Greatest Movie #1 (Citizen Kane) and #5 (Singing in the Rain)

Our friends Terry and Anne Cave have a treasure trove of great movies, maybe 30 or more of the top 100. Terry started us off Friday with two from the top: Citizen Kane and Singin' in the Rain.
Surprisingly, we liked Singin' in the Rain much better than Citizen Kane. I would have to concur with Terry. Citizen Kane is a movie people respect more than they like. It tells the story of a boy thrust into riches. He grows into a man who gets whatever he wants whenever he wants it. He collects and collects for the sheer joy of possession. He lives the life of ultimate selfishness. Finally, he dies alone and emotionally destitute surrounded by his stuff. In this respect, it shows the extreme cost of selfishness and materialism. However, over all, I didn't find the movie all that satisfying. I'll give it 3j's.

On the other hand, Sarah and I (and Emma too) enjoyed Singin' in the Rain. I expected to be disappointed because I'm usually not all that fond of musicals. Maybe I was partly relieved to see an uplifting movie after the epic of self-destruction (Citizen Kane). However, I enjoyed most of the musicals, a bit cheesy at times, but over all enjoyable. The dancing was kind of amazing too. Donald O'Connor, who was Gene Kelly's sidekick, was basically a 1950's singing and dancing Jim Carrey. The story line was definitely old school, but some how it worked for me.

I wonder how much of my opinion of these movies is based on my personal mood when I watch them? I'm not sure, but anyhow, I'll give Singin' in the Rain a solid 4js.