Movies for This Week

Their Picks

12 Angry Men (1957)

A guilty verdict means death -- but the jury's not about to let that spoil their day. Twelve men must decide the fate of an 18-year-old boy accused of fatally stabbing his father. Only one (Henry Fonda) wants to take the time to coolly deliberate the case. Sidney Lumet (Network) made his directorial debut in this fiery drama that illuminates all the petty impediments on the path to justice.

My thoughts before dusting this one off: haven't seen it, but looking forward to it.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Based on Arthur C. Clarke's story "The Sentinel," Stanley Kubrick's quiet masterpiece probes the mysteries of space and human destiny. In the years between primitive man's discovery of lethal weapons and the birth of the star child, astronauts David Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood) confront HAL-9000, the computer operating their ship. Nominated for four Academy Awards, Kubrick's epic won for its stunning special effects.

My thoughts: I haven't seen this movie is YEARS, and honestly, I wasn't paying that much attention to it at the time. Note to readers; having movies on at parties doesn't work so well... I'm looking forward to ACTUALLY watching this one... this time...

Stefani's Pick

200 Cigarettes (1999)

Set on the last day of 1981, 200 Cigarettes is a manic romantic comedy that follows a group of loquacious, chain-smoking 20-somethings seeking love and happiness as they converge for a blowout party in New York City's East Village. The stellar cast -- which includes Ben Affleck, Christina Ricci, Kate Hudson and Janeane Garofalo -- lights up the screen

My thoughts: I've meant to see this movie since, well, 1999...

How it all began...

March 27th, 2009, while co-hosting the morning show on 95.3 WXRO, I happened to mention that Yahoo! released their list of the "100 Movies To See Before You Die." Lists like this make most cinemaphiles cringe; great movies are often left out, while others are head-scratchers - "why is THAT on the Must-See-List?" This list is not a "Top 100," meaning there is no #1 greatest. It's alphabetical and numerical.

I decided, like any movie lover would, to take on the challenge of completing the list; I will watch two of these movies a week and post my personal reviews here. I will also add one movie a week from my personal list of great movies (or a movie I have been wanting to see, but somehow never got around to it). Once finished with a segment (i.e., finished with Yahoo's numerical movies or movies that begin with the letter "N") I will take suggestions from you (the listener or blog-head) about which great movies were not included in the segment.

Then the cycle begins again...

We begin with the numbered movies, and then work our way through our A, B, Cs...