I Wanna Be a Cowboy

Yippee-ki-yay! Today is National Cowboy Day, and to celebrate, Entertainment Weekly is counting down the top cowpokes in pop culture history, including a very familiar pair (pictured above) and a certain village person. Yee-hah!

Comic Strip Mined

The summer of the superhero is about half over, and so far we've seen the daring exploits of Iron Man, the Hulk and Hellboy, with the big daddy of the season (nay, the year), The Dark Knight, still on the horizon.

And don't forget, following Batman's return we have a slew of upcoming comic based movies featuring everyone from the Watchmen and Wolverine to Magneto and the Mighty Thor.

But, as Cracked.com so astutely points out in their list of "8 (Pointless) Laws All Comic Book Movies Follow", maybe its time Hollywood give the old tried-and-true formulas a rest. From the "multiple villains" clause to the old "losing their powers" bit, there ain't a comic cliché they don't unmask.

MD Poll: Fantasy Tops Drama

The American Film Institute chose it as its #1 fantasy film of all time, and you agreed: The Wizard of Oz topped the latest MD Poll, which asked you to pick your favorite of AFI's #1s from their recent 10 Top 10 countdown.

But it wasn't an easy victory, with Dorothy and friends facing some tough competition from the courtroom: To Kill a Mockingbird placed a strong second. Rounding out the top five were the mysterious Vertigo, the gangsta classic The Godfather and sci-fi favorite 2001: A Space Odyssey. See the comments section below for the complete rundown and stats.

Click here to vote in the latest MD Poll.

EW Picks the "New Classics"

"Can you believe they made another mother-f***in' list?"

To commemorate their 1,000th issue, Entertainment Weekly is celebrating by doing something they like to do a lot of: make lists. Enough to total 1,000 listings (get it?), naming their picks for the best in movies, television, music, books, theater and whatever other pop culture tidbits they can come up with; needless, to say, it's a double issue (on newsstands this weekend), with most of the lists spilling over online at EW.com.

But there's a twist. Dubbing these the "new classics", the choices only hail from the past 25 years (how convenient for them, considering that most of their lists are heavy on the current anyway). Although setting that (arbitrary) cut-off date as that of their first issue (February 16, 1990 -- with k.d. lang as their first cover subject) surely would have made more sense, at least this gives the EW staffers the chance to laud their over-hyped/over-rated favorites one more time (Seinfeld? Check. Arrested Development? Check.) They even got to put Harry Potter on the cover again.

Topping off their choices in movies is Pulp Fiction, with The Silence of the Lambs (movie posters), The Simpsons (TV), The A-Team (TV theme songs), Prince's Purple Rain soundtrack (music), Cormac McCarthy's The Road (books), Madonna at the MTV Music Awards (fashion), Tony Kushner's Angels in America (stage), Tetris (video games) and the DVD player (technology) heading up their respective categories. For a quick look at the full list of 100 movies, see the comments section below.

MD Poll: AFI's Best of the Best

Wrapping up our coverage of the American Film Institute salute to their 10 Top 10 (which recently named the ten best films in ten classic genres), this week's MD Poll asks you to pick the best of the best.

Snow White, Dorothy Gale, Vito Corleone, HAL 9000, Ethan Edwards, Jake La Motta, Madeleine Elster (or is it Judy Barton?), the Tramp, Atticus Finch and T.E. Lawrence all want to know: of the AFI's ten #1 movies, which one is your favorite?

Cast your vote in the poll located in the sidebar to your right, and check back here in two weeks for the results.

UPDATE: This poll is now closed. Click here for the results, and click here to vote in the latest MD Poll.

The Latest on TV: AFI's 10 Top 10

The big day for fans of classic film is almost here: tomorrow night, CBS will present the three-hour television special AFI's 10 Top 10. Changing things up a bit this year, instead of 100 films for one genre, the AFI is honoring ten films in ten different genres, and Movie Dearest has been discussing the possibilities for each, based on past AFI lists, for the past ten weeks or so. But there is one other way to predict what the final film selections may be, and that is to take a look at the celebrities lined up to discuss the selections during the actual program.

Instead of a single host as in years past, this year the ten separate countdowns will each have their own host. Two of the hosts, Jennifer Love Hewitt (Animation) and Jessica Alba (Romantic Comedy), have no films nominated in any categories, so they are no help here (what, wasn't Angela Lansbury and Meg Ryan available?). Additionally, interviewees Lesley Ann Warren and Vanessa Williams (and, naturally, film and animation historian Leonard Maltin) are on hand to talk about other people's movies. As for the rest, here are their nominated films that may end up in their respective top tens, with the strongest contenders in bold:

• Tim Allen: Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Cars
• Sean Astin (host, Fantasy): The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Rudy
• Ed Burns: Saving Private Ryan
• Gabriel Byrne (host, Mystery): Miller's Crossing, The Usual Suspects
• Cuba Gooding Jr. (host, Sports): Boyz N the Hood, A Few Good Men, Jerry Maguire, As Good as It Gets
• Kirk Douglas (host, Epic): Champion, Paths of Glory, Spartacus
• Clint Eastwood (host, Western): High Plains Drifter, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Pale Rider, Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby, Letters from Iwo Jima
• Harrison Ford: The Conversation, Star Wars, Apocalypse Now, Blade Runner, Working Girl, Presumed Innocent, The Fugitive
• Jane Fonda: Cat Ballou, Barefoot in the Park, Klute
• Michael J. Fox: Back to the Future, The American President
• Brad Garrett: A Bug's Life, Finding Nemo
• Ben Gazzara: Anatomy of a Murder, The Big Lebowski
• Gene Hackman: Bonnie and Clyde, The Conversation, Superman, Reds, Hoosiers, Unforgiven, Get Shorty, Antz
• Dennis Hopper: Johnny Guitar, Giant, True Grit, Apocalypse Now, Blue Velvet, Hoosiers
• Norman Jewison: In the Heat of the Night, Rollerball, ... And Justice for All, A Soldier's Story, Moonstruck, The Hurricane
• James Earl Jones: The Great White Hope, The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings, Star Wars, Conan the Barbarian, Field of Dreams, The Lion King, Robots
• Nathan Lane: The Lion King
• Ray Liotta: Field of Dreams, GoodFellas
• Robert Loggia: Somebody Up There Likes Me, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Scarface, Prizzi's Honor, Jagged Edge, Big, Independence Day
• George Lucas: Star Wars, Labyrinth
• Sidney Lumet: 12 Angry Men, Murder on the Orient Express, The Verdict
• Amy Madigan: Field of Dreams
• Dominic Monaghan: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
• Elizabeth Perkins: Big, Finding Nemo
• Roman Polanski: Chinatown
• Harold Ramis: Groundhog Day, As Good as It Gets
• John Ratzenberger: Superman; Reds; Toy Story; A Bug's Life; Toy Story 2; Monsters, Inc.; Finding Nemo; The Incredibles; Cars
• Rob Reiner: The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally ..., A Few Good Men, Sleepless in Seattle, Bullets Over Broadway, The American President, Ghosts of Mississippi
• Isabella Rossellini: Blue Velvet
• Susan Sarandon: Atlantic City, Bull Durham, The Client
• Talia Shire: The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Rocky
• Steven Spielberg: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Back to the Future, An American Tail, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Amistad, Men in Black, Saving Private Ryan, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Shrek, Minority Report, Monster House, Letters from Iwo Jima
• Daniel Stern: Breaking Away
• Ridley Scott: Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator
• Quentin Tarantino (host, Gangster): Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction
• Sigourney Weaver (host, Science Fiction): Annie Hall, Alien, Working Girl
• Rita Wilson: Sleepless in Seattle, My Big Fat Greek Wedding
• James Woods (host, Courtroom Drama): The Onion Field, Once Upon a Time in America, Casino, Ghosts of Mississippi, Contact, Any Given Sunday

Of course, this isn't an exact science, and others may have their own favorites (for example, here's a video of another fan's picks). We'll find out the final 100 films tomorrow night on CBS at 8:00 PM EST.

Countdown to AFI's 10 Top 10: Epic

"I came, I saw, I conquered."
-- Julius Caesar

The countdown is almost complete for AFI's 10 Top 10, this year's entry in the American Film Institute's 100 Years ... 100 Movies series, and we've saved the biggest for last: the epic. Sprawling stories about larger-then-life individuals, as told on the big screen with all the cinematic style and technique a Hollywood studio budget can buy, epics have been a favorite of the AFI lists over the past ten years. And Oscar as well: 15 of the 50 nominated films are Best Picture winners, with an additional 14 BP nominees as well.

Which one will top this top ten as the number one epic of all time? If past listings are any indication, the three strongest contenders, with five prior mentions apiece, are Gone With the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia and Titanic. They should all place high here, but my bet is that Lawrence will triumph; after all, when one thinks "epic", one thinks Lawrence of Arabia. Coming in slightly behind these three, with four listings each, are such other strong possibilities as the 1959 Ben-Hur, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Forrest Gump, The Godfather Part II (also a gangster nominee), Schindler's List and Spartacus.

Don't count out the next batch of epics, with two war pictures -- Apocalypse Now and Saving Private Ryan -- with three listings each vying with Braveheart, Dances With Wolves (also a western nominee), Doctor Zhivago, Gandhi, Patton and the 1956 The Ten Commandments (all with two listings each), plus single placers All Quiet on the Western Front, Giant (another western nominee), Gladiator, Glory, Intolerance, Reds and the very first epic, The Birth of a Nation (the oldest, and quite possibly the most controversial, of the potential honorees). And you can also add in Gladiator's fellow AFI Award winners, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and Letters from Iwo Jima (the newest of the 50 nominees; see the comments section below for the full list).

That doesn't leave much room for anything else, including Cleopatra, How the West Was Won (yet another western nominee), The Last Emperor, The Longest Day, Malcolm X, Once Upon a Time in America (another gangster nominee) and no less then four Jesus movies (The Greatest Story Ever Told, The King of Kings, The Last Temptation of Christ and The Passion of the Christ). But, since they didn't even place in the AFI's inspirational movies list (100 Cheers), I wouldn't count on them making this list either.

At last, the final results will be revealed this Tuesday on CBS with the three-hour television special, AFI's 10 Top 10, beginning at 8:00 PM EST. But the countdown isn't quite over yet, as I will be chiming in one last time tomorrow with a look at the program's line up of celebrity hosts and guest stars, who often foretell what films end up on the final list.

Countdown to AFI's 10 Top 10: Courtroom Drama

"Justice has nothing to do with what goes on in a courtroom;
justice is what comes out of a courtroom."
-- Clarence Darrow

From the bounty of the romantic comedy, we now come to the humble courtroom drama, in this, the penultimate step in our countdown to the American Film Institute’s next sure-to-be-buzzed-about list, AFI’s 10 Top 10 (now less then a week away!). Whereas the rom coms were the most represented among AFI’s previous lists (with a whopping 35 previous mentions out of 50 nominations), this legal-minded genre has only placed seven films in prior countdowns.

Two courtroom classic stand tall among those seven though, with four previous listings each: To Kill a Mockingbird and 12 Angry Men. The latter has the stronger shot at the top spot, if only because about 99% of it takes place in a courtroom. With three prior listings, Philadelphia joins newbies Advise and Consent and The Children’s Hour in a curious gay subgenre among the 50 nominees here (see the comments section below for the full list).

The only other multiple prior honoree is Erin Brokovich (with two mentions, plus an AFI Award), which brings our attention to some films nominated that, like Brokovich, aren’t heavy on the actual courtroom scenes (such as the newest film on the docket, Legally Blonde, the comedy that stands out like a pink sore thumb among the other nominees). Single placers also on the docket include Adam’s Rib (also in the romantic comedy race), A Few Good Men and The Verdict.

This means there will be plenty of new films in this top ten, with the strongest contenders being Anatomy of a Murder, Inherit the Wind, Judgment at Nuremberg, Paths of Glory and Witness for the Prosecution. Other notable hopefuls include The Accused, … And Justice for All, The Caine Mutiny, A Cry in the Dark, Fury (the oldest nominee), In Cold Blood, I Want to Live!, Kramer vs. Kramer, A Man for All Seasons and A Soldier’s Story.

The final verdict on the best courtroom dramas will be announced next Tuesday, June 17, in the three-hour CBS television special, AFI’s 10 Top 10. Joining the previously announced hosts will be such famous talking heads as Tim Allen, Ed Burns, Harrison Ford, Jane Fonda, Michael J. Fox, Brad Garrett, Ben Gazzara, Gene Hackman, Dennis Hopper, Norman Jewison, James Earl Jones, Nathan Lane, Ray Liotta, Robert Loggia, George Lucas, Sidney Lumet, Amy Madigan, Leonard Maltin, Dominic Monaghan, Elizabeth Perkins, Roman Polanski, Harold Ramis, John Ratzenberger, Rob Reiner, Isabella Rossellini, Susan Sarandon, Talia Shire, Steven Spielberg, Daniel Stern, Ridley Scott, Lesley Ann Warren, Vanessa Williams and Rita Wilson. The presence of some or all of these interviewees may be evidence of the films making the final cut, but we'll address that in a later session. For now, the jury is out.

Countdown to AFI's 10 Top 10: Romantic Comedy

"One is very crazy when in love."

-- Sigmund Freud

Having split the difference between two previous American Film Institute lists (100 Laughs in 2000 and 100 Passions in 2002), the potent combination of love and laughter that is the cinematic art of the romantic comedy gets the spotlight in the next step of our countdown to AFI's 10 Top 10. And with the two prior lists serving as a jumping off point, it should come as no surprise that, out of all ten genres, this one includes the most previous listings out of its 50 nominees, with 35 movies previously honored by the AFI.

Two films lead the pack with six prior listings each: the talkative Annie Hall and the wordless City Lights (the oldest film among the nominees). And while the former could very well land in the number one spot here (it redefined the genre upon its release, becoming a touchstone for all rom coms that followed), the latter, while it does have romance and comedy, is not so much a "romantic comedy" as we've come to know them. The following five films, each with four prior mentions, should easily fill out the upper slots of the top ten here: The Apartment, Bringing Up Baby, It Happened One Night, The Philadelphia Story and When Harry Met Sally ...

The competition doesn't end there, though, with three-peaters (Harold and Maude, Moonstruck, Working Girl), two-timers (The Awful Truth, Jerry Maguire, The Lady Eve, Ninotchka, Woman of the Year) and single placers galore (Adam's Rib, The American President, Ball of Fire, Barefoot in the Park, Born Yesterday, Bull Durham, The Goodbye Girl, His Girl Friday, My Man Godfrey, The Palm Beach Story, Pillow Talk, Pretty Woman, Roman Holiday, Roxanne, Sabrina, Shakespeare in Love, The Shop Around the Corner, Sleepless in Seattle, There's Something About Mary and What's Up, Doc?). That doesn't leave much room for newcomers, although AFI Award winner The 40-Year-Old Virgin (the newest film among the nominees, see the comments section below for the full list) could break through.

The results will be revealed June 17 during the three-hour CBS television event, AFI's 10 Top 10. In the meantime, the ten celebrities who will host each segment have been revealed: Jessica Alba (romantic comedy), Sean Astin (fantasy), Gabriel Byrne (mystery), Kirk Douglas (epic), Clint Eastwood (western), Cuba Gooding Jr. (sports), Jennifer Love Hewitt (animation), Quentin Tarantino (gangster), Sigourney Weaver (sci fi) and James Woods (courtroom drama).

Some Like It Hot

To make up for the lack of a new Cinematic Crush this week, here's 100 men instead of one: the 2nd Annual AfterElton.com Hot 100 list.

Topping (ahem) the list for the second year in a row is none other then Jake Gyllenhaal. Other past cinematic crushes who made the cut this year: Chad Allen, Christian Bale, Eric Bana, John Barrowman, George Clooney, Daniel Craig, Matt Damon, Patrick Dempsey, Johnny Depp, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Robert Gant, Ryan Gosling, Neil Patrick Harris, Hugh Jackman, Cheyenne Jackson, Shia LaBeouf, James Marsden, James McAvoy, Ewan McGregor, Clive Owen, Ryan Reynolds, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Paul Rudd, Jason Statham and Channing Tatum.

Is that hot enough for ya?

Women We Love: Tina Fey

Object of our affection: Tina Fey, actress/writer/ producer.

- She was the first female head writer of Saturday Night Live, which led to her co-anchoring the legendary "Weekend Update" desk and also led to ...

- 30 Rock, her critically acclaimed comedy series (based loosely on her experiences at SNL) that has won her an Emmy as producer and a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards as an actress.

- At the movies, she wrote and co-starred in Mean Girls and recently starred in Baby Mama.

- Next up: more 30 Rock and the films This Side of the Truth and Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill.

- Smart is sexy, and the ladies have taken note: she was named the #1 sexiest woman in AfterEllen.com's Hot 100 this year. More Women We Love on the list: Kate Winslet, Ellen Degeneres, Cate Blanchett, Portia de Rossi, Salma Hayek, Idina Menzel and many more.

Countdown to AFI's 10 Top 10: Mystery

"Where there is mystery,

it is generally suspected there must also be evil."
-- Lord Byron

Mystery is on the menu for the next course in our countdown to the American Film Institute's 10 Top 10, which means our top chef will be the master of the genre, Alfred Hitchcock. Nine of Hitch's greatest suspense thrillers are nominated, and all but Spellbound and Suspicion have appeared on previous AFI lists (mostly in 100 Thrills, naturally): Dial M for Murder, The Man Who Knew Too Much, North by Northwest, Rear Window, Rebecca, To Catch a Thief and Vertigo, which could very well top this list considering its top ten placement in the last 100 Movies ranking.

Giving Hitchcock some strong competition is Chinatown, which tops the fifty nominees (see the comments section below for the full list) with five previous AFI listings. Joining Vertigo right behind it with four mentions each are In the Heat of the Night and The Maltese Falcon, the most likely to usurp the top spot from Hitch. Also fairing well on prior lists is The Third Man, with three listings (along with Rear Window and North by Northwest). Rounding out the list of previous AFI honorees are two-timer Blue Velvet, plus The Big Sleep, The Fugitive, Gaslight, Laura, The Postman Always Rings Twice, A Shot in the Dark, The Thin Man (the oldest film among the nominees) and The Usual Suspects, which may fare better here then in the gangster category, where it is also nominated.

Among the movies vying for a first time on the AFI short list is the questionable "mystery" The Big Lebowski, plus two AFI Award winners, Memento and Mulhulland Drive. Other contenders include And Then There Were None, Charade, The Conversation, Gosford Park, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Kiss Me Deadly, L.A. Confidential, Murder on the Orient Express, Sleuth and, the newest of the nominees, The Bourne Identity.

The mystery of which ten films will be chosen as the best of the genre will be solved June 17, when CBS airs the three hour television event, AFI's 10 Top 10.

Countdown to AFI's 10 Top 10: Sports

"It ain’t over 'til it's over."
-- Yogi Berra

Ladies and gentlemen, don your sports bras and jock straps, for we have now reached the point in our countdown to the American Film Institute's 10 Top 10s where the focus is on sports movies. These are the movies that depict the thrill of victory and/or the agony of defeat, where losers never quit and winners almost always win ... usually in slow motion while the orchestra swells.

Standing head and sweaty shoulders above all other contenders in this competition is Rocky, which lands a knock out with seven previous mentions on AFI lists past (which, by the way, places it in a tie for second overall with The Wizard of Oz; Casablanca is AFI's most honored film, appearing on eight of the ten lists so far). Needless to say, prospects are good that the ol' Italian Stallion will easily find himself the #1 choice this round as well. The only other movies to come close, with three previous mentions each, are two very different black and white biopics: the old-fashioned The Pride of the Yankees and the down and dirty Raging Bull.

The three films with two previous listings each -- Caddyshack, Field of Dreams and Jerry Maguire -- may find their (respective) comedy, fantasy and romance aspects playing against them in this particular match. Previous single list AFI honorees with stronger chances are Breaking Away, Bull Durham, Chariots of Fire, Harold Lloyd's The Freshman (the oldest film among the 50 nominees), Hoosiers, the Marx Brothers' Horse Feathers, The Karate Kid, Knute Rockney - All American, A League of Their Own, National Velvet, Rudy and Seabiscuit. AFI list watchers will notice the abundance of movies (ten total) that placed on the 100 Cheers list, the group's 2006 countdown of the most inspirational movies of all time.

Before we get to the rookies, two movies -- Friday Night Lights and Million Dollar Baby -- were previously honored by the AFI with AFI Awards, which therefore may give them an edge in this round (both films, along with Miracle, were released in 2004, thereby making them the newest movies among the 50 nominees; see the comments section below for the full list). Which may not leave much of a chance for the remaining roster of hopefuls for this squad, but I will note such personal favorites as Angels in the Outfield, The Bad News Bears, Eight Men Out, The Great White Hope, Heart Like a Wheel, The Hustler (and its sequel, The Color of Money), The Natural, Somebody Up There Likes Me and the lesbian-themed Personal Best.

The ten films making up the winners circle in this particular match will be revealed on June 17, when CBS will air the three-hour special, AFI's 10 Top 10.

Countdown to AFI's 10 Top 10: Western

"The Old West is not a certain place in a certain time;
it's a state of mind."
-- Tom Mix

We are halfway through our countdown to the American Film Institute's salute to their 10 Top 10, which brings us to that purely American creation (that is, until Sergio Leone got hold of it): the western. A genre filled with iconic imagery, from the lone cowboy perched atop his horse to the climatic gunfight in the middle of a dusty town, a classic oater depicts "the spirit, the struggle and the demise of the new frontier".

Topping the list of westerns previously honored by the AFI in their annual lists is High Noon. The thinly veiled allegorical look at Hollywood's reaction to McCarthyism has been included on six prior lists, followed closely (with five mentions each) by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Shane. However, a strong contender for the top spot here is The Searchers, which may only have two previous listings, but it made an impressive leap from #96 to #12 on last year's 10th anniversary revisit to the top 100 movies.

The Wild Bunch, which redefined onscreen violence as well as the western genre itself, placed three times previously, and should place high this time around as well. Other possibilities from past lists include Best Picture Oscar winners Dances With Wolves and Unforgiven (both with two listings) and single-placers ranging from comedies (Blazing Saddles, Cat Ballou) to John Wayne headliners (Stagecoach, True Grit) to some questionable "westerns" (Giant, The Last Picture Show), plus The Magnificent Seven, a remake of a Far Eastern "western", The Seven Samurai.

Ranging from 1924 (The Iron Horse) to 1996 (Lone Star), other contenders among the fifty nominees (see the comments section below for the full list) include more John Ford epics (My Darling Clementine, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon), Clint Eastwood non-spaghetti westerns (High Plains Drifter, The Outlaw Josey Wales) and other favorites such as How the West Was Won, The Ox-Bow Incident, Red River and even Joan Crawford's lone contribution to the genre, Johnny Guitar.

The final top ten will be revealed in a CBS three-hour television event on June 17.

Countdown to AFI's 10 Top 10: Sci-Fi

"Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not.

In either case the idea is quite staggering."

-- Arthur C. Clarke

Beam aboard as the Movie Dearest countdown to the American Film Institute's 2008 edition of their famed "100 Years" lists, AFI's 10 Top 10, continues with science fiction. Defined as a genre that "marries a scientific or technological premise with imaginative speculation", sci fi films can range from the optimistic to the bleak, and there have been plenty of both recognized by the AFI's lists in years past.

Topping out at six prior mentions apiece are two films that should provide a close race for the top spot on this top ten: Star Wars and 2001: A Space Odyssey. And while the latter can be viewed either way, the former is certainly in the optimistic camp (unlike its not nominated sequel, The Empire Strikes Back), as is the next highest placer, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (five previous listings). However, next up is another Stanley Kubrick masterpiece, A Clockwork Orange (four previous listings), that is certainly of the downer variety.

Three more classics come in next with three prior mentions: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Frankenstein, the oldest movie among the fifty nominees (see the comments section below for the full list). Rounding out the strong possibilities from previous lists are Alien, Blade Runner, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Planet of the Apes (all with two apiece), Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Jurassic Park, The Matrix, Soylent Green and The War of the Worlds (all with one previous mention), plus the lone AFI Award winner, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Of the possible newcomers to the list, the one that I would most like to see in the top ten, Children of Men, is also the most recent of the nominees. Other contenders include such popular favorites as Back to the Future, Fantastic Voyage, Forbidden Planet, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Invisible Man, Minority Report, Robocop, Silent Running, The Time Machine and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, representing the entire Trek franchise.

Mark your calendars for June 17, the date the results will be revealed when AFI's 10 Top 10 airs on CBS.

Film Art: Mommie's Day

To celebrate Mother's Day today, here is Vanessa Prager's "Mother Knows Best", inspired by our namesake.

And for more mommies you may not want to run into in a dark alley, be sure to check out Kindertrauma's extensive lists of "Trauma-Mommas".

Countdown to AFI's 10 Top 10: Gangster

"You can go a long way with a smile.
You can go a lot further with a smile and a gun."
-- Al Capone
Defined by the American Film Institute as a genre centered on "organized crime or maverick criminals in a twentieth century setting", gangster films depict the "dark side of the American dream". They are also the next step in the Movie Dearest countdown to AFI's 10 Top 10.

With a total of eight combined mentions on previous AFI lists, there is no doubt that the combined might of The Godfather and The Godfather Part II will place both high on this list; the only question is which will place highest? Another sure thing is Bonnie and Clyde, an AFI favorite with six previous placements. Next up are two films, On the Waterfront and Some Like It Hot (with five and four previous mentions, respectively) who's "gangster film" status is negligible at best; more likely are two more recent examples, Pulp Fiction and GoodFellas, both of which placed on both of AFI's top 100 movies lists.

Looking at the bad guys portion of the AFI's Heroes & Villains list nets such old school vets (and thus strong contenders here) as Edward G. Robinson’s Little Caesar and James Cagney for both The Public Enemy and White Heat, plus the original Scarface, Paul Muni, whose Cuban descendant also placed on the Movie Quotes list with his legendary "Say hello to my little friend". All five are possibilities this go round, along with single list honorees Touch of Evil and The Usual Suspects, plus the sole AFI Award winner in the bunch, A History of Violence.

Notably absent from the AFI Awards in 2005 was The Departed, the most recent of the fifty nominees (see comments section below for the full list); the oldest nominee is 1927's Underworld. In all probability, I have mentioned the final top ten already, but other notable films in contention include Donnie Brasco, Miller's Crossing, Once Upon a Time in America, Out of Sight, Prizzi's Honor and Reservoir Dogs, plus oddities like a musical (Bugsy Malone) and a Woody Allen comedy (Bullets Over Broadway).

Who is the best of the "worst" will be revealed when AFI's 10 Top 10 airs on CBS on June 17.

Hot, Hot, Hot

Voting has begun over at AfterElton.com on this year's "Hot 100", so be sure to head on over and vote for your favorite, well, hotties. Honestly, my choices haven't changed that much from last July, save for the addition of a certain speed racer (vroom, vroom indeed). Voting will continue through May 16, with the final results revealed June 2.

And if you're still in the voting mood, the NewNowNext Awards are also taking votes in such categories as "Most Guiltiest Pleasure" and "Best Show You're Not Watching", among others. The awards will be broadcast on LOGO June 7.

UPDATE: Vote for the NewNowNext Award for the "Best Gay Kiss" at AfterElton.com.

Countdown to AFI's 10 Top 10: Fantasy

"Still round the corner there may wait,
a new road or a secret gate."
-- J.R.R. Tolkien

Giant apes, talking pigs, flying nannies, sword-fighting skeletons ... these are among the many fantastic elements that make up the next genre in the Movie Dearest countdown to AFI's Ten Top 10: fantasy.

Ranging from 1924's The Thief of Bagdad to 2005's The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the fifty films nominated (see the comments section below for the full list) range from the obviously fantastical (anything based on Greek mythology) to more subtle variations on the theme (Being John Malkovich, The Purple Rose of Cairo). Fitting into the former category is the original King Kong, while the holiday perennial It's a Wonderful Life covers the latter; both are strong frontrunners for this top ten due to the fact that they have both been honored by the AFI five times in past 100 Years ... 100 Movies lists. But topping them both, with seven previous mentions, is a sure thing: The Wizard of Oz.

The other multiple honorees from the past countdowns are more recent: Field of Dreams and Ghost, plus The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (representing the entire trilogy), which placed in last year's top movies list and also won an AFI Award; Spider-Man 2 is the only other nominee that also won the annual award. Single list honorees also nominated this go round include Babe, Batman, Beetlejuice, Big, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Groundhog Day, Harvey, Mary Poppins, Miracle on 34th Street, The Princess Bride, Superman and Topper.

It is most likely that the final ten will be culled from these past honorees, but don't count out some potential first-timers, such as Brazil, Jason and the Argonauts, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Harry Potter, here represented by The Prisoner of Azkaban.

The results will be revealed when AFI's 10 Top 10 airs on CBS on June 17.

Plant Food for Thought

Here it is Arbor Day, and I have nothing to plant ... except this list of "The Top 20 Pop Culture Plants", courtesy of Retro Crush.

The list includes those creepy apple trees from The Wizard of Oz, Ents, the killer tomatoes, Swamp Thing, Triffids, the Whomping Willow and, of course, Little Shop of Horrors' Audrey II.

What's missing? Well, how about James Arness as a walking carrot from space in The Thing from Another World? And don't forget the Katharine Hepburn tree from that infamous Barbara Walters interview.