2010 Film Recommendations
                                                                         (All Films I've Seen this Year):

Thumbs Up (22)

****      A+ to A    (Great - Highly Recommended - See Immediately)
Inception, The Ghost Writer


***1/2  A- to B+  (Very Good - Recommended - See at a First Run Theater)
Shutter Island, Winter's Bone, How to Train Your Dragon, Kick-Ass, Toy Story 3,
Predators, The Losers, Solitary Man, Robin Hood, Salt

***       B to B-      (Good - Recommended with Minor Reservations - See at a Matinee or a Second Run Dollar Theater)
The Kids Are All Right, Greenberg, The Karate Kid, Unthinkable, Clash of the Titans, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work,
Cyrus, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Iron Man 2, Alice in Wonderland

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Thumbs Down (24)

**1/2      C+ to C      (Fair - Very Cautiously Recommended with Major Reservations - Wait for DVD)
The Crazies, Chloe, Green Zone, Hot Tub Time Machine, Get Him to the Greek, Knight and Day,
Splice, The Wolfman, The A-Team


**            C to D+  (Disappointing - Not Recommended - Wait for Cable TV)
Frozen, Legion, Daybreakers, The Book of Eli, Edge of Darkness, MacGruber, The Last Airbender

*1/2        D to D-      (Very Disappointing - Strongly Not Recommended - Wait for Free TV if Nothing Else is On)
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Youth in Revolt, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief,
From Paris with Love, We Are the Sea, Repo Men, Shrek Forever After

      
*           F                (Awful - Very Strongly Not Recommended - Avoid at All Costs)
Cop Out
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Prior Year's  Releases/Re-Releases (4)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor) (2009) ***1/2  A-, The Girl Who Played with Fire (Flickan som lekte med elden) (2009) ***1/2  B+,
The Square (2008) ***1/2   B+,  The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (2009) ***  B-
_____________________________________________________________________________________
51. On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954)
52. Love and Death (Woody Allen, 1975)
53. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
54. Day for Night (François Truffaut, 1973)
55. The Elephant Man (David Lynch, 1980)
56. The Usual Suspects (Bryan Singer, 1995)
57. Patton (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1970) 
58. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
59. Cabaret (Bob Fosse, 1972)
60. The Hidden Fortress (Akira Kurosawa, 1958)
61. City Lights (Charles Chaplin, 1931)
62. Das Boot (Wolfgang Petersen, 1981)   
63. Miller's Crossing (Joel Coen, 1990)
64. North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)
65. The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
66. The Lady Vanishes (Alfred Hitchcock, 1938)
67. The Thin Man (W.S. Van Dyke, 1934)
68. Lost Horizon (Frank Capra, 1937)
69. Suspiria (Dario Argento, 1977)
70. Amadeus (Milos Forman, 1984)
71. One-Eyed Jacks (Marlon Brando, 1961)
72. The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman, 1957)
73. Planet of the Apes (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1968)
74. Glengarry Glen Ross (James Foley, 1992)
75. Dead of Night (Alberto Cavalcanti/Robert Hamer/ 
                           Basil Dearden/Charles Crichton, 1945)
26. Leon (The Professional) (Luc Besson, 1994)
27. Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino, 1992)
28. Young Frankenstein (Mel Brooks, 1974)
29. The Wicker Man (Robin Hardy, 1973)
30. Repulsion (Roman Polanski, 1965)
31. Straw Dogs (Sam Peckinpah, 1971)
32. The Asphalt Jungle (John Huston, 1950)
33. Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, 1968)
34. The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969)
35. Tess (Roman Polanski, 1979)
36. Once Upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone, 1969)
37. A Man for All Seasons (Fred Zinnemann, 1966)  
38. Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 1933)
39. Nosferatu (F.W. Murnau, 1922)
40. Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)
41. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (John Huston, 1948)
42. Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927)
43. Foreign Correspondent (Alfred Hitchcock, 1940)
44. Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944)
45. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
46. The Wages of Fear (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1953)
47. Anatomy of a Murder (Otto Preminger, 1959)
48. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy, 1964)
49. Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)
50. Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
21. Gambit (Ronald Neame, 1967)
22. The Uninvited (Lewis Allen, 1944)
23. The Satan Bug (John Sturges, 1965)
24. Ice Cold in Alex (J. Lee Thompson, 1958)
25. Five Graves to Cairo (Billy Wilder, 1943)
26. The Stone Killer (Michael Winner, 1973)
27. Circus World (Henry Hathaway, 1964)
28. Wings (William A. Wellman, 1927)
29. Journey into Fear (Norman Foster, 1943)
30. The Go-Between (Joseph Losey, 1970)  
31. Godzilla vs. Biollante (Gojira tai Biorante) (Kazuki Omori, 1989)
32. Porgy and Bess (Otto Preminger, 1959)
33. 55 Days at Peking (Nicholas Ray, 1963)
34. Life is Sweet (Mike Leigh, 1990) 
35. City of Hope (John Sayles, 1991)
36. Who's Minding the Mint? (Howard Morris, 1967)
37. The Barbarian and the Geisha (John Huston, 1958)
38. Dark of the Sun (Jack Cardiff, 1968) 
39. What? (Che?) (Roman Polanski, 1972)
40. Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1954)
76. The African Queen (John Huston, 1951)
77. Don't Look Now (Nicolas Roeg, 1973)
78. The Godfather, Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
79. The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941)
80. The Great Dictator (Charles Chaplin, 1940)
81. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
82. Solaris (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972)
83. The Stunt Man (Richard Rush, 1980)
84. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000)
85. The Day of the Jackal (Fred Zinnemann, 1973)
86. The Killing (Stanley Kubrick, 1956)
87. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
88. The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928)
89. Singin' in the Rain (Stanley Donen/Gene Kelly, 1952)
90. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (Sergio Leone, 1966)
91. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
92. The Ninth Configuration (William Peter Blatty, 1980)
93. Glory (Edward Zwick, 1989)
94. Last Tango in Paris (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1973) 
95. Superman (Richard Donner, 1978)
96. Marathon Man (John Schlesinger, 1976)
97. It's a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946) 
98. Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982)
99. Black Narcissus (Michael Powell and
                              Emeric Pressburger, 1946)
100. The Adventures of Robin Hood
                     (Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, 1938)
DVD
2009:
Ashes of Time Redux
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
The Devil at 4 O'Clock
Doctor Who: Delta and the Bannermen (TV)
Doctor Who: Image of the Fendahl (TV)
Faust: Restored Deluxe Edition
Five
Georgy Girl
Glen and Randa
Husbands
The Invaders: The Second Season (TV)
The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice (TV)
Oliver and Company: 20th Anniversary Edition
Revolution: Revisited
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: Season 4 - Volume 1 (TV)
1/5/2010:
Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus (TV) *
Doctor Who: The Twin Dilemma (TV) *
3/2:
Doctor Who: Dalek War (TV) *
4/6:
Icons of Horror: Hammer Films *
5/4:
Doctor Who: The Curse of Peladon (TV) *
Doctor Who: The Masque of Mandragora (TV) *
Doctor Who: The Monster of Peladon (TV) *
5/18:
Gamera: The Giant Monster (Daikaijû Gamera) *
6/29:
Night Train to Munich: Criterion Collection *
7/6:
Doctor Who: The Horns of Nimon (TV) *
Doctor Who: The Space Museum / The Chase (TV) *
Doctor Who: The Time Monster (TV) *
Doctor Who: Underworld (TV) *
Gamera vs. Barugon *
9/7:
Doctor Who: The Creature from the Pit (TV)
Doctor Who: The King's Demons (TV)
Doctor Who: Planet of Fire (TV)
My Top 40 Most Beautiful Actresses (as of 05/28/2006)
John H Blankenship.com®: Home Page
11. Rachel McAdams
12. Denise Richards
13. Ashley Judd
14. Ziyi Zhang
15. Neve Campbell
16. Halle Berry
17. Julia Stiles
18. Jennifer Garner
19. Monica Bellucci
20. Scarlett Johansson
                   The Top 100 Films of All Time (as of 07/20/05)
                                     1 through 25:
1.   A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)
 2.   Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)
 3.   Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)
 4.   The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
 5.   Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)
 6.   2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
 7.   Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977)
 8.   Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
 9.   Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg, 1993)
 10. The Ten Commandments (Cecil B. DeMille, 1956)
 11. The Bridge on the River Kwai (David Lean, 1957)
 12. Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 1957)
 13. Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985)
 14. The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973)
 15. Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
 16. Doctor Zhivago (David Lean, 1965)
 17. The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949)
 18. Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980)
 19. Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)
 20. Ben-Hur (William Wyler, 1959)
 21. Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935)
 22. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982)
23. King Kong (Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, 1933)
 24. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977)
 25. West Side Story (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, 1961)
Interesting Links:
John Williams
Aint It Cool News
Internet Movie Database
Roger Ebert
Creator: John H. Blankenship, Jr.
21. Charlize Theron
22. Famke Janssen
23. Cecile De France
24. Jennifer Connelly
25. Angelina Jolie
26. Shannon Elizabeth
27. Debra Messing
28. Marisa Tomei
29. Dina Meyer
30. Sophie Marceau
31. Evangeline Lilly
32. Grace Park
33. Eva Green
34. Emmanuelle Chriqui
35. Zuleikha Robinson
36. Kari Wuhrer
37. Aishwarya Rai
38. Jolene Blalock
39. Eva Mendes
40. Kate Beckinsale
2009 Hamilton Award WINNERS

2009 Film Ratings

2009 Academy Award Checklist
Pages:
Hamilton Awards®
Music
Literature
Email: john.blankenship7@verizon.net
My DVD Collection
1.   Jessica Alba
2.   Keira Knightley
3.   Natalie Portman
4.   Gillian Anderson
5.   Kelly MacDonald
6.   Emmy Rossum
7.   Katee Sackhoff
8.   Piper Perabo
9.   Rachel Weisz
10. Milla Jovovich
Movie Trailers
Upcoming DVD/Blu-Ray Releases (Dates Subject to Change) (* = Purchased)
Top 6 Theaters in Dallas
1. Angelika - Plano
The Shops at Legacy, 7205 Bishop Road
Plano, TX 75024   972-444-FILM Express Code #012
2. Angelika - Dallas
Mockingbird Station, 5321 E Mockingbird Lane
Dallas, TX 75206   214-841-4700
3. Cinemark Legacy
7201 N. Central Expressway
Plano,  TX 75025   972-665-2222
Top 100 Films of All Time - 26 through 100:
Meta-Religion
Last updated Sunday, 25-Jul-10 11:55:01 PDT.
My CD Collection
(at rateyourmusic.com)
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Top 40 Most Wanted Unreleased Films on Region 1 DVD (Updated 11/28/2008)
1.   The African Queen (John Huston, 1951)   RELEASED!
2.   Rich Man, Poor Man (David Greene/Boris Sagal/Bill Bixby, 1976)  COMING SOON!
3.   Blake's 7 (Various Directors, 1978-1981)
4.   Chimes at Midnight (Orson Welles, 1967)
5.   A Midwinter's Tale (Kenneth Branagh,1995)
6.   Cul-de-sac (Roman Polanski, 1966)
7.   Santa Sangre (Alejandro Jodorowski, 1989)
8.   Song of the South (Wilfred Jackson/Harve Foster, 1946)
9.   Fear and  Desire (Stanley Kubrick, 1953)
10. The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles, 1942)
11. Samson and Delilah (Cecil B. DeMille, 1949)
12. Brewster McCloud (Robert Altman, 1970)
13. Island of Lost Souls (Erle C. Kenton, 1933)
14. These Are the Damned (Joseph Losey, 1963) RELEASED!
15. The Victors (Carl Foreman, 1963)
16. The Quatermass Xperiment (Val Guest, 1955)
17. Kafka (Steven Soderbergh, 1991)
18. Closet Land (Radha Bharadwaj, 1991)
19. Movie Movie (Stanley Donen, 1978)
20. The Fixer (John Frankenheimer, 1968)  
THE TOP 10 FILMS of 2009
1. Inglourious Basterds
2. Star Trek
4. The Hurt Locker
5. Crazy Heart
3. Avatar
6. Up in the Air
7. Up
8. The Damned United
9. Paranormal Activity
10. Watchmen
                                "No good deed goes unpunished..." - Clare Booth Luce

- "A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything." - Friedrich Nietzsche
- "Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools." - Napoleon Bonaparte
- "In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed - they  produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci
     and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had  brotherly love, 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce?  
     The cuckoo clock." - Orson Welles
4. Landmark Magnolia
West Village, 3699 McKinney Avenue, Bldg E,
Dallas, TX 75204   214 520 0098
5. Landmark Inwood
5458 West Lovers Lane, Lovers at Inwood
Dallas, TX 75209   214-352-6040
6. Cinemark West Plano
3800 Dallas Parkway
Plano,  TX 75093   972-665-2222
Runners-Up:
11. The Bad Lieutenant - Port of Call: New Orleans   12. Fantastic Mr. Fox     13. An Education   14. (500) Days of Summer
15. Tyson                 16. Moon         17. District 9        18. A Serious Man         19. Sherlock Holmes          20. Antichrist
Blu-Ray
1/27:
The Pink Panther *
RocknRolla
2/3:
Sideways
2/10:
Amadeus *
The Boondock Saints *
Donnie Darko
A History of Violence *
Raging Bull *
Street Fighter: Extreme Edition
2/17:
Body of Lies
Changeling
Kramer Vs. Kramer
Quarantine
3/10:
Pinocchio *
Role Models *
3/24:
Bolt
The Last Metro: Criterion Collection *
3/31:
An American in Paris *
Gigi *
South Pacific
Tell No One
4/7:
American History X
Doubt
No Country for Old Men
Tango & Cash
4/14:
The Spirit
The Thirteenth Floor
4/21:
Frost/Nixon
Hellraiser
Sin City
The Wages of Fear: Criterion Collection *
The Wrestler *
4/28:
The Reader
Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 1 (TV)
5/5:
Big
There's Something About Mary
5/12:
Fargo
5/19:
Batman
Enemy at the Gates
The Machinist
Valkyrie
5/26:
Cinderella Man
Field of Dreams
Inside Man
Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves *
True Romance *
8/11:
I Love You, Man *
8/18:
Go
Kagemusha: Criterion Collection *
Playtime: Criterion Collection
Tyson *
8/25:
Adventureland
Children of the Corn
9/8:
Creepshow
Over the Top
The Quick and the Dead
Requiem for a Dream
9/15:
Casablanca *
Deep Impact
Hero
Misery
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
9/22:
The Complete Monterey Pop: Criterion Collection *
Pierrot Le Fou: Criterion Collection *
Shaun of the Dead *
Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection
9/29:
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
10/6:
Audition
Contact
Miracle on 34th Street
The New York Ripper *
10/20:
Easy Rider
Monsoon Wedding: Criterion Collection
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Waterworld *
10/27:
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan
The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue *
Monty Python: Almost The Truth - The Lawyer's Cut *
Night of the Creeps
The Prisoner: The Complete Series (TV) *
Stargate: 15th Anniversary Edition
Whatever Works
11/3:
A Christmas Carol *
Forrest Gump
Howards End: Criterion Collection *
It's a Wonderful Life
Love Actually *
North by Northwest *
Wings of Desire: Criterion Collection *
11/10:
The General *
Godzilla
Heat
Logan's Run *
Near Dark *
Red Heat *
Up *
11/17:
Fight Club *
Galaxy Quest
Gone with the Wind *
Leon: The Professional *
Rome: The Complete Series (TV)
Sex, Lies & Videotape
Star Trek (2009) *
11/24:
Angel Heart
Cujo
Frailty
Gomorrah: Criterion Collection
My Brilliant Career *
The Way of the Gun *
12/1:
A Christmas Tale: Criterion Collection
Gimme Shelter: Criterion Collection
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
The Mask of Zorro
Snatch
Terminator Salvation *
12/8:
Harry Potter: Years 1 - 6
12/15:
Boogie Nights *
Inglourious Basterds *
Star Trek: The Original Series - Seasons 1 - 3 (TV)
12/22:
District 9 *
(500) Days of Summer *
12/29:
Paranormal Activity *
A Perfect Getaway
Blu-Ray
1/5/2010:
The Green Berets *
10 Things I Hate About You *
1/12:
Cliffhanger *
8 1/2: Criterion Collection *
The Hurt Locker *
In the Loop
Last Action Hero
Moon *
1/19:
Che: The Criterion Collection *
Pandorum *
1/26:
Atonement *
Fame (1980)
Pride & Prejudice *
2/2:
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Gangs of New York *
The Last King of Scotland
The Music Man
To Live and Die in L.A. *
Zombieland
2/9:
Bronson
Drop Zone
Hard Rain *
The Phantom *
The Running Man *
A Serious Man
The Time Traveler's Wife
2/16:
Contempt (Le mepris) *
Hunger: Criterion Collection
The Ladykillers *
Lola Montes: Criterion Collection *
Ran
Revanche: Criterion Collection
2/23:
The Crazies *
The Damned United *
Presumed Innocent / Frantic *
3/2:
Clash of the Titans *
Funny Farm/Spies Like Us *
The NeverEnding Story
2012 *
Where the Wild Things Are
3/9:
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
3/16:
Broken Embraces (Los abrazos rotos)
Ninja Assassin
The Princess and the Frog
3/23:
The African Queen *
Bigger Than Life: Criterion Collection *
Brothers
Days of Heaven: Criterion Collection *
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Sanjuro: Criterion Collection *
Yojimbo: Criterion Collection *
3/30:
An Education *
The Baader Meinhof Complex
Collateral
Red Cliff *
Vampyres
4/6:
The Bad Lieutenant - Port of Call: New Orleans *
Cocoon *
Dreamscape *
Flight of the Intruder *
Jade *
The Lord of the Rings (1978)
Poseidon *
The Relic *
4/13:
Apollo 13
Pirate Radio
4/20:
Battleship Potemkin *
Crazy Heart *
District 13: Ultimatum
Minority Report *
Vivre sa vie: Criterion Collection *
4/22:
Avatar *
4/27:
Armageddon
Dune *
Out of Africa
Ride with the Devil: Criterion Collection *
Tombstone
Traffic
5/4:
Doctor Zhivago *
Elektra
Escape from L.A.
K19: The Widowmaker
Nine *
Saving Private Ryan *
Tetro
5/11:
Daybreakers
Hang 'em High *
The Karate Kid
The Magnificent Seven Collection *
M: Criterion Collection *
5/18:
Carlito's Way *
The Messenger *
Outlander
5/25:
City of the Living Dead *
Django *
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog *
Invictus
The Road
Stagecoach: Criterion Collection *
Spartacus *
6/1
Absolute Power
Alice in Wonderland *
Heartbreak Ridge *
Kelly's Heroes/Where Eagles Dare *
The Rookie *
War of the Worlds *
The Wolfman *
6/8:
Caddyshack
The Illusionist *
Shutter Island *
6/15:
Darkman
Flash Gordon *
Mystery Train: Criterion Collection
Showgirls *
The Stepfather
6/22:
Death Race 2000 *
Green Zone
Red Desert: Criterion Collection *
A Star Is Born *
6/29:
Everlasting Moments: Criterion Collection
The Leopard: Criterion Collection *
7/6:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo *
Jason and the Argonauts *
7/13:
Insomnia *
Last Man Standing/The Last Boy Scout *
7/20:
Black Narcissus: Criterion Collection
The Losers *
The Red Shoes: Criterion Collection *