#95 The Last Picture Show (1971)

This movie, set in a small western town, follows the main character Sonny as he leaves high school and enters into post-grad life. At first the quaint town seems the perfect place to grow up: good people, great friends. Yet we quickly learn that many of the people are more than just a little dissatisfied with their lives in this small town. Lots of infidelity and pre-marital sex seem to overtake the town. The strange part was that Sonny was sleeping with a 40 year old married woman. The story showed the relationship grow, but we still found it bizarre. We found this film to be very racey for it's time and just a little too weird for us...

Here is a clip showing a little bit of their relationship.

We are looking forward to watching Pulp Fiction though!!!

#96 Do The Right Thing (1989)

This movie is essentially a social commentary on racism in America. A few of they key points that it highlights are that racism is not a one way street; America is filled with many different races and ethnicities and to say that only one group is prejudice towards another would be to oversimplify the issue. Almost every person in America is both subject to prejudice and at the same time responsible for dealing it out to others. The title Do the Right Thing highlights the importance of making the best decision in the face of hate. You can combat prejudice with love or with violence, however, while violence may give you the satisfaction of temporary results, it does not result in any long-term change. The "Love Doctor," a radio personality played by Samuel L. Jackson, who witnesses the downfall of the community leaves the audience with a suggestion at the end of the movie for righting the wrongs in the powers that be. He tells his audience to remember to register to vote, the power of which has never been more evident than it is today.

#97 Blade Runner (1982)

Wow...well we both really don't understand why this movie was on the list. We had high hopes considering it was from the 80's and starred Harrison Ford, however, Ford's character was the worst hero possible and even the best actor could not have made that script any better. The special effects were not really that special. The plot was very choppy, missing key moments and extremely hard to follow. Also please somebody explain the random 15 second scene in the middle of the movie of a unicorn running through the woods, or the white dove towards the end of the movie. It also was supposed to have a "happy" ending with the Ford and his girlfriend living happily ever-after, however we find this sort of cliche since his girlfriends life is less than 4 years long...

First movie on the list that has disappointed us and we feel should not be on this list....

#98 Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

First off, our apologies for the delay in watching this film. (Rose) However, we are happy to say that our reasons for postponing watching the movie were unfounded. This film turned out to be much better than anticipated.

The movie was based on the true story of George M. Cohan, who you might recognize from the infamous tune "Give My Regards to Broadway." Besides being educational (we had never heard of George M. Cohan before watching this film), it was an inspirational story based on the American Dream. Through hard work, belief, and a little bit of luck, any one can succeed in this country. The movie was also filled with a refreshing view of our country's patriotism. It seems as though now days patriotism is a word that is thrown around often because people think they should be patriotic. Yet, in the movie, the love of one's country, which is true patriotism, seemed to be instilled in the people from birth and naturally grow throughout their lives.

One additional note, we discovered in this film the origin of the saying, "My mother thanks you. My father thanks you. My sister thanks you. And I certainly thank you."

WARNING: If you plan to watch this movie, be prepared for a very jumpy James Cagney.

#99 Toy Story (1995)

This childhood favorite was just as good today as it was the first time we watched it 15 years ago. (And now we feel old.)

Everyone knows the story of Toy Story so there is no need to go into the plot line, however, it is, in our opinion, one of the Disney movies with the best theme: friendship.

Of course the movie first became noteworthy because of its digital animations, which were new in the early to mid 1990s. Yet, we will say that one of our favorite aspects of the movie is its selection of songs. We don't know if they were written specifically for the movie or not, but they fit absolutely perfectly with the story line and are among the most catchy tunes in a movie soundtrack. The one that particularly comes to mind (the one we were singing before the movie even started) is "You've Got a Friend In Me."

The last thing that we particularly liked about the movie is how it captures the toys of our generation. What kid did not have a Mr. Potato Head, or a Slinky; Etch-a-Sketch was a highly sought after toy in the playroom. As we think back on the movie (and look to the picture above) even more of common toys come to mind: pink haired trolls, army men, and don't forget Battleship. These toys will never be forgotten due to their appearance in this classic tale.

#100 Ben-Hur (1959)

And so it begins. One down and 99 to do. ...3 1/2 hours later. Therefore this will be a short response to the movie, considering it is much later than we anticipated staying up.

At the end of the film, Ben-Hur boasted about bringing home 11 Academy Awards, ranging from Best Actors, to Soundtrack, to Special Effects. Needless to say, we were most impressed with the overall quality of the film considering the year. In addition, despite its length, it was still an enjoyable movie.

The story line occurs during Jesus' lifetime, yet we follow another character who merely bumps into Jesus at key points in both of their lives. It was an interesting look at that time in history, and provided a different view point than we are accustomed to seeing in films.

We can definitely see why this movie was on the top 100 list. With this being said, we expect the next 99 to be even better :)

The birth of this adventurous idea...

We may have been inspired by the recent film Julie and Julia, but this project seemed a little more appropriate to our daily habits. In fact movie viewing occurs almost as often as bathing in our household. The genre is irrelevant; comedy, drama, action, thrillers, essentially anything. Anything that is except horror. But we won't go there. So with this said, we have taken it upon ourselves to ride the roller coaster of the 100 top movies of all time, based on the....

Well, this is where our first problem occurred. There are many lists. In fact many is an understatement. They are dated from various years in the past decade and also come from a number of sources. Our goal is to find a recent, preferably credible source; not that internetdude69's opinion that The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? is a 9.6, the best movie he has ever seen, and a MUST-watch for any movie lover, is not credible. Yet, we are simply searching for those movies which have had the greatest impact on our culture.

Again, we're not saying that no one has ever quoted Who's Your Caddy?, but how often have you heard, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" or "I've got a feeling were not in Kansas anymore." In fact, some movie lines are so deeply ingrained in our culture that we have forgotten their origins.

And so now as our coaster embarks the American Film Institutes 10th Anniversary Edition list from 2007 of the 100 top movies of all-time will determine the twists and turns of the hilly adventure.

Above is the link to the list, if you feel inclined to ride-along with us.