I’m entering the homestretch with the AFI list. I only have 6 films left and here’s a few reviews of the films I’ve seen most recently.

Midnight Cowboy

For the first 30 minutes, I had to watch the movie through my fingers, it was so awkward and embarassing. I just wanted to say “Oh Honey!” to poor Joe Buck. Have you ever seen movies or television shows where you just keep saying “Stop! Shut up! Stop talking!” I actually thought this was really good; I loved Dustin Hoffman’s character, Ratso and, after the initial horror over Jon Voight’s character, I was really emotionally invested in how things played out for him. This is also the only “X” rated film I’ve ever seen (although I’ve seen a few NC-17).

M*A*S*H

I had high hopes for this but it wasn’t quite what I expected. There wasn’t really much of a linear plot but instead a string of zany episodic moments, which I’m sure made it an excellent candidate for a televsion show. I DID like Elliott Gould and Donald Sutherland (how could you not?) and it was fun to see Radar (the same actor plays Radar in both the TV show and film) but it struck me as an Animal House-type film, if it took place in Korea and instead of a frat house, it was an army hospital.

All the President’s Men

Pretty slow going. I loved the chemistry between Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. I guess in the end we all know the story and it was interesting that 2 reporters were able to take down a president but for my money, the details weren’t terribly interesting or sexy to me. I just don’t care anything about politics.

The Wild Bunch

Honestly it was difficult to pay attention to this. The opening scene is a big shoot out that you would expect at the end of the movie and then they kinda wander around awhile until they get a new job (the “last big job”) and then I got interested. This was about an hour in. I can appreciate that this was set as a western when the west was really “dying” and that there are some innovative camera shots. It was ok. Total guy movie.

Night at the Opera

Another Marx Brothers movie but for whatever reason, this one was better/funnier/more entertaining than Duck Soup. I think it was sweeter and not quite so silly. And the stateroom scene is pretty classic.

Spartacus

I actually liked this one. I’m a really big fan of The Ten Commandments and I felt like there were a lot of similarities: a big sweeping period drama with plenty of heavy hitters. The action moves along swiftly enough and, for a movie from 1960, there were some pretty overt sexual overtones and graphic violence. Of course, since it was directed by Stanley Kubrick, you’d have to expect it to be a little ahead of it’s time. BTW, Jean Simmons was beautiful.

Movies I have left? Shane, Sullivan’s Travels, King Kong, Intolerance, Nashville, and City Lights.