# 78: Modern Times

I didn't even know if was interested in seeing this movie or dreading it, today I am reviewing Modern Times.  You see I have never seen a silent movies (I prefer talkies) so I had no idea what to expect.  I know my girlfriend did not want to see this at all, but my mother was looking forward to it (I think its because she is old).

Charlie Chaplin is a very popular, maybe the most popular, silent movie star.  He not only was loved world wide but I have heard how his comedic styling has been an influence to many people.  On the other side of things he always seemed to be in political controversy by doing things such as not joining the army during WWI and had some socialist and communist friends.  Well Charlie I have some friends too:

This film is also received some criticism for being a silent movie even though the technology for talkies had been around for a while and it received no recognition from the Academy Awards, despite it being one of Charlie's most well known films.

The internet lied!  They are a bunch of liars!!! Oh, wait let me first say I was not a huge fan of this movie, anyways here are the internet's ratings: 
IMDB = 8.5 out of 10
Rotten Tomatoes (Critic Rating) = 100%
Rotten Tomatoes (Audience Rating) = 95%

I am not sure how to even talk about the characters in this film.  There were so so so many minor characters.  Some were weird, some were funny.  There were no personalities or story arcs for these characters instead they were more silly, cartoon-like characters.  The female lead in this movie was really cool, I liked her a lot though I am not sure why, once again not like there is a lot of character to like.  FUN FACT #1: Charlie Chaplin had many marriages in his life, many of them very young girls, the lead in this movie was one of the older girls he married.  Charlie Chaplin was fun but I wasn't really impressed.  I think that there may have been too much hype about him that I built unachievable standards or maybe he just isn't all that awesome.  You do get to hear Charlie Chaplin sing in this movie, and I believe it is the first movie where he does so, so that's a pretty big deal.  Also, is his mustache real?

Not really much of a story to talk about either (seeing the trend? there isn't much to this movie).  There really isn't one story but rather a bunch of shorts stringed together by a loose plot line.  The movie did have social commentary about life during the depression but I don't know history that well or am that deep.  The story was so boring I had to keep shaking my girlfriend to stay awake and then she eventually had to narrate everything that was happening to keep focused.  Some of the jokes were pretty racy.  There were boob jokes and cocaine jokes.  I guess I just thought they were more conservative back then.  My mom thought it was hilarious though so I guess she liked it.  Once again I did learn things from it:
#1: Hitler mustaches were cool
#2: If you are buff and work in a factory you don't need to wear a shirt
#3: Factories are dangerous

The music for this movie was written by Charlie which is cool I guess.  I also thought some of the "stunts" were really cool, actually just when Charlie was skating around:

I am not sure if he really did this or there is some painted backdrop this going on but I still thought it was cool.

So I learned that I do not like silent movies.  I know some people will say we need to appreciate the art and history of it and look at where movies come from.  To them I say when is the last time you decided not to drive your car and take a horse and carriage somewhere?  Just imagine if one of your favorite movies was a silent movie:

Not that cool is it?  I do not know why there are so many silent movies on the AFI Top 100, I just know I won't like them and I didn't like this movie.  I gave Modern Times a D+

#97: Blade Runner

Finally a movie I have seen that my girlfriend has not, it is about time we came around to watching Blade Runner.  First off Blade Runner is not about running with scissors (hahahahahahahaha I am so funny), it is a sci-fi, or should I say sy-fy, thriller and I am a nerd and love sci-fi and fantasy movies and books.  Any ways lets get on with the review.

Blade Runner did not see success at the box office but it has since become a cult classic.  I am not really sure what makes something a cult classic though, I assume it is a fringe movie that is very popular for its genre or a movie that bombed but then sees later success, but I am not sure.  I have always been a little foggy on the definition but here is a video of other cult classics takes from different lists found on the internet:

I am still confused how movies like this can do so bad while in theaters and then years later make a huge comeback and become culturally relevant.  It has even helped shape modern sci-fi with sources saying the creator of the new run of "Battlestar Galactica".  This movie did not win any Oscars but was nominated for Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Visual Effects.

The all-knowing internet has these rating for the film:
IMDB = 8.3 out of 10
Rotten Tomatoes (Critic Rating) = 92%
Audience Rating (Audience Rating) = 89%
These scores are a little low but that can really be all summed up by the fact that this movie is a cult classic.  It was not adored nationally or critically acclaimed.

There were so many characters in this movie that I will not touch on all of them but just the ones that stood out to me.  First off we have Edward James Olmos playing a character who I found to be extremely interesting.  I wish we knew more about him, but then again if we did the mystery would be gone.  It was also weird to see EJO so young and skinny.  Next we have Sebastian a character who is so likeable, awkward, and meek.  This character was well acted and because of that I was very sympathetic towards this character.  Now we have Pris, played by Daryl Hannah.  I don't really like Daryl Hannah or the character, I don't know why but I just don't.  With that said she is one of the images that stands out to me from this movie.  The character of Rachel was another character I just didn't connect to.  She was a good character and the acting was there but something about her just didn't interest me.  The bad guy of this film, Roy, is fantastic.  The acting is superb and the character makes you challenge the idea of is he really a bad guy.  Should we arrest him or sympathize with him?  Fantastic!  Then we have Harrison Ford being a BAMF but he always is.  I love Harrison Ford in nearly everything he is in.  The character is awesome and Harrison Ford is awesome.  For me this is another stand out movie of Ford's and a character I will always remember... though there are some weird parts:

The movie started with a text prologue, which all good sci-fi movies need I guess, and we are introduced to the future, which is only five years from now.  I love when you watch old movies to see what they think the future would be like and then as we get closer to it you know it won't be like that.  Anyways the movie itself moves at a very slow pace and this slow pace easily could have lead to it not be popular when it was first released.  The slow pace does however allow for the environment and atmosphere of 2019 develop and this is my favorite part of the movie.  I actually feel the movie is more beloved for art direction then the story itself, which I personally do not think is anything special.  I could be wrong and the nerds of the internet may get angry but the story doesn't do much for me.  It is not bad but it isn't fantastic either.  That does not mean that there is nothing to learn from it though:
#1: I want to make my own midget friends
#2: Asians will rule the world
#3: Product placement will be all the rage in the future
#4: Retire=death
#5: In the future its night time a lot
#6: Replicants be crazy
#7: Daryl Hannah should be an Olympic gymnast

Now the thing I love most about this movie is the environment.  I mentioned earlier about how the movie was slowly paced, I feel that this slow place allowed the film to showcase the new world it has created for this story to take place in.  I love it!  The buildings are awesome, the atmosphere the set up is great, the mix of new and old is fantastic.  I love it all.  From the huge building with all the lights to the technology the use like the photo enhancer:

The key to making this atmosphere seem so awesome was great art direction as well as special effects.  The music is also fantastic I love the techno sound they use.  I don't know if I can say enough how much I love the atmosphere of this movie so here is a video of clips of the movie (no spoilers) and the music played during the credits:

In conclusion I like this movie, despite that I feel the story isn't that interesting or that it moves slow, I still love it for the atmosphere and vibe of the 2019 future we get to see.  I think it is a must watch for any one who loves sci-fi or just enjoys art direction in film.  I give this movie a B.

#32: The Godfather Part 2

To follow up last week's blog on The Godfather I figured that I might as well as review the sequel right afterwards, so today's review is The Godfather Part 2.  Like I mentioned last week I have never seen these movies so all I knew about this one is that it is always on "the best sequels of all time" lists.  Oh, and I also know according to almost everyone the third one is stupid.  Anyways, lets get on with the review.

As I mentioned before the first Godfather has had a huge influence on culture and I think the same can be said for this movie.  These two movies work so well together that I think it would be difficult to separate the impact of each movie. The one thing this movie has offered us though it one of the best sequels in film history.  Now not all sequels are great in fact most aren't: 

I know some of you might not agree with my list and to you I say, my opinion is more important so keep your comments in your pocket.  This film not only is one of the best sequels ever but also cleaned up at the Academy awards.  It won six Oscars for: Best Writing, Best Picture, Best Music, Best Director, Best Art Direction, and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (De Niro); as well as being nominated for five other awards. 

Now it is time for everyone's favorite part.... the internet ratings!!!!!
IMDB = 9 out of 10
Rotten Tomatoes (Critic Rating) = 98%
Rotten Tomatoes (Audience Rating) = 96%
So despite many people feeling this sequel surpasses the first movie the internet rating are all slightly lower.  I wish the internet could make up its mind.

Now it is time for my favorite part.... my own review!!!!  Acting once again was fantastic.  Though I was sad that characters like Tom were in it a lot less.  I really enjoyed his character in the first one and just would have liked to see this character built upon more.  Diane Keaton returned as Kay and though her acting was good, man do I hate her character, but I feel that the character is supposed to stir up emotions in us, it is one of those characters that, depending on how you view the morals of other characters, is either likeable or you hate her.  The bad guy in this film was fine but the character was not anything spectacular.  There is also a character named Frankie, the actor was nominated for an award and when I saw that I didn't even know who the character was.  You see, I am really bad with names when there are a lot of characters so some of the names slip through the cracks of my brain.  Anyways, he did a good job and his character was good as well.  Now for the Corleone Family we have Talia Shire, playing Connie, who is not only annoying but barely in this movie.  Yet, she was nominated for an Oscar!  How?  How does this happen?  She was only in it for ten minutes total yet it was Oscar worthy:

I hope you liked that.  She was in like 4 scenes total!  This happened a few years ago when Tilda Swinton won an Oscar for Michael Clayton when she was hardly in it!  She beat out the little girl from Atonement!  AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!  Also Fredo was in this movie a lot more and he did a great job.  His character I felt is similar to Kay where you choose sides and you either sympathize with them or hate them.  I love when movies and characters make you do this.  Now we have Robert De Niro.  He was fantastic.  I really enjoyed his story arc, his character, and the acting.  Oh, also since he wasn't in the last one I guess I should do a then and now picture.  Al Pacino once again plays Michael and does a great job showing the depth and complexity of the character.  The character is extremely well written and Al does a great job making the character seem real.  Before I move on I want to also mention all the little characters in this movie who just all are great and are acted very well.  My personal favorite being some awesome black hat wearing, killing guy.  I think it shows a lot when you are sad that one of these little characters dies and you know you won't be seeing them the rest of the movie.

As I talk about the story of the movie I need to first warn people that you will have to read in parts of this movie.  I know, why make us read, we are watching a movie not reading a book.  The story has tons of symbolism and moves at a very quick pace which helps this movie, which is over three hours, feel much shorter.  The movie may be hard to follow since they change location and time periods with out much of a warning but it isn't too difficult.  The story was great and it follows Michael as he deals with the hardships of being in charge and we see how it is hard to hold to one's morals in that situation.  While watching it all I could think of was how I wish the Star Wars prequels had a more rise and fall or morality story, like this, with Anakin rather then his just being a little &%^#.  I also really enjoyed the beginning of the movie and seeing the immigration of Vito to America.  The script once again was fantastic and really helped the story and characters seem real.  As always I did learn some thing from the movie:
#1: My high school band does funnerals
#2: Cubans like to riot
#3: Italian brothers show love in weird ways
Seriously though, I have never done this to my brother:

The music was once again very good and much like the last movie nothing stood out either good or bad with the special effects.  I did really enjoy the parts of the movie in Miami because the look and feel of them was very cool and reminded me a ton of GTA3:Vice City, which I am not sure if that is more a complement to the movie or the game... oh well.

In conclusion, I have to agree with most people out there and say I like this movie better then the first one.  It had two great stories that paralleled each other very well and afterwards my mom, my girlfriend, and I all had great conversations about the differences between Michael and Vito.  I really enjoyed both these movies and this movie a little more.  This movie gets an  A+

#2: The Godfather

So it is the Christmas season and instead of putting on a fire and snuggling up to watch some Christmas movie we decided to watch The Godfather.  Now if you are like my families and friends you might find it weird that I have never seen this movie, if you don't think it's weird then I like you more then them. But, I do know certain things about the movie (referential pop culture things) as well as know that this is a very well liked movie so I was really looking forward to watching it, almost as excited as you are to read this review.

Like I mentioned earlier The Godfather is referenced multiple times in media, some of which I didn't even know because it was from my childhood:

Okay, okay, okay, I know Fat Tony might not be a normal "Godfather" reference but in my naive youth I thought all Italian gangsters were references to The Godfather.  This movie though next to maybe Goodfellas is probably the most referenced mafia movie in pop culture.  This film also broke new ground by being a movie told from the side of the mafia.  Most mafia or gangster movies at this time were more focused on the police trying to stop the mafia.  All sorts of movies and TV shows now take a look from the side of the mafia, one of the most recent ones being The Sopranos (though the mob dressed better back in the day then they do now).  This film won three Academy Awards for Best Writing, Best Picture, and Marlon Brando for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

Now lets see what the always positive people of the internet have to say about this film:
IMDB = 9.2
Rotten Tomatoes (Critic Rating) = 100%
Rotten Tomatoes (Audience Rating) = 97%
Holy cow these are some high ratings, I guess not everyone on the internet is negative.

Now before I start my own personal review I want to talk about how weird it is for me to watch older movies and see how young some of the actors look.  I feel it is very similar to how when you see pictures of your parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. as kids and teenagers and you think to yourself, "you were young once?"  Well the same thing happened to me while watching this movie:

Before I talk about the individual characters I just want to say that all the actors were great.  I really thought that this was a very well acted movie.  This movie had so many characters so there is no way I will be able to talk about them all so I will just talk about the ones I had either positive or negative opinions on.  First of the character of Clemenza was awesome.  I cannot explain why I liked him so much but I just thought he was awesome.  Not sure if you ever like characters like this, you know, the ones that aren't that important, or even in the film much, but for some reason you really like them.  That is what Clemenza is for me.  Now the family has some great characters and some not so great characters.  Fredo and Connie were both pointless and annoying.  I have no idea why these characters even exist.  They were so pointless and underused that they might have well not even been in it.  Kay played by Diane Keaton was another character that did not really add much to the overall movie.  Honestly the most i can say about her is that Diane Keaton looks better now then she did then (holy big forehead Batman).  Then we have Vito, the character we all know, played by Marlon Brando.  It is really hard to me to judge this character and this acting since, I CAN"T UNDERSTAND HIM:

So I will have to go with what other people say and just say he was great and the character is great too.  Now we will get to my three favorite characters of the movie, Tom (Robert Duvall), Sonny (James Caan), and Michael (Al Pacino).  All these characters were not only interesting but were awesome characters.  I would watch a "Sopranos" like series if it followed these three characters.  I really really liked them.

The story was very good and for a three hour movie there were not many times I was bored.  It was great to see the character development.  At times the pacing may seem slow and the movie does take some time getting to the main plot line it feels but I think it is worth it if it adds to the movie.  The characters were well developed and the feeling of the movie was established.  I really wish more movies would do this.  I don't want to ruin the main story for you because I really enjoyed it and I want you to have the same experience.  The script was fantastic.  My only question is why do they always use Mario references.  Now I also, as always, learned something from this movie.  Here are just a few things:
#1: Horse heads are not as nice to cuddle with as teddy bears
#2: My Italian stereotypes aren't really stereotypes
#3: Cops suck (seems to be a trend)
#4: Italy is boring
#5: Women are more dangerous then shotguns and have lightning powers
#6: Babies crying are REALLY annoying
#7: Al did not age well

The music was really great in this film (one of the songs in is the Now and Then video).  Though it was not something that really stood out all the time, when I did notice it I really enjoyed it.  The effects, stunts, etc. were nothing to write home about (which is weird since I live at home) but they were not distractingly horrible either.

In conclusion, I really thought this was a good movie.  It was well made and I really enjoyed watching it.  Now I don't think it will become a movie I watch over and over again, but I did like it.  Why do some great movies never become a movie that I can watch multiple times yet some lesser movie like Ocean's 11 can become a movie I watch almost every time it is on?  Whatever, my grade for this film is an A.

#48: Rear Window

Well we have come to another James (Jimmy) Stewart movie, today's review is no other then Rear Window.  I was looking forward to this movie because, one my mom and girlfriend talked about how good it was, and two, I liked Disturbia.  Also this is Alfred Hitchcock and to my knowledge I have never seen a Hitchcock movie all the way through.  All this to say I was in good positive spirits going into this review. 

Rear Window is based off a short story and directed by Hitchcock.  Some even say it is one of Hitchcock's best works.  This film was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Director.  While the film making aspect of this film is not ground breaking the story itself is one that has been referenced and redone many times:

One of the most recent adaptations slash remakes is Disturbia starring Shilabuff (sp?).  Funny story about this though is that Distubia got sued for plagiarizing the book.  I guess they didn't ask for permission of something.  I was going to look more into it but I got bored.

The internet tells me that Rear Window should be critiqued like this:
IMDB = 8.7 out of 10
Rotten Tomatoes (Critic Rating) = 100%
Rotten Tomatoes (Audience Rating) = 95%
These ratings are very, very, very, very, very high.  Seems like the internet really likes this movie.

Now lets see what I think, because that's the opinion I trust most.  The characters in this film were decent.  The women both Stella the Nurse and Grace Kelly's character were both very amusing.  Stella at moments was down right hilarious and Grace Kelly was fun but mainly she was there to be pretty.  The cop friend of our main character was a flat character as was the mysterious man they were watching.  Nothing were super special about either of these character but both were played well and important to the story.  Now our main star James (Jimmy) Stewart was the same old James (Jimmy) Stewart he has always been.  I still feel that he is the same person in everything and all that changes is his occupation and motive, but I don't care I think he is still awesome.

The story was very interesting and suspenseful.  The tension of spying on someone and not really knowing for sure what is happening is a great idea though I am curious if this is where the Patriot Act came from.  Anyways, this movie was great from beginning to end, but for some reason during the climax I kept thinking of this song:

The script was well written and there are some saying the use back then that I wish we used today.  Phrases like "hows your stomach?" "empty as a football".  I want to use this in the near future and see how people react.  As always there were lots of things an audience member could learn from this movie.  Things like:
#1: Don't count on cops
#2: Girls dance around in their underwear
#3: Women pretend to have dinner parties
#4: People eat fish heads and rice
#5: People don't use blinds or curtains often
#6: Dog don't use elevators they use baskets
Wow!  What a wealth of knowledge I just laid on you.  Also what the frick is a rear window?  This didn't take place in a car.  Do people call the windows in the back of their house a rear window?  I need to know because this whole time I just call them windows.  I want to make sure I use the proper name.

The cinematography in this movie was great.  Combined with the silence used in some scenes I really felt like I was spying on these different people outside of the window.  It really helped in building up the suspense and drama in this film.  While cinematography and sound may be a strength to this movie special effect well...... look for your self:

Overall I really enjoyed this movie, but I do think I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't seen Disturbia before hand and went into this movie not knowing anything about it.  Still I give this movie a B-

Now for a bonus feature (and this isn't even a DVD) you will now read about my journey through tying food.  First off I love McDonald's but there are a few items that I was a little nervous to try for different reasons but I decided to give it a go and try these items with my girlfriend. First up was the Holiday Pie.  It is a custard filled pie with sugar cookie crust.  This honestly wasn't that bad it might be a little to sweet to eat a whole one but it was way better then my low expectations were.  Next up was the Filet o' Fish.  This one I was terrified to try something about fast food and fish doesn't sit right with me, I don't know why.  Anyways it didn't make me want to throw up but I defiantly won't be eating this one again. Last up was the McRib.  Now I know that everyone goes crazy for this when it is out but I was always weirded out by it.  It looked like ribs, you know like a rack of ribs that you eat off the bone, except there is no bone in this rib patty.  It is like the took "rib" meat and crammed it into a rib mold and made patties.  Anyways it wasn't great and it wasn't horrible.  It was just ok.  I don't understand why everyone loves this.  I could care less if I ever have another one in my life.  Well, that's it thank you for reading this bonus feature.

#66: Raiders of the Lost Ark

If you didn't get enough of a biased fanboy review in my Lord of the Rings review then you are in luck because today we are reviewing Raiders of the Lost Ark.  I love this movie!!!  I love Indiana Jones!!!I feel like everyone loves this movie (except for one friend I had who never saw it because she thought it was a "boy" movie).  I love the ride at Disneyland.  I was so happy that I got to watch a movie like this and it made me realize that I wish a lot more of the AFI Top 100 movies were movies that I liked.  Frick, I just wish more movies were like Raiders.  Anyways enough of my gushing love for this film lets get on with the review.

Now once again I may be biased in my view here but I feel Indian Jones is one of the most iconic American film characters of all time.  I mean if he wasn't such a huge icon why would the South Park kids feel like this:

So if everyone is this upset about the fourth movie then Indy must be a pretty important character.  Also I think he might have inspired Devo to write a certain song:

In all seriousness though, when this film was released it received high critical ratings and one four Oscars for Best Art Direction, Best Effects, Best Editing, and Best Sound.  It also received a Special Achievement Award for sound effects editing and was nominated for four other Academy Awards including Best Picture.  The film also was included in the United States Library of Congress' National Film Registry as having been deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." 

Now we will take a look at how the nerds of the internet have to say:
IMDB = 8.7 out of 10
Rotten Tomatoes (Critic Rating) = 94%
Rotten Tomatoes (Audience Rating) = 93%
I guess these rating are okay, but if the internet was really smart they would all be one-hundred percent.

Now get ready for me to start my biased portion of the review (if it wasn't biased already).  The acting in this movie is fantastic.  The baddies to be honest are not the greatest in movie history.  Rene is a decent main bad guy but never seemed to be a real threat.  Then we have the Nazis who... well they are Nazis so yeah.... But then we have Arnold Thot, played by Ronald Lacey, who is one of the most memorable villains from my childhood and I believe has one of the most memorable scene in this movie.  Now lets move on to the good guys.  First we have Sallah.  I love Sallah, he is such a great side kick character.  He is loyal, knowledgeable, helpful, and just they guy you want with you when you are hunting for ancient artifacts.  Sadly, Sallah doesn't have a love interest in this movie, but Sallah can explain why:

Oh gosh!  That's a knee slapper!  So now we have Marion Ravenwood who is the main/only female character in this movie.  She is played by Karen Allen and is fantastic at playing a tough, independent, female rather then the stereotypical damsel in distress.  They only thing I need to ask Karen is:

Sorry I love that movie and couldn't resist.  Now this brings us to Indian Jones.  The main man himself.  Indian Jones is a BAMF!  He is awesome, amazing, wonderful, fantastic, marvelous, terrific, transcendent, athletic, rugged, tenacious, brilliant, ingenious... I need to stop I could go one all day.  But, seriously Indiana Jones was fighting Nazis before it was cool.  Harrison Ford was not originally cast to play Indiana, Tom Selleck was going to be the Jones.  It is weird to think about now since I cannot imagine anyone else play Indy other the Harrison.  Also I don't think Indy would look good with a mustache.  Oh I forgot to mention.  I am scared of snakes too.

The story is fantastic.  I have seen this movie countless times and every time I am still entertained and engaged the whole way through.  It is just so fun from beginning to end.  I really wish more movies were like this today.  The mix of action, adventure, and even just a little campy fun thrown in make this movie a blast.  The script is great and combined with the actors there are some scenes of quick wit that are extremely enjoyable.  But not only is this movie entertaining but it teaches us many thing.
#1: God hates Nazis
#2: Hooking up with underage chicks is awesome
#3: Marion is hot
#4: Archaeologists are awesome

Now there are some great stunts in this movie and the action is really fun.  Now not all the effects are the greatest but I guess some of it comes with the times.  One thing that I really liked in this movie was its use of light and shadows.  There were a few reveals on Indy that were just awesome, but don't take my word for it:

And lastly the music in this movie is amazing.  The theme song was my cellphone ringtone for years.  I think it might be one of the most recognizable themes in movie history and it is a shame that it didn't win an Oscar. 

All in all I love this movie and I know you know that so I guess I will just get straight to it and share my inflated grade of an A+

#79: The Wild Bunch

Before I start my review I need to complain a little first.  I hate it when people talk during a movie that I am really trying to watch.  I also hate it when people get a phone call and answer the phone but don't leave the room.  Now, with both of these little pet peeves, I was about to yell at my dad when I was watching this weeks movie, The Wild Bunch, and he was on the phone and decided to sit down and watch the movie while still on the phone.  Really dad, really!?  Anywho... I knew next to nothing about this film before I watched it other then previews made for movies in the 60s are very different then previews now.  I did know that no matter what that this movie had to be better then The Philadelphia Story (and yes I will keep using this as the standard of bad movies until I watch a worse AFI movie) so I was excited for that.

Now this movie really helped change the landscape of film making.  For its time it used revolutionary techniques such as multi-angle editing and using normal and slow motion.  This was interesting to learn since for me techniques like those have always been part of the action movies I watch, so to think of how audiences must have felt when they saw these techniques must have been awesome (why doesn't awful mean to be full of awe?).  Also this movie was controversial for being graphically violent.  Meaning this movie let us have this:

The graphic violence in The Wild Bunch is nothing compared to movies like Kill Bill or Saving Private Ryan, but to be that movie to really push the graphic violence envelope I can see how this movie earned its way to being a big part of American cinema history.  This film was nominated for two academy awards for Best Original Score and Best Screenplay.

According to the internet we can see that The Wild Bunch got the following reviews:
IMDB= 8.1 out of 10
Rotten Tomatoes (Critic Rating)= 97%
Rotten Tomatoes (Audience Rating)= 89%
We can see here that this movie seems to vary in its ratings.  We have one rating which gives it a vary high 97% while another rating gives it almost a 7 out of 10 (for those who don't know math that would be a score in the 70-79% range). 

Now its the time you have all been waiting for, my opinion.  This movie seems to have lots of characters all sort of forming different sides in this crazy Western.  First we have the Mexicans, who were hard to understand, mainly cause all they did was speak Spanish.  What ever happened to making everyone no matter their nationality speak English so the audience can understand?  Anyways, the Mexicans were just a big pile of racial stereotypes.  They sorta reminded me of drunk versions of this:

Then we have the bad guys?  Okay I have been curious about this issue for a while now.  When the main characters in a movie are outlaws are they still the good guys?  For example in Ocean's 11 are they good guys?  If they are the good guys does that make the people who are out to stop them the bad guys?  If so this means its possible to have our good guys to be criminals and our bad guys to be cops.  I guess we will chalk it up to perspective.  So in this movie (according to our perspective) the bad guys are funny.  There weren't much a point to a few of the characters other then to be obstacles for the "good guys" but I was entertained by them.  The main bad guy was an interesting character but I did have a hard time telling him apart from the main good guy in some scenes.  I guess I have to admit a weakness of mine... in old movies I have a hard telling main characters apart from one another because I feel that they all sort of look a like. So, now lets talk about the "good guys".  Fist up we have an old crazy drunk man who is awesome, though it does seem that every Western needs an old crazy drunk guys who just looks gross and laughs the whole time.  Next we have Angel the token Mexican "good guy".  He isn't a walking stereotypes like the other Mexicans in this film but that's all I can say about him.  I don't really like him or dislike him:

Then we have this duo of friends who seem to do everything together.  They are always getting drunk, causing trouble, and just being entertaining.  They were very funny to watch and just made being an outlaw to seem like it was a blast, they even sorta reminded me of pirates from Pirates of the Caribbean.  Earnest Borgnine plays the main "good guys" right hand man and he is fantastic.  I really liked this character.  Then we have the main character of the film played by William Holden.  He was a decent character but a little to unemotional for me to really get behind.  I enjoyed the other "good guy" characters more then him.  Overall the acting was decent and I am getting used to the idea that acting styles have changed over time so I guess I am learning that though sometimes the acing can seem cheesy doesn't mean its bad it just means that old movies are cheesy.


#1: Being a bad guy/outlaw is awesome.
#2: I don't think I would last long in the Old West (too dirty).
#3: Cowboys don't drink mixed drinks (I wonder when those became popular).
#4: Racism is funny.
#5: Chin straps are really meant to be worn on the chin.

The stunts in this movie were great but I did begin to wonder... can horses swim?  If not there was a lot of animal cruelty in the making of this film.  Also how do they do stunts with animals without the animals getting hurt?  Also the gun fights in this movie were awesome and crazy though I couldn't help to this of this

every time there was a gun fight.  The sound dubbing was horrible at points in this movie but the music I enjoyed and really helped adding to the enjoyment of the film. 

In conclusion, I felt this was a good movie but could be better.  The fact this movie broke new ground in both its styling and violence and gore is the reason this film made the AFI Top 100, because I do not think the story itself was good enough.  I give this movie a C-.