The Present in Plain Text

Very Scary Stuff This Morning

Over at LRC there's a link to the list of the 100 scariest movie scenes of all time as decided upon over at Retrocrush.com.   I found it really funny that the Shining made the list multiple times, not that it wasn't scary, just that it's one of Kubrick's worst movies, and that Dumbo made the list once.

Yes, that's right. Dumbo came in at #90.

The Scene is "Pink Elephants on Parade."  And, he's right.  That scene creeped me out when I finally saw Dumbo at an age where I would remember it.  I must have been 25 or so. 

On a related note, I have an article about the growing Traffic Police State in submission to Lew Rockwell and I should know today whether it's accepted.  In my mind this new "Click it or Ticket" commerical is pretty scary stuff.   It's also truth in advertising, dealing with the state and it's officers is a nightmarish experience.

Ta,

76 - 100: All good things... Who Am I Kidding!

Ok, I know that all three of you out there are wondering how this list ends, like any good story things should look darkest just before the dawn (Act II climax) .... yadda, yadda, yadda.

So, here 'tis:
76) The Taking of Pelham, 1,2,3 -- No list of great films is complete without Walter Mattau.
77) Repo Man -- The strangest movie ever made about being an alpha-male
78) BASEketball -- This movie is just damn stupid and damn funny. cock!
79) Drunken Master II -- It was between this and Police Story II (Michelle Yeoh), but this is, by far, the best Jackie Chan movie I've seen.
80) Strange Days -- Marred only by a simplistic race-baiting climax, this is a fascinating film about passion, loyalty and the imperfection of memory.
81) Three Kings -- I'm a sucker for a good anti-war film. Every warmonger in America right now should re-watch this movie..
82) Midnight Run -- I got two words for you: Robert F$#King DeNiro.
83) Papilllon -- Franklin Schaffner will never be mentioned with the same reverential tones as Welles, Kubrick, Spielberg, Ford...etc, and, for the life of me, I can't understand why!
84) Signs -- M. Night's exploration of fear and imagination and how that relates to faith is just devestating. Mel Gibson is superb.
85) The Quick and the Dead -- Sam Raimi's nod to Sergio Leone is a hoot!
86) Shawshank Redemption -- A movie I wanted to hate, but just couldn't, and every time I catch it on TNT, it rises a little higher. Great Darabont script.
87) The Fifth Element -- The real Heavy Metal (the magazine) movie.
88) Face/Off -- The only movie where I stood up and clapped at the end of an action sequence (speedboat chase).
89) Chasing Amy -- Smith's best 'film.' Gets a great performance from Affleck.
90) All of Me -- Best of the Reiner/Martin collaborations.
91) The Conversation -- An amazing movie about obsession and the paranoia that comes from it. Hackman *bow*
92) Grosse Pointe Blank -- This is the role John Cusack was born to play. Unbelievably funny movie. 93) Secret of NIMH -- The old softie in me really enjoyed the hell out of this as a teenager, about 15 times.
94) The Color of Money -- The older I get, the more I dislike Scorcese's movies, but, here, it all works.
95) A Nightmare Before Christmas -- Brilliant animation, fantastic songs, great little story.
96) Life is Beautiful -- Devastating perspective on the cost of collectivism
97) Searching for Bobby Fischer -- Wonderful film about the pressures placed on children to acheive.
98) Sleuth -- Olivier and Caine in a great game of cat and mouse. Great script.
99) Big Trouble in Little China -- John Carpenter makes great b-movies. 15 years ahead of it's time and a brilliant Kurt Russell.
100) Courage Under Fire -- Who knew Meg Ryan could hold her own in a dramatic context. Great internalized performance by Denzel is the heart of this otherwise standard detective story.

That's it.

There are dozens of almost-made-it's and loved-but-forgotten's, and even more that fit into the category of guilty pleasures that really aren't any good in hindsight. A few of the ones on this list fit that description but some had to be included to be fair to the original intent (BASEketball, BTiLC, etc). And a few current films that are brilliant but too new for inclusion as of right now (Spidey II, The Incredibles).

I've already received one recommendation from a reader (Three Days of the Condor) and would love others. Movies are extremely important communication devices that can (and have) change the course of a person's life. Star Wars did that for me, and it's why it topped the list. In the end, all of the films in the Top 10 were life-changers to one degree or another (except for maybe South Park:BLU). That was the criteria there. After that, well, the reasons get murky. I hope you've enjoyed it, I certainly enjoyed putting it together. Comments, flames, and praise are certainly welcome, if not outright encouraged.

Ta,

51 - 75: As we head to the Back 9...

51) Sleeper -- Funniest of Woody Allen's movies... "...but they all ate organic Rice?!" Truer words were never spoken.
52) The Sound of Music -- Julie Andrews... yum!
53) American Graffitti -- Don't worry, Episodes I and II are not on the list.
54) Kill Bill -- That Tarantino guy simply loves movies, all movies, and how can you not respect that. 55) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon -- A Taiwanese 'Unforgiven,' wrapped around a heartbreaking love story.
56) The Killer -- John Woo's best film. Period.
57) The Return of the King -- This may rise in two weeks after the EE comes out. "My friends, you bow to no one." There's a lesson there.
58) LA Confidential -- even Kim Basinger was good in this movie.
59) Minority Report -- Timely, if a little uneven, adaptation of Philip K. Dick's great story.
60) Beauty and the Beast -- Without a doubt the cream of the Disney crop.
61) High Plains Drifter -- If the Chronicles of Riddick had used this as it's basis and not David Lynch's Dune, they would've had something. Iconic Clint.
62) Clerks -- The very best amateur film I've ever seen. Proof positive that you don't need techinical talent or great actors to make a great movie... first, you need great dialogue.
63) Resovoir Dogs -- Speaking of great Dialogue...
64) Princess Bride -- hmmm.. I'm sensing a trend here.
65) The Wizard of Oz -- Had to make the list somewhere.
66) Witness -- Peter Weir's most consistent film.
67) Animal House -- Any movie I know almost all of the dialogue to has to make the favorite flicks list.
68) Life of Brian -- I was in my third year of High School Latin when I saw this the first time. I literally peed my pants.
69) Roshomon -- I have a love for the mechanisms of storytelling, and Roshomon pushes every one of my post-modern urges. Of course, Toshiro Mifune doesn't hurt either.
70) Apocalypse Now -- Nothing more to be said that hasn't been said before. Skip the 'Redux.'
71) Rollerball (1973) -- The best example of 1970's Science Fiction in film. Anti-authoritarian and powerful.
72) Aladdin -- Great fun. Great songs. Great Movie.
73) The Two Towers -- The most uneven of the three LoTR films. The Extended Cut improves the story but ruins the pace.
74) Who Framed Roger Rabbit -- A technical marvel, and the best Ralph Bakshi movie he never made.
75) When Harry Met Sally -- Not a great movie, but one that has so many echoes with my own life that leaving it off the list would be dishonest.

Ta,

41 - 50: At the End of the First Half...

41) Terminator II: Judgement Day
This film is better than the original because of scope and execution. Ground-breaking visuals for the time, terrific cast (especially Linda Hamilton as the feral and broken Sarah Conner), and a fantastic script give this simple morality play tremendous heft and staying power. The final shot of the movie is a bit heavy-handed but it had the right sensibility that was missing from films of that time.

42) The Great Escape
This is one of the few movies on this list that I've only seen in its entirety once. But, I have to marvel at how much of an impression it made that first time. It has a brilliant cast headed up by Steve McQueen, with a special nod to one of my favorites, James Garner.

43) The Fugitive
Here's an example of how not to make a movie. Having practically no script when filming started, Andrew Davis et. al. (a list including screenwriters David Twohy and Jeb Stuart, Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones) pretty much made this one up on the fly. This is an example of what happens when you hire the right people. The actors from top to bottom are superb. The editors (all 6 of them) deserved their Oscar Nominations.

44) The Matrix Well, here's what happens when you aren't allowed to make your adolescent "Big Story" all at once. You must chop it down and hone it, refine it, make all the things you wanted to say in three films fit into one... and do it well. Lucas did it with the original Star Wars, and the Wachowski brothers should have just stopped here. This movie might have made it farther up the list had they not done the two ridiculously inept sequels.

45) The Road Warrior The mythologizing of Max began (and unfortunately did not end) here. George Miller's insanely hyper direction and sparce production values created an entire genre of films. Mel Gibson is forever Max to me, because of this movie and his total of 27 lines of dialogue. Never has a man done more with less and carried every scene of a movie.

46) Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Paul Dini and Bruce Timm should be enshrined in Comic Book Heaven (TM) for being the only people (outside of Bob Kane) to truly understand Batman, and more importantly, his villains. This is the only Batman film worth watching more than once (and only the first two live actioners were even passable). Compare the Joker (voiced by Mark Hamill) from this film to that unfunny travesty put on by Jack Nicholson and you will understand. This is the crowning achievement of Warner Bros. Animation from the past 20 years.

47) Pitch Black
I don't know who was originally responsibile for the strong moral focus of this film, be it the Wheat brothers or David Twohy, and frankly I don't care. This is one of those films that should have been frightfully awful and derivative, but turns out quite the opposite. The title is a metaphor for the states of the souls of the leads, Caroline, Riddick and Johns, and into this crucible of an Aliens-style ripoff, salvation is attained for some. Another film marred by a sequel (of sorts) that went in a completely wrong direction, which is a grand shame because Riddick could have been the best anti-hero since Clint's The Man with No Name.

48) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
Tom Stoppard adapted his own play to film quite well, and his lack of experience as a director did not detract enough from the source material's greatness. This film is a delight to watch. Gary Oldman and Tim Roth are an absolute scream as the central characters who have no idea why they even exist.

49) The Sixth Sense
An absolutely heart-breaking study in the inability of people to communicate with each other. Haley Joel Osmet is rivetting as Cole, the boy who can see ghosts, and his journey to maturity is really compelling. There's this twist at the end that deepens with every viewing. You may have heard about it.

50) Schindler's List
My frustration with the final two B&W scenes in this film notwithstanding this is a truly powerful and devastating portrait of human triumph in the face of monstrous collective evil. Ralph Fiennes is just vile as Goeth, simply because he is so believable.

Ta,

31 - 40: The Misinformative Years

31) Planet of the Apes (1968)
WABC in New York used to have the Afternoon Movie from 3:30 to 5:00pm everyday, and they played the Apes films for an entire week every year. I distinctly remember me as a child (8-10) going around walking like Cornelius. This film sparked my imagination as a child. As an adult, I see it now for what it is, an expanded episode of the Twilight Zone (Rod Serling wrote the screenplay, btw), but it's still effective commentary.

32) O Brother, Where Art Thou
This was a movie I was almost really wrong about. I remember the trailer for this film being so bad that in spite of it being a Coen Bros. flick, I had no desire whatsoever to see it. Thankfully I caught a screening just before it left the theaters. Some actors are just better with certain directors, case in point is George Clooney with Joel Coen and Steven Soderberg. I love the use of government entities taking on the role of the squabbling Greek Gods from the Oddyssey.

33) Dirty Harry
Again, some people were born to work together. Clint Eastwood and Don Siegel made great partners. This film is still relevant in its exploration of the relationship between cops and the killers they hunt. Harry Callahan the natural extreme outcome of the 'good intentions' of law enforcement. Men like Harry and Scorpio are created when the natural order of things breaks down through social engineering. The sequels are regrettable messes that Clint did to keep the studio happy between his pet projects.

34) The Fisher King
This is the last of Terry Gilliam's films to make this list. I think the biggest surprise here was how well he handled his actors. Up to this point his films had been visual treats and less focused on the people populating said visions. This film is truly heartbreaking. Here are four people whose story deserves to end happily, which it does.

35) THX 1138
George Lucas's first film is a wry, dry, and unique vision of a totalitarian future. With the release of this film (altered for the most part very well) on DVD it was like seeing it for the first time. Lucas's direction and framing of shots needs to be seen widescreen to get the full force of the film. It's an odd, recalcitrant movie that, along with Brazil, understands how badly people act when they are able to duck the responsibility of their actions.

36) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The role Jack Nicholson was born to play, Randall Patrick McMurphy. I have always identified with independant iconoclasts and this one made a huge impression on me. The metaphor that is central to this film is perfect and Nurse Ratchet represents every condescending do-gooder ever to hold elected office. And, in the end shw would rather destroy her charges then allow them to have any control over their destiny.

37) 2001: A Space Odyssey
The last of Stanley Kubrick's films to make the list. This, like THX, is a film made by an observer who is not from our culture, in this case those who made the Monolith. This is a story told completely in pictures and in conjunction with its point of view is difficult to divine the answers to the questions posed.

38) Mister Roberts
I have a real soft spot for Jack Lemmon, and this is a wonderful comedy about the absurdity of the petty tyrant and the wars they create. The cast is brilliant and the story bittersweet.

39) Much Ado About Nothing
Kenneth Branagh has a gift. He makes Shakespeare accessible to modern audiences without having to compromise the Bard's original intent. While his Hamlet may be his magnum opus, I have watched this film more times than I care to count. The cast, with the exception of Robert Sean Leonard, is just delightful, with an especially great and understated performance by Denzel Washington.

40) Lawrence of Arabia
Peter O'Toole is simply awe-inspiring here in his film debut. My commentary on this movie is pretty much irrelevant. So, I'll just shut up and urge you to watch whatever DVD version you can lay your hands on.

Ta,

21 - 30: The Reasons Grow Murky

Without delay here they are:

21) Brazil
The bureaucratic nightmare of Hayek's the Road to Serfdom in film form. The production design of this movie is perfect, 2 parts Phildickian dystopia, 1 part backwards compatibility, and 1 part Monty Python. The pace sags a bit just before the mid-point turn, and Kim Griest is obviously not enjoying herself at all, but few films have so accurately described the Tyrrany by Paperwork better. DeNiro as the Superhero Heating Engineer is just fabulous. Tom Stoppard's re-write of the screenplay put the exclamation point on Gilliam's vision.

22) Twelve Monkeys
Terry Gilliam's work gets under your skin, even the unwatchable Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Twelve Monkeys is unutterably heartbreaking. It's no shock to me that this is Gilliam's most consistent film because the great David Peoples wrote this screenplay as well. Another anti-authoritarian tragedy. The performances from all three leads are great, including Madeline Stowe, who I normally cannot stand to watch.

23) The Usual Suspects
A brilliant film about some of the most unsavory people ever. The greatness of this film lies in the lies told about many of the characters to make them seem sympathetic, so that, in the end, we've been manipulated just like Agent Kujan. It's like the Film Noir version of The Sting.

24) A Fish Called Wanda The Second Most Hilarious Film Of All Time (tm). I literally pulled a rib muscle laughing at this outstanding caper the first time I saw it. While it doesn't go for over-the-top offence like South Park, this film was refreshingly un-PC for it's time. Cleese's antagonism of Amercicans and scathing commentary of the British bring a edge to the humor that ratchets up the laughs just that little bit more. There are whole swaths of this movie that my wife and I can re-enact by heart.

25) Aliens
For a pure action film, nothing tops Aliens. Jim Cameron's second film is taut, precise and finely balanced. Ridley Scott's original was spooky in a sexually unnerving way. The alien is just that and gave me nightmares for years. I swore up and down after I saw this the first time that I'd never watch it again, it was that exhausting. That lasted 2 days. 4 times in two weeks I saw this in the theaters and cheered every time Ridley beat the snot out of Mama Alien. There's a great ensemble cast of marines led by the inimicable Bill Paxton and an absolutely brilliant Sigorney Weaver.

26) Paths of Glory
Stanley Kubrick's first (and possibly best) anti-war film features an outstanding performance by Kirk Douglas. FMJ is less an anti-war film than it is an indictment of military conditioning. Paths of Glory is simpler pyschologically, and for that reason makes its point cleanly. It serves as a more of a precursor to Breaker Morant as the two films cover similar ground.

27) Monty Python and the Holy Grailen
This is quite possibly the most quoted movie in history by those of my generation. Every vignette is not only memorable but memorizable. The Trojan Rabbit; The Black Knight; The Knights Who Say "Ni"; French Castle; The Vorpal Bunny... the list goes on for 84 insane minutes. There is no plot worth mentioning but there are absolutely brilliant comic performances, especially Graham Chapman as King Arthur.

28) The Bridge on the River Kwai
This is my favorite of the David Lean epics, mostly because of Alec Guinness' brilliant Col. Nicholson. I think I reponded strongest (no shock here) to his struggle in Act I to stand up to the sadistic Saito, and his unwavering strength. A madman he was, but a principled madman, and that spoke volumes to this idealistic 11 year old at the time. Lawrence of Arabia might be a better movie, but I'd much rather watch River Kwai.

29) Rocky
Lost in all of the sequels and the cartoon path that Stallone took his career is this really touching portrait of a loser that overcomes every possible obstacle to redeem himself and become the man that he wanted to be. The love story is really touching and at the end he and Adrian deserve to be happy together, win or lose.

30) The Sting
George Roy Hill's wonderful period piece is just plain fun. This is one of the rare times where a star-power driven project (Redford, Newman, Shaw) lived up to its billing. While I've never been much of a fan of Redford, he's very good here as our point man. On the other hand, Paul Newman is just brilliant, but my hat's off to Robert Shaw, who really drives the film as the pompous Doyle Lonagan.

Ta,

Next 10 Favorite Movies -- 11 to 20

11) Unforgiven
Clint's best film. I may enjoy watching the first half of Josey Wales more, but from the top to the bottom Unforgiven is a stunning depection of self-delusion. Every man in the film, except Eastwood's Bill Munny, is telling himself he's something he's not. Convincing himself he's a killer, a lawman, a gunfighter, a writer etc. The heroes are the ones who wake up to who they are (no matter how bad) and the villains refuse. David Peoples' script is worthy of emulation and envy.

12) Raiders of the Lost Ark
The film that solidified Harrison Ford as the greatest hero in screen history. His particular form of 'over-acting' is perfect for Indiana Jones. It was here that we realized he could carry any film. Spielberg's gift for storytelling reinforces Lawrence Kasdan's script nicely. The pace and tone are perfect.

13) Pulp Fiction
Three words. Sam Jackson luminous. Unbelievable performances, brilliant script, inventive use of time and a protagonist split into three separate characters, all wrapped inside a simple morality play. I love this movie for everything it attempts and everything it accomplishes.

14) Fight Club A true black comedy about misdirected male energy that gets funnier and sadder every time I watch it. Fight Club is what happens when men don't have anything to do and no women to provide for. I am Jack's misspent youth riding a magic bus on Ritalin to masturbate in a public park over the Wall Street Journal while listening to Jewel.

15) Breaker Morant
Antiwar films have a special place in my heart. This one in particular has some of the most poignant dialogue I've ever encountered. If you have not seen this gem from Bruce Beresford, you are doing yourself a great injustice. It is all the more relevant today considering events surrounding the Bush administration's foreign policy. This is what comes of empire-building indeed.

16) Outlaw Josey Wales
What is there to say about this movie that hasn't been said before? Clint's commentary on the betrayals of the American Government to the Ideals of America is witty, exciting, dark and most importantly all too predictable. That Josey Wales finds some measure of peace underscores the lesson that no matter how bad things get, we should 'endeavor to persevere.'

17) Rope
Surprisingly the only Hitchcock film on my list, and only because it is the one I've seen the most times and am consistently impressed with both the craft and the story. Rope is the single best indictment of condescending elitism and, by extension, socialism I've seen. It's an amazing whodunnit, because the conflict is really about whether evil will get away with it or not.

18) Citizen Kane
I'm sure some would be surprised at how low this film rates in my opinion. But, to be frank, as much as I love Citizen Kane, I have a hard time sitting still through it anymore. In a list of 'great' or 'important' films, then without question Kane is top 5 material, but while I appreciate the film, I don't enjoy it as much anymore.

19) Casablanca Now, on the other hand, is the great crowd-pleaser Casablanca. Words don't do this film justice. And, Ingrid Bergman.... *wow*

20) Fargo Oh, you betcha. The Coen Brothers examination of 'normalcy' in Minnesota is a brilliant train-wreck of a film. Frances McDermott's Marge Gundarsson is quite simply one of the great characterizations ever, with the possible exception of William H. Macy's Jerry Lundegaard. Joel and Ethan Coen could do worse than for their legacy to be this film.

Ta,

Favorite Movies 1-10

I was popping about the 'net the other day and came to James Berardinelli's Top 100 Films list. I really like Mr. Berardinelli, and, like Yahoo, is one of the internet's original success stories. Beyond that, he's a fair and reasonable film reviewer, one that isn't bogged down with either an over-bloated sense of self-importance or delusions of intellectual superiority. So, while I don't always agree with him, I can walk away from one of his reviews still respecting both his opinion and my opinion of him as a person. This is most decidedly not something that I can say for most film critics.

One last thing before I get to the list. This is a list of my Favorite Films, not my list of the Best Films I've seen. My film knowledge is neither comprehensive nor without some very distinct biases and feel it would be arrogant and presumptuous to label any list I compile with adjectives purporting a sense of objective goodness.

The List:

1) Star Wars.
No surprise here, for anyone who knows me at all. Had George Lucas not just released the trilogy on DVD 2 months ago, Empire might top this list. But, frankly, the original is unsurpassed in its ability to captivate me and dominate my attention. I know all the dialogue and most of the editing cues (I've seen this film 160+ times) and while Empire might be a better film technically, Star Wars is still a revelation.

2) Patton
Like Mr. Berardinelli, I just love this film. Every time I find it while 'doing a lap' around the cable dial, I lose the rest of my day. 30+ times I've seen this movie and 30+ times I choke up during that lonely walk with Willy towards the windmill in the distance. Greatest Anti-War film every made.

3) The Maltese Falcon
A great story that is perfectly executed. This is a film that has risen in my estimation in the past few years. I watched this a few weeks ago and was just floored by the pace. For a talker, this film is amazingly snappy, just like the dialogue. Huston made all the right choices in terms of story, pacing and acting.

4) The Empire Strikes Back
Best single reversal in movie history.... "No. I am your father." It doesn't get any better than that, and I don't think it ever will. Vader bacame the greatest villain in film history with that one line of dialogue. A set up that took two movies to pay off. That revelation caused three years of anxiety in my youth that I've never been quite able to shake.

5) Fellowship of the Ring.
I make the distinction between the three LotR films simply because they are of varying quality. Fellowship blind-sided me as an adult the same way that Star Wars did as a child. It may have been timing, certainly, but there's no denying that this is a singularly powerful film experience that after 35+ viewings (including 9 times in the theatre) that has not diminshed. Just thinking about some of the images in this film makes me swallow hard. If Peter Jackson never makes another film it wouldn't matter. This is the best of the 3 films because it has the best screenplay. The others feel like drafts.

6) Blade Runner
The announcement of this film, and Harrision Ford's attachment to it, changed the direction of my intellectual life. Because of Blade Runner I discovered Philip K. Dick, and I have not been the same since, for which I am forever grateful. For those who want to translate a difficult book to film, this is your template. The Maltese Falcon had a source that was inherently filmable, all John Huston had to do was get out of Dashiell Hammitt's way. Hampton Fancher and David Peoples had a much harder task, and they succeeded brilliantly.

7) Dr. Strangelove
Let me state that I don't think this film is funny. It makes me laugh, but that doesn't matter. Dr. Strangelove is the single best description of the madness of power ever put on celluloid. The laughter this film generates is a defense mechanism against the unmitigated horror of centralized government: ours, theirs, yours, mine.

8) Full Metal Jacket
Again Mr. Kubrick makes us laugh simply because to not do so is to become like Pvt. Pyle. This film is so unbearably sad, and another indictment of centralized power's ability and naked desire to crush the individual. Ayn Rand doesn't hold a candle to Stanley Kubrick in celebrating the individual, simply because he truly understands how evil people work. The cartoon of Gunney Hartmann is just the logical conclusion of 'the ends justifying the means.' The saddest line of dialogue ever, "I am in a world of sh%t, but I am alive, and I am not afraid."

9) Miller's Crossing
This is the film that the Coen Brothers will never exceed (and if they do I'll be a very happy person). This is their greatest invention, not Fargo (which is also on the list). They've made a living making great films about stupid people, but Miller's Crossing is what happens when they make a film about smart people. The dialogue, editing, pace, performances, reversals are all first rate. Gabrial Byrne has never been better.

10) South Park: Bigger,Longer and Uncut
Okay, a comedy must make the top 10, because comedy is the hardest thing to do. Parker and Stone are unbelievably funny guys and South Park had me laughing harder, longer than any other film I've ever seen. Your mileage may vary, but for my tastes (which are admittedly a bit tweaked) it doesn't get any better than this. Couple that with some very astute social commentary and some drop-dead outstanding musical numbers and it's hard to think of a more successful blending of elements that should not mesh.

I'll be back later with 11-20. Hope you've enjoyed it so far.

Ta,