute to think about it, maybe this one will end up on the "I agree that it's great" list.  I feel like I need more time to marinate on some of these movies to figure out where they belong on my rankings.

In the Heat of the Night.  This one falls somewhere between "I agree that it's great" and "I've seen it and it was just OK".  Strong thumbs up for the acting and "they call me MISTER TIBBS" but the film felt very dated and I'm not sure what the filmmakers were trying to say besides "stay out of the south".

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.  Ouch, this is the first of the movies that I hadn't seen before that was a chore to watch.  IMO this had nothing going for it besides the actors and I found myself constantly reaching for my phone during the movie.  I don't feel strongly enough to put it on the "I hated it" list but for now it's on the low end of the "I've seen it and it was just OK" list.

The fourth and final movie that I saw this week was on the "I haven't seen it and I never want to" list.  I had quite the chip on my shoulder about this movie and was certain that I was going to leave it to last on the list but once I started listening to the Unspooled episode on it I found myself clearing three hours out of my schedule in a hurry.

I made the mistake of thinking that the rest of my family would not be in to watching this since I knew they'd seen it sometime last year.  Stepson #1 overheard it on my TV and yelled out "IS SOMEONE WATCHING LORD OF THE RINGS?????"  (a funny throwback to the time he had to watch one of my favorite documentaries for school and I scared him by yelling "OMG ARE YOU WATCHING SUPERSIZE ME????") and the whole family was soon by my side.

So yes, we will be watching the rest of the series together.  I was really expecting a snooze fest and I came away with a movie that I loved.

On the rewatch front, I've been stockpiling some of the movies that I want to rewatch for my treadmill viewing and I kicked that off with the 1933 version of King Kong.  The movie kept me mesmerized and on the treadmill.

Here are the Unspooled episodes that I've listened to since my last recap and a few notes:

• Bonnie and Clyde: they loved it, their review inspired me to rewatch it, and I found it to be a drag.
• Platoon: they were largely positive, but asked if the list really needs three Vietnam movies on it.  I loved the movie.
  
• The General: they were positive, but asked if another Buster Keaton movie should be on the list in its place.  I see what they're saying but if you have to pick "just one" Buster Keaton I think it has to be the General.  It's on my list for a treadmill rewatch.
• The Shawshank Redemption: they had a split vote on this with one host being much more enthusiastic than the other.  I loved the movie.
  
• King Kong: they loved it, and I loved my rewatch of it.
  
• All About Eve: they loved it, I loved their recap of it but I as I said before, I was less than thrilled with the rewatch.
  
• Double Indemnity: they loved it, and it's on my treadmill rewatch list.  They said that no one uses an ashtray at any point during this movie and that once you see it you can't unsee it, and I can't wait to verify.
  
• Singin' in the Rain: they love it and so do I.  C'mon everyone loves this movie.  I've seen it recently enough that I don't think I'm ready for a rewatch yet.
  
• The Sixth Sense: they were very positive.  I think I'm ready for a rewatch.
  
• Taxi Driver: split vote.  One of the hosts loves this movie and the other has issues.   Specifically with the treatment of women, the violence, and that it supposedly inspired the Regan assassination attempt.  These are exactly the same points that kept me from watching this movie for so long.  I understand the argument, but I don't agree and I love this movie.  They also asked if the list really needs three Scorsese/DeNiro movies on it.  I'll wait until I see Raging Bull to weigh in on that one.
  
• E.T.: They liked it.  I haven't seen this since the early 80's and wouldn't have thought that I would be interested in seeing it again, but now I am.
  
• High Noon: They weren't huge fans.  I agree and do not plan to rewatch it.
  
• Apocalypse Now: Another split vote with a call out for violence and the theory that none of the filmmakers/writers were in Vietnam so this movie is "what people who weren't in Vietnam think that Vietnam was like".  I'm taking the same stance as Taxi Driver that I see what they're saying but I do not agree and I'm so glad that I saw this movie.
  
• The Lord of the Rings: They loved it but didn't feel that it's fair to only have the first movie on the list and not the whole trilogy.  I loved it as well and I'll weigh on on the rest of the series after I watch it.
  

 Whew that's it for now!