Match-cut's top 20 films of 2007 (and more!)

[Boner M]

http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/winter2004/features/images/critic.jpg

Greetings match-cutters, patrons of an awful film culture, it's Armond White here. I'm flattered to be the hot topic of conversation nearly every day on your boards, though I'm less impressed by your film taste, especially evident in the list to come. The praise for so many fake-auteurs like PT Anderson, Todd Haynes and David Fincher reveals you all to be a band of worthless, godless, nihilist, fascist, feminist, racist, blogger-hipsters. Fact is, match-cut rejects the ebullient pop humanism of Deborah Harry's "ooh-ooh woah-woah" in Blondie's Heart of Glass, instead opting for the bombastic nihilism of Nicole Kidman's line reading of "no" in the latest Noah Baumbach film. Match-cut is essentially the Rotten Tomatoes forums, only without the playful, Spielberg-ian sense of spiritual community. By taking refuge from that sanctuary, match-cut has become the embodiment of the insular elitism that Todd Haynes praised in his latest monstrosity. And by listing their 20 favorite films (which doesn't include I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, thus revealing an utter lack of political consciousness), Match-cut will be contributing to the end of western civilization as we know it, an apocalypse first signified by a positive review of a recent Assayas retrospective in the latest Village Voice. Simply put, Match-cut is the anti-A.I.

In conclusion, you're all worthless hipster scum, and I hope you get diseases and illnesses. Except for anorexia, which is a hipster's disease. Which means your probably already have it.

Stay tuned for the best and worst films of the year. Another person will be hosting the presentation. A certain character actor, who appeared in several films last year, including 30 Days of Night...

[dreamdead]

I have achieved status as hipster-scum?!? Look, ma! Top of the world.

Bring it.

[transmogrifier]

Saw the photo, almost closed the thread immediately. Glad I stuck around, cos that was funny stuff.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Stay tuned for the best and worst films of the year. Another person will be hosting the presentation. A certain character actor, who appeared in several films last year, including 30 Days of Night...

Goddamnit.

[dreamdead]

Josh Hartnett sighting, yo!

[Raiders]

I'm guessing Ben Foster...

[Melville]

Awesome. The endless discussion of Armond White has finally received justification.

[Spinal]

Woo hoo!

Go good movies!

Boooo bad movies!

[EvilShoe]

All Danny Huston seems to do these days is present awards on Match-Cut.

I'm not complaining though.

[Sycophant]

All Danny Huston seems to do these days is present awards on Match-Cut.

I'm not complaining though.He's found his niche.

[eternity]

Only three of the movies on my top ten even have a chance of being in the top twenty. Still, can't wait to see it.

[EvilShoe]

He's found his niche.
Is K_Fan his muse?

[Stay Puft]

I find Armond White more sexually appealing than Paris Hilton.

[Boner M]

http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/winter2004/features/images/critic.jpg

Well done, Raiders. By not jumping to conclusions you have endowed Match-cut with the wisdom and patience it richly deserves, qualities reminiscent of the opening credit font of Stephen Chow's CJ7, which was horribly betrayed by David Fincher in his upcoming film that I haven't seen.

Without further ado, here's Ben Foster.

http://z.about.com/d/movies/1/0/V/S/O/alphadogprempic8.jpg

WASSUP MATCHCUT, BEN FOSTER INDAHOUSE. I’m like early De Niro, plus any actor who’s played a skinhead, times the drummer from Metallica, divided by everyone who ever tried to assassinate a president. When I wake up, I scream and jerk off, and when I can’t get it up, I start screaming again and breaking shit, cos I’m fucking hardcore, man. Then I juggle babies, and sometimes I drop them, and then the babies start crying and bleeding and shit, but I’m all ‘shut the fuck up baby, you’re just a stupid fucking baby’. Then I eat breakfast while reading Dennis Cooper. You know why? Cos I’m extreme. And if you aren’t extreme then don’t deserve to breathe air. I’ve already starred in three pretty extreeeme movies in 2007 and made them even more extreme with my intensity-in-ten-cities screen presence. You know how some people see an actor with charisma, and they’re like ‘this guy’s got something, and I like it’? When people watch me, they go ‘holy shit I better buy that guy a Gatorade or he’s gonna punch me in the balls’. If nothing else, I proved that EVERY FUCKING MOVIE FROM 2007 NEEDED THE MUTHAFUCKIN BEN FOSTER EXPERIENCE.

SO ARE YOU READY TO GO EXTREME MATCH-CUT????!

http://www.travelizmo.com/archives/epic-elite-camera-housing-wakeboarding.jpg

EXTREME!!!

http://www.joy.it/gallery/albums/userpics/normal_many-piercings-l.jpg

EXTREME!!!

http://www.capesius.com/images/man/pythons1.jpg

EXTREME!!!

http://dogs-puppies.dogs-central.com/golden-retriever-puppy/0763189502.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

TOTALLY NOT EXTREME!!!

_____________

http://z.about.com/d/movies/1/0/V/S/O/alphadogprempic8.jpg

Boner will be back shortly to present the ten worst films of 2007, as voted by you. One of them starred me, so FUCK ALL Y'ALL MUTHAFUCKAS.

Stick around!

[Spinal]

This thread may be too extreme for me, but I will stick around as long as I am able.

[Boner M]

WORST FILMS OF 2007

=10. The Golden Compass (Chris Weitz)

http://www.blogdecine.com/images/2006/12/luces_del_Norte.jpg

"My god... this film was hideous. Even as a kids fantasy film, it's far below any Potter or Narnia film. This was an insult to Pullman's fantastic novel." - Wats

=10. Severance (Christopher Smith)

http://www.austinchronicle.com/binary/dcc2/Severance.jpg

It's one of the worst "horror" films I've seen in a while. - KF

[Boner M]

9. Hostel Part II (Eli Roth)

http://www.austinchronicle.com/binary/5183/Hostel2.jpg

"The opening two acts are boring because Roth is lazy, too excited about his lame-o finale to successfully spice up all the redundant buildup material. Worst of all, he ultimately fails to make his movie scary or even unsettling, his stabs at misanthropic spectacle at the end being oddly watered down and lacking in resonance, while his desperate attempts at Haneke-style spectator critique and sociological commentary simply don't work. The last fifteen minutes are the worst... I wanted to kick my television." - Rowland

[Boner M]

8. Alpha Dog (Nick Cassavetes)

http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070109/070109_alphaDog_hmed_2p.hlarge .jpg

"There's a scene where the main character watches Austin Powers on TV during the extended, funny-through-perseverance scene where Myers tries to do a three-point-turn with his vehicle in a narrow corridor, and sometimes John's untalented son will attempt the same thing, only with the film's drama; stretching scenes further than necessary and having his actors act themselves hoarse in the hope of some sort of truth(?) emerging... but few of them have the chops for that kinda thing, so the effect is merely exasperating. I pretty much tuned out during the Bully-aping coda, and have no intention on revisiting it." - Boner

[Boner M]

7. Bee Movie (Steve Hickner & Simon J. Smith)

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-11/33634275.jpg

Michael Richards' racist comedy club rant is no longer the most embarrassing performance by a former cast member of Seinfeld. This was abysmal. Worse than I thought it possibly could be. - Spinal

[Boner M]

6. Shrek the Third

http://moviesmedia.ign.com/movies/image/article/789/789869/shrek-the-third-20070518021424405-000.jpg

(couldn't find any negative thoughts for some reason. Guess it wasn't worthy of any writing in any form)

[Rowland]

Love the picture for Shrek 3.

Great work, keep it up!

[Boner M]

5. Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (Greg Strause & Colin Strause)

http://www.filmpeek.net/images/alien-vs-predator.jpg

"But they failed at the most basic level, which was making a watchable, entertaining action film. The characters make decisions with zero logic, seem to be taking turns to speak and, when they do, they vomit incredibly stupid bullshit. In short, this movie needed a writer, who was probably still on strike." - Grouchy

[Boner M]

4. Juno (Jason Reitman)

http://a235.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/44/l_b15d7b8f4987be80929d72e92155 82b2.jpg

"I don't know anything about this movie or this girl, but I am already annoyed." - D_Davis

[Eleven]

Hee-hee.

[Spinal]

Love the picture for Shrek 3.


Definitely. Very appropriate methinks. I managed to avoid this one by letting my wife take the hit.

[Boner M]

3. Ghost Rider (Mark Steven Johnson)

http://www.aolcdn.com/aolnews_photos/04/07/20070818100809990001

Anyway, this is dreadful. Just dreadful. Even worse than Smokin' Aces, which is saying a lot. Everything about it is inept. Mark Steven Johnson is a bona fide retard. There's not a directorial decision in the film that works in any, from the dialogue, the way he stages the action, the shooting and editing of scenes, the production design - NOTHING. Hell, even the opening credits had me in pain. I even think Fonda and Elliot look bored, and Cage only intermittently goes manic enough to make it funny. And I just can't understand how anyone on set could watch Eve Mendes perform and then say "Cut, that's great. Let's move on to the next scene"." - Buff

[Boner M]

2. Transformers (Michael Bay)

http://www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/media/images/7/b/Cans_1.jpg

"Dammit, Transformers sucks. Good set-up, but it devolves into a total headache. Sure, the special effects are amazing, but the last half of the film is a total bore. Awful pacing throughout, way too long and the storytelling is borderline nonsensical. It's a Bay film through and through. The Mountain Dew robot is really the nail in the coffin. I mean, come on." - Doclop

[Watashi]

Golden Compass should be higher (lower?).

[Sycophant]

Golden Compass should be higher (lower?).
Over and to the left.

These image choices rock.

Except for the pythons picture. *shudder* If that's the new Match Cut meme, I may be out of here.

[Boner M]

1. 300 (Zach Snyder)

http://www.capesius.com/images/man/pythons1.jpg

"Misogynistic, but also goes out of its way to show 'female empowerment'. Homophobic, with plenty of male body worship. Xenophobic, hamfistedly patriotic, with Christian symbolism? Say it ain't so!" - chrisnu

[Sycophant]

Effin' A.

[Watashi]

300 is not worse than Ghost Rider.

[Duncan]

I can't stop looking at that Juno picture. Like a train wreck or something.

[Sycophant]

300 is not worse than Ghost Rider.They're both awful, inert, morally reprehensible special effects showcases. At least Cage's charisma gives a little oomph to a few scenes.

[Eleven]

I've seen half of them. I need a shower.

How many more times will the steroid guy get posted? My money's on 3, for 5 times total.

[Sycophant]

http://dogs-puppies.dogs-central.com/golden-retriever-puppy/0763189502.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

TOTALLY NOT EXTREME!!!

CUTE > EXTREME

[Sycophant]

I can't stop looking at that Juno picture. Like a train wreck or something.
Is there something to get here that I'm missing? Who are those people?

[Boner M]

Smokin' Aces wuz robbed.

Anyway, I need to take a break cos I've got the French film festival today as well as a concert. I'll be back with a vengeance tomorrow, tho.

[Sycophant]

Smokin' Aces wuz robbed.

Anyway, I need to take a break cos I've got the French film festival today as well as a concert. I'll be back with a vengeance tomorrow, tho.Honestly, I need to run errands but found myself held hostage by this thread. I'm glad for the reprieve. Great so far, though! :pritch:

[Boner M]

Is there something to get here that I'm missing? Who are those people?
I just googled 'indie kid' and selected the first pic that seemed an appropriate summation of Juno.

[Stay Puft]

I have seen the four worst films of 2007 according to Match Cut, but not the rest. The top (worst) three, specifically, would probably be my own, although I'm sure I could think of a couple more "offenses" if I cared to try.

EDIT: Yes, Smokin' Aces, there's one. Really bad.

[Sycophant]

Yeah, I saw five of the eleven. And for some reason I still plan on seeing Transformers.

[Stay Puft]

Yeah, I saw five of the eleven. And for some reason I still plan on seeing Transformers.

The product placement is almost worth it. Probably the best (worst?) use of product placement in 2007.

[Philosophe_rouge]

From the worst list I've only seen Juno, which I quite liked. I guess woo for me.

[balmakboor]

I've only seen two of those and one -- Transformers -- sucked. The other -- Juno -- is one of the few films from last year that I look forward to owning.

[Spinal]

I'm still stubbornly holding out hope that The Golden Compass is not as bad as you guys say. Maybe low expectations will help.

[ledfloyd]

300 is absolutely the most miserable theater experience i've ever had my entire life. this coming from a guy who has seen blast from teh past and a night at the roxbury in theaters. i also had a panic attack in a theater once. 300 trumps all.

[Bosco B Thug]

2. Transformers (Michael Bay)

http://www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/media/images/7/b/Cans_1.jpg Hahaha, perfect. It looks like the movie!

[eternity]

Juno being on the worst list is really, really offensive. It's a subtle masterpiece.

[Sycophant]

Juno being on the worst list is really, really offensive. It's a subtle masterpiece.I can understand liking the film. I really can, even though I disagree wholeheartedly. However, I'll never understand your position on it.

[Spinal]

It's a subtle masterpiece.

Forget the masterpiece part, how on earth is it subtle?

[eternity]

Forget the masterpiece part, how on earth is it subtle?Having just seen it again today, the body language and the dialogue foreshadow for future scenes, or justify previous scenes, where every character motivation, every reaction, every progression of the plot is both realistic and emotional. On repeat viewings, there's a lot more than meets the eye in scenes, because of the amount of attention to detail. It could be Diablo Cody's writing, or it could be the cast putting themselves mentally and physically into the shoes of their characters, but it's a very personal, multi-leveled, unpretentious film. Forgetting the quips about the dialogue being tacked on and annoying (it's not, I think the dialogue is also quite good, but that has nothing to do with why the film is anywhere above average), it's still the most fully-realized, multi-dimensional film of the year.

[lovejuice]

I've only seen two of those and one -- Transformers -- sucked. The other -- Juno -- is one of the few films from last year that I look forward to owning.

i am not surprised to see juno here. :shrug: but i too think it deserves better. agree that transformer's pic is exactly like the movie. i don't know 300 is this hated. i kinda enjoy it. as the commentary says so, it's interesting in how conflicting the flick can be.

[Briare]

I thought Transformers was pretty boring. Not bad, just boring.

[Grouchy]

No way 300 is worse than those other nine, you guys are just on a denial/hate trip.

[chrisnu]

300 is not worse than Ghost Rider.
I agree, if only on a technical level. Ghost Rider is just astoundingly bad in every single way.

Brownie points for including my comments on 300!

[eternity]

300 is worse than The Golden Compass, Severance, and Juno. Otherwise, yes, it is better than the rest of that list.

[Derek]

No way Transformers belongs on this list. You haters need to get a grip. I've seen way worse worse films like Ghost Rider and the Joey Buttafuoco sex tape and 2Girls1Cup. I'm offended and actually kind of sickened that you guys would rather watch these films than Transformers.

*returns to ivory tower*

[Spinal]

2Girls1Cup

Will you people stop mentioning this? I have been working very hard to scour the six seconds I saw of this from my brain and it doesn't help when you continue to remind me that it exists. :sad:

[origami_mustache]

No way Transformers belongs on this list. You haters need to get a grip. I've seen way worse worse films like Ghost Rider and the Joey Buttafuoco sex tape and 2Girls1Cup. I'm offended and actually kind of sickened that you guys would rather watch these films than Transformers.

*returns to ivory tower*

oh c'mon Transformers was easily one of the worst scripts to ever come to fruition not to mention it was racist haha. I don't care how good the special effects and production values were; they should be eye catching considering the budget, but that's not an excuse to half ass the rest of the production. This film made South Park's "exaggerated" Michael Bay parodys seem timid in comparison.

[Qrazy]

No way Transformers belongs on this list. You haters need to get a grip. I've seen way worse worse films like Ghost Rider and the Joey Buttafuoco sex tape and 2Girls1Cup. I'm offended and actually kind of sickened that you guys would rather watch these films than Transformers.

*returns to ivory tower*

Huh? Get the fuck out of the ivory tower if you're going to talk like that.

[eternity]

Will you people stop mentioning this? I have been working very hard to scour the six seconds I saw of this from my brain and it doesn't help when you continue to remind me that it exists. :sad:There's a pretty insightful review on it that would probably make you appreciate it more. It's actually a deep little film.

In the masterful work 2girls1cup, the feminist genre is reexamined through a series of reversals of expectations. The prevalent ideologies of our culture are filtered through the lens of the pornographic genre - and in true modern form - the work tends to raise more questions than it answers.

The opening image, that of the stenciled "MFX 1209" suggests a confusing misunderstanding - the 1209 seems as some sort of date, yet the aesthetic of the number lends itself to a futuristic association. This blurring of the past and future, mixed with the confusion of the assumed-to-be acronym primes the audience for the confusion to come.

The first image with the two primary characters (who for the sake of this reading, I will consider to be the "2girls" that are referred to in the title) is seemingly innocuous - the cross-cultural, lesbian interaction defines the equal-rights (both feminine and racial) within the genre of pornography.

The gentle background music hulls the audience to sleep, and the timely but gradual change into the next shot at :11 goes by largely unnoticed by the audience. The eyes are immediately drawn to the "Cup" (also presumed to be that mentioned in the title), the inversion of the phallus and perhaps one of the most overarching symbols for feminine spirituality and sexuality in antiquity.

The gentle piano concerto will continue as the cup is suddenly and ironically filled with a steaming shot of fecal matter from the anus of our primary character. In this way, the masculinist, derogatory nature of the pornographic genre returns in a surprising, explosive manner. The fecal matter "penetrates" the sacred chalice, which raises a number of interesting questions. Many of these questions pertains to lesbian sexuality- is womanly love possible without the masculine grotesque? Is the pornographic genre doomed to exist within the realm of humiliating acts, even when the only participants are an innocuous 2 girls, and 1 cup? The later image of the two characters attempting to kiss through the feces of the masculine grotesque (as well as the literal feces) will only support this theme.

The excited but hesitant tonguing suggests a sort of apprehension on the part of the lead characters, but by :25, any hope for redemption has been lost. This transition from playful tonguing to full fecal consumption happens as suddenly as the transition to the original defecatory act - why do these central thematic moments happen offstage? There is no dramatic dialogue, neither character gives voice to the greater internal struggles that surely must precede the decision to consume another's feces. This central thematic crux is internalized in both the characters, and thus is obscured from the audience's perception as well.

[Boner M]

In the masterful work 2girls1cup, the feminist genre is reexamined through a series of reversals of expectations. The prevalent ideologies of our culture are filtered through the lens of the pornographic genre - and in true modern form - the work tends to raise more questions than it answers.

http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/winter2004/features/images/critic.jpg

?

[dreamdead]

Because of its placement here, I will finally watch Transformers this week.

[eternity]

http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/winter2004/features/images/critic.jpg

?
Bingo.

[Derek]

Huh? Get the fuck out of the ivory tower if you're going to talk like that.

Um, yeah. I was making fun of the other holier-than-though *shocked* reactions to the results of the bottom 10. What would ever make you think I'd find anything of value in Transformers? I thought it was a given that it sucked, hence why I chose it. I guess I'll use the smiley or [/sarcasm] next time...

[Qrazy]

Um, yeah. I was making fun of the other holier-than-though *shocked* reactions to the results of the bottom 10. What would ever make you think I'd find anything of value in Transformers? I thought it was a given that it sucked, hence why I chose it. I guess I'll use the smiley or [/sarcasm] next time...

I thought maybe but it didn't seem to quite fit. Ehh schmorgaflorg.

[Philosophe_rouge]

I thought Transformers was pretty boring. Not bad, just boring.
I tend to think being boring is worse than being just bad.

[Rowland]

I tend to think being boring is worse than being just bad.That said, I can't imagine what isn't bad about Transformers. Boring AND bad... that's a lethal combo.

[Philosophe_rouge]

That said, I can't imagine what isn't bad about Transformers. Boring AND bad... that's a lethal combo.
I haven't seen it, so I can't really say

[Derek]

I thought maybe but it didn't seem to quite fit. Ehh schmorgaflorg.

Obviously I failed to get any point across. :) I was [attempting] to make fun of the "how can you think this is awful when there's even more awful things out there" line of reasoning, which essentially argues for the acceptance of crap simply because there's even more vile crap out there.

[Rowland]

Obviously I failed to get any point across. No, I understood it. Considering that you clearly used eternity's indignation regarding the inclusion of Juno as a model, I thought the satire was obvious. ;)

[Derek]

No, I understood it. Considering that you clearly used eternity's indignation regarding the inclusion of Juno as a model, I thought the satire was obvious. ;)

Ok good. I thought it was clear (and don't worry, I wasn't going for subtlety ;)), but I'm exhausted so I figured I might've been rambling incoherently.

[trotchky]

I really enjoyed Juno, though mostly, I guess, in a "guilty pleasure" way. I don't think I'd be prepared to defend it in any objective sense, but I still don't think it's one of the worst of the year.

[Sycophant]

"Guilty pleasure?" Do not take this a challenge; I'm just intrigued.

Please expound.

[MacGuffin]

I really enjoyed Juno, though mostly, I guess, in a "guilty pleasure" way. I don't think I'd be prepared to defend it in any objective sense, but I still don't think it's one of the worst of the year.

It definitely seems like either a movie I'd flat out hate and not find funny (like another pseudoquirky Little Miss Sunshine), or something I'd enjoy, but find aesthetically boring. But Jason Reitman directed it, so it's likely the latter.

[trotchky]

"Guilty pleasure?" Do not take this a challenge; I'm just intrigued.

Please expound.

I just meant that, although I know it's not a very good film, I enjoyed it a lot anyway. It's sexless, toothless, and apolitical, safe and undemanding, seemingly focus group tested so as not to offend anyone. Yet it has a personality that appeals to me; it feels more alive than Little Miss Sunshine, and less condescending; it treats both the child and adult characters with respect, which is rarity in teen movies; and many of the interactions rang true and reminded me, particularly the one between Juno and the prospective father, of relationships I have had.

I can think of far more egregious films released last year. Death Proof and Superbad come to mind.

[ledfloyd]

I can think of far more egregious films released last year. Death Proof and Superbad come to mind.

what's wrong with superbad?

[Duncan]

Juno is a way political film.

[origami_mustache]

Juno is a way political film.

HAHAHAHAHA

[Bosco B Thug]

I just meant that, although I know it's not a very good film, I enjoyed it a lot anyway. It's sexless, toothless, and apolitical, safe and undemanding, seemingly focus group tested so as not to offend anyone. Yet it has a personality that appeals to me; it feels more alive than Little Miss Sunshine, and less condescending; it treats both the child and adult characters with respect, which is rarity in teen movies; and many of the interactions rang true and reminded me, particularly the one between Juno and the prospective father, of relationships I have had.

I can think of far more egregious films released last year. Death Proof and Superbad come to mind. B'oh! I was with ya til the one-two namedrop negativity towards two of last year's more distinguished offerings.

[Stay Puft]

I'll be back with a vengeance tomorrow, tho.

:|

[Sycophant]

:|That's some mighty cold vengeance.

[Rowland]

:|Yeah, over 24 hours of flaccidity is worrisome.

[Stay Puft]

Yeah, over 24 hours of flaccidity is worrisome.

Total blue balls over here.

[Duncan]

HAHAHAHAHA

I was serious.

[Bosco B Thug]

I was serious. Ooh, how so? Even myself, a supporter of Juno, concedes it only works on the level of a "personal journey" picture and has no higher aims to elucidate on the current climate of teenage sexual practice, high school pregnancy, and social conservatism... though that last one is what the film is essentially about, in its saccharinely sweet, "Go individuality!", idealistic and very patly-minded girl-power sort of way.

[Qrazy]

Ok good. I thought it was clear (and don't worry, I wasn't going for subtlety ;)), but I'm exhausted so I figured I might've been rambling incoherently.

Yeah it was obvious but then you did the ivory tower thing so I got confused again, that was my mental lapse, not yours. You can rest easy this evening.
But I'll be watching... and waiting... and scheming.

[Duncan]

Ooh, how so? Even myself, a supporter of Juno, concedes it only works on the level of a "personal journey" picture and has no higher aims to elucidate on the current climate of teenage sexual practice, high school pregnancy, and social conservatism... though that last one is what the film is essentially about, in its saccharinely sweet, "Go individuality!", idealistic and very patly-minded girl-power sort of way.
In very basic terms because I'm a little busy with school work:

The film is about teen pregnancy and abortion (or rejection of abortion) yet manages to remain utterly benign. It made over 100 million dollars. It is "indie" yet seems to appeal to everyone. How the hell does it do that?

Well, I'm thinking specifically of the essay "Cinema/Ideology/Criticism" (Cahiers Du Cinema, 1969) that argues every film is political. I agree with that part of it, but not its later conclusions. Anyway, it divides films into a bunch of categories and this is the first one: "The first and largest category comprises those films which are imbued through and through with the dominant ideology in pure and unadulterated form, and give no indication that their makers were even aware of the fact." This does not apply to Juno, but I quote it because I think the essay lacks a category for films like Juno. That is, those films that are imbued through and through with the dominant ideology, and are absolutely aware of that fact. They are designed specifically to reflect, embrace, and exploit that ideology for commercial means. Even Juno's eccentricities are designed such that they are endearing, not confrontational or challenging. Old people laugh at the way Juno talks because she is non-threatening but just different enough to make them think they are experiencing something youthful or outside their comfort zones. Obviously, I'm speaking very broadly here. This doesn't apply to everyone yadda yadda yadda.

Juno is a brilliantly balanced picture - and it should be criticized for that.

[Qrazy]

Well, I'm thinking specifically of the essay "Cinema/Ideology/Criticism" (Cahiers Du Cinema, 1969) that argues every film is political.

These kinds of positions irritate me because in so far as they claim to examine truth, I feel they more often pidgeon-hole reality into their particular perspective, thereby obscuring truth. The problem is, it's an unfalsifiable belief, just as much as claiming every film has sexual undercurrents would be unfalsifiable. The position seeks to elucidate the basic ideological representations intrinsic to an artistic piece, but in so doing they claim that an ideological political definition somehow provides a complete conceptual framework for the artwork. For starters the term political is abstracted and redefined on it's most general level, which is fine but then... the stance will begin to try to group films into categories such as capitalistic, socialistic, misogynistic, racist, democratic, libertarian, etc, etc. What happens to negative capability and to abstract artwork when you try to impose a political theory upon the piece? We can certainly define Brakhage's work in a political context, but do we gain more than we lose by virtue of the analysis? Art is abstract, multi-layered and metaphorical, but it is not necessarily didactic or even focused on social relations. It is necessarily informed by the social, because no one exists in a vaccuum, and art is necessarily created by people who exist in a society, but it can often embrace multiple seemingly contradictory political perspectives and in some cases it may not necessarily be about (even implicitly in my perspective) the social.

[Duncan]

These kinds of positions irritate me because in so far as they claim to examine truth, I feel they more often pidgeon-hole reality into their particular perspective, thereby obscuring truth. The problem is, it's an unfalsifiable belief, just as much as claiming every film has sexual undercurrents would be unfalsifiable. The position seeks to elucidate the basic ideological representations intrinsic to an artistic piece, but in so doing they claim that an ideological political definition somehow provides a complete conceptual framework for the artwork. For starters the term political is abstracted and redefined on it's most general level, which is fine but then... the stance will begin to try to group films into categories such as capitalistic, socialistic, misogynistic, racist, democratic, libertarian, etc, etc. What happens to negative capability and to abstract artwork when you try to impose a political theory upon the piece? We can certainly define Brakhage's work in a political context, but do we gain more than we lose by virtue of the analysis? Art is abstract, multi-layered and metaphorical, but it is not necessarily didactic or even focused on social relations. It is necessarily informed by the social, because no one exists in a vaccuum, and art is necessarily created by people who exist in a society, but it can often embrace multiple seemingly contradictory political perspectives and in some cases it may not necessarily be about (even implicitly in my perspective) the social.

I will second everything you said here. Which is why I followed what you quoted with, "I agree with that part of it, but not its later conclusions." I also would agree that every film has sexual undercurrents, but that analyzing every film from that perspective is often next to useless and probably negative. I would never advocate studying every film from a political standpoint, and frankly, I find most political criticism boring.

That said, I think you can choose to apply these intellectual frameworks selectively and that doing so can be beneficial to one's understanding of that work. Films like Little Miss Sunshine and Juno really bother me on a political level, so I choose to criticize them through a political lens.

[Qrazy]

I will second everything you said here. Which is why I followed what you quoted with, "I agree with that part of it, but not its later conclusions." I also would agree that every film has sexual undercurrents, but that analyzing every film from that perspective is often next to useless and probably negative. I would never advocate studying every film from a political standpoint, and frankly, I find most political criticism boring.

That said, I think you can choose to apply these intellectual frameworks selectively and that doing so can be beneficial to one's understanding of that work. Films like Little Miss Sunshine and Juno really bother me on a political level, so I choose to criticize them through a political lens.

Cool then we agree, so which elements of Juno's politics bother you? That it's so complacent?

[origami_mustache]

I was serious.

I understand that politics cannot be separated from the subject matter of the film, but as mentioned, Juno in fact avoids confrontation which is probably what bothers me the most about it and why I find the "politics" of the film laughable. Anyways you and Qrazy articulated this much better than I can, so rep to you both and I'll be on my way gents.

[Boner M]

Sorry for the lateness guys, top 20 starts shortly.

[Boner M]

20. The Wayward Cloud (Tsai Ming-Liang)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/colpot/wayword.jpg

MATCH: I re-watched The Wayward Cloud, and for the first 80 minutes or so, the cadence of the film really gelled for me. Perhaps I was just impatient, I don't know, but it captures what feels like an urban anxiety of societal and personal expectations of what your life's supposed to be like, and the feeling that no matter what you do, it's never going to be what you expect it to be. This manifests itself in concealed desires, and the vicarious seeking out of these desires in dreams, in movies. There's a Lynchian feel to the garish, campy musical numbers in both their ironic cheeriness, and the repetition within them, which feels like the reinforcement of desires, trying to will them to happen. - chrisnu

CUT: The final shot is one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen, though. - also chrisnu, cos I couldn't find any negative thoughts.

The Wayward Cloud, Ben Foster'd!

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/4272/4272.jpg

If I was in this film, there wouldn't be any of that urban ennui artsy-fartsy bullshit, or those pansy-ass musical numbers, just 2 hours of HARDCORE FUCKING. Keep the necrophilia, though. EXTREME!

[Boner M]

19. Atonement (Joe Wright)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/colpot/atonement.jpg

MATCH: Difficult to put into words why exactly this had such a profound impact on me, bu I'll give it a shot. Certainly, I think the second half is just as mesmerizing as the first and perhaps even more so. Yeah, I recall something I said a few years ago to Father Barry about WW2 being my favorite kind of war, but this isn't war at its most brutally and triumphantly heroic, but at its most haunting and majestically sweeping. Even a sequence such as Robbie and cohorts stumbling onto a mass grave possesses an ethereal quality that left me in utter awe. The complaints about the second half, most of which I've read in this thread, have perplexed me a little. Is it wrong of Wright to expand the Celia/Robbie narrative beyond their mere romance? Was it a bad move to show the larger canvas? I would have agreed almost certainly if Wright had inserted a bunch of shootouts with German soldiers, but for my money there isn't a shot wasted if you ask me. Robbie's trek through European battlefields remains suffused with an ever-present sense of longing, of returning, of re-connecting with the love of his life. The scene at Dunkirk, one of the very best of the year, may have been about human waste as Wright claims, but I also sensed an unmistakable presence of unity, of connection, of camaraderie as the camera took it all in with beatific elegance. The choir at the chapel, the symbolic reconnection with the black soldier as Boner has said in this same thread, the odd sight of a functioning Ferris wheel perhaps conveying the idea that life will go on, that Robbie will persevere, that disconnection is only momentary in this case etc.. Eh guys, this is overhelmingly brilliant filmmaking. - Morris Schæffer

CUT: Maybe it's the "Too attached to the source material" effect, but the problems began for me from the very beginning. I actually think the first act is the most problematic (while the war section is the flat-out least engaging). The movie is breathless and the only character whose psychological state it successfully internalizes in any striking way is Briony. In its breathless pace, the Cecilia and Robbie characters and the deep-seated laboriousness of their adulthood hardly register. Briony's aggressive, desperate quest for an adult understanding of the world is established satisfactorally, and its interesting how the film emphasizes primal human sexual passion as the object of the intellectually blossoming Briony's coveting (the awkwardness of Briony's revelation in the library was quite good), but it too is lost in the shuffle of major events that is the first act. Again, having read the book of course I'd find the film "rushed," but I'm pretty confident the film clumsily goes from big moment to big moment without a sense of continuity, and so the scenario which I bought into fully when reading I question now. - Bosco

Atonement, Ben Foster'd!

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/4272/4272.jpg

If I was Robbie, I'd have sent that letter on purpose... TO BRIONY. EXTREEME!

[Boner M]

18. Juno (Jason Reitman)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/colpot/juno.jpg

MATCH: The dialogue I keep hearing is so stupid unbelievable is anything but. Other than a few cringing moments- particular from the convenience store clerk in the trailer, absent from all the rest of the film] is not something I wouldn't have heard from certain people in high school and these people are the Juno's of the world. Awkward, not always unattractive and just plain different. I was a little surprised at the film and how much I enjoyed it. There's no point in scrambling to figure out different beefs with the movie, its not perfect but its perfectly acceptable as entertainment and it succeeds if only because it injects a lot of sadness for Juno. Not because she's pregnant, but because she is so wonderful and a lot of people in her world fail to recognize this. Juno's quirks aren't forced like many of the characteristics in LMS were, she's a very natural character and the performance by Page is charismatic. Michael Cera scenes with her are rightly awkward if only because the dumbstruck Cera doesn't think a remotely attractive girl like her could ever like a weirdo like him- and vice versa. The only complaint here is for Jennifer Garner's over written role, which had it been written more like Bateman's would've certainly improved the small portion of the movie they are in. Overall, excellent. The best surprise of the year for me. Just sit back and start to ignore some of the quirkier lines of dialogue if its not your thing, and you should be fine. - [i]Briare Rabbit

CUT: It was probably a great screenplay to read, but it’s an ear-sore to listen to. Diablo Cody is obviously a talented writer to be able to come up with this dialogue, but somewhere along the line, perhaps a filtering system was needed. Movie dialogue doesn’t need to be realistic, but they do need to have a sense of order to them. Maybe I’m being too harsh, and a lot of people would say so, but the fact is when the humor rubbed me the wrong way like this, it’s hard to find it funny. Juno just sounds like a bunch of hipsters reading each other’s novelty t-shirts. There’s something cute about the concept of the shirt, but wearing it and reading it aloud is just sad. Not to mention annoying. Incidentally, I was given a Juno t-shirt that has a random line from the movie written on it, and I found looking at the t-shirt funnier than the actual line in the movie. Go figure. - number8

Juno, Ben Foster'd!

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/4272/4272.jpg

If I was Juno, I’d go and punch that Bleeker kid cos he’s a no-good faggot-ass indie kid pussy that forget to put on a condom before infecting me with his faggot disease. Then I’d give the baby up for adoption to a satanist couple who'll probably sacrifice it. And there wouldn't be any twee-pop bullshit on the soundtrack, just Napalm Death. EXTREEEME!

[Boner M]

17. Hot Fuzz (Edgar Wright)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/colpot/hotfuzz.jpg

MATCH: Awesome. A 2+ hour comedy that doesn't drop the ball once. OK, maybe a few times, but I'll overlook it. I actually liked it more than SOTD, which I felt played the pathos card too much toward the end. And action films are more ripe for satire than zombie films, which are already inherently satires (kinda). The simultaneous indulgence in and mockery of genre conventions is thoroughly spot-on here. And man, whadda cast! - Boner

CUT: it's just so safe and timid. Not only does it play to the lowest possible common denominator (it's the kind of movie you'd have to be mentally retarded not to understand--which I guess is a roundabout way of saying there's absolutely nothing to understand: American cop movies are pretty dumb but in the right frame of mind, puff, puff, they can be mildly amusing for their silliness) but it doesn't even have the balls to be a straight-up mindless action film. As a target for satire, the genre is hardly a sacred cow, and it's neither as crazy or as funny as, oh I dunno, Domino. - baby doll

Hot Fuzz, Ben Foster'd!

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/4272/4272.jpg

If I was Nicholas Angel, the film wouldn't be a comedy, because when Ben fucking Foster fly-kicks an old woman, NOBODY LAUGHS BUT BEN FUCKING FOSTER. Which is me. EXTREEEEME!

[MadMan]

This thread is hilarious. That said come on now, 300 as the worst film of the year? I'm with Grouchy in that its receiving way too much hate. I haven't seen, say, Ghost Rider but I highly doubt 300 is worse than that film or AVP II or Shrek the Third, which was pretty mediocre. I could have written something for Shrek but honestly its not worth wasting words over.

[Boner M]

16. Black Book (Paul Verhoeven)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/colpot/blackbook.jpg

MATCH: Verhoeven’s wisest directorial choice is casting Carice van Houten in his lead as Rachel, the young Jewish woman who must blend in amongst the Nazis responsible for murdering her family. Van Houten’s charisma and beauty allow us to easily forgive one of the script’s flimsiest bits of logic, namely why a high-ranking Nazi official (Sebastian Koch) is willing to risk so much and offer her so much trust. Van Houten’s performance combines beauty, caginess, sensitivity and dignity. All that and she can sing! The character of Rachel is far from angelic and not even psychologically consistent. And yet, van Houten gives her cohesion and provides a direct connection to Verhoeven’s theme of moral fogginess. I suspect the performance will do for her what Run Lola Run did for Franka Potente, namely make her highly sought after by Hollywood producers... There will be those who argue that the selected subject matter does not deserve to be treated so flippantly or mined for the maximum cinematic thrills. It is a legitimate point. And yet, there will be many who will be glad to approach the time period without the weighty reverence that is typically required. In the end, I believe Verhoeven gives his film legitimacy with the way he asserts that compassion and cruelty are qualities that know no borders and that nationality is no assurance of moral superiority. - Spinal

CUT: I thought it was heavy-handed, ludicrous, and added nothing to the canon of world war 2 films other than it was probably the first to feature a stamp collecting Nazi. Half the scenes are totally unconvincing, and the "thriller" aspect of it was dull. When the intrusive score kicks in, you know it's just a matter of time (yawn) until she finds a way out of her next jam. Nor does it work as a "whodunit" because it's fairly obvious from the beginning and when the good guys turn out be bad guys there is no shock. Or maybe I was past the point of caring. It's a bad film. A very bad film.
- Benny Profane

Black Book, Ben Foster'd!

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/4272/4272.jpg

I already am a nazi, so there's no way that I could alter the film. Umm, EXTREEEEEME!

[Boner M]

More to come tomorrow. Which I promise won't be as long as the last 'tomorrow'. :)

[dreamdead]

Woah, very surprised to see that Tsai's film made it, especially since there's no way for Tsai supporters like myself who only have access to dvds to see it.

I would go see Juno again if Napalm Death were the only band on its soundtrack. Many a film could be bettered by such an inclusion. Do I have to reminisce on the glory that was ND in Mortal Kombat?:P

[Ivan Drago]

Woah.








Armond White is black?

[Raiders]

Woah.








Armond White is black?

:|

[transmogrifier]

Woah.








Armond White is black?


Yep. Stupidity is one of those miraculous things that transcends race, gender and social class. It's very democratic in that respect.

:)

[Eleven]

Armond White is black?

And yet Jack Black is white. It's all very confusing, I know.

[Rowland]

Juno made our best and worst list, interesting. I didn't expect the former, but I forget how polarizing the movie is around here. Yay for Atonement's inclusion, I wasn't sure if that'd make the cut either. And I really want to see Ming-Liang's musical porno badly.

[Stay Puft]

Juno made our best and worst list, interesting.

Sycophant will, apparently, be thrilled to no end.

I may have raised an eyebrow, myself. Honestly didn't think it would happen.

[Sycophant]

Sycophant will, apparently, be thrilled to no end.
Kind of am. Despite the fact that I'm a little ashamed it showed up on our top list at all, it's pretty awesome that we as a collective think it belongs as one of the best and worst of last year. That's special.

Yep, still waiting for this thrill to come to an end. None in sight.

NOTE: I'm sorry. I'm pretty much done bashing Juno and will probably let it go if unprovoked.

[ledfloyd]

And yet Jack Black is white. It's all very confusing, I know.
Jack White however is White. Creeeeeepy.

[Spinal]

If I was Robbie, I'd have sent that letter on purpose... TO BRIONY. EXTREEME!

:eek:

[dreamdead]

:eek:

ahhh, Pedophilia. Making matchcutters laugh since 2004...

[lovejuice]

We can certainly define Brakhage's work in a political context, but do we gain more than we lose by virtue of the analysis?

just want to expound on this.

why bother asking? a political theorist never claims that his or her own is the only meaningful way to look at a text. (actually i think fredric jameson does. what's a bastard!) yet politics are everywhere. it can only add another layer to the interpretations by looking at a piece of art from that angle -- on top of a gender, psychoanalytic, post-modernistic angle.

reitman and cody might not even vote or follow the news, but they sure live in politics -- like any of us -- and thus are inescapably influenced by it. actually the fact that teen pregnancy takes a center stage in juno is enough proof.

what i agree with you though is, if i have to judge juno, i don't think politics are very much on top of its agenda.

[Qrazy]

just want to expound on this.

why bother asking? a political theorist never claims that his or her own is the only meaningful way to look at a text. (actually i think fredric jameson does. what's a bastard!) yet politics are everywhere. it can only add another layer to the interpretations by looking at a piece of art from that angle -- on top of a gender, psychoanalytic, post-modernistic angle.


That's the thing for me though, unless it was clearly the director's intention to have phallises everywhere, I have rarely read a psychoanalytic examination that I thought had any value in it's elucidation of the work in question. That's why I'm so partial to formal and structuralist critique because I want to see how the form and structure of the film reflect the themes of the film, not the themes of Freud and Marx.

I agree with the rest of what you wrote and I think we'd both agree that when analyzing a work and choosing the lens through which to view it, it becomes an issue of thematic prevalence in the film. I just find some lenses naturally foggier than others. The political poisition is actually fairly decent in comparison as it provides a super-ordinate class of critique which encompasses gender, race, etc. But anyway, I agree with both you and Duncan that political examination has it's place and it's merits. I was mostly referring to my issues (ones you both share I take it) with the Cahiers article then with Duncan's post.

[Ezee E]

EXTREME! Hilarious.

Also, Juno on the best & Worst list. Hilarious.

[Boner M]

http://z.about.com/d/movies/1/0/V/S/O/alphadogprempic8.jpg

Oh c'mon match-cut. Paedophile jokes too EXTREME for you? What a bunch of pussies y'all are.

http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/winter2004/features/images/critic.jpg

You're absolutely correct Ben. By not laughing at paedophile jokes, match-cut forsakes the humane, earnest naivety epitomised by Ivan Drago's "Armond White is black? Whoa.", instead succumbing to the glib smugness of Noah Baumbach's Juno remake, which doesn't exist as of yet. For shame, match-cut.

[Watashi]

I rather have Huston over White.

[Sycophant]

Um, White's pretty much rocking my world. Ben Foster kinda makes me uncomfortable.

[dreamdead]

By not laughing at paedophile jokes, match-cut forsakes the humane, earnest naivety epitomised by Ivan Drago's "Armond White is black? Whoa.", instead succumbing to the glib smugness of Noah Baumbach's Juno remake, which doesn't exist as of yet.

This sentence is so wrong grammatically that I can only conclude it's an example of grammatical magnificence.

[Boner M]

15. The Taste of Tea (Katsuhito Ishii)

http://medias.lemonde.fr/mmpub/edt/ill/2005/04/19/h_3_ill_640476_the_taste_of_te a_dr.jpg

CUT: The Taste of Tea is a beautiful, elegant, and simple film. It possesses the kind of peace and atmosphere unique to Japanese cinema. It is comprised of long moments full of introspection, and thought provoking passages punctuated by moments of bizarre and inventive creativity. When it's all said and done, I felt as if I had gotten to know the Haruno family. I felt as if I were a guest in their house, that I had been invited to observe them, and learn about their lives, their setting, and their accomplishments. I enjoyed my stay with the Haruno family, and I look forward to revisiting their quirky lives in the near future. - D_Davis

CUT: I thought it was a bit too cutesy and/or quirky for its own good. - Melville

The Taste of Tea, Ben Foster'd!

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/4272/4272.jpg

If I was in this film, I'd punch that giant face in the above jpg, cos it's freaking me out. I haven't seen this film, btw. EXTREEEEEME!

[eternity]

The inclusion of Juno on both lists is pretty amusing. I think that's because there's not much of a consensus as to what kind of film it actually is. More than anything, it's a character study of three characters, Juno, Mark and Vanessa, and the status quos of their pretentious lives crumbling between their feet. Unlike a Jake Kasdan film or most films about a character's descent right before your eyes, this is shown with the utmost subtlety, to the point where there are a number of interpretations of these pivotal parts of the film, that are in proportion to how much attention was paid to the little details. Cody's script differs from films of its kind like Little Miss Sunshine, Ghost World, or most films that can be lumped in its general genre conventions (there's already a lot of different genres being ran through it on a superficial level), it is not manufactured plot convention, for the lack of a better word, it's really intricate in the way that it lets the characters carry on the story, in a way that thanks to having a cast with the talent to pull it off, makes it feel entirely real. There's a lot to like on a superficial level, but it has to be noted that it's the superficial gloss of Juno that causes all of the division. "Real" dialogue is interpreted in different ways, as a lot of people in the world, and on Match Cut, like dialogue to be without the creative spin that people try to place on what they say, even though sometimes it is without success. Others appreciate the extra awkward layer, and some really don't. An opinion on this film, or any film, relies on subjective nuances of what's on the surface, but where I feel that this film differs from LMS, which is pretty shallow in my opinion, is that there's a lot of depth and genuine emotion that gives it a core that doesn't make it a film-for-the-sake-of-being-a-film.

I'm probably rambling now, so I'll stop there. I'm not the most articulate, can't really filter as well as the writer that I am putting on a pedestal here.

[Boner M]

Stop over-inflating Juno's 'importance', eternity.

[eternity]

Stop over-inflating Juno's 'importance', eternity.I'm not.

[Boner M]

14. Into the Wild (Sean Penn)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/colpot/into.jpg

MATCH: An insanely awesome match of character and technique; you could imagine if Chris had been a director, this is almost exactly the type of movie he would have made, a mixture of genuine transcendence and wide-eyed amateurishness. I think ultimately it was the right choice to depict life around the bus and the life leading up to that side by side, though I think Penn chickens out a little by leaving the unpleasantness until very, very late in the film - I think it would have been stronger to at least have had Chris's encountering serious problems by at least the halfway mark, and thus making the eventual acceptance of the importance of human contact all the more affecting (though it definitely is that already). Can hardly believe the film is two and a half hours long, as it glides by at a fair clip. - transmogrifier

CUT: Now, all of this seems like it could form a good story and a great critique of the naive quest for ultimate freedom, but the film is, unfortunately, an overblown mess. The sister’s narration is painfully melodramatic, McCandless is one-note and irritating in his naivete and clownish bravado, the endless slow-motion is ham-fisted and tiresome, the film’s structure is pointlessly repetitive, and the old man’s moral lesson about forgiveness really should have occurred before McCandless had his Tolstoy-induced epiphany (the way it is now just muddles the point of the final half hour). Also, the portrait of the real-life McCandless at the end instantly made him seem more real than the caricature that we saw throughout the rest of the film. His face seemed so much older and livelier than Emile Hirsch’s, and it suggested to me that the film’s themes would have been far better served if the central character had a bit more depth. - Melville


Into the Wild, Ben Foster'd!

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/4272/4272.jpg

If I was McCandless, I'd have fought wild bears, canoed off Niagara falls TWICE, and then communicated with bees with the power of my self-conscious twitching. EXTREEEEEEME!

[Boner M]

I'm not.
You just wanna get in Ellen Page's pants, as impossible as that is.

[Winston*]

I'm thinking white may have been a poor choice of writing colour for that Into the Wild pic.

[eternity]

You just wanna get in Ellen Page's pants, as impossible as that is.
Oh shit, Boner has me figured out. The jig is up!

[MacGuffin]

And I really want to see Ming-Liang's musical porno badly.

I know this is an Armond White reference, and I hope you know the movie is not a musical porno. If anything, it's anti-pornographic.

[Eleven]

I'm thinking white may have been a poor choice of writing colour for that Into the Wild pic.

"u havent truly embraced nature till uve shaken ur wet hair in storm[s]"?

[MacGuffin]

"u havent truly embraced nature till uve shaken ur wet hair in storm[s]"?

wet hair in slo mo

[Eleven]

wet hair in slo mo

Even better, and truer.

[Sven]

If anything, it's anti-pornographic.

Through its display of pornography! OMG, contradiction.

[MacGuffin]

Through its display of pornography! OMG, contradiction.

Yeah, you got me; I'm not "afraid" to admit it.

[MacGuffin]

In all fairness though iosos, surely there is a difference to the display of violence in Funny Games and the display of porn in The Wayward Cloud.

[Ivan Drago]

:|

That's not a bad thing, though.

But seriously though, I really didn't know he was until I first ventured in this thread.

[Rowland]

I hope you know the movie is not a musical porno.Relax hombre, I was being facetious.

[MacGuffin]

Relax hombre, I was being facetious.

Relax? Jesus, you all need to chill with the constant nitpicking towards me and the hit and run posts.

[Rowland]

Relax? Jesus, you all need to chill with the constant nitpicking towards me and the hit and run posts.:confused: :|

[MacGuffin]

:confused: :|

It's just pissing me off, man. I'm trying not to be as much of a jerk anymore, and now people are being more of a jerk to me. I just want to talk about movies.

[transmogrifier]

It's just pissing me off, man. I'm trying not to be as much of a jerk anymore, and now people are being more of a jerk to me. I just want to talk about movies.


My advice is to put the safety on for that neg rep gun you've got flying about, aiming at non-existent grievances.

Also - think things through.

[dreamdead]

Ivan's lack of understanding about Armond White's identity gives me new opportunity to go to hell and score neg rep at the same time. :pritch:

Can you recognize this guy, Ivan?

http://www.nanceestar.com/10-09pompeii-deadguy-head.jpg

That's Gene Siskel.

[Watashi]

More! More!

[Boner M]

Sorry for all the interruptions guys, I've got lots of schoolwork and shit. I'll be back to the countdown when I get home later today, and finish it by tomorrow hopefully.

[Melville]

Sweet! I got two negative comments in a row. Although I actually really liked The Taste of Tea.

[Boner M]

Sweet! I got two negative comments in a row. Although I actually really liked The Taste of Tea.
Yeah, that was the most negative comment I could find. :)

I haven't seen the film yet, but along with the inclusion The Wayward Cloud, it's nice that our list doesn't look like all the others around. Well done, guys.

[Bosco B Thug]

Haha, great stuff so far. The Black Book pic is gold, not just because it's funny but because really, the shit scene is the summative point of the picture. Ben Foster has no business around The Taste of Tea but I can accept his investment in Atonement.

And the list is going good so far for me, I'm pretty much in agreeance with the ordering of the films we've got so far that I've seen.

[Rowland]

it's nice that our list doesn't look like all the others around. I'm sure it will start to in the top ten. Is this why you made it a top 20?

[Boner M]

I'm sure it will start to in the top ten. Is this why you made it a top 20?
Yeah, but last year's top 20 was still way conventional compared to this one (Marie-Antoinette at #11 and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu at #15 were the only real surprises).

[EvilShoe]

Sorry for all the interruptions guys, I've got lots of schoolwork and shit.
That's not very extreme. :confused:

[Boner M]

That's not very extreme. :confused:
Mr. Foster brings the extreme, not I.

[Boner M]

13. The Host (Joon-ho Bong)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/colpot/host.jpg

MATCH: Just as its familial drama is enhanced by its perfectly placed comedic touches, so its socio-political commentary made both more digestible and immediate through its many thrilling action sequences. It’s exciting to see a genre film deal with such complex issues yet never remain anything less than thoroughly entertaining. However, unlike the typical monster/disaster film (which I hope I’ve show this is anything but), The Host doesn’t use its commentary as a vehicle for an array of visual effects, instead putting its story, characters and social message first, which fortunately leaves plenty of room for the action and suspense to naturally enter in. That all of these elements are incredibly well-formed and developed is reason enough for me to call this the first great film of 2007. The universality of its message coupled with its effective balance of comedy, drama and action makes me more inclined to say its one of the best genre films in recent memory. - TBickle

CUT: Unlike George Romero’s Land of the Dead, which wittily offered us a zombie polemic or Stephen Chow’s Shaolin Soccer, which at least gleefully committed to its own over-the-top cartoonishness, The Host is whatever it wants to be at any given moment. It shifts around from dopey to creepy to sensitive to callous to humorous to earnest. It dabbles in drama, comedy, horror, sci-fi, paranoid political thriller and environmental cautionary tale without ever being completely satisfying in any one area. It sends four poorly written family members on a quest to find a fifth and then offers us an ending that renders the whole journey meaningless. It is as if each scene was shot without any thought to how it would fit together with all the others. Indeed, the film would probably work best for someone with the short-term memory loss suffered by Leonard in Memento. It is a film that is only concerned about the next five minutes, disregarding any sort of internal consistency. Consequently, The Host offers little tension and leaves little impression. Spinal

The Host, Ben Foster'd!

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/4272/4272.jpg

If I starred in this film, I'd have killed the monster with my own bare hands. Also, the film would only have one consistent tone throughout... EXTREEEEEEEEME!!!

[Boner M]

12. Gone Baby Gone (Ben Affleck)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/colpot/gone-1.jpg

MATCH: Like any good mystery, the plot is simple and straightforward, but hidden behind many red herrings and lies. The script doesn’t bother creating an ensemble piece where every character reveals their agenda, but follows Patrick’s one character arc. Throughout the movie, Patrick is put through the wringer as he handles a case so out of his league that it forces him to do things beyond him, and make choices that not many people are equipped to make. To reveal what that choice is would be a spoiler, but it’s safe to say that Gone Baby Gone asks moral questions that are so hard to answer, it would be the very topic of discussion after seeing the movie. It ends on a note where you can’t help but turn to those beside you and mutter, “Would you have done the same?” or any variation of that question. This is the strength of the film, and it’s a smart thing that Affleck keeps coming back to it. Rather than just your typical kidnapping movie, Gone Baby Gone heads a dilemma that forces its audience to really think about the issue of child abuse and if the right of a biological parent should always prevail. As an intelligent, emotionally engaging thriller, this is easily one of the best of the year, and its issues couldn't be any more relevant. Well played, Affleck. - number8

CUT: Yep, this gets a "meh" from me too. It had a promising start, but seemed to just kind of sit in limbo, never developing the drama to level it should. Then that second act. Yikes. Whatever drama the film had built to that point was completely lost. Speaking of "lost", the film seemed to lose all sense of direction for about 30 minutes. It just rambled. They tried to string the missing pieces together with narration, but that wasn't an improvement. I'll give it credit for the emotional sucker-punch at the end. I'd read about it, but it still hit me pretty hard. That just wasn't enough to redeem the film though. - K-Fan

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/4272/4272.jpg

Sorry guys, haven't seen this one yet. And yet, I can already say that it needs a montage of me wakeboarding. And a scene where a German Shepherd attacks and subsequently eats a cop. EXTREEEEEEEME!!!

[Boner M]

11. Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/colpot/syndr.jpg

MATCH: The shift from the first half to the second is the most evocative and charged, as it is with Tropical Malady. What is happening? We have moved from the rural to the urban, this much is specific. The actors are the same. This much is specific. The scene is similar, but not specific. What is happening? Has the scene shifted geographical location? Has the time period shifted? (The title is Syndromes and a Century, an evocative title if ever there was one.) Are these supposed to be the same characters? Different characters? Second lives, or an infinite possiblity therein? (Reincarnation and past lives come up in conversation in both halves). The associations are up for grabs. Throughout the movie certain details come into focus. Others fade away. This is an exciting feeling. It's an exciting movie to watch. - Stay Puft

CUT: By the time it got to the gas floating through the ventilation pipes, I didn't really know what was going on. - Melville, who didn't dislike the film.

Syndromes and a Century, Ben Foster'd!

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/4272/4272.jpg

If I was a character in this film, I would remain offscreen. However, the film would still be divided into two halves; the first set in a hospital before I was born, the second after. In the first half, the hospital is tranquil and joyous. In the second, the hospital would be filled with people who have suffered injuries me, and the mood would not be joyous at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. EXTREEEEEEEEEME!

[Boner M]

10. The Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/colpot/dar.jpg

MATCH: This is a very satisfying film. Sometimes even powerful. When Darjeeling is dealing with death and personal redemption through various plot points, conversations, and flashbacks, it is at its most resonant (plus, Barbet Schroeder cameo!). There's only one set piece that I'm having a hard time justifying (the 'let's communicate without words' bit didn't do much to illustrate anything that we didn't already know, and using the train so literally as compartments of the characters lives, while a lofty and neat thing to do, seemed rather blunt, particularly since the pan didn't really do much to communicate any new ideas about the characters), but given its inclusion in an otherwise immense film, it's not a big deal. What is a big deal is the fact that this movie has given me a new appreciation of Mr. Anderson's angle. And while I doubt that I'll ever like Rushmore, I can now find it in my heart to stop saying that his films annoy me. - iosos

CUT: This is probably the poorest script that Wes Anderson has directed to date. We wait at least 45 minutes for the story to progress yet very little is established before then. What is driving the brothers' desire to reconnect? Why were they driven apart in the first place? The answers could probably be hypothesized, but Anderson never makes us feel this sense of purpose. He never really gives us a reason to care. The story is too thin to carry its lofty thematic goals, and it results in a project that feels more like a minor exercise for the director than a complete work. - DavidSeven

The Darjeeling Limited, Ben Foster'd!

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/4272/4272.jpg

If I was leading my brothers on a journey through India, it wouldn't be no faggy-ass 'spiritual journey'. It'd be a harsh trek through the scorching-hot desert, where we fight poisonous snakes and killer elephants. Mammoths, I think they're called. Yeah, mammoths. EXTREEEEEEEEEEEEME!!!

[Boner M]

http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/winter2004/features/images/critic.jpg

It seems that no one is online at the moment, meaning that they can't witness the momentous occasion of the top ten countdown. By living in a different timezone to Boner, Match-Cut arrogantly betrays not living in the same timezone as Boner, a Borat-esque act of hipster nihilism. And therefore, they are also racists. As always, my opinion is the only correct one.

[balmakboor]

Since this has become something of a Juno love/hate thread, I thought I'd post a link to an interesting review I found:

http://www.lucidscreening.com/2008/01/juno.html

The writer thinks the dialog in the first act was meant to be annoying.

[DavidSeven]

The Darjeeling caption is the lulz.

[EvilShoe]

I wish I had seen Darjeeling already.

[ledfloyd]

so i'm never going to be able to look at ben foster the same way again.

[Rowland]

The writer thinks the dialog in the first act was meant to be annoying.Yeah, I've seen lots of Juno defenders take this stance. For it to work however, you have to find everything after the first act charming and comparatively mature.

[MacGuffin]

So, do I need to see Alpha Dog or something?

[Spinal]

Since this has become something of a Juno love/hate thread, I thought I'd post a link to an interesting review I found:

http://www.lucidscreening.com/2008/01/juno.html

The writer thinks the dialog in the first act was meant to be annoying.

This seems highly unlikely coming from a green screenwriter like Cody who, more than anything, seems eager to please. To give her credit for employing some kind of alienation tactic is a bit of a stretch methinks. Where she does deserve credit is in the way she attempts to find a bridge between Juno and a 'normal' character like Garner's. That connection, I think, is probably my favorite part of the film.

[DavidSeven]

So, do I need to see Alpha Dog or something?

It's the worst movie I've seen in ages, but the unintentional comedy is off the charts.

[Benny Profane]

It's the worst movie I've seen in ages, but the unintentional comedy is off the charts.

Really? I thought it was pretty decent, in an over-the-top kinda way.

[Stay Puft]

11. Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

Hooray! Almost in the top ten, too.

And quoted! An honor to represent the best movie of 2007, top ten be damned. My work here is done.

[dreamdead]

Yeah, I didn't think enough people on these boards had seen Syndromes for it to place. Between this one and Taste of Tea, I'm content.

Be interested to see if any female themed films make it here, since Coppola's film was the only one last year. I suppose I could count Atonement, but I don't and I don't count Juno as that, either. Damn, now I'm not sure what "female themed" covers. I'll shut up now. :|

[Sycophant]

Well, damn you, dreamdead with your quick edits. I nearly posted a picture of Juno to counter your "female-themed" thing. Now I can only assume you think "female-themed" means pink and frilly.

[Rowland]

Taste of TeaI was rather surprised that this made the cut. I only thought that a few of us have seen it, so it must have been our enthusiasm through high ranking that gave it the edge.


Be interested to see if any female themed films make it here, since Coppola's film was the only one last year.:|Hmm. 2007 movies from female filmmakers: Away from Her (Sarah Polley), Day Night Day Night (Julia Loktev), Lady Chatterley (Pascale Ferran), The Savages (Tamara Jenkins), In Between Days (So Yong Kim), Waitress (Adrienne Shelly), Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (Rory Kennedy), Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud), Stephanie Daley (Hilary Brougher), Manufactured Landscapes (Jennifer Baichwal), The Namesake (Mira Nair), Red Road (Andrea Arnold)...

I don't think any of those will make it. :|

[dreamdead]

I could see Polley's film making the cut. Still need to see that one, too. Thanks for posting that list, though, Rows, as that'll spruice up of my queue with more eccentric fare. Been meaning to see the first six especially for some time, and that's a good reminder to update the queue...

[dreamdead]

Now I can only assume you think "female-themed" means pink and frilly.

Female-themed = period films. Duh.:P

[Bosco B Thug]

Female-themed? Umm... Death Proof! I mean, it fits the ambiguous classification "female-themed" more than Away From Her. I mean...

it's really Gordon Pinsent's film since he gets the most screen time and he gets a "Score!" sex scene.


As for the list, I approve of the recent batch. Wish I could see 'Syndromes.'

[Qrazy]

Female-themed? Umm... Death Proof! I mean, it fits the ambiguous classification "female-themed" more than Away From Her.

No.

[Rowland]

Oh yeah, I forgot Zoe Cassavetes' Broken English, Julie Delpy's 2 Days in Paris, and Julie Taymor's Across the Universe. If I were to rank these movies that I've seen:

Away from Her ***
Broken English ***
Red Road ***
In Between Days ***
2 Days in Paris **½
The Savages **½
Across the Universe **
Day Night Day Night **

While none of those are great, none are outright bad either. I'd like to see the rest I listed as well.

[dreamdead]

Female-themed? Umm... Death Proof! I mean, it fits the ambiguous classification "female-themed" more than Away From Her.

I don't know. I see what you're saying but, by the same token, one could also argue that Hostel 2 is female-themed. And that piece of shit is never gonna get any kind of respect from me. So I'd rather not go that route.

I suppose I should just rectify my statement and say female-directed, since there are seldom female directors that make our list. And that is a shame, since Rowland identified some interesting films that were released last year. Lady Chatterley is the one I'm most excited by...

[Bosco B Thug]

No. However you feel about its representation, you can't say it's not about females and gender.


I don't know. I see what you're saying but, by the same token, one could also argue that Hostel 2 is female-themed. And that piece of shit is never gonna get any kind of respect from me. So I'd rather not go that route. *sigh* Oh Hostel 2, why must I like you? I hope to re-watch it soon.


I suppose I should just rectify my statement and say female-directed, since there are seldom female directors that make our list. Oh, well then yes, Tarantino is definitely not a woman. :)

[dreamdead]

*sigh* Oh Hostel 2, why must I like you? I hope to re-watch it soon.


Seriously. You're a smart man. Literate. Intelligent. Full of fascinating insights whenever you examine a film. You're smarter than Hostel 2.;)

Rowland nailed Roth's film on the head. Screw that film and the 90 minutes of life that I lost.

[Qrazy]

However you feel about its representation, you can't say it's not about females and gender.


Yes I can, they're all transvestites.

[NickGlass]

I hadn't been conscious of the fact, but I've seen quite a bit of female-directed films from 2007 and, while most impressed me, four really sparked something within me--whether my reaction was positive (Persepolis and Day Night/Day Night) or negative (Across the Universe and the laborious Broken English)

Away from Her (Sarah Polley): 7.0
Day Night Day Night (Julia Loktev): 8.0
The Savages (Tamara Jenkins): 5.5
In Between Days (So Yong Kim): 6.5
Waitress (Adrienne Shelly): 6.0
Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud): 9.0
The Namesake (Mira Nair): 6.5
Red Road (Andrea Arnold): 6.5
Broken English (Zoe Cassavettes): 3.0
2 Days in Paris (Julie Delpy): 6.0
Across the Universe (Julie Taymor): 3.0

And damn am I annoyed with myelf for letting Lady Chatterley and Manufactured Landscapes escape me whlie they played in the theater.

[Bosco B Thug]

Seriously. You're a smart man. Literate. Intelligent. Full of fascinating insights whenever you examine a film. You're smarter than Hostel 2.;)

Rowland nailed Roth's film on the head. Screw that film and the 90 minutes of life that I lost. *whines* Erudition be damned! I like how Roth makes movies!

I'll leave this at another "Go figure" for now. :P

I'm worried for Sweeney Todd right now. *doesn't remember it being on many lists*


Yes I can, they're all transvestites. *becomes insecure*

[Rowland]

I wouldn't fault anyone for liking Hostel II. It nearly ranked on Theo Panayides' 2007 top ten, over most of the year's critical favorites (http://leonardo.spidernet.net/Artus/2386/revs07ra.htm). Of course, I'm beginning to think that he's losing it a bit, but he's still a smart dude. His thoughts:

"Basically, (a) the film works as genre justification, its viewers being in a similar position to the businessmen who get their kicks doing (or watching) the otherwise forbidden, i.e. torture-porn slakes the universal impulse to violence; (b) the film works as political statement, positing violence - quite convincingly - as a natural extension of inequality (which already involves an element of humiliation; violence is just the physical reflection of that); (c) the film works as a movie, both exciting on a formal level - I'm convinced Tarantino helped out; no-one goes from CABIN FEVER to this in four years - and very knowing about itself, pointedly delaying the violence, using the much-ridiculed "war in Slovakia" from HOSTEL as an in-joke, etc. Ripe for re-evaluation, once the horror craze subsides and people start to view it out of context."

There you are Bosco, someone to back you up, even if they don't post here. :)

[eternity]

Yeah, I've seen lots of Juno defenders take this stance. For it to work however, you have to find everything after the first act charming and comparatively mature.It's definitely fair to find anything that comes out of Rollo or Leah's mouth to be "annoying". Characters can have glaring flaws that don't get brought center stage because they should be apparent, but the argument that the entire first act, all of the dialogue was meant to be annoying as a whole is kind of grasping for straws.

Now, I'm going to talk about the actual list here. If we want to continue to talk about Juno, let's bring it into that thread. I consider myself to be a Wes Anderson fanboy, but damn, The Darjeeling Limited blows. Probably the one movie this year I really wanted to like, but couldn't. It's one of those films that is just completely empty.

[Bosco B Thug]

I wouldn't fault anyone for liking Hostel II. It nearly ranked on Theo Panayides' 2007 top ten, over most of the year's critical favorites (http://leonardo.spidernet.net/Artus/2386/revs07ra.htm). Of course, I'm beginning to think that he's losing it a bit, but he's still a smart dude. His thoughts:

"Basically, (a) the film works as genre justification, its viewers being in a similar position to the businessmen who get their kicks doing (or watching) the otherwise forbidden, i.e. torture-porn slakes the universal impulse to violence; (b) the film works as political statement, positing violence - quite convincingly - as a natural extension of inequality (which already involves an element of humiliation; violence is just the physical reflection of that); (c) the film works as a movie, both exciting on a formal level - I'm convinced Tarantino helped out; no-one goes from CABIN FEVER to this in four years - and very knowing about itself, pointedly delaying the violence, using the much-ridiculed "war in Slovakia" from HOSTEL as an in-joke, etc. Ripe for re-evaluation, once the horror craze subsides and people start to view it out of context."

There you are Bosco, someone to back you up, even if they don't post here. :) Looked at the dude's website... must say his opinions are very close to mine, just that he doesn't completely love stuff that I do.

As for his take on Hostel II, rockin'. His (b) point works better for 'Hostel 1' but his (a) and (c) (there is a consciousness to how it presents its violence, yes!) sure makes me feel a lot less crazier.

[monolith94]

I hadn't been conscious of the fact, but I've seen quite a bit of female-directed films from 2007 and, while most impressed me, four really sparked something within me--whether my reaction was positive (Persepolis and Day Night/Day Night) or negative (Across the Universe and the laborious Broken English)

Away from Her (Sarah Polley): 7.0
Day Night Day Night (Julia Loktev): 8.0
The Savages (Tamara Jenkins): 5.5
In Between Days (So Yong Kim): 6.5
Waitress (Adrienne Shelly): 6.0
Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud): 9.0
The Namesake (Mira Nair): 6.5
Red Road (Andrea Arnold): 6.5
Broken English (Zoe Cassavettes): 3.0
2 Days in Paris (Julie Delpy): 6.0
Across the Universe (Julie Taymor): 3.0

And damn am I annoyed with myelf for letting Lady Chatterley and Manufactured Landscapes escape me whlie they played in the theater.


Yeah, Lady Chatterley is one that I enjoyed in the theater, but could easily see how it would lose alot on the small screen.

[Ivan Drago]

Ivan's lack of understanding about Armond White's identity gives me new opportunity to go to hell and score neg rep at the same time. :pritch:

Can you recognize this guy, Ivan?

http://www.nanceestar.com/10-09pompeii-deadguy-head.jpg

That's Gene Siskel.

My cursor is hovering over the submit negative rep button right now.

[Boner M]

9. The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/colpot/lives.jpg

MATCH: The Lives of Others achieves its power by pitting two longtime rivals against each other: the artist and the state. As always, the state has technology and weaponry and brute force. But, the artist, von Donnersmarck argues, holds a different kind of power. It is a power that is not coercive, but rather seductive. It requires participation, but once experienced, it can disarm any thug. Playing a beautiful sonata on his piano, Georg remarks that it would be impossible for anyone to hear the piece – fully take it in – and not be a good man. Although he does not know it, his words (and the sonata) have been heard by one of his most dangerous enemies. Von Donnersmarck’s master stroke is that Wiesler does not just experience the art – in a sense he actually becomes the artist. With his subsequent actions, he takes on the roles of his assigned subjects – playwright and actor – and alters all three of their lives forever. - Spinal

CUT: Within five minutes it's immediately evident that he isn't going to take any stylistic risks. The movie makes some safe, obvious points (i.e., the Stasi was bad and ruined lives) in the most direct, banal way humanly imaginable. It's the sort of film reviewers charitibly describe as "classical," which simply means (like any Clint Eastwood weepie) the filmmakers want us to forget that we're looking at a movie, a strategy that discourages critical thinking. This would be less if the problem if the characters weren't so broadly sketched that they're incapable of surprising us (we know that one high-ranking official is a villain because all evil men are also sexists who pat women on the ass at parties). - baby doll

The Lives of Others, Ben Foster'd!

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/4272/4272.jpg

If I was the leader of the Stasi, East Germany would live in fear of being roundhouse-kicked by me. EXTREEEEEEEEEEEME!!!

[Philosophe_rouge]

I didn't like the Lives of Others. I don't really have a good reason, it just felt so packaged, and well frankly I was bored.

[Qrazy]

I didn't like the Lives of Others. I don't really have a good reason, it just felt so packaged, and well frankly I was bored.

Haven't seen it but something tells me I will feel the same way about it as I did about Downfall... fairly good acting, interesting topic, mediocre storytelling.

[ledfloyd]

I didn't like the Lives of Others. I don't really have a good reason, it just felt so packaged, and well frankly I was bored.
i more or less agree. but i did like the two main performances and the piano scene.

[Boner M]

8. Paprika (Satoshi Kon)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/colpot/paprika.jpg

MATCH: What a fantastic movie! Maybe not as good as Millennium Actress, but a close, close, close second and perhaps will exceed it upon a rewatch. It's one that I'd love to write a review for, but I won't have time to until I'm done with my vacation and by that time, I'll have needed to see the film again. For many reasons. It seems like a film that will have a wealth of rewards upon reviewing it... One thing I absolutely loved about its plot was the way the science-espionage element of the story is there to illustrate the detective's dilemma (which is what the movie is really about, in my opinion), and does so by being a somewhat routine (or at least, colored with throwbacks and familiar gestures) procedural. A really great element is the way the movie connects the ramblings of the people affected by the instrument with the hot-airiness of the institution director's pontifications (which are hysterically cliched, on purpose). By pointing at itself like that, it becomes a movie about film watching. And how the form of film is intrinsically linked to that of dream. And how both offer unique positions that allow the participating parties to become different people. - iosos

CUT: (couldn't find any negative thoughts)

Paprika, Ben Foster'd!

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/4272/4272.jpg

I keep having this dream in which I'm falling. EXTREEEEEEEEEEEME!!!

[Qrazy]

Rewatching Pom Poko the other day made me realize how much it likely influenced the parade in Paprika.

[eternity]

Match Cut seems to be uber-high on Paprika. I need to get on that.

Still consider The Lives of Others as a 2006, but it definitely has a lot going for it, but it's not particularly great.

[Boner M]

7. Ratatouille (Brad Bird)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/colpot/rata.jpg

MATCH: Ratatouille one the surface level may be about the desire to cook and the bizarre roads we travel on to pursue our dreams, but when looking underneath the enticing aroma, we realize that the film is a metatextualization of how animators use their talents in creating something so simple, yet so powerful in its aftertaste. Like Remy, animators take one exotic idea and another and mush them together for an ultimate rush of flavor that can only be executed by the right chefs/artists. Gusteau's book "Anyone Can Cook" is the real life source of this enchanting film, and it is in the crucial later monologue that not everyone can be great artists, but a great artist can come from anyone. This is Pixar's motto, and Bird is to Remy as Lasseter is to Gusteau (except still living). - Wats

CUT: The whole film is one big face slap of morality, and the worst thing was that this morailty is trite and warmed over. By the end of the film, all of the secondary characters are relegated to mindless servants for the true genius; there's no colloboration, it's just a single egomaniac presiding over a whole bunch of muscle. Nice message. It's not very funny, and I really don't think that playing animals and humans off each other and expecting it to play as a quasi-real world tale ever quite works - for example, I couldn't get rid of the icky feeling of knowing a room full of rats are making food supposedly fit for humans. This is a fundamental flaw of the premise, and I think the film never transcends it. It's kind of ridiculous in the end... After this and The Incredibles, I think Brad Bird needs adapted material, because his original screenplays are.....just dull and sophomoric. - trans

Ratatouille, Ben Foster'd!

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/4272/4272.jpg

If I was Linguini, I wouldn't want some fuckin' rat pulling my fuckin' hair and playing me like a fuckin' marionette. Seriously, WTF? I'd squash that stupid rat into a bloody pulp the moment I see it. And cooking is for fags. EXTREEEEEEEEEEEME!!!

[Philosophe_rouge]

Haven't seen it but something tells me I will feel the same way about it as I did about Downfall... fairly good acting, interesting topic, mediocre storytelling.
I generally liked Downfall more, although I do agree with you for the most part. I thought overall it's at least a more interesting film, and Bruno Ganz is automatic win. It also has a few more scenes worth noting, although for the most part the ones that stand out (the mother saying bye bye to the world with ... well yea) don't necessarily require that much skill to pull off... not to completely undermine the film, because it's competent, but nothing exceptional. OR something.


i more or less agree. but i did like the two main performances and the piano scene.
I can't really fault the performances, they're above average easily. I don't even remember a piano scene though. Or.. yes, yes I do, and it was pretty good comparitively.

[dreamdead]

I figured that Paprika would top Ratatouille. Especially given the MC Awards voting on that one. Interesting.

[Spinal]

I am honored to be the voice of The Lives of Others on the 'pro' side. Truly an exceptional film that has stuck with me.

[Boner M]

6. Once (John Carney, 2007)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/colpot/once.jpg

MATCH: While the music obviously plays a huge role in the in its success, it would be incorrect to say that this is the only thing the film does right. Once goes from great music to great cinema in its moments. Describing a musical as having pitch perfect scenes may be disgustingly cheesy, but for this film, it is unavoidable. Typically, musicals are pure fantasy both in their musical sequences and their overall narrative. Carney pairs his stripped down musical numbers with scenes that feel equally true to life. I've seen few scenes that have felt as uncomfortably realistic as a sleepover rejection shown early in the film. Later, there is a simply remarkable goodbye scene between father and son that is just stunning in how each beat is handled so perfectly. The scene is so subdued, yet so quietly devastating. It's scenes like these that truly make the film. Even when the music takes center stage, it's the developing moments before the finished songs that really grabs us. It may be true that the film has more than its share of objective flaws, but from scene to scene, there are so many perfectly realized moments. These moments will linger much longer than minor grievances will. As imperfect as it may be, I have little doubt that Once will remain perfect in my mind for a long time to come. - DavidSeven

CUT: I thought the long whiny sad-luck songs bring this to a screeching halt. I couldn't believe they played the same song twice in such a short time span. "Let's go to the beach and toss a frisbee! We're so whimsical!" It sucked. - Benny Profane

Once, Ben Foster'd!

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/4272/4272.jpg

If I was Glen, I’d be singing Burzum covers in the street, and then some Czech girl would come along and be like, ‘do you know any Darkthrone?’, and I’d be like ‘DO I KNOW ANY MUTHAFUCKING DARKTHRONE!!?’, then I’d play some Darkthrone, and then we’d go back to my place, and fuck to Darkthrone, and then never see each other again, and who gives a shit really. EXTREEEEEEEEEEEEEME!

[Boner M]

Ben and I, and maybe Armond, will come back with the top 5 tomorrow. It shouldn't be so hard to guess by now. So start bickering about it already.

[dreamdead]

If I was Glen, I’d be singing Burzum covers in the street, and then some Czech girl would come along and be like, ‘do you know any Darkthrone?’, and I’d be like ‘DO I KNOW ANY MUTHAFUCKING DARKTHRONE!!?’, then I’d play some Darkthrone, and then we’d go back to my place, and fuck to Darkthrone, and then never see each other again, and who gives a shit really. EXTREEEEEEEEEEEEEME!

Wow, Ben knows the way to my heart. I would buy that film. And get far more confused looks than I ever got because of liking Once.

The frisbee scene could go, though,

[Spinal]

I'm so glad there were no Sting covers in that movie. That would have sucked.

[ledfloyd]

well four of the top five are easy to guess. i'm lost on the last one.

[Rowland]

Let's see if I can guess the rest:

20. The Wayward Cloud n/a
19. Atonement ***½
18. Juno *½
17. Hot Fuzz ***
16. Black Book **½
15. The Taste of Tea ****
14. Into the Wild ***½
13. The Host ***
12. Gone Baby Gone ***½
11. Syndromes and a Century n/a
10. The Darjeeling Limited **½
9. The Lives of Others n/a
8. Paprika ***½
7. Ratatouille ***½
6. Once ***½
5. Zodiac ***½
4. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford ****
3. I'm Not There n/a
2. There Will Be Blood ***
1. No Country for Old Men ***½

[Spinal]

Oh dear. I fear that I may have another negative quote coming up.

[Melville]

Oh dear. I fear that I may have another negative quote coming up.
For I'm Not There? I'll duel you to the death for it.

[eternity]

Prediction for Top 5:
5. Zodiac
4. Control
3. I'm Not There
2. No Country for Old Men
1. There Will Be Blood

[Spinal]

For I'm Not There? I'll duel you to the death for it.

Oh good. I wasn't sure if anyone else had said something negative.

[Spinal]

4. Control

I don't even know what that is.

[Duncan]

I don't even know what that is.

Joy Division movie that most everyone here hated.

[Ezee E]

1. There Will Be Blood
2. No Country For Old Men
3. Zodiac
4. I'm Not There
5. Assassination of Jesse James

No Eastern Promises? :(

Great list otherwise

[Melville]

I think Rowland's predictions for the top five are all sure things. The order of 3, 4, and 5 might be wrong, but I can't imagine any of those five films being absent.

[Ezee E]

The only other possibility would be something like Grindhouse or... Superbad. :)

[eternity]

Joy Division movie that most everyone here hated.

Oh, I didn't know that then. I just knew that it was in the top three on three different lists, so I figured it had a following here. Never mind then.

[ledfloyd]

The only other possibility would be something like Grindhouse or... Superbad. :)
haha. it disappoints me that juno is more highly regarded than superbad round these parts. but at the same time it's hated more as well.

[Boner M]

5. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/colpot/assas.jpg

MATCH: I haven't been hit this hard by a movie in a long time.. Really loved this one. The main characters are complex, and their relationship intriguing as you're never quite sure what to make of it. Dominik is at his best in the last hour when everything comes to its tragic finale. Brad Pitt is terrific here, I didn't care for him in Babel but this is a great performance. Still, it's Affleck who should get all the attention. I didn't know the guy had it in him, but I'm suddenly a fan. The cinematography is of course beautiful and haunting. I wasn't bothered by the voice over, because I felt it added to the myth of Jesse James. As for the subplot about Liddel: I agree it took away screentime from Ford, but it was very interesting, and ultimately played a large role in how the events between Ford & James played out. I'm glad they left it in. What a tremendous ending, by the way. - EvilShoe

CUT: One of the most disappointing, worst movies I've seen from last year. I loved the cinematography in No Country for Old Men, but with this, aside from the brightly light shots, all of the low light shots were astonishingly bland (usually, there's just the character and a pitch black background). Also, the narrative attempts to be poetic, but just sleepwalks through lines and lines of pseudo intellectual or maybe just pseudo Hey This Is A Movie That Means Something Spiritually!!!LOL!!! gibberish. The train robbery scene was perhaps the only good part of the movie, and it's strange how everyone seemed so intense during those five minutes of the one hundred and forty five minute movie and the rest, they all felt so dull. Garbage. A monumental waste of almost over two and a half hours. - Clipper Ship Captain

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Ben Foster'd!

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/4272/4272.jpg

If I was Robert Ford, the film would be five minutes long. EXTREEEEEEEEEEEEEEME!

[Sycophant]

Is it just me or is that Ben Foster JPEG somehow looking increasingly sadder as we go along?

This is a film that's been sitting very well with me. I'm suprised it's ranking this high, but I would hardly disagree that it's deserving.

This may be a question better directed at Brad Pitt, but is Race the Sun worth seeking out on its own merit or just for Casey's performance?

[Boner M]

4. I'm Not There (Todd Haynes)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/colpot/im-not-there.jpg

MATCH: I’m Not There is simply great filmmaking. The direction is lively and fun. It takes risks with aesthetic and narrative experimentation. White derisively notes that Haynes “parod” 8 ½ and then lazily dismisses Haynes as indulging in shallow cinephilia. White doesn’t even bother to consider why this decision was made. I feel confident saying it is because both films are struggling with the same problems. These are the Artist’s need to express himself, the struggle for an audience, the audience’s appreciation or misinterpretation of the expression, the Artist’s need for escape from the audience’s expectations, etc. The parallels between the two films are many. 8 ½ even has multiple actors playing the same character. The script does indeed drop lines from Dylan’s songs into the dialogue. Deal with it, I guess. It only happens a few times, and I think it’s always meant as a self-conscious joke. I thought the film was very funny, but if you are not at all familiar with Dylan’s music I can see some of the jokes going over your head. Regardless, these are minor concerns when I consider how much creativity and energy was poured into this film. Some parts are better than others, but at its best I’m Not There is like thought dreams seen. - [i]Duncan

CUT: This was unbearable. A deeply off-putting mixture of idolatry, self-importance and pseudo-artistic nonsense. Haynes' premise is an eye-roller, that Dylan is so enigmatic and complex that we need six different persona to approach a definition of the man. Spare me. Scene after scene fails to resonate and the end result is a Dylan that is more irritating than elusive, more tiresome than mysterious. - Spinal

I'm Not There, Ben Foster'd!

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/4272/4272.jpg

If I was in this film, I'd be playing the seventh incarnation of Bob Dylan - a mass-murdering cannibal living in the Appalachian backwoods. During this time, I recorded such songs as "Tastes Just Like a Woman" and "Stuck Inside Ben Foster's Stomach With The Backwoods Blues Again". EXTREEEEEEEEEEEEEEME!!!

[Rowland]

Whishaw's left ear looks like it's hanging off his head, as if someone sliced through the top eighty percent of its connective tissue.

[Boner M]

3. Zodiac (David Fincher)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/colpot/zodiac.jpg

MATCH: But really, this film was superb in every way possible. Though completely unrelated in terms of dramatic content, the film my mind was drawn towards while watching was actually Jacques Rivette's La belle noiseuse which stresses and visualizes artistic determination and the process of creating art. Fincher's film is remarkably dedicated to stressing the procedural aspects that slowly grind themselves into points of obsession. It is sprawling and messy, but it resembles so closely the actual case files (I love the type-written subtitles describing the forward jumps in time) that I had to laugh at the few murmurs saying the film should have cut some of the investigation to shorten the film. It is slow, lengthy and complete absorbing, like the Zodiac case itself which ensnares Jake Gyllenhaal. The main characters are elegantly and carefully constructed andf it is an amazingly tense, suspenseful film for one that never features the killer. Everything is hearsay and analysis and Fincher ultimately creates a spellbinding web of information and loose-ends that the images in the film come to seem like the sprawled clippings that surround Gyllenhaal's character by film's end. - Raiders

CUT: This movie is not great. I think it's get lost in its own burrowing. What is the point of the hour's worth of excess material here? Is the point of the movie to demonstrate the pointlessness of an obsession? If so, it's not exactly the most compelling thing to watch. I feel like the movie is pretty straightforward otherwise: a standard newsroom/cop investigation movie that is praised for its "termite art," which adds up to the hour's worth of excess that doesn't add anything to an otherwise straightforward Hollywood movie. - Dillard

Zodiac, Ben Foster'd!

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/4272/4272.jpg

I am the Zodiac. And I'm telling you. EXTREEEEEEEEEEEEME!!!

[Boner M]

2. There Will Be Blood (PT Anderson)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/colpot/therewillbe.jpg

MATCH: For five long years I've awaited the return of PTA after his "untitled Adam Sandler project" taught me to never again doubt the man's skill and ambition despite how absurd or ill-suited a future project may seem. While here it was a given that we were going to get one hell of a central performance, it was quite unexpected to get an intimate character study delivered in the form of a sprawling epic. Anderson subverts the American western, but unlike Altman's McCabe & Mrs. Miller, which charted the various social and political forces seeking to destroy the assertive, entrepreneurial individual, he embodies both sides of that equation in a single, self-destructive beast of human being. Anderson's soon-to-be, if not already, legendary protagonist, Daniel Plainview, has an unquenchable thirst for land, oil and, yes, of course, milkshakes, and once his all-consuming greed squanders everything the natural world has to give, he can only appease his appetite by devouring everyone who ever was or will be in his way. Somehow, he functions equally well on a metaphorical level as he exchanges blows with his religious counterpart, Eli, whose backhanded methods serve as a constant reminder of Plainview's own deceptiveness and lead to an elevated self-loathing that finally brings fruition to the promise of the title. - Derek

CUT: The film's a string of punchlines about how business-oriented and judgemental and self-righteous Daniel Plainview is. We laugh when Eli takes Daniel's hand in prayer. We laugh at how Plainview scoffs. Now he's showing up the religious Abel by speaking to a confused Mary about her abuse while Abel looks awkward. It's a pleasantly acerbic scene, yes, but why couldn't we have seen more of what Abel was feeling? What Mary was feeling? Every character outside of Daniel and maybe his son are role-players, stuck in a niche of pat emotions to display. We're not made to wonder or contemplate these people at the church lapping up Eli's monologue because that whole scene's a visual gag, we're only supposed to take in the absurdity and visual panache of the scene. The film's characterized by this method of using stingers and one-liners to convey topics that should be textured and not so palatable. - Bosco

There Will Be Blood, Ben Foster'd! (SPOILER WARNING)

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/4272/4272.jpg

If I was Plainview, I’d own every speck of land in sight. Then I’d get so fucking rich and own a mansion and abandon my stupid deaf child. Then I’d get a visit from that girly-voiced fag preacher Eli Sunday and tell him ‘I drink your milkshake’ (NOT IN THE FAG WAY) and then I’d crack his head open with a bowling pin.

Wait.

Aah, fuck.

[Sycophant]

I still haven't dug into a position on this film, but that post was awesome awesome awesome.

[Watashi]

We are the Academy's whores.

[Spinal]

Foster got Plainview'd! Yeah, tough guy, how's that taste!

[Raiders]

We are the Academy's whores.

We can't be held accountable if the Academy finally made a wise decision.

[Sycophant]

We can't be held accountable if the Academy finally made a wise decision.Yeah, this year that accusation just doesn't hold water for me.

[Boner M]

1. No Country For Old Men (Joel & Ethan Coen)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/colpot/nocountryramones.jpg

MATCH: From incredibly tense thrills to a shocking sadness, but not a melodramatic one, as in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, No Country for Old Men is genre alchemy of pure cinematic grace. The sustained frisson in the first half's experiments with aural tension and tight framing, while still capturing the same mood of phenomenal atmospheric hugeness that Mann toyed with in Miami Vice, is some of the best filmmaking I've ever seen period. It only becomes more unexpected in pleasurable, sad, and resounding ways. Technically, it's all tip-top, direction, editing, cinematography, etc. The whole cast is excellent, particularly Bardem who I feared was gonna be a one-note character, but instead turned out to be pretty much the fiercest, most unpredictable psychopath I've seen in a movie. Rather than employing him as a "force of nature", as one character puts it, the Coens and Bardem give him a disturbingly wet-eyed humanness (note the extended sequences where he's shown treating his own wounds), which ties the film's rebuke of hollow motions of amoral genre tropes (note one character's response to the idea that Anton is "the ultimate badass")... I think the complaint about its lack of dramatic conclusiveness, while an understandable disappointment, misses the greater rewards its ending is offering. If it was executed in a more traditional way, its themes of the weight of indifferent cruelty would be lost in all the conventional melodrama. This is a special movie that I am convinced is the most considerate and momentous picture the Coens have made. - iosos

CUT: I think this film is basically an evil version of Forrest Gump. I am reminded of Hank's monologue at the end of that film where he patly concludes that the world is filled with both unavoidable fate and human action. Well, thanks for stating the obvious Forrest. No Country for Old Men, for all its attempts at obfuscation, is essentially making the same point. The only difference between the two films is that Forrest Gump is cartoonishly good, whereas No Country for Old Men is cartoonishly evil. Neither has much depth. - Duncan

No Country For Old Men, Ben Foster'd!

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/colpot/nocountryoldmen.gif

extreme.

[Watashi]

Doesn't iosos love No Country? He even said it's his favorite Coen.

[Qrazy]

Yeah, this year that accusation just doesn't hold water for me.

Meh, I thought 2, 3 and 4 were all better than 1. I'd bump them all up and put one at four.

[Boner M]

I must rest.

[Qrazy]

I must rest.

Great job.

[Duncan]

Doesn't iosos love No Country? He even said it's his favorite Coen.

I actually wrote that one. Misquoted.

[Duncan]

Great job.

Indeed.

[Boner M]

Have to give props to Winston, who helped me with the graphics, and came up with the Chigurh vs. Foster gif on his own.

[Eleven]

'07 couldn't have had a better wrap-up. But I for one am Foster'd out.

[Stay Puft]

Awesome.

[Spinal]

I think I kind of agree with Duncan's 'cut', which is the nagging thing that keeps me from embracing the film wholeheartedly.

[Boner M]

http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/winter2004/features/images/critic.jpg

Shame on you all, match-cut. For choosing PT Anderson's bombastic, white-elephant histrionics over the Coens' masterful genre deconstruction, you have once again fallen prey to the ever-increasing trend in our corrupt film culture-

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/section/movies/filmography/1/WireImage_1714161.jpg

But Armond, match-cut did vote the Coen film #1!

http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/winter2004/features/images/critic.jpg

Oh, Tom, not you too! You have to realise, that match-cut has once again succumbed to the prevalent trend of confusing the numbers 1 and 2. Therefore, they actually think Blood was the best film of the year, thus reinforcing their status as racist hipster nihilists.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/section/movies/filmography/1/WireImage_1714161.jpg

.....

http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/winter2004/features/images/critic.jpg

.....

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/section/movies/filmography/1/WireImage_1714161.jpg

Uhh, boner will be back shortly with the full list of films. For now, I'm Tom Noonan, and I've gotta skedaddle. Goodnight, and see y'all next year!

[Sycophant]

I must rest.
Your hard work is appreciated. AND THEN SOME.

[Sycophant]

We must be the greatest collection of racist, hipster nihilists ever assembled. Pats on the backs of us alls.

[Spinal]

Woo-hoo nihilism! Go racism!

[/hipster irony]

[DavidSeven]

We are the Academy's whores.

Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe the Academy has actually become the internet's whores?

[Sycophant]

Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe the Academy has actually become the internet's whores?Whoa, man. That's deep...

http://john.bombdotcom.net/shit/keanu.jpg

[Boner M]

Full list, with the # of points for each title. I forgot to mention the tie between Into the Wild and The Taste of Tea in the top 20, though I suppose the list was sexier that way. There were exactly 100 films voted for in total.

1. No Country for Old Men (279.5)
2. There Will Be Blood (221)
3. Zodiac (182)
4. I'm Not There (112.5)
5. The Assassination of Jesse James… (111.5)
6. Once (106.5)
7. Ratatouille (100)
8. Paprika (87.5)
9. The Lives of Others (69)
10. The Darjeeling Limited (68)
11. Syndromes and a Century (64)
12. Gone Baby Gone (55.5)
13. The Host (53)
=14. Into the Wild (46.5)
=14. The Taste of Tea (46.5)
16. Black Book (49)
17. Hot Fuzz (44)
18. Juno (43)
19. Atonement (42.5)
20. The Wayward Cloud (41.5)
21. Sunshine (40)
22. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (39)
=23. The Bourne Ultimatum (37)
=23. Death Proof (37)
25. This is England (36)
26. 12:08 East of Bucharest (34.5)
27. Eastern Promises (32)
28. Sweeney Todd (31)
=29. I Don't Want to Sleep Alone (29.5)
=29. King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (29.5)
31. The Mist (28)
32. Persepolis (27.5)
33. Black Snake Moan (24.5)
34. Superbad (23)
=35. Time (22)
=35. Hairspray (22)
37. Exiled (19.5)
38. Control (19)
39. Offside (18.5)
40. Fido (17)
=41. Red Road (15)
=41. Waitress (15)
43. Tekkonkinkreet (14)
=44. Sicko (13)
=44. Rescue Dawn (13)
=44. Triad Election (13)
47. Michael Clayton (12)
=48. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (11)
=48. No End In Sight (11)
=48. Planet Terror (11)
=48. Quiet City (11)
=52. Mind Game (10)
=52. Khadak (10)
=52. The Savages (10)
=52. Ten Canoes (10)
=56. Knocked Up (9)
=56. The Wind That Shakes The Barley (9)
=56. The Hunting Party (9)
=59. Brand Upon the Brain (8)
=59. Dynamite Warrior (8)
=59. 28 Weeks Later (8)
=59. The Lookout (8)
=59. Lady Chatterley (8)
=59. The TV Set (8)
=65. Live Free or Die Hard (7)
=65. Lust, Caution (7)
=65. Tears of the Black Tiger (7)
=65. The Tracey Fragments (7)
=69. Across the Universe (6)
=69. Away from Her (6)
=69. Joshua (6)
=69. Lars and the Real Girl (6)
=69. Wristcutters: A Love Story (6)
=74. Dans Paris (5.5)
=74. My Kid Could Paint That (5.5)
=74. Day Night/Day Night (5.5)
77. Paris je t'aime (5)
=78. Bridge to Terabithia (4)
=78. Into Great Silence (4)
=78. 3:10 to Yuma (4)
=78. Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix (4)
=82. Aqua Teen (3)
=82. In the Land of Women (3)
=82. The Namesake (3)
=82. Redacted (3)
=82. Regular Lovers (3)
=82. Sleuth (3)
=88. After the Wedding (2)
=88. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2)
=88. The Last Winter (2)
=88. Walk Hard (2)
=88. Meet the Robinsons (2)
=88. The Simpsons Movie (2)
=94. Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten (1)
=94. Enchanted (1)
=94. Blame it on Fidel (1)
=94. In Between Days (1)
=94. Grbavica (1)
=94. Avenue Montaigne (1)
=94. 300 (1)

[Sycophant]

There were exactly 100 films voted for in total.
That's pretty amazing.

=94. 300 (1)
What?

[EvilShoe]

This was fun!

[Boner M]

What?
Blame Ivan Drago.

[Watashi]

Ivan had 300 on his list.

[Winston*]

Seen 11 of the best and 1 of the worst.

[Sycophant]

Blame Ivan Drago.
Blame assigned.

EDITED: Oh, wow. I've seen 18 of our top 20.

[DavidSeven]

Whoa, man. That's deep...

By turning X into Y and Y into X in any X/Y statement, you too can blow minds.

[dreamdead]

Great job, Boner! I had thought Anderson might usurp the Coens' feature, but the top three are all quality to my mind.

Meantime, why didn't anything tell me I'd leave the Transformers angry? Next time I say I'm gonna do something stupid you're supposed to wave me off. This film juggles so many tones and never knows which one it wants to settle down with. It'll utilize a serious streak, and suddenly we've got the damn dog pissing on a Transformer. At least there wasn't blatant racial discrimination or product placement to push me over the edge...

:frustrated:

[Rowland]

How my top ten ranks with the MC Top 100:

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (#5)
Atonement (#19)
Black Snake Moan (#33)
Exiled (#37)
Gone Baby Gone (#12)
Into the Wild (#14)
Offside (#39)
Once (#6)
Paprika (#8)
The Taste of Tea (#14)