Kerri Smith
Kerri Battles the AFI’s Top 100 – # 75: In the Heat of the Night
In the Heat of the Night is one of The Top 100 I’ve been looking forward to watching since I began this project a few months back. I knew Sidney Poitier starred alongside possibly Carroll O’Connor and that, whoever the portly white dude was, he was supposed to call Poitier “Mr. Tibbs.” Based on that and…
Read MoreKerri Battles the AFI’s Top 100 — #76: Forrest Gump
In July of 1994, an event occurred that irrevocably altered the world as we knew it. Girls named Jennifer cringed at the way their nickname — preferred or not — was now pronounced by all. People began comparing daily life to a Whitman’s Sampler. And never again would anyone be able to casually pick up their…
Read MoreKerri Battles the AFI’s Top 100 — #77: All the President’s Men
I hope you’re all ready for some serious fan-girling this week because we’ve hit a high point on The List with a film I’d put in my personal Top 25, at least. The first time I watched All The President’s Men, I was about halfway to earning a degree in film and completely disillusioned with the prospect…
Read MoreKerri Battles the AFI’s Top 100 — #78: Modern Times
I don’t know if I can honestly say I was excited for this week’s film or not. I know I wasn’t dreading it — nothing from Chaplin is ever unwatchable — but I can’t say I was exactly eager for it, either. I think it all boils down to the fact that I want to…
Read MoreKerri Battles the AFI’s Top 100 — #79: The Wild Bunch
Each week, I try to do as little research or reading up on the film I’m about to watch prior to viewing it because I like to go in with a completely open mind. I usually glance at the runtime and basic credits on IMDb, but that doesn’t often give much away. However, the moment…
Read MoreKerri Battles the AFI’s Top 100 — #80: The Apartment
The Apartment is categorized as a romantic comedy, a genre of which I’m notoriously judgemental. Still, I was excited to watch anything with a young Jack Lemmon and a young Shirley MacLaine. With Fred MacMurray following those names, I was pretty sure I was in for a goofy 60s rom-com with pratfalls and missed-by-moments-connections intended…
Read MoreKerri Battles the AFI’s Top 100 — #81: Spartacus
After a two week vacation in Ireland followed immediately upon my return by the wedding celebration of friends, I think it’s a fair argument to say that I was maybe not quite full of the necessary energy or sobriety needed to consume an almost three and a half hour long Roman epic directed by Stanley…
Read MoreKerri Battles the AFI’s Top 100 – #82: Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
I’ve been battling the AFI’s list since mid-May and, in that time, there have only been a rare few titles that didn’t sound even remotely familiar to me. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans falls into that category. I didn’t have a clue of what I was getting into this week, aside from the handful of…
Read MoreKerri Battles the AFI’s Top 100 – #83: Titanic
I’ve been dreading this week since I first began this project. I lived through Titanic mania in 1997 when the film was released and saw it in theaters with the rest of the human population of Earth … except for maybe those tribes in the Amazon who shot arrows at helicopters. Those guys probably weren’t rushing to…
Read MoreKerri Battles the AFI’s Top 100 — #84: Easy Rider
It wasn’t until sometime Saturday afternoon, as I was heading with friends to drink beer while riding inner tubes down the Delaware River, that I realized I had no idea what movie was on deck for this week. I pulled up the list on my phone and let out a groan as soon as my…
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