Movie Recommendation: BLAZING SADDLES

BLAZING SADDLES

1974
R

Blazing Saddles is a 1974 comedy directed by Mel Brooks. The film parodies the Western genre as a whole. We open on a group of African-Americans working on a railroad in the middle of the desert. When a black man named Bart (Cleavon Little) hits his white boss Taggart (Slim Pickens) over the head with a shovel, he's immediately sent to jail. Taggart asks his boss, Attorney General Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman) to have Bart hanged, to which he readily agrees. Lamarr and Taggart are working on building a railroad through the countryside, but they are sidetracked when they realize they cannot claim the rights to a township called Rock Ridge as long as the citizens live there. To get them to move away, he has Governor Lepetomane (Brooks) authorize Bart to be the town's sheriff, making him the first black sheriff in the history of the United States. The townsfolk don't take kindly to Bart, whose only friend in the early going is a drunk named Jim (Gene Wilder) who used to be known as the Waco Kid. When the townsfolk do not leave after Bart's arrival, however, Lamarr has to go to drastic measures to kill the sheriff so that he and his henchmen can take over the town with brute force.

If you've been following my blog over the past couple months, you've probably noticed that I rank Blazing Saddles rather highly on my lists of the greatest films of all time. To explain, it currently rests as my 26th greatest movie of all time, and the fourth best comedy I've ever seen. So I kinda hyped this up a little bit before I even started this recommendation, but it's been hyped for a very good reason. I'm not the only person to think that it's a brilliant comedy - it currently holds a rating of 7.7/10 on the Internet Movie Database, and it currently holds an 89% approval rating on the review aggregate website, RottenTomatoes.com. It also nabbed three Oscar nominations, and although it didn't win in any of its nominated categories, it has definitely stood the test of time since its release thirty-seven years ago.

I'm going to start with the film's acting, giving a little breakdown of each of the four main characters:

Bart (Cleavon Little): As I previously mentioned, Bart is the African-American man who's sent to the township of Rock Ridge as their newly appointed sheriff. He meets immediate resistance in this 19th-century, all-white town that has yet to offer an acceptance of minorities. Bart is highly-educated and an "urbanite," as Jim calls him; this gives him quite an advantage over the "morons" that populate the West. This role was Cleavon Little's big break, pushing him into the Hollywood limelight. Sadly, it was his only lasting memorable role, especially considering he nabbed a BAFTA nomination for Best Newcomer - it just never panned out. What's really sad about that is that he's absolutely brilliant as our lead in Blazing Saddles, bringing the charm, the bravado and the comedic presence that's absolute necessary for a Mel Brooks lead character.

Jim aka Waco Kid (Gene Wilder): We first meet Jim as he's hanging upside-down in one of the Rock Ridge sheriff station's holding cells. He's a little confused when he meets Bart - because he's black - but he never once judges him for being so. We learn that Jim used to be known as the Waco Kid, the man with the fastest hands in the world. After a series of events, Jim has fallen out of his renown and become a passive drunk, spiraling ever further into self-destruction. But Bart helps bring him out of the grave and gets him sober, making the two a formidable team. Gene Wilder - who also starred in Brooks's other 1974 venture, Young Frankenstein - gives a much more subdued performance than we had ever seen before. Whereas his performances in films like the aforementioned Frankenstein flick and 1970's Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory are very manic and over-the-top, Wilder's Jim is a very passive and laid-back guy, making him instantly likable. The change of character definitely doesn't take away his comedic presence, either.

Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman): Hedley Lamarr is our principal villain in the film, and his want for money and power is his main motivation in everything he does. He's the man who starts this entire situation by placing Bart into the Rock Ridge township, and he suffers consistently as a result. Hedley is actually a very intelligent man, but he tends to associate himself with imbeciles, causing his plans ultimately to backfire. He also has to field the consistent botching of his name - everyone always mistakes him for actress Hedy Lamarr. Harvey Korman is absolutely brilliant as Hedley - in my opinion, he gives the best performance in the film. He's manic, he's over-the-top and he's utterly amazing. There's a scene in the film where Hedley says, "Now you men will only be risking your lives, whilst I will be risking an almost certain Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor." He didn't get a nomination, but he definitely should have.

Lili Von Shtupp (Madeline Kahn): Lili, a burlesque dancer and part-time whore, comes into the story after Hedley asks her to seduce the sheriff and get him out of town. She agrees to the plan despite her dislike for Hedley and his awkward sexual advances. Lili asks Bart to come see her after her stage show in the hopes that she can seduce him, but the tables quickly turn and it is she who is seduced by him. Lili becomes enamored with Bart and his massive...gift, vowing her undying love for him as he leaves her in the morning. There's a story that Madeline Kahn, who nabbed an Oscar nomination for her supporting role, got this part after a very strange audition: when she went into the audition, Mel Brooks simply asked her to show him her leg. She did so, and he instantly knew he had found his Lili Von Shtupp. She went on to star in other big-time comedies like Young Frankenstein and 1985's Clue.

We've also got some fantastic performances from supporting actors like Slim Pickens and Mel Brooks himself, who makes his standard appearances. Also be on the lookout for Alex Karras's performance as Mongo and a great cameo from Dom DeLuise.

The screenplay is also rather incredible, considering all of the childish humor that's strewn about. Don't get me wrong - there's a lot of fantastic jokes to be found inside Blazing Saddles, many of which are still socially relevant to today's society. Yeah, a lot of the references probably fit more back in the 1970s, but there's no reason that you shouldn't be rolling with laughter throughout this film's entirety. If you get the references, then that's fantastic, but even the distasteful humor - such as a prolonged sequence of men eating beans then engaging in the subsequent bodily functions - proves to be so hilarious. I think the reason these scenes of potty and slapstick humor work so well is because Blazing Saddles never tries to be something its not. It never has delusions of grandeur; rather, it knows that it's a silly, goofy movie that's simply meant to be laughed at. I don't know about him as a person, but Mel Brooks's movies are never full of themselves, so to speak.

Just so you know: Blazing Saddles is a little bit openly racist, but it does so for comedic effect. Basically, you never actually think that the filmmakers, the cast or the crew are actually this explicitly racist; rather, it really does feels like they're doing it to that extent just to forward the comedy. It might seen a little unnerving at first, hearing so many drops of the n-word and and other racial slurs, but you get used to it after a while and chalk it up to the fact that Blazing Saddles is really just trying to make fun of extremely racist people. So just kick back and go with it.

I'd also like to take a moment to mention the film's music, which is stellar to say the least. The musical score is very good, but it's definitely upstaged by some of the original numbers written for the film. Madeline Kahn has a rather funny number called "I'm Tired," and the theme song for the town of Rock Ridge is pretty hilarious if you can keep up with the lyrics. But the real cake has to go to the film's theme song, which comes in as my eleventh favorite movie song of all time. Frankie Laine provided the vocals, and it just fits the film so perfectly that it's hard to forget. Here's the song, in case you're interested:

Overall, Blazing Saddles is truly a fantastic comedy and it's definitely worth your time. It's one of the greatest comedies ever to grace the silver screen, and it's made its stamp in cinematic history for a reason. Do yourself a favor and give it a watch. You won't be disappointed.

Movie Recommendation: THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA

THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA

2001
PG

The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra is a 2001 comedy film directed by Larry Blamire. It's a send-up of those all '50s B-movies like Plan 9 from Outer Space that have garnered so much ridicule over the years. In The Lost Skeleton, the audience finds themselves amidst a battle between three couples over a meteor containing the ultra-rare element "Atmospherium." As I've done with my recommendations for Clue and Star Wars, I think it will be easiest to break down each character in a bullet-ed list:

• Dr. Paul Armstrong (Larry Blamire) and Betty Armstrong (Fay Masterson): Paul is the central hero of the film. He's a scientist who's interested in finding the meteor and using the Atmospherium to further the advances of science. Science is his life, and he knows nothing more than expanding the knowledge of science. Paul's wife Betty somewhat serves as our female lead, but the actual female "lead" is a little more open to discussion. She's a good-natured, at-home wife who will do anything to keep her husband happy. Her and Paul are the perfect stereotype for the type of couple you'd imagine in the 1950's.
• Kro-Bar (Andrew Parks) & Lattis (Susan McConnell): Kro-Bar is an alien male from the planet Marva who's spaceship has crashed on Earth. His ship needs Atmospherium to power itself back to Marva, establishing his and his wife's - Lattis - need for the element. Unfortunately, the mutant that they have held captive escaped in the crash, and they must find a way to capture the creature before it can kill "millions" of people on this strange planet known as Earth.
• Dr. Roger Fleming (Brian Howe) and Animala/Pammy (Jennifer Blaire): Fleming serves as our main antagonist for most of the film. In the beginning, he's searching for the Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, a skeleton with supposedly supernatural powers. When he finds the Skeleton, it tells him that it needs Atmospherium in order to summon all its powers. Fleming steals one of the aliens' weapons - the Transmutatron - and uses it to change a group of forest animals into a woman whom he calls Animala. He uses Animala to help steal the meteor and do the bidding of the Skeleton.

As you can see, each individual character has his or her own reasoning behind attaining the Atmospherium, and the battle to maintain possession is rather stunning.

One of the things you need to know going into The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra is that you need to watch it with the right mindset. If you go into the film expecting a solidly good movie in the traditional sense of "good movie," then you're going to be sorely disappointed. You'll just think it's a stupid movie that might be bad enough to be considered entertaining. And that's exactly what the filmmakers were going for. They deliberately attempted to make a film that's "so bad, it's good" in order to poke fun at and pay homage to the terribly laughable B-movies of the 1950s. The screenplay was deliberately written as poorly as one could imagine. The acting was deliberately performed at a very low level. Everything about this film oozes "badness," and that's what makes it so damn brilliant.

Blamire, who also wrote the screenplay in addition to starring and directing, pulls no punches in crafting a dreadfully hilarious script. The basic storyline is pretty laughable on its own. I mean, the main nemesis ultimately ends up being a re-animated skeleton - how can't you laugh at that? But the real beauty of the screenplay is the dialogue. It's absolutely horrendous, and that makes it all the more perfect in a film like this. There's a lot of repetition of seemingly unnecessary words and phrases. For example, the word "science" - or some derivative thereof - is used twenty-nine times throughout the film. Now, that may not seem like much when you read it here, but while you're watching the movie, you're definitely going to notice. Blamire hits the nail on the head in creating the feel of a '50s B-movie, from the terrible one-liners to the low-budget feel. Everything they do is done on purpose, and they go just about as far as they possibly can with everything, from the terrible special effects (see picture to the right) to a pitch-perfect score that enhances the ridiculousness of it all.

I couldn't possibly go without talking about the acting because it's also pitch-perfect. Everyone is so over-the-top that it's almost unfair how hilarious they all are. The cast of this film tends to do a lot of movies together - they were all in this film's sequel (2009's The Lost Skeleton Returns Again) as well as 2009's Dark and Stormy Night, which I reviewed a few weeks ago. They're a very close group, and they have yet to make a bad film, in my opinion. However, it all started here, and The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra still ranks highest among all of their collective endeavors. As I've said in recent posts, a film can have a fantastic screenplay, but poor execution by the cast can result in disaster. In this case, we have a perfectly terrible screenplay - again, because it was intentionally made that way - and it's executed flawlessly by these brilliant comedic individuals. They each play their respective roles to a tee, and you'd be hard-pressed to sit through this film without bursting into laughter.
Remember: don't delve into this film without understanding what you're getting yourself into. If you go in taking it too seriously, you won't get the whole point of the film. Prepare yourself for something that's deliberately bad. This is easily one of the best parodies I've ever seen, and I could watch it over and over and over again and cry with laughter every time. There's a reason that it ranks as the 44th greatest movie I've ever seen. So if you can take it for what it is, this is a definite must-see. I can guarantee you'll enjoy it.

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Previous Recommendations:
AMERICAN HISTORY X (1998)
CLUE (1985)
PSYCHO (1960)
STAR WARS (1977)

(Side note: I'm going to start doing one "movie recommendation" every Saturday night. These will always be films I've already seen and think that other people should see. I know that my past recommendations are pretty well-known flicks, so I'm going to do my best to bring movies you've probably never heard of. Hope you can enjoy my recommendations!)

Movie Recommendation: STAR WARS

STAR WARS

(Episode IV: A New Hope)
1977
PG

(Disclaimer: this post could very easily turn out quite long, so just know that going in...)

Star Wars (or as its now know, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope) is a 1977 science fiction film written and directed by George Lucas. The basic synopsis of the film resides in the struggle of good against evil - in this case, the Rebellion against the Empire, respectively. The film opens on a Rebel spacecraft being pursued by an Imperial Star Destroyer. We immediately meet two of our main characters: a human-like droid named C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and a smaller, rounder droid called R2-D2 (movement by Kenny Baker). R2 has been given the secret plans of the Empire's newest weapon, a space station known as the Death Star, by Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) just before the Imperials board the ship and take her prisoner. The two droids escape in an escape pod and land on the desolate planet, Tatooine. They are subsequently bought by a local farmer who instructs his nephew Luke (Mark Hamill) to clean them and prepare them for work. As he does so, he stumbles across Leia's message to a man named Obi-Wan Kenobi. R2 eventually leaves to find Kenobi, and after a series of incidents, Luke and C-3PO find their counterpart and the old man as well. Obi-Wan (Alec Guinness) tells Luke that he knew his father when he was still a Jedi Knight and tells him that a Jedi called Darth Vader (acted by David Prowse; voiced by James Earl Jones) "betrayed and murdered" him. Obi-Wan finds the message from Leia, and we learn that she's urging him to take the secret plans to her home planet of Alderaan. When Luke finally agrees to accompany him, the two set out for Mos Eisley in order to find transport. They find Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) in a local bar, and the two agree to take the group to Alderaan.

Essentially, I've given you the opening bit of exposition for Star Wars with the above synopsis. I could go forward with the rest of the storyline, but then I'd be giving away the rest of the flick for those of you who by some chance have yet to see this piece of classic cinema. I wouldn't want to do that, now would I? I think I've introduced all the major players in the story already (except for Peter Cushing's Grand Moff Tarkin...), but I'm sure I'll touch on everyone in more detail momentarily.

I'm actually at a little bit of a loss as to how I should start this post. I feel like everything that's ever going to be said about Star Wars has already been said by someone else, so there's little light I could shed on its overall greatness. This is probably the most-watched film of the ones that I've "recommended," so I honestly doubt I'm going to sway anyone in one way or the other in terms of actually watching it. I do know a few people who've never seen any of the Star Wars films, but there are so many out there that are absolute fanatics as well. I'm going to try to give a little bit of a different reasoning for watching this movie aside from the fact that it's an absolute classic. I'm sure I'll go into some of the more commonly known knowledge about the film, but let me give my personal take on it first.

Until I re-watched the movie today, it had been years since I had seen Star Wars in its entirety. I'd catch little bits here and there on television, but I'd never actually sat down to watch any of the films all the way through. I used to be absolutely obsessed with the entire franchise - granted, I do hold more love for the original trilogy, but I also have mad love for the prequels while so many others do not. (Side note: I do have one friend who thinks the prequels are better than the originals, but that's just silly.) I used to be able to quote every line in the movie, but those days are long past. Since I've been running this blog, I had started to wonder whether this film deserved to be ranked so highly on my list of greatest films of all time. As I tried to recall everything from memory, I couldn't quite see why I had ranked it so highly, so I figured I'd give it a shot to defend itself. Ladies and gentlemen, I say to you know that Star Wars has officially cemented itself in its spot on that list.

Now, you can talk about the various amount of accolades this movie has received over the years. It currently holds a 94% fresh rating on RottenTomatoes.com. Users on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) have rated it as the fifteenth greatest film of all time. Hell, let's just talk about all it got back in 1977. Star Wars became only the second film ever to pass the $100 million gross mark (the first was 1975's Jaws), so you know that it was a smash hit with audiences. And the following year, it garnered a whopping ten Oscar nominations, winning six (all technical, save for John Williams' rousing score). However, here are the four nominations it didn't win: Best Supporting Actor (for Alec Guinness), Best Original Screenplay (for George Lucas), Best Director (also for Lucas) and Best Picture of the Year. This was an absolutely gigantic film back in its heyday, and its no wonder that it has developed such a following.

That all being said, let's talk about my personal reasons for why Star Wars is such a good film. Let's start with screenplay, as I often do. As I thought back on the movie before re-watching it today, I remembered the story to be relatively good but nothing terribly fascinating. I remembered it as being rather rote and conventional, to be honest. However, as I watched it this afternoon, all those thoughts immediately went out the window as those bright yellow letters started to scroll across the stars.

Aside from being memorable, the opening crawl also serves an important purpose: it catches the audience up on all the action. This is especially important considering Lucas decided to create "Episode IV" first, rather than starting with the first saga chronologically. So, even though audiences back in 1977 were essentially seeing something brand new, they must have had an immediate familiarity with the story; I believe the opening crawl has a lot to do with this. A quick story: my dad once told me that when he first saw Star Wars in theaters back in 1977, the entire audience booed the moment Darth Vader first steps on-screen. Before you see him, there's really no warning that he's the villain aside from the fact that he's wearing all black (although, all of his stormtrooper minions are clad in white, so that could throw things off). Like I said, the opening crawl establishes familiarity with the story, allowing the audience immediately to differentiate between good and evil.

Another reason Star Wars succeeds so well is that George Lucas successfully crafted an entire universe and made it all believable. When Avatar was released in 2009, many praised James Cameron for creating an entirely new world with a new language and all that, but I'm sure much of the same should have been said for Lucas's imagination back in 1977. I mean, the thought process that must have gone into creating this entire universe boggles the mind. As you move into the successive sequels and prequels, you really get a sense for how intricate everything is, but for one film, Star Wars is pretty damn intricate. Even the dialogue seems original and fresh, but familiar enough that we're not scratching our heads wondering what the heck they're saying. So kudos, Mr. Lucas, on your creative originality.

The story in itself is actually pretty simple: we have secret plans to a massive, planet-destroying space station hidden inside a droid, and the plans need to be delivered to the Rebellion before their secret base is found. That's really all there is; everything else is exposition and added fluff. Fortunately for us, that added "fluff" is some pretty engaging and captivating stuff, and a lot of that has to do with the extremely well-written characters with interesting and compelling backgrounds. Let's break down the major characters, shall we?

• Luke Skywalker: He's a down-home boy living on the desert planet Tatooine with his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. We learn that he wants to leave Tatooine and enlist in the Academy so that he can ultimately join the Rebellion and fight the Empire. However, his uncle thinks he would end up just like his father - dead. As Luke meets Obi-Wan, we learn that Luke's father was actually a Jedi Knight, and the same possibilities run through his veins. When his guardians are slaughtered, he joins Obi-Wan and starts to learn the way of the Force, the energy that binds the universe. Luke is a little hot-headed and very headstrong, but ultimately has a very kind heart and knows what is right.
• Han Solo: Solo is the captain of the broken-down but ultra-fast Millennium Falcon. Like Luke, he's also hot-headed and headstrong, but he cares much more about himself that does Luke. Han dabbles in some illegal spice running that left him with a bounty on his head, so his major motivation throughout Star Wars was repaying his debt. Deep down, he knows what's right, but he thinks that looking out for himself and his co-pilot Chewbacca should take precedence over everything else.
• Princess Leia Organa: Leia is the daughter of a bureaucrat from Alderaan, which explains her ties to the Rebellion. She's very headstrong (seems like a common thread with our young leads) but is very capable of acting when she needs to. For example, when you watch the film, listen to how she speaks when she's around Vader and Tarkin in the early parts of the film and how it differs with how she speaks when she's around Han and Luke. She has a sense of entitlement, but that probably comes from her apparent lineage...
• Obi-Wan Kenobi: An aging man living in solitude on Tatooine, Obi-Wan essentially comes out of nowhere to start this epic adventure. Soft-spoken in his old age, he still carries quite a presence. He plays the role of mentor for Luke, and his wisdom drives Luke's decisions throughout the film.

I'd go into detail on some of the other characters (i.e., Vader or C-3PO), but I think their stories really come out more in the later films. However, every actor in this movie brings his or her A-game, creating a character that's so original and so engaging that it's hard not to cheer or boo for them, depending on their side of the fight.

The real selling point of Star Wars, however, is the musical composition crafted by the always-brilliant John Williams. If you noticed my post for Williams' birthday, you'll have seen that the score for Star Wars ranks as my third favorite of Williams' compositions. This, along with the score for Jaws, are probably the most instantly recognizable scores ever placed within a motion picture, and that's saying quite a bit. Here's a little taste, in case you're so deprived that you've never actually heard it:

Overall, I'm not really sure what more I could possibly say about such an iconic film. Star Wars is exciting. It's fun. It's adventurous. It's original. It's groundbreaking. It's totally worth your time. So please, if you haven't already seen it, give it a shot. It may not be the greatest flick you'll ever see, but I can guarantee you'll be entertained. Isn't that what movies are all about?

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Previous Recommendations:
AMERICAN HISTORY X (1998)
CLUE (1985)
PSYCHO (1960)

Movie Recommendation: AMERICAN HISTORY X

I've never done a post like this before, but I think that instead of writing an entire review for a film that I've already seen, I'll just give you the reasons why I'm recommending it. Hopefully this will turn into a common type of post with films that I've seen before and am only re-watching because I enjoyed them so much the first (or second or third or three hundredth) time around. Enjoy the movie recommendation!

AMERICAN HISTORY X
1998
R

American History X is a 1998 film directed by Tony Kaye that tells its story through an essay written by Daniel Vinyard (Edward Furlong) that talks about his brother's involvement in the skinhead scene in Venice Beach. Derek (Edward Norton) reigns king-supreme until he is charged with voluntary manslaughter when he kills two African-American men - one in rather gratuitous fashion - attempting to steal his car. While incarcerated, Derek learns the error of his ways and commits himself to bettering himself and bringing his family away from the atrocities committed by his former gang. This proves to be more difficult than he had originally anticipated when he finds that his younger brother Daniel has crafted himself into Derek's heir apparent with the white supremacist troupe.

No one can talk about American History X (which I will refer to as AHX from this point forward, in order to save myself some typing) without talking about the performance given by Mr. Edward Norton. It's a role that garnered him his first - and to this date, sole - Academy Award nomination which he ultimately lost to Roberto Benigni. However, I've seen both of those films, and I personally think that Norton was robbed of that illustrious statuette. Norton essentially plays two distinct roles in AHX: the biased and bigoted but seemingly well-informed white supremacist, and the reformed and still highly-intelligent parolee who wants to straighten out his life. At times, he's over-the-top, but at other times, he brings it all in and takes a very subtle approach. It's easily a career-best performance for a man who's had a slew of fantastic roles.

While I'm on the topic, the rest of the cast fills out quite nicely. Furlong, who most will recognize as John Connor from 1991's Terminator 2: Judgment Day, plays an interesting and captivating character that I wished I could have hit and hugged all at the same time. It's like I wanted to smack some sense into his warped train of thought then fill him in on the realities of life. Furlong makes Daniel Vinyard very, very real. Beverly D'Angelo also gives a stirring display in a supporting role with a few moments that should've been enough to land her an Oscar nomination. But I suppose that's just my opinion.

I can't say enough about David McKenna's screenplay, and I'm shocked it didn't receive a slew of accolades back in 1998 and 1999. We're given an intense look at the psyche behind a powerful leader in a white supremacist movement. We get into his head and learn and understand the reasoning behind his hate-centered thought process. But what's really fantastic about the screenplay is that, while Derek still dabbles in his hate-mongering, he makes us believe that his ideals are the true and real ones that we should all believe and follow. Although we may not agree with these ideas at any other time, Derek draws us in and makes us believe that his word is law and should be followed to the letter. In my opinion, that makes his turn all the more powerful because we're experiencing that turn simultaneously, albeit from different perspectives. While Derek is experiencing this different train of thought for the first time, we're being led back into the light, so to speak. David McKenna takes us to the depths then brings us back to the surface, giving us a glimpse into something that, in today's 21st society, we may not and should never have to experience.

Now, most people who have seen this movie always refer to one particular scene (I'll just say it involves a death, but I won't go any further than that), but I know that there's so much more power in this film than just one singular act of violence. I personally find AHX to be one of the greatest films that has ever graced the silver screen, as evidenced by its current hold as my sixteenth greatest film of all time. I have yet to find anyone who wasn't satisfied with AHX, so I think you should do yourself a favor and give it a chance.

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Ranking
Best All-Time: #19