Match Cut Presents: Four Top Fifties

[Idioteque Stalker]

Welcome to a new thread in which four Match Cut posters (Dukefrukem, Idioteque Stalker, transmogrifier, and Zac Efron) will each share individual top fifty movies lists. The starting point for these lists is traditional “all time favorite movies,” but we may have some surprises as well. Since we are real human people, we do not guarantee new posts daily. It’s quite possible you won’t see the end of our lists until 2021, while it’s also possible we will finish more quickly in an hallucinatory fit of concentrated film nerd energy. But don’t count on it. These are our most dearly loved films, after all. It will be our pleasure to present them to you over some time. We hope you enjoy it as well.

Click the spoilers to view the in-progress lists.

Dukefrukem

50. The Nightingale
49. Nothing But Trouble
48. Dragged Across Concrete
47. Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins
46. Rushmore
45. The Fugitive
44. A Serbian Film
43. Romancing the Stone
42. Stand By Me
41. The 'Burbs

Idioteque Stalker

50. Contempt
49. Paranoid Park
48. Duck Amuck, La Jetee, The Man Who Planted Trees, Pas De Deux, The Red Balloon, and World of Tomorrow
47. Enchanted
46. Exit Through the Gift Shop
45. Show Me Love
44. Eyes Wide Shut
43. Buffalo '66
42. Opening Night
41. The Wind In the Willows

transmogrifier

50. The Last Movie/James Cameron/A Tribe Called Quest
49. Seconds/Sam Peckinpah/Melvins
48. High and Low/Ron Shelton/The Breeders
47. The Conformist/Samuel Fuller/The Velvet Underground
46. Audition/Michael Haneke/Talking Heads
45. Les Diaboliques/Hayao Miyazaki/Future of the Left
44. United 93/Fritz Lang/Rage Against the Machine
43. Spirited Away/Kathryn Bigelow/Pulp
42. Once Upon a Time In America/Zhang Yimou/Faith No More
41. Twelve Monkeys/Robert Altman/Ween

Zac Efron

50. Jesus' Son
49. Run Lola Run
48. Laurel Canyon
47. My Dinner with Andre
46. Babe
45. Drive
44. Blade Runner 2049
43. The Neverending Story
42. Little Women
41. Private Parts

[Ezee E]

Nice. Look forward to this.

[Dukefrukem]

Duke's Top 50 Most Influential Movies Throughout Life
The movies I've seen from age 10-35 that have had ANY (small or large) impact on my personal viewpoint on life, lived by myself, or the perceived perspective of someone else's life.
#50

https://i.ibb.co/xqtVGnJ/50.png

The Nightingale (2018)

Starting off with a fresh one; Boy. Not a film you want to watch if you're a new parent. Sure at heart it's a core revenge film that may or may not end in the way you think it will, but the visceral tone of some of the shots, especially within the first act, are hard to stomach and forget. Does anyone else when watching films, feel their palms or feet to determine how impacted you are? What your stress level is? For me, it's a way to gauge a film's effectiveness. Am I really paying attention. Well watching this film I was, and it will surely have a long standing memory, taking up real estate in my brain.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Whoa! Cool list idea. And a film I'm very interested in seeing. Looking forward to the rest.

[Idioteque Stalker]

#50

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-baRfX3IDsik/U3QUnpk6hiI/AAAAAAAAJ0Q/07TahrYieN4/s1600/Contempt-Godard.jpg

Contempt

As one might expect, Jean-Luc Godard’s hyper-referential masterpiece, Contempt, is rich with meta-textual layering. A work-in-progress adaptation of The Odyssey, which serves as a backdrop for the film’s events, provides a mirror in which we find leads Michel Piccoli and Brigitte Bardot. One might consider the debates between writer Piccoli and director Fritz Lang (playing himself) regarding Odysseus and Penelope’s feelings toward one another to be a heavy-handed reflection of Contempt’s tragic couple, but it’s one of Godard’s only generosities in a film so otherwise concerned with our inability, sometimes even our unwillingness, to communicate effectively.

In an extra sprinkle of cynicism, it is Jack Palance’s cocksure, money-obsessed producer who is maybe the film’s most eloquent speaker, always saying precisely what he means, even if it happens to come from the book of quotations he keeps in his pocket. Bardot and Piccoli, on the other hand, mostly speak to each other with vagueness, answering questions with other questions, rarely telling the other how they truly feel. Even when they show kindness and affection, Georges Delerue’s heartbreaking score assures us they are lying. This is not a film in which we wonder if the lead couple is going to make it through a tough time; its tender opening scene notwithstanding, this is a film where—like Greek tragedy—it’s clear from the onset there’s just one way this is going to go down, and only through sheer poeticism are we compelled to see it through.

[transmogrifier]

For me, I'm doing three Top 50 lists for the price of one!


1. Top 50 movies that I have logged a viewing of since 2004 (that’s when I started keeping the viewing log). Thus, some films I watched a long time ago and loved do not make the list (e.g., Paths of Glory) - honestly, I don’t really remember much about them anyway. Recent!
2. Top 50 directors. Ordered purely by their average score from my viewing log (minimum 3 films). Thus, some of my very favorites with large filmographies who have made some pretty bad films do not make it (e.g., Spike Lee and Woody Allen), and other directors who I don’t really care about do (TBA). Objective!
3. Top 50 musical artists. Ordered purely by the number of plays I have logged on LastFM since 2007. Funnily enough, this turns out to be very close to my actual sentiments when it comes to these artists. Turns out that I tend to listen more to the bands/artists I like more. Weird!

Just be aware that I probably will be the one slowing down this list.

50.
https://keep.google.com/u/0/media/v2/1d-0n6WdxdS0kQoTRmhCmAyClBtHz9Kp1 2BeBDKDO35PL_jpL3OP6sdZdYd-14wo/1S9006Xe2tSsP0FguMpJ6652jgiehN vaPOUU_FXf8q5iJWI5MoBUE3j9nfh0 Dz0I?accept=image/gif,image/jpeg,image/jpg,image/png,image/webp,audio/aac&sz=726
Movie: The Last Movie (1971)
Director: Dennis Hopper
Commentary: If only the fiascoes of our current movie generation held up so well. Works best as a doc-hybrid, kind of recreating itself as it goes along, a sharp, blackly comic look at the mentality of movie-making in general, both studio mimicry and devotion to making movies for the sake of making movies (how else to read the villagers blindly copying the 'artistry' of someone else with little interest in understanding the actual mechanics of how it all works) and counter-culture, indie movies, where those with "ideas" simply must document them on film, without having a clue about cinema as an art form (the hilarious almost-final scene at the campfire - "Just tell me, you know how to find gold? "I know just as much as I knew before, maybe more because you told me about the mercury...", not to mention the hippie dream of dropping out of the rat-race to the countryside being constantly corrupted by simple human nature)

The final 15 minutes or so eats itself, and it's terrific, as the fourth wall is not just broken, it's shattered. Sure, there is a sense throughout that this is all just a happy accident, found footage thrown together by a film-maker strung out on drugs, but that too only reinforces its strange, primal alchemy.
Key Quote: "You know, wait a minute fellas, I don't even have my fucking scar"
Best Moment: As above, the last 15 minutes, with a special shout out to the camera made from sticks.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/oSL0LR-gkgsSSODXguvgCDT6SBYlkrH2NhJ_o GMEhGIdBOegPcruzzhqUqgCfxRtLLa LLh9uLbrvin73qoeCDs_kR-sBBW6Ux63-X1nOlKcWGuDusBLlxWMJdUWjvdMOhI Rtyzap

Director: James Cameron
Films Seen: 7
Average: 68.57/100
Commentary: Technically beyond reproach, his dialogue can be a little on the tin-eared side, and he tends to favor big, broad, easy to digest themes - but he he is one of the best kinetic directors around. Just don't ask him to try to write about marriage when he is going though a bitter divorce - that is how you get dreck like True Lies.
Best Film: Aliens
Worst Film: True Lies
Best Quote: "What are you going to do, talk the alien to death?"

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/Pozm7wXG-namX3Y8M5UpMK97PlbIxAzXBQXwszz 5LLA8J9KaCYa8IYEQcP3MaVv0BBcQH zOKROcCarUXovhTSXkfIVkHIXyCfCT ich94-592GbkvyB-eRkRQgCjtkSDEUB6eIgUm

Musical Artist: A Tribe Called Quest
Commentary: I wouldn't call myself an ATCQ fan as such, in that I do not really have a favorite album or song - instead, I have all of their albums in my library and I love to throw one on a random and be instantly transported into a very particular headspace. Super consistent throughout their career, they even managed to nail the dreaded comeback album.

[DFA1979]

The last list I made was a list of the 100 worst films I had ever seen. I'll be reading.

[Skitch]

I made a top 100. Had to include 50 honorable mentions lol

[Idioteque Stalker]

Already two cool-looking movies I haven't seen. Excellent. And Tribe Called Quest love is always welcome.

James Cameron nearly bumped off the list after trans' disastrous True Lies viewing haha.

[Dukefrukem]

Haha when did he say that quote? "What are you going to do, talk the alien to death" ?

[Mal]

I found doing a list of 50 movies in this current climate extremely daunting. During times of COVID, I'm finding myself able to watch at least one movie a day guaranteed. I've got a number of streaming services teasing me with emails of recently added films, stuff I'll never watch or films I'm suddenly desperate to watch. And then there's the numerous sites- including MC and Twitter- talking about new stuff all the time that I'm suddenly excited to see. Film critics, some I even know personally, who see and review new things that sound fantastic, so I've gotta see it as soon as I can, right? My life as a film watcher has been constant, but ever evolving.
Back in the 90s as a kid, I watched Siskel and Ebert, and read my newspaper for the occasional arts section movie review. AT TOPS I learned of maybe 7 films a week? Life was so simple then! When I was 13, I got a job at a video store. It was still simple despite always having thousands of movies to pick from without cost to me. Nowadays, I'm truly overwhelmed, though always extremely grateful for the different ways we can all share and learn about movies.

But a list. 50 movies? I've seen thousands since I was a kid. 50 movies I like? I like a lot of things. I have movies on disc all over the house, more on digital and files on a number of hard drives. Its a lot, yet I welcome the feeling of always having film clutter, because it means I always have something to watch. Stories new and old, it really doesn't matter. All that matters is that I get something out of the 90-120 minutes (or whatever), and can move on to the next one without fail.

This is where I find myself right now: 50 movies that have been either some kind of personal favorite or something unforgettable that decided to stay in my mind for a long time. Maybe this helps you all understand me a little better? It's not the goal, though I feel like this list says something about me, where I've come from, what I've learned, etc. in the 35 years I've been around.



https://i.ibb.co/ySbrRh6/Jesus-Son-1999-B.jpg (https://ibb.co/sHMZP5K)


50. JESUS’ SON (2000)

Billy Crudup’s lead performance paints the portrait of a man drifting through the 70s who unfortunately leans into his odd, bad instincts at every turn. He finds himself given the name Fuckhead- a name that seems to stick regardless of his intentions. He falls for Michelle (Samantha Morton) a volatile presence who we know- like some of the characters we meet as the film rolls along- may run out of gas due to their drug use. The film embraces the varied experiences of its short-story roots through the script, bringing to light different facets of feeling and personality to Fuckhead though shifting moments of insanity, sadness, and empathy.

Director Alison Maclean takes us along the road with Fuckhead, changing scenarios with ease, often without much explanation. Fuckhead at one point gets a job in a hospital, despite being a messed-up addict. And remarkably he seems to be OK at what he’s tasked to do. This keeps the tone of the film fairly light- despite its darkness- able to give its lead character a chance for change in different settings. In my opinion, he’s never truly unlikable despite what these stories and characters may say about him. He discovers camaraderie, beauty, and his own path to redemption in an honest manner. Jesus’ Son may come off as one of those 90s-ish indie drug pictures that feels low budget and sprinkles poetic notions throughout. I find the film, regardless of setting and conflict, endearing as Fuckhead fucks up, meets a new friend, fucks up again. The formula may not work for some, but the way the film is about it definitely works for me.

(no current streaming option, available on torrents)

[Ezee E]

Nice intro ZF! Haven't seen that movie either and now I'm curious

[Mal]

Nice intro ZF! Haven't seen that movie either and now I'm curious

Thanks! I just realized this isn't streaming anywhere- back some years ago, it was on netflix, though not anymore, poo. I'm gonna start noting where you can watch my selected movies in the bottom of the post.

[Dukefrukem]

Duke's Top 50 Most Influential Movies Throughout Life
The movies I've seen from age 10-35 that have had ANY (small or large) impact on my personal viewpoint on life, lived by myself, or the perceived perspective of someone else's life.
#49

https://i.ibb.co/Q972QKR/49.png

Nothing But Trouble (1991)

It was during the SNL glory days. VHS and Blockbuster video was a thing of beauty. And reading the box at the rental store, if you told 10 year old me that Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, John Candy made a movie together, written and directed by Dan Aykroyd? I would say, "yes of course I will rent this movie every weekend for the next 37 weeks please!" I fell in love with this movie.. it would take decades for me to realize how much of a shit show the production was. Look at Dan Aykroyd's face in the screenshot above! He has a penis for a nose! No matter. 10 year old me never saw that. I only saw the things that mattered. Weird death roller coaster. A short appearance from 2Pac. Loony Toons ending. An old mansion that these people had to escape. (also keep in mind 10 year old me had just played Resident Evil so I was a little bit obsessed with old mansions at the moment). All of these things mashed together and formed some kind of creepy soft spot for this film that I just happened to rewatch recently with my wife. She didn't share the same appreciation as I do for this movie.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Please tell me that thing doesn't flare out when he sniffs.

[transmogrifier]

Haha when did he say that quote? "What are you going to do, talk the alien to death" ?

I believe he said it to Sigourney Weaver when she complained about the overuse of guns in Aliens?

[Idioteque Stalker]

#49

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jT7u1Bq52JU/SSpEyaLZXGI/AAAAAAAABa4/D09C5vFCBFA/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/Paranoid+Park+01.JPG

Paranoid Park

Paranoid Park is not a perfect movie. The non-actors, gathered from MySpace, can be really awkward. Non-sequential editing and extended sequences of crowdsourced skate videos kill any momentum that might have been mined from a story that already barely exists. It’s definitely not a perfect movie, but there are plenty of perfect movies you won’t find near any list of my favorites.

Paranoid Park might be the most expressionistic film I’ve ever seen. Not much is asked of the cast; instead, Gus Van Sant digs deep into his bag of tricks to show us the complex inner world of Alex, a high school skater whose attempts to find identity and community force him to grow up fast and deal with intense trauma. Lengthy slo-mos, impressionistic focus and angles, unexpected sound design and music, extreme over- and under-exposure—these are just some of the cinematic tactics Van Sant employs in what might be his most experimental film. The result is hypnotic and unsettling, like seeing your house burn down only to later zone out watching the embers glow.

[transmogrifier]

49.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ynVw0-A6rxAGoB9a_-3twlqwciXprNewYEVkrAFs9FpIs9Aa nmYuIYZldcF8wYkHLvUbeKw5Cf9DBZ 5elmeq8c6X9FePo-cK4-eXfMHE
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Movie: Seconds (1966)
Director: John Frankenheimer
Commentary: It's hard to fully describe just how dark and terrifying Seconds really is. It literalizes the dread of modern suburban life in a unique, genuinely unsettling way, and makes superb use of the Rock Hudson cipher-persona.

It is shot like a nightmare, and even the moments of supposed "lightness" (like the grape festival, which I have read some people complain of being over-the-top, overlong and clunky, but that's kind of the point - it is the view of "freedom" as seen by a guy who has been chained into a life he is not sure he ever wanted, and thus works brilliantly at depicting just how hollowed out he has become) are shot through with an almost tangible horror. It puts other "ain't the suburbs terrible?" films to absolute shame. Pure cinema.
Key Quote: “I’ve been assigned to go over the circumstances of your death with you”
Best Moment: The ending. Can say no more.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/bTjBhjjR6acOeYNVLT7jssClp6cAd5 5I-ggrJDfX9tWwveS4dXaNRXN5tV8O-5jzHiwFWpDDEso5pn-aBLYHop0LzAHSX86GJDrjd5P0
https://keep.google.com/u/0/media/v2/1hF6CI5zFbN5-N-7IobCN8mWkVI5veIXNjVV6BhVnS7bV XLKOdztqiETlqCDmL6g/1KLryp21IDTCPH6bpQUKxXgEaWuFy6 pdj_fpotUjV4akgfxbFUSNwYl5foQ9 6IMY?accept=image/gif,image/jpeg,image/jpg,image/png,image/webp,audio/aac&sz=720
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Films Seen: 10
Average: 68.6/100
Commentary: Peckinpah was from the Ernest Hemingway School of Artistry - hard-living, hard-drinking, a man’s man for better or worse. But for all his personal faults (which have been mythologized at this point), he had cinematic and thematic vision in spades, and he knew how to compensate for (or harness) his demons in order to deliver it on screen. The fact he made so many great films despite consistently exhausting studio patience is something of a wonder. Would be higher if not for the rather dull last couple of movies in his filmography.
Best Film: The Wild Bunch
Worst Film: Convoy
Key Quote: “There is a great streak of violence in every human being. If it is not channeled and understood, it will break out in war or in madness.”

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/YHNdU3EbTFoHn3-KKuAETs-o0jYvk8zq_sD3HiNV_VqY6KKm_dZrP 8zCAxHiiu4tJplpACg3yNixZRyay0l DjLc-yzsRdjR5go8dx0FH
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Musician: Melvins
Commentary: I got into these guys late, despite being a grunge dude in the 90s. I imagine it was because I was mostly drawn to the commercial grunge (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots) and Melvins would have been too heavy (though I don’t remember having heard them at all during that time). Well, I was cured of that, and I’ve now started to embrace the sludge. I’m still a novice when it comes to these guys, so expect my favorite album and song to change as I become more familiar with their discography.
Best Album: Bullhead (1991)
Best Song: “Revolve” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py2fG-NgfkA) from Stoner Witch (1994)

[Dukefrukem]

It's hard to fully describe just how dark and terrifying Seconds really is. It literalizes the dread of modern suburban life in a unique, genuinely unsettling way, and makes superb use of the Rock Hudson cipher-persona.

Added to my queue!

[Idioteque Stalker]

That Melvins picture, from right to left: about to offer me a tree bark snack, electrocuting me with his mind, wearing a green vest because he clearly had to do something quirky.

[Morris Schæffer]

I believe he said it to Sigourney Weaver when she complained about the overuse of guns in Aliens?

Which in turn may have led to the real, in-movie reply: "Man, what are we supposed to use? Harsh language?" when they're deep inside the nuclear processor.

[Mal]

https://i.ibb.co/f8CtKxr/Large-run-lola-run-blu-ray4.jpg


49. RUN LOLA RUN (1999)
“The ball is round, a game lasts 90 minutes, everything else is pure theory.”

At a brisk 80 minutes, Director Tom Tykwer’s 1999 non-stop adrenaline rush of a film feels like a perfectly tuned picture to cap-off a decade defined by style. It has that quintessentially era-specific feature of pulse-pounding frenetic editing - MTV-style as it used to be known - that keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat and their eyes challenged but always satisfied by bright, saturated imagery. Franka Potente’s lead performance as Lola is hungry, driven, terrified - we experience this runaway journey and its layers along with her, each minute more frenetic than the last, while she tries to save the day for her partner Manny.
Whether he’s the right man for her or not isn’t the question - she’s truly running for herself, running to make things right the only way she thinks she can. Sprinting on her feet, accepting consequences that lay in front of her. There is so much in the way of chaos, yet Tykwer is generous enough to give us a few chances to get a better glimpse of what’s happening while our heroine picks up the pace on her feet, as well as some intimate red-lit bedroom chats between Lola and her boyfriend to discuss their relationship. These moments feel a bit invasive, yet it fills in the blanks for their history and emotional connection, slowing down the world to breathe and get personal. Tykwer also gives us brief glimpses at how the brief encounters Lola has while running in public affects others around her- these aren’t the most interesting parts of the film at all, though they play along with the entire fate construct of the story.

Run Lola Run is a movie, for me, that serves up joyful entertainment every single time I watch it. It’s fascinating to me how it didn’t yield too many imitators, despite its unique pacing and design. And Tykwer himself didn’t necessarily follow up the film with a series of other stories based in action and chaos. He teamed up with Franka Potente again with 2000’s The Princess And The Warrior - a fable set in present time where a life of crime fascinates the Princess in question as she falls for the troubled Warrior. While its a bit more calm and dreamy as pictures go, its still in his wheelhouse of fate and hope in a broken world, where victory comes not just from success, but from the relationships we sow. The things that matter and make us human beyond money, power, and conflict in the world.

(Available via digital rental on most platforms)

[Skitch]

Love RLR and Tykwer!

[Philip J. Fry]

The Nightingale is haunting stuff.

[Idioteque Stalker]

I haven't seen Run Lola Run since I first heard Spinal sing its praises over a decade ago. What a tightly wound, clever little movie.

[DFA1979]

Seconds is excellent. A classic tale of science and paranoia. Be careful what you wish for.

[Dukefrukem]

Duke's Top 50 Most Influential Movies Throughout Life
The movies I've seen from age 10-35 that have had ANY (small or large) impact on my personal viewpoint on life, lived by myself, or the perceived perspective of someone else's life.
#48

https://i.ibb.co/rfQkqR6/48.png

Dragged Across Concrete (2018)

Another fresh one. This film does not care about your feelings. It is completely non-forgiving, but there's just one scene that stands out as a gut punch, especially with new parents or soon to be come parents. It feels like a complete non sequitur when the scene begins. A woman, Jennifer Carpenter, who has postpartum depression, is about to go back to work for the first time in months after giving birth. The love for her baby is completely drawn out and they even show a shot of the husband holding the baby as mom is going to work... at a bank. What hits hard about what comes next is the complete misdirection from an advertising point of view. Jennifer Carpenter is on the freakin' poster, 5th billed. If anyone knows the slightest thing about one sheets and screen time there is probably a good chance that Jennifer Carpenter becomes a hostage at the bank. Whelp, I won't spoil it here. Watch it and get back to me or just take my word for it.

[Ezee E]

Run Lola Run was fun stuff indeed, and something that made me look into more movie scores.

Nightingale is one of the more overlooked movies from last year because it's hard to recommend that type of movie to someone.

[megladon8]

Nice, Duke. I freaking loved that movie. It doesn't feel as long as it is.

Didn't realize you loved it that much. Super cool.

[Ezee E]

Yep. Certainly goes against convention, just like his other movies (and books) do.

[Morris Schæffer]

DAC was great. Still need to see Bone Tomahawk.

[Dukefrukem]

Nice, Duke. I freaking loved that movie. It doesn't feel as long as it is.

Didn't realize you loved it that much. Super cool.

All three are winners for me. Zahler + Vaughn is an unforeseen successful combination.

[Idioteque Stalker]

#48

https://i.postimg.cc/7Lk46cwK/shorts.jpg

Duck Amuck, La Jetee, The Man Who Planted Trees, Pas De Deux, The Red Balloon, and World of Tomorrow

all the balloons in paris
can make a child smile
and lift into the sunset
will they ever be back?

[Idioteque Stalker]

I cheated.

[Dukefrukem]

Duck Amuck probably deserves to be on my most influential list. It's the first thing I remember belly laughing over.

[Skitch]

All three are winners for me. Zahler + Vaughn is an unforeseen successful combination.

That director is 3 for 3 with me as well, but Vaughns performance in Cell Block shows that guy really does have acting chops. I've said so for years.

[transmogrifier]

48.

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Movie: High and Low (1963)
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Commentary: One of the great sweaty movies, as two vastly different worlds come face to face and try to figure out how it all went awry. Superb use of 2.35:1 and a sly script that makes you think it’s heading towards an obvious narrative reveal, but instead just doubles down on its title dichotomy. Throw in the fact that this goes proto-Zodiac for a good hour or so, how can you not just shake your head and smile. Kurosawa, man. What the hell was in his water?
Key Quote: “Don't worry. You wouldn't understand. It's business.”
Best Moment: The carnival...

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/QMB87FWJDCJF-OziRVQ5pez2lAYBoE91C1_xEiydPiy 7QsBScwZJlZzmZXLvd10yzZKrc8Sbg gkHygzy549j-WHaB03drwCQruAwGFQ9cQEr9E4MMmh MYK2PN9lEIu9XYknZtSwF
Director: Ron Shelton
Films Seen: 4
Average: 69/100
Commentary: So we quite quickly meet the first director on this list that I would never claim to be a favorite from a subjective perspective, but the stats don’t lie. (Also, I didn’t see his most recent two films, so that helps.) Sturdy and unspectacular as a stylist, Shelton knows how to sketch the sports-inflected insecurities of the American male.
Best Film: Bull Durham
“Worst” Film: Dark Blue. It’s more mediocre, really, anchored by a typically fine Kurt Russell appearance.
Key Quote: "When you make a hit movie, people answer your calls and things get financed. When you don’t, they don’t."

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/24XBO6I9liT7j66TDUM2TBtHONj2aL wTD_cT3e8Ku1HS2R7mvI-qQ2odTEZ_5ld_7z44cGSxUG2MP4apD Yxuz2iOZVQO0ZDE3_TFdZd_k0uzjqD YnspzrvKpEPEoATsiwLJNqnFz
Musician: The Breeders
Commentary: I’m a sucker for crunchy guitars and female singers - and The Breeders are one of the reasons why. Hit me at exactly the right time, and they keep popping up at irregular intervals with damn solid albums to remind me all over again how lucky we are to have Kim Deal.
Best Album: Last Splash (1993)
Best Song: “The She” from Title TK (2002)

[Idioteque Stalker]

High and Low is next-level awesome. Cool screenshot.

[Skitch]

Black and white Kurasawa? I haven't seen it but I'm sure its fucking spectacular.

[Mal]

Hahaha Dark Blue wasn't bad at all from what I remember!

[Ezee E]

Black and white Kurasawa? I haven't seen it but I'm sure its fucking spectacular.

Strangely enough, it was my first Kurosawa. It's fantastic.

[Skitch]

Strangely enough, it was my first Kurosawa. It's fantastic.

Mine was Seven Samurai, on IFC or Sundance, in 1998. Nasty week of insomnia, it was 2a.m., I bet this will put me to sleep. How very wrong I was. Watched every frame.

[Mal]

https://i.ibb.co/7Cr08Sd/vlcsnap-2020-08-07-00h01m47s041.png


48. LAUREL CANYON (2003)
“I can't control my heart... I wouldn't want to, even if I could.”

I struggled with trying to decide where to rank Laurel Canyon. This is not a particularly great, groundbreaking, nor epic film. It doesn’t have any significant storytelling nor impactful material. But what it does have is a good cast - Christian Bale’s Sam and Kate Beckinsale’s Alex are a cute-yet-uptight studious American couple who are looking to spend some vacation time at the home of Sam’s mother Jane before their upcoming nuptials. Off they fly to California, for some relaxation in mom’s allegedly empty home. But what they find instead is an occupied homestead, including Jane herself (Frances McDormand). She’s a legendary record producer who drives Sam crazy because his mom is just so… wacky (i.e. not conservative).

What makes this an enjoyable film, despite its sort of lackadaisical scripting and motivations, is its commitment to fuck around, smoke a joint or cigarette, and get drunk. It’s a hangout movie that, at first, doesn’t really want to be one- and that’s where the Sam and Alex push/pull comes in. Fittingly, the film starts out with the two of them having a coitus session interrupted by Jane leaving a voicemail on their answering machine. And by the end of the film, Jane has, effectively, taken over their lives and the characters have learned to succumb to their emerging free-wheeling desires (sex stuff) that they normally would suppress in other settings, as well as make peace with the disrupted road ahead of them. Sam discovers he has urges to be with another woman, while Alex becomes seduced by Jane and her Rock ’N Roll aura.
On top of all of that conflict for the viewer, there’s the music. Oh, the music. The opening credits of the film features text flowing over the lovely Los Angeles canyons of the story, set to a dreamy track called “In a Funny Way” by the band Mercury Rev. This ushers in a fluttery, mystical mood regarding the musical history and creations of a time now past - the history that Jane was part of and is still trying to continue in her in-home record studio. This throwback feeling is all around them in the present- and thankfully also embodied within Jane’s partner Ian (Alessandro Nivola, who isn’t British but it doesn’t matter- the man is sex on legs). He’s somewhat of a catalyst for the behavioral changes in the leads, while also adding needed color as he croons in the studio during creative collaborations with Jane and his band. Overall, while Laurel Canyon isn’t as artistically lush a picture as the storied musical history that came before it, the attempt to evoke a certain mood is often quite successful, so much that I can’t help but watch it over and over, always wanting it to be better, yet still enjoying what is available as a feeling and experience.


(Available via digital rental on most platforms)

[Dukefrukem]

48.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_eCwTHVEoENmgYbz7_yWAj4LckAQzo nRUBj1uizLr1bv_Ch4MVFhgDZ37WN6 46ed1fnVC9jsEhVSjDp-OPVrxHr-vQaj9Gr2ttIsFF_pktP1LeXspm32Mj MCv8xHgJg-cqW_zzHH[SIZE=2]
Movie: High and Low (1963)
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Commentary: One of the great sweaty movies, as two vastly different worlds come face to face and try to figure out how it all went awry. Superb use of 2.35:1 and a sly script that makes you think it’s heading towards an obvious narrative reveal, but instead just doubles down on its title dichotomy. Throw in the fact that this goes proto-Zodiac for a good hour or so, how can you not just shake your head and smile. Kurosawa, man. What the hell was in his water?


added to queue.

and

LAUREL CANYON has been on my to watch list for years.

[Ezee E]

Mine was Seven Samurai, on IFC or Sundance, in 1998. Nasty week of insomnia, it was 2a.m., I bet this will put me to sleep. How very wrong I was. Watched every frame.

I got this from the Criterion sale and watching it for the first time since my early 20's. Just watched Part I which is wild that a movie spends so much time establishing its team and the setting, especially with it really being the first time that the "team assembly" story happened as far as I'm aware.

Mifune's bit where he gives the children rice almost seems entirely improvisational. He's so happy while doing it

[Idioteque Stalker]

I'd never even heard of Laurel Canyon until Zac spoiled the choice on letterboxd the other day. From now on I will try to skip over those letterboxd updates in an effort to preserve the sanctity of this thread.

Number of movies I've seen from each list:

trans - 1
Zac - 1
Duke - 0

Either Duke has obscure taste or I tend to avoid the types of movies where actors wear phallic prosthesis on their face.

[Mal]

I am rewatching some movies on LB for this list, but I only count rewatches if I finish the movie. And a positive star rating is no guarantee that its on the list.

[Dukefrukem]

Duke's Top 50 Most Influential Movies Throughout Life
The movies I've seen from age 10-35 that have had ANY (small or large) impact on my personal viewpoint on life, lived by myself, or the perceived perspective of someone else's life.
#47

https://i.ibb.co/0qhx3bV/47.png

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985)

As a kid, I used to believe the tile was part of a trilogy. I was knee deep in trilogies at this point in time when I saw it (a few will be referenced later in this list) and I just assumed every successful movie had it's own trilogy. Plus how misleading: "The Adventure Begins". Where's the Adventure Strikes Back and the Last Adventure? But this was the VHS age and I'll be damned if I'm not going to memorize every line in this movie. There's something about the campyness of the tone, the secret agent parts and the kung-fu parts that made this stand out. It's probably more of a guilty pleasure at this point, but it had a huge impact on sub-genre films. Fred Ward also gets the credit for introducing me to Tremors.

[Skitch]

Man I have got to watch this damn Remo movie. My whole life I've heard people talk about it and I've never seen a frame.

[Dukefrukem]

Yes you do.

[Idioteque Stalker]

I was trying to figure out why I recognize the camo guy, and it hit me. He's the villain from Naked Gun 33 1/3. Never heard of Remo Williams though.

[Idioteque Stalker]

#47

https://the-avocado.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/enchanted-amy-adams.jpg

Enchanted

Sure, the clever plot, pitch-perfect cast, memorable songs, and breathless pacing help Enchanted to be among Disney’s most entertaining movies. But when it comes down to it, there’s really just one reason it’s a favorite: Amy Adams. For the movie to work, we have to believe Giselle is a real Disney princess, even if it takes her a while to convince others—with her irresistible enthusiasm and sincerity—that dreams do, in fact, come true.

As Giselle injects a little magic into Manhattan’s Midtown, the film’s next and most clever trick is how it slowly but surely exposes her to harsh modern realities—learning about and experiencing anger for the first time, then despair when she is introduced to the concept of divorce—until she’s nearly cynical by the film’s end. To see a grown woman bear the full weight and horror of things we’ve slowly grown accustomed to as “facts of life” only reminds us of that bit of ourselves, no matter how dormant, that still believes life can be a fairy tale.

[Skitch]

I was trying to figure out why I recognize the camo guy, and it hit me. He's the villain from Naked Gun 33 1/3. Never heard of Remo Williams though.

Surely you've seen Tremors!

[transmogrifier]

47.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/Fwno0C62H9A5zMOQN6dxG9TFHLfANJ 27GqQQTsRHk4_Mwbr5ydRYBMNB4KvE NB4fetcxzpuFEMuesW1uhgsb8mIi5D LYCGOgyjuQkNO7

Movie: The Conformist (1970)
Director: Bernado Bertolucci
Commentary: My full Letterboxd review: “Ravishing in image, riveting in plot.’ That seems insufficient, for the purpose of this list, but I don’t have a lot of time to rewatch all of the films that I have only seen once years ago. So, for cases like these, I am going to pull an excerpt from a review of someone I follow on Letterboxd. This, from Callum Marsh (https://letterboxd.com/calum_marsh/film/the-conformist/): “Here fascism is the ultimate manifestation of conformity. This view — a quasi-satirical thesis of sorts — makes The Conformist a rather more trenchant and acerbic anti-fascist critique than the comparatively crude 1900. Those drawn in under the influence of fascism aren’t rendered as caricatures of cruelty. Indeed they needn’t be: Their weakness, in Bertolucci’s conception, speaks for itself.”
Key Quote: “"Anna, please, dear, calm down. Clerici is a fascist. I'm an anti-fascist. We both knew. And we decided to have supper together all the same."
Best Moment: It has to be the chase through the woods.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/uJ66eq_mA32jkLV3dkq3p_9cOvMQDG d6PhmCIlX0cYKWsxqh108h7-D1AIp6FAFXcYhETyLv619xFqUdSYcL XREn9OJJkbM9CxR59-3S

Director: Samuel Fuller
Films Seen: 11
Average: 69.18/100
Commentary: Fuller is one of those directors whose style is relatively perfunctory in terms of technical skills - certainly, a lot of his films make good use of editing, but in terms of mise-en-scene and camera movement, he tended towards blunt and simple - but whose thematic predilections provide the spark and spirit that drives cinema. He wasn’t shy in pointing out the hypocrisy of society and the mistreatment of marginalized groups.
Best Film: White Dog
“Worst” Film: Pickup on South Street. Again, it’s not a bad film - it is just the least of the Fuller films I have seen.
Key Quote: “If a story doesn't give you a hard-on in the first couple of scenes, throw it in the goddamned garbage.”

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/1GHkJmJImfN_JGOVnUpgOP-_zpd6wwANqNojR-UxFU6Y-RCkFOiTm4SixAigrVjDn47JEXbUNWK m-I-fthkU_ZOEDzqQFp1c3ps5Y1s5

Musical Artist: The Velvet Underground
Commentary: I don’t generally have a lot of time for canonized bands from the 60s/70s - I’m tepid on The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and The Rolling Stones, for example - but I’m all on board for these arty weirdos who happened to appear at the right time and flame brightly for a brief period before - as many good bands do - collapsing in on itself.
Best Album: White Light/White Heat (1968). Their most abrasive album, but it’s hilarious.
Best Song: “Oh! Sweet Nuthin’” from Loaded (1970)

[Idioteque Stalker]

Surely you've seen Tremors!

I actually haven't. It looks squirmy and gross.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Eleven Sam Fuller films! Wow. Maybe I'll add one to the queue. The Naked Kiss?

As for your other two choices... too low.

[Pop Trash]

Man, I remember loving Remo Williams as a kid too. I noticed it's on Prime, so I may have to give it a whirl. Incidentally, as far as '80s movies I liked as a kid go, I rewatched the first two Karate Kid movies. First one actually aged better than I thought. I was expecting to cringe, but it's really well done. The second one is def more cheese but it's still entertaining.

Also, I saw the Breeders live about two years ago and they are still rad. The Deal sisters look pretty much the same. Aged well.

[Dukefrukem]

Man, I remember loving Remo Williams as a kid too. I noticed it's on Prime, so I may have to give it a whirl. Incidentally, as far as '80s movies I liked as a kid go, I rewatched the first two Karate Kid movies. First one actually aged better than I thought. I was expecting to cringe, but it's really well done. The second one is def more cheese but it's still entertaining.

Also, I saw the Breeders live about two years ago and they are still rad. The Deal sisters look pretty much the same. Aged well.

Isn't it weird how perspectives change, specifically in film? Things you remember as a kid are TOTALLY different when they are rewatched.

[Mal]

https://i.ibb.co/m8zKFwj/screenshot000.jpg


47. MY DINNER WITH ANDRE (1981)
“… that moment when Marlon Brando sent the Indian woman to accept the Oscar, and everything went haywire? Things just very rarely go haywire now. And if you're just operating by habit, then you're not really living. ”

I love when characters in a film can talk, share, and continue to talk and share ideas without the director judging them by cutting off the storytelling to change scenes and move on. My Dinner with Andre is centered around a long conversation over dinner between two characters - Wally and Andre - where they share their experiences and feelings on their lives.
Such a simple conceit for a film, yet one that feels rich and vibrant - thoughtful and sincere - no matter who I am as a viewer at the time, no matter what is going on in my life. The film has a dated, yet timeless look to itself. Its New York City in 1980. A seemingly chilly day (Wally’s nose looks a little red at the beginning) though not cold enough for Wally to wear gloves. He’s off to see Andre for dinner, admitting this is a reluctant meeting for him. Sharing his thoughts about pining for his girlfriend to be home to make him dinner instead, he reveals he hasn’t been the biggest fan of his dinner partner for that evening. They meet, the wine flows, the history between them, the history of history. Andre’s travels. Nothing is off the table, not even electric blankets. It’s all about life. Living. Experiences.
I know this may be a film for very few rather than many. Louis Malle’s introspective take on this conversation is filled with nuance though what each man brings to the discussion, as well as their ability to listen, be enthused or passionate. I admire this movie for its endless ability to be as tasty and satisfying as any good meal.

(streaming on Criterion Channel, HBO MAX, Kanopy)

[Skitch]

You know what childhood fav I was absolutely shocked kinda held up? Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend.

[Mal]

The Conformist is wonderful, really love that film.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Very curious about My Dinner with Andre. Such an audacious premise for a feature length film. Sounds like Malle was able to pull it off.

[baby doll]

Very curious about My Dinner with Andre. Such an audacious premise for a feature length film. Sounds like Malle was able to pull it off.My Letterboxd review from a couple of months ago (https://letterboxd.com/sukiyakiramen/film/my-dinner-with-andre/). It's consistently entertaining, but my favourite Malle film would either be Zazie dans le métro (it doesn't work as a comedy but it's definitely his weirdest and most stylistically adventurous film) or Lacombe Lucien. Le Souffle au coeur is probably essential viewing as well, if only because the entire careers of Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach would be inconceivable without its example. I still haven't seen the last half-hour of Pretty Baby because the disc skipped, but based on what I've seen, it has to be one of the saddest films ever made: The story of a bright, likeable teenager sleepwalking into a life of prostitution because she lives in a society that makes it impossible for her to imagine any other life for herself. (In many respects, it's a companion film to Lacombe Lucien.) From what I've seen, his worst is Damage; it certainly has the silliest sex scenes of any non-hardcore movie I can recall.

[StuSmallz]

My Letterboxd review from a couple of months ago (https://letterboxd.com/sukiyakiramen/film/my-dinner-with-andre/).Wait, "Sooriyakumaran"...? Didn't you use to post on RT a long time ago?

[[ETM]]

Of course. Like most of us here.

Sent from my Mi 9 Lite using Tapatalk

[Ezee E]

Wait, "Sooriyakumaran"...? Didn't you use to post on RT a long time ago?

Sooriyakumaran was one of the first people I remember interacting with.

[Dukefrukem]

Red Beard was burned into my memory.

[Morris Schæffer]

Red Beard was burned into my memory.

Haha, there have been some colorful characters there. Good some are now here.

[Skitch]

Red Beard was burned into my memory.

He and I almost met up to go to a convention once.

[baby doll]

Wait, "Sooriyakumaran"...? Didn't you use to post on RT a long time ago?A very, very long time ago.

[StuSmallz]

;625414']Of course. Like most of us here.

Sent from my Mi 9 Lite using TapatalkWell, I knew most Matchcutters started out on RT (I posted there myself from '06 all the way to the bitter end in 2017, after all), I just had no idea that he was Soori specifically, so learning that is a pretty pleasant surprise.
He and I almost met up to go to a convention once.That's cool; I've tried meeting a couple of fellow forumers over the years, but the first time I succeeded was actually earlier this year, when I met Quite-Gone Genie (https://corrierino.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1268287#p12682 87) for lunch at a local BBQ joint.
A very, very long time ago.Yeah; didn't you wear an avatar of Kiera Knightley in Domino there? And people kept mistakenly assuming you were a woman because of that?

[megladon8]

All of the members of the Axis I consider good friends, no matter how far away they are or the fact that I've only met one of them IRL.

They've been in my life for more than half of its runtime.

[Dukefrukem]

Duke's Top 50 Most Influential Movies Throughout Life
The movies I've seen from age 10-35 that have had ANY (small or large) impact on my personal viewpoint on life, lived by myself, or the perceived perspective of someone else's life.
#46

https://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/mp/gufdmo6dASNx.jpg

Rushmore (1998)

My introduction to Wes Anderson as a high school 14 year old. A friend of mine's brother had a very extensive DVD collection this year, which to everyone else on the planet, means they were super rich since DVD didn't break through into mainstream until several years later. This movie blew me away. I had never been exposed to movies like this before. Wes Anderson, Coen Brothers and to some extend Quentin Tarantino were all introduced to me by my friends' older brother. It was the first time I realized that "comedies" outside of American Pie could be funny. It changed the way I looked at comedy, from slapstick Hot Shots Part Deux , Ace Ventura and the Naked Gun... to black comedies like Fargo and Rushmore. Irony finally made sense! But it was this moment that made me seek out others like it. I'm grateful I was exposed to this so early in life.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Such a great movie. Possibly my favorite Bill Murray role as well. That screenshot really pops--maybe all Wes Anderson is like that.

[Skitch]

I need to check that one off the list. I've only seen bits and pieces.

[Idioteque Stalker]

#46

https://herrimantelegraph.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/banksyelephant-Cora-Romero-.jpg

Exit Through the Gift Shop

An earnest and fascinating documentary about street art, until it isn’t. Even among those who have no problem proclaiming street art to be legitimate art, there are still people who have a problem with Thierry Guetta, who ten years later seems less like a psychotic opportunist swept up in the scene and more like one of the world’s most notable pre-instagram, post-authenticity success stories.

In fact, Banksy was again ahead of the game by crafting a film so intellectually gripping and visually seductive nobody ever much cared if the entire thing was an elaborate ruse. Yes, it’s about street art, but on another level it’s about the nature of art criticism, even art itself, and how celebrity effects everything. By a certain point we are so deep inside the rabbit hole, the only question that makes sense is the one hinted at by the film’s title: if someone is willing to pay, does anything else even matter?

[transmogrifier]

46.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/FEQNrWhLN0sSXYZFjI99z-IFYMORCjNVZrvD0Jc-VyO7lqFi0jHCudAHbcBF1Q-D4ulbXtcSSc0hr-6LL29t17uwI4H3tJLkEvJFW7af
Movie: Audition (2000)
Director: Takeshi Miike
Commentary: Perhaps one of the most perfectly structured horrors of all time, this takes its time benignly setting up an atmosphere of casual misogyny that explodes into visceral terror, both mental and physical. The juxtaposition between the gentle dramedy of the first half and the piano-wire tension of the second kind of renders all questions of whose to blame moot; rather, you just want to curl up in a little ball and apologize to everyone, just in case.
Key Quote: “Words turn into lies. Only pain can be trusted.”
Best Moment: The sack moves for the first time.


https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/2PaKi1OK-wGMyGy2qJ926NVCsfx6b2Ra8ghNvvN-cgsTtalxKMuMfBiarx98ehOCyvFFQ0 c6YnqQEtvHbUiCFNxEd-cqpdNSAjjkUeXf
Director: Michael Haneke
Films Seen: 9
Average: 69.33/100
Commentary: Icy, cerebral, a button pusher - Haneke is all of these, and he can occasionally draw the ire of cinema fans when he pushes their buttons (there has always been something ironic about horror fans feeling slighted by his central thesis of Funny Games (x2), refusing to interrogate the relationship between what the audience looks for in a horror and what film-makers deliver but sullenly accusing the film-maker of being condescending). But damn if his films are not brimming with ideas and stunning shots.
Best Film: Cache
Worst Film: The Piano Teacher. Not a fan of the “crazy person does randomly self-destructive crazy things in an art film” subgenre.
Key Quote: “All movies assault the viewer in one way or another”

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/r49SIwjRBNQzuFS9TYdBIwNO1KEPr8 MjnnnR4JVGFHibyWTWYikh_-qJQu8nwiC5x96fGX3gen09iAVqLe3l 1sJ8eZ2ArlXZztV7-GUg
Musical Artist: Talking Heads
Commentary: One of those bands that I came to late, that I dumped a whole lot of albums into my library, and that I listen to regularly, but that I haven’t really embraced yet as my own, if you know what I mean. I like them, I think they have made some great albums, but they are still aural wallpaper for me at the moment. I really need to sit down and listen to these albums seriously.
Best Album: Tentatively Remain in Light (1980).
Best Song: “The Great Curve’” from Remain in Light (1980)

[Skitch]

I would greatly enjoy a trans commentary track on Haneke film.

[Mal]

https://i.ibb.co/YjXfW7L/babe.webp


46. BABE (1995)

It’s quite simple- a lonesome piglet named Babe dreams of becoming a sheepdog on a tiny farm in Australia. Hilarity and eventual triumph in the face of judgment and expectations ensues. The Sheep-Pig fairytale isn’t just a great movie because of its heartwarming story, but because its one made without much compromise to earn an audience of all ages. A lovely, sweet, charming, adorable, and unforgettable story of determination that you'd have to be a cold hearted soul to not enjoy. While Disney and others tried many times to master the Talking Animal© picture, there’s just no other like Babe. Its Pig in the City sequel is something unique as well (while a tad bizarre, its still fitting and oh so cute). The theme for Babe also instantly makes me tear up whenever I think of it. What a pig-ture.

(streaming on HBO MAX)

[Idioteque Stalker]

Just in time for my annual Audition/Babe double feature!

[Dukefrukem]

Duke's Top 50 Most Influential Movies Throughout Life
The movies I've seen from age 10-35 that have had ANY (small or large) impact on my personal viewpoint on life, lived by myself, or the perceived perspective of someone else's life.
#45

https://i0.wp.com/itshelendarling.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/the-fugitive-dam-still-1.jpg?fit=799%2C316&ssl=1g

The Fugitive (1993)

The definitive 'chase' and 'wrongfully accused' movie. No one runs better than Ford. No one tracks down their man better than TLJ. Is Ford the the best franchise actors (Indiana Jones, Jack Ryan, Star Wars (and Blade Runner I guess?)), as well as able to think of him exclusive to his solo work? I.e. this film. How was he able to overcome the trope or the type cast? Believe it or not it was this movie, not Star Wars or Indiana Jones, that made me look at things like Patriot Gams and Clear and Present Danger. As a kid, never thought of the franchise stuff being the GOOD Harrison Ford. This is probably his best film from star to finish.

[StuSmallz]

Duke's Top 50 Most Influential Movies Throughout LifeThe movies I've seen from age 10-35 that have had ANY (small or large) impact on my personal viewpoint on life, lived by myself, or the perceived perspective of someone else's life. #45https://i0.wp.com/itshelendarling.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/the-fugitive-dam-still-1.jpg?fit=799%2C316&ssl=1gThe Fugitive (1993)The definitive 'chase' and 'wrongfully accused' movie. No one runs better than Ford. No one tracks down their man better than TLJ. Is Ford the the best franchise actors (Indiana Jones, Jack Ryan, Star Wars (and Blade Runner I guess?)), as well as able to think of him exclusive to his solo work? I.e. this film. How was he able to overcome the trope or the type cast? Believe it or not it was this movie, not Star Wars or Indiana Jones, that made me look at things like Patriot Gams and Clear and Present Danger. As a kid, never thought of the franchise stuff being the GOOD Harrison Ford. This is probably his best film from star to finish.Good movie, and the bus/train scene still has one of the best senses of constant escalation in any Hollywood action scene:


https://youtu.be/Kkn1zkYlqRk

[Idioteque Stalker]

#45

https://www.sbs.com.au/movies/sites/sbs.com.au.film/files/styles/full/public/ShowMeLove_704.jpg?itok=p7eKsI KR&mtime=1393386539

Show Me Love

I once watched Show Me Love without English subtitles. You’d think this would hinder my enjoyment, seeing as I only speak English. But one can tell simply by watching Elin headbutt her pillow out of boredom that, even at fourteen years old, she’s already too big a star to be tethered to a small town—much less fucking Amal of all places. So too can one see in Agnes’ shifting, watery eyes that an acceptance of one of Elin’s impulsive ideas (or her parents’ awkward attempts at bonding) is in fact an acceptance of life, but that she’s always toeing the line of total catastrophe.

I mean, sure, it probably helped that I’d seen the movie before. But the point is Show Me Love feels completely and utterly authentic, regardless of language. After all, the belief—exaggerated or not—that one can literally die from not being understood may be unique to teenagers, but it transcends all culture. (As does the iconic coming out scene.) It doesn’t even really matter if you understand what’s being said at the end; the dialogue is purposefully banal, since we’ve all at some point been so completely in love that, no matter how hard we try—even if the object of our affection is talking some nonsense about chocolate milk—there’s nothing we can do to contain what is emanating from within us and in all directions. So for no apparent reason we start to laugh.

[transmogrifier]

45

Movie: Les Diaboliques (1955)
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzet
Commentary: So...I did not review this when I saw this 10 years ago, so all of the specifics have washed away, and I’m left with the feeling of escalating tension. I need to rewatch this ASAP. Thus, I leave you with the great Pauline Kael: “The setting is a French provincial school for boys; the headmaster's wife (Vera Clouzot) and mistress (Simone Signoret) conspire to murder him. It sounds simple, but the characters seem fearfully knowing, and there are undertones of strange, tainted pleasures and punishments. According to the director, Henri-Georges Clouzot, "I sought only to amuse myself and the little child who sleeps in all our hearts-the child who hides her head under the bedcovers and begs, 'Daddy, Daddy, frighten me.'" Clouzot does it, all right; his Grand Guignol techniques are so calculatedly grisly that they seem silly, yet they succeed in making one feel queasy and sordid and scared. (Some people may feel too queasy to find the film really pleasurable.)”
Key Quote: “It's always the ones who know how [to swim] that get drowned. The ones who can't, don't go near the pool.”


Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Films Seen: 10
Average: 69.45
Commentary: Not much for me to say here - the man is an institution, and you know what you are going to get with a Miyazaki joint: plucky young lead, morally grey antagonists, metaphysical oddities, strident environmentalism, and a narrative that has a million things on its mind at once. Sometimes it seems like he is trying to jam together 5 films at once in order to make up for the laborious process of animating his flights of fancy, but then you have that aching melancholy springing up from the whirr of energy, and you can’t help but admire the alchemy.
Best Film: Spirited Away
“Worst” Film: Howl’s Moving Castle
Key Quote: ““Yet, even amidst the hatred and carnage, life is still worth living. It is possible for wonderful encounters and beautiful things to exist.”


Musician: Future of the Left
Commentary: Sure, they are a slightly more pale version of their predecessor Mclusky, but the monster riffs and sardonic humor are intact and wonderful.
Best Album: Travels with Myself and Another (2009)
Best Song: “Real Men Hunt in Packs” from Curses (2007)

[Morris Schæffer]

Show me love is a fave of mine.

[StuSmallz]

45

Movie: Les Diaboliques (1955)
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzet
Commentary: So...I did not review this when I saw this 10 years ago, so all of the specifics have washed away, and I’m left with the feeling of escalating tension. I need to rewatch this ASAP. Thus, I leave you with the great Pauline Kael: “The setting is a French provincial school for boys; the headmaster's wife (Vera Clouzot) and mistress (Simone Signoret) conspire to murder him. It sounds simple, but the characters seem fearfully knowing, and there are undertones of strange, tainted pleasures and punishments. According to the director, Henri-Georges Clouzot, "I sought only to amuse myself and the little child who sleeps in all our hearts-the child who hides her head under the bedcovers and begs, 'Daddy, Daddy, frighten me.'" Clouzot does it, all right; his Grand Guignol techniques are so calculatedly grisly that they seem silly, yet they succeed in making one feel queasy and sordid and scared. (Some people may feel too queasy to find the film really pleasurable.)”
Key Quote: “It's always the ones who know how [to swim] that get drowned. The ones who can't, don't go near the pool.”I liked Les Diaboliques (https://corrierino.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1041687#p10416 87), and found it to be fairly creepy and atmospheric on the whole, but I also couldn't help but feel I would've liked it more if I hadn't seen Vertigo beforehand, seeing as how, since both films were adapted from the same writing team with fairly similar premises, Diaboliques ended up feeling like a less emotionally engaging, psychologically insightful, and ultimately less substantive version of Hitchcock's film to me in the end. Then again, I also felt there was something missing from Wages Of Fear to make it a great film, so maybe I'm just not a huge fan of Clouzot's work in general.

[Skitch]

I'm glad worst was in quotes. What was your score?

[transmogrifier]

I'm glad worst was in quotes. What was your score?

53/100

[Skitch]

53/100

Oh I was hoping for at least 60s. :/ Come on now :p

[Mal]

https://i.ibb.co/7zvWpqh/Drive03-PR190911-1.jpg

45. DRIVE (2011)

This is the first and not the last time Nicolas Winding Refn will appear on my list. Drive was a major coming-out party for a director that favors darkness and fury in his generally dude/aggro violence pictures that are racy and explicit, though not necessarily geared towards American sensibilities. Set in a Los Angeles that could be found in any Michael Mann film, Ryan Gosling’s Driver is stunt driver by day, getaway guy for hire by night- a reliable tool in a landscape of dirty men and dirty deeds. His hired jobs are done without compromise and to his fullest ability, while his unemotional, stoic presence is brings an alluring intensity that should not be crossed. A man with no name for a new era, though one who is also fully a silent lover, fighter to protect the innocent at any cost. On top of Gosling’s tremendous performance, Refn injects an unforgettable soundtrack through scoring by Cliff Martinez and the song work of various artists. Synth is the name of the game- heartbeats, tempo, lyrical exposition are all presented to varying degrees in an appealing fashion. The 80’s influence - to which Refn did deem the film to be his Pretty In Pink with violence - is very familiar but ultimately drawn anew with tracks that, when paired with the film, enhance the sensory experience a motion picture with audio can provide. Movie magic, as they say. Sadly however, the picture itself was initially met with disdain from some audiences from not being akin to a certain car series of films starring Vin Diesel, likely because Drive favors brutal, structured slow-burn vengeance over slick stunts and family. And its too bad - but their loss alone - that this film wasn’t for them. Nearly 10 years later, Drive still entertains and delights, and helped Refn gain the ability to make future projects with American resources that continue his signature colorful darkness.


It should be noted that the Radio 1 Rescores Drive version of the film (curated by Zane Lowe) is colossal failure of an idea and I don’t recommend anyone watch it. The music used isn’t anywhere close to the tracks used in the film- talk about a cheap stunt.

(streaming on Netflix)

[transmogrifier]

Spoiler alert: Refn will not appear on any of my lists.

[Dukefrukem]

Spoiler alert: Refn will not appear on any of my lists.

Excellent!!

[Mal]

Great. Wonderful. Glad to know.

I've been meaning to see both Show Me Love and Les Diaboliques forever. I could do a true ladies night double feature.

[StuSmallz]

45. DRIVE (2011)Surprised to see this make your list, Zac, considering that the last time I saw you talk about it, (https://corrierino.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=808502#p808502 ) you were singing a much different tune. :D In all seriousness though, I am really happy to see Drive on your list, since I'm a big fan of it as well, (https://corrierino.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1222037#p12220 37) and I agree that Refn did an amazing job of reinvigorating the expected Crime cliches with his attention to building strong, memorable characters, and his amazing aesthetic, with the unbeatable combo of a beautiful visual style, and one of my favorite movie soundtracks to boot (my favorite song is "Under Your Spell", btw). Good pick!

[Mal]

Surprised to see this make your list, Zac, considering that the last time I saw you talk about it, (https://corrierino.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=808502#p808502 ) you were singing a much different tune. :D In all seriousness though, I am really happy to see Drive on your list, since I'm a big fan of it as well, (https://corrierino.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1222037#p12220 37) and I agree that Refn did an amazing job of reinvigorating the expected Crime cliches with his attention to building strong, memorable characters, and his amazing aesthetic, with the unbeatable combo of a beautiful visual style, and one of my favorite movie soundtracks to boot (my favorite song is "Under Your Spell", btw). Good pick!

Sarcasm, ya stalker.

[Dukefrukem]

Duke's Top 50 Most Influential Movies Throughout Life
The movies I've seen from age 10-35 that have had ANY (small or large) impact on my personal viewpoint on life, lived by myself, or the perceived perspective of someone else's life.
#44

https://i.ibb.co/sCqf1hQ/Ehr-Eo-V-Xg-AMei-JZ.png

A Serbian Film (2010)

By far the worst film on my list, but not without having the harshest physical and mental reaction after watching. It was the first time in my life, something on screen, something I knew was fake, and still had this kind of gut wrenching reaction. This is before having kids, but after exiting the Torture Porn era of the late 00s; The Saw franchise, the Collector, Ishi the Killer, Audition, the Hostel franchise.... all comedic when compared to what was depicted at the 55 minute mark. If you haven't watched the film, consider yourself lucky. If you have, consider yourself lucky you didn't watch the Director's Cut. If you have watched that, then maybe you too feel this pain. I'm not even going to describe he scene, but I'm sure you could figure it out form the wiki page.

[Morris Schæffer]

Something with an infant?

Drive is insanely cool

[Idioteque Stalker]

#44

https://www.joblo.com/assets/images/arrow/news/2019/07/EWS7.jpg

Eyes Wide Shut

The psychosexual complexity of Eyes Wide Shut makes it a movie with which one might measure life’s private milestones. Your first foray into erotic arthouse. The first time you watch something porn-adjacent with your partner. The moment you realize infidelity isn’t so black-and-white, then re-realize that maybe it is. Watching it five years after your wedding hoping your marriage never gets to that point, then thirty-five years later wondering if your marriage was ever that strong. The Hartford’s journey provides an outlet for our own innermost fears and desires, the ones we keep hidden behind a mask of social propriety, the low-frequency death of “everything’s fine,” and the white lie we tell ourselves and our loved ones: in no universe would I ever be capable of anything like that.

And the mansion ritual—has there ever been a scene with more striking artistic vision and clarity? The art direction strengthens the indictment of class. The costuming strengthens themes of self deceit and the unknowability of others. The diegetic music elevates everything and, in the words of Nick Nightingale, “I’ve never seen such women.” How exactly does one go on knowing there exists such a perfect balance of high art and base instinct, spirituality and sex, the Appolonian and the Dionysian? “We’re awake now,” says Alice, in a staggering moment of forgiveness and resolve. It’s crucial that her next and final suggestion—quite the exclamation mark on Kubrick’s life and career—is not that they “make love,” but rather something a bit more crudely worded. After all, it’s clear something is missing from their marriage, and how it is identified precisely and without shame makes Eyes Wide Shut’s ending one of cinema’s most sneakily romantic.

[Dukefrukem]

Though I understand your analysis on paper, I never understood the universal love for this. It probably deserves a rewatch.

[Mal]

Definitely rewatch it, Duke. It has only gotten better and better for me as I have gotten older and had different relationships with men. One of the best ever.

[Skitch]

I heard about the scene, Duke. I'll never watch that movie, fuck that.

EWS is a masterpiece.

[transmogrifier]

Eyes Wide Shut, like a lot of Kubrick movies, is pretty and intelligent, but feels somewhat embalmed. There is always a feeling that he analyzed a scene/shot to death, but never really got the feeling of it. Most of his filmography is a bit like eating your vegetables - healthy and responsible, but not sexy in the slightest. He will not be on my Top 50 directors list.

[megladon8]

I still haven't seen A Serbian Film. I feel like I've made the right choice so far.

[baby doll]

Eyes Wide Shut, like a lot of Kubrick movies, is pretty and intelligent, but feels somewhat embalmed. There is always a feeling that he analyzed a scene/shot to death, but never really got the feeling of it. Most of his filmography is a bit like eating your vegetables - healthy and responsible, but not sexy in the slightest. He will not be on my Top 50 directors list.Why do people assume that shitty, half-assed filmmaking is automatically more emotional than highly controlled filmmaking? After all, angst-ridden, Method acting only looks spontaneous and unrehearsed, and is as much a construction as the most anti-naturalistic performances in Kubrick's films. (Recall that Stanlislavski advised against using the Method in performance.) Of course, Kubrick could have encouraged that sort of acting in his films if he had wanted to, but with the exception of the two films he made with Kirk Douglas (who is characteristically full of spontaneous-looking indignation), it wasn't to his purpose to do so, since the spectator isn't supposed to sympathize uncritically with the protagonists of his later films.

[transmogrifier]

Why do people assume that shitty, half-assed filmmaking is automatically more emotional than highly controlled filmmaking?

Dunno. Maybe ask one of those people and find out?

[StuSmallz]

Eyes Wide Shut, like a lot of Kubrick movies, is pretty and intelligent, but feels somewhat embalmed. There is always a feeling that he analyzed a scene/shot to death, but never really got the feeling of it. Most of his filmography is a bit like eating your vegetables - healthy and responsible, but not sexy in the slightest. He will not be on my Top 50 directors list.I dunno, I think that Kubrick's rep as a cold, emotion-less sort of director has been kind of overblown over the years. I mean, I kind of get it, since 2001 (https://corrierino.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1285137#p12851 37) is one of his most iconic works, but I think some people get hung up on judging the emotional-ness of a movie by just looking at the surface level characterizations, which are obviously very clinical in that film, but that would be ignoring the infinite, overwhelming sense of wonder of the overall experience, which is honestly just as emotional as any straight-up Drama, as far as I'm concerned.

[transmogrifier]

I dunno, I think that Kubrick's rep as a cold, emotion-less sort of director has been kind of overblown over the years. I mean, I kind of get it, since 2001 (https://corrierino.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1285137#p12851 37) is one of his most iconic works, but I think some people get hung up on judging the emotional-ness of a movie by just looking at the surface level characterizations, which are obviously very clinical in that film, but that would be ignoring the infinite, overwhelming sense of wonder of the overall experience, which is honestly just as emotional as any straight-up Drama, as far as I'm concerned.


It's no coincidence that my three favorite Kubrick films are Paths of Glory, Dr. Strangelove, and Barry Lyndon - all three have a stronger undercurrent of feeling than anything else he has done (tragedy, silly comedy, and droll comedy, respectively). However, I don't judge "the emotional-ness of a movie by just looking at the surface level characterizations"; I judge it on whether I feel any emotion. It's totally subjective, of course, which is why I find it annoying when Kubrick fans always try to pin any lack of emotional response on some kind of "error" in reading his films, without acknowledging any emotional response they get is just as subjective (see for example, baby doll's "Why do people assume that shitty, half-assed filmmaking is automatically more emotional than highly controlled filmmaking?" and your "some people get hung up on judging the emotional-ness of a movie by just looking at the surface level characterizations", both major assumptions about how detractors obviously have some deficiency in their movie watching ability, rather than just explaining how you disagree and just explaining where the emotion is generated for you; you do this at the end of your reply, which is fine and nothing I would dispute - I can't in anyway refute your personal experience of what makes you feel, obviously).

[baby doll]

It's no coincidence that my three favorite Kubrick films are Paths of Glory, Dr. Strangelove, and Barry Lyndon - all three have a stronger undercurrent of feeling than anything else he has done (tragedy, silly comedy, and droll comedy, respectively). However, I don't judge "the emotional-ness of a movie by just looking at the surface level characterizations"; I judge it on whether I feel any emotion. It's totally subjective, of course, which is why I find it annoying when Kubrick fans always try to pin any lack of emotional response on some kind of "error" in reading his films, without acknowledging any emotional response they get is just as subjective (see for example, baby doll's "Why do people assume that shitty, half-assed filmmaking is automatically more emotional than highly controlled filmmaking?" and your "some people get hung up on judging the emotional-ness of a movie by just looking at the surface level characterizations", both major assumptions about how detractors obviously have some deficiency in their movie watching ability, rather than just explaining how you disagree and just explaining where the emotion is generated for you; you do this at the end of your reply, which is fine and nothing I would dispute - I can't in anyway refute your personal experience of what makes you feel, obviously).It seems to me that the fundamental issue here is a disagreement about how one defines feeling an emotion. Personally I adhere to the cognitivist position that emotions involve--but are not necessarily reducible to--judgements about external objects, and therefore are not purely subjective. An emotion is always about something, and if viewers' emotional responses weren't to a large extent predictable, it would be impossible for filmmakers to manipulate the emotions of a mass audience. The final sequence of Full Metal Jacket, with the American GIs robotically chanting the Mickey Mouse Club theme, strikes me as unsettling precisely because of the lack of affect in the GIs' voices (especially coming as it does immediately after the confrontation with the child soldier). In the case of Eyes Wide Shut, the main emotion the film generates for me is a profound ambivalence toward the Tom Cruise character: He's smug, complacent, and due to his blundering, he may be responsible for the deaths of two people, yet by consistently aligning us with his range of knowledge, the film never allows us to view him from a superior position. So yes, if you don't feel an emotion watching this film, I think that says more about you as a viewer (and specifically, what counts as feeling an emotion in your view) than it does about any artistic failing inherent in the film itself.

[transmogrifier]

It seems to me that the fundamental issue here is a disagreement about how one defines feeling an emotion.

Yes. I specifically used this phrase regarding Kubrick: "but never really got the feeling of it" and "undercurrent of feeling" to underpin that I feel Kubrick's films lack a sense of life and energy, not that viewers cannot experience an emotion watching one of his movies, which it patently absurd.


...strikes me as unsettling....


...generates for me is ambivalence....

Yes. I can also think a scene is unsettling or a character is ambivalent is a film that I otherwise think is a careful facsimile of human interaction without the energy underlying it to move it beyond an intellectual exercise. But you will notice your use of "me" in your sentences. Now, of course, you could go and dig through Kubrick interviews to find him stating that his goal was to be unsettling or ambivalent in those cases, and you will "win" the argument by correctly responding in the way he intended. But be sure to extend that to the next Michael Bay movie you watch; if another audience members really enjoys his next cock and balls joke or his next frenetic bout of blowing shit up, that says more about you than any artistic failing of the film itself. Because, unless I'm misunderstanding something, you seem to be saying that because you felt something, and I didn't, I cannot criticize the film for it, but must instead blame myself. If that is the case, surely film criticism is impossible? Or maybe I'm just misunderstanding what you are saying. I need more sleep....

[baby doll]

Yes. I specifically used this phrase regarding Kubrick: "but never really got the feeling of it" and "undercurrent of feeling" to underpin that I feel Kubrick's films lack a sense of life and energy, not that viewers cannot experience an emotion watching one of his movies, which it patently absurd.

Yes. I can also think a scene is unsettling or a character is ambivalent is a film that I otherwise think is a careful facsimile of human interaction without the energy underlying it to move it beyond an intellectual exercise. But you will notice your use of "me" in your sentences. Now, of course, you could go and dig through Kubrick interviews to find him stating that his goal was to be unsettling or ambivalent in those cases, and you will "win" the argument by correctly responding in the way he intended. But be sure to extend that to the next Michael Bay movie you watch; if another audience members really enjoys his next cock and balls joke or his next frenetic bout of blowing shit up, that says more about you than any artistic failing of the film itself. Because, unless I'm misunderstanding something, you seem to be saying that because you felt something, and I didn't, I cannot criticize the film for it, but must instead blame myself. If that is the case, surely film criticism is impossible? Or maybe I'm just misunderstanding what you are saying. I need more sleep....Obviously there isn't one correct way to respond to Kubrick's films, or any films, and the director's intentions are irrelevant; whatever your experience of the film is is correct (for you). My point was that your reaction says more about you in the sense that, if for instance you didn't find the final scene of Full Metal Jacket unsettling, it would mean presumably that the judgement you made about the characters' behaviour differed from mine and therefore you had a different feeling about it (e.g., "What cheerful fellows!"). But that doesn't seem to be what you're saying, if I understand you correctly, although honestly I'm not sure that I am: You seem to be conflating the expression of emotion in a film's diegesis ("a sense of life and energy") with the emotion felt by the spectator ("I judge [emotion] on whether I feel any emotion"), which are two completely different things. Again, the final scene of Full Metal Jacket is instructive: The lack of emotion in the characters' singing is what produces an emotional response in me, namely to feel unsettled by it. As for life and energy, I refer to my earlier remarks on Method acting: Putting aside the vexed issue of realism in the arts (that is, whether the purported realism of Method acting is really realistic or if it's merely an arbitrary convention signifying realism), you've not attempted to refute my claim earlier that this style of acting would be inappropriate for Kubrick's purposes. Nor does there seem to be any reason for thinking that this style of acting has a monopoly on emotional expression. Elizabethan and kabuki drama did not employ the conventions of realist theatre that became the dominant form of theatre in Europe from the 17th century on (i.e., the proscenium stage with an invisible fourth wall between the players and the audience), but there's little evidence to suggest that the plays of Shakespeare and Chikamatsu were experienced by their original audiences as intellectual exercises devoid of life.

[transmogrifier]

But that doesn't seem to be what you're saying, if I understand you correctly, although honestly I'm not sure that I am: You seem to be conflating the expression of emotion in a film's diegesis ("a sense of life and energy") with the emotion felt by the spectator ("I judge [emotion] on whether I feel any emotion"), which are two completely different things.

Yes, I agree. Which is why I mentioned them in two different posts discussing two different things (my original reaction to Kubrick's films in general, and StuSmallz claiming that "some people get hung up on judging the emotional-ness of a movie by just looking at the surface level characterizations").

[transmogrifier]

As for life and energy, I refer to my earlier remarks on Method acting: Putting aside the vexed issue of realism in the arts (that is, whether the purported realism of Method acting is really realistic or if it's merely an arbitrary convention signifying realism), you've not attempted to refute my claim earlier that this style of acting would be inappropriate for Kubrick's purposes. Nor does there seem to be any reason for thinking that this style of acting has a monopoly on emotional expression. Elizabethan and kabuki drama did not employ the conventions of realist theatre that became the dominant form of theatre in Europe from the 17th century on (i.e., the proscenium stage with an invisible fourth wall between the players and the audience), but there's little evidence to suggest that the plays of Shakespeare and Chikamatsu were experienced by their original audiences as intellectual exercises devoid of life.

But I didn't mention acting at all as a criteria for what gives a film life or energy - you did. Hence why I did not refute it, because it has nothing to do with my reaction to Kubrick's films. Vincent D'Onofrio overacts the hell out of the last sequences with Private Pyle, and the film still seems schematic and obvious (seriously, his comical leering is ridiculous given the context), while Nicholson and Duvall are shooting for the rafters, and The Shining still seems like a horror movie made by someone who has never seen one before but had the general gist described to him by his secretary one day. Meanwhile, Ryan O'Neal is a plank, and he is perfect for Barry Lyndon. So, it's like asking me to defend Chicago-style pizza over New York pizza by defending tomatoes grown in soil over those grown hydroponically.

[baby doll]

But I didn't mention acting at all as a criteria for what gives a film life or energy - you did. Hence why I did not refute it, because it has nothing to do with my reaction to Kubrick's films. Vincent D'Onofrio overacts the hell out of the last sequences with Private Pyle, and the film still seems schematic and obvious (seriously, his comical leering is ridiculous given the context), while Nicholson and Duvall are shooting for the rafters, and The Shining still seems like a horror movie made by someone who has never seen one before but had the general gist described to him by his secretary one day. Meanwhile, Ryan O'Neal is a plank, and he is perfect for Barry Lyndon. So, it's like asking me to defend Chicago-style pizza over New York pizza by defending tomatoes grown in soil over those grown hydroponically.Thanks for clarifying your argument. The late Kubrick film that strikes me as schematic and obvious is A Clockwork Orange, where the neat symmetry of the plot really does seem like an illustration of a preconceived thesis (despite a lively and energetic performance by McDowell): Alex abuses a set of characters over 48 hours, goes to prison, and after being released, is abused himself by the nearly same set of characters over 24 hours. On the other hand, despite their two-part structures and multiple rhyme effects, Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut strike me as far less schematic in their narrative development. I suppose one could fault the allusions to settler colonialism in both Full Metal Jacket and The Shining, which register as notations in the margins rather than an organic part of their stories, but there's nothing so crude here as the use of Beethoven in A Clockwork Orange to symbolize a character's "humanity." And while Eyes Wide Shut has something like a message, articulated by the Kidman character in the final scene, each stop on Cruise's itinerary is so effectively developed as a scene that whatever point is being made seems to emerge organically from the drama. Moreover, I'd be hard-pressed to extract a clear message from either The Shining or Full Metal Jacket. I don't think the latter could even be described unambiguously as anti-war, much less anti-American (the film acknowledges that the Vietnamese people largely hated the Americans, but for better or for worse, the film seems as mystified by this fact as the characters). Paths of Glory on the other hand strikes me as much more of a message movie.

As for the acting of D'Onofrio, Nicholson, and Duvall, I think the purpose is less to inject humanity into a preconceived thesis by turning up the volume on the performances than to objectify and defamiliarize extreme emotion, thereby pushing the tone of these films toward grotesque black comedy. Incidentally, James Naremore (http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/2020/02/questions-about-film-acting-a-dialogue-with-james-naremore-tk/) has some interesting comments on Nicholson in particular, noting that "Nicholson's performance is so deliberately strange and radical that it challenges my ability to judge whether it's good or bad."

[transmogrifier]

To my fellow list makers - I don't have time to bust out my entry right now, so please continue and I will catch up ASAP (I forgot it was my turn and could have done it instead of arguing with bd and Irish, but that ship has sailed...)

[Idioteque Stalker]

We will wait. I’m helping a friend move at the moment so I’ll be delayed anyway.

[Mal]

Yeah no rush Trans.

[transmogrifier]

44.

Movie: United 93 (2006)
Director: Paul Greengrass
Commentary: Controversial at the time as possible terror exploitation (“too soon! too soon!”), this is still as devastating as ever 14 years later, as the ramifications of this devastating act of terror still ripples through our global systems (and American culture in particular), this is both an insular retelling of the doomed flight and a fascinating glimpse at the inertia of organizations in the face of an emergency, and how difficult it is for bureaucracies to react to pure visceral hate. A perfect double bill with Zero Dark Thirty. Not sure how it is an insult to the victims at all. It is what it is, and it's incredibly powerful.
Key Quote: “Dedicated to the memory of all those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.”
“Best” Moment: The final charge is simply devastating and a testament to courage in the face of despair.


Director: Fritz Lang
Films Seen: 12
Average: 69.5
Commentary: From expressionism to pure pessimism, such is the trajectory of Lang’s films following his move from Germany to Hollywood, and his obvious friction with studio heads led to some wondrously thorny genre films.
Best Film: The Big Heat (1953)
“Worst” Film: The Return of Frank James (1940)
Key Quote: “In America, sex is preached; in France, it is done.”


Musical Artist: Rage Against the Machine
Commentary: My roommates were much more into these guys than I was in college, and I resisted because of that, trying to chart my own course with that very niche and unknown genre of grunge (I originally resisted embracing Nirvana at high school because everyone was doing it, then a mate of mine made me listen to In Utero, and that was that). I’m over that now, because RATM are one of the best exercise bands in existence and just fantastic when you want something, loud, angry, yet rhythmic, so you can bounce around like an idiot.
Best Album: Rage Against the Machine (1992)
Best Song: “Wake Up” from Rage Against the Machine

[Skitch]

RATM is top 3 bands ever for me. Like my other top bands, I discovered them entirely by blind buy. I thought the cover of the first album was interesting choice. Then I hit play and as you say, that was that. First the music, then the lyrics. Couldnt have hit me at a more impressionable age, and I'm so glad I found them when I did. I really wish they would put out a new album, I am in need of their art now more than ever.

[transmogrifier]

RATM is top 3 bands ever for me. Like my other top bands, I discovered them entirely by blind buy. I thought the cover of the first album was interesting choice. Then I hit play and as you say, that was that. First the music, then the lyrics. Couldnt have hit me at a more impressionable age, and I'm so glad I found them when I did. I really wish they would put out a new album, I am in need of their art now more than ever.

It is always cool to hear de la Rocha pop up on Run the Jewels albums.

[Mal]

Great selections. United 93 is unforgettable. Not sure I ever want to watch it again. Greengrass' crafting of moments is something special, haunting. Realism that is almost too real. Its because of his work on this film that I'm not sure I ever want to watch 22 July.

[Dukefrukem]

United 93 and the other 9/11 movie have been in my queue for years.

I can't bring myself to watch it.

[Skitch]

I watched it once.

[Mal]

https://i.ibb.co/rxRBKcN/30300.jpg

44. BLADE RUNNER 2049 (2017)

“A comfy nightmare blanket” - Mike Stoklasa

More Ryan Gosling... guess you could say I'm a fan.
I was fully prepared for Blade Runner 2049 to be awful when it was released. I got a $15 double feature ticket at my local theater to see it opening night along my sister. Naturally, the original Blade Runner from 1982 was playing beforehand. I figured it’d be a fun night to see a new film along with one my sister enjoyed a lot from our childhood, not thinking that I’d have one of the best movie nights of my life. Although I do think its an okay film, I’m not a huge fan of the original Blade Runner. I like sci-fi and its got an interesting visual flare to it that doesn't feel dated as far as futuristic ideas- but the film itself also suffers from feeling a little undercooked with its storytelling (the Philip K. Dick book its based on is fine). Denis Villeneuve’s prior film, 2016's Arrival, was bleak, dreary- with a script that did nothing for me emotionally regarding the fate of humanity and survival (I'd say it frankly pissed me off in a few ways on top of that). 2049 also has some ideas about humanity and survival, which makes it easy to see how Villeneuve might want to tackle this project. In practice, it almost seamlessly throws us right into a post-war futuristic California, the same dark future Ridley Scott created in the early 80s that none of us should ever want to visit or witness, so its somewhat of miracle that Blade Runner 2049 works for me from start to finish at nearly every turn. It has beautiful production design and visual storytelling, all framed to perfection by Roger Deakins, capturing vivid darkness from landscapes of sand and dirt, rain-drenched skylines with familiar projections of neon consumerism at every turn- this society is barely holding on and its environmental failings are inherent. We follow Agent K (Ryan Gosling) as he questions his existence in ways that Rick Deckard did in previous times, wanting to believe his past may be deeper than his assumed fabricated existence. Its slow dystopian cinema with damn great coats and new ways to have sex. Not a lot of structural surprises, though plenty of atmosphere, great things to look at, and good acting. If any film sequel can be worth more than one look, its a rare thing, so I’m grateful that 2049 expanded this universe enough that I now have more than one film to enjoy.

(Available for digital rental)

[StuSmallz]

BLADE RUNNER 2049While Arrival (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/film/arrival-2016/) is the favorite Villeneuve I’ve watched to date, I still warmed up to 2049 as a fairly close runner-up when I rewatched it at home, as the (minor) issues with its tone, length, and pacing from my initial theatrical viewing bothered me less when I was prepared for them, and I was better able to appreciate the way that the film was bursting at the seams with BIG, bold ideas (as all my favorite works of Science-Fiction, my favorite genre, do), and it was still an incredibly overwhelming sensory experience on the whole, even on a 10-inch tablet screen. It’s the kind of genuinely audience-challenging, thought-provoking film for adults that I wish Hollywood would make more of (they won’t of course, since this one failed as much as it did, but kudos to Warner Bros. anyway for taking such a big gamble on it at all). I also agree that it’s better than the original, which suffered from having a fairly dull romantic couple as the leads (especially when comparing them to Batty), whereas human or not, K was a genuinely compelling character in his own right, and my feelings on the original Runner aside, I do appreciate the way that 2049 honored the legacy of the original, while also being brave enough to expand upon it without just repeating everything Ridley’s film did, something that I really wish more sequels would try as well. Anyway, another good write-up/pick!

[Dukefrukem]

Duke's Top 50 Most Influential Movies Throughout Life
The movies I've seen from age 10-35 that have had ANY (small or large) impact on my personal viewpoint on life, lived by myself, or the perceived perspective of someone else's life.
#43

https://i.ibb.co/Ctt3t7Z/43.png

Romancing the Stone (1984)

I think my parents were desperate to fill the void that the Indiana Jones Trilogy has left. "Wait, they didn't make any more?," 12 year old me whined. The other Zemeckis Trilogy (that we'll probably talk about in a few dozen spots from now) also left a huge mark. So let's see what else this Zemeckis guy has done... Oh, combining the humor of BTTF and the adventure of Indiana Jones? Let's throw this at him and see if it works. Yeh, mom and dad, it did.

Romancing the Stone, is the definitive Indy rip off, but somehow keeps things moving and fun, was instantly added to my VHS rental rotation. It checks all the boxes that I required as a youth: 1) exotic location 2) humor 3) a group on a journey 4) rugged Alpha male that wins in the end (though it's pretty hilarous looking back to see that Michael Douglas produced this. Can you think of them sitting around the table: Michael Douglas: "Now, let's make sure I look cool in this shot".

It's probably a B movie at best now, but there's some charm to it that keeps in my collection. Cute gags: Danny DeVito yelling on the pay phone, the third world thugs recognizing a US author, the crocodile boots at the end.

[Skitch]

I LOVE Romancing the Stone. I watched within the last couple years and it absolutely held up. I never made the Indiana Jones connection growing up with this movie. So many great action scenes, so many great jokes. I swear to god I've seen this movie dozens of times, it was only in the last decade I got the joke that they were burning bales of weed in the crashed plane. DeVito is hilarious, "my mule, Pepe", Kathleen Turner is sexy as hell...I love it. I wouldn't change a frame.

Edit: and guess whats on amazon prime...

[Mal]

I need to watch Romancing asap. I saw Jewel of the Nile as a kid when I was too young to understand anything- love Douglas/Turner.

[Skitch]

I need to watch Romancing asap. I saw Jewel of the Nile as a kid when I was too young to understand anything- love Douglas/Turner.

I'm rewatching that but its disappointing. It has some moments, but it feels like it changes tone halfway through and the ending weird.

[Idioteque Stalker]

#43

https://www.austinchronicle.com/binary/af02/MV5BZDBmZjZkZmEtMzRlMC00NDE2LT hmMTgtNDk1MDI0YzIyNzZjXkEyXkFq .jpg

Buffalo '66

Ah yes, the story of Billy and Layla.
It was funny how they met
working for the CIA.

is this a shifter car
im used to luxury cars
heard of a cadillac eldorado

It was love at first sight, really.
Just classic boy meets girl.
And the Bills won it all.

hold me
okay billy…
dont touch me

Would you believe it?
Here they are now
spanning time

[Mal]

Ya want some TRIPE? Great choice. I haven’t watched it in a long time.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Ya want some TRIPE?

Of all the ugly things he says and does throughout the movie, this bothers me most.

[Ezee E]

What a strangely great movie.

[Yxklyx]

#43

https://www.austinchronicle.com/binary/af02/MV5BZDBmZjZkZmEtMzRlMC00NDE2LT hmMTgtNDk1MDI0YzIyNzZjXkEyXkFq .jpg

Buffalo '66

Ah yes, the story of Billy and Layla.
It was funny how they met
working for the CIA.

is this a shifter car
im used to luxury cars
heard of a cadillac eldorado

It was love at first sight, really.
Just classic boy meets girl.
And the Bills won it all.

hold me
okay billy…
dont touch me

Would you believe it?
Here they are now
spanning time

Love this film!

[transmogrifier]

43.

Movie: Spirited Away (2001)
Director: Hayao Miyasaki
Commentary: This is enthralling from start to finish, but really picks up steam in the second half (roughly when the giant baby becomes a fat hamster - what a great line!) as the melancholy sets in and wraps around you like a warm blanket. Miyasaki’s most successful synthesis of a fantastical flight of fancy and a grounded story (though I still do not have any sympathy for those who are annoyed by Miyasaki’s kitchen sink approach to telling a story - that is half the fun!).
Key Quote: “Once you've met someone you never really forget them. It just takes a while for your memories to return.”
Best Moment: The gentleness of the train trip, the calm waters stretching out to the horizon….


Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Films Seen: 7
Average: 69.57
Commentary: Easily one of the best action filmmakers out there, female or otherwise, Zero Dark Thirty also proved that she could out-Greengrass Paul Greengrass if she wants to (that and United 93 make a hell of a double-bill). I really need to go on a run of her full filmography again, because I haven’t seen so many of her films forever, and haven’t seen The Weight of Water at all.
Best Film: Near Dark (1987)
“Worst” Film: K19: The Widowmaker (2002)
Key Quote: “Character and emotionality don’t always have to be relegated to quieter, more simple constructs.”


Musical Artist: Pulp
Commentary: One of the big three mid-90s Britpop bands (with one of the others due to appear on this list), Pulp were the slyest of the three, mixing sex, camp, and sardonic humor in order to skewer class conflict or just revel in sarcastic self-aggrandizement. Certainly, Jarvis Cocker was always the most interesting of the three leaders. Even the first three “forgotten” albums are pretty good.
Best Album: This is Hardcore (1998)
Best Song: “This is Hardcore” from This is Hardcore (1998)

[Morris Schæffer]

43.

Movie: Spirited Away (2001)
Director: Hayao Miyasaki
Commentary: This is enthralling from start to finish, but really picks up steam in the second half (roughly when the giant baby becomes a fat hamster - what a great line!) as the melancholy sets in and wraps around you like a warm blanket. Miyasaki’s most successful synthesis of a fantastical flight of fancy and a grounded story (though I still do not have any sympathy for those who are annoyed by Miyasaki’s kitchen sink approach to telling a story - that is half the fun!).
Key Quote: “Once you've met someone you never really forget them. It just takes a while for your memories to return.”
Best Moment: The gentleness of the train trip, the calm waters stretching out to the horizon….

I would like to highlight this one. Miyazaki's films really have a wonderful pace all their own compared to a lot of Western animated features including some of the Pixar's even. They're far more manic, chaotic, almost as if there is a concern that if they weren't, little ones would cease to be engaged.

I recently saw Coco again, which has that too, but is more restrained in that regard. But yesterday I saw the Lego Batman Movie and holy hell was it fast-paced. Which I knew in advance, because so was the first Lego movie (which I love), but still I kept wondering whether it was just too much. It's a good sequel nonetheless.

[Skitch]

“Worst” Film: [COLOR=#000000]K19: The Widowmaker
Ooof, she made that? That was a rough watch.

[Dukefrukem]

Near Dark has been another movie in my queue for what feels like forever.

[Skitch]

Near Dark has been another movie in my queue for what feels like forever.

A really enjoyable movie, but a smidge overrated imo. Point Break is peak Bigelow for me.

[Mal]

https://i.ibb.co/KyMNxhS/07-neverending-story-blu-ray.jpg

43. THE NEVERENDING STORY (1984)

Its 1989. I’m four years old and being taken to a dinner party by my parents, along with my two sisters and baby brother. The hosts have a pair of foster children of similar age living with them, so they have a plethora of films taped on VHS which are suitable for younger audiences and long enough for the adults to enjoy a few bottles of wine without disruption. The wife of the family, Sheila, knew my sisters and I were fans of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, so she put on Wolfgang Petersen’s The Neverending Story. This movie blew my tiny impressionable mind. Everything I watched at this age was fantasy - such as the Star Wars trilogy and The Hobbit (animated) - so movies not being fantastical and lacking monsters/creatures was an unfamiliar concept for my sensibilities. The Neverending Story took fantastical to a new level for me and became something I greatly cherished, appreciated as a burgeoning film fan.
In the present time now over 30 years later, frankly this film isn’t close to perfect as a whole, but nevertheless, it always fills me with a certain joy that brings me back to when I was a kid watching this and other amazing films for the first time. There’s still a lot of magic in its visuals and beautifully structured production design, its characters, the music by both Klaus Doldinger and Giorgio Moroder- its flaws cannot impact how much it is very special for me and how I learned to look at movies.

(Available on HBO MAX)

[Idioteque Stalker]

I would've been scarred for life if I'd seen The Neverending Story at four years old.

[Mal]

I would've been scarred for life if I'd seen The Neverending Story at four years old.

Ha, The Nothing was scary and swamps of sadness, obviously so sad. It was stuff like Child’s Play that truly messed me up as a youngster.

[Dukefrukem]

Yeh that movie terrified me as a kid.

I think on MC we tried making a list of movies we saw as kids that were scary then? Anyone remember what thread that was in?

[transmogrifier]

Big news: since the list started, A Tribe Called Quest has dropped out of my Top 50 Most Listened to Artists Since 2007, replaced by Nina Simone (who has since risen to #47).

[Idioteque Stalker]

Start the thread over.

[Idioteque Stalker]

I plan on watching a movie from trans' list (Seconds) and from Duke's list (The Nightingale, once I muster the courage), but I should thank Zac for inspiring me to finally see My Dinner with Andre. I seem to have a weak spot for movies in which the bulk of the runtime is two people lost in conversation. Andre slots right in next to movies like Certified Copy, Waking Life, Scenes from a Marriage, and The Trip quadrilogy in this respect. So much of their conversation has only become more relevant with time. I could've watched it for another hour, easy. Great movie.

[Mal]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[Yxklyx]

.... Point Break is peak Bigelow for me.

The most exciting/intense/distinctive foot chase ever put on film (video)!

[Dukefrukem]

Duke's Top 50 Most Influential Movies Throughout Life
The movies I've seen from age 10-35 that have had ANY (small or large) impact on my personal viewpoint on life, lived by myself, or the perceived perspective of someone else's life.
#42

https://i.ibb.co/4T5Hbfv/standbyme.jpg

Stand by Me (1986)

Probably the best King adaptation put on film. Not without it's flaws and major subplots, but the journey element is highly effective as are the bonds between a bunch of kids. I always thought to myself why my friends and I never reacted like this when we hung out, because there are so many scenes that I cannot relate to, but so many scenes I can relate to;

Can't Relate: One of my friends crying on my shoulder because his father is crazy

Can Relate: Getting annoyed at my friends at a sleepover because one of them won't stop talking or antagonizing us

Can't Relate: Another friend cries for being wrongfully accused of being a thief

Can Relate: Telling stories around a campfire

So it had enough for me think about my relationship with my friends, and a lot of crazy scenes to make me question how life is for other kids. The gun scene, the chase across the bridge, the chase through the junk yard, and of course, emphasis on the journey and camaraderie.

[Skitch]

Can't Relate: One of my friends crying on my shoulder because his father is crazy

Can Relate: Getting annoyed at my friends at a sleepover because one of them won't stop talking or antagonizing us

Can't Relate: Another friend cries for being wrongfully accused of being a thief

Can Relate: Telling stories around a campfire

So it had enough for me think about my relationship with my friends, and a lot of crazy scenes to make me question how life is for other kids. The gun scene, the chase across the bridge, the chase through the junk yard, and of course, emphasis on the journey and camaraderie.

Can relate to all four of those relate options.

10/10

[Idioteque Stalker]

I love Stand By Me, even the barfing scene.

[Dukefrukem]

Can relate to all four of those relate options.

10/10

At 12 years old?

[Skitch]

At 12 years old?

Yep. Growing up in the amish community is fucked up

Edit: I didn't mean it as a criticism if anyone couldnt relate to any of those. That would be totally understandable.

[Pop Trash]

I love Stand By Me, even the barfing scene.

It's a great mini movie. Maybe my favorite mini tale told in the context of a larger narrative aside from the bathroom tale in Reservoir Dogs. This trope is separate from omnibus movies like The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.

[Dukefrukem]

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.

Now I want to watch this again.

[Idioteque Stalker]

#42

https://www.americangenrefilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/openingnight09.jpg

Opening Night


Opening Night is a riddle inside a puzzle wrapped up in an enigma. Well, actually, it’s a play inside a movie wrapped up in a real-life marriage. There are so many layers to this film, I’m pretty much convinced the only people in the world who could reveal the underlying truths are Gena Rowlands and John Cassavetes themselves—and of course they would never actually do that. Simply stated, Opening Night is about a middle age woman who struggles to accept the play she’s starring in is about a middle age woman. As soon as we think we’re getting a handle on how the play is a meta-commentary on her life, she belligerently goes off-script (in both rehearsals and preview performances) and—not knowing where the play’s script ends and her wild improvisations begin, much less which is the greater mirror of her own experience—we find ourselves fully disoriented once again.

Add to this the fact that Gena Rowlands and John Cassavetes were married from 1954 until his death in 1989, and that Cassavetes himself plays the romantic lead opposite Rowlands within the in-movie play, and Opening Night becomes one of the most richly layered, boldly acted, and brutally honest depictions of modern relationships I’ve ever seen. If you can make it through the anxiety-inducing closing sequence, you’ll be rewarded with a redemptive ending. But is it actually? After all, Opening Night has something in common with any relationship that has been thoroughly tested: it’s complicated.

[transmogrifier]

42.

Movie: Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Director: Sergio Leone
Commentary: A better mediation on the passing of time than The Irishman, Leone turns his mythmaking eye to a more recent period. The opium haze of the opening hangs in the air throughout as we track a parade of deplorable characters trapped in amber, destined to look back with rose-tinted glasses at a childhood that may never have even existed. Innocence curdling into opportunism and then egotistical amoralism - all ushered through by a cinematic master.
Key Quote: “Well, at least you recognized me. That's something.”
Best Moment: That infernal ringing of the phone sets the mood and the teeth on edge.

Director: Zhang Yimou
Films Seen: 6
Average: 69.66
Commentary: I’m still more of a pre-Hero Zhang fan, when he was less concerned about choreography and spectacle. But that is not to say he hasn’t been churning out high quality studio efforts all this time; it just seems to be more of a technical exercise a lot of the time.. as such, I have not been racing out to see many of his recent films, but I think I need to sit one down and reacquaint myself with this guy.
Best Film: Not One Less (1999)
“Worst” Film: Coming Home (2014) [this is 64/100 and has no right to be considered bad, but what are you gonna do. The rules are the rules.]
Key Quote: “To make art, one thing you should always remember - subjects of people in misery have deep meanings.”

Musical Artist: Faith No More
Commentary: “Epic” was one of my absolute obsessions as a youngster, thus Faith No More has always been cloaked in nostalgia for me. I grew apart from them for a while, first a little alienated by the scuzzy weirdness of Angel Dust and then dismayed by their mainstream saturation with King for a Day…. But as always, the best music and musicians outlast the hype and the critical consensus, and it is always nice to fall back in love all over again with a band. A great mix of creative, messy, melodic, crunchy and with just the right seasoning of pretentiousness.
Best Album: Angel Dust (1992).
Best Song: “ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g4L47kEcS0)Just a Man (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g4L47kEcS0)” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g4L47kEcS0) from King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime (1995)

[Dukefrukem]

[/SIZE]Musical Artist: Faith No More
Commentary: “Epic” was one of my absolute obsessions as a youngster, thus Faith No More has always been cloaked in nostalgia for me. I grew apart from them for a while, first a little alienated by the scuzzy weirdness of Angel Dust and then dismayed by their mainstream saturation with King for a Day…. But as always, the best music and musicians outlast the hype and the critical consensus, and it is always nice to fall back in love all over again with a band. A great mix of creative, messy, melodic, crunchy and with just the right seasoning of pretentiousness.


YES. Are we close to the same age?

[transmogrifier]

I'm older I'm pretty sure. Born in 1977.

[Dukefrukem]

I'm older I'm pretty sure. Born in 1977.

By about 7 years. But when I read your Faith No More summary I had flashbacks to my youth.

[transmogrifier]

By about 7 years. But when I read your Faith No More summary I had flashbacks to my youth.

"Epic" hit big in my first year of high school, then Angel Dust came out when I was into the more sandpapered Nirvana and Peral Jams of the world, and then King for a Day came out in my first year of uni, where it was almost mandatory to be disdainful of what received mainstream radio play.... but then I grew up and just liked what I liked.

[Dukefrukem]

That' makes sense. Epic was super inspirational for me as I started to learn about music and obviously Last Cup of Sorrow was part of that. I remember recording that song on the radio with a cassette, and then trying to figure out WHO the band was. Because they didn't always tell you immediately after the song was over. Or sometimes they said it before the song came on and didn't reiterate it. Eventually figuring it out and buying the CD.

[transmogrifier]

Gotta love recording things off the radio! Such a big part of my childhood/teenage years.

[Mal]

I recorded everything off the radio too. Ahh the Youtube generation kids... they don't know the satisfaction of getting the tape REC button hit right when the song you want to hear starts.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Watching The Nightingale tonight. I'm scared.

[Dukefrukem]

Watching The Nightingale tonight. I'm scared.

:) and good luck

[Idioteque Stalker]

There's a part of me that wants to express unmitigated love for The Nightingale as a reward to myself for being brave enough to watch it in the first place. If you hate it when movies almost show you something truly horrible but cut away at the very last second to a shot of birds flying out of trees or axes chopping through wood, well, this is the movie for you. It gains a lot of its power and austerity from realistic depictions of brutal violence, and I can't think of anyone better to direct it than Jennifer Kent. (I kept thinking about that one scene in Saving Private Ryan, where two soldiers struggle over a knife before one gains an advantage and the knife slowly descends into the other's chest. Clumsy and realistic.) It is incredibly well made, and I'm glad I watched it (thanks Duke). But in addition to one or two minor annoyances, I think I'll go on preferring directors generally imply the most horrible parts of their stories.

[Mal]

https://i.ibb.co/3mwqGNr/FP-LW-1.jpg

42. LITTLE WOMEN (2019)

What else is there to say about Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel Little Women. A sweeping, accessible (if not routinely assigned) text that has become a beloved staple of American literature. Several film adaptations later, the story still manages to surprise and delight on-screen, even when you might assume there isn’t much new to tell of the March family and their young daughters. The long tradition of adapting Louisa May Alcott’s novel is made new again in the hands of Greta Gerwig, a typically joyful presence on-screen when acting, though now Ms. Gerwig has successfully spread her charm from behind the camera as a writer and director.
Her fantastic debut film Lady Bird came awfully close to making this list- a swift, relatable 90-minute teen comedy with some of the sharpest, intricate editing I’ve ever seen for a movie that doesn’t feature a single car chase. When I heard that Greta Gerwig would be adapting a new version of Little Women, I questioned why Gerwig would want to adapt this story yet again. Little Women has been done before many times and her first film was strikingly original, so why bother with such a familiar story? I went to the theater the day after Christmas excited yet cautious, though found myself crying almost the entire runtime.
Much like Gerwig’s Jo March, I’m not sure I’ll ever marry, but I strive for success and happiness through my work and creativity, as well as supporting my family and friends to the best of my ability. Gerwig looks back at the way these characters once were, emphasizing love and safety in family- how taking care of others helps us learn and grow into being better people. This last decade has dealt some of my family members a difficult time with relationships and serious health problems. All through this pandemic, it is my biggest fear that, since I live with my parents, I would inadvertently be the cause for any of my family members to die because of this awful virus. Obviously this isn’t the same as the movie and its events (scarlett fever and parents experiencing loss of their children), but just the same- there is so much I have and will do to make sure my family is ok until the world is a safer place to be from this invisible enemy. The warmth of this film may not hit the same way for all, though I do hope they have their own films that bring such emotional cinematic richness to them in that unique, comforting way. I love this film for providing such perspective and heart. Through familial strife, personal passions, desires, and ambitions - without having a single inauthentic moment that feels overdone or disrespectful to the source and its audience. There is no weakness in filmmaking that brings the human condition to the forefront to help others understand what the important things are as we live our lives.

(Available on STARZ)

[Dukefrukem]

Well written Mal. Though I never have seen any of the films, I know the story and I can understand the link with COVID; just being that close to people during dark times.

It's a sinking feeling.

[Mal]

Thanks, I recommend checking out the 1933 or 1994 version first if you're interested.

[Dukefrukem]

Duke's Top 50 Most Influential Movies Throughout Life
The movies I've seen from age 10-35 that have had ANY (small or large) impact on my personal viewpoint on life, lived by myself, or the perceived perspective of someone else's life.
#41

https://www.moma.org/d/assets/W1siZiIsIjIwMTYvMTAvMDQvOXR5aG 9pY2ZpYV9UaGVCdXJic18xOTg5X2Ny b3AuanBnIl0sWyJwIiwiY29udmVydC IsIi1xdWFsaXR5IDkwIC1yZXNpemUg Nzc1eDUyNV4gLWdyYXZpdHkgQ2VudG VyIC1jcm9wIDc3NXg1MjUrMCswIl1d/TheBurbs_1989_crop.jpg?sha=ccb 3a4ab9443060f

The ’Burbs (1989)

I came across this movie on a Saturday afternoon sometime in the late 90s. My father and I were bored and this was playing on cable TV. The spooky overtones and unconventional score caught our interest. It then became a family "classic". Quoting everything, everywhere. Any situation that was mildly applicable:

*Check out my new tools*
"Ohh those are beauties... you gonna build something with those?"
"I'm thinkin about it"

...

"..wait how do you know that?"
"biology 101"

...

"I want to kill, everyone. Satan is good. Satan is our pal."

The Burbs probably has the best supporting character that we never saw again. Art Weingartner played by Rick Ducommun (RIP). The brilliance of the nutty neighbor up against the skeptic neighbor is pure comedy. Add in Bruce Durn, Corey Feldman, all the Klopeks and TOM HANKs.

"I'm only trying to take a nap. I'm only laying here with my eyes closed, trying to get some GD sleep"

I stand this is Joe Dante's best work.

[Skitch]

I only saw that for the first time in like 2019.

[Idioteque Stalker]

#41

https://i.postimg.cc/0ycTbNrY/The-Wind-in-the-Willows-1983-film-images-c0463c5a-21c7-4370-b272-c9cea9f74b1.jpg

The Wind In the Willows

ducks are a-dabbling
as we glide on toward Toad Hall
wind beckons us home

[transmogrifier]

41.

Movie: Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Director: Terry Gilliam
Commentary: Brilliant film, possibly Gilliam's best. It is so seedy and grim, with its version of 1996 society so alien and scuzzy, it helps to put in sharp relief Cole's immense joy at the simple pleasure of freedom. The whole movie seems liable to collapse at any moment, skirting the line between a coherent, internally rigorous depiction of social anarchy and simply being incoherent and gauche. But it holds its nerve and lands an impressively emotional ending. Willis at his best.
Key Quote: “You know what crazy is? Crazy is majority rules.”
Best Moment: The animals run free

Director: Robert Altman
Films Seen: 25
Average: 69.76
Commentary: The perils of making this list based on strict mathematical averages; when pushed, I would call Altman my favorite ever director. There is something about his shaggy digressions and commitment to letting his actors swim around in their characters, looking to find moments of clarity and emotional resonance, while all the while people are chattering in the background, life continuing on in the margins. His very best films feel lived in and effortless, embracing the best and worst of human nature (Short Cuts, Nashville) and poking at the foundations of genre (The Long Goodbye); his worst ones are tone deaf (Pret-a-Porter) and shrill (Beyond Therapy) and sometimes mean-spirited (Kansas City). But I don’t care about the misses - it’s the hits that matter.
Best Film: Short Cuts (1993)
Worst Film: Pret-a-Porter (1994)
Key Quote: “Filmmaking is a chance to live many lifetimes.”

Musical Artist: Ween
Commentary: I became interested in Ween when “Push the Little Daisies” unaccountably made headway on alternative radio for a while there, leading me to pick up Chocolate and Cheese and then suffer the whiplash of an album that pivots from creepy first-person accounts of childhood disease to Mexican corridos and everything in between. I didn’t know what to make of it, so I went to sleep on them for more than a decade or so. Then I started to play Chocolate and Cheese again and the seemingly self-conscious smart-assedness faded away to be replaced with awe at their ability to write fantastic tunes while having the musical version of ADHD. That led me forward to The Mollusk, which is more conventional, and backwards to the harder edged experiments of The Pod and GodWeenSatan and I haven’t looked back. If I want to listen to 100 genres all at once, I put Ween on shuffle and go from there.
Best Album: The Mollusk (1997)
Best Song: “If You Could Save Yourself (You'd Save Us All)” from Quebec (2003)

[Skitch]

Brilliant film, possibly Gilliam's best.

I am definitely on board with this possibility.

[baby doll]

Everybody knows Gilliam's best film is The Crimson Permanent Assurance.

[Mal]

I've never seen 12 Monkeys! I will need to get on that soon.

[Skitch]

Everybody knows Gilliam's best film is The Crimson Permanent Assurance.

If MC were Star Trek, you would be the Furengi.

[Dukefrukem]

12 Monkeys- Brad Pitt's best performance?

[Idioteque Stalker]

12 Monkeys- Brad Pitt's best performance?

It's possible. He makes a huge impression in a short amount of time. It's been forever since I've seen 12 Monkeys but I remember him vividly.

[Mal]

https://i.ibb.co/D8Bd8JW/Privatepartsmovie.png


41. PRIVATE PARTS (1997)

Howard Stern. On the surface, he’s an admittedly below-average looking man with a big nose and ridiculous hair. He’s brash, he’s crude, he’s obsessed with things women do and perform. Back when I was a pre-teen growing up and discovering what talk radio was (as well as what was visually available on the E! tv network after 11pm), I learned that Howard Stern was a shock-jock who did his job without any worry about whether what he was saying was offensive or too sexually charged. This was his shtick, no matter the guest or topic he was discussing. He was who he was and there was no other way he would or could be. This disgusted me but often also surprised, intrigued me; thanks to the 1997 Betty Thomas film Private Parts (based on Howard’s book of the same name), I learned I was not alone in my fascination about this man - in fact, beneath that ridiculous exterior of an unfiltered personality, I learned he had a heart of gold.

Private Parts begins with Howard’s youth. A nerdy kid fully aware of how odd he was, but never losing ambition as he worked his way up through the ranks at various radio stations, beginning at college at Boston University where he got his start as a disc jockey. He eventually learns to create his own foul art as an uncensored personality, often at the expense of his personal life and even his jobs. But he always finds his way, his place, and people who will work with him. And people love to hate him no matter where he is present on the airwaves. I admire the rise and fall and rise again of Howard portrayed in this movie; the story has an endearing human touch when it comes to the highs and lows of his life, never shying away from the consequences of his outlandish actions. It also touches on how the realities of his on-air behavior affected the relationship with his then-wife Allison (played with a luminous touch by Mary McCormack). This movie is an often hilarious, worthwhile glimpse into the radio business in a way that the viewer can see its workings through Howard and his struggles, whether its the words he says or making sure his trusty sidekick Robin Quivers (playing herself) is always by his side. Howard changed the landscape of radio for better or worse and this film is a fitting ode to the man. The Howard of today has evolved however, changing his tone and variety of guests he has in his studio for interviews (I’m not a listener myself, but I do believe his satellite radio channel is considered suitable for most audiences). Regardless, I’m thankful we have this memorable time capsule to look back at… when once upon a time, he was the self-proclaimed “King of All Media” and could deliver his brand of entertainment even through the magic of the silver screen.

(Available on PRIME, CBS ALL ACCESS, CRACKLE)

[Idioteque Stalker]

I haven't seen the movie, but I love the choice and everything you said. Howard Stern is a living legend.

[transmogrifier]

Good choice on Private Parts: It's funny and weirdly heartfelt, though during my rewatch two decades later, it all seems a little less so given that Stern and Alison divorced only two years later (though the movie does foreshadow this to a degree with a particular Alison talking head about how difficult everything is). Giamatti is a foul-mouthed delight in an early breakout role (his end of credits rant I had memorized years back thanks to owning the soundtrack) and I wonder what happened to Mary McCormack, who is radiant here.

(Edited to avoid confusion)

[Dukefrukem]

Love the movie. Unexpected choice from you trans.

[Skitch]

Love the movie. Unexpected choice from you trans.

Agree and agree. Hes long over due for a sequel.

[transmogrifier]

Love the movie. Unexpected choice from you trans.

Not my choice :) I was responding to Zac....

[Dukefrukem]

Not my choice :) I was responding to Zac....

Yeh sorry I mean't Mal. But got caught up with your mini review.