Mad Man Mike's
Favorite Movies
Hey! One of the things that I love to do it watch movies... LOTS of movies! I have always been fastinated by the power (and fun) of the motion picture, and the following is a small collection of some of my FAVORITE movies. I found all of these movies to be interesting and entertaining, even though some would argue with the artistic quality of some of them. If you haven't seen some of these, I highly suggest you consider checking them out and making up your own mind as to whether or not they are as good as I may say. I have also included a bunch of short WAV files- all you have to do is click on the name and they should load right up. Now, get yourself some popcorn and read the rest of this page!
FARGO is truly one wild and crazy movie... I laughed so much every time I watched it. Frances McDormand gives an excellent performance as Marge the police woman, and William H. Macy is great as the fidgety car salesman who has gotten into a little bit of $$$ trouble and arranges for a kidnapping of his wife so he can collect the ransom from his rich father-in-law. The movie is a dark comedy, and I guess you'd have to be a little bit disturbed to enjoy it as much as I did.
YAH! WAV File of Marge and two women in bar
"Yah"
"Hey, they said they were going to the Twin Cities"
"Oh yah?"
"Yah!"
"Yah, is that useful?"
"Oh yah, you betcha, yah!"
THE USUAL SUSPECTS
Brian Singer's first directoral film, The Usual Suspects, is the story of five theives who are brought together in a police line-up and end up facing off with the most powerful criminal of all, Keyser Soze. Who is Keyser Soze? I am Keyser Soze!! The movie follows the five criminals around as we try to figure out who the hell this Keyser Soze guy is, and then the audience is slammed with the answer at the end. Not to be missed!
GONE WAV File
"And like that...HE'S GONE!"
SCARE WAV File
"Do you belive in him, Verbal?"
"Keaton always said, I don't believe in God, but I'm afraid of him.. Well, I believe in God, and the only thing that scares me is Keyser Soze"
DEVIL'S TRICK WAV File
"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist"
The unedited director's cut of this film is incredible- all of the blood and gore are not for the faint of heart. Tony Scott directed this film, one of the first written by Quentin Tarintino. Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette star in this extremely violent movie dealing with drugs and guns. What makes the film so great is the way it was directed- Scott creatively films the scenes to squeeze out every possible emotion and mood. A wide variety of camera angles and film techniques are used, and the editing is such that the film is fast-paced and lively.
SLING BLADE
Billy Bob Thornton wrote, directed and stars in SLING BLADE.. The film is a southern gothic tale about a man named Karl, who's just been released from an asylum -- some 25 years after he committed a gruesome crime.
He returns to the southern town of his youth, where his quiet, gentle manner and simple charm land him a job and lead him to an unlikely friendship with a young boy (lucas Black) and his widowed mother. When the mother's abusive boyfriend appears, however, this simple man is thrust into a combustible dilemma that has powerful, moving consequences for all. I found this movie to be thought-provoking and powerful, and all of the perfomances were top notch. The pace of the film is slow, but it is very well done.
Thornton and Black's perfomances were especially well-developed and moving.
Lone Star is an exceptional movie that has a lot to say. Masterfully directed by John Sayles, Lone Star thoughtfully explores the boundaries between nations and cultures, myth and fact, parents and children, lovers and unloved, and citizens and immigrants. It's the story of Sheriff Wade living in the shadow of the legacy of his father Buddy in a small Texas town, and the sheriff tries to find out exactly what happened in the history of the town as well as his own family. Excellently directed and acted by the cast- the characters are well developed and authentic.
As far as I'm concered, there are three great trilogies: The Star Wars movies, the three Indiana Jones films,.... and the three Back to the Future movies! OK, so maybe these three movies aren't great statements of the world of motion pictures, but I was thoroughly entertained by each film. The characters of Marty, Doc, and Biff will probably stick in my head until the day I die. Part 2 was my favorite, followed by Part 1 and then Part 3. Did you know that they filmed the 2nd and 3rd movie at the same time? Neat-o. I gotta get me one of those hoverboards. These movies are classics... well, maybe you don't think movies from the 80s could be classics, but I do. The 80s were a great time... remember all of the music and clothes? It was more simple then... Enough reminiscing- let's get back to the 90s.
DOC WAV File
"Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads"
Ok, ok, I'm sorry... I just can't stop thinking about the 80s right now. And this movie is definately a classic. Who can forget about the Goonies? Mikey. Mouth. Chunk. Data. Sloth. I have seen this movie at least 20 times, and I could watch it again today without getting bored. This is truly one of my favorite movies, although it definately is not one of the more intellectual films on my list. Sure, it's chessy at parts, but it is fun. Very entertaining...
SLOTH WAV File
"Hey you guys!"
MIKEY WAV File
"Meekey..Meekey, c'mon and gimme a nice big lickery kiss"
ROCKY ROAD WAV File
"Rock Road? He He"
Toy Story! I figured I had to put this film in here as my favorite animated film. The computer animation created by the Pixar studio is truly incredible.. I remember that when I first watched this I laughed and laughed.. I thought Buzz, Woody, Slink, Boe-Peep, Rex, Hamm, and all the rest of the characters were fun to watch. To infinity- and beyond!!
Ok, here are two random sound samples that I just could not resist putting on this page:
WHAT ABOUT BOB WAV File
"You think he's gone? He's not gone! That's the whole point! He's never gone!"
"Is this some radical new therapy?"
"You see!"
JURASSIC PARK WAV File
"That is one big pile of shit."
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