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So it’s time to continue my countdown of my 100 favorite movies, or the 100 movies that would be considered the greatest movies ever if I were the Grand Exalted Ruler of the Entire Freaking Universe, or whatever. This time, we count down from #90 to #81. 90. Henry V The Kenneth Branagh version, actually; I’ve only seen a small part of the Lawrence Olivier version, so I can’t do a direct comparison. Branagh’s is wonderfully done; Derek Jacobi does terrific work as the Chorus, introducing the film from an empty soundstage, and when Branagh delivers the Bard’s signature St.Down the rabbit hole….

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Huzzah! The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Complete Recordings will be released on November 6 of this year. It will include four CDs (the releases for the previous two films had three each) and a DVD containing the entire score in really good sound (I take their word for this). At some point in the future, film music expert Doug Adams will have a book out on the subject of these films and their music. I can’t wait for that, either. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Howard Shore’s accomplishment on theDown the rabbit hole….

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Tosy and Cosh did this a while back (most recently here, so he has three posts still to go in his series), and ever one to follow the lemmings off the cliff*, I figure I’ll do it as well. This series of posts will enumerate one hundred movies that I really really really like a whole whole lot, in no real order at first (although as this series grinds on toward my personal Top Ten, I’ll start thinking more about rank), plus a signature moment, line, or bit of dialogue from each that stands out in my head. So anyhow,Down the rabbit hole….

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I have to admit that my geek heart goes a little pitter-pat every time I read something about Indiana Jones and the Journey Back to the Well One Last Time. This time I learn that Karen Allen, who played Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark, is back on board. And what’s more, it appears that since 1981 she has aged about six years: I’m still skeptical about this movie, but we’ll see. As long as I’m on the subject of Dr. Jones, I may as well run down my thoughts on the original three movies: :: Raiders ofDown the rabbit hole….

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Yup, I saw The Simpsons Movie the other night. A great time was had by all. Well, by me and the three guys I went with. The rest of the theater? Don’t much care if they had a great time. Jerks. (Especially the idiots who can’t seem to go ten minutes without sending a f***ing text message, whether there’s a movie on or not. Sure, texting is less pernicious than, say, actually talking on the phone or getting up from the middle of a row of theater seats to go outside and answer the call, but it’s still a darkenedDown the rabbit hole….

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I just e-mailed this to a friend, but I figure it warrants posting here too: via Michael May’s Adventureblog, I see Ten reasons why John McClane is more bad-ass than Optimus Prime. Well, duh. I think the real question is, who’s more bad-ass: John McClane or Jack Bauer? For instance, John McClane never has to torture anybody, and while he might be racing against time, he never seems all angsty about it the way Bauer does — I mean, Bauer’s always barking to somebody about how “he’s running out of time”, whereas McClane just keeps chuggin’ along, making one wisecrackDown the rabbit hole….

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OK, this is all over the place, but I’m probably not a geek in good standing if I don’t post it too, so: Indy’s back. I’ve generally been ambivalent about a fourth Indiana Jones movie, but if they can make another good one, then I’m fine with it. I loved all three of the originals, although I don’t like Last Crusade as much as I did initially and I’ve found that Temple of Doom is actually better than I thought it was when it first came out. Raiders is, of course, a classic — and by pure chance, I listenedDown the rabbit hole….

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OK, I should comment on the revised version of the American Film Institute’s 100 Greatest American Movies. :: First, what the hell is an “American” movie, anyway? I’m befuddled by how Lord of the Rings can be considered an American movie. Is it because New Line’s an American company? Well, so what? Disney owns distribution rights to Studio Ghibli movies, so let’s get Princess Mononoke on the list. :: Second, like Roger Ebert, I was wondering what happened to Fargo. When I first saw Fargo, my initial reaction was, “OK, it’s good. Not that good, but good.” But it sureDown the rabbit hole….