I love lists so when the BBC announced their 100 Greatest American Movies it piqued my interest.  
The BBC polled critics from around the world to come up with a list of the 100 Greatest American Movies.  To qualify as American it only had to get funding from America and didn't necessarily have to be made by an American or take place in America.  Using that as a definition opens up a lot of movis that might not necessarily be considered American.  But it is interesting to get the perspective of critics from around the world and makes it a bit different from the lists that the AFI had done in the past (most recently in 2007).

I consider myself pretty well versed in movies but I will admit there are movies on this list that I have not seen and some that I have not heard of.  There are things that many people have pointed out that seem a bit off about this list. Specifically the lack of any David Fincher (Fight Club, Seven) or Coen Brothers (Fargo, The Big Lebowski) movies on this list.  Maybe those directors appeal more to the home crowd than overseas crowd.  What I do like about the list is that it has a bit of everything from musicals to horror.  

Citizen Kane was not surprisingly ranked number 1 but seems a bit of a boring choice.  
The most mentioned directors were Spielberg, Scorsese, Hitchcock, Wilder, and Kubrick each with 5 movies on the list. 
There were two sequels on the list. The Godfather Part II and The Empire Strikes Back
The most recent movie on the list is 12 Year a Slave from 2013.  
The oldest movie on the list is Birth of a Nation from 1915.
Grey Gardens is the only documentary to make the list. 

As far as things that seem odd 
12 Years a Slave made the list but seems a bit too soon to make the list.  
Gone with the Wind is very popular here in the US and usually ranks pretty high but only ended up at 97. 
While I really liked Spike Lee's 25th Hour I was quite shocked to see it on the list. 
No Shawshank Redemption a movie that constantly ranks high on IMDB
Not being a big fan of Kubrick I feel he is over represented.  There is no way Eyes Wide Shut should be on this list. 
Night of the Living Dead made the list but not The Exorcist.  I personally think both should be on here. 

The full list is below.  Let us know your thoughts.  

100. Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder, 1951)
99. 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013)
98. Heaven’s Gate (Michael Cimino, 1980)
97. Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939)
96. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
95. Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 1933)
94. 25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002)
93. Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese, 1973)
92. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)
91. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982)
90. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
89. In a Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, 1950)
88. West Side Story (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, 1961)
87. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
86. The Lion King (Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, 1994)
85. Night of the Living Dead (George A Romero, 1968)
84. Deliverance (John Boorman, 1972)
83. Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938)
82. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)
81. Thelma & Louise (Ridley Scott, 1991)
80. Meet Me in St Louis (Vincente Minnelli, 1944)
79. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)
78. Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg, 1993)
77. Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939)
76. The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980)
75. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977)
74. Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)
73. Network (Sidney Lumet, 1976)
72. The Shanghai Gesture (Josef von Sternberg, 1941)
71. Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993)
70. The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli, 1953)
69. Koyaanisqatsi (Godfrey Reggio, 1982)
68. Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)
67. Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin, 1936)
66. Red River (Howard Hawks, 1948)
65. The Right Stuff (Philip Kaufman, 1983)
64. Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1954)
63. Love Streams (John Cassavetes, 1984)
62. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
61. Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick, 1999)
60. Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)
59. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Miloš Forman, 1975)
58. The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940)
57. Crimes and Misdemeanors (Woody Allen, 1989)
56. Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985)
55. The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967)
54. Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950)
53. Grey Gardens (Albert and David Maysles, Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer, 1975)
52. The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969)
51. Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)
50. His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940)
49. Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)
48. A Place in the Sun (George Stevens, 1951)
47. Marnie (Alfred Hitchcock, 1964)
46. It’s a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946)
45. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962)
44. Sherlock Jr (Buster Keaton, 1924)
43. Letter from an Unknown Woman (Max Ophüls, 1948)
42. Dr Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
41. Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959)
40. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid, 1943)
39. The Birth of a Nation (DW Griffith, 1915)
38. Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)
37. Imitation of Life (Douglas Sirk, 1959)
36. Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977)
35. Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944)
34. The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)
33. The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
32. The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)
31. A Woman Under the Influence (John Cassavetes, 1974)
30. Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)
29. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)
28. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
27. Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975)
26. Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett, 1978)
25. Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989)
24. The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960)
23. Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)
22. Greed (Erich von Stroheim, 1924)
21. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
20. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)
19. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
18. City Lights (Charlie Chaplin, 1931)
17. The Gold Rush (Charlie Chaplin, 1925)
16. McCabe & Mrs Miller (Robert Altman, 1971)
15. The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)
14. Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975)
13. North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)
12. Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974)
11. The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles, 1942)
10. The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
9. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)
8. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
7. Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952)
6. Sunrise (FW Murnau, 1927)
5. The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
3. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
2. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
1. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)

Ant-Man is crawling into theaters this weekend. It is sure to infest the box office in some way or another. Of course, Ant-Man isn't the fist bug-centric film to splatter the big screen. Here are a few other movies to get under your skin.

7) Big Ass Spider (2013)

As the name suggests, it has one big ass spider wreaking havoc.  Directed by Mike Mendez and, starring Lin Shaye and Greg Grunberg, Big Ass Spider is the age old tale of an alien spider escaping from a military installation. Leaving the fate of the world in the hands of a crack strike team and a clever exterminator. Is it a GOOD movie? Hey, it's a list about bug movies, no one said they would be good movies.


6) A Bug's Life (1998)

No one can make gross insects look so darn cute like Pixar can. Kevin Spacey and Dave Foley lead this cast of bugs and creepy crawlies, telling the coming of age story of an ant named Flik (Dave Foley). It's almost like Pixar's version of 7 Samurai, It's up to Flik to find his warriors to save his fellow bugs from the deadly invasion of the grasshoppers!


5) Spider-Man (2002)

If the world is destroyed tomorrow by a meteorite and Bruce Willis fails to save us, at least we can say we had one GOOD Spider-Man film. Sam Raimi shocked the world with his vision of the web head. Fans feared Raimi's horror roots would show in this much anticipated comic adaptation. Thankfully, he and Tobey Maguire pulled it off.  Mostly.


4) The Fly (1986)

Directed by David Cronenberg, The Fly is a remake of the classic horror film of the same name from 1958. Arguably, better than the original, Jeff Goldblum Starred as Seth Brundle AKA Brundle-Fly. With Geena Davis co-starring as Veronica, This one was gross out good. You'll never look at flies the same after this.


3) The Giant Spider Invasion (1975)

Giant Spiders from another dimension invade Wisconsin. What more do you need to know? Seriously? Directed by Bill Rebane who directed a bunch of stuff you never heard of, starring a lot of people you also never heard of, the mind blowing special effect featured in the film won an astounding zero awards. Did I say this list wasn't necessarily about GOOD films?

2) Bug (2006)

Well, it's kind of about bugs. Michael Shannon delivers one heck of a creepy performance as Peter, the crazy war vet convinced the government is out to get him. With tin foil hats gone crazy, Bug is actually a creepy, unhinging movie well worth a watch.

1) The Human Centipede Franchise (all of them)
 

The Human Centipede trilogy is number one on this list of movies about bugs. 'Nuff said.

by Stephen Milek

There was a point in college when II went through a Kirsten Dunst phase. She was cute and bubbly and not a bad actress.   She had her share of silly teen movies in the 90's like other actresses of that time but in 1999 she had a break out year with 3 movies and 2 of which make this list.  Since then she has proven that she is a good actress when given the right part.  While she hasn't done much of note lately (but I look forward to seeing her on season 2 of Fargo) she made it around the pitfalls of other child actresses to more adult movies.  
Lets take a look back at some of her notable roles.  I had trouble ranking them so we are just going to do it chronologically.  

By Christopher K. House

I have an addiction, I am a total film buff. I get asked a lot what influenced me as a kid to make me such a huge film lover. The answer is quite simple, Star Wars. As a young kid of 5, I have vivid memories of seeing Star Wars on the big screen. At the Southtown theater here in Milwaukee, I remember well. The line was huge, wrapping around the block. I went with my older sister and some of her friends. It seemed to be late at night, the dark skies were full of stars. Probably not as late as I remember but, to a 5 year old kid, anytime it's dark, it's late at night. Star Wars is the first film I can remember seeing on the big screen. I'm sure I went to some Disney films before that but, they didn't affect me as much as Luke Skywalker and his adventures in space. The music, the characters, the setting, all of it culminated into one big joyful experience I never shook. I remember cutting the ads for the film out of the newspaper (remember those?) and, taping them to my walls. The toys that came out were top on my list for Santa. I hoped he would make them in time for Christmas, thankfully he did.  Star Wars became a cultural phenomenon in 1977.

In 1980, George Lucas brought arguably the best Star Wars film to date. The Empire Strikes back. This, hands down my favorite Star Wars film swept the country like wildfire. Name a popular magazine, it dominated the cover pages. In 1983, we were graced with Return Of The Jedi. Our bittersweet goodbye to the characters we loved and despised. Little did we know at the time, we weren't over Star Wars yet. As the years passed, authors created what is known as the Expanded Universe. Countless stories and characters were created. Star Wars was bigger than anyone could have imagined. George Lucas was still at the head, allowing and dismissing characters. Rumor has it, only Lucas could give a character a "Darth" title.

The prequel years came soon after. Young Obi Wan would meet the child Anakin Skywalker. Needless to say, fans were hyper with excitement. Star Wars - Episode I The Phantom Menace gave us new characters, new Jedi masters, a new Darth, who has since become an iconic figure, rivaled only by the notorious Boba Fett. Although, the film was met with mixed reactions, we could all agree Jar Jar Binks was totally wrong. 2 more prequels would follow, completing the prequel trilogy. Star Wars Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith was the chapter we were all waiting for. We would see the fall of Anakin and, the rise of Darth Vader. The trilogy might have started on a weak note but, it went out with a bang. The prequel trilogy birthed a cartoon series "The Clone Wars" that spawned a whole new generation of fans. Now, there were 2 camps of fans. OG trilogy and prequel trilogy. The demographics were opposite. Only one franchise could do that, our beloved Star Wars.

After the prequel was over, fans settled into the realization the Star Wars story was done, it was over, the story was told. Little did we know, it wasn't. When Disney announced it had purchased the Lucasfilm company from George Lucas, many thought it was a joke. Why would he do that? He said no one would ever make Star Wars films except him. Ever. He actually quite sternly said that, by the way.

Soon after, Disney announced a whole line up of films, starting with Episode VII. Set 30 years after the events in Return Of The Jedi, The Force Awakens would reunite all the main characters. Fans went nuts. Star Wars, which began nearly 40 years ago is at a new high.. What is it about the film and the total loyalty it inspires in it's fans? Just ask that kid that saw it on the big screen in 1977.

by Stephen Milek

Almost exactly 2 years ago George Lucas and Steven Spielberg gave a talk about the future of the entertainment industry.  They predicted an “implosion” where the industry will drastically change.  Two years later are we seeing the beginning of that implosion?

Lucas predicted that movies would become similar to Broadway where you will get fewer movies playing for longer periods of times.  While Spielberg said that “"There's going to be an implosion where three or four or maybe even half a dozen of these mega-budgeted movies are going to go crashing into the ground.”  Then we see what has happened this year and you can see that beginning to play out.  So far this year we have had some massive hits like Furious 7, Age of Ultron, and now Jurassic World but you have also had big budget movies that are considered flops like Tomorrowland and Terminator: Genisys.  Between the release of Age of Ultron and Jurassic World there were very few movies that mad an impact at the box office.  Pitch Perfect 2, Mad Max: Fury Road and San Andreas did ok but since Memorial Day the box office has been falling behind recent years.  The trend has been a few big movies then not much till the next big movie comes out.  While this isn’t that unusual the swing seems to be bigger than usual.  Movies like Furious 7 and Jurassic World blew their expectations away while the expectation for Age of Ultron might have been a bit too high it did as expected. 

During Jurassic Worlds second weekend we had two movies that took in an enormous amount of money when Inside Out opened huge.  With the two movies making tons of money you would think that it would be one of the biggest weekends in box office history but it was only the 4 largest of the year.  This shows that moviegoers are not really spreading the wealth to other movies.  As this big tent pole movies make more and more money it will make it harder for smaller more original movies to find a place in the theatre.

Lucas also predicted "What you're going to end up with is fewer theaters," he said. "Bigger theaters, with a lot of nice things. Going to the movies is going to cost you 50 bucks, maybe 100. Maybe 150."  We don’t have to look far to see that coming true.  Just take a look at Marcus Theatres here in Milwaukee.  We now have more theaters with Dream Lounger seats (which are comfortable I give them that), restaurants and reserved seats.  I was surprised when I went to my local Marcus Theatre and I got a designated seat.  And of course they have Ultra Screens and latest digital sound.  AMC at Mayfair has their special IMAX Theater that has a bigger screen and bigger sound (although not a real IMAX screen). All this adds up to theatres trying to sell us a better viewing experience which they are hoping will make up for the decline of quality of movies.  Anything besides big action movies people watching at home on their sophisticated HDTV’s and Surround Sound.  There are already plenty of people that skip movies because they don’t think it’s worth seeing in the theatres and not because of they think the movie will be bad but they would rather sit at home and watch it. 

Has the movie business imploded? I don’t think we are at that point yet but it does seem like we are moving closer. We are going to get less original movies because they don’t make as much money and are riskier. But we will get more sequels, remakes, and reboots since they usually have a built in audience.   

by Stephen Milek

Happy 4th of July everyone.  This is from an old blog of mine but thought I would share again.  

This is a short list because there have only been like 6 movies have been made about the Revolutionary War and that's including a HBO miniseries and a made for TV movie from A&E. Still that only leaves 4 movies that I have seen for my list.

1.  The Patriot-Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger fight the British in this violent action movie.

2.  1776-Fun musical about the writing of the Declaration of Independence

3.  John Adams-HBO Miniseries-The life of John Adams incudes his rise to prominence in Massachusetts to his presidency and death.  Paul Giamatti gives a great performance as Adams.

4.  The Crossing-A&;E TV movie-About Washington's crossing of the Delaware River with  Jeff Daniels playing Washington.


Since there weren't many movies about the Revolutionary War I decided to do an additional list of movies that sounds like they should be about the Revolutionary War but aren't.

1.  Independence Day-Takes place on the 4th of July but instead of fighting the British we are fighting aliens.

2.  Born on the 4th of July-Sounds patriotic but a controversial film from Oliver Stone about the Vietnam War.

3.  The Birth of a Nation-Not about the Revolutionary War but about the start of the KKK.

4.  God Bless America -Not at all what it sounds like it is really about a guy that goes crazy and starts a killing people. 

5.  American Beauty - Sounds like it would be a nice tail of America but it is about the falling apart of a family.  

By Stephen Milek

In early July of 1947 there was a report of a UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico and to commemorate that anniversary World UFO Day was created.   To celebrate the occasion I decided to make a list of my favorite alien invasion movies.  These are movies where aliens come to earth and they don’t come in peace so E.T. does not qualify for this list.  Also movies where humans go and fight aliens on their planet doesn’t qualify either so movies like Avatar and Starship Troopers didn’t make the list either.  Needless to say these movies are usually action packed with lots of special effects.

1.       Independence Day – When you say alien invasion movie this is the first movie that usually comes to mind.  There a so many iconic scenes in this movie with everything blowing up from the White House to all of New York.  The action is fun and the cast delivers everything we expect from humor to a great presidential speech at the end. 

2.      The Thing – Sometimes alien invasion movies can be scary and The Thing brings the horror element to the genre.  John Carpenter’s update of The Thing from Another World is one of the best remakes of all time and will make you afraid of space invaders.

3.      The Day the Earth Stood Still – One of the few movies on here that doesn’t have a lot of death and destruction.  A story of an alien that comes to earth to warn man of a coming invasion if they don’t change their ways.  The movie came out in the 50’s and has a very anti-nuclear message but it still holds up today.

4.      Edge of Tomorrow (or Live.Die.Repeat if you prefer) – The most recent movie on the list and one that for unknown reasons didn’t do very well at the box office. In fact it did so poorly that when it was released on home video it got a sort of name change to Live.Die.Repeat.  But for anyone that saw it knows it is a great sci-fi action film that keeps you on the edge of your seat.  The aliens in this movie can control time and when Tom Cruise’s character is able to repeat the same day over and over he must figure out the secret to beating them.  And if you aren’t a fan of Tom Cruise get satisfaction from watching him die a lot. 

5.      Predator – 80’s action movies mixed with an evil alien gave us this gem of a movie.  Predator takes Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime doing what he does best.  Saying one liners and blowing things up. 

6.      Invasion of the Body Snatchers – Another 1950’s alien invasion movie about aliens growing “pods” with people in it then killing the real people.  Along with The Day the Earth Stood Still they are some of the most influential sci-fi movies of the 50’s. 

7.      Sings- A slightly controversial choice as there are many that don’t like Signs.  But I see it as the last great M. Night Shyamalan movie.  Shyamalan is now considered a hack and I feel this movie gets unfairly maligned for some of his recent failings.  But I remember watching Sings in the theater and being on the edge of my seat.  While the invasion happens on a world scale we are focused on how it affects a family in rural Pennsylvania.   I can see how the ending can be a bit hooky but it works for me.  

8.      The Avengers – The fun of this movie is less about the alien invasion and more about watching your favorite superheroes learn to be a team. And this movie is fun.  Loki makes a great villain and his alien force at the end gives our heroes a chance to show off their super powers.  

9.      The Faculty – If you ever wondered what The Breakfast Club meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers would look like this is your answer.  You have your stereotypical high school characters but this time they must learn to trust each other or be turned into aliens.  It lacks a certain flair that other Robert Rodriquez movies had but the constraint pays off.    Kevin Williamson who wrote the slasher revitalizing Scream wrote this one also and while it didn't have the cultural impact that Scream had it was a great horror movie that references other classic movies.  It also gave us Jon Stewart in a beard having a pen stuck through his eye and of course any chance to see a sexy Salma Hayek is worth it.  
10.  Evolution - A choice that might not make many lists and the only comedy on this list.  There is something so ridiculous about this movie that I laugh every time I watch it and had to include it on the list.  From the David Duchovny’s seriousness to Julianne Moore’s slapstick the movie works for me.  The chemistry between Duchovny, Orlando Jones, and Sean William Scott make the movie work.  Also helps when you have the legendary director of Ghostbusters Ivan Reitman at the helm.  Just an enjoyable movie all around.  

I am sure there are others you feel I missed.  Let me know what you think should have been on the list.