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We're a list society. From Casey Kasem and the American Top 40 to 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die to BOP's very own Best Horror Films (one of our most popular features ever), people love to talk about lists. They love to debate the merits of the "winners" and bemoan the exclusions, and start the whole process again when a new list captures pop culture fancy.

Perhaps one of the best-known, most widely discussed lists is the American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Movies. A non-profit organization known for its efforts at film restoration and screen education, the AFI list of the 100 best American movies was chosen by 1,500 leaders in the movie industry and announced in its first version in 1998. Since then, the 100 Years... 100 Movies list has proven to be so popular that the AFI came forth with a 10th anniversary edition in 2007, along with other series such as 100 Heroes and Villains, 100 Musicals, 100 Laughs and 100 Thrills.

In addition to talking about which films are deserving of being on the list and bitterly shaking our fists because a beloved film was left out, we also love to brag about the number of movies we've seen. As I was looking over the 100 Years... 100 Movies list recently, I realized that I've seen 47 - less than half. As a lover of film and writer/editor for a movie site, this seemed like a wrong that needed to remedied. And so an idea was born. I would watch all 100 movies on the 2007 10th Anniversary list - some of them for the first time in as much as 20 or more years - and ponder their relevance, worthiness and influence on today's film industry. With luck, I'll even discover a few new favorites along the way.

#92 : Goodfellas

At the end of 2009 and during the first two months of 2010, I was eagerly anticipating the release of the newest Martin Scorsese film, Shutter Island. The director's recent work with Leonardo DiCaprio had been top notch, and I was anxious to see how Scorsese moved within the confines of psychological horror. I had thoroughly enjoyed his most recent films, particularly The Departed and The Aviator, and I was hoping for another home run.

Alas, I walked away disappointed. Even though the acting in Shutter Island is sublime, the movie itself is slowly paced (read: boring) and predictable. Although I found much to like in some of the swooping shots and the atmosphere presented by the mental institution that serves as the film's setting, it was a laborious exercise in movie viewing and I struggled to stay awake at times.

Since I was kind of bummed about Shutter Island falling short of expectations, I decided to reward myself by watching a great Scorsese film from the AFI list. I loved Goodfellas the first time I saw it - somewhere back in 1990 or 1991. I honestly haven't seen it again since that time, but I remember specific scenes vividly and frequently cite it as a movie that impacted me greatly. I hoped beyond hope that it would hold up as well as I remembered.

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