The Race to Finish Someone Else's Arbitrary Best of List

[Derek]

Conflict! Only I can break this deadlock to decide whether or not Meet Me in St. Louis deserves the recognition it gets.

Nah, Winston* is dead wrong. It's great.

[Winston*]

Nah, Winston* is dead wrong. It's great.

I liked the psychotic little girl, everyone else was annoying.

[Derek]

I liked the psychotic little girl, everyone else was annoying.

Yeah, Tootie's great, especially when she starts decapitating the snowmen. One of my favorite child performances. Are you not a fan of classical musicals in general or do you really find this one more annoying than most?

[Winston*]

Yeah, Tootie's great, especially when she starts decapitating the snowmen. One of my favorite child performances. Are you not a fan of classical musicals in general or do you really find this one more annoying than most?

I haven't seen a lot of them to be honest. I don't enjoy the music so I don't tend to watch them, not enough guitar distortion IMO.

[dreamdead]

I thought Tootie was also likely the best thing about Meet Me in St. Louis. Her storyline, especially in the Halloween section, generates a very unsafe and contemporary atmosphere for such a classic film, and her demented nature plays knowingly against the more conventional and treacly feminine characters. And it's slightly interesting how much the film critiques the men's impotence in securing romantic relationships, though I often wonder how much of that is hyper-critical of that era of masculinity versus how much it's done to secure more dramatic tension.

It's an enjoyable film, but not a masterpiece to my eyes. Pleasant enough, though.

[Raiders]

It sucks. Have you seen The Bad and the Beautiful? That one's great.

They're both great, though I do share your preference. The Bad and the Beautiful is masterly.

Also like Lust for Life and The Clock. Not so hot on The Long, Long Trailer and Some Came Running.

[soitgoes...]

#756 Pink Flamingos (John Waters 1972)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/PinkFlamingos1972.jpg

WTF? If I'm in the minority in thinking this is trash, then I really do suck at watching movies. I'm not going to waste anymore space than that.

[soitgoes...]

#757 Hiroshima mon amour (Alain Resnais 1959)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/HiroshimamonamourAlainResnais1 95-1.jpg

During war, I imagine many people feel shame. Resnais trains his lens on two of those people, a French actress and a Japanese architect. She has come to Hiroshima to film an anti-war film. She holds onto a secret shame that has kept her from ever returning to her hometown of Nevers. She finds a lover in Hiroshima, a city full of shamed people. She claims to know them. He refutes that, but in the end perhaps she does. A great debut feature film by Resnais.

[Qrazy]

Yeah it's disgusting crap. Too bad it was my first Waters films because it's the reason I haven't seen any others since. I'm sure he's probably put out a few decent films.

[Beau]

Hiroshima! I wrote stuff on RT. This (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/showthread.php?t=606030) is about Hiroshima, Mon Amour. This (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/showpost.php?p=15234037&postcount=4015) is about Last Year at Marienbad, but it ends up talking about Hiroshima as well.

[Qrazy]

Yeah Hiroshima is my favorite out of the 5 or 6 Resnais I've seen.

[soitgoes...]

Yeah Hiroshima is my favorite out of the 5 or 6 Resnais I've seen.
I don't know if it's better than Night and Fog, but it is damned good.

[Adam]

Yep, Waters blows and Hiroshima is probably a top-ten favorite of mine. I wish I'd seen more of the movies you guys have been writing up, but still, way to be

[Raiders]

WTF? If I'm in the minority in thinking this is trash, then I really do suck at watching movies. I'm not going to waste anymore space than that.

I think the split is about 50/50 on this one. I would say I understand the appeal of Waters in general despite this film (I do like the only other I've seen, Serial Mom), but considering so many of his ardent fans praise this one as well, maybe not. I still want to check out Female Trouble and Desperate Living just to see.

[Bosco B Thug]

[SIZE="3"]WTF? If I'm in the minority in thinking this is trash, then I really do suck at watching movies. I'm not going to waste anymore space than that. I liked the conviction and essence of its moral viewpoint, and I did feel its particular brand of humor was sharp-minded more often than not... but I won't be defending it, rest assured. It very much deserves "hatin'."

[soitgoes...]

#758 Meet Me in St. Louis (Vincente Minnelli 1944)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/canon_meetme3.jpg

Nowhere near as bad as The Band Wagon or Gigi, Meet Me in St. Louis is actually good (not great). The difference, and the thing that all musicals need to strive for, is the great songs. You know the songs are great when you've heard them before countless times before ever watching the film they come from. Minnelli as usual uses a striking color palette. I love the winter dance scene towards the end where every girl is dressed in a different color dress. If only the world worked that way, right ladies?! There are weaknesses in the writing. I had a big problem with John Truett telling Esther that he couldn't go to her last dance in St. Louis because he played a game of basketball and forgot to pick his tux up from the tailors. She didn't blame him, but rather the game of basketball. What? Maybe I know different girls, but that would never fly. I also have a slight Judy Garland problem. She looks weird (always has to me), and I'm not a fan of her wavering voice, which was en vogue back in the day. All in all I was pleasantly surprised.

[Philosophe_rouge]

My dad can't watch Judy Garland movies because he thinks she looks weird.

[Raiders]

Some weird people. I don't think she was particularly glamorous or attractive, but she didn't look that strange.

Is there the same reaction to Bette Davis?

[Philosophe_rouge]

Some weird people. I don't think she was particularly glamorous or attractive, but she didn't look that strange.

Is there the same reaction to Bette Davis?

Not from him. My dad has a few actors he refuses to watch, mostly for arbitrary reasons. After Judy Garland, the other two I know of are Jon Voight and John Wayne.

[Beau]

I think she looks weird, too! I thought I was the only one. But I can't say she looks weird enough that I won't watch her movies.

[soitgoes...]

Some weird people. I don't think she was particularly glamorous or attractive, but she didn't look that strange.

Is there the same reaction to Bette Davis?Well, Bette Davis doesn't necessarily look strange, but she wasn't beautiful. Judy Garland reminds me of the Family Guy episode where Peter says he was Uma Thurman's eye wrangler on Pulp Fiction.


I think she looks weird, too! I thought I was the only one. But I can't say she looks weird enough that I won't watch her movies.Oh, her looks wouldn't keep me from watching her movies.

[Beau]

Oh, her looks wouldn't keep me from watching her movies.

I was mostly referring to Rouge's dad.

[soitgoes...]

I was mostly referring to Rouge's dad.
Gotcha.

[soitgoes...]

#759 An Affair to Remember (Leo McCarey 1957)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/vlcsnap13401554ep6.png

Before seeing this I would tell you this type of film is most definitely not my cup of tea. After seeing it I can say that while it still isn't my cup of tea, it really isn't all that bad. Douglas Sirk usually has the soapy 50's movie corner covered with me, but even he walks a fine line between a beautiful drama and schmaltz. An Affair to Remember dips into schmaltz too often for me to out and out like it. There is a wonderful scene towards the beginning. Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr's characters are flirting on a steam liner. He goes in for a kiss. She suggests a walk. They descend down a staircase to the deck below, and she grabs his arm and pulls him up to her. They kiss, but McCarey only shows us their lower half of their bodies. We don't actually see the kiss, their first, but we know it is obvious. Just a brilliantly handled moment. Then the two actors exchange some cheesy dialogue, and I'm immediately snapped back to the soap world.

[Philosophe_rouge]

I think she looks weird, too! I thought I was the only one. But I can't say she looks weird enough that I won't watch her movies.

My father is extremely neurotic :/

[soitgoes...]

Qrrraaaazzzzyyyy!!!

[Qrazy]

Yes?

[soitgoes...]

#760 Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (John Sturges 1957)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/00-27-32.jpg

This is the fourth (I think) film dealing with the Earps, Clantons, and Doc Holliday I've seen. It amuses me how different each of the films are, as well as how each deviates from historical accuracy in order to relate their stories. Sturges's film is heavy on the lead up to the titular showdown, which is the film's crescendo, a five minute rendition of a 30 second event. The showdown wraps up everything neatly, much more so than real life. Early sightings of DeForest Kelly and Dennis Hopper are neat. Sturges did better westerns, and this Tombstone tale falls short compared to Ford's (though I'm not nearly as high on that one as others are).

[soitgoes...]

Yes?Hi. :)

[Derek]

Yes?

Update your sig lazybones.

[soitgoes...]

#761 High Society (Charles Walters 1956)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/hs1yv8.png

Well, High Society is no Philadelphia Story. It could have been worse, but Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra's voices save the day. I will give Minnelli props for one thing, his art design and costumes were some of the best of his era. You really get a sense for that when going from the vibrant Meet Me in St. Louis, Gigi and The Band Wagon to this film. Grace Kelly phones in a roll that she was born to play. Louis Armstrong's opener was a delight. It really set the right mood for the film.

[soitgoes...]

#762 Bigger Than Life (Nicholas Ray (1956)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/bscapbigt0041pl.jpg

I honestly haven't been blown away by anything I've seen by Ray. This film changes that. Bigger Than Life, the story on the outside that deals with substance abuse, but at its center is 50's suburbia turned on its ear. Ed Avery (James Mason) is an overworked father of one, who is living a very average life in Anytown, USA. He develops a heart condition that threatens his life, and he's offered a chance at extending his life if he takes a "miracle drug." He does, and his life seems great again, until he starts taking it more than he should. His house of cards collapses it spectacular style. The ending is tied up too neat, but that's really my only complaint.

[soitgoes...]

#763 Up in Smoke (Lou Adler 1978)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/UpInSmoke_Still_PK_C-5009.jpg

I think most people who know me IRL would be surprised to hear that I haven't seen this before. "Haven't seen" may not be entirely correct. This film has played on numerous occasions as a sort of backdrop of various kickbacks, get-togethers and parties, but I never have sat down and watched this straight through. I participated in a way that Tommy Chong would be proud of. I got high off the reefer. Certain films work great for me as stoner comedies. Rarely are those films about actual stoners and comedies directly aimed at stoners. This film is no different. I didn't find it too funny. I laughed, sure, but not nearly enough for it to be a successful viewing experience.

[Qrazy]

Update your sig lazybones.

Pfffffftttt... ok.

[soitgoes...]

#764 The Phenix City Story (Phil Karlson 1955)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/PhenixCity003.png

An early quasi-documentary turned out by noir director Phil Karlson. Based on real life, Phenix City was known in the 40's and 50's to be just about as corrupt as any town in America. Organized crime and gambling ran rampant, no one was willing to stand up because of the threat of murder. The film has an interesting beginning. Using the actual town people, Karlson forms a type of newsreel to lead us into the events. The jump to the "film" is quite jarring, as is the film itself for 1950's noir. I never thought I'd see a film from that era that depicted a small murdered child thrown onto the a yard where other kids are playing. Heavy stuff. All in all, The Phenix City Story is more interesting in how it is filmed than what was filmed.

[soitgoes...]

#765 Lola Montès (Max Ophüls 1955)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/lolamontes0011iu8.jpg

Über-critic Andrew Sarris at one time claimed Lola Montès to be the greatest film of all time. Since then he has apparently figured out what makes a film good, and has settled on a much more deserving Ophüls film, Madame de.... This film was the only film Ophüls made in color. Coupled with his always great camera movements, this should have been the best of Ophüls. Sadly this film ends up being nothing more than a shade above mediocre. Wooden acting and a fairly uninteresting story overcome the trademark Ophüls beauty. Worth watching? Yes, but see his other French films, as well as the American stuff first.

[B-side]

I just got done watching The Reckless Moment. It's pretty good. There might be more going on under the surface than it initially seems. The way her family, and later the community in general, seems to be suffocating her feels very expressionistic in detailing her paranoia. The most interesting aspect I think is Mason's character who swoops in and kind of assumes the role of father, albeit still an absent one.

[Qrazy]

Probably about time I started doing entries again.

[soitgoes...]

Probably about time I started doing entries again.
Eh, I quit doing them when I noticed I was the only one still going. It's been 40 films since then, so I'm not sure I want to go back and do entries for all those.

[Qrazy]

Eh, I quit doing them when I noticed I was the only one still going. It's been 40 films since then, so I'm not sure I want to go back and do entries for all those.

Well I was planning to go back and do them eventually but if you want to skip to the current ones we're watching I'm cool with that too.

[soitgoes...]

I'm down to 100 films. I think this list is entirely doable minus one film, which I can't find subtitles for. Over the past couple months it's become more of, "Do I care to finish the list?"

[Qrazy]

I'm down to 100 films. I think this list is entirely doable minus one film, which I can't find subtitles for. Over the past couple months it's become more of, "Do I care to finish the list?"

I'm alllmost ready to get back on target. Which film can't you find subs for?

[soitgoes...]

I'm alllmost ready to get back on target. Which film can't you find subs for?
I hope so. You would provide me the push needed to finish, though you have some catching up to do. ;)

The Baker's Wife (La Femme de boulanger). There's a DVD for sale that has English subs, but I'm not eager to blind buy a film just to finish this. Between my fairly good grasp of Spanish, plus help from my girlfriend who is close to fluent, I'll probably give it a go with the Spanish subs available on KG.

[Raiders]

The Baker's Wife (La Femme de boulanger). There's a DVD for sale that has English subs, but I'm not eager to blind buy a film just to finish this. Between my fairly good grasp of Spanish, plus help from my girlfriend who is close to fluent, I'll probably give it a go with the Spanish subs available on KG.

http://www.opensubtitles.org/en/subtitles/3800437/the-baker-s-wife-en

Not entirely sure if the frame-rate is the same, but it might be worth a shot.

[Qrazy]

Maybe these will work.

[soitgoes...]

http://www.opensubtitles.org/en/subtitles/3800437/the-baker-s-wife-en

Not entirely sure if the frame-rate is the same, but it might be worth a shot.


Maybe these will work.

Sweet! Thanks to both of you!

[soitgoes...]

Left to see:

Foolish Wives
L'atalante
The Baker's Wife
Dance, Girl, Dance
Diary of a Country Priest
The Bigamist
A Star Is Born
Hill 24 Doesn't Answer
Shoot the Piano Player
The Cloud-Capped Star
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
L'eclisse
Lolita
O Pagador de Promessas
Heaven and Earth Magic
Passenger
Flaming Creatures
Vidas Secas
Red Desert
Before the Revolution
The Cool World
Black God, White Devil
Vinyl
The Man with the Shaven Head
Juliet of the Spirits
The Saragossa Manuscript
Chimes at Midnight
Hold Me While I'm Naked
Terra em Transe
Wavelength
The Red and the White
Faces
Memories of Underdevelopment
Lucia
Kes
The Spider's Stratagem
Woodstock
Performance
Tristana
Zabriskie Point
Get Carter
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song
The Harder They Come
The Heartbreak Kid
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
Day for Night
Turks fruit
The Mother and the Whore
Celine and Julie Go Boating
A Woman Under the Influence
Fox and His Friends
The Mirror
Deewaar
Salo
The Nail of Brightness
Jeanne Dielman
India Song
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Man Who Fell to Earth
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Man of Marble
Ceddo
Killer of Sheep
The Tree of Wooden Clogs
My Brilliant Career
Stalker
Three Brothers
Man of Iron
Body Heat
A Question of Silence
Too Early, Too Late
Diner
Night of the Shooting Stars
Yol
L'argent
The Official Story
Vagabond
Prizzi's Honor
3/4 of Shoah
Caravaggio
The Decline of the American Empire
Sherman's March
The Dead
Yeelen
Housekeeping
Fatal Attraction
A Tale of the Wind
Drowning by Numbers
Sex, Lies and Videotape
The Asthenic Syndrome
A Brighter Summer Day
Man Bites Dog
Aileen Wournos: The Selling of a Serial Killer
The Wedding Banquet
The Last Seduction
Three Lives and Only One Death
Kippur
Lantana
Kandahar
Live and Become

I've tried to keep some films that interest me, so the end wouldn't be as painful. There's still a number of films that don't interest me, but one thing I've learned while doing this: films that normally wouldn't show up on my radar, can sometimes surprise me.

[soitgoes...]

#902 LucÃ*a (Humberto Solás 1968)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/lucia.jpg

A three part study in Cuban revolution told through the eyes of three women named LucÃ*a. Solás employs a different style for each part. The first section, taking place in the late-19th century during Cuba's revolt with Spain, is in high contrast as it follows the middle-aged daughter of wealthy landowners as she slums it with a spy. Part two, more conventionally filmed, gives us 1930's Cuba during Machado's totalitarian regime. Here middle-class LucÃ*a turns her back on her bourgeoisie people to join up with her lover's revolutionary group. The last part is the present, just after the Cuban Revolution. Poor, working-class LucÃ*a marries a revolutionary who treats her abusively. Solás uses song heavily in this segment.

The multiple structures focusing on revolutionary Cuba begs to be compared with I Am Cuba. While that film is grander in all things technical, this film hits an emotional cord. Reading another review on this film compares Solás's work to that of Pasolini, and it very much makes sense. I don't think either would take offense to that comparison.

[soitgoes...]

#903 Memories of Underdevelopment (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea 1968)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/mou.jpg

Completing the Cuban Trifecta of 1968, Alea's Memories of Underdevelopment is perhaps the best film I've seen while starting this project (Kieslowski's Dekalog is the only thing that might stand in its way). Not quite as good as the �lvarez short LBJ, Alea does something almost as shocking, and questions where the Castro regime is at a short 9 years after the Revolution. Mixing documentary footage in with his fictional footage, utilizing a 60's Latin American staple of high contrast film, and a heavy dose of flashbacks and narration, Alea makes a most compelling film as we follow a frustrated middle class man, Sergio, as he tries to maneuver through the first years of the nascent Communist country.

[soitgoes...]

#904 Hold Me While I'm Naked (George Kuchar 1966)

One of the few short films I have left, this is the second Kuchar film I've seen (and first since watching the good documentary on the Kuchar brothers, It Came from Kuchar). I guess Kuchar's lead actress got sick while filming this, and instead of scrapping production or hiring someone else, Kuchar just used what material he had and changed the film on the fly. He dubbed in all the dialogue with his own voice afterward. Imaginative enough, but there really isn't much here. The Kuchars, like Robert Crumb, are much more interesting to me in true life as documentary subjects than what they did for the underground arts.

[Raiders]

I have never seen an actual film from Kuchar, but the short I, an Actress which depicts the furious and campy screen test of one of his students is simply among the most entertaining things I have ever watched (I actually included it in my top 100). It's also a pretty fascinating document of the mindset of no-budget filmmaking.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOXpDCkOiCo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOXpDCkOiCo)

[soitgoes...]

I have never seen an actual film from Kuchar, but the short I, an Actress which depicts the furious and campy screen test of one of his students is simply among the most entertaining things I have ever watched (I actually included it in my top 100). It's also a pretty fascinating document of the mindset of no-budget filmmaking.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOXpDCkOiCo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOXpDCkOiCo)
I've heard you talk about this, but haven't gotten around to watching it (8 minutes in length! Egad!). I'll check it out now that I have a link provided for me. :)

[soitgoes...]

#908 The Red and the White (Miklós Jancsó 1967)

Commissioned by the Soviet government to celebrate the 50 year anniversary of the October Revolution, The Red and the White must have been like a slap in the face to those in charge. The film ended up being re-edited and then just outright banned because Jancsó gave the Soviets a film based 2 years after the Revolution, and one that is wholly apathetic to the Communist cause. In fact the film takes no stance except against war.

The film deals with the aftermath of the Revolution, where the Reds (Bolsheviks) are still battling the Whites (Tsarists) in rural Russia. Hungarians play an important role in the film as apparently many came to Russia to help fight on the side of the Communists. There is so much going on, one side killing the other, and everything shot at a distance that most of the time it is unclear who is killing who and even what is happening. Indeed through half of the film I wasn't even sure which side was which. This is unimportant to Jancsó, but obviously it was the main reason of concern to the Soviet officials. Soldiers are executed, women are humiliated and then probably raped off-screen, battles are waged and hardly anyone offers any objection, any emotion. There are no heroic deaths in Jancsó's war. A death is a death. A man is a man. Hungarian, Bolshevik or Tsarist, it doesn't matter.

Jancsó's films are at their heart films about power and control. Who has the power, and how quickly that power can shift. Those in charge one minute can be subjugated by someone else or even those who were being subjugated previously. This is most evident in The Red and the White. Power shifts from scene to scene. No one is ever in control. The more I think about this film the more I think I should bump it up that last half star. I haven't even gotten to the famous Jancsó long takes.

[Melville]

I've decided to make my way through this list, or at least the English-language-and-easily-obtainable portion of it. I'm currently at 721 out of the 1001. The ones I've watched since starting the attempt, from most recent to least:

The Life of Emile Zola - Didactic. Enjoyably hammy performance by Paul Muni as Zola. The best bit is the beginning, with the Zola and Cezanne as the starving artists with high ideals. I like the grand ambitions of those old-timey artists. 6/10

The Defiant Ones - Rough-and-tumble story of escaped convicts and overcoming race barriers. It's much better than that sounds, carried by excellent performances and a rugged, natural aesthetic. I love the sympathetic attitude these old movies have for imprisoned criminals: shit happens, people do bad things, people are people. But they don't feel mawkish; they're not selling that point as a moral lesson. Anyway, great characterizations in this movie, muscular and emotional. Curtis telling a woman his dream of what life should be is powerful stuff. Poitier's line "Come on, man, you draggin' the chain" is even more so—a terrific, simple image of the bond formed between the two convicts, it doesn't make a big point of itself but lets its weight be felt in an upfront way. 8.5/10

Secret Beyond the Door - The plot takes a lot from various Hitchcock films, particularly the far superior Rebecca. The psychologizing is stupefying. 5.5/10

The Man With the Golden Arm - I love the seamy jazz playing over the grungy B&W city. Raw performances and compelling desperation—the wife's especially. 8/10

Things to Come - So hammy. No real characters, just bland, often silly prophesying, flat aesthetic, and that hammy acting. 2.5/10

Bad Day at Black Rock - Pretty dull "social issue" movie, with some hokey action scenes and improbable characters. The first Spencer Tracy performance I've seen, and he didn't do much for me. 5/10

Swing Time - The movie doesn't have quite the lightness and exuberance of Top Hat, but Astaire is magic. 7.5/10

The Man in Grey - Quality melodrama, full of proud and sadistic lords, romantic highwaymen, duels and beatings, tragedies and high passions. James Mason owns it as the aforementioned proud and sadistic lord. 7/10

Ordinary People - So dull. Both stolid and sappy in its portrayal of misery. The big emotional climax feels fake. 4/10

A Nightmare on Elm Street - Enjoyable enough. Given the premise, it could have had a lot more interesting, terrifying, haunting, or in any way striking imagery. 5.5/10

The Wolf Man - Hokier than I was expecting, and short on atmosphere, but reasonably entertaining. 5.5/10

Jezebel - Excellent antebellum melodrama. Looks great, creates a distinct feeling of the time and culture. Perfect use of music. Worthwhile story of pride, clashing personalities, and love. Bette Davis is terrific as the haughty Southern Belle who ends in self-sacrifice and devotion. The internet tells me she was given this role as a consolation for not getting Gone With the Wind. She got the much better movie. 8/10

Clerks - Terrible. Phony characters, obnoxious dialogue, lame-life-lesson teaching. 2/10

Slacker - Surprisingly good, considering my dislike of Linklater's other people-walk-around-talking movies Before Sunrise and Waking Life. A great cross-section of a certain time and place, with a lot of infectious energy and character. 8/10

The Big Chill - So bad. So phony in its middlebrow character development. 3/10

Kramer vs. Kramer - Surprisingly good. I bought all the schmaltz. The bond between the father and son is developed well, and the performances are great all around. The sudden turnaround at the end felt very undeserved, though. From this and Ordinary People, I learned that the mothers and wives of the era were always the cause of everybody's problems. 7/10

The Bigamist - Interesting to see a man cheating on his wife not due to uncontrollable lusts, but due to feeling unappreciated. Statistics tell me that's the more typical cause in reality. The movie could have done a lot more with its moral quandaries, though. 6/10

Serpico - That Pacino sure could act. He completely dissapears under that beard and creates a living character like few other actors could. The gritty aesthetic is great, and the moral indignation rousing without ever feeling didactic. 8/10

When Harry Met Sally - Surprisingly not annoying for a modern romantic comedy. 7/10

Salt of the Earth - Unremarkable except for the thematic parallels between its creation and its narrative. 5/10

The Masque of the Red Death - Too much silliness and hammy acting put into what should be a tight narrative built on atmosphere. Some nice images. 5/10

Bridesmaids - Where was the funny? I never did more than chuckle a few times. These Apatow stories of too-close friendships and screwups are not good. 3/10

The Evil Dead - Cheesy. 4/10

The Cabin in the Woods - Grating in its glibness, not scary when actually going for scares. 3.5/10

An American Werewolf in London - Fun. The abrupt ending and its jump to rocking music sells the whole thing. 7/10

The King's Speech - Pretty much what you'd expect Oscar bait to be. 5/10

The Artist - Why did this garner so much praise and awards? A pretty weak imitation of much better movies. 5/10

Life of Pi - I expected to dislike it, but I was quickly won over. A dude's stuck on a lifeboat with a tiger. You can't argue with that. 7/10

Zabriskie Point - Yeesh. Everything annoying about the culture it depicts, crammed into a dense package of annoyingness. L'Eclisse continues to be the only Antonioni I appreciate (besides the ending of La Notte). 3/10

The Adventures of Robin Hood - So much fake laughing. 3/10

[Skitch]

Clerks - Terrible. Phony characters, obnoxious dialogue, lame-life-lesson teaching. 2/10

Slacker - Surprisingly good, considering my dislike of Linklater's other people-walk-around-talking movies Before Sunrise and Waking Life. A great cross-section of a certain time and place, with a lot of infectious energy and character. 8/10


These reviews seemed to have been switched accidentally. Just a heads up.

[Sven]

Wow. It's almost uncanny how much we agree here. Masque of the Red Death is pretty cool with Hendrix and Abba as the soundtrack. Hopefully you know not to write off Tracy.

[Watashi]

The Adventures of Robin Hood - So much fake laughing. 3/10

You have no soul.

[Melville]

What I have left to see is shown here (http://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/1001+movies+you+must+see+befor e+you+die/?user=apound).


These reviews seemed to have been switched accidentally. Just a heads up.
Ha. Kevin Smith is about as far from my own sensibility as an artist can get. The atrociously amateur performances didn't help. On the other hand, the surreal touches in Slacker, the broader, less traditional structure offered by the short sketches, and the less pat view of people and life worked well for me.


Wow. It's almost uncanny how much we agree here. Masque of the Red Death is pretty cool with Hendrix and Abba as the soundtrack.
That does sound better.


Hopefully you know not to write off Tracy.
After looking at his list of performances, I remember I've also seen him in Man's Castle and Fury. I thought he was good in both of those, or at least created a more pronounced character.


You have no soul.
I have a perfectly cromulent soul.

[Qrazy]

Glad you liked The Defiant Ones and disliked Zabriskie Point. Very much agreed with your reviews there, and most of your other blurbs as well. I suppose I should get back on this list at some point. I have 130 left to see given the new additions.

[Skitch]

Ha. Kevin Smith is about as far from my own sensibility as an artist can get. The atrociously amateur performances didn't help. Completely understandable.


On the other hand, the surreal touches in Slacker, the broader, less traditional structure offered by the short sketches, and the less pat view of people and life worked well for me.


Ugh, I didn't see surreal, I saw an unfocused bore. I didn't see "less traditional structure", just a lack of one at all. I appreciate it for altering the perception of what cinema can be (it was Kevin Smith's inspiration; I joke because it means a movie can be anything, be it a "surreal" experience or a collection of meaningless drivel), but it did nothing for me personally. Not that Clerks changed my life or anything but its at least amusing. But hey, to each his own. :)

[Dukefrukem]

My goal for 2014 is knock 50 movies off this list.

[Qrazy]

FYI guys as someone who has gone through most of this list you're much better off going through the They Shoot Pictures top 1000. It's a much better list.

[Melville]

FYI guys as someone who has gone through most of this list you're much better off going through the They Shoot Pictures top 1000. It's a much better list.
Yeah, it's not a great list. But one of the reasons it's not great is also the reason I started working through it: it includes a lot of formally unambitious Hollywood movies. They don't lose too much when not given my full attention, which allows me to have them playing while I work on the less intellectually demanding tasks in my job. It's basically just a way to make work less tedious.

[dreamdead]

The Bigamist - Interesting to see a man cheating on his wife not due to uncontrollable lusts, but due to feeling unappreciated. Statistics tell me that's the more typical cause in reality. The movie could have done a lot more with its moral quandaries, though. 6/10

I knocked out this one this week. Lupino's direction is nicely understated, holding takes to let the performances become as realized as possible. And the film does a decent job in not demonizing any one party--hell, Eve almost ends up being the character most criticized, which certainly offers some interesting gender commentary on the rising role of career-minded women.

Some dialogue idiocies (I'd like to make it through a '50s film without hearing "you big lug"), and I'm not sure how pleased I am by the film's willingness to have Phyllis initially chastise Harry in the park only to let him off the hook. You're correct that the film weaves past some of the trickier ambiguities at work here. Still, the open-endedness of that denouement for this time period is harrowing, and it's those sort of small details that I expect will stick out longer than the larger narrative gaps.

[Qrazy]

I never did finish this. 116 films left to see. About 40 of those have some crossover with other best of lists so will lrobably make a bit of a dent by year's end. Been a long time since I actively watched classics other than here and there. Was lost to the world of TV and new releases for awhile there. Probably watched over 50 films since the virus began though.

[Yxklyx]

Is this the IMDB list "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" we're talking about here?

[Dukefrukem]

My goal for 2014 is knock 50 movies off this list.

LOL!

[Qrazy]

Is this the IMDB list "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" we're talking about here?

Yeah.