FilmMattic

  Honorable Mentions: The Third Man, True Romance, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Terminator, The Treasure of Sierra Madre, Toy Story, Trainspotting, Titanic, The Truman Show, Top Gun, The Thin Red Line, and To Kill a Mockingbird       This letter was definitely no (T)ea party. The lot of films above (notice the obvious omission of any "The" films, unless followed by a "T") represent just a smattering of great movies that I carefully considered for this most difficult letter. The realization I've come to, quite conspicuously I must say, is that over the course of my Great Alphabetic unveiling, there are a handful of letters, which are nearly impossible to cull down...and then there are letters such as "Q." I guess the alphabet is an ardent follower of egalitarianism, for if all was not equal, I'd have a heck of lot more R's, S's, and T's in my countdown. But alas, I'm an equal opportunity employer. I must be fair to each letter...

Raging Bull Or is it the fact that my head feels like a Bull just rammed it, as I tried to fastidiously figure this one out.      This is going to be a long one. "R" ushered in one of the most spirited competitions yet. Fortunately, I could immediately eliminate one of my favorites. There will be no Raider of the Lost Ark. I already sneaked that one in (check "I"). However, there's still a dozen other great "R" films that I'm considering. My head is about ready to explode (thank you Bull).        There's Hitchcock's Rear Window, one of his finest masterpieces of suspense, and then there's Rebecca; not only is it one of the most thrilling psychological tales ever to be witnessed, but it's an illustrious remnant of the Golden Age. The competition does not lesson in intensity from here because I have to consider Howard Hawk's extraordinary western, Rio Bravo (Tarantino's favorite film), which is Hawk's and John Wayne...