Rewatching My 100 Favorite Movies - Update 13

I decided to rewatch my 100 favorite movies of all-time. What those are, you can check HERE. I watch them in random order, there is no rhyme or reason there, just watching those movies I love so much.
 

42/ 100: Stand By Me (1986)
A writer reminisces about his childhood friendship in the 1950s. Flashbacks take us back to a summer in Oregon, when four young boys go looking for the body of a missing teenager. Director Rob Reiner made a moving an effective film of the story written by Stephen King, which he named “The Body”. Beautiful and believable acting by the young actor, especially River Phoenix. HERE is my full review.
 

43/ 100: Fargo (1996)
Tragicomic masterpiece by the Coen Brothers, in which Jerry has his own wife kidnapped because he needs money for a business deal. The evil scheme fails miserably because of, on the one hand, the botched work of the criminals involved and, on the other, the exceptional detective skills of the pregnant police chief Marge. Frances McDormand as Marge is a delight, she created one of my favorite female movie characters of all-time. And “Fargo” is my favorite film by the Coen Brothers. You can find my full review HERE.
 

44/ 100: Ratatouille (2007)
The film is about the young rat Rémy who dreams of becoming a chef in a top Paris restaurant. Rémy ends up in the former 5-star restaurant of his great idol, the late top chef Gusteau, where he makes an alliance with the talentless but ambitious kitchen help Linguini. Not only does the technical mastery impress, the film superbly combines seriousness and fun. The story is layered and offers top entertainment for all age. Check out my full revies HERE.
 

45/ 100: American History X (1998)
Edward Norton plays Derek Vinyard, an American neo-Nazi with intellectual ambitions. His little brother Danny sees him as his idol, even when Derek ends up in prison for the murder of two black men. In prison, Derek repents, while Danny falls further and further under the spell of a local leader of the extremist movement. When Derek is released things escalate. Edward Norton plays fantastic. The story is intense, which makes “American History X” an excellent film that is still topical. You can read my full review HERE.
 
Still to watch: 55

80s Movie Review - Stand By Me

Director: Rob Reiner
Genre: Drama/ Adventure
Runtime: 89 minutes
Year: 1986
Starring: Will Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell, Kiefer Sutherland, John Cusack, Richard Dreyfuss

Description: After the death of a friend, a writer recounts a boyhood journey to find the body of a missing boy.

Review: The name Stephen King is easily linked to horror stories like “The Shining”, “It” and “Carrie”, but he also wrote some stories that fall in a different genre than horror. The movie  “Stand By Me” is one of them, which is based on the short story “The Body”. In this realistic drama we follow four teenagers in a coming of age story.
Those four boys are Gordie, Chris, Teddy and Vern. They grow up in a little town in Oregon. In the summer of 1958 a boy from their town goes missing. One of the boys overhears a conversation about the whereabouts of the dead body of the boy. The four kids decided to start a journey to find him. Their journey is more than just that, it’s testing their friendship and it’s the next step to adulthood.
Director Rob Reiner creates the perfect atmosphere and shows us the life of small-town American kids in the 50s. This movie makes you long for your own childhood, where a journey outside your town sounded like an adventure already.
River Phoenix, who unfortunately died too young, is the most impressive actor in the film. He manages to convince us as the tormented problem child. But also Will Wheaton, Corey Feldman and Jerry O’Connell manage to impress. It’s touching to see how all these very different characters grow on you.
Simple dialogue, a beautiful story and good acting make “Stand By Me” a fantastic film. It’s on my favorites list.

Rating: 5/ 5

Top 5 Thursday: Movie Performances by Children

Sometimes it’s the kid that steals the show in a movie, so here is a list of the best movie performances by children.

5. River Phoenix (“Stand By Me”)

His performance as Chris Chambers in “Stand By Me” left an indelible impression on his generation. So sad he died at the age of 23, because Phoenix had a bright future as an actor.

 

 

4. Christian Bale (“Empire of the Sun”)

You could already see that he was an intense and dedicated actor, he holds up amongst all the adults, for instance John Malkovich and Miranda Richardson.

 

 

3. Natalie Portman (“Léon”)

Just 13-years old, Natalie Portman did a fantastic job as Matilda, a girl who lost her entire family and seeks help from hitman Léon.

 

 

2. Abigail Breslin (“Little Miss Sunshine”)

It’s impossible not to love Olive Hoover, and it’s all thanks to the endearing performance by Abigail Breslin. She wasn’t ignored, because she got nominated for an Academy Award.

 

 

1. Haley Joel Osment (“The Sixth Sense”)

In my opinion the best performance. Haley Joel Osment captured us all in this amazing thriller and made us feel for him. He will always be remember as troubled Cole Sear, but there are worse things right?

 

 

They Almost Made the Top 5: Henry Thomas (“E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial”), Daniel Radcliffe (“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”), Macauley Culkin (“Home Alone”), Kirsten Dunst (“Interview with the Vampire”), Jodie Foster (“Taxi Driver”), Leonardo DiCaprio (“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?”), Chloë Grace Moretz (“Kick-Ass”), Linda Blair (“The Exorcist”), Mara Wilson (“Matilda”), Ivana Baquero “(Pan’s Labyrinth”), Jamie Bell (“Billy Elliot”), Tom Holland (“The Impossible”)

Top 5 Thursday: Coming Of Age Movies

I always love a good coming of age story. I especially like watching them over the summer. There are so many of them, but only a few that can make my list. And a lot of them were made not that long ago. Here are my five favourite coming of age movies.

5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Although it’s e pretty recent movie, it got a great eighties feel to it. It felt like a John Hughes film. Because of this nostalgic touch, it makes “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” very authentic an unique.

 

 

4. Juno

Ellen Page is fantastic in this movie. “Juno” is a fun movie, thought through very well. It’s a great coming of age film.

 

3. The Way Way Back

Only recently saw it for the first time, but already re-watched it. I fell in love with it right away, because the characters were so relatable. I especially loved Owen, played by Sam Rockwell. Love this movie to bits!

 

2. Easy A

I sounded like a standard teen comedy, but it’s so much more. It brought us Emma Stone, who is amazing, and a great comedy.

 

1. Stand By Me

This is definitely the best in the genre. I have seen it so many times and I will watch it many times more, and I never get sick of it. Although the characters don’t belong anywhere, you come to love each one of them.

 

They Almost Made the Top 5: Adventureland, Superbad

Top 5 Thursday: Movie Voice-Overs/ Narrations

Nothing tells the story of a movie like a good voice-over. Some of the best movies made use a voice-over, and I decided to pick my favourites. Here they are.

5. Richard Dreyfuss in “Stand By Me”

It’s like reading a book. You see the story of a young Gordie and the adult Gordie tells you the story.

 

4. Edward Norton in “Fight Club”

If there wasn’t any voice-over, the majority of the first act would be in complete silence. His sarcastic, droning voice has different functions. It fills in gaps, it lets us get to know him, is adds a lot of humour.

 

3. Ray Liotta in “Goodfellas”

Henry Hill is the main character and we follow his life as a gangster. His voice-over is very powerful.

 

2. John Cusack in “High Fidelity”

Like me, he loves making lists. That’s what I love the most about his narration. Rob Gordon actually break the fourth wall a couple of times, when speaking directly to us, knowing there’s an audience watching him.

 

1. Morgan Freeman in “The Shawshank Redemption”

How can I not go with this? Morgan Freeman’s voice always suits me, it sounds so calm. It’s a great way to tell a story, true the eyes of the best friend.

 

They Almost Made the Top 5: Matthew Broderick in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, Robert De Niro in “Taxi Driver”, Malcolm McDowell in “A Clockwork Orange”

Top 5 Thursday: Movies from 1986

Back to the 80’s, let’s see which movies made me happy in 1986.

5. The Money Pit
I know it’s probably not one of the best movies, but I somehow love 80’s Tom Hanks. This movie is hilarious, especially because of Tom Hanks!

4. Top Gun
Although it’s about male fighter pilots, it’s more a movie for girls. I was so in love with Tom Cruise on his bike. And I really wanted to be Kelly McGillis on that table…

3. Aliens
The first one was good, but this was even better. I think almost every fan of the franchise will pick this one. It really put Sigourney Weaver on the map as an action heroine.

2. Platoon
Probably the best war movie. Some breath-taking scenes in here, that really grabbed me and they were so intense. This is a movie that takes you in and holds you ‘till the end.

1. Stand By Me
It’s one of my favourites of all-time. I just love these coming of age stories, especially when it involves a bunch of characters that don’t belong with any group. Every single kid in this film is loveable in its own way, although some are a bit strange. Can’t get enough of “Stand By Me”.

They Almost Made the Top 5: The Golden Child, Blue Velvet, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Quotables: "Stand By Me"

One of my favorites. A good coming of age story, that I can actually watch over and over again. It’s just a great story, filled with quotable lines.







Chris: How do you know if a Frenchman has been in your backyard?
Teddy: Hey, I'm French, okay?
Chris: Your garbage cans are empty and your dog's pregnant.
[Chris and Gordie laugh]
Teddy: Didn't I just say I was French?

Gordie: Suck my fat one, you cheap dime store hood.

Vern: [after dropping his hamburger in the campfire by accident] This isn't funny! What am I supposed to eat?
Teddy: You could cook your dick.
Chris: It'd be a small meal.

Chris: I'm never gonna get out of this town am I, Gordie?
Gordie: You can do anything you want, man.
Chris: Yeah, sure. Give me some skin.
Gordie: I'll see ya.
Chris: Not if I see you first.

The Writer: It happens sometimes. Friends come in and out of our lives, like busboys in a restaurant.

Vern: You think Mighty Mouse could beat up Superman?
Teddy: What are you cracked?
Vern: Why not? I saw the other day, he was carrying 5 elephants in one hand.
Teddy: Boy, you don't know nothin', Mighty Mouse is a cartoon, Superman is a real guy, no way a cartoon could beat up a real guy.
Vern: Yeah, maybe you're right... would be a good fight though!

The Writer: At the beginning of the school year, Vern had buried a quart jar of pennies underneath his house. He drew a treasure map so he could find them again. A week later, his mom cleaned out his room and threw away the map. Vern had been trying to find those pennies for nine months. Nine months, man. You didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

The Writer: The freight woke up the other guys and it was on the tip of my tongue to tell them about the deer. But I didn't. That was the one thing I kept to myself. I've never spoken or written about it until just now.

Top 5 Thursday: Movie Characters That are Impossible to Hate

In almost every movie there is this one character you like the most. That might not be the same for everyone. But these movie characters are probably loved by all viewers, because it's almost impossible to hate them. Here they are.

5. Buddy from “Elf”
Although many people think he’s crazy for telling everyone he’s a real elf, I can’t hate this guy. He’s such a sweet character.

4. Vern Tessio from “Stand By Me”
He might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he is a great kid and friend. And he has the word loveable written all over him.

3. Amélie Poulain from “Amélie”
Amélie is filled with good deeds. She is the ultimate romantic and a person who takes the term ‘random act of kindness’ very seriously.

2. Andy Stitzer from “The 40-Year Old Virgin”
Andy is the nicest man ever, with a lot of hobbies, friendly to everyone but just very shy when it comes to women. During the movie you can’t help it to root for Andy and sometimes feel very sorry for him whenever he gets into a very painful situation.

1. Marge Gunderson from “Fargo”
She’s a kind cop and very pregnant. But she doesn’t shy away from dangerous situations. Marge is just kick-ass!

They Almost Made the Top 5: Dr. Emmett Brown from “Back to the Future”, Danny Butterman “Hot Fuzz”, Adam Lerner from “50/ 50”

Top 5 Thursday: Movie Friends

It’s always nice to see a movie with a great friendship in it. Here are my five favorites.

5. Harry, Ron and Hermione (“Harry Potter” series)
They were a good combination from the beginning, although the two boys didn’t really like Hermione at first. The calm and troubled Harry, funny and nervous Ron and smart and kind Hermione. A match made in heaven.

4. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson
You have to be very patient to have Sherlock Holmes as your best friend, but he’s a genius. And with that patience Watson makes a perfect friend.

3. Bob and Charlotte (“Lost in Translation”)
A middle aged man and a young, newlywed woman befriend each other. It sounds weird, but it’s one of the most honest and convincing friendships between a man and a woman ever portrayed in a movie.

2. Gordie, Chris, Vern and Teddy (“Stand By Me”)
They are not your typical group of friends, they aren’t popular and they don’t belong with all the other kids. Together they are a great group of friends and it’s really hard to dislike any of them.

1. Red and Andy (“The Shawshank Redemption”)
I love how this friendship started. Red liked Andy from the start, although he didn’t think much of him when he entered Shawshank prison. They are great friends and I think anyone would be thankful for a friend like Red or Andy.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Harry and Sally (“When Harry Met Sally”), Annie and Lilian (“Bridesmaids”), Rob and Barry (“High Fidelity”), Shaun and Ed (“Shaun of the Dead”), Adam and Kyle (“50/ 50”), Katniss and Gale (“The Hunger Games”), Timon and Pumbaa (“The Lion King”), John and Ted (“Ted”)

Top 5 Thursday: Stephen King Movies

I’m currently reading Stephen King books and that gave me the idea for this weeks top 5. Almost every story King wrote has been made into a movie. Here are my favorite Stephen King book to movie adaptations.

5. “The Mist”
This movie is very good, creepy and terrifying. Just the idea of being surrounded by mist and you don’t know what’s happening. And that ending…. So dramatic, so sad.

4. “Misery”
What a nut is this Annie. A movie with only two important characters and so exciting. A real chilling story.

3. “The Green Mile”
Another jail movie, with a supernatural touch to it. Some moments are heart wrecking and some touching. A memorable movie that won’t let you go.

2. “Stand By Me”
This movie is so great. Four friends, all different, go on a trip together to find the dead body of Ray Brower. A movie about friendship and so much more.

1. “The Shawshank Redemption”
No doubt about it that this is my number one. People who read my blog know that “The Shawshank Redemption” is my favorite movie of all-time.

They almost made the top 5: “Carrie”, “It” and “The Shining”.

Movie Moments: "Stand By Me"

"Stand By Me" is one of my favorite movies of all-time. People who follow my blog know this. Although the movie is only around 90 minutes long, it has plenty of great scenes. Here they are.

Moment # 1: Verne tells his friends about Ray
Chris, Gordie and Teddy are talking and playing cards in their treehouse. Verne wants to enter, but doesn’t remember the secret knock anymore. They let him in anyway. While still teasing Verne, he tells his friends about the dead body of Ray Brower. They decide to go on a fieldtrip and find the body.

Moment # 2: Danny gives Gordie the hat
When Gordie is at home, getting all his stuff together for the trip, he has to find his cantine. He goes into his brother Danny’s room, who recently past away. He starts to think about the moment when Danny gave him the New York Yankees cap.

Moment # 3: It’s loaded
When Gordie and Chris meet up for their trip, Chris shows him what he brought: a gun. Gordie starts playing with it and Chris tells him it isn’t loaded. When he points at a mark and wants to fire, they find out it is loaded and they run away.

Moment # 4: Dodging the train
When the boys are walking, they hear a train coming. Verne, Chris and Gordie get off the train rails, but Teddy doesn’t. He decides to dodge the train. He wants to wait untill the last moment to get off the rails.

Moment # 5: Gordie and Chris race each other
The boys climb over a fence and they want to take a break. Gordie and Chris decide to race each other. When they stop and Chris wins, they look at each other and smile, the look of true friendship.

Moment # 6: “Shut Up!”
The boys are hungry and one of them needs to gets something to eat. They flip coins and Gordie is the lucky one. Verne, Teddy and Chris start making fun of him and Gordie tells them to shut up. The other three respond: I don't shut up. I grow up. And when I look at you, I throw up. Aghhh!

Moment # 7: Chopper
When Gordie returns with the food and drinks, he sees his friends climbing over the fence. Than he sees the owner of the property and he releases his dog Chopper. All he hears is “Chopper, sic balls”. When he’s on the other side of the fence, the boys see Chopper’s true identity and he doesn’t look like an evil dog at all.

Moment # 8: “TRAIN!”
In order to get to the other side, the boys decide to take the bridge which has a railroad. While walking, Gordie looks behind and sees smoke. A train is coming and they have to start running to make it to the other side. Chris and Teddy are already there, but Verne and Gordie still have a long way to go. Verne is affraid that he is going to fall, but Gordie makes sure he starts running too.

Moment # 9: Campfire talk
The four friends make a campfire and start all sorts of discussions. Like what animal Goofy is, which food they could eat for the rest of their lives and Wagon Train. Especially the Goofy discussion is a hot topic.

Moment # 10: Gordie’s story
Still around the campfire, Gordie tells his friends a story he wrote. It’s about a fat boy, nicknamed Lard Ass, who enters a pie eating competition and takes revenge on all the people who always make fun of him.

Moment # 11: Gordie and Chris share a moment
While Verne and Teddy are sleeping, Chris and Gordie sit down and talk. Chris talks about his father and gets really emotional. Gordie comforts him. Than Chris tell Gordie that he will be a great writer someday and he might wright about them.

Moment # 12: Leeches
The boys have to cross a swamp to get on the other side. They start fooling around, but when they get out teddy sees something in Verne’s neck. They’re all covered in leeches. When they think they got rid of them all, Gordie checks his undies and than faints.

Moment # 13: They find the body
After a long trip, the guys finally find what they where looking for: the body of Ray Brower. They look at it and decide what to do next. Ace and his friends join them, because they knew about Gordie, Verne, Teddy and Chris trying to find Ray. He starts threatening the boys, but than Gordie pulls out the gun. Ace and his buddies leave.

Moment # 14: Goodbye
The boys return from their trip and say goodbye. They leave and they all go to their own lives again. The voice-over, who’s a grown up Gordie, tells us what happened to his friends. Like Chris, who became a lawyer and was stabbed and died instantly. His closing lines are: “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone? “

Favorite Moment: Moment # 11: Gordie and Chris share a moment