"Ladies and gentlemen, direct from Hell, Spinal Tap!!" Genius is written all over this film, one of the funniest ever. Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer are brilliant. Many viewers thought the English band was real, and they got fooled big time. That's how convincing these actors were. To think of the movie is to think of the timeless quotes and scenes.

To refuse to acknowledge Sunset Boulevard as a masterpiece is to commit a crime in film appreciation. William Holden is superb, dashing, and handsome, but it's Gloria Swanson who steals the limelight in every scene. Timeless and beautiful, she has brilliant lines and even more brilliant scenes.

Some have said Amadeus is boring. Some have said Amadeus is too long. And some have said Amadeus is nothing more than the music. But they all miss out the masterpiece in Amadeus. It's unbelievable watching F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce perform at their absolute best, and they'll be remembered forever for this film. The writing is first-rate. So are the interior set decoration, costumes, and cinematography.

The Big Picture is the first film directed by Christopher Guest of This Is Spinal Tap fame. This is as accurate as it gets. Thousands and thousands flock to Los Angeles annually in the hopes of becoming famous, and many were voted the most popular or best looking during high school and/or won beauty pageants. Most never succeed and end up waiting tables or doing shit jobs to make ends meet. Those who do usually take ten years, give or take, and all of that is solid, hard work and sometimes luck.

Genius movie. There are many, many funny parts. My favorite is the balancing act in James Caan's broken-down trailer. The back of the DVD cover says, "Only Mel Brooks would tell his laugh-packed tale about a silent movie—as a silent movie—with one word of dialogue." That's true as the mime will ironically say it. Brilliant stuff.

Bronco Billy is one of the true greats. It's a Western film with a quirky romantic story. This is Clint Eastwood at his best. He makes a lot of personal statements about life. The cast is great, even down to Sondra Locke. What works is the chemistry among everybody.

The Bad and the Beautiful is among best pictures of the behind-the-scenes showbiz genre. This one has it all: story, acting, dialogue, and, for good or bad, the classic touch of Hollywood. Kirk Douglas has star quality written all over his face and is, without question, a scene-stealer. You can't do wrong with Lana Turner.

"I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you." Because of Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, Dirty Dancing is a timeless movie with memorable moments, fantastic music, and a killer intro, notwithstanding the strange mix of 50's/60's and 80's looks.

Way better than The Truman Show, EDtv is a "joyous celebration of boobery." A favorite is the catchy book title My Brother Pissed on Me, which was penned by Ed's brother, and Bill Maher questioned him if it did literally happen. Showing high replayability value, it does have a lot to say about the media and people's infatuation for celebrities with no talent.

Since the release of Sunset Boulevard in 1950, Hollywood hadn't been dark again until The Big Knife five years later. As strong as the cast is which includes three future Oscar winners, it's Jack Palance who gives the most powerful performance which leads to the shocking ending.

The final film for Cabaret's director Bob Fosse, Star 80 presents a compelling story of how a Playboy Playmate of the Year named Dorothy Stratten was raped and murdered by her husband Paul Snider. Because of his "personality of a pimp," Eric Roberts is captivating and gives the performance of his career.

Johnny Depp gives one of the best performances of his career as the eponymous director. He has a beautiful scene when he said, "This is the one. This is the one I'll be remembered for," during the premiere of Plan 9 from Outer Space. Well, that's an accurate statement. Moreover, Johnny Depp has a great reaction when his eyes lit up as if he just discovered plutonium or he yelled, "Cut! Perfect!" Martin Landau is unforgettable as well.

Jennifer Lopez can make as many movies as she wants, but nothing will top Selena. The first 98% is fun to watch, but the rug is instantly pulled in the last 2%. What a tragedy. An aspect to like is the heavy Tejano flavor with an all-Latino cast which is extremely rare for a Hollywood picture. Edward James Olmos may have been memorable in Miami Vice and Stand and Deliver, but playing Selena's father ranks number one of his career.

The story is clever that's a soap opera within a soap opera within a movie. It's Kevin Kline who supplies the most energy, starting with his failed Willy Loman act in a fleabag steak 'n' play house dinner theater. Then, Sally Field creates drama of her own to rival Kevin's with Elisabeth Shue getting caught in the middle. Chaos ensues when the cat is out of the bag.

People have mocked The Oscar because of its high campness, but the whole thing is honestly great. The writing is terrific and not talky like the dreadful script for All About Eve. Stephen Boyd dominates the show. The opening shot is of an actual Academy Awards ceremony that took place in 1965, and it's nice to see many Hollywood luminaries, most especially Edith Head who was responsible for costume design in countless films.

People are going to have to be very, very familiar with the history of stand-up comics the last 75 years, and to know who Lenny Bruce was and his importance among them, they need to go through Andrew Dice Clay, Sam Kinison, Eddie Murphy, George Carlin,Richard Pryor, and Rodney Dangerfield. All of these guys shared one trait: they were outrageous. What makes Lenny Bruce a cut above the rest is he was far ahead of his time.

Two of the greatest scenes in cinema history are the first-ever music video that was originally choreographed by the King himself and Elvis forcefully kissing Judy Tyler which prompted her to say, "How dare you think such cheap tactics would work with me!" that was met with "That ain't tactics, honey. It's just the beast in me."

Val Kilmer didn't play Jim Morrison; he became Jim Morrison. The Doors is a creative film because it's a psychedelic trip. Val Kilmer just floats in and out. The best scene is when Kyle MacLachlan had a vision of Val Kilmer onstage dancing around with a couple of American Indians.

"What motion picture won the Academy Award for 1955?" That's the question Herb Stempel will have to live with forever. Often cited as his favorite movie, he feigned not knowing the answer to the question: Marty. That was the beginning of the end of Twenty-One, one of the many rigged game shows that occurred on television during the 50's.

Before the invention of Auto-Tune, there was The Idolmaker. One needed the look and stage presence, and the rest of everything else didn't matter. Well, that's not totally true; it would be a good idea not to have the baggage that came with Jerry Lee Lewis which killed his career during the 50's. Pulling the strings is a promoter named Vinnie Vacarri (Bob Marcucci in real life) who acts more of a slick salesman.

Featuring an electrifying performance by Dennis Quaid as Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire! is a fun movie. His musical performances while lip-syncing Jerry Lee Lewis' songs are inspiring and rousing that will make anyone want to get into the action. There's one scene that's among the best ever when he set his piano ablaze with the audience going nuts.

Trapeze is a fun movie to watch and is the right avenue to show off Burt Lancaster's acrobatics background. Performance-wise, Gina Lollobrigida steals the show by setting up a weird love triangle. Shot on location in Paris, the filmmakers did the smart thing by including as many acts in the background just to keep the eyes busy, hence the Wellesian effect.

Gods and Monsters is a superlative picture with strong acting performances by Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, and Lynn Redgrave. Ian McKellen steals the show, and that's why he was Oscar-nominated. The cinematography goes a long way along with Bill Condon's Oscar-winning adapted screenplay that's based on James Whale's son's book Father of Frankenstein.

Making his motion picture debut in La Bamba, Lou Diamond Phillips became a household name. When idiots talk about the day that music died (which wasn't coined until 1971) on February 3, 1959, they always mention Buddy Holly and maybe The Big Bopper but never Ritchie Valens who was 17 at the time. Meanwhile, Esai Morales is memorable as his half brother, and Lou Diamond Phillips' music scenes are electrifying.

People know what Marilyn Monroe looked like, but they don't know the real her, hence the film Norma Jean and Marilyn. It's often fascinating although highly inaccurate. Understandably, there's so much material that it's difficult to get them all in a two-hour picture. To make up for the shortcoming, Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino provide a collaborative effort for a tour de force.

Unusual and gripping for a cinematic experience, Purple Rain is Prince's magnum opus. The sex symbol was 26 when he composed the songs and starred in the movie. Some of the most famous songs are "When Doves Cry," "Let's Go Crazy," and "I Would Die 4 U." Because of Prince's electrifying presence, Purple Rain is a moving work of art.

Lady Sings the Blues is a depressing biopic about Billie Holiday all the way through. Diana Ross of the Supremes had no acting experience prior to being cast, and it's a stunning debut for her. She has many sad moments. Now, you know Billy Dee Williams, but this is the film, along with Brian's Song, that made him a household name. Richard Pryor is impressive as Piano Man.

Shot on location in Selma, Alabama, Payday may have a slow start, but it gets better over time. A lot of it is a reminder of Five Easy Pieces, and Rip Torn, who's famous as Artie from The Larry Sanders Show, is certainly the poor man's Jack Nicholson. Simply put, it's a brilliant film of character study. Everybody is deeply sketched, and the performances are impeccable.

The Man of a Thousand Faces, Lon Chaney is unforgettable as the Phantom of the Opera. It's he who makes the film work by doing the makeup himself, and his villain is timeless as ever. The movie is spooky, especially during the famous unmasking scene.

Lynn Whitfield gives a terrific performance as Josephine Baker and seems to have taken on a lot of tasks to fulfill the demands of her character. Although the biopic ranges across the spectrum from the beginning to the end of Josephine's life, it's been highly informative.

Citizen Kane is a legendary film. What makes RKO 281 interesting is the story of how the famous movie was conceived. Most of the information presented is factually true, but it's difficult to say about the authenticity of the rest (the Manolete story, anyone?). At the same time, a lot of Wellesian ironies are peppered throughout, making RKO 281 more enjoyable to watch.

Delirious is a clever movie that's funny with an occasional lull here and there. The characters are well-sketched. There are many moments that feel appropriately soap operatic. Basically, it's about a writer of a daytime TV soap opera who wakes up, after passing out, in his own creation and he can shape the outcome of what's happening by using his typewriter.

If people want movie magic, this is it. Of course, action movies have always been against common sense by abusing the laws of physics which is a big part of Last Action Hero in a satirical way. It's cool when the kid noticed things like that and pointed them out. Plus, you got to love the Amadeus tie-in as in "this is the guy who killed Moe-zart."

To prepare for his role, Robert De Niro went after his autograph hunters and stalkers, hounding and asking them a lot of questions. He even met with a longtime stalker to explore his mindset and asked him, "Why are you stalking me? What do you want?" which were met with "To have dinner with you, have a drink, chat. My mom asked me to say hi." That's a dedicated actor if there's ever one.

Despite being totally forgotten, The Killing of Sister George has a reputation. What a total surprise that Beryl Reid, Susannah York (who's way, way better than Julie Christie), and Coral Browne weren't Oscar-nominated. That has to be the best performance of their careers. Is it because of the controversial content? For 1968, the lesbianism must have been shocking to see on screen.