poor shoeless joe, all he wanted to do was play baseball

These dad jokes can be a real Kick in the head.

I think we need to rub out and choke off this line of humor right now.

Ok, if that's what you need.

I'm not sure. This is such a new sensation.

It's the one thing that keeps the forum going.

I hope these dad jokes never tear us apart.

The real danger to the forum is when we let the devil inside.

At no other time does the forum shine like it does when there's a string of dad jokes.

Have fun with "The Sting" Tit... one of my personal faves...You follah

The Sting - There's a problem with con movies: You can only truly enjoy them the first time you see them. A good con movie always has a twist or two, but once you know the twist, you'll never have that great moment of revelation ever again. This movie has one big twist at the end. Otherwise, it tells you exactly where it's going as the main characters carry off a big con on a big-time New York gangsta. I never got to see this movie with a completely clean slate. My parents watched it on HBO back in the late 70s, and I remember seeing the big reveal as I walked through the room at the end. My parents thought it was pretty friggin' cool, but I was spoiled forever. Anytime I've watched this movie in the years afterward, I've always known where it was going and didn't get the big thrill my parents got back then. Same thing happened when I watched it again. This is definitely a fun movie, and the con itself is great. It's not too complicated and it doesn't rely on the mark behaving a certain way at a specific time. He's guided step by step, and the cons are controlling him the entire way. It's all rather believable, which is a big credit to the story. There's a lot of greatness here, especially the set-up poker match on the train between Newman and Shaw. Unfortunately, the payoff can never be there for me.

Did it deserve to win?: This is a movie very much of a certain moment. Obviously, everyone thought it was great when released, but as I said, it loses something on repeat viewings. Best film for a specific time? Sure. Best film of 1973? No. You had stuff like Badlands and The Exorcist that have stood the test of time and hold up to repeat viewings.

(out of 5)

Up next: The Godfather Part II

The Godfather Part II - Again, I don't have a lot to say about this series that hasn't been said before. I always found Part II to be slightly lesser than the first one. It's still a fantastic film, but it feels a little disjointed with all the jumping back and forth through time. It's a tough jump from the great sequence of Vito tracking and killing Fanucci straight into the Senate hearings against Michael. Now again, this series is about Michael, but Part II emphasizes his father's influence on his life and how he runs the family. It's the backstory on Vito that gets me involved. Then you see the effect it's had on Michael's decisions, which raises the great tragedy of Michael's life, but I never find the stuff about the casinos and Cuba and the Senate all that intriguing. It's the shadow of Vito that makes it all interesting and keeps you hanging in there. I don't mean to rag on this movie too much. It's still an expert job in story and scope, and I still love how the whole movie turns on a small moment (Fredo slipping and mentioning his previous contact with Johnny Ola, all while Michael's within an earshot). My only complaint is I think the first movie is greater. Together, however, they make up the greatest first film and sequel in movie history. Yes, even better than Transformers.

Did it deserve to win?: It came out in the middle of a great period in the history of film. It may have won simply because Cabaret almost took it away from the first one two years earlier. I'd probably cast a vote for Chinatown instead, but this film is fine on its own.

(out of 5)

Up next: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

I told you, somey. It's good.

Man, why's somey gotta hate?

I liked the flashback scenes better than the current scenes in this one.

Godfather II is top 10. Godfather I is top 3.

Me and watched the first two Godfathers together. I was proud when he yelled "Omg that was awesome, dad! Let's watch the third one!"

I had to slow him down on that one, but still. It puts a tear in your eye when your son 'gets' the Godfather.

no

Bite me

Godfather movies are slightly overrated.

I can't see how that's possible. At least not with the first one.

This from the guy who thought Avatar was Oscar worthy

Not saying Godfather is bad by any stretch. Just never quite got what would make it the Corby-like bar-none, end-of-discussion, no-question greatest film of all time. I don't know if it would be in my top 20. I've seen the first 2 several times (never seen 3) and really like them both. It may be that I have no appreciation for mafia movies in general. Goodfellas is the same way for me. Both Taxi Driver and Raging Bull are brilliant pieces of cinema art to me, but the Godfather and Goodfellas are both just really fucking good movies.

I really like both godfathers but goodfellas doesn't do it as much for me. I still like it but I don't get the obsession.

Goodfellas was great, but I'm with you, it's not obsession-worthy.

I concur.

I think for me, the Godfather-type movie is Shawshank. I can sit and watch that any time, anywhere. There's nothing groundbreaking about it or anything. Just a really great story, told really well.

It's kinda like the Citizen Kane vs. Casablanca debate, where I strangely fall on the Casablanca side.

You guys are all dumb. Goodfellas is in the all-time top 10.

Shawshank belongs there too. The ending always makes me well up. It's like Eat Pray Love for dudes.

Shawshank is top 10. So is Casblanca. Goodfellas is top 30-40ish. Citizen Kane is top 100.

Goodfellas is definitely top 10 gangster movies. In top 20 overall.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - There's been a lot of talk here lately about Top 3's, Top 10's, Top 100's, etc. This movie is absolutely Top 5 for me. Not Top 5 mental institution movies. Top 5 overall. I love every second of it. And even though I've seen it many times, I still found myself holding my breath and watching in shock as McMurphy choked the shit out of Nurse Ratched. Speaking of whom, let's talk about her for a while. She's commonly viewed as one of the most vile, evil bitches ever portrayed on screen. That's true, but you really need to keep an eye on her throughout. She's mostly pleasant, doing her job, and keeping order. It's only when McMurphy comes along and tests her authority that she shows cracks in her foundation. Of course, she has that evil moment at the end where she pushes poor Billy Bibbit back over the edge after he's finally had his breakthrough, but before that, her nasty ways are very subtle. One that I just caught for the first time comes during the group session before some of them get hauled off for some electroshock. Charley Cheswick is bitching about his cigarettes and keeps standing up to demand them from her. She admonishes his ass back into his seat but he keeps getting up again and again. Finally, McMurphy shouts him back into his seat, and she she shoots McMurphy an angry look that's most telling about her character. She should be focused on Charley Cheswick, the dude who's freaking out, but instead she's on McMurphy, who's just proven he can take away her control. She's always been about repressing these men, and not helping them, and she doesn't need some rabble-rouser coming along and raising their spirits. Of course, this movie's all about repression and freeing your mind. Sex has a lot to do with it. Mr. Harding has problems with his wife, but won't talk about it, and it's hinted he might be gay. Billy Bibbit is horny but has no confidence in himself. When he finally gets to do it with a local floozy, Nurse Ratched tells him he should be ashamed of himself. He says he's not, in the only moment of the movie when he loses his stutter, but she keeps at him, and he freaks and kills himself. Then we're finally to the moment when McMurphy attacks her and there's an interesting shot. He's hit and knocked out from behind by one of the orderlies, and the point of view moves to behind him as he collapses on top of her like a man who just blew his load. She, however, is coughing and choking, and symbolically rejecting this form of pleasure. Repressed bitch. I could go on and on. I'm working on a theory that McMurphy might be God, but I haven't fleshed it out yet. But like I said, this movie is Top 5 for me. I love every bit of it. I love how each member of the ward has his own personality and is an individual and no one's just banging his head against the wall and rubbing his own shit into his hair. This is a great, great film.

Did it deserve to win?: There are other worthy candidates from that year, but I won't even bother to list them. This is your winner and deservedly so.

(out of 5)

Up next: Rocky

The Chief is such a great character.

Hating a woman like Nurse Ratched yet feeling sexual urges for them at the same time is both conflicting and intoxicating.

There's nothing wrong with Nurse Ratched that a good sheetrocking wouldn't cure.

This one I agree with. Not one single thing could possibly be overrated about this movie for me.

Rocky - Rocky is the quintessential example of how bad sequels can ruin the reputation of the original film. The Rocky series has been a joke for so long that most people aren't even aware the first one won Best Picture. When you remind everyone that it won, the reaction is more often "Wtf?" than "Oh yeah, that one was really good." The sequels range from not bad to shit sandwich. The original is still excellent. Growing up in the 80s with cable TV meant I watched the first three movies several times each. The characters in the films became people we knew so well that it was easy to forget that at one time we didn't know them at all. The hardest part of watching this movie now is trying to throw away everything you already know about them and let the story take you along. It's easy to understand how this movie made everyone all happy/cited back in the day. It's all about the downtrodden who get a shot at crawling out of the gutter. That's not exactly an original story there, but the characters are developed so well that you really root for them to rise up and make better lives for themselves. Everyone remembers the boxing scenes in these movies, but there isn't much boxing at all in the original. Maybe a quarter of its running time is boxing footage. The rest is about the characters, and that's what gives the film its value. The big fight is meaningless unless you really want this guy to win, and we do. The fact that he doesn't win is barely an afterthought, as instead we're focused on Rocky screaming for Adrian. These two are more important than the outcome of the fight, and when they're reunited in the ring, it is a great movie moment. Yes, I've seen this movie many times, and I was still kinda verklempt by the ending. It'll still getcha after all these years.

Did it deserve to win?: The controversy, of course, is that it beat Taxi Driver, Network, and All the President's Men. I can't say it's better than any of those, but it's not far behind. It's hard to distance the movie from the series. As much as you may try, it still has the joke franchise thing and Stallone's dumb ego hanging over it. You just have to remember that people went crazy for it when it was brand new, and that's why it won.

(out of 5)

Up next: Annie Hall

Burgess Meredith was outstanding in this movie.

Solid review.

Rocky > Taxi Driver

Look it up.

Ah yes, Mickey the crusty old Irish trainer, who we learn in the third movie is really Jewish.

Let's not mention the 3rd movie.