I've come to a sort of crossroads with these lists here. Some of these lists may be less than 6 movies and some of the movies may have a more brief rundown of my thoughts. I've gotten to a point where a few things have happened with the films in each given year. It may be as easy as that I haven't seen such and such movie. Or that I saw the movie so long ago that my memory on it is very dim too the point that I would need to start fresh and see it again, plus I wouldn't be the best conversationalist about it. Lastly, I saw it, remember I liked it, remember a little bit about it and key points, but finer details and discussion is very vague for me. I'm getting older and that's how things go for me at this juncture.
The race for Best Picture
WINNER - A Man For All Seasons
Alfie
The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming
The Sand Pebbles
Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?
And my little race. Only 5
Batman: The Movie
I'm a big fan of the 1960s Batman series and I've never been shy about it. Its incredibly fun, campy and funny. Plus it super colorful and has your favorite characters stricken right from the page. This film manages to capture a lot of that, while also adding some of its own feel. My only qualms are that it doesn't include Julie Newmar and the film runs a bit long (when you're used to 30 min episodes, the feel starts to wear a bit). All in all though, this is all we could own for decades to give us our Batusi fix.
Dracula: Prince Of Darkness
My personal favorite of the Hammer Dracula films. The dark prince returns, but takes his time in doing so. This slow builder gives you haunting house scares followed by vampiric thrills. Lee is good here because he didn't have a long shoot. The film manages to fulfill old school horror popcorn frills with a side of a bit artier feel. You can find more of my ramblings on this and the other Hammer Dracula films by clicking the thumb to the right.
Our Man Flint
Ah, yes, the ultimate in James Bond knock offs. Only spawning two, movies, James Coburn brought his spy A-game. This and to a lesser extent its sequel (The more kid slang popular In Like Flint), are an enjoyable time capsule piece of fun camp. When it came to the Austin Powers franchise, this series was borrowed from just about as heavily as Bond. Its sorta been forgotten, but had a legacy that lasted mainly in memory for a few decades.
Seconds
John Frankenheimer's Seconds is both an awesome little movie and a weird one. Its truly in its own little world. Almost a proto-David Lynch film. He also gets Rock Hudson involved in a unique movie for him as well. As a viewer you kind of start out with "what is all this, this is strange" vibe, but you're slowly being pulled into the thought process and logic of the movie as well. Its sort of its own Twilight Zone type tale as well. I really enjoy this one for a myriad of reasons and people should definitely seek it out.
Torn Curtain
Here's a Hitchcock one that people (Even himself) seem to be down on. But, this is right up the Hitchcock 39 Steps-Saboteur-North By Northwest mold. It may not be "as good" as those, but it has almost everything you'd want from one of them. There's also a couple fantastic suspense sequences that are highly iconic/memorable from the film as well (When Newman goes off on his own to investigate and the Bus traveling at the end). I really like this movie, and I think more people should go back to it and give it another chance. Or those who have never seen it before and been told not to bother, should actually judge it for themselves. For me, its one of his most under appreciated works. Its his final suspense/adventure/man in the wrong place/action movie.
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