A very dissapointing list of movies i've seen by directors

I recently found that if you look at my list of movies by director (minimum is 4 films by any one director), i'm really somewhat dissapointed at my output of films that i've seen. I've prided myself and having a diverse background with a lot of different eras of film, and not necessarily having seen all the best movies (i haven't seen Saving Private Ryan or Apocolypse Now or even The Godfather. I haven't seen Sunset Boulevard but i've seen Double Indemnity for example and having a mix of the classics and some of the fringe films. Like one day i felt like watching a Scorsesee film. I'd seen Goodfellas and rather than go to the conventional choice of Raging Bull or Taxi Driver, his two next most famous films, I chose Color of Money becuase i wanted to see the performance from Paul Newman that won him an oscar and pool sounded fun). And when people call into question my credentials as a film person for not having seen enough films (they'll usually be like "you've never seen _____?!"), i don't really care, i don't feel pressure to see all the great movies at once. However, by these standards, i feel a little embarrassed. How can i call myself an expert on Clint Eastwood when i've only seen three of his films (Bronco Billy hehe, Unforgiven and Mystic River), or really anyone beyond Alfred Hitchkock, Stephen Spielberg and Woody Allen.

In my defense, however, I do have at least one or two films by pretty much every major director: Eastwood (3), Capra (3), Ford (2), Kubrick (3), Sidney Lumet (3), Fellini (1), Renoir (2), Bergman (1), Godard (1), Trouffant (1), Malick (2), etc.

And the guys i like like Sam Mendes, Rob Marshall, and Wes Anderson i've seen pertty much everything they've made. Someone suggested i do percentages and i've seen 100% of Mendes and Marshall and 75% of Wes Anderson (all except Bottle Rocket).

So i definitely feel encouraged to watch a little more. Right now i just checked out Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil so i can bump Eastwood up to 4 and i thought i might watch another Billy Wilder movie cause he's really my favorite and I just checked out this great movie "Conversations with Billy Wilder.

Also, if you can tell I'm a child of the 90s, based on all those bad and mediocre 90s films which i might otherwise not have watched.

Also, let me just say I never intended to watch more of Ivan Retiman than Rob Zemeckis, Vincente Minelli or Martin Scorsesee, or more Frank Oz than Rob Altman.

18 Alfred Hitchkock-Family Plot, Torn Curtain, Rebecca, 39 Steps, North by Northwest, Sabetour, The Wrong Man, Strangers on a Train, Shadow of a Doubt, Topaz, The Birds, Psycho, Lifeboat, Spellbound, Vertigo, The Man Who Knew Too Much (both versions), Rear Window
12 Stephen Spielberg-Color Purple, Raiders of the Last Ark, Jurassic Park, Temple of Doom, The Last Crusade, The Terminal, Catch Me If You Can, Schindler's List, Hook, ET, Jaws, War of the Worlds
12 Woody Allen-Hollywood Ending, Curse of the Jaded Scorpion, Manhattan, Annie Hall, Small Time Crooks, Sweet and Lowdown, Mighty Aphrodite, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Melinda and Melinda, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, Bullets Over Broadway
7-Ivan Reitman: Ghostbusters, 6 Days 7 Days, Old School, Space Jam, Fathers Day, Beethoven, Beethoven’s 2nd
7 Rob Altman-Dr. T and the Women, McCabe and Mrs Miller, MASH, Prairie Home Companion, The Player, Buffalo Bill, California Split
7-Rob Zemeckis-Back to the Future I-III, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Romancing the Stone, Forrest Gump, Contact
7 Joel and Ethan Coen-Oh Brother Where Art Thou, Ladykillers, Man Who Knew Too Much, Intolerable Cruelty, Big Lebowski, Fargo, No Country for Old Men
7 Billy Wilder-Spirit of St. Louis, Some Like it Hot, The Apartment, Irma la Douce, Double Indemnity, Sabrina, Ace in the Hole
6 Mel Brooks-Spaceballs, High Anxiety, Young Frankenstein, The Producers, Blazing Saddles, History of the World Part I
6 Vincente Minelli-Meet me in St Louis, American in Paris, The Pirate, Brigadoon, The Band Wagon, Kismet
6 Frank Oz-Bowfinger, In and Out, Stepford Wives, The Score, What About Bob, Housesitter
6 Frank Capra-Meet John Doe, Mr Smith Goes to Washington, Arsenic andOld Lace, It Happened One Night, It's a Wonderful Life, Mr Deeds Goes to Town
6 Mike Nicholls-Primary Colors, The Birdcage, The Graduate, Working Girl, What Planet Are You From, Charlie Wilson's War
5 Martin Scorsesee-Color of Money, Age of Innocence, Goodfellas, Aviator, The Departed
5 George Lucas-Star Wars I-IV, American Graffiti
5 Stanley Donen-Take Me Out to the Ballgame (most sources insist that he really was the director, not Bugsy Berkley), On the Town, Singing in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Charade
5 Joel Schumaker-Time to Kill, 8 MM, Batman and Robin, Batman Forever, The Client
5 Orson Welles-Citizen Kane, Lady of Shanghai, Othello, Magnificent Ambersons, Touch of Evil
5 John Glenn-5 Bonds
5 Sidney Pollack-Slender Thread, Sabrina, Out of Africa, Interpreter, Tootsie
5 John Huston-Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Key Largo, Beat the Devil, Man Who Would be King, African Queen
5 Robert Rodriguez-El Mariachi Trilogy, Spy Kids and Lava Girl, Sin City
5 Barry Levinson-Man of the Year, Sleepers, Rain Man, Tin Men, Good Morning Vietnam
5 Terry Gilliam-Adventures of Baron Muchenhassen, Time Bandits, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Brothers Grimm, Fisher King
5 Jay Roach-Austin Powers I-III, Meet the Parents , Mystery Alaska
5 Gore Verbinski-Pirates of the Carribean 1, 2, 3, Weatherman, The Mexican
5 Howard Hawks-Sgt. York, Bringing Up Baby, Big Sleep, Ball of Fire, Rio Bravo
4 Harold Lloyd-Safety Last, Feet First, The Freshman, Kid Brother
4 Guy Hamilton-4 Bond movies
4 Peter Weir-Witness, Dead Poet’s Society, The Truman Show, Master and Commander
4 Peter and Bobby Farrelly-Can't remember anymore
4 Kevin Smith-Chasing Amy, Mallrats, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Dogma (pretty much everything except Clerks)
4 Steven Herek-Mr. Holland’s Opus, Three Musketeers, Mighty Ducks, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventures
4 Steve Sodebergh-Erin Brockovitch, Ocean’s 11, Ocean’s 12, Full Frontal

4 Brett Ratner-After the Sunset, Rush Hour 2, Family Man, X-Men 3
4 Peter Segal-Naked Gun 33 1/3, Tommy Boy, My Fellow Americans, 50 First Dates
4 Chris Columbis-Mrs. Doubtfire, Home Alone, Home Alone 2, Stepmom
4 John Lynn-Whole Nine Yards, Trial and Error, Sgt Bilko, Trial and Error, Ball of Fire
4 Tony Scott-Enemy of the State, Déjà Vu, Crimson Tide, Top Gun
4 Sydney Pollack-Sabrina, Out of Africa, Tootsie, The Interpreter
4 Barry Sonnenfeld-Men in Black I, II, Wild Wild West, Big Trouble
4 Bryan Singer-Usual Suspects, X-Men, X2, Superman Returns
4 Clint Eastwood-Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Unforgiven, Bronco Billy, Mystic River
4 Christopher Guest-Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman, A Mighty Wind, For Your Consideration 4 John Lasseter-Lady and the Tramp, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Cars
4 Wes Anderson-Darjeerling Limited, Rushmore, Royal Tannenbaums, Life Aquatic
4 Ernst Lubuitsch-Trouble in Paradise, Merry Widow, Ninotchka, Shop Around the Corner
4 Johnothan Demme-Married to the Mob, Silence of the Lambs, Melvin and Howard, Manchurian Candidate
4 Tim Burton-Ed Wood, Batman Returns, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Batman
4 Roland Emmerich-Stargate, ID4, The Patriot, Day After Tomorrow

In defense of Batman Forever

Thinking of extending that trilogy past its prime? I think it's important to realize how an especially bad turn in a film series can hurt the legacy of the entire series to the point where it might damage the director's reputation and the retroactive reputation of films that come before it.

As a 12-year old kid, I loved Batman Forever and I recently went to look up reviews of it. Before looking them up, however, I had a preminition that because of the disaster of Batman and Robin, Batman Forever would be seen as much worse than it actually was.

While Batman and Robin extends those "campy characteristics" to an extreme, without extending any substance to them, I think it's important to note that Batman Forever had a stopping point to its corniness before it ever interfered with the story at hand.

Furthermore, It's important for everyone to realize that since Batman's creation in what I believe was the 1920s, there have been two parallel versions of Batman going on. One is the "dark knight" Batman, the mysterious force of good who no one knows about, and then there's the "camp" batman, who's more family-friendly, and more colorful, put it that way, his costume has blues and purples in it, rather than just plain black. The key difference, when you think about it, is Robin, because with Robin in the picture, Batman is nowhere near as mysterious and extraordinary because there is at least one other person doing the same things he is and there is at least one other person who is fighting the same battles he is, and also because Batman has to watch out for someone else, you know he's not selfless and evil. The people who like the "dark knight" Batman, are probably people whose prime hobby is comic book collecting over film watching, because that's where the dark knight first appeared.

Me, on the other hand am a film watcher who was born in 1983, so when Batman Returns came out I was 9, and while the depth of Burton's dark urban vision was so extraordinary even i could be amazed by it, I had a hard time with all the violence, seeing so many of Penguin's henchmen killed (a couple at the hands of Penguin, himself) or the scene where catwoman robs a store and kills a guy with her fingernails, etc. I'm not saying I needed a happy ending, but all the characters, even Batman, were just very depressing.

When Batman Forever came out, I was 12, and unlike its predecessor I really got on board the ride, because the movie had really great heroes and villains, which i could be engaged rooting for or against. In Batman Forever, Batman and the villains are all equally perverse and dark, I really didn't care much who won at the end, and maybe people who are harsh on Schumaker's films fail to take into account what these Batman movies are like for a kid's perspective.Visually, the movie was a marvel to watch. Tommy Lee Jones' make-up job is so great, i'd like to see someone tell me they weren't blown away, the first time we see the left side of his face in the film. Some people say that Tommy Lee Jones' portrayal of Two-Face wasn't true to the original character, who was a less hysterical individual, but I think a more composed and cool villain wouldn't have been as fun, simply put. The Riddler/Two Face partnership is the best mildly deranged villain/completely deranged villain chemistry in the series, I found (especially considering the other two partnerships never really had very much interaction with each other). Just look at the movie poster for this movie and the colors of the riddler's green, two-face's purple, robin's red, batman's dark blue/black. Like a John Williams score associates musical themes with each character, those colors with surreally bold hues draw out the characters throughout the movie. Also, Nicole Kidman blew me away too. This was long before she was in a stage where every movie role she took was basically crying out, "give me an Oscar." And as for Val Kilmer vs. Michael Keaton? Well, I think the best person to answer that question would be original Batman creator Barry Kane (did I get the name right?) who aid that Val Kilmer was the actor who played Batman closest to the vision he originally conceived it to be.