Where to See AFI Classic Movies on the Big Screen: The Ultimate List

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Where to See AFI Classic Movies on the Big Screen: The Ultimate List

Let's say you committed yourself, in a moment of insanity, to watching all 400 nominated movies from the most recent AFI 100 Years... 100 Movies list. If you were foolish enough to do this, you'd want to do it right. (Read: watching grainy videos downloaded from Sockshare on your cell phone during your subway commute doesn't cut it.)

These are classics. They're meant to be experienced on the big screen, where they can be not only watched but also savored, not only seen but felt.

Well, if you happen to live in NYC-area and are as crazy as us, you're going to want to read on.

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The AFI Challenge: The List Is Up!

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As promised, we've compiled a master list of the 400 films we need to watch to complete The AFI Challenge. It's a living list that we'll update frequently, and as we go we'll be adding links to reviews and other relevant posts.

Here's to watching ever more motion pictures! Have you attempted anything similar to this? Let us know how it went in the comments below!

Conquering the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies Nominations List

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We're embarking on a new project here at CineMunch. With the realization that the third(!?) installment of the American Film Institute's Top 100 Films list is coming in less than three years*--and with it a few personal milestones of our own (the end of our 20sWHAT!?)--we've decided to buck up and take on the classic-movie challenge of all classic-movie challenges: watching all 400 nominated films from the AFI's 10th Anniversary list.

Call it Beach Body Insanity for the sedentary set.

We have our work cut out for us: 196 films as-yet-unseen by both of us, plus 64 more that only Nathan hasn't seen and 2 more (ha!) for Matt. All with a deadline of January 1, 2017. But we will persevere, because what is this life but an excuse to set arbitrary challenges for ourselves?

Of course this isn't entirely arbitrary. Yes, critics have perhaps rightly criticized the AFI's list for being too much of a popularity contest, and yes it's disappointing that every foreign film in the history of ever is by definition excluded. But we also know we have a long way to go in educating ourselves on movies from before our time (we tend to focus on what's here and what's now), and popularity contests have always helped reveal what makes a culture tick.

In any case, we encourage you to play along (stay tuned for the master list of films!), and we appreciate your words of encouragement, especially for the much-feared collection of Westerns (ugh) that await us.

First up is Gone With the Wind, a catch-up for Nathan, which we'll be watching for The Film Experience's brilliant series Hit Me With Your Best Shot. (We previously participated in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and L.A. Confidential.)

So there you have it. The declaration is public. The deadline set. Bring on the films.

*At least, everyone in the industry seems to agree that A) there will be another list and B) it will come out, like clockwork, in 2017. Let's hope that's the case.

Jim Carrey's 10 Greatest Performances

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Jim Carrey's 10 Greatest Performances

As we near the end of Eternal Sunshine Week here at CineMunch, I thought I'd take a moment to highlight who I think gives the best performance in the film (and this is a film featuring several 'best' performances): Jim Carrey as Joel Barish. Kate Winslet may get all the praise (and Oscar nominations), and, indeed, she turns in a stellar, uninhibited gem of a performance that even she agrees was a turning point in her career, but it's Carrey who grounds the film with his expressive face and beating heart. I fall for him every time.

Though I've always loved Jim Carrey. His ascendance in 1994 with Dumb & Dumber, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and The Mask was catnip to my 10-year-old self. I watched The Mask on repeat, and I even dressed as Ace Ventura for Halloween that year (though at the last minute I decided I didn't like the mask that came with the costume and instead opted to be a butterfly -- the gay in me won out on that one, I guess). His exaggerated comedic style really clicked with me (as I'm sure it did with many young men), but as I aged, so did Carrey as an actor. 

His days as a titan of the box office are likely behind him, but over the years he's proved his worth as more than just a celebrity. He continues to pick interesting projects (though more I Love You Phillip Morrises than Yes Mans, please), and I have hope that one day he'll get the respect as an accomplished actor that I think he deserves (or at least an overdue tip of the hat from Oscar). 

Not to bury the lede, but we all know what #1 is. Join me anyway as we count backwards through Jim's ten best screen performances.

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The Defining Film of the 2000s

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1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

This Wednesday, March 19, marks the 10-year anniversary of the release of one of the greatest films in the history of humans, and, for me, the film that most defines the first decade of this century. It's almost unfair how perfectly every element of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind comes together to create one of the most profound, stimulating, and moving pieces of art I'm likely ever to experience. From the mind of known genius Charlie Kaufman, the script alone would rank as one of mankind's greatest achievements, but when visionary director Michel Gondry put those words to the screen (with an incomparable cast led by two of my favorite actors of all-time, Jim Carrey & Kate Winslet), it was transcendent. I could never erase this film, these images, those characters, that music from my mind - Eternal Sunshine is a part of me.

So: Happy Eternal Sunshine Week! We'll keep the celebration going all week long with various features and commemorations, so stick around and cancel that appointment at Lacuna, Inc. 

Catch #10-#2 of the decade here.

My Top 10 Defining Films of 2000-2009

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My Top 10 Defining Films of 2000-2009

By the end of the year we'll be halfway through the second decade of the 21st century, so it's the perfect time to look back on the first decade, yes? Well, I'm going to anyway. Humor me. This list does not necessarily comprise what I think are the 10 greatest films of the decade, but rather the ten (plus) movies I think of when I think of the years 2000-2009. It was a defining decade for me: At its start, I was a freshman in high school; by its end, I had moved to New York City with the guy I would eventually marry (hey, Munch!). The films I saw in those ten years proved just as influential as my out-of-theater experiences and deepened my love of the cinema (and, for better or often worse, the Oscars). 

Again, if I were to compile a ranking of the "best" films of the aughts (have we decided that's what we're calling that decade or is this still up for debate? the 2000s?), it would look slightly different than the following in both the movies included and their placement on the list. And full disclosure that I'm totally cheating with numbers six, eight, and nine...but, my list, my rules.

First, several honorable mentions:

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