After a long hiatus from writing for this website I have decided
to come back with a bang. I will be watching the 100 greatest
movies of all time according to the American Film Institute's list,
"100 Years...100 Movies," over the next 100 days and in no particular order. Reviews won't come out every day for 100 days, that's not my style. But I will watch all the movies over a 100 day non-consecutive period, and then let my thoughts on the flicks percolate. By the end of 2021 there should be a nice catalog of critiques on the website of the top 100 movies as chosen by AFI back in 1998. From there on out I may add info to the critiques as I see fit. More likely, however, is that I'll just post movies I've watched and liked and frankly think are better than the top 100. I've seen some of the movies on the list already, and not all are what they're cracked up to be.
At first I thought to use IMDB's 100 best movies list, sorted by user rating, but there
is strong recency bias in that list (Avengers Endgame is top 50, yea no thanks). The AFI list
has a black and white bias (old movies) but I think the past deserves more credit because it's had to stand up against a never ending and increasing onslaught of new movies.
After each movie I will write my thoughts on the movie and any related fancy that strikes my
mind. I call my thoughts a critique because I like the alliteration created by the phrase Cinema Critiques. But I also want them to be more than thumbs up or down reviews. A true critique is rich and deep and funny and a piece of art in itself if done well.
I've watched some of these movies already. Like The Godfather. I mean what self-respecting cinephile hasn't? Many others I haven't seen. In any case I will be watching with total involvement. In the past maybe I was, maybe I wasn't. Nowadays people watch a movie with a smartphone in hand. Not I! Total immersion, at least for these movies, and the movies I plan to write about.
I hope you can be inspired to watch some great films in your own time too. Films can be a great way to decompress after a day of work, especially for the self-absorbed. And I hope you enjoy my take on these classic films, and I assure you they all won't be laudatory or fawning.
Some will be toasted. Some will be roasted. But all will be watched.