The Personal Canon - Revisited

Last week, we debuted "The Personal Canon," a list of fifty films near and dear to the heart of your Cinema King. For those who missed it, be sure to look at one of the old posts for a fuller justification for how the list came together, and check out the full list below:

1. Duck Soup (1933)

2. Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)

3. Citizen Kane (1941)

4. The Maltese Falcon (1941)

5. Casablanca (1942)

6. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

7. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

8. Adam's Rib (1949)

9. Father of the Bride (1950)

10. Stalag 17 (1953)

11. 12 Angry Men (1957)

12. Inherit the Wind (1960)

13. Psycho (1960)

14. Goldfinger (1964)

15. The Godfather (1972)

16. Annie Hall (1977)

17. Star Wars (1977)

18. Superman (1978)

19. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

20. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

21. Batman (1989)

22. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

23. Goodfellas (1990)

24. The Rocketeer (1991)

25. Groundhog Day (1993)

26. Pulp Fiction (1994)

27. Toy Story (1995)

28. The Usual Suspects (1995)

29. Hamlet (1996)

30. The Big Lebowski (1998)

31. The Mummy (1999)

32. American Psycho (2000)

33. Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)

34. Pirates of the Caribbean (2003)

35. The Incredibles (2004)

36. The Departed (2006)

37. Stranger than Fiction (2006)

38. Charlie Bartlett (2007)

39. No Country for Old Men (2007)

40. Iron Man (2008)

41. The Dark Knight (2008)

42. Taken (2008)

43. Black Swan (2010)

44. Easy A (2010)

45. Inception (2010)

46. Toy Story 3 (2010)

47. Skyfall (2012)

48. Man of Steel (2013)

49. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

50. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

It's been said that the best way to find errors is to submit a manuscript, and in this case it's entirely true. Though I wracked my brain for the fifty, inevitably a few slipped through the cracks, and so I'll address a few "notable omissions" that you the readers identified:

• Gone With the Wind (1939) - This one's probably on a lot of other people's lists, and it's a cinematic accomplishment, to be sure. But is it more meaningful to me than any of the other movies? I'd have to say no. Remember, this isn't a list of the greatest or most important movies of all time - just the personal favorites of yours truly.
• A Hard Day's Night (1964) / Scarface (1983) - Never seen them. In fact, these are going to be installments in an upcoming new feature, "How'd He Miss That?!" in which I review movies that you and I are surprised that I've never seen.
• The Godfather, Part II (1974) / Superman II (1980) - Both of these were on an early draft of the Personal Canon, but I cut them because the original films are already on the list, and I actually do like The Godfather (1972) and Superman (1978) ever so infinitesimally more than their sequels. Furthermore, I tried to avoid putting first films and sequels on the Personal Canon, but in the cases of Toy Story and Star Wars I couldn't choose. In the case of one, I think a future iteration of this list will change in that respect. In other words, the next draft will either have only one Toy Story film or only one Star Wars film. Stay tuned!
• Taxi Driver (1976) / Raging Bull (1980) / Gangs of New York (2002) / The Aviator (2004) - Great films, to be sure, but some consideration went into this list not being dominated by any one actor/director/genre/era, and while it's certainly true that Martin Scorsese is a god among directors, I had to restrain myself. Even including two of his films, Goodfellas (1990) and The Departed (2006), felt like an indulgence. But how could I choose between those two?
• Air Force One (1997) - This was my first R-rated movie as a kid, and it holds a special place for me. It's in the caliber of The Rocketeer (1990) and The Mummy (1999), in that I concede your mileage may vary with it but I can't help loving it. No Personal Canon of mine is complete without it.
• There Will Be Blood (2007) - This is a masterpiece, and I have no excuse for leaving it off the list. In hindsight, I could say that it's very much of a piece with No Country for Old Men (2007) and that of the two from the same year I prefer No Country ever so slightly, but neither you nor I believe it. It'll have to be renegotiated onto the list.
• Burn After Reading (2008) - I agonized over this one, I really did. For Coen Bros. representation, it was a toss-up between this and The Big Lebowski (1998), and it really could have gone either way. Having just looked at Burn After Reading once again this weekend, maybe the pendulum is shifting. Stay tuned.
• Literally any superhero movie ever - Look, this entire list could have been superhero movies and Star Wars. Those movies are my bread and butter, occasionally even the reason I get up in the morning. But for the sake of diversity, The Personal Canon should be an accurate representation of who I am as a moviegoer. And while Supermen and Skywalkers are a very significant portion of that, it's not all I am. Indeed, Captain America: Civil War very nearly made it onto this list, but it's too fresh. Let me see how it holds up on home video. Heck, if the "Ultimate Cut" of Batman v Superman (2016) is as good as I'm hearing, maybe it'll supplant Man of Steel (2013).

Long story short, there's more to come with The Personal Canon. In its present state, it demands revision because of a few glaring omissions, but I'm imagining this might be a document to which I come back for the rest of my life, a curated collection of "Me in 50 Filmic Nutshells." Stay tuned, loyal reader: once a stable list exists, we can start running reports on it. Until then, keep dropping those notes about omissions, and feel free to share your Personal Canon!

The Personal Canon - #41-50

This week on "The Cinema King," the moment you've all been waiting for - the debut of what we're calling The Personal Canon. It's a list of fifty films that mean the most to me, for one reason or another. I don't purport that these are necessarily the fifty objectively greatest films of all time or the most important films. They're not even ranked in order of favorite-ness, nor do I suggest that they're better than a film that doesn't appear here. Instead, these are my movies. In fact, you might call them perfect movies - at least, as I define perfection, because these movies don't do anything wrong. They don't miss a beat.

Every day this week, it's ten films in chronological order of release. These are the films that reach the pinnacles and plumb the depths of the human condition. They're films that represent my ideals of the best humanity and the aesthetic community have to offer, films I'd put in a time capsule or a Voyager-esque space probe. They're films I can't wait to introduce to my children, contenting myself in the meanwhile to stop and watch them any time they're on television. They're films that, if someone close to me hasn't seen, I take it upon myself to share with them. I get angry if you haven't seen these, sad for the wasted years you've gone without these. Indeed, for one reason or another, the reason I love movies so much is this collection of fifty movies.

Today, #41-50 take us up through 2015 (jury's still out on 2016, folks).

#41 - #50

41. The Dark Knight (2008)

42. Taken (2008)

43. Black Swan (2010)

44. Easy A (2010)

45. Inception (2010)

46. Toy Story 3 (2010)

47. Skyfall (2012)

48. Man of Steel (2013)

49. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

50. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

That does it, folks, for The Personal Canon. Sound off in the comments - what movies made 2008-2015 are in your personal canon? What'd I miss?

I'll revisit this list in the coming days, weeks, months, and years, letting you know if a new find comes along or if an old favorite falls from grace. I'll do some number-crunching, too, and start to meditate on what the metadata says about me - for example, that more than half are films released within my lifetime. Am I a presentist? Which actor appears most on this list? What else can we learn about The Cinema King?

Stay tuned, true believers! And maybe one of these days we'll get around to posting a movie review or two...

The Personal Canon - #31-40

This week on "The Cinema King," the moment you've all been waiting for - the debut of what we're calling The Personal Canon. It's a list of fifty films that mean the most to me, for one reason or another. I don't purport that these are necessarily the fifty objectively greatest films of all time or the most important films. They're not even ranked in order of favorite-ness, nor do I suggest that they're better than a film that doesn't appear here. Instead, these are my movies. In fact, you might call them perfect movies - at least, as I define perfection, because these movies don't do anything wrong. They don't miss a beat.

Every day this week, it's ten films in chronological order of release. These are the films that reach the pinnacles and plumb the depths of the human condition. They're films that represent my ideals of the best humanity and the aesthetic community have to offer, films I'd put in a time capsule or a Voyager-esque space probe. They're films I can't wait to introduce to my children, contenting myself in the meanwhile to stop and watch them any time they're on television. They're films that, if someone close to me hasn't seen, I take it upon myself to share with them. I get angry if you haven't seen these, sad for the wasted years you've gone without these. Indeed, for one reason or another, the reason I love movies so much is this collection of fifty movies.

Today, #31-40 take us up through 2008.

#31 - #40

31. The Mummy (1999)

32. American Psycho (2000)

33. Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)

34. Pirates of the Caribbean (2003)

35. The Incredibles (2004)

36. The Departed (2006)

37. Stranger than Fiction (2006)

38. Charlie Bartlett (2007)

39. No Country for Old Men (2007)

40. Iron Man (2008)

Come back tomorrow, same Bat-time, for the final ten, and sound off in the comments - what movies made 1999-2008 are in your personal canon? What'd I miss?

The Personal Canon - #21-30

This week on "The Cinema King," the moment you've all been waiting for - the debut of what we're calling The Personal Canon. It's a list of fifty films that mean the most to me, for one reason or another. I don't purport that these are necessarily the fifty objectively greatest films of all time or the most important films. They're not even ranked in order of favorite-ness, nor do I suggest that they're better than a film that doesn't appear here. Instead, these are my movies. In fact, you might call them perfect movies - at least, as I define perfection, because these movies don't do anything wrong. They don't miss a beat.

Every day this week, it's ten films in chronological order of release. These are the films that reach the pinnacles and plumb the depths of the human condition. They're films that represent my ideals of the best humanity and the aesthetic community have to offer, films I'd put in a time capsule or a Voyager-esque space probe. They're films I can't wait to introduce to my children, contenting myself in the meanwhile to stop and watch them any time they're on television. They're films that, if someone close to me hasn't seen, I take it upon myself to share with them. I get angry if you haven't seen these, sad for the wasted years you've gone without these. Indeed, for one reason or another, the reason I love movies so much is this collection of fifty movies.

Today, #21-30 take us up through 1998.

#21 - #30

21. Batman (1989)

22. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

23. Goodfellas (1990)

24. The Rocketeer (1991)

25. Groundhog Day (1993)

26. Pulp Fiction (1994)

27. Toy Story (1995)

28. The Usual Suspects (1995)

29. Hamlet (1996)

30. The Big Lebowski (1998)

Come back tomorrow, same Bat-time, for #31-40, and sound off in the comments - what movies made 1981-1998 are in your personal canon? What'd I miss?

The Personal Canon - #11-20

This week on "The Cinema King," the moment you've all been waiting for - the debut of what we're calling The Personal Canon. It's a list of fifty films that mean the most to me, for one reason or another. I don't purport that these are necessarily the fifty objectively greatest films of all time or the most important films. They're not even ranked in order of favorite-ness, nor do I suggest that they're better than a film that doesn't appear here. Instead, these are my movies. In fact, you might call them perfect movies - at least, as I define perfection, because these movies don't do anything wrong. They don't miss a beat.

Every day this week, it's ten films in chronological order of release. These are the films that reach the pinnacles and plumb the depths of the human condition. They're films that represent my ideals of the best humanity and the aesthetic community have to offer, films I'd put in a time capsule or a Voyager-esque space probe. They're films I can't wait to introduce to my children, contenting myself in the meanwhile to stop and watch them any time they're on television. They're films that, if someone close to me hasn't seen, I take it upon myself to share with them. I get angry if you haven't seen these, sad for the wasted years you've gone without these. Indeed, for one reason or another, the reason I love movies so much is this collection of fifty movies.

Today, #11-20 take us up through 1981.

#11 - #20

11. 12 Angry Men (1957)

12. Inherit the Wind (1960)

13. Psycho (1960)

14. Goldfinger (1964)

15. The Godfather (1972)

16. Annie Hall (1977)

17. Star Wars (1977)

18. Superman (1978)

19. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

20. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Come back tomorrow, same Bat-time, for #21-30, and sound off in the comments - what movies made 1953-1981 are in your personal canon? What'd I miss?

The Personal Canon - #1-10

This week on "The Cinema King," the moment you've all been waiting for - the debut of what we're calling The Personal Canon. It's a list of fifty films that mean the most to me, for one reason or another. I don't purport that these are necessarily the fifty objectively greatest films of all time or the most important films. They're not even ranked in order of favorite-ness, nor do I suggest that they're better than a film that doesn't appear here. Instead, these are my movies. In fact, you might call them perfect movies - at least, as I define perfection, because these movies don't do anything wrong. They don't miss a beat.

Every day this week, it's ten films in chronological order of release. These are the films that reach the pinnacles and plumb the depths of the human condition. They're films that represent my ideals of the best humanity and the aesthetic community have to offer, films I'd put in a time capsule or a Voyager-esque space probe. They're films I can't wait to introduce to my children, contenting myself in the meanwhile to stop and watch them any time they're on television. They're films that, if someone close to me hasn't seen, I take it upon myself to share with them. I get angry if you haven't seen these, sad for the wasted years you've gone without these. Indeed, for one reason or another, the reason I love movies so much is this collection of fifty movies.

Today, #1-10 take us up through 1953.

#1 - #10

1. Duck Soup (1933)

2. Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)

3. Citizen Kane (1941)

4. The Maltese Falcon (1941)

5. Casablanca (1942)

6. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

7. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

8. Adam's Rib (1949)

9. Father of the Bride (1950)

10. Stalag 17 (1953)

Come back tomorrow, same Bat-time, for #11-20, and sound off in the comments - what movies made before 1953 are in your personal canon? What'd I miss?

The Top 10 Foods Your King Snacks on at the Movies

We here at The Cinema King are neither embarrassed nor proud to phone it in this week, amid moving across state lines and starting a new job out in the real world. And so, off the top of our illustrious head, we present “The Top 10 Foods Your King Snacks on at the Movies!” (Disclaimer: snacks may be consumed at the movie theater or in the privacy of one’s own home.)

10. Leftovers (whatever’s on tap)

9. Ice cream (but only at home)

8. Sliced apples

7. Chips with hummus

6. Chips with guacamole

5. Trail mix

4. Grapes (red only)

3. Twizzlers (never Red Vines!)

2. Buncha Crunch

1. Popcorn (with no movie theater butter, please!)

Here endeth the list. How about you? What’s your favorite movie snack? Sound off in the Comments, and come back next week for what is hopefully a more legitimate Cinema King posting. Happy Monday, all!

The Top 10 Movies Denzel Should Remake Next

I’m a few weeks behind the times, but I was reminded this weekend that Denzel Washington is set to star in a remake of The Magnificent Seven, directed by Antoine Fuqua. Did this movie need to be remade? Initially, I’d vote “no,” but the dream team behind Training Day and The Equalizer can, I wager, do little wrong. Indeed, what movie wouldn’t be improved by adding the infectious charisma of Denzel Washington?

Which brings me, of course, to the subject of today’s post: “The Top 10 Movies Denzel Should Remake Next.” Of course, no slights intended to the original performers or films, but it’s a fun exercise to imagine a world in which Denzel stars in every movie.

10. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, starring Denzel as Qui-Gon Jinn
 To be fair, Liam Neeson wasn’t given much to work with in a role that’s really only memorable because Neeson played it. Denzel could bring a great quiet dignity to the role and develop a tender relationship with young Anakin Skywalker.

9. The Da Vinci Code, starring Denzel as Robert Langdon
 Tom Hanks is perfectly serviceable as Langdon, but I think we can all agree it’s not a home-run performance. Denzel would lend palpable genius, innate credibility, and a better haircut to a role that’s roughly analogous to a contemporary Indiana Jones.

8. North by Northwest, starring Denzel as Roger Thornhill
 For my money, the second-best Hitchcock film (after Psycho) needs no revision, since I get an elevated heart rate just thinking about the last time I saw it. But Denzel has carved out a career niche playing men against time, men driven on a mission inflicted upon them. Cary Grant was sufficiently harried, but imagine Denzel out of his element, running from an airplane through a cornfield.

7. Fahrenheit 451, starring Denzel as Guy Montag
 I’m aware that there’s an HBO remake in the offing, likely to address some of the shortcomings of the Truffaut adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s novel, and while I haven’t seen any casting information I submit Denzel for the part of a man whose firm convictions are overturned as his worldview alters dynamically. Gone would be the glassy-eyed stare of Oskar Werner; let Denzel emote his way through this American classic.

6. Harvey, starring Denzel as Elwood P. Dowd
 It’s a fairly kooky concept – presumed insanity in the form of an imaginary giant rabbit friend – but if anyone could make be believe in an invisible bunny, it’s Denzel.

5. Licence to Kill, starring Denzel as James Bond
 I agonized over this one – I’d love to see Denzel as James Bond, even though he’s not British, and I think he’d be more believable as a seasoned Bond than a novice 007, so something like Casino Royale was out. But Denzel as an espionage veteran out for revenge, infiltrating cartels and destroying them from within using little more than his wits? Step aside, Idris Elba – make mine Denzel.

4. 12 Angry Men, starring Denzel as Juror #8
 This perfect film has already been remade once, but something tells me Denzel could do more with the material than Jack Lemmon (who, let’s be fair, is a titan in his own right). If you need to cast a man who can change eleven recalcitrant minds by the force of his own convictions, what about that doesn’t demand Denzel?

3. Dirty Harry, starring Denzel as Harry Callahan
 No one does grizzled like Clint Eastwood, but Denzel has had success in the past playing cops on the edge, law enforcement officers with their own unique codes of justice. I’d love to hear him do the “I know what you’re thinking” speech

2. Casablanca, starring Denzel as Rick Blaine
 It’s horrifyingly inevitable that someone, somewhere will remake what is by most accounts one of the most perfect of the perfect films. So if it must be done, put it in the most capable hands and let Denzel lead. Lost love, garrulous barkeep, cynical yet soft-hearted – Rick is a complicated character, and Denzel has the chops to pull it off. Heck, Denzel could be a lock for any Humphrey Bogart vehicle – The Maltese Falcon, Key Largo, Sabrina, The Caine Mutiny...

1. Batman, starring Denzel as Batman
 I don’t need to say more here, do I?

Sound off in the Comments – what would you like to see Denzel remake?