Media itt: movie/film discussion - Beware Spoilers

[vonFiedler]

It Could Happen to You (1994) 2/10
An advertisement for everything wrong with the 90s.
- Playing the lottery is good
- Credit cards are good
- Cops are good
- Thots are bad and want money, cheat on thots
So like, how did Nicolas Cage's human saint cop end up with such an awful woman anyway? Just an annoying romantic comedy that forgot the comedy.

Pierrot le Fou (1965) 4/10
When I first watched the Monogatari series I said it was inspired by arthouse cinema. This isn't just the kind of movie I was talking about, it's so on the nose that someone at studio Shaft had to have seen it... and the fact that it's referenced by name in Cowboy Bebop makes that not too unlikely. Well I accused early Monogatari of being style over substance, and that's what I feel here. It wants to push the boundary of what a film can do, and perhaps achieved this, but is never striking to me.

One Piece: Dead End (2003) 5/10
A surprising leap in quality from the first three One Piece films, Dead End actually has a lot of ambition. It much more accurately captures the feel, fun, and sometimes complicated plots of One Piece as the group races against a who's who of pirates, giants, fishmen, bounty hunters, and ex-marines. The film is really strong in the first half, but drops off after the melee abruptly ends. The subplot in this film isn't very interesting, some parts are spastic or nonsensical, and the main villain wouldn't hold up even in the East Blue (especially when his powers and downfall riff so much on Crocodile, who the anime had JUST featured). Still there was more worth watching than just pretty animation, and I hope that level of quality remains or increases in future One Piece films.

Aquaman (2018) 7/10
Very strong adventure film. Consistently fun and gorgeous to look at. Has a few stupid plot elements. DC keeps copying Marvel but at least they're copying the good stuff now. No fucking shame about putting Fat Batman in that purple suit and calling him Ocean Master, and that's great. I'm kind of intentionally sleeping on it. I don't want to give it a score higher than 7 and then reduce it later. I think I liked it more than Black Panther to be honest. I cried when Steve Harvey died.

 

[Martin]

This is a good Twitter thread about some of the animation tricks used within Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse that ppl should read:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1080338672715673600

Anyway this film is INSANELY good. It’s like the perfect celebration of comic books, animation and Stan Lee, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a film capture the look and feel of reading comic books as well as Spiderverse did. It’s totally badass and if you haven’t seen it in cinemas then you should do so while you still have a chance (and don’t leave until after the credits too!). Film of the year easily, with Shoplifters coming a nice clean second place.

 

[vonFiedler]

Kiss of Death (1995) 4/10
This is not a good movie, but it's just cheesy enough to be bearable. Instead of starring Nicolas Cage, it stars much worse b-movie actor David Caruso, but he's fun in his own little way. Nic Cage plays a villain with some interesting character touches, but overall I think it's a below average performance for him. There's also Samuel L. Jackson and Helen Hunt, and the plot is really odd in how it divies up screentime to these characters.

Roma (2018) 4/10
Seems like it's supposed to be neorealism, what with the black and white, everything sucking, and a lot of dull moments. Of course I don't know if that's true. If it was, I could certainly nitpick the disingenuity of a few things. What this is is a painstaking recreation of the director's childhood, down to using his actual furniture, but uh, ok? There are a few striking images in the film. One very notable scene involves a martial artist swinging two staffs around, but one isn't a staff, if you know what I mean. I really debated what score to give this, but at the end of the day, it's about 30 minutes too bloated for me to really care about it.

Andhadhun (2018) 3/10
It had been a bit since an Indian movie was shoved onto the top 250. I honestly hoped that might indicate that this one would be good, like Dangal. But no it's stupid as shit. A thriller with an obvious twist that at least has the decency to reveal itself within the first 15 minutes. The characters are unlikeable and the plot is a mess. And unlike Kahaani or Drishyam, this didn't even have the decency to not be a musical at the same time as a thriller. And the ending, holy fuck is it one of the most surprising and dumb things I've seen in a long time. It is so bad it should earn this movie a 2/10, but I laughed so hard I forgave it.

211 (2018) 1/10
This movie is the 5th worst Nicolas Cage film according to IMDB. And there are worse Cage films with better scores, but well, this sure ain't underrated. It's a police movie about a troubled teen who is required to go on a ride-along, so it starts with 15 minutes of terrorism in the middle east. Just to introduce the bad guys, whose motives we never really understand, because you'd think they would be more complex than "rob any bank" but you may have watched too many good movies in your life. The writing is one cliche after another. Cage's first word is "retirement". I might have given it a pass for semi-competent action until a man evades machine gun fire by zig-zagging. A teenagers magyvers a phone into working for no plot reason. The acting is absolutely atrocious. No one in this movie except for Cage (and maybe one other exception) should be acting. He seems to do a decent job but it's hard to tell for sure when he's surrounded by such fucking garbage.

Between Worlds (2018) 2/10
A movie too insane to be porn, so the director went the next step down: direct-to-internet Nicolas Cage film. Even stranger than Inconceivable and somehow more boring. These were by far the worst two Nic Cage films in this excellent year for him, but even then, you have to commend him for really putting a lot of effort into these performances. It's like a spark has reignited in him and critics have noticed.

 

[Panic Station]

I just saw The Hippopotamus. It's based on a novel by Stephen Fry and it shows in Roger Allam's performance, delivering his lines with the same jaded elan and sharp wit as the author himself.

 

[vonFiedler]

I've wanted to do a run down of all best picture winners for a while and since the 2019 Oscars will be held right after my vacation and bump the number up from a clean 90, I had better do it now.

Since I'm comparing all of "the best movies ever" with each other you shouldn't get butthurt if your favorite is lower on the list, although that's just me being disingenuous as the actual value of these movies ranges all over the place and a lot of them just suck complete ass.

90. Gone with the Wind (1939)
Gone with the Wind is the worst best picture winner and also the worst movie I have ever seen. I've seen a lot of bad movies and I'll see more bad movies, but as even the IMDB Bottom 100 doesn't have any films close to the four agonizing hours I had to watch this one, Gone with the Wind might just go uncontested forever.

89. Crash (2004)
A best picture winner so universally hated that even the director was mad when it won.

88. Cavalcade (1933)
I don't remotely know how to explain what a mess Cavalcade is. It is as boring as it is confusing, and it has both of those qualities in spades. The most memorable scene involves a young couple standing on the side of a boat talking about how everything is great and will continue to be good, then the camera pans down and onto the words "RMS Titanic" I shit you not.

87. Shakespeare in Love (1998)
The most obnoxiously Weinstein movie to ever win best picture, and god knows too many did, but this the absolute bottom of the barrel. The unconvincing love affair, the awful revisionist history, what good things can even be said of this film?

86. American Beauty (1999)
This is where I'm going to lose a lot of people but if somehow this film ever appealed to you, it's 2019, take your head out of your ass. It's a discount Fight Club where Kevin Spacey tries to fuck a child and fakes a rape accusation. Left or right absolutely no one should be happy with this film anymore.

85. The Great Zigfield (1936)
Spectacle film. Do you, millennial, want to see a revue? If for some reason you do, go do so, don't waste your time watching recreations of them in a film.

84. The Broadway Melody (1929)
I think it's a spectacle film, but I had to read the wiki plot summary just to remember this one at all, and that barely helped. It only edges out Great Zigfield because while I remember that film more, what I remember is that nothing at all happened in that one. This one has a more complicated plot, but it still sucks.

83. The Hurt Locker (2008)
Boring war movie that only won because voters wanted to meme on James Cameron by giving the victory to his ex-wife in the same year that he made Avatar. Avatar didn't deserve best picture, but this movie just blows.

82. The Lost Weekend (1945)
A lost 105 minutes. Accurately depicts what it's like to be a drunken loser, but so what? Billy Wilder at his near worst.

81. Spotlight (2015)
You can tell this was made by the actor who played the worst character on the worst season of The Wire, because it tries to do the same thing, but in a movie instead of a tv show, and because it looks like a tv show. Good actors don't save this film, but gosh, everybody hates pedos, guess we better give this snoozer best picture.

80. The Greatest Show on Earth (1955)
Spectacle film about circuses. Has a bit of a better plot and characters going for it at least.

79. Grand Hotel (1932)
Far too many plots, far too few interesting plots.

78. Gigi (1958)
Third movie on this list so far about fucking kids.

77. The Artist (2011)
"Gosh but aren't we great" Oscar voters said as they stroked each other off. A send-up to silent films that doesn't seem to understand silent films at all.

76. An American in Paris (1951)
Kind of a light whimsical movie that wouldn't get much Oscar traction these days, but not one I cared for.

75. How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Kind of lousy book adaptation.

74. Mrs. Miniver (1942)
War propaganda that is almost worth watching just for how bizarre it is.

73. Titanic (1997)
Possibly unfair placement based solely on the fact that when I saw it as a young child, I thought it was super gay. I meant to rewatch it, but I really doubt an overhyped three hour affair film is going to blow me away.

72. Chariots of Fire (1981)
Memorable for its theme song and nothing else.

71. The Apartment (1960)
Kind of okay Billy Wilder movie, but one that really drags out.

70. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
Really infamous for beating out like, I dunno, Dead Poets Society. You could do worse than a movie starring Morgan Freeman though.

69. Amadeus (1984)
Assumes that you worship the ground beneath Mozart's feet instead of actually convincing you that you should.

68. The King's Speech (2010)
Much more mediocre Weinstein affair. Somewhat responsible for the current bleh state of Oscar nominees being tripe no one ever watched or cared about.

67. The French Connection (1971)
Everyone loses their nuts over how real a car chase scene is because the director actually broke laws and endangered lives. Ok. But the rest of the movie isn't noteworthy at all.

66. Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
A confusing win by most accounts, especially when it was up against Giant, The King and I, and The Ten Commandments, but it's not a movie without any fun to be had.

65. Gladiator (2000)
Ridley Scott's Roman fanfiction where he combines every legend into one man. Well made because it's Ridley Scott, but really really stupid.

64. Casablanca (1942)
One of the more overrated movies of all time.

63. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Bad adaptation of an amazing novel.

62. The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
Biopic about a person who in my worldview seems forgotten by history, as has this movie. As a learning experience, I thought it was somewhat interesting.

61. Rebecca (1940)
Based on a book that is a bad ripoff of Jane Eyre, but it's a Hitchcock film, so it's pretty watchable.

60. Oliver! (1968)
I like musicals. This isn't a particularly good one, but it is what it is.

59. Going My Way (1944)
Similar to An American in Paris, but much more genuinely enjoyable.

58. From Here to Eternity (1953)
Maybe I'm just dumb for not figuring out that this movie took place in Pearl Harbor before the finale, but what a fucking ride the finale was.

57. It Happened One Night (1934)
Maybe one of Frank Capra's worst films and yet that still puts it above a third of the other winners.

56. Hamlet (1948)
A so-so rendition of Hamlet.

55. 12 Years a Slave (2013)
Pretty well made but I don't know what to feel about it. Slavery is bad, but slavery is worse if the man is legally supposed to be free? Some slave owners are not as bad as others?

54. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
A film that is fantastic when you cut the first hour entirely.

53. Terms of Endearment (1983)
Not a best picture winner firmly rooted in anyone's memory but kind of decent.

52. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Everything involving Harold Russell is 10/10 film material, but the rest sucks.

51. Cimarron (1931)
So surprisingly interesting I thought it might be a true story,

50. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Clint Eastwood is a good and interesting director most of the time, but this was a bit too sad and slow to be worth rewatching.

49. Wings (1927)
The only silent film to win best picture, and for being the first best picture winner, it is astonishingly good. The air combat is pretty great to watch. I would absolutely recommend it to someone who doesn't understand the appeal of silent films.

48. Tom Jones (1963)
Another weird winner, but I thought this one was entertaining. I certainly liked it more than Barry Lyndon.

47. The Last Emperor (1987)
Really wildly different winner here. Definitely worth watching, even if it's about a huge douche.

46. Moonlight (2016)
Really niche premise for a movie and that made it very interesting to me. Also suck it, this was way better than La La Land.

45. Out of Africa (1985)
Must be where the Oscar's penchant for affair movies came from, because it's fairly good.

44. The English Patient (1996)
Being yet another affair movie from the late 90s cesspool and a wholesale fictionalization of a historical figure, you'd think I would hate this one too. But Ralph Fiennes really elevates it.

43. The Deer Hunter (1978)
Another long film with a lot of wasted time, but when it's on point in the later two thirds, it is really good.

42. Rain Man (1988)
Probably only as high as it is on the grounds that I just wished it was better. Very watchable with great actors, but also a very poor depiction of autism.

41. Annie Hall (1977)
I kind of just don't want to put this much higher than I did.

40. The Sound of Music (1965)
Pretty good musical, but not good enough to be as long as it is.

39. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
This film is just too agonizingly depressing for me.

38. The Godfather (1972)
37. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
I'm going to catch hell for this one, but I've already talked extensively about how bewildered I am at how merely good these movies are.

36. Ben-Hur (1959)
Much better than a three and a half hour movie should be, but still lacking in a few areas. I was gonna be snarky and say I wished they remade it better but oh well, but people would have misinterpreted that as the actual remake not counting, and the actual remake kicks fucking ass go watch it you fucking sheep (also this WAS a remake).

35. Mutiny on the Bounty
This was also a remake. Oh no, remakes!!! Pretty good.

34. Braveheart (1995)
This one is probably dumber than I give it credit for, but I dunno, I think it's pretty enjoyable.

33. All the King's Men (1949)
Go watch this movie and marvel over how nothing has changed in 70 years.

32. You Can't Take It With You (1938)
Middle of the road Frank Capra and it is still better than almost two-thirds of other winners.

31. No Country for Old Men (2007)
Stunning Coen brothers film. A little flawed, but very memorable.

30. Gandhi (1982)
One of the best biopics of all time, one of the best performances of all time.

29. Patton (1970)
What I just said, but somehow up the ante.

28. On the Waterfront (1954)
Really smart film about class struggle. Has one of the best priest characters you'll ever see. Great soundtrack.

27. Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
We don't honestly take antisemitism that seriously today, which makes this a really fascinating film to watch.

26. Argo (2012)
Just one of the more surprisingly fun movies they've somehow allowed to win best picture in recent years.

25. The Departed (2006)
Scorsese was overdue for a best picture win, and while no one would say this is what he should have won it for, eh, it's still really good. Much better than what it was remaking.

24. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)
To me, this isn't one of the power trilogies, but we're still talking about the best movie in the series, and that ranks fairly high among Oscar winners.

23. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Really respectable examination of divorce.

22. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
If you ever wondered why Alec Guinness mattered before Star Wars, watch this movie.

21. My Fair Lady (1964)
Another long musical, but this one is pretty delightful.

20. Marty (1955)
Go watch this 60 year old movie and stop being an incel you fucking loser.

19. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
This was built up in a lot of different ways before I saw it, and it took me a while to get around to it, but I'm happy to say that I liked it. Pretty smart movie.

18. Dances with Wolves (1990)
Infamous movie at this point for all the white savior films it spawned... but it's not a white savior film! He doesn't save anyone! It's just a pretty chill western. I liked it.

17. The Sting (1973)
Dope con artist movie.

16. Forrest Gump (1994)
Conservation revision of history? I dunno, oh well. It's really fun to watch.

15. Chicago (2002)
Damn fine musical. What took it so long to get a good screen adaptation? Love the songs in this.

14. Platoon (1986)
A unicorn of a film, the incredibly rare anti-war movie that is legitimately anti-war.

13. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
This might be my dumbest placement because I know the film is a lot of bullshit, but the twist really blew me away the first time I saw it.

12. Ordinary People (1980)
Just low-key fascinating character study here.

11. A Man for All Seasons (1966)
The most criminally overlooked Oscar winner. Superb material to draw from for this one, a main performance that is magnificent from an actor whose career never really took off, and a sublime court room scene.

10. Unforgiven (1992)
Clint Eastwood gives us a western so good that it should have ended the genre.

9. All About Eve (1950)
The one shining beacon from Hollywood's shitty censored era.

8. Rocky (1976)
It is inspiring that such an intelligent film was actually written by its ubiquitous action film star.

7. Schindler's List (1993)
I could say it's a little artistically pretentious at times, but that merely explains why such a fucking amazing film isn't even higher on this list.

6. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Just crushes the shit out of anything that ever actually came out of Bollywood.

5. The Shape of Water (2017)
When your only complaint about a film is that it's not as good as Pan's Labyrinth, that film is doing pretty good.

4. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
"They call me Mr. Tibbs" absolutely badass film.

3. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
The film that made everyone afraid of insane asylums, with one of the best villains in film history.

2. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Only at number two do we get to some of the best of the best movies ever, and that's exactly what this is. Everything about this crime drama is legendary at this point.

1. West Side Story (1961)
The best musical ever made. The best movie to ever win best picture. One of the best movies ever. I don't know if in 100 more years there will be a movie that wins best picture which is better. I don't think a movie was ever nominated for best picture that was better.

 

[vonFiedler]

Today we will most likely add another mediocre movie to the long list of mediocre best picture winners. I only just caught up with the nominees, so here are my rankings.

8. Bohemian Rhapsody 3/10
Wtf is this doing here. The balls on these guys to complain about popular movies and then nominate this mildly entertaining garbage.

7. Green Book 5/10
Pretty enjoyable at first then you get to the fridge and contemplate how a few odd lines in the movie seem like they were written by an islamophobic Trump-thumper... oh, turns out they were. Interested in ending racism but much more interested in absolving white people's guilty consciences. Cause as the film points out, no one would be offended if we stereotyped Italians!!! Wait, this film did that and people were offended. Lol.

6. Roma 5/10
Boring at first but some strong moments scratch at your brain afterward. Still, we can do better, can't we?

5. Vice 6/10
Follow up to The Big Short but not quite as strong.

4. Black Panther 7/10
The first superhero movie to be nominated and like a lot of things that are a long time coming for the Oscars, they chose a film that was just fairly good.

3. The Favourite 7/10
Pretty funny movie so I forgive it for being somewhat pretentious.

2. BlacKkKlansman 8/10
The period piece on racism that Green Book should be and the condemnation of modern politics that Vice should be. It's gonna drain my nuts when this loses to Green Book.

1. A Star is Born 10/10
Absolutely deserving of best picture (I mean, in so far as Spider-Verse wasn't gonna get it). Stunning film that excels in almost every way. How did this nominee lose the wind in its sails I don't fucking know.

Biggest Snub
Well Spider-Verse will win animation so the biggest snub has gotta be Crazy Rich Asians, which was up for awards in other shows but got nothing from the Oscars.

 

[Eagle4]

Why do you think The Favourite was pretentious, vonFiedler ?

 

[vonFiedler]

Why do you think The Favourite was pretentious, vonFiedler ?

It's a lot of subtle little things but I think the biggest offender were those chapter cards with the pat on the back movie quotes and wacky justified text that makes me feel more like I'm using microsoft word in middle school than watching a best picture nominee.

 

[Shrug]

don’t think that was an endorsement

 

[Ninahaza]

I recently saw Alita: battle angel, and ever since i have been desperately looking for a place to share 1 thing

This badass, dog loving bastard. Jeffahey Mcteague. He would make a great Stark (and alita owes him her life technically).

Edit: oh right, umm, to keep up with the traditions of this place, a ~review~

Alita: Battle Angel (5/10)
Biases to HouseStark and dogs aside, the movie wasnt anything special. I had a good time, but its not a movie i will remember.

I will say though, the background and environments of the movie was more fascinating than the plot or whatever. It was fascinating to see what the people built from just the scrap metals, parts and junk that is on the ground all around them.

 

[BKC]

Late, but

86. American Beauty (1999)
This is where I'm going to lose a lot of people but if somehow this film ever appealed to you, it's 2019, take your head out of your ass. It's a discount Fight Club where Kevin Spacey tries to fuck a child and fakes a rape accusation. Left or right absolutely no one should be happy with this film anymore.

This is a fucking disgraceful "opinion." This is not a review, this is a blatant attempt at showing off how woke you are. Not liking the film is one thing, but it is something else to diminish it entirely so you can go virtue signaling, complete with holier-than-thou "in 2019? really?" attitude.

You are making the absurd claim that because the lead actor is a piece of shit in real life, everything the film accomplishes is null and void. This is apparently linked to the lead character doing immoral things that happen to bear a resemblance to the actor's reprehensible real-life actions (he didn't have any hand in writing this film, btw - not that that should matter at all) and suddenly this work of art itself is repulsive garbage that no one should tolerate, let alone enjoy? Give me a break. When you watch this film, you are supposed to be watching Lester Burnham, not Kevin Spacey, horrible Hollywooder #500. I'm sure you're aware that your favorite works of art are littered with people who possess Severe Character Flaws, but of course you manage to separate the art from the artist (as you should) in those cases. Here, however, it's too good an opportunity to score some woke points because Spacey is the current evil celebrity flavor of the month.

This attempt to turn one of the greatest achievements in cinema history into a vehicle to showcase how upstanding you are is absolutely shameful.

 

[TheValkyries]

no, the actor is scum in real life and also the movie portrays that exact type of scumbaggery. It was bad even before the truth came out and after it's just patently shameful.

"One of the Greatest Achievements in Cinema History" lol fuckin hardly.

 

[BKC]

I don't understand. A movie portrays scummy behavior, therefore it is to be dismissed. The real lives and faults of the people involved may or may not be relevant. Is that about right? Is everything Kevin Spacey has been a part of now invalid, or is it just this particular film because it strikes a little too close to home? Furthermore, what scummy behavior is acceptable in films and what is just so blatantly horrible that it invalidates everything the film has done?

Pulp Fiction, another undeniably great film, has several scenes where a white guy uses the n word. One of them is the writer and director, no less. Is that something else we just don't tolerate in 2019, or do we need Tarantino to do something horrible before we rip apart his highly acclaimed work?

 

[TheValkyries]

Tarantino has already been heavily and consistently criticized for writing himself in parts where he gets to be racist, but overall he's more contentious because he writes with a cutting clarity about race that many let it pass because the overall portrayal is not negative.

American Beauty is navel gazing apathy in a time when american culture was bored and it aged SO BADLY within like 2 years. It's only value is that it effectively captured the American zeitgeist in 1999... trouble is the American Zeitgeist was high on internet inflation, bill clinton sex scandals, and the general social torpor of the pre 9/11 era.

 

[BKC]

American Beauty is not some period piece about (boredom in) 1999. It feels you're just hell-bent on misrepresenting it if that's your takeaway, especially the ridiculous notions that it was dated in 2001. The actual themes in the film are universal and just as applicable to the current day as they were then.

 

[vonFiedler]

For all the flak I get about hating on American Beauty for being a bit gross, a bit pathetic, a bit pretentious, and really really easy to make fun of (oh what a beautiful bag), no one ever says anything good about the film, just that "it's a masterpiece" and "universal themes".

Like I wasn't trying to be woke, I called Titanic hella gay in the same post for fuck's sake.

 

[RODAN]

i watched the korean movie Castaway on the Moon last night and it instantly skyrocketed to top 5 if not top 3 favourite movies i've ever seen. i'm going to try not to spoil so I will just give a basic synopsis. a man tries to kill himself and ends up stranded on an island in the middle of a river. he is surrounded by the city but no one can tell hes there, so eventually he learns to live off the land. meanwhile a shut in girl notices him on her high powered camera and takes an interest in him.

basically no movie manages to capture the full gamut of emotions like this one did. theres heartbreak, genuine laughs and a real life affirming message that carries its way through the movie. i cannot recommend this movie enough. please watch it

 

[vonFiedler]

So I finished the Sight & Sound top 50, the "only list that matters".

I was most apprehensive about super long ones like Satantango and Shoah. Satantango is better than a 7 and a half hour movie has any right to be. I still wouldn't recommend it, but if it was cut in half and merely Tarkovsky length, maybe you'd have something. People look at these super long movies and think "what good directing" and I think "what bad editing". There's just no reason to have 10 minutes of buffer at the start of every chapter and I don't understand why people are cool with the very long cat torture sequence.

Shoah on the other hand is a masterpiece probably. I don't have a very educated opinion about documentaries but I can see where people are coming from with this one. Unlike any other holocaust documentary you've likely seen. Very powerful but also with a lot of balls. I'd recommend it highly.

I'm really glad I couldn't watch Histoires du Cinema first and have it poison me against Godard, because it's absolute fucking nonsense. 5 hours of youtube poop and mumbling. It's the kind of thing snobs like because any two people can interpret it in wildly different ways, but to me, that just means it actually has no meaning. I hoped that something called "History of Cinema" would at least be educational for me but it's a fever dream.

Godard is a very cool director though when he's making actual movies, and Contempt is one of the films I watched from the list that I would recommend. I'd also recommend Ordet.

The two best movies I saw were Rules of the Game and Close-Up. I already talked about Close-Up being absolutely nuts, go watch it. Rules of the Game is a 1939 French movie that feels stunningly modern in its execution. I don't see how there's any excuse to fawn over Citizen Kane's "importance" when it feels far more dated than a film two years its senior. I guess it's just because CK is American...

Speaking of CK, I did bother to rewatch a bunch of films. My valuation of Citizen Kane and Vertigo went up slightly (but not nearly to a #1 and 2 best of all time value). Metropolis and The General also improved, but that was due to soundtracks by Georgio Moroder and Joe Hisaishi respectively. The biggest jump was The Godfather which I now consider an 8/10 film. I can now say that its hype really worked against it when I first saw it, but it's a fine film with a lot of good scenes. Being able to appreciate Part I however did not help me appreciate Part II, which now feels like a flawed sequel that both tries to do the same things while also telling like 4 stories.

Movies on the S&S list are pretty consistently decent. I think I said before that most films on the list could at least be said to have tried to expand the medium in some way. The only total shitter I saw was Jeanne Dielman. There isn't a single 1/10 film on this list, which there shouldn't be, but other lists can't make the same boast. On the other hand, I'd have considered watching this list a success if there was even a single 10/10 film I hadn't seen (not counting Apocalypse Now, the list's only 10/10). And I guess Shoah counts, but I wouldn't even let documentaries qualify if it were up to me, so...

So is the Sight & Sound list the BEST and ONLY list that matters? Let's check the numbers.

Average Scores (out of 10):
IMDB top 50: 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes top 50: 6.4
AFI top 50: 5.9
S&S top 50: 5.8
All Best Picture winners: 5.6
All movies I've seen combined: 5.4
All Nicolas Cage films: 4.5

S&S was brought up originally because I watched AFI. And it's so slightly worse! And of course it is, AFI at least has STAR WARS. AFI at least has a cartoon or two, even if not the best ones. The AFI list actually feels almost relevant. It has some better movies for sure, but to balance it out, it also has a lot of studio garbage and Gone With the Wind.

The Rotten Tomatoes list isn't arbitrarily picked by old men to favor movies that were lionized possibly before they were allowed to have opinions. It's just the list of the best reviewed movies of all time. It's a bit wonky in how it handles older films, but usually in their favor.

No one respects the methodology of IMDB but look at the results! Shawshank, Good Bad Ugly, Fight Club, Psycho, It's a Wonderful Life, Star Wars, Matrix, Silence of the Lambs, Leon, American History X, Back to the Future, Terminator 2, Apocalypse Now. How do you disagree with that? You still want Godfather, Citizen Kane, and Casablanca? You got it. You want every Kurosawa and Wilder film? You got it. You want other obscure foreign films? You got it. And I get some good fucking cartoons too. And shit, there are some really bad movies on this list too, but it's such a collection of fantastic films you've got to be really out of touch not to see its value. This is like an Oscars vs Netflix level argument.

Anyway, will be reporting on the entire Cage filmography next time.

 

[Texas Cloverleaf]

If you don't rate Face/Off a 10/10 you've lost all credibility

 

[Ninahaza]

I am going to try and get into this thread more.

Game of Thrones is about to drop. I will be spending time in this sub-forum anyway, temporarily, and i am trying to get back into movies. Hey why not

Seems like a good fit. See ya when i see ya

 

[Hulavuta]

The two best movies I saw were Rules of the Game and Close-Up. I already talked about Close-Up being absolutely nuts, go watch it. Rules of the Game is a 1939 French movie that feels stunningly modern in its execution. I don't see how there's any excuse to fawn over Citizen Kane's "importance" when it feels far more dated than a film two years its senior. I guess it's just because CK is American...

Glad you liked Rules of the Game too. I think I've posted about how awesome it is a few times in this thread; I remember watching it and being blown away by it, it really got me to understand why people were so obsessed with long takes and the like, and it's also rare that a rather absurd comedy would be so highly rated, though admittedly it is kind of a highbrow style of humor. I also always enjoy when directors cast themselves in their own movies in a self-deprecating way.

I haven't seen it in over a year so after reading your post, I may rewatch it soon. I still think Citizen Kane is good though, so I'm glad to see you rate it higher now (even if only slightly).

I'm really glad I couldn't watch Histoires du Cinema first and have it poison me against Godard, because it's absolute fucking nonsense. 5 hours of youtube poop and mumbling. It's the kind of thing snobs like because any two people can interpret it in wildly different ways, but to me, that just means it actually has no meaning. I hoped that something called "History of Cinema" would at least be educational for me but it's a fever dream.

Godard is a very cool director though when he's making actual movies, and Contempt is one of the films I watched from the list that I would recommend. I'd also recommend Ordet.

Have you seen Bande a part by Godard? Personally I'm not one much for the French New Wave but I found this one very charming and fun. And according to at least one critic (according to wikipedia) it's a "Godard film for people who don't much care for Godard". Also was a big influence on Tarantino and some others.

 

[RODAN]

i think a movie being dated shouldn't detract from its enjoyment. you have to look at it as it was released and not through a modern lens or else youre going to find a lot that you don't like about older movies.

 

[TheValkyries]

Or, and hear me out here, it’s okay to not like older movies.

 

[RODAN]

im not saying you have to im just saying the mindset one should be in when watching them. ie not comparing them to current movies because of the differences in the worlds culture. its fine if you only like movies from 1980-on or whatever your cut off date is. i dont really care about that, it wasnt my point.

 

[vonFiedler]

The only mindset I refuse to have is to pretend that these films still exist in a very tiny sample size as they once did. I don't know if Citizen Kane was once one of the best movies ever made, but I do know I once thought Mystery Men was one of the best movies ever made and seeing a lot more movies corrected that, but for some reason Citizen Kane will always be one of the best films even though over 1000 times more movies exist now than did back then (worth noting in particular than a lot of the "best" films that were made during WWII suck, just like how music sucked during the Korean war). And if you do give old films a chance, you might find that some were better than Citizen Kane anyway. I'm pretty sure you only brought this up because I said Citizen Kane felt dated compared to an even older film, so what's the actual problem here? The real problem is with specific time periods, regions, and studio controls. Hollywood sucked in the late 90s and it sucked from WWII through the McCarthy era. It's got nothing to do with films being old.