Hale Kilinahe: The Journal

JUNE 19, 1998 I am a hardcore movie nut. Katie is very fussy tonight. I have to keep pacing around, walking her (this entry is being transcribed by my husband). I was flipping through the channels and I came across a bunch of movie clips, and it turned out to be the American Film Institute's "Top 100 Films of All Time." It's limited to American flicks, so a lot of unparalleled greats will be left out, but it's entertaining enough. It got me to thinking, too... what are my favorites? I can't narrow it down to ten -- I love far more movies than that. I don't think I could definitively rank them, either, 'cause I like each for different reasons. Still, I felt like listing off Jen's Top Dozen Or So Flicks. 1. Gone With the Wind. Without question, this is number one. For it's time it was such an incredible marvel of filmmaking. They managed to burn down only a few buildings on a set, and made it look like the whole of Atlanta was burning. They filmed a full quarter of the entire picture before Vivian Leigh was even cast as Scarlett. And it was an epic. 2. Pulp Fiction. There's no other movie like this. 3. Clerks. It wouldn't have been half as good had it been shot in color. I love the whole Star Wars discussion. 4. The Empire Strikes Back. As they say in "Clerks," life is a series of downer endings. Harrison Ford never looked better. (I always thought Luke Skywalker was a whiney-pants.) 5. When Harry Met Sally. Men and women can't really be friends. Meg Ryan has spent the remainder of her career playing Sally. It was a breakthrough performance. 6. Grease. The original musical. 7. Fargo. "He wasn't circumcised." 8. Say Anything. Yes, it's cheap teen exploitation, but at least Diane and Lloyd talk before they jump into bed, and the Diane-dad relationship reminds me of my own. 9. Seven. Only because it scared the shit out of me. The cinematography was brilliant. 10. Truly, Madly, Deeply. The first movie in ages that made me cry. Alan Rickman, after playing goofy bad guys, shows another wonderful side. 11. The Lion King. One of the few Disney films without a babe. James Earl Jones makes it all worthwhile, as well as a good story. 12. Four Weddings and a Funeral. Hugh Grant starts his grand tradition of blinking and stuttering, but there's some really witty dialogue here, and a fairy-tale ending. 13. The Usual Suspects. Talk about your endings! That's it. I think. Of course I'll remember other films I like better as soon as I go to bed. Other favorites include Princess Pride, Flaming Star (Elvis Presley's only real dramatic role), Goodfellas. Some other random thoughts about films, that strike me as I watch this show: I really liked "Wild Things," and that scares me. It was trashy, awful, and I loved it. Robert DeNiro is god. He becomes somebody different in every movie. < BACK | TOP | NEXT >