Top 100 Movies of All Time

I found an old notebook that I had from 1999. In it, I found a list of My Top 100 Movies Of All Time. There aren't even 100 movies listed on it though. I guess I never finished it. Here they go. Tell me what you think.

A Few Good Men

The Devil's Advocate

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Star Wars trilogy

The Learning Tree

The Silence of the Lambs

Tombstone

Pulp Fiction

Goodfellas

Die Hard

Trading Places

Blazing Saddles

Terms of Endearment

Casino

The Breakfast Club

Ralph Bakshi's Streetfight

Malcolm X

Blade

Event Horizon

Batman

Terminator 2

Glory

Jaws

The Ten Commandments

Back To The Future

Superman 2

Rocky 3

Jerry McGuire

Duel

Menace II Society

The Golden Child

Clerks

Do The Right Thing

The Color Purple

In The Mouth of Madness

The Godfather 1 & 2

Mulan

The Lion King

Wonderman (Danny Kaye)

JFK

Kramer vs Kramer

True Romance

The Usual Suspects

Titanic

Bad Boys (Sean Penn)

Jacob's Ladder

The Professional

Dracula

Happy Gilmore

The Beastmaster

I'm not sure what my criteria was for these movies. I forget. It was 11 years ago. Let me know if you think they suck or they shouldn't be on this list. If you haven't seen one of them, check it out and let me know. I stand by my picks, but that's just my opinion though, and who the hell am I?

Ms. Badu

I know most of you think I'm posting this because the beautiful and talented Erykah Badu finally gave the world a look at that fantastic rump of hers. In actuality, this is an amazingly creative song and video. This woman never ceases to amaze me as an artist. Her personal life is kinda confusing, but whose isn't? I hope you all enjoy it, and she has finally killed the myth that you can't trust a big butt and a smile. (two of her most amazing assets) I hope that she one day gets the exposure and acclaim for her artistry and risk taking. It's long overdue. But that's just my opinion though, and who the hell am I?

BACK ON MY HIP-HOP SH#%T

You can't pass up a line up like this. This is one of those cyphers that I would pay to see. I don't really know Una Kasa or Rex, but they sounds legit. The rest are BONA FIDE SPITTERS!!! I'm just glad to hear lyrics again. But that's just my opinion though, and who the hell am I?

15 Minutes of.....

I was thinking about the idea of "15 minutes of fame". Why is the 15 minutes of fame the only 15 minutes that are defined in our life? If the average person lives to the age of 75, we have 2, 628,000 intervals of 15 minutes in our lives. Why do the 15 minutes that deal with fame get to shine and the others do not. I've decided to define the other 2,627,998 intervals of 15 minutes in our lives. I'm sure that it can be done.

This time I'm gonna focus on the 15 minutes of Doubt. Doubt is such an odd feeling. It seems to wash over a person at the most inopportune moments. One of the times that doubt gets to me is when I think that I'm doing good work with a client. Sometimes I feel like I'm actually making a difference in another human beings life and then I remember that we only spent 1, maybe 2 hours out of 24, working with that person. Then I begin to think that they are returning to their elements. The same elements, that caused or are causing the condition that they are getting counseling for. It is worse when you are working in a residential rehab. You would be 100% certain that a difference was being made. Then, once they leave the facility, its like the reset button was pressed. Even working at the High School; you work with a student for maybe two periods and you work hard to inspire, and enlighten; but often you have that fleeting thought of doubt. It lasts about 15 minutes. once you realize that you are doing more or working harder than the client, the feeling goes away. A good counselor knows that when you realize that; its time to pull back. I've often heard that was my main drawback as a counselor. Occasionally, I pushed them too hard. Once I meet my client, I begin to tabulate their potential. I don't demand perfection, but I promote progress. Once, I had a client say to me, very agitated, "Look, man!!! I just wanna stop doing coke, OK!!!!! I just wanna stop doing coke!!!!!" I'm not sure if it is a blessing or a curse, but I've learned that help not asked for is meddling. My goal is to be effective, efficient, inspire, accommodating, and understanding. More often than not, that means; meeting a person where they are, and walking with them. Not leading. Not following. Just offering support and belief. There is no room for doubt. Screw Those 15 minutes. But that's just my opinion though, and who the hell am I?

Acting Black

Recently, I was struck by the comments of actor, Nate Parker. He has taken a pledge to no longer take roles that emasculate black men or the image of black men. I originally thought that this was a cool stance for an actor to make; but the more that I think about it, the action is quite heroic. Then it hit me; not much has changed with the roles offered to or recognized for black actors nowadays. It seems as though degrading roles like Steppin Fetchit are becoming extinct, but are being replaced with the Holy Trinity of Black Male Actor's Roles:

1. The Misogynist- A man who loves nothing more than to tear women down and has no real love in his heart for females. Especially Black ones. This character never has a back story that will give you any insight in to his attitude or behaviors. It seems as though he was just born this way.

2. The Thug- This character has grown up on the wrong side of the tracks and is well versed in crime and "criminal" ways. Every now and then, this character achieves a level of success but desperation, addiction, or some other character fault, leads him back to his "true self". This character never feels completely comfortable with positive or honest actions/behaviors. It's as if he's allergic to good things. With this character, a good/positive action almost always results in his death.

3. The Safe One- This character is always funny and always brings a wisdom to other characters that he obtained through his life of adversity. You'll know this character because he s always alot older or younger than the main character. This character is always afraid of success.

Think back. Do you remember any black male character in a major motion picture that didn't fall into one of these categories? And I'm not talking about The Tyler Perry movies or the obligatory urban crime dramas. Since no African American, (including Oprah) has the power to green light a movie, we have to believe that these depictions are the safest ones for white America to identify with. We have to believe the story of Biggie, with all the similarities of your average everyday "hood" movies, was somehow more sensational and layered that the sorry of Tupac, with his roots in the Black Panthers, his study of the arts, and his trouble in the limelight.

I applaud Mr. Nate Parker and hope that more black men in Hollywood follow his lead. If they do, I imagine the presence of Black males in cinema will change from Caricatures to Characters. But that's just my opinion though, and who the hell am I?

David Fagen

According to Wikipedia, David Fagen (1875-?), A native of Tampa, Florida USA, was one of five African Americans who defected during the Philippine-American War. Fagen acquired the rank of Captain in the Filipino Army. Fagen served in the 24th Regiment of the U.S. Army, but in November 1899 defected to the Filipino army. He became a successful guerrilla leader and his capture became an obsession to the U.S. military and American public. He was probably a product of the appeals made by the Filipinos for racial solidarity, calling for African American soldiers to desert the U.S. army.
After two other black deserters were captured and executed, President Theodore Roosevelt announced he would stop executing captured deserters.
As the war ended the US gave amnesties to most of their opponents. A substantial reward was offered for Fagen, who was considered a traitor. There are two conflicting versions of his fate: one is that his was the partially decomposed head for which the reward was claimed, the other is that he took a local wife and lived peacefully in the mountains.

The story that I heard was, during the Philippine- America War, a soldier named David Fagen decided to defect to the Filipino Army because he came to the realization that it was wrong for an oppressed people to fight and kill another oppressed people in the name of an oppressive empire. Some people consider the Filipino's tactics as brainwashing or propaganda. I have a tough time believing the truth to be considered propaganda. Some people think that the ideas of the Filipino Army or the the thoughts that lead to David Fagen's decision are not such a strange concept. I don't think of him as a traitor. He's more of a human rights leader/hero. My boy, Jeremy Richter is the one who brought him up to me recently. You should hear him tell the story. My question is, in honor of black history month, would you be comfortable with the story of David Fagen being told or taught to your child in school. I'd be cool with it; but I've been unplugged from the Matrix for years now. I don't think your average everyday John Q. Public would dig the story of David Fagen being told. But that's just my opinion though, and who the hell am I?

Precious

OK.... Where do I begin? Maybe, i shouldn't be so hasty when I see a trailer that moves me. Maybe, I shouldn't be captivated be what I feel is genuine acting. Maybe, I shouldn't be so quick to get behind a story that I feel needs to be told. I posted the preview to this movie and I said, "YOU MUST SEE THIS MOVIE". I am not a fan of this movie. I think it is too dark, too sad, and offers no hope to the audience. You leave the theater feeling pity. I was tricked into believing that this movie was inspirational, but it doesn't inspire. It doesn't move you towards appreciation, it scares the shit out of you and drops kicks you into the general direction of appreciating your life. There is nothing that motivates me about this story. Maybe I have a skewed sense of a inspirational story. However, I still would recommend that everyone should watch this movie. I'd just like to see if anyone else feels the same way. I dig the movie, but if it isn't going to entertain, it should've just been a documentary. I'm not saying every movie should have a happy ending, but to me, the purpose of a movie is to entertain, educate, or inspire. This movie does none of the above. I'm not disrespecting the film, the actors, or the people it was made about. I just don't know what there intentions were with making the film. I know what you're thinking, I'm just hating because Tyler Perry was involved. This isn't the case. You know what makes my argument even worse? I didn't watch the entire film. Once the film got to a point where I KNEW, I repeat, KNEW Precious's life couldn't get better; I turned it off. I would tell you the part I'm talking about, but there maybe people who didn't see it. I'm not saying that gaining peace of mind wouldn't lead to a life getting better, but you can't be inspired by the acceptance of mediocrity or complacency. It reminds me of the Catholic church convincing slaves that if they put up with life here, they have a better one waiting for them in paradise. This post probably should've waited until I saw the entire movie and it will probably piss off a lot of folks, but I hope it makes you watch it and discuss what you see. But that's just my opinion though, and who the hell am I?