10 on Tuesday: The Top 10 of the American Film Institute

The American Film Institute honors film's past, present and future. It is dedicated to the restoration of films from 1893 to the present as well as to the education of future film-makers.

AFI is known for its "100 Years 100 Movies" listing of the greatest movies of all time, selected by a panel of 1,500 film insiders. I'm not going to have you scroll through 100 movie titles, but let's look at the top 10 and see if you agree. I'll throw in my opinion for free!

1. Citizen Kane, 1941

Best movie of all time? Are you kidding me? I have never known what the fuss is all about. I've seen it once and that was enough. I wouldn't put it in my Top 100, let alone Number 1. 

2. The Godfather, 1972

Good acting, I'll grant you, but this movie (or any Mafia movie) just ain't my thing, capiche?

3. Casablanca, 1943

Now you're talking! I've seen this film so many times, I can provide all the dialog. And what great dialog it is!Definitely on my Top 10.

4. Raging Bull, 1980

DeNiro is OK, and sometimes better than OK, but this film just never interested me. I've never seen it, so I can't really judge if it's great or not.

5. Singin' in the Rain, 1952

This film is kinda cute, features  perky Debbie Reynolds, great dancing by Gene Kelly and better dancing by Donald O'Connor, but...not my Top 100 material.

6. Gone with the Wind, 1939

OK, I'll admit I'm prejudiced. I have loved this movie since I first saw it and I've seen it a couple of times over the years. Definitely in my Top 10, Top 5 probably.

7. Lawrence of Arabia, 1962 

There's more to this film than Peter O'Toole's gorgeous blue eyes; great cast, interesting story, and scenery that won't quit. Pretty nice score, too. Maybe not in my Top 10, but definitely in my Top 20.

8. Schindler's List, 1993

This film will break your heart. Brilliant cast, horrifying story, happy ending for some, thanks to Herr Schindler. Ralph Fiennes' character makes Lord Voldemort look like a choir boy. Not on any of my lists because I couldn't bear to watch it again.

9.  Vertigo, 1958

Seriously? It's Hitchcock, of course, but not his best. Jimmy Stewart too, and not his best either. Didn't do a thing for me, but Kim Novak is pretty.

10. The Wizard of Oz, 1939

Great movie, even after all these years. Great little life lesson hiding behind Munchkins and witches, and flying monkeys and good pals (in black and white and color). It makes my Top 100.

I'm linking to

Till next time



"The Help" - A Bit Flawed But Worth Seeing

Hilly (Bryce Dallas Howard) and her mother (Sissy  Spacek) head for a luncheon with their maid Minny (Octavia Spencer) bringing up the rear with one of her famous pies.

I finally got around to seeing The Help yesterday. At 11:45 a.m. the theater was packed! Word-of-mouth  (and blog) has really provided great (and well-deserved) advertising for this film, based on the best-selling book about the pre-Civil Rights South by Kathy Stockett.

This look at the de-humanizing of black people by the white people they work for is quite compelling. The "help" consists of black maids who serve as housekeepers, laundresses, cooks, maids and child-rearers for white women who have neither the time nor inclination to perform these duties for themselves. Although the maids are paid, their status has changed little since the age of slavery.

Their story is related primarily by Aibileen (Viola Davis), who tends to Elizabeth Leefolte (Ahna O'Reilly) and the child she neglects. She is joined by her friend Minny (Octavia Spencer), who has the misfortune to "do for" the Holbrook household, headed by the vile Hilly (Blythe Dallas Howard).

The white women they toil for six days a week for less than minimum wage are the hoi-polloi of Jackson, Miss. society. Immaculately clothed and coiffed (usually by the maids), they spend their time hosting luncheons and raising funds for African children while ignoring the needs of people right under their noses.

The leader of this pack is the aforementioned Hilly, a honey-drawled racist who has a way of steamrolling everyone into doing her bidding and truly believes that blacks are a sub-species.

The catalyst of the story is Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone), a recent college graduate who sees the injustice of the maids' plight and persuades them to share their stories for a book. Reluctant at first, and rightfully fearing retaliation, Aibileen and Minny finally agree. Skeeter sells her book idea to a New York editor (Mary Steenbergen), with the proviso that she add a dozen more maids' stories to the two she has submitted.

One maid's desperation leads to her arrest for theft (at Hilly's request), and her unjust treatment and the increasing violence against blacks - including the assassination of Medgar Evers - bring more maids to the fore to share their stories.

And what stories they are; raising white children while leaving their own at home in the care of someone else, being denied the use of the toilets in the white families' homes, and being treated as less than human in a hundred different ways.

The Help is beautifully told, both in story and cinematically. The acting is superb throughout, although Davis, Spencer and Howard take it to another level.

The major problem with the film is that is uses a very wide brush to paint the story. All the maids are caring and noble, and loyal to a fault. All the white women are shallow trophy wives who blindly follow where Hilly leads. There are no nuances, no gray areas. Hilly is so unceasingly horrible that you really appreciate Minny's flaky form of revenge.

Skeeter is just too perfect; the only person in all of Mississippi who cares about black people who play such an important role in the lives of the whites, the only one willing to risk breaking the law to present their problems to the world. We are never told what makes her different from her peers or why she's so determined to fight the system she was raised with.

The highlight of The Help is Sissy Spacek, who plays Hilly's not-quite-all-there mother. She's having a grand old time with her small role and provides just the right amount of humor.

In spite of its faults, The Help brings to light a very bleak chapter in America's history and lets us relate on a very human level.

One Thing and Another

Here's a Nifty Craft Project from Ginger



 Isn't this a great idea for a jewelry organizer? Go to Gingersnap Crafts to see how she did it - without spending a cent!

Ginger is one of the many creative bloggers out there on the Interweb whose talents I envy and admire. I copy many of their ideas and tutorials into a folder for future use. Yes, I know I should be using Pinterest, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

I did manage to make a craft that was extremely time-consuming and complicated and expensive and...OK, I'm lying. I made an origami bookmark corner courtesy of Fabric Fascination. It was so simple that I figured I could handle it, but I won't bore you with a picture.

My goal, and I do have one, is to take the time to complete some of the great projects that I've found in Blogland. I'm going to start with baby steps, but eventually I'm going to make a quilt!



Aroma-Scope Smells of Disappointment

I saw Spy Kids: All the Time in the World this morning with my youngest son and four of my grandchildren. We paid an additional three dollars per ticket for the 3-D and Aroma-Scope version (touted as 4-D) because I thought the kids would get a kick out of it.

The young ones liked the movie well enough, and the rest of us appreciated the nod to the old Spy Kids movies (which were vastly superior to this one). The 3-D was OK, though not in the Avatar class, but the Aroma-Scope was a huge let-down. 4-D, hah!

Along with our 3-D glasses we were given scratch-and sniff cards with eight numbered squares. When a number appeared on the screen we were to scratch the corresponding number on the card to experience the smell of what was being depicted on the screen. The smells were supposed to range from bacon to dirty diapers (oh, joy), but each square on the card smelled like air freshener - the same air freshener.

Aroma-Scope smells, all right, so save your money and wait for the DVD. Your nose will never know the difference.


Thank you to all my new blogger friends who've taken the time to visit me and leave wonderful comments. And special thanks to my first followers, Beverly and Montanagirl! I'm starting to feel like a real blogger!