SteVo+ 3,702 Posted July 13, 2012 Fourty-five movies in, the thread finally gets epic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Barracuda 629 Posted July 13, 2012 spamspamspamspamspamspamspam Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241 Posted July 13, 2012 I saw #6... Or at least the first 10 or so minutes then I passed out. Someone told me I was gonna like it cause the main character's name was the same as mine.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted July 14, 2012 Before I get into this I just want to make a small announcement. Compiling this list with my adviser, assembling the rankings from 1 to 25, was a long process that involved much changing throughout the thesis's composition. The top five films, however, I had chosen immediately. The order changed slightly as I wrote their reviews, but the five films you are about to see chosen are, without a doubt in my mind, the best of the century to date. #5 "Because the movie’s grounded, it's free to fly where it wants, and it does so with an exuberance and poignancy that at times feels majestic." –Ty Burr, Boston Globe Ever since the release of Toy Story (1995), Pixar Animation Studios has been in the business of making fantastic animated films, almost all of which have enjoyed critical and commercial success. Among all of them, Up (2009) is their greatest achievement to date, an emotional adventure as fun as it is moving and a fine example of the animated film's capabilities. Up makes an emotional impact on its audience immediately. The events of Carl and Ellie’s marriage are shown through a four-minute montage that communicates more emotion than most live-action movies do in their entire running time [see above]. Twelve minutes into this movie, you are completely emotionally attached. Pixar uses a world that is fictional, but only slightly, so that it can still connect to its audience. A house floating with the assistance of helium isn't that farfetched after all, is it? And there are speaking dogs, but they are able to do so thanks to technology that seems plausible. Anyone who has a problem with this film because they do not believe a house can fly with balloons probably never enjoyed a movie about a bunch of talking plastic toys either. Unlike most of Pixar's films, the main characters of Up are not toys, monsters, fish, or rats; they are humans. So Pixar cannot rely solely on creativity to develop compelling characters. To do so here, they work from characters we are used to seeing, the grumpy old man and the pestering kid, but add enough personal touches to make both feel original. Carl and Russell form an interesting tandem, not so much effective as they are entertaining. Carl is looking for quiet, relaxing trip without company; Russell does not like the wilderness as much as he should—he says he has never camped outside. Together, they remind us that sometimes, the most incredible adventures are the ones we don't intend to take. Pixar explores familiar territory with Up, but never have they done so with such excellence. This film deserves recognition not just among the rest of Pixar's work, but among the best of films altogether. Forget that it's an animated feature; Up does things that no live-action film on this list does in terms of creating delicate, authentic emotion. It has such a big heart, it will deeply move viewers of any age, a true showing of Pixar's genius. I cannot think of a single film that has captured both the innocence of childhood and the sadness of aging so well. In his acceptance speech for the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature, director Pete Docter said the filmmakers' inspiration came from their friends, including their wives, children, and talking dogs. Indeed, there is power in fictional characters, or else fictional storytelling would not be effective. Even a fact-based film uses dramatized characters. Up is a wonderful affirmation that animated films are but a distinct genre of all films; they can be as funny, exciting, happy, or sad as live-action films. In the case of Up, the film stands above much of its competition; this is the most inspiring movie of the century. After so many great animated films, it is clear that Pixar has a formula, and it works. In reviewing the film, Carrie Rickey of the Philadelphia Inquirer said, "How much do I love this movie? If it were mathematically possible, I'd give it five stars out of four." As a mathematics major, I can affirm that it is not possible to rate a film five stars out of four, but you get that type of reaction after seeing Up. It is a crowd-pleaser because it is successful on so many levels, but we love it because above all, it is equally entertaining and heartwarming. 50) George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck 49) Greg Mottola's Superbad 48) Terry George's Hotel Rwanda 47) David O. Russell's The Fighter 46) Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon 45) Edward Zwick's Blood Diamond 44) Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins 43) Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder 42) James Mangold's Walk the Line 41) Christopher Nolan's The Prestige 40) Peter Jackson's King Kong 39) Nicholas Stoller's Forgetting Sarah Marshall 38) Judd Apatow's Knocked Up 37) Peter Berg's Friday Night Lights 36) Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 35) Jonathan Levine's 50/50 34) Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 33) David Fincher's Zodiac 32) M. Night Shyamalan's Signs 31) Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive 30) James McTeigue's V for Vendetta 29) Ridley Scott's American Gangster 28) Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 27) James Cameron's Avatar 26) Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds 25) Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker 24) Ridley Scott's Gladiator 23) Paul Haggis's Crash 22) Tony Gilroy's Michael Clayton 21) Ben Affleck's Gone Baby Gone 20) Gus Van Sant's Milk 19) Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight 18) Alexander Payne's Sideways 17) Bennett Miller's Moneyball 16) Alexander Payne's The Descendants 15) Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can 14) Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood 13) David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 12) Martin Scorsese's The Departed 11) Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby 10) Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation 9) Clint Eastwood's Mystic River 8) Christopher Nolan's Inception 7) Steven Spielberg's Minority Report 6) Michael Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 5) Pete Docter's Up Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RazorStar 4,025 Posted July 14, 2012 SO much for the no animated film assumption. Finding Nemo for number 1. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Favre4Ever+ 4,476 Posted July 14, 2012 SO much for the no animated film assumption. Finding Nemo for number 1. So many good movies left though.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blotsfan 2,112 Posted July 14, 2012 Ugh I really need to see up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maverick 791 Posted July 14, 2012 I saw Up with my girlfriend and thought it was going to be lame. I actually really liked it. Didn't expect to see it in the Top 5, but now that I think about it a couple years later I guess I could see why. I'd be shocked to see another animated film in the Top 5. Any bets? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BradyFan81 404 Posted July 14, 2012 Pixar movies are amazing. UP was awesome but it's not even my favorite Pixar movie. Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and WALL-E. <3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blotsfan 2,112 Posted July 14, 2012 Yeah, now that animated films are ok, I don't see how the Incredibles isn't in the top 50 (unless it is in the top 4). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Favre4Ever+ 4,476 Posted July 14, 2012 Pixar movies are amazing. UP was awesome but it's not even my favorite Pixar movie. Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and WALL-E. Ya, that's what is so great about Pixar. Pretty much everything they make is amazing. They set the bar for excellence as far as animation goes. I'd definitely take Toy Story 3 and Finding Nemo over UP as far as movies this decade. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted July 15, 2012 #4 "The kind of movie that's bound to be talked about, debated and eviscerated far more than it's understood." –Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle Portraying characters with mental illness on film is challenging because while an audience will easily sympathize with such a character, it is exceptionally difficult to get them to empathize with him/her. Memento (2000) gets around this problem with an ingenious plot structure that puts the audience into the protagonist's state of mind, laying the foundation for an intricate, haunting, and astonishing psychological thriller. Endlessly complex, Memento is the type of movie that demands to be seen more than once. The film is not so complex as to prevent any type of understanding after a first viewing, but viewers may be surprised how much more information is buried beneath layers that can only be uncovered by multiple views. The revelations can be so dramatic that your understanding of the film itself may actually change as you watch it again, an uncommon occurrence. After you think you've figured Memento out, let some time pass and watch it again; your interpretation may change entirely. Leonard's character appears in nearly every scene, providing demanding work for Guy Pearce, whose lead performance anchors the film not out of skill, but out of necessity. With every scene, he brings to life the struggle and anguish of a man with short-term memory loss. Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano also give solid supporting performances to round out the cast. Acting may not be the best thing about Memento, but it is still a strength of the film. As smart as this film is, it has a potential plot hole: how does a man with short-term memory loss remember he has short-term memory loss? Leonard says he does so through conditioning. "Habit and routine make my life possible," he says. Even so, it seems Leonard should technically be in a perpetual state of waking up, since the last thing he remembers should be the assault on him and his wife. Leonard does admit that his condition makes it impossible for him to sense how long it has been since his wife's murder—impossible to sense time at all, in fact. Writer/Director Christopher Nolan seizes this opportunity and challenges our own perception of time through Memento's nonlinear plot structure. While there may be a plot hole, it does not provide an inconsistency too glaring to distract from the film. The greatest strength of Memento is Nolan's screenplay, the best original script of the century and one of the most creative scripts cinema has ever seen. Nolan is so comfortable and skillful with his nonlinear structure that he somehow manages to include a plot twist at the end of a backwards narrative. He writes an ending that forces us to consider whether Leonard is a well-intentioned widower in search of true justice, an accidental killer with a harmful mental illness, or somewhere in between. After watching this film about ten times, I'm still not sure—and that’s why it is so great. Just like Leonard, we can never know anything for sure. In a great case of irony, Memento is one of the century's most memorable films. 50) George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck 49) Greg Mottola's Superbad 48) Terry George's Hotel Rwanda 47) David O. Russell's The Fighter 46) Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon 45) Edward Zwick's Blood Diamond 44) Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins 43) Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder 42) James Mangold's Walk the Line 41) Christopher Nolan's The Prestige 40) Peter Jackson's King Kong 39) Nicholas Stoller's Forgetting Sarah Marshall 38) Judd Apatow's Knocked Up 37) Peter Berg's Friday Night Lights 36) Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 35) Jonathan Levine's 50/50 34) Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 33) David Fincher's Zodiac 32) M. Night Shyamalan's Signs 31) Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive 30) James McTeigue's V for Vendetta 29) Ridley Scott's American Gangster 28) Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 27) James Cameron's Avatar 26) Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds 25) Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker 24) Ridley Scott's Gladiator 23) Paul Haggis's Crash 22) Tony Gilroy's Michael Clayton 21) Ben Affleck's Gone Baby Gone 20) Gus Van Sant's Milk 19) Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight 18) Alexander Payne's Sideways 17) Bennett Miller's Moneyball 16) Alexander Payne's The Descendants 15) Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can 14) Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood 13) David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 12) Martin Scorsese's The Departed 11) Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby 10) Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation 9) Clint Eastwood's Mystic River 8) Christopher Nolan's Inception 7) Steven Spielberg's Minority Report 6) Michael Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 5) Pete Docter's Up 4) Christopher Nolan's Memento Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BradyFan81 404 Posted July 15, 2012 Boom. There it is. Love that movie. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted July 17, 2012 #3 "A scorching blast of tense genre filmmaking shot through with rich veins of melancholy, down-home philosophy and dark, dark humor." –Todd McCarthy, Variety Joel and Ethan Coen have been among Hollywood's finest filmmakers for some time, and collectively they have put together a highly distinguished filmography. The two bring all their talent together with No Country for Old Men (2007), based on Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name. The Coen brothers use pitch-perfect filmmaking to deliver a tense reflection on changing times and inexplicable evil. At its foundation, No Country for Old Men is a chase flick, and the Coen brothers put together one hell of a chase. This is a relentlessly suspenseful film, and does not rely on action or violence to be so. There are plenty of shootouts and action scenes, but they are not dominated by gunshots and loud noises as much as they are by apprehension. Some of the best moments of the movie occur during silence. In addition to being suspenseful, the film creates a haunting, eerie atmosphere that keeps it going throughout its duration. One unique way the Coens achieve this is through the omission of music; the majority of the film contains no backing score. This technique strikes the perfect note for what the Coen brothers want to create; the lack of musical accompaniment makes the shootout scenes feel more authentic, more visceral. Even more impressive are the ways the Coens are able to maintain tension. They are able to inject energy into the story during periods of little action so that the movie never loses its atmosphere. I am hesitant to use the adjective "masterpiece" in a movie review, but this is a case where it is truly deserving. This is the best film the Coen brothers have ever made, and that includes Fargo (1996). They have always been masterful cinematographers, and they prove their abilities again here. Every single angle, every single sequence, every single scene is absolutely perfect; the Coens get what they want out of each camera angle and movement. No Country for Old Men explores its themes through its characters; it reflects on changing times through Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) and examines the nature of evil through Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). Bell's opening narration reveals his connection to the past and his lack of understanding towards more recent trends in crime. He is nearing retirement when the film starts, and investigating the bloody trail Chigurh leaves behind only pushes him closer. "I feel overmatched," he admits. And he is. He is a step behind Llewelyn and Chigurh the entire time. Chigurh, meanwhile, puzzles those who deal with him through his actions and his intents. His character comes to life thanks to a legendary performance by Bardem, who delivers the best supporting performance of the century. Chigurh deserves to be ranked among the greatest of film antagonists. No Country for Old Men is a masterpiece, a perfect film that conveys its themes with just the right combination of subtlety and power. Though the story takes place in 1980, its musings on advancing crime resonate strongly in contemporary times. The film features one of cinema's most memorable villains and the best directing of the century by Joel and Ethan Coen. The film is only third on this list because its themes are not as significant as the top two [hint, hint, hint], but in a list based purely on filmmaking skill, No Country for Old Men would be number one. 50) George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck 49) Greg Mottola's Superbad 48) Terry George's Hotel Rwanda 47) David O. Russell's The Fighter 46) Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon 45) Edward Zwick's Blood Diamond 44) Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins 43) Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder 42) James Mangold's Walk the Line 41) Christopher Nolan's The Prestige 40) Peter Jackson's King Kong 39) Nicholas Stoller's Forgetting Sarah Marshall 38) Judd Apatow's Knocked Up 37) Peter Berg's Friday Night Lights 36) Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 35) Jonathan Levine's 50/50 34) Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 33) David Fincher's Zodiac 32) M. Night Shyamalan's Signs 31) Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive 30) James McTeigue's V for Vendetta 29) Ridley Scott's American Gangster 28) Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 27) James Cameron's Avatar 26) Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds 25) Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker 24) Ridley Scott's Gladiator 23) Paul Haggis's Crash 22) Tony Gilroy's Michael Clayton 21) Ben Affleck's Gone Baby Gone 20) Gus Van Sant's Milk 19) Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight 18) Alexander Payne's Sideways 17) Bennett Miller's Moneyball 16) Alexander Payne's The Descendants 15) Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can 14) Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood 13) David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 12) Martin Scorsese's The Departed 11) Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby 10) Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation 9) Clint Eastwood's Mystic River 8) Christopher Nolan's Inception 7) Steven Spielberg's Minority Report 6) Michael Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 5) Pete Docter's Up 4) Christopher Nolan's Memento 3) Joel & Ethan Coen's No Country for Old Men Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vin+ 3,121 Posted July 17, 2012 (edited) Damn it, I wanted my guess of #1 to be right. And what is it that people find so fascinating about Fargo? I don't get it. Edited July 17, 2012 by Vin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted July 17, 2012 And what is it that people find so fascinating about Fargo? I don't get it. I'm not sure "fascinating" is the best word. It's just a black comedy as brilliant as it is hilarious. About as great as that genre can get. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blotsfan 2,112 Posted July 17, 2012 Eh. I thought chigurh was a cool and memorable character, but the rest didn't do much for me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BwareDWare94 723 Posted July 17, 2012 Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones owned in this movie, too, especially TLJ even if his character kind of fades in and fades out and isn't consistent. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted July 17, 2012 The top 2 films will be unveiled tonight at 10PM EST. Get your guesses in before then! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blotsfan 2,112 Posted July 17, 2012 The Room and Baby Geniuses 2. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Barracuda 629 Posted July 17, 2012 Who cares what they are, it's wrong. JAYKAY. Probably an animated movie. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
