Great Read: Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs

• Author:  Walter Isaacson
• Published:  2011
• Publisher:  Simon & Schuster
• Pages:  630
• First Line:  “When Paul Jobs was mustered out of the Coast Guard after World War II, he made a wager with his crewmates.”
• Last Lines:  “He fell silent for a very long time.  ‘But on the other hand, perhaps [death] is like an on-off switch.’ he said.  ‘Click!  And you’re gone.’  Then he paused again and smiled slightly.  ‘Maybe that’s why I never liked to put on-off switches on Apple devices.’”
• Film Version:  2015  (****)
• First Read:  late 2020

 

A Century of Film: The Top 1000 Films (#300-251)

Another part of my countdown of the 1000 greatest films through 2011.  Through Pinocchio, these are all a 94 and after that, they are all a 95.  So, high ****.  The introduction can be found here.  Previous entries can be found here.

 

Best Adapted Screenplay: 2010

“You are probably going to be a very successful computer person. But you’re going to go through life thinking that girls don’t like you because you’re a nerd. And I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that that won’t be true. It’ll be because you’re an asshole.” Not in Mezrich’s book. That’s pure Sorkin.  And true.  100% true.

My Top 10

1. The Social Network
2. True Grit
3. The Ghost Writer
4. Winter’s Bone
5. Toy Story 3
6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I
7. The Town
8. Shutter Island
9. Rabbit Hole
10. Never Let Me Go

note:  A much stronger Top 5 and Top 10 than the previous years.

 

A Century of Film: The Top 1000 Films (#350-301)

Yet another part in my countdown of the Top 1000 films in the first Century of Film (1912-2011).  The introduction can be found here and be clicking here, you can scroll through the preceding parts.  Every film in this group of 50 earns a 94 which is high ****.

 

A Century of Film: Foreign Film

Film might have come from the United States but the first great narrative film, A Trip to the Moon, came from France.  Since then, films in languages other than English have continued to flourish with various countries rising to the top at various points in film history though usually with France leading them all.

 

A Century of Film: The Top 1000 Films (#400-351)

This is part something of this, I’ve lost track.  But you can find the original introduction here and by going here you can find all the other parts.  All of these films earn a 93 on a 100 point scale except The Commitments which is a 94 (which is a high **** while the rest are mid ****). The picture above wasn’t the easiest to decide on this time – I originally had Michael Caine images from three different films (in three different decades), there are two films with the same director and two stars, I could have gone with a different McKellen pic on the left to go with the one on the right or I could have done the other McKellen pic with another actor in the same role.

 

For Love of Film: James Bond – No Time to Die

No Time to Die

• Year:  2021
• Director:  Cary Joji Fukunaga
• Series Rank:  #3
• Bond Girl:  Léa Seydoux (Madeleine Swann)
• Bond Villain:  Rami Malek (Lyutsifer Safin), Christoph Waltz (Franz Oberhauser), David Dencik (Valdo Obruchev)
• Bond Support:  Ralph Fiennes (M), Naomie Harris (Moneypenny), Ben Whishaw (Q), Rory Kinnear (Bill Tanner), Jeffrey Wright (Felix Leiter), Lashana Lynch (Nomi), Ana de Armas (Ploma)

SPOILER-FREE

 

Best Adapted Screenplay: 2009

The most memorable moment in the film – described in the book but not with dialogue.

My Top 10

1. An Education
2. Up in the Air
3. A Single Man
4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
5. The Informant
6. Precious
7. District 9
8. Coraline
9. Fantastic Mr. Fox
10. The Damned United

note:  Not the strongest Top 5 and a fairly weak second 5.  But it had a lot of solid scripts (good enough to make the list) so there’s a more sizable continuation down at the bottom.

 

A Century of Film: The Top 1000 Films (#450-401)

This is the 12th part of the countdown of the Top 1000 Films of the first Century of Film (1912-2011).  The introduction can be found here.  Just click here to find the other parts.

Films 450 through 428 are a 92.  The rest are a 93.  Both are mid ****.

 

REC: Kindergarten Cop

Kindergarten Cop

• Director:  Ivan Reitman
• Writer:  Murray Salem  /  Herschel Weingrod  /  Timothy Harris
• Producer:  Ivan Reitman  /  Brian Grazer
• Stars:  Arnold Schwwarzenegger, Penelope Ann Miller, Pamela Reed, Linda Hunt
• Studio:  Universal
• Award Nominations:  none that I track
• Length:  111 min
• Genre:  Comedy
• MPAA Rating:  PG-13
• Release Date:  22 December 1990
• Box Office Gross:  $91.45 mil  (#10  –  1990)
• My Rating:  ***
• My Rank:  #70 (year)
• Nighthawk Nominations:  none
• Nighthawk Notables:  none