Critiquing Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz's Top 100 TV Shows of All Time

As someone who's written listicles, I know it's annoying to
have people on the comment section going "what about this?" but my
hope is to explain theories for the context of choices, suggest alternatives,
and entertain. I also hope to make history as the first person to critique
their work while bubble bathing.

I tried very hard to get it under 20 minutes before
giving up but you have my permission to click around as I count down from 100.
Around 2:00 is when I get to the inherent challenges of a TV canon and I
actually start the list at 4:48.

Alan and Matt's book is:

TV (The Book): Two Experts Pick the Greatest American Shows of All Time.

The authors of this book and I would likely agree that there isn't as established of a TV canon as there is in moviedom because most of the writing about television has generally been by TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly and it has been narrowed around "What to Watch This Week" until the past decade or so. In contrast, film has been seriously analyzed and different decades and auteurs have been matched up against each other since the days of Pauline Kael and the French New Wave.

One downside to this is that TV best-of lists have a lot less variation (everyone loves MASH, I Love Lucy, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Cosby Show, etc) and a lot more reliance on ratings to establish what has been the canon (this book's list of shows matches up very closely to how well those shows dominated over their rivals in their ratings).

Another funny thing about a TV best-of list is that to get anything resembling a popular consensus, you need the public to have had some sort of accessibility to the list and entire generations have gone without seeing some of the classics of this list. I for one have never seen All in the Family or Moonlighting because it wasn't on in syndication when I was growing up (I'm generally in the school of thought that good art has to find its way to you and not the other way around).

Even then the socio-economic factors that make a show popular is more pronounced in this meeting because a lot of these shows weren't designed to appeal to broad audiences in the present and film (a director-driven medium) is somewhat more aimed at timelessness. Others might disagree but I'd argue that many shows like Roseanne, Family Ties, and Golden Girls don't particularly age well when watching them in the present day. The clips I've seen of All in the Family seem like a show about a very whiny and shrill family.

My suggestions for classic work that should be considered are: Looney Tunes, Threes Company, Get Smart and Beverly Hillbillies

Contemporary Shows which could have been interesting choices include: Homeland, Better off Ted, Party Down, The Good Wife, Modern Family, Orange is the New Black, Cougar Town, Scandal, Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Man in High Castle, American Horror Story, and Empire

Lastly, shows that took off after the book was released that could be worthy include: Lodge 49, BoJack Horseman, The Americans, Black Mirror, Lady Dynamite, Crashing, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Last Man on Earth, The Good Place, Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Derry Girls, Glow, Silicon Valley, and Review

Notes on the Empire Magazine Top 300 Poll

In 2014, Empire Magazine compiled a reader poll of the 301 greatest films of all time  (you can play it in quiz form here, the list is unavailable but the final composited total is here).

 Here are some notes on the list:

1.   The Empire subscriber base is likely dominated by film aficionados who came of age in the 1990s. This can be seen in the high rankings of the films of Quentin Tarantino’s and Frank Darabont’s films, the ranking of Scorsese’s 1990 film “Goodfellas” over his earlier masterpieces, the high rankings of “Fight Cub,” “The Matrix” and the fact that Kevin Smith is even mentioned at all, shows that this is likely a group of voters that primarily came of age during the 1990s. Tarantino’s debut “Reservoir Dogs” (which didn’t really bring anything to the table that “Pulp Fiction” would do two years later) clocks in at #75. Additionally, David Fincher’s hits “Se7en” and “Fight Club” and the David Fincheresque “Usual Suspects” all place extremely high.
2.   It’s also worth noting that after the big triumvate of “Raging Bull” “Taxi Driver” and “Goodfellas”, the only other pre-2000 Scorsese work listed here is “Casino” which isn’t particularly memorable unless you were forming your filmic vocabulary in that decade. A more preferable choice for a film that defined Scorsese pre-2000 is “Mean Streets.”
3.  This is clearly a male voting body that grew up in the 1990’s. Tarantino and Fincher’s 90’s work are both hyper-masculine celebrations of violence whereas heady science fiction stuff like “Contact” gets ignored in favor of something like “The Matrix” which revels in bullets and special effects. Romantic comedies and musicals are both given much less weight than they would ordinarily. Among the older Westerns, the 1969 film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” makes the cuts which is a celebration of masculine strength. Another 1969 film which won the best picture that year and generally does about as well on these kinds of lists, “Midnight Cowboy” gets omitted entirely and that’s a film that celebrates masculine weakness. Well-regarded films such as “Ghost” or “In the Name of the Father” from the time period where many of the films are skewed towards stand no chance of making it. "English Patient" is another outliar. I might say the same about the 2012 version of "Les Mis" but as Key and Peele reminded us, it's got Wolverine in it.
4.  Then again, Tim Burton who was one of the most successful film directors of the decade in terms of box office pull, innovation, and cultural clout seems to have retreated from memory. Edward Scissorhands clocks in at 170 while his masterpiece “Ed Wood” isn’t even mentioned at all. Batman is 288 and that’s more likely due to the presence of superhero tastes than Burton’s touch. Perhaps, his gothic flights of imagination are easier to get invested in as kids and  they detached from him as an adult despite the fact that “Big Fish” (which ranks on IMDB’s Top 250) and “Ed Wood” are both considered great films that aren’t particularly relevant to a children’s audience.
5. One would think that a year later in the post-truth era, movies that either champion political truth like “The Candidate,” “All the President’s Men” or “Spotlight” or that satirize news absurdity like Elia Kazan’s “A Face in the Crowd” or “Network” might rise a bit in the rankings. “All the President’s Men” and “Network” are both on AFI’s Top 100. “All the President’s Men” doesn’t even make the list!
6. It’s also clear that this voting body has been selectively exposed to the past. “Scarface” makes the list because the poster is on everyone’s dorm room. “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Wizard of Oz” our TV staples around Christmastime whereas Frank Capra’s other masterpieces don’t make the cut. Similarly, “Cool Hand Luke” has become a very quotable film and as such beat out 1967 films such as “Bonnie and Clyde” and “In the Heat of the Night” that had previously ranked higher on many lists. And don’t forget the cannon of John Hughes whose films are popular at summer parties and clubs.
7.  It seems the artsier the group of film experts, the more dismissive they are of Spielberg. However, if you’re pragmatic enough to realize that Spielberg’s films are as essential as Sergio Leone, David Lynch, Martin Scorsese, and Quentin Tarantino. Whereas “Schindler’s List” ordinarily tops these types of lists, these voters selected “Jaws” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” 8^th and 9^th. “Schindler’s List” represents Spielberg’s high-brow ambitions, whereas “Jaws” and “Raiders” represent Spielberg sticking to his forte.
8.  For a voting body that rewards the hyper-violent and special-effects laden, it is refreshing to see a couple of Terrence Malick’s films make the list in “Tree of Life” and “New World.” His films stand entirely against any cinematic trends to make narratives faster and tighter.
9. Old-school blockbusters like "Superman" "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn" and particuarly "Die Hard" finally get their due as smartly made blockbusters unashamed to dig into their deep mythologies. I know this is hard to believe but some 15 years ago, there was virtually nothing indicating "Die Hard" was a classic among any serious segment of the population. This also could explain Tim Burton's "Batman" making the list.

If the film community selected a top 200 English language films in 2016 (scribble edition)

While working a call center job, I decided to use my free time to make a list of what I would predict would be the top 200 English-language films if a number of expert film critics and consumer revoted in the year 2016. Yes, I'm sure if you were working in a call center you would do a crossword puzzle/word search or your nails but when you're a certified film obsessive this is what you do.

Rather than retype the results, I will repost it in its original chicken scratch form. The cutoff year is 2010.

Some of my points of reference, recent EW polls, Empire Magazine's latest polls and IMDB have placed more of a premium on sci-fi films and downplayed the pervasiveness of musicals. The resurgence of the cerebral sci-fi film w the successes of "Martian" "Gravity" and "Arrival" certainly have helped this trend as well as the receiving of "Star Wars" as not a complete disaster. 

Only the most recognizable musicals like "Sound of Music" "West Side Story" and "Singing in the Rain" make my top 100 with "Meet me in St Louis" clocking in at 102 and that could be wishful thinking on my part. It's a very significant film historically and even "La La Land" takes some cues from it, but for some audiences, it still might be overly quaint. Astaire and Rogers are still relevant but I would imagine significant vote splitting among their eight collaborations together. Similarly, vote splitting would dilute the consistently even filmographies of Preston Surges and Douglas Dirk so that there would be no clear winners. 

Similarly, a new class of Western is more en vogue these days that would align more with Peckinpah, the Coens and Tarantino than the classic Ford prototype. Namely, more violence which is why "Magnificent Seven" "Once Upon a Time in the West" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (particularly for the buddy humor angle) would all move up while "Shane" and "Stagecoach" fall out of the top 100.

It's also worth noting that films that champion political truth of satirize the falsity of our medical government landscape such as "All the President's Men", "Network", "Reds" (commonly regarded as the directorial masterwork of the overtly political Warren Beatty) and "The Conversation."

Feel free to comment on my list if you can make out the handwriting.

60 Greatest Summer Olympian Heroes in History

A highly debatable (so let the debate begin! comment section open for business) list of the greatest Summer Olympians. This wasn't too hard to do because I'm an Olympics erudite and whenever the Olympics comes around, I always get into it and start reading books of past Olympics. These athletes are judged by how much of an impact they had on the sport and how much they inspired (i.e. a hometown favorite lifting up his country), the degree to which they succeeded, the sheer talent and athleticism they displayed, and the challenges they overcame.

1. Jim Thorpe, T&F-Multievent, USA, 1912-An incredibly talented athlete in everything he did from baseball to football to every track event on the field. Spontaneously entered the high jump and placed 4^th  while not fully rested from his other events.
2. Jesse Owens, T&F, USA, 1936-Bested Hitler’s vision of the Aryan race, won the hearts of many including his German competitors. Long remained an ambassador to the sport.
3. Michael Phelps, Swimming, USA, 2004-2012-Evidence is right there if you’ve been watching the past 4 years
4. Carl Lewis, T&F, USA, 1984-1996-Dominant through four Olympics amassing impressive golds in 4 events.
5. Mildred Babe Diedrikson, T&F, USA, 1932-Competed in events as diverse as javelin, hurdles and high jump, setting world records in all of them as well as the 100 meter dash. Also considered the country's best golfer.
6. Mark Spitz, Swimming, USA, 1968-1972-Won every event he entered in Munich with a World Record after bombastically proclaiming he would beforehand. Might have won 8 if there was a 50-meter freestyle
7. Dream Team, Basketball, USA, 1992-A legendary assemblage of the best stars in the world created the best team in history. Never had to take a  
8. Nadia Comaneci, Gymnastics, Romania, 1976-Reached perfection with a perfect ten
9. Pavo Nurmi, T&F-Distance, Finland, 1920-1928-Extremely dominant over three games with events ranging from 1500 to 10,000 meters
10. Al Oerter, T&F-Discus, USA, 1956-1968-Only athletics star to win a medal in the same event four times in a row. Never was the favorite, and had overcome such extreme pain from an accident in one of his Olympics that he had to sit down between throws.
11. Abebe Bikila, T&F-Marathon, ETH-1960-1964-First African distance star. Won the Marathon twice barefoot.
12. Greg Louganis, Diving, USA, 1984-1992-Became a global icon. Unbeatable in his event. He had one of the most dramatic dives in 1988 when he hit his head on the board in a flubbed dive, mended it up in stitches, came back the next day and won gold.
13. Fanny Blankers-Koen, T&F, HOL, 1948-A mother who wasn’t even at her peak (she was 33 years old) when she won 4 events in hurdling and sprinting. Also held world records in the long jump and high jump
14. Usain Bolt, T&F-Sprinting, JAM, 2008-2012-You probably already know about his great performances in the Olympics, but there's also his effect outside of it. His presence on the track circut saved a number of struggling international track meets from extinction and boosted attendance considerably 
15. Larysa Latinya, Gymnastics, USSR, 1956-1964-Held the record for most medals before Phelps
16. Dawn Frasier, Swimming, AUS, 1956-1964-First female swimmer under a minute in 100 m events, first swimmer to win same event three times.   
17. Emil Zatopek, T&F, Distance, USSR/CZE, 1952-1956-Won both on the track and in the marathon  
18. Bob Matthias, T&F-Decathlon, USA 1948-1952-At 17, he was the youngest track and field champion to date, which doesn’t even count the degree of difficulty for someone to win a decathlon
19. Bob Beamon, T&F-Long Jump, USA, 1968-His jump in Mexico City bettered the world record by an incredible margin to 29+ feet. His record remained for 23 years.
20. Alberto Juantaronema, T&F-Middle Distance, CUB, 2000-Won the 400 AND 800 (entered the latter on somewhat of a whim) which is far more difficult than a 200-400 double.   
21. Michael Johnson, T&F-Sprinting, USA, 1996-2000-Won the 200-400 double. His 19.32 matches Bob Beamon as the most drastic world record in track. A well-marketed machine.
22. The Nichibo Girls, Volleyball, JPN, 1964-The pride of the Tokyo Olympics, they trained brutally trained 6 hours a day after work at a laundry factory where they had full-time jobs.
23. Wilma Rudolph, T&F-Sprinting, USA, 1960-Glamorous star and single mom overcame polio and scarlett fever with help from her supportive mom and 21 siblings.
24. Kerri Strug, Gymnastics, USA, 1996-Golden girl of Atlanta wins for home team despite a broken leg
25. Muhammed Ali, Boxing, USA, 1960-Boxing legend achieved most of fame after Olympics but showed off his brilliance and quick reflexes . Worth noting (at least by me, because I never knew it before) that he also showed great integrity by dumping his medal in the river (longer story than I have room to recount here)
26. Florence Griffith-Joyner, T&F-Sprinting, USA, 1988-Glamorous star of the Seoul games. Won a lot of events. She's idolized a lot today.
27. Ray Ewry, T&F-Jumping, USA, 1900-1908-Won 10 medals in early Olympics
28. Sebastian Coe & Steve Ovett, T&F-Middle Distance, GBR, 1980-1984-One of history’s most famous and productive rivalries led to the dropping of world records and one of the Games’ greatest comeback stories
29. Cathy Freeman, AUS, T&F-400, 2000-Emotional win for Australian Aborigines resolved the dark history of her nation and was the Sydney highlight  
30. Olga Korbut, Gymnastics, USSR, 1972-1976-Responsible for the transition of gymnastics from a sport of athleticism to a sport of beauty and grace
31. Kornelia Ender, Swimming, E. Germany, 1996-Won three team silvers at the Munich Games in 1972 at just 13 years of age. Won 4 more gols and a silver four years later
32. Haile Gabrielsalassie, T&F-Distance, ETH, 1996-2000-Had a couple of the most technically astonishing performances by a distance runner in an Olympic race
33. Matt Biondi, Swimming, USA, 1984-1992-Won 11 medals and 8 golds. His times in the 100 meter and 50 meter freestyle would likely still be good enough to make the Olympic teams nearly 20 years later.
34. Fu Mingxhia, Diving, CHN, 1992-2000-Won first Olympic competition at age 12, Won her first Gold at age 13, causing the Olympic committee to revise the rules  
35. Hachim el Garrouj, T&F-Distance, MAR, 2004-After two failed attempts the best miler in history emotionally captured the 2004 1500 and topped it off with a Gold in the 5K
36. Kristen Otto, Swimming, E. Germany, 1988-Went 6 for 6 in Seoul in her swimming events. 
37. Mia Hamm, Soccer/Football, USA, 1996-2004-The team captain and driving force behind the wave of dominance in US Soccer in the Olympics and the popularization of it in her country
38. Karoly Tasacks, Shooting, HUN, 1948-1952-Won repeat golds in his event despite having his hand maimed ten years earlier 1938. Persisted in Olympic dream for 12 years despite being declared ineligible in 1936
39. Nikolay Andrianov, Gymnastics, USSR/Romania, 1972-1980-Won 15 medals with an all-around victory in 1976
40. Johnny Weismuller, Swimming, USA, 1924-1928-Won 5 medals in 1924 and 1928, and also won a bronze for the 1924 water polo team. Later became Tarzan.
41. Hannes Kolenheim, T&F-Distance, FIN, 1912-1920-A vegetarian bricklayer of extraordinary athletic prowess (he'd regularly cross-country ski 100 kilometers to reach town in his youth) won three golds in track in 1912 and followed it up by switching over to the marathon in 1920 and becoming one of only 2 people to win both. A national hero, partially because he paid it forward by training Alben Stenroos: The other Finn to  win a marathon.
42. Nigerian Soccer Team, 1996-Half-fulfilled Pele’s prophecy of an African nation winning the World Cup before 2000
43. Stefi Graf, Tennis, GER, 1988-Inaugural tennis star completed career grand slam at the games
44. Mary Lou Retton, Gymnastics, USA, 1984-Scored a perfect 10 in front of the home crowd
45. Rafer Johnson & CK Yang, T&F-Decathlon, USA/TAIWAN, 1960, Two rivals from different cultures became great friends on the UCLA team and consulted the same coach for advice before medaling
46. Edwin Moses, T&F-Hurdles, USA, 1976-1984-Had a 9 year winning streak that stretched over two Olympics and could have stretched three, popularized the sport. Also a leader off the track as well.
    
47. Ian Thorpe, Swimming, AUS, 2000-The Torpedo was the pride of Australia. Won the most talented racing field in swimming history in 2004 (Phelps, von Hoogenband). Struggled a little with placement on this one because he did lose two big races in Sydney but many websites I consulted declare him at the top of best swimmers lists
48. Betty Robinson, T&F-Sprints, USA, 1928-Plucked from obscurity when someone saw her running towards a school bus, was the first female track star. Healthily won her events at a time when the Olympic Committee was considering banning women from running in the Olympics. They banned it anyway for 32 years but her accomplishments still hold up
49. Derrick Richmond, T&F-400, GBR, 1992-One of the most emotional moments of the Olympics where a man's defeat became a cause for celebration of the human spirit (see "Eric the Eel" as well)
50. Alexander Dityatin, USSR, Gymnastics, 1980-Gradually improved through three Olympics and came to Moscow with one of the most dominant performances even outshining counterpart Andrianov
51. Rowdy Gaines, Swimming, USA 1984-Was the best swimmer in the world in 1980 but missed his chance with the  boycott. Came back in 1984 in weaker shape but still pulled it together to win 3 golds. 
52. Armin Harry, T&F-Sprinting, W. GER, 1960-This guy was seriously unreal. Called the "blitz" and often accused of cheating, he had a reaction time of 4 hundredths of a second whereas his competitors had a reaction time of 12 hundredths of a second.
53. Kip Keino, T&F-Distance, KEN, 1968-1972-First African to break 4 minutes in the mile, won one of the greatest classical mile races ever and paved the way for other Africans to dominate. Spontaneously decided to run the steeplechase with little experience and won it
54. Jennifer Capriati, Tennis, USA, 1992-Child progidy had the tournament of her life before burning out and sinking out of the world ranks for 8 years. She defeated Aranxta-Sanchez Vicario on her home turf and upset Steffi Graf at the finals.
55. Sprydon Louis, Marathon, GRE, 1896-Won the inaugural marathon in under 3 hours, which wasn't bad for an event that had just been invented. His win was the only Gold for the home country and they were really counting on him
56. Don Schollander, Swimming, USA, 1964-Recorded the most Gold medals (4) in Tokyo Olympics and broke 3 world records at age 18. Because of this and because he was heading to Yale, was named athlete of the year by ABC's Wide World of Sports and the AP.
57. Peter von Hogenbond & Ingje de Bruijn, HOL, Swimming, 2000-2004-Both came on the scene strong for Holland in Sydney. PvH upset Ian Thorpe twice and beat Phelps in his only two losses in Athens. IdB won 8 medals and set 11 world records in 2000 leading up to 3 in Sydney, two of which still stand today 
58. Oscar Schwan, SWE, Shooting, 1912-1920-Oldest medalist in history. 72 when he won Silver in Antwerp. Also won in Stockholm. Look at pictures of him and you'll see a very fun-looking grizzled old man  
59. Misty May and Kerri Walsh, Beach Volleyball, USA, 2004-2012-Three-peated. Popularized the sport. Had a lot of fun
60. Sergei Bubka, USSR/UKR, T&F-Pole Vaulting, 1988-First pole vaulter to top 20 feet. This is kind of a big deal (a seeming physical impossibility) because the pole is 20 feet long. Despite being highly dominant in his sport and winning every world championship, he strangely failed to medal in 1992 and 1996 so he loses points there.

NOTES:

-I have a soft-spot for athletes who missed their chance in one Olympics and waited four long years to come back and complete their goal and I have an especially soft spot for athletes in 1948 who waited 12 years to compete in an Olympics.

-Also, people who did great things when they were young or especially old.

-The list is US-centric and focuses on the sports which get the most Olympic coverage. Part of the criteria is about impact and you can impact culture and inspire more if people are watching you on TV. In some cases, the volleyball team in Japan or the shooters each broke out of the bubbles of their sports to have a great impact. -There are a lot of swimmers in the 90's who all drift together in my memory and in their accomplishments: Janet Evans, Jenny Thompson, Summer Saunders, Amy van Dyken. It was really hard telling them apart. Perhaps, some of them are worthy

-I ran into a problem of how to rank certain people based on their performances in the Olympics verse outside of the Olympics. When in doubt (in sports like tennis, basketball or soccer), they always have to have done something especially notable in the Olympics. You also have problems of someone who might be notable in a sport that the Olympics were meant for like Sergei Bubka who didn't perform as perfectly in the Olympics as his record would expect

-Throw in some more suggestions. I might want to go to 100 and in the back of my mind have this idea to write a book on this.

-The book Complete History of the Summer Olympics and this website are both really big help:

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/fanguide/athlete?athlete=9532

My top 100 films of all-time 87-80

I just interviewed the Washington D.C. Filmmaker of the Month and we discussed films shot in D.C., opportunities for local actors and The West Wing. Click here

My top 100 continued. I don't entirely have it mapped it out (I might be guilty of forgetting a film or misplacing a film), but let's see how this goes:

87. Three Kings (1999) directed by David O Russell, Starring George “Please stop writing magazine articles about this guy” Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice-T, Nora Dunn

I was heavily debating between this and "Oh Brother Where Art Thou" and felt an urge not to over-Clooney my list*. The film certainly isn’t a conventional war film or even a particularly patriotic one. Like MASH, this is a film of people who are apathetic to the war around them. More significantly, they’re bored which explains why they initially go on their adventure. The film also deepens in unexpected ways. The film is very gritty visually and doesn’t shy away from gore (it even gets creative with shots of internal organs) but it’s not overly crude just for the sake of being edgy.

86. Cat Ballou (1965) directed by Henry Hathaway, Starring Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin, Dwayne Hickman, Nat King Cole

I’m not sure if I’m becoming guilty of overloading my list with goofy pictures of no technical value other than they just make me smile, because like “In Like Flint” this might fall into that category as well. It’s got some pretty heavy comedic leanings, but it’s a solid adventure that’s just as kinetic as the most fun Western you can imagine. The film really is a perfect fit for Jane Fonda too.


I did once review this film years ago on my blog, so that should cover it.

85. Fisher King (1991) directed by Terry Gilliam, Starring Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, Amanda Plummer, Mercedes Ruehl

Sometimes Gilliam gets lost in his own imagination and the effect can be that the story gets diluted through cartoonish characters and deviations from the plot. This is a shame because some of his stories are really great. This is one such great plot idea and it helps here that these are probably the four best acting performances I’ve seen in a Gilliam film. It’s a great fusion of solid drama with the abstract stylings of Gilliam’s bizarreness.

84. Seabiscuit (2003) directed by Gary Ross, Starring Jeff Bridges, Tobey Maguire, Chris Cooper, William H Macy, Elizabeth Banks

This is my one clichéd Disney story of an underdog entity winning against all the odds. I would rethink this corny period piece until I remember that the film was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar so other people must have thought it was pretty good too. The production values are great, the source material is converted to cinematic effect, and the acting is tremendous (I remember thinking: man, that actress who plays the wife should get nominated for an Oscar. She didn’t but she was Elizabeth Banks and became famous later). Also, it does have some very bittersweet undertones despite being a film made for no other reason than to stir up inspirational feelings.

83. Rain Man (1998) directed and written by Barry Levinson, Starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman

I generally don’t think a film can be considered great solely on the basis of one performance. “Rain Man” comes close. Hoffman is a fascinating character but Tom Cruise doesn’t get enough credit for his role even though he acts like Tom Cruise for the first half of the movie. While it’s a story about two people with very rigid temperaments changing (one because he’s biologically incapable, and one because he’s “a prick” in his own words) for the better.

82. Goldfinger (1964) directed by Guy Hamilton, based on the book by Ian Flemming, starring Sean Connery, Gert Forbe, Harry Sakada, Honor Blackman, Los Maxwell, Shirley Eaton, Cec Linder, Bernard Lee

Embodies the best of everything that you associate with James Bond: Beautiful scenery, ornate lairs, diabolical villains, creative technology, sexy women, and a convoluted plan for world domination. There’s not much more to say. Last time a James Bond film came out pre-Daniel Craig era, I found it amusing to see the reviews because there really isn’t much to say about a Bond film. You basically just check off a list of elements because as complex as the stories are, it’s mostly an excuse for the elements.

81. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), dir. Rob Altman, starring Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Rene Auberjoinis, Keith Carradine, William DeVane

This film is basically a response to the other Westerns of its time. It’s not really a great film on its own, because you have to see at least a couple other classic Westerns to really appreciate the way that this film turns those conventions on their head. It’s definitely a film worth watching a second time, if only for the fact that you’re not going to get everything anyone’s saying. It’s also a piece with a lot of symbolism that sort of pieces together in a thinky kind of way.

80. Goodfellas (1990), Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi, starring Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco

I'd probably characterize my reaction to this film as a classic that I agree is worthy of being a classic. Other people call this the most influential film of the 1990’s or whatever. I won´t say that´s untrue but I have no idea why, so if anyone wants to correct me about that in the comments. Didn´t Scorsese make other mob films? I just see it as a very good film within an already existin genre.

On a recent poll of best supporting actor winners of all time, I ranked Pesci #1 (& Waltz #2). To me the film is most notable for Pesci's performance and the very organic character change from Henry Hill, the relatively morally straight teenager who admired the local hoodlums, to a ruthless man and almost entirely unsympathetic character.

Updating my Top 100: 100-88

While top 10 lists are pretty attainable to keep in your head, it's near impossible to really keep a Top 100 although somewhere in my archives I did tackle the task of trying to create the top 100 films I've ever watched.

I decided recently to try redrafting it, since I've seen many more films and my take on films has changed as I've gone along. The first time I ever made a top 100 list was in 2003 (the cut was a much lowered bar: films like Cool Runnings and Aspen Extreme made it) and because a) it really is hard to squeeze all the new films into 100 and b) films need some time to age, I'm going to go with greatest films up to 2003. A lot of the newer films are just going to surface in the bottom ranks of the list just because comparing classic films and recent films are like apples and oranges.

This entry was tiring and I'm not sure if I'll make it all the way to one even though I have the list written out. Leave comments and click on my links and I might be inspired to continue!

100. Cider House Rules, 1999, dir. by Lasse Holstrom, starring Tobey MaGuire, Michael Caine, Jane Alexander, Charlize Theron, Kathy Baker, Paul Rudd
A beautifully shot coming-of-age period piece that my coworker at Blockbuster made fun of me for liking and that I'm still ashamed to say that I have a lot of reverence for. It's not necessarily a profound film and if Miramax succeeded in getting the film an Oscar win over Dreamwork's American Beauty (fresh off the heels of Saving Private Ryan vs Shakespeare in Love, the two were engaged in a fierce marketing battle) then there might really be reason to hate this film. Nevertheless, it is a good film.

99. You Can Count on Me, 2000, dir. and written by Kenneth Longorean, starring Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo, Matthew Broderick, John Tenney
This character piece is about how little of an adult you feel like when you're in the presence of your adult sibling. Laura Linney plays a "responsible" single mom and Ruffalo (in his breakout role) plays the "irresponsible" brother coming for a visit. Both characters are full of doubt about themselves in different ways that creates a meaningful contrast that serves as the soul of the film. I watched this for the first time when I was a high school senior and apprehensive about the concept of adulthood itself so it has a somewhat curative effect on me to see such a truthful image of these adults as goofballs. Matthew Broderick also provides ample comic relief and serves as a foil of sorts.


98. 25th Hour, 2002, dir. Spike Lee, starring Ed Norton, Rosario Dawson, Barry Pepper, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Brian Cox, Anna Paquin
It's been a somewhat frustrating experience originally liking and championing this film when it first came out and then watching it get praised in retrospect for all the wrong reasons. When publications such as The AV Club, RogerEbert.com, Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine and others came out with Best Films of The Decade list* 25th Hour seemed to come at the top of many of these lists because a lot of people wrongly hailed this film as the definitive cinematic artifact of 9/11. In truth, its connection to  9/11 is more relegated to behind-the-scenes minutia (Spike Lee filmed it in New York right after when other filmmakers wouldn't) and subtext that isn't universal to every viewer (the symbolism of the skyline without the Twin Towers). Instead, it's best to appreciate 25th Hour as a film with a superb premise and a great sense of dramatic tension. The story takes place over a single night as protagonist Ed Norton enjoys one last night of freedom with his girlfriend, father, and two friends at a seedy bar. Taking us miles away from the early works in Lee's repertoire stylistically (it works more as a commercial film), Lee's works in the 198

*I don't have the time to look up specifically which ones named it so high. I believe AV Club had it listed at #2 and Roger Emerson of Roger Ebert ran a poll in which 25th Hour placed pretty high for the wrong reasons.

97. Sunshine State, 2002 dir. John Sayles, starring Angela Bassett, Alan Rickman, Mary Steenburgen, Edie Falco, Timmothy Hutton, James McDaniel, Gordon Clapp, Jane Alexander

I love good ensemble films and I love films that have a great sense of place. There's also no place I love more than Florida which is what this film is about. It's about a seaside town is an unrealized slice of paradise to a lot of people. The beachside town has historical significance for the black residents because it represented a civil rights victory enabling them to get a "piece of the beach." From that subpopulation, a woman forced into exile through a teen pregnancy (Bassett) and the much more succesful ex-NFL player who impregnated her are both returning to town because a decision has to be made as to whether to sell their land to make way for a new development. In the meantime, there's a seaquarium mermaid entertainer who's bored to death of living in the same town too long (Falco) and a tightly wound spokeswoman for the new development freaking out that no one's sharing her enthusiasm (Steenburgen) and failing to notice that her husband is repeatedly attempting suicide (Clapp).

96. Our Man Flint, 1966, starring James Coburn, Lee J. Cobb, Gila Gollan

It's difficult to quantify just why this is a great film except by the measure that I've watched it over and over and over and still enjoyed it. It's camp, which I previously wrote (in my post about Glee and the 1960's Batman show) is something you enjoy because it's consciously bad. The film is a parody of James Bond films that is played straight in a way, but is ultimately very silly and I find the film both hillarious and very classy. The actor, James Coburn (Great Escape among other films), was a very slender actor who stood out for me in the films I saw him and like the actor who played James Bond he won an Oscar well after his superhero days. He won in 1998 and was a very pudgy old man when he appeared on the podium to accept*.

*I saw his acceptance speech only in retrospect

95. Birth of a Nation, 1915, dir. by DW Griffith, starring Lillian Gish
This film prompts an interesting debate: It's undoubtedly a historic artifact, being the first major epic, the first silent film to tell a story, the first movie that approached feature length, and a number of other firsts. It's also a very racist and misguided film that helped launch the popularity of the Ku Klux Klan. I omitted this film the last time I made my list but I recently reconsidered because the film has great historical value. More importantly, there's just a certain magic existent in it: you're watching the experience of right and wrong change right from under your eyes.


94. Catch Me If You Can, 2002 dir. by Stephen Spielberg, starring Leo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Amy Adams, Martin Sheen, Jennifer Garner, Ellen Pompeo
I thought it was a great time capsule and one of many great examples of how Spielberg's films are always solid stories that rarely dissapoint. Beware, there are always a lot of Spielberg haters out there.
Link to a review

93. X-Men 2, 2003, dir. by Bryan Singer, starring Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, Famke Jannsen, Hugh Jackman, Brian Cox, Alan Cumming, Halle Berry, Shawn Ashmore, James Marsden, Anna Paquin, Kelly Hu, Rebecca Rojmain

I wasn't a comic book geek growing up. Of the few superhero series I was exposed to as a kid, X-Men was one of my enthusiastic favorites and I was delighted to see the cartoon (or rather the comic) translated cinematically so well. X-Men 2 was superior to the first in working the kinks out. I've enjoyed the scientific bent, the realistic modern tone, the sleek visuals and the great special effects. Most importantly, the cast is incredible.

92. Evita 1996 dir. Alan Parker, starring Madonna, Antonio Banderas, Jonathan Pryce

I remember watching this in a movie theater when I was in 8th grade. I was in my third year of Spanish and I have always had an interest in Latin Ameircan culture and history (I later took courses on Latin American history and geography in college) but I was dissapointed with this film because they almost never spoke. I didn't know the difference between a musical (songs interspersed with dialogue) and an opera (all songs) back then. This film has grown a lot more on me in subsequent viewings. One of the few Non-Disney musicals to be made in the 25 or so years prior to the genre's return with "Moulin Rouge" and "Chicago", this film wins me over for its great musical numbers and because it's rich in historical context. Although it's merely song and dance, the film has almost as much to say about the period as a history textbook.


91. To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962 dir. Robert Mulligan, starring Gregory Peck, Robert Duvall, Mary Badham, Phillip Alford

I was struggling with placement here and whether to put this at all. The film is ranked 58th on imdb and it's on the AFI top 100, so others haven't hesitated to list this as a classic. My brief conflct, aside from taking up a space on the list, was that the book (which I've personally read) itself is a masterpiece. Is this just something to watch if you're too lazy to read the book? I think in this case, the performances elevate it. Gregory Peck competed against Peter O'Toole of "Lawrence of Arabia" and won at the Oscars, and it was because he took an iconic figure and made it his own (O'Toole did the same thing too, to be fair). I also do like a good courtroom drama (even though I detest lawyers and being in court).

90. Master and Commander, 2003 dir. Peter Weir, starring Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany
In a way, this movie is the best historical epic I've ever seen because even though it doesn't serve the story, it serves history. For example, in a story set in the Napoleonic Wars on the high seas (where every minute of this film takes place) we would naturally be looking forward to seeing exciting naval battles amd while we do get our share of exciting naval action, we mostly experience the HMS Surprisespending their time waiting and trying to maintain their sanity so that when a battle actually does come, you realize the magnitude of it. The human element of the movie, the multi-layered friendship between Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany, doesn't disspaoint either

89. Wait Until Dark, dir. Terrence Young, starring Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin

Audrey Hepburn is such a sweet, precious concoction that it's hard to imagine her in a thriler. That is, it's hard to imagine anyone wanting to kill her. In "Charade" (which also makes my list), the villains are so quirky and (even cute in a Looney Tunes kind of way) that you never really feel like she's in danger. Wait Until Dark is a great thriller that really does push that line. The film is also very minimalist in its use of space. Audrey Hepburn plays a blind women and the film takes place almost entirely in her apartment. As the audience, we are privy to more than she is and are given the point of view of the villains. A pair of thieves willing to kill for a valuable stash of trafficked drugs in Hepburn's possession. With their mark being blind, they set up their ruse in our plain sight. It's a brilliantly suspenseful film


88. Gangs of New York, 2002 dir. Marty Scorsese, starring Leo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Liam Neeson, Jim Broadbent, John C Reilly, Brendan Gleason, Gary Lewis
Review Here

If they made a perfectly measured best of the decade list

Previously, I made a top 50 of the decade list. This entry is if they came up with a way to measure every film critic in America, every film buff and every academy award voter and they came up with some perfectly weighted system to measure the best films of the decade, here's what I would imagine the results would be. indicate which films are too high or low on this list. Also, I am not including more than one of any film series. AGAIN, THIS IS NOT IN ANY WAY A PERSONAL OPINION
1. Lord of the Rings: ROTK, Peter Jackson**-The definitive blockbuster of the decade. It had the trifecta of cultural buzz, box office success and critical success.
2. There Will be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson *-Paul Thomas Anderson is a director with an increasingly more respected track record as his 90's films Boogie Nights and Magnolia have retroactively gained stature. "There Will Be Blood" has an Oscar-winning performance from Daniel Day-Lewis who's considered by critics to be a rare gem (especially since he rarely acts in movies). It's a film that touches on the themes of capitalism gone awry so it gets points for capturing the zitgiest as well as for having a bold, artistic vision.
3. City of God, Fernando Meirelles + -The '00s were a decade when international films had more of a fighting chance of entering the American mainstream if they were good enough. City of God was probably the most universally acknowledged as brilliant among those films that were widely seen by American audiences. It also has the gangster genre going for it, which is one that always gets critical acclaim.
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Michael Gondry-If the best-of-the decade retrospectives are to be believed, you would think that Eternal Sunshine and Sideways were the two front-runners for Best picture in the 2005 Oscar race rather than Aviator and Million Dollar Baby. My theories as to Eternal Sunshine's retroactive rise in popularity: 1) Broken storylines have defined the decade well and Eternal Sunshine had a fragmented storyline that didn't invalidate the story (i.e. Vanilla Sky, Mullholland Drive) but provided enough spin on the conventional love story 2) It merged technology with storytellling so it was kind of the next level of storytelling in that way 3) It was the most love storyesque of the three Charlie Kaufman films 4) Michael Gondry, Jim Carrey, Tom Wilkinson, Kate Winslet all have high Q ratings at the moment. Gondry was famous for music videos and short films and film students eat that s--- up
5. Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee *-A love story between two guys that was slated for Oscar Gold. Has anything like that even come close to happening before? The performances in this film are already iconic.
6. Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan-It ignited a self-feeding euphoria of "Best film ever??!" talk when it ascended to #1 on the imdb. In its defense, it redefined and transcended the superhero film genre which is THE genre who's growth defined the decade. The film boasted sensational acting, sensational choreography, sensational sound-editing, a sensational score and a sensational adaptation making it primed to sweep the Oscars in a number of ways.
7. Pan's Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro-In terms of unquestionably innovative, this is it. The idea of taking the war picture and telling it from the point-of-view from kids and it was one of the three Amigos' films: 3 Mexican filmmakers all had big Welcome to Hollywood hits in 2006: Pan's Labrynth, Gonzalu's Babel and Cuaron's aforementioned Children of Men.
It was ranked #1 by metacritic for films of the last 10 years.
8. Wall-E, Andrew Staunton-This film truly transcended the animated film genre. It was bold enough to forego dialogue for the movie's first act and bolder still in choosing to make it's love story about two robots. It had a message but didn't come off as preachy.
9. Mulholland Drive, David Lynch +-Lynch's film had the entire audience (including the critics) simultaneously scratching their heads at the end in confusion, but one of the supposed strengths of the film is that everyone went "Huh?" in union leading to one of the few moments of universality all decade long. It wasn't just the "Huh?" and the fact that people still couldn't figure it out but Lynch's disfigured narrative was engrossing enough that it remains one of Lynch's most widely-viewed and popular works.
10. Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle **-An internationally shot film that was gritty and inspiring. Nary a bad review in sight and a near sweep at the Oscars. As it stands, the second most popular best picture winner behind LOTR. Boyle is a filmmaker for the 21st Century and this film's Best Picture award signifies a promising career that has rightfully blossomed since Trainspotting in 1996.

11. Gladiator, Ridley Scott **-Not particularly ambitious but the direction, performances, and overall production values of the picture propelled it to a best picture win. Whether a genre film like Gladiator ages well is partially dependent on the genre's level of saturation at the time of relief. Fortunately, this Roman sandals epic captured audience imaginations and created both word-of-mouth and cultural resonance.
12. Children of Men, Alfonso Cuaron **-Guys like Peter Travers at Rolling Stone and Jim Emerson at Rogerebert.com put this on their top ten list. EW listed it as one of 25 films that will remain a classic. I've seen it and I'm not sure why it was so great but it was unquestionably bold. Boldness of vision is a keyword I'm using a lot to describe what attracts critics to these films.
13. Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe-This didn't earn an Oscar nomination but retroactively it would have if critics were voting again. I've seen it pop up practically everywhere from the AV Club's list to Culture Snob to MSN Movie's list to name a few. I believe it's enhanced reputation over the years has come about because after this film, Cameron Crowe didn't make a good film again. Elizabethtown (which I personally liked) was panned for being a little too eager to tug at the heartstrings and Vanilla Sky was somewhat of a mess. The film has aged well and is the epitome of Crowe's personal touch.

14. Departed, Martin Scorsese **-Scorsesee tried hard to get an Oscar with every film he made this decade and this struck Gold. Whether it's ambitious as his two prior films, this was universally considered a crowd-pleaser. It was also a higher grossing movie than Aviator or GONY.

15. Hurt Locker, Kathyn Bighelow**-The 2000s were far more war-filled than the last two decades and the struggle to translate the conflicts from that war onto the movie screen were

16. Traffic, Steve Soderbergh*-Among films complex enough to be able to win big raves in the short-term and still feel like a work of art ten years later, this makes the list. Soderbergh won best director and Stephen Gaghan (director of Syriana) won best adapted screenplay and if they were to revote 10 years later, my bet is they would still win. Making an star-sprinkled ensemble piece that's more than the sum of its parts is rare to pull off (With so many stars appearing for narratively irrelevant cameos, I'd argue that even The Player falls short of this mark), but Traffic makes it work. Unfortunately, Soderbergh would do the exact opposite (making a movie for little reason other than the fact that high profile stars agreed to be in it) with Ocean's 12.
17. The Pianist, Roman Polanski*-Polanski's deeply personal film about art's power to heal tragedy scored some unexpected awards in the best picture race of 2002. It's a film with fairly universal praise.
18. Spiderman II, Sam Raimi- Before the Dark Knight, Spiderman II rewrote the rule book on sequels. Following up on a film that shattered records, Raimi and the filmmakers amplified the narrative by adding new angles (Spiderman's choice to be Spiderman) and revived the Superhero genre by keeping the action grounded in reality. It's a format that has been used in most of the superhero genres this decade. In short, it's been a big influence.
19. Letters from Iwo Jima, Clint Eastwood*-This has undoubtedly been the decade of Eastwood. His boldest directorial effort was telling a war story from the point of view from both sides. Whether this film changed the landscape of cinema like Unforgiven did or not, it won critics and audiences over. It was named the National Board of Review's best film of the year and made a lot of top ten lists.
20. No Country for Old Men, Joel and Ethan Coen **-It's not one that I particularly felt was worthy of best picture. Fractured endings are popular and the Coens, despite some inconsistency this decade, have overally come out of the aughts at the top of their game.
21. Lost in Translation, Sophia Coppola *-As Roger Ebert put it, this was a different kind of film that required the viewers to be patient and let love unfold at real-life pace. In a crowded year, the film eked out a best picture nomination and won a screenwriting Oscar for Sofia Coppolla
22. Memento, Christopher Nolan-The film's method of telling a story was a game changer at the time and the film holds up just as well now. Adapted from a short story by Nolan and his brother, this film was the world's first demonstration of Nolan's genius for telling a complex story and putting it to film. Curiously, Guy Pearce never got himself a slot on Christopher Nolan's preferred actor list for later movies

23. Avatar, James Cameron
24. Requiem for a Dream, Darren Aronofsky
25. Royal Tenenbaums, Wes Anderson

26. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Ang Lee *
27. Moulin Rouge!, Nicole Kidman
28. The Incredibles, Brad Bird
29. Far From Heaven, Todd Haynes
30. Chicago, Rob Marshall **
31. Little Miss Sunshine, Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton *
32. Grizzly Man, Warner Herzog
33. Pirates of the Carribean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Gore Verbinski
34. Munich, Stephen Spielberg *
35. Up in the Air, Jason Reitman *
36. Borat, Larry Charles
37. Juno, Jason Reitman *
38. Casino Royale, Martin Campbell
39. Fahrenheit 911, Michael Moore
40. Prestige, Christopher Nolan
41. In America, Jim Sheridan
42. Michael Clayton, Tony Gileroy *
43. Hotel Rwanda, Terry George
44. Gangs of New York, Martin Scorsese *
45. Gosford Park, Rob Altman *-Altman had some struggles finding audiences in the 80's and some of the 90's, but he has a strong base of admirers and with his last few films before his death in 2006, he further cemented his legacy as one of the legends of film. Godsford Park scored Altman his 5th Oscar nomination for director and was his 3rd film to be nominated for best picture.
46. 25th Hour, Spike Lee-25th Hour is making its way on some end of the year lists for the wrong reasons as far as I'm concerned: People are making too much of it as an allegory about 9/11 but some people (like Roger Ebert) just acknowledge that it's an excellent film
47. Mystic River, Clint Eastwood*- This film would have won the Oscar for Eastwood if that pesky sequel Lord of the Rings wasn't in the way. It was an adaptation of a Dennis Lehane novel that audiences found stirring, well-acted, and emotionally resonant. It basically marked the rebirth of Clint and might have been overshadowed since by Million Dollar Baby, Letters, Changeling and Gran Torino, I've seen it sneak up on a few lists.
48. Talk to Her, Pedro Almodovar+- This list needs more foreign films and Almodovar is hard to ignore with his success in Volver, Bad Education, and
49. Little Children, Todd Fields-Fields made a couple of melodramas in this film and In the Bedroom that critics found quite effective
50. 21 Grams, Alejandro Inarritu Gonzalu-A.I.G. had 3 successful films. Amores Perros was entirely in subtitles so it had the most indie cred. Babel was the most well-publicized film because it got the Oscar nom. 21 Grams was the happy balance in the middle.

+=Best Director nom without a best picture nom
*=Best Picture nom
**=Best picture winner
Also under consideration: Dreamgirls, Bill Condon; Into the Wild, Sean Penn; Up, Pete Doctor (animated); United 93, Paul Greengrass; Bourne Ultimatum, Paul Greengrass; Crash, Paul Haggis; King Kong, Peter Jackson; Constant Gardener, Fernando Meirelles; Ray, Taylor Hackford; Blind Side, John Lee Hancock; Milk, Gus van Sant; Match Point, Woody Allen; Amilie, Jean Pierre Juenet; Big Fish, Tim Burton; Blood Diamond, Ed Zwick

Also, by year:
2000: Gladiator, Almost Famous, Traffic, CTHD, Reqiuem for a Dream
2001: Mullholland Drive, Moulan Rouge, Royal Tannenbaums, Momento, Godsford Park, (Amelie)
2002: City of God, Pianist, Far From Heaven, Gangs of New York, Chicago, 25th Hour, Talk to Her
2003: Lord of the Rings, Lost in Translation, Pirates, Mystic River, 21 Grams, In America,(Big Fish)
2004: Eternal Sunshine, Sideways, Spiderman II, Incredibles, Fahrenheit 911, Hotel Rwanda, (Ray)
2005: Brokeback Mtn, Munich, Grizzly Man, (King Kong, Crash, Match Point, Constant Gardener)
2006: Departed, Children of Men, Pan's Labrynth, Letters from Iwo Jima, Casino Royale, Little Miss Sunshine, Borat, Prestige, Little Children (United 93, Blood Diamond, Dreamgirls))
2007: There Will be Blood, No Country, Michael Clayton, Juno (Into the Wild, Bourne Ultimatum)
2008: Dark Knight, Wall-E, Slumdog Millionaire (Milk)
2009: Hurt Locker, Avatar, Up in the Air, (Up, Blind Side)

Top 50 films of the decade

My list:
1. City of God, Fernando Meirelles (02)- Alexandre Rodriguez, Leandro Firmino, Phellipe Haggensen
2. Gladiator, Ridley Scott (00) Russell Crowe, Djimon Hotsou, Joaquin Pheonix, Richard Harris, Connie Nielsen
3. Seabiscuit, Gary Ross (03) Tobey Maguire, Chris Cooper, Jeff Bridges, William H. Macy, Elizabeth Banks
4. Little Miss Sunshine, Valerie Harris and Johnothan Dayton (06) Alan Arkin, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear, Paul Dano, Steve Carrell, Abigail Breslin
5. Cold Mountain, Anthony Minghellia (03) Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Rene Zellweger, Brendan Gleasson, Jack White, Ethan Suplee, Giovanni Ribisi, Natalie Portman, Phillip Seymour Hoffman
6. Gangs of New York, Martin Scorsese (02) Leo DiCaprio, Brendan Gleason, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Liam Niesson, John C. Reilly
7. Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood (08) Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Auhney Hor
8. Wonderboys, Curtis Hanson (00) Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Rob Downey Jr., Frances McDormand, Katie Homes, Rip Torn
9. Royal Tannenbaums, Wes Anderson (01) Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, Gwenyth Paltrow, Gene Hackman, Owen Wilson, Danny Glover, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray
10. Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle (08) Dev Patel, Frida Pinto, Anil Kapoor
11. Blood Diamond, Ed Zwick (06) Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, Djimon Hotsou, Arnold Vosloo
12. Pirates of the Carribean, Gore Verbinski (03) Jonny Depp, Geoffery Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightly, Jonothan Pryce, Jack Davenport
13. Departed, Martin Scorsesee (06) Leo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Alec Baldwin, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Vera Farminga, Ray Winstone
14. Life Aquatic, Wes Anderson (04) Bill Murray, Anjelica Huston, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Michael Gambon
15. New World, Terrence Malick (05)-Colin Farrell, Christian Bale, Quiriana Kilcher, Christopher Plummer, Noah Taylor
16. Last Samurai, Ed Zwick (03)-Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Koyuki, Billy Connelly
17. 3:10 to Yuma, James Mangold (07)-Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, Ben Foster, Alan Tudyk, Gretchen Mol, Peter Fonda
18. Michael Clayton, Tony Gileroy (07)- George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, Sidney Pollack
19. Sideways, Alexander Payne (04) - Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandrah Oh
20. Road to Perdition, Sam Mendes (02)-Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law, Daniel Craig, Tyler Hoechlin
21. The Aviator, Martin Scorsesee (04)-Leonardo DiCaprio, Alec Baldwin, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsdale, John C Reilly, Ian Holm, Alan Alda, Gwen Stefani
22. Frost/Nixon, Ron Howard (08)- Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, Kevin Bacon, Rebecca Hall, Tobey Jones
23. Catch Me If You Can, Stephen Spielberg (02) - Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Amy Adams, Jennifer Garner
24. Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe (00) - Patrick Fugit, Frances McDormand, Zoe Deschannel, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jimmy Fallon
25. Wall-E, Andrew Staunton (08) - Ben Burtt, Sigourney Weaver, John Ratzenberger
26. Master and Commander, Paul and Chris Weicz (03) - Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany
27. X-Men 2, Bryan Singer (03) - Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellan, Famke Jameson, James Marsden, Anna Paquin, Halle Berry, Rebecca Rojmain, Brian Cox, Kelly Hu, Shawn Ashmore
28. Ghost World, Thora Birch (01)- Thora Birch, Scarlett Johannsen, Steve Buscemi, Bob Balaban, Illieana Douglas
29. Hollywoodland, Allan Coulter (05)-Ben Affleck, Dianne Lane, Adrian Brody, Robyn Tuney, Bob Hoskins
30. House of Sand and Fog, Vladim Perelman (03)-Jennifer Connelly, Ben Kinglsey, Ron Eldard, Shoreh Aghdoshloo, Johnothan Ahdout
31. About a Boy, Paul and Chris Weicz (02) - Hugh Grant, Rachel Weicz, Toni Collette, Nicholas Hoult
32. Up in the Air, Jason Reitman (09)- George Clooney, Vera Farminga, Anna Kendrick, Melanie Lynskey, Danny McBride, Amy Morton, Jason Bateman
33. Prairie Home Companion, Rob Altman (06)- Garrison Kiellor, Meryl Streep, Lilly Tomlin, Virginia Madsen, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Klein, Woody Harrelson, John C Reilly, Lindsay Lohan, Maya Rudolph
34. Oh Brother Where Art Thou, Joel and Ethan Coen (00)- George Clooney, Tim Blake Nelson, John Turturro, Holly Hunter, Stephen Root, John Goodman, Chris Thomas King
35. Anchorman, Adam McKay (04)- Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Steve Carrell, Chris Parnell, Christina Applegate, Vince Vaughn
36. Dreamgirls, Bill Condon (06)- Jamie Foxx, Beyoncee Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Anika Rose Cairo, Jennifer Hudson
37. Finding Nemo, Andrew Staunton (03)- Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Geoffery Rush
38. 25th Hour, Spike Lee (02)- Ed Norton, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson, Brian Cox, Anna Paquin
39. Sunshine State, John Sayles (02)- Angela Bassett, Edie Falco, Mary Steenburgen, Timothy Hutton, Alan King, Jane Alexander, Clifton James, Amanda Wing, Miguel Ferrer
40. Manchurian Candidate, Johnothan Demme (04)- Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Liev Schreiber, Jon Voight, Vera Farminga, Kimberly Elise, Jeffrey Wright
41. Burn After Reading, Joel and Ethan Coen (08)- Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, John Malkovitch, J.K. Simmons, Richard Jenkins
42. Junebug, Phil Morrison (05)- Allesandro Nivola, Embeth Davitz, Amy Adams, Ben MacKenzie, Celia Weston
43. Doubt, John Patrick Shaney (08)- Meryl Streep, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis, Scott Wilson
44. Up, Peter Dreco (09)- Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai
45. Great Debaters, Denzel Washington (08) - Denzel Washington, Forrest Whitaker, Denzel Whitaker, Nate Parker, Jurnee Smullett
46. Lost in Translation, Sophia Coppola (03) - Bill Murray, Scarlett Johannsen, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris
47. Stephen Soderbergh, Good German (06) - George Clooney, Tobey MaGuire, Cate Blanchett, Leland Oser, Beau Bridges
48. Finding Neverland, Marc Forrester (04) - Jonny Depp, Kate Winslet, Freddy Highmore, Julie Christie, Dustin Hoffman, Radha Mitchell, McKenzie Crook
49. Be Kind Rewind, Michael Gondry (08) - Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Muriel Hemmingway
50. A Mighty Wind, Chris Guest (03) - Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey, Bob Balaban, Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins, Christopher Moynihan, Ed Begley Jr., Paul Dooley, Fred Willard

Top 40 TV shows of the decade

I'm sorry, I haven't been posting much. Recently, I started realizing that I have to be consistent with all the things I could do and that i can't slack off. I should be able to put at least 5 posts a month on here. So here's post #1.

40 Best TV shows of the decade. This is one of those things where I see a list somewhere else and feel a need to imitate it. In this case it was the AV Club's list followed by Alan Speinwall's list and EW's list.

Here's my opinion of what have been the most significant and well-received shows of the decade. It's not my opinion of what's been the best. Shows that came really late or really early in the decade don't count here.
1. Wire, HBO-I've never seen it but all the other lists say it's the best show of the decade and the best thing since sliced bread. And a show exploring the issues of drugs and Baltimore sounds a lot more intriguing than that other show I've never seen that's considered the best thing of the decade as well....
2. Sopranos, HBO-Never seen it. Doesn't even sound intriguing. Like that SNL parody points out, Sopranos is too critically loved to death for me to put it anywhere else
3. Deadwood, HBO-Just like MASH was based on a Rob Altman movie that turned the war genre upside down, I feel like Deadwood is the successor to Altman's 1971 masterpiece McCabe and Mrs. Miller. Kind of an improved version of that film.
4. Arrested Development, FOX-It is truly a blessing that now everyone loves AD. There are a number of great series this decade but no other show had such intricate layers of humor, a cast that we'd grow to love so much and root for in their future careers, and moments of warmth that are given with an ironic wink because we know that this temporary happy ending is going to fall apart so quickly.
5. Lost, ABC-Added points for influencing other shows such as Heroes and Flash Foward
6. Office, BBC-Doesn't compare with the American version in terms of quantity, but it rarely ever missed a note.
7. Colbert Report, Comedy Central-People criticized me for not adding the daily show if I'm adding this, but Colbert is playing a character so this is a fictional TV show.
8. Mad Men, AMC-Revisionist 60's series treats the decade as a pretty hellish place to live if you're female or a minority. Don and Peggy are really the only two characters that give me reason to anxiously tune into this series. They're the heart of the show. There's also the appeal of watching the masters of spin in action as they take on a client's mundane product and turn it into something appealling before your very eyes.
9. 24, Fox-It's just a matter of watching it yourself and seeing how intense it is in a way that spells quality.
10. The Office, NBC-The last season in which Michael Scott quit and started a rival company (among other things) shows that the writers room isn't one of laziness. When things get dull, the writers have the ability to take these very real characters and take them in unlikely directions. They pull it off in flying colors.
11. Tudors, Showtime-John Rhys-Meyers has long been a star in the making. It was quite an epiphany to whomever noticed that all the scandals in the Tudor Dynasty of England would make for a sexy cable series
12. Battlestar Gallactica, Sci-Fi-Created by a Star Trek scribe who was responsible for the intricacies of DS9 and who quit Voyager. Battlestar Gallactica took the possibilities that sci-fi had to offer and gave it to a larger audience.
13. Practice/Boston Legal, ABC-I've never seen the Practice but my understanding is BL spun off from the Practice, so I'll place them both here. Just like Aaron Sorkin, David E Kelly has a unique style that has it's appeal.
14. 30 Rock, NBC-If nothing else, when the show's characters start to get sloppy, 30 Rock never lets the brilliant level of dialogue slip. The show's jokes are so well-crafted that you want to stop and dissect them before moving onto the next one. The cast is excellent in Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski and Alec Baldwin and while some complained that in season 3, they became a little sloppier, the actors have always been excellent.
15. Damages, FX-I hear it's comparable to the Sopranos. Never watched it
16. Breaking Bad, AMC-The photography is amazing. The premise was a winner from the start and the show occurs at a pace that keeps you glued in through the whole hour. And that was before things started to get really interesting and really messy. The show keeps you at the very edge of what might be plausible for this man to descend to.
17. Desperate Housewives, ABC-There are a number of female-audience centered shows that have hit it big this decade and in distinguishing from fluff (i.e. Grey's Anatomy) verses something like Desperate Housewives, the latter doesn't aim to sensationalize. Desperate Housewives aims for quality.
18. Firefly, Fox-The western meets sci-fi had a cast of characters that enjoyed relatively good post-sitcom success and a fanbase that spurned a movie.
19. CSI, CBS- How many other shows have sparked people to choose their college major. CSI has coincided with a rise in forensics science majors all over the country. It's got good ratings largely because it's not dependent upon continuity but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
20. Futurama, Fox- I used to think Family Guy was the definitive animated show of the decade but I think it's declined in recent seasons and hurt its legacy, whereas Futurama won't yet have the opportunity to ruin its legacy until next season so it's a toss-up. Futurama is infectious. Groening has stated that as a kid who used to draw spaceships and futuristic contraptions in class and now he can't believe he's getting away with it. The fun of using the future as a playground for Greoning's wacky ideas is very easy to join in on.
21. House, Fox-I tended to think of House as the Ray of TV. Starring Jamie Foxx, Ray coasted to a best picture nomination solely on the basis of the lead actor's performance. Over time, House has developed a supporting cast to the point where it's not just about House and that's quite a strength that Hugh Laurie doesn't jsut overshadow the cast.
22. Pushing Daisies, ABC-The tone of the series was truly unique. It was a world you wanted to live in. It was also quite a creative achievement that although the pie maker had the power to solve all murder myteries in 60 seconds, no caper was ever that simple.
23. West Wing, NBC-Sorkin also had Studio 60 which was a fairly admirable failure
24. Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS- I feel like it's less pretentious and snotty than Curb Your Enthusiasm and if I had to pick a traditional tv sitcom that aged well into this new era of handheld camera comedies, it would be this one. I also didn't feel it started getting popular until halfway through its run as the ensemble chemistry started to gel
25. Flight of the Concords, HBO-Like Glee (which would've made the list if it came out a season or two earlier), the music is part of the fun.

26. Big Love, HBO-An intimate look at a corner of society that's certainly frowned upon.
27. Extras, HBO-Poignant and poetic, it certainly picked up steam in the second season with the true moral of the series: once you get fame, it's no picnic either, if you can't still be an artist
28. Friday Night Lights, NBC-I'm not much of a football fan (even fictional football) so I haven't watched this but I keep hearing it's quite good. It's placement on this list is a rough estimate. It's high on critical acclaim and low on cultural buzz.
29. Prison Break, FOX-Certainly one that I've been addicted to. When you think about it, Wentworth Miller ins't that charismatic of a lead but maybe that's kind of the point.
30. Family Guy, Fox-Unapologetically disjointed and unabashadly hillarious most of the time, Family Guy has its fans and detractors. One can't argue that their fans have been effective, since it's come back from the dead twice. Personally, I'm a fan
31. How I Met Your Mother, CBS-This decade's equivalent of Friends.
32. Six Feet Under, HBO-Don't get much HBO so I haven't seen it. In my first draft of this list, the omission of this drew the most protests.
33. Joan of Arcadia, CBS-Touched by an Angel meets the high school melodrama. For the first year, it was both acclaimed and popular and it featured two vets in Mary Steenburgen and Jason Mantenga doing good work.
34. Heroes, NBC-As far as I can remember, I don't remember sci-fi ever becoming so mainstream as when Heroes took over the waves it's first season. Comics often try to portray their heroes as ordinary Joes, but this really resonated in that respect.
35. Monk, USA-Inspired a number of copy-offs from USA. One criticism is it's a little too safe but it infused comedy into the murder mystery genre in a way that consistently worked week-in and week-out. The chemistry between Monk and Sharona followed by Monk and Natalie was also one of the best couples on TV.
36. My Name is Earl, Fox-Jamie Pressley, Nadine Vasquez, and Ethan Suplee had some of the most memorable supporting roles I can remember in this allegorical series of a lowlife trying to make good. There was something uplifting about this series that made it grow on me. One of the high points of NBC's schedule for a good four seasons.
37. Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO-Although, I personally hate it
38. South Park, Comedy Central-It started in the 90's and while it's crude, it's become very relevant in pop culture the way the Simpsons was in the 90's. It is an equal-opportunity offender and offends in a way that shows that while its creators might be rediculously immature, they have their pulse on the zitgeist and know how to exploit it
39. Weeds, Showtime-It can be unpleasantly dark in the way American Beauty was, but it's earned accolades for a great cast and the show knows how to build suspense
40. SNL, NBC-It had it's good years and bad years and while the Bad Boys came out of the early 90's, there's the case to be made that there was a more solid chemistry to the cast in this decade
Let me see if I can make it all the way to 50:
41. Ugly Betty, ABC-Definitely a chick-flick of a TV show but one that has more cross-gender appeal than say, Sex in the City. Like Pushing Daisies it definitely has a unique surreal tone it establishes. It also is a celebration of multiculturalism and deals with issues of illegal immigration, preteen homosexuality and more without ever making an issue of any of those things.
42. Malcolm in the Middle, Fox-The family sitcom on crack. A precursor to shows like Grounded for Life, Everybody Hates Chris, The Bernie Mac Show (even though it only predates that show by 2 years, I believe) or American Dad
43. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, FX-A personal favorite of mine.
44. In Treatment, HBO-Gabriel Bryne stars as a shrink who needs one of his own. The series focuses on interactions between Bryne and four of his patients as well as the doctor with his own head doctor.
45. Veronica Mars, UPN-A Nancy Drewish series with heavier plots that was a perfect fit for UPN.
46. Studio 60, NBC-A very noble failure featuring some of the best actors assembled for one show. The show's biggest flaw was that the writing was too idiosynchratic and the characters all sounded alike, but the show had it a certain electricity to it that made it so effortlessly watchable at times.

How to make a top 100 Films of All-Time List

I think the film critic community is fairly consistent about what they can agree upon are the classics. It you want to make a top 100 films of all time list, and this is a widespread of hobby among people and an obligation by any media outlet remotely related to the coverage of the entertainment industry (a great deal of film lists can be found at www.filmsite.org), this is the recipe:
First, put Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Godfather at the top, next be sure to include the following: Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, All About Eve, Schindler's List, Pulp Fiction, Grapes of Wrath, Streetcar Named Desire, Apocolypse Now, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus, Chinatown then be sure to throw in:
-No less than 4 Hitchkock Films (the preferred entries include Rear Window, Psycho, Vertigo, and North by Northwest
-2 or 3 John Huston films
-2-5 Kubricks
-The 3 definitive Capra films (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, It Happened One Night, It's a Wonderful Life)
-Some mention of Robert Altman, Howard Hawks and John Ford
-2 or 3 David Lean films (Must include Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence)
-Kazan and Brando's 2 masterpieces (Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront)
-3 or 4 films from the Arthur Freed MGM musical era and a couple other musicals (suggestions include Cabaret, Swing Time, Moulan Rouge, Chicago, Yankee Doodle Dandy, or Oliver!)
-3-5 Scorsese films
-4 or 5 Westerns
-A horror film or thriller of some sort
-A couple of the classic blockbusters (Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Rocky, Back to the Future, etc)
-About 6-8 war films
-Some of the counter cultural films of th 60s and 70s (good examples include Network, Bonnie and Clyde, Days of Heaven, Easy Rider, Badlands, Midnight Cowboy, and Cool Hand Luke)
-Film noir
-Some silents, including Chaplain and hopefully DW Griffith and Buster Keaton
-At least 4 Billy Wilder films
-Two or three Sidney Lumet films
-Some comedic films but must keep it appropriately high-brow: The Marx Brothers, Woody Allen, Tootsie, some of Mel Brooks' early work is permissible here, Ernst Lubitsch, Preston Sturges, Cameron Crowe, and as of late, Coen Brothers entries have become acceptable. Kevin Smith, the Farrelly Brothers, and most Saturday Night Light films will disqualify your film from any level of credibility. Don't even think about including Garden State or Napoleon Dynamite. Some Like it Hot, Dr. Strangelove, and The Apartment should be mentioned.
-A mix of Spielberg's heavier and lighter films (i.e. an acceptable combination might be Munich, Schindler's List, ET, Jaws, Raiders)
-Some sci-fi: Star Wars, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Metropolist (if it's including non-English films) are musts, but other entries could include Blade Runner, Brazil, Aliens, etc.

Other guidelines:
-Any film with an Oscar nomination except Around the World in 80 Days is acceptable to put on your list
-Ernst Lubitsch and Preston Struges are optional but help to fill out the comedy entry
-A cartoon, likely produced by Disney, won't hurt
-Other recommended films but not required: Amadeus, The Great Escape, Manchurian Candidate, Do the Right Thing, King Kong, The Jazz Singer, Platoon, Shawshank Redemption OR Forrest Gump (rarely should you include both since their fan bases are mortal enemies of each other), The Third Man, The Lost Weekend, Philadelphia Story, American Graffiti, Conversation, Giant, Network, French Connection, Ben Hur, Mutiny on the Bounty, Adventures of Robin Hood, and Tootsie.
-There should be room for some of your personal favorites as long as they're not too outlandish

My 2 favorite films: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade & Touch of Evil

This is what I wrote for the AFI's 100 Years fan opinion survey:

I’d say that it’s a tie between two movies that are sequels to greater films.

I think that Indiana Jones is the classic American hero: he’s intelligent, reluctant to take responsibility but will do it if he has to, and because luck isn’t always on his side, he’s more vulnerable and more likeable than James Bond. I also think that the adventure/action epic is one of the best types of movie-making.

As for why I chose Last Crusade? While Raiders of the Lost Ark was more of a milestone in the genre, Last Crusade I liked more. I liked that the villaness’s allegiance was more ambigous, I found the Sean Connery/Harrison Ford chemistry touching and hillarious and I loved the opening scene which introduced us to Indiana’s childhood. I also found the historical context is richer and the beam of light that Indiana Jones walks on in the end is such a great twist: The scientist making a leap of faith when he absolutely has to.

Touch of Evil isn’t so much a sequel as a sort of swan song to what started as the most promising career of any Hollywood director and Orson Welles. People don’t give enough credit to Orson Welles the actor who is really brilliant here. I think the Henry Mancini score and the setting of the Mexican-American border really makes the story that much more invigorating and every frame of the film is so beautifully shot. The story, which delves into everything from drugs, police corruption, and racist politics, is so well-constructed and some of Marlene Dietrich’s lines are so profound (i.e. “Aren’t you gonna read my future?” “You haven’t got one.”)

my top 100

Note: If someone wanted to try to analyze what cinemafusion's online film community's top 100( http://www.cinemafusion.com/index.php?/weblog/More/the_online_film_community_presents_the_top_100_movies_of_all_time/)based on what it's contributors voted for (of which I am one), keep on mind, I sent a different list to him, because I based it on different criteria. These are simply my list of most enjoyable films and not films based on importance within the course of film history, cultural impact, and demonstrations of exemplary filmmaking. I factored in films by impact and did vote Citizen Kane as #1 on his list among many other things I did differently. I also did not want my favorite film of all time, Indiana Jones and the last Crusade, a somewhat oddball choice, to greatly skew the results if noone else voted for it, so i bumped it down to #6. I also feel that putting a film like Schindler's List, Citizen Kane or Gone with the Wind on my list does little to really introduce people to interesting choices and they're very generic. I don't have any great passion for Schindler's List, I thought it was obviously a well-made film and a monumental turn for our generation's most relevant director, but i didn't like it that much more than what the general consensus feels it deserved.

This is my top 100. I found myself omitting things like Schindler's List and Citizen Kane simply because everyone knows their great, what's the point. I also didn't add It's a Wonderful Life because I've seen the stage play, not the film, and i haven't seen the film start to finish, but I've seen the film out of order like 100 times, and it was the stage play that moved me so much. Also no films 2004 or later to give them time to age. If i could add films after 2004, my list of films that Ive found to be 4 star quality so far are Anchorman (in a way, Anchorman is 4 star), Aviator, Life Aquatic, Sideways, Spanglish, Fahrenheit 911, Finding Neverland, Ray, New World, Junebug, Walk the Line, Babel, Prestige, Hollywoodland, Departed, Blood Diamond, Prairie Home Companion and Little Miss Sunshine:

50 films ranked:
1. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Stephen Spielberg/George Lucas (1989)
2. Touch of Evil, Orson Welles (1958)
3. Chinatown, Roman Polanski (1973)
4. Vertigo, Alfred Hitchkock (1958)
5. Grand Hotel, Edmund Goulding (1932)
6. Rules of the Game, Jean Renoit (fr) (1939)
7. The Apartment, Billy Wilder (1960)
8. Back to the Future, Rob Zemeckis (1985)
9. Apollo 13, Ron Howard (1995)
10. From Here to Eternity, Fred Zimmerman (1953)
11. Star Wars, George Lucas (1977)
12. Some Like it Hot, Billy Wilder (1959)
13. City Lights, Charlie Chaplain (1931)
14. Singing in the Rain, Stanley Donen/Gene Kelley (1952)
15. Wild Strawberries, Igmar Bergman (sw) (1957)
16. North by Northwest, Alfred Hitchkock (1962)
17. The Searchers, John Ford (1956)
18. Third Man, Carol Reed (1949)
19. Gods Must be Crazy, Jamie Uys (1981)
20. West Side Story, Jerome Robbins/Rob Wise (1964)
21. City of God, Fernando Meirelles (Br) (2002)
22. Manchurian Candidate, John Frankenheimer (1962)
23. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Frank Capra (1939)
24. American Graffiti, George Lucas (1973)
25. Gladiator, Ridley Scott (2000)
26. Bridge on the River Kwai, David Lean (1958)
27. African Queen, John Huston (1951)
28. Double Indemnity, Billy Wilder (1944)
29. MASH, Rob Altman (1970)
30. The Client, Joel Schumaker (1994)
31. Life is Beautiful, (Sw) Roberto Begnini (1998)
32. Spirit of St. Louis, Billy Wilder (1952)
33. Good Morning Vietnam, Barry Levinson (1987)
34. Ninochtka, Ernst Lubitsch (1939)
35. Ball of Fire, Howard Hawks (1941)
36. High Noon, Fred Zinneman (1952)
37. Duck Soup, Leo McCarey (1942)
38. Dead Poets’ Society, Peter Weir (1989)
39. Wild Bunch, Sam Peckinpaugh (1969)
40. Witness, Peter Weir (1985)
41. Sabetour, Alfred Hitchkock (1943)
42. The Fugitive, Andrew Davis (1993)
43. Big Sleep, Howard Hawks (1946)
44. Wonderboys, Curtis Hanson (2000)
45. Meet Me in St Louis, Vincente Minelli (1944)
46. It Happened One Night, Frank Capra (1935)
47. 12 Angry Men, Sidney Lumet (1957)
48. Paths of Glory, Stanley Kubrick (1957)
49. Gambit, Ronald Neame (1965)
50. Treaure of the Sierra Madre, John Huston (1947)

50 Other Films (unranked):
Film Noir:
Murder, My Sweet, Edward Dymytrick (1946)

Westerns:
Unforgiven, Clint Eastwood (1992)
Stagecoach, John Ford (1939)
McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Rob Altman (1971)

Musicals:
42nd Street, Busby Berkley/Lloyd Bacon (1933)
American in Paris, Vincente Minelli (1951)
Evita, Alan Parker (1996)
Swing Time, George Stephens (1934)


Sports Movies:
Chariots of Fire, Hugh Hudson (1981)
League of their Own, Penny Marshall (1992)
Seabiscuit, Gary Ross (2003)
Mystery Alaska, Jay Roach (1999)

Hitchkock:
Lifeboat, Alfred Hitchkock (1944)

Screwball Comedy:
Charade, Stanley Donen (1974)

War Films:
3 Kings, David O Russell (1999)
Great Escape, John Sturges (1963)

Classic Comedy:
Safety Last, Harold Lloyd (1923)
Blazing Saddles, Mel Brooks (1974)
Monty Python and the Life of Brian, Terry Jones (1973)

Films from the ‘00s:
X-Men 2, Bryan Singer (2003)
Master and Commander, Peter Weir (2003)
Pirates of the Carribean, Gore Verbinski (2003)
Cold Mountain, Anthony Minghellia (2003)
Finding Nemo, Andrew Staunton (2003)
Last Samurai, Ed Zwick (2003)
Road to Perdition, Sam Mendes (2002)
Catch Me If You Can, Stephen Spielberg (2002)
About a Boy, Paul and Chris Weitz (2002)
Ghost World, Terry Zwigloff (2001)
Royal Tannenbaums, Wes Anderson (2001)
Oh Brother Where Art Thou, Joel and Ethan Coen (2000)
Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe (2000)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Ang Lee (Ch) (2000)
You Can Count on Me, Kenneth Longorean (2000)
Gangs of New York, Martin Scorsesee (2002)

Others:
Cider House Rules, Lasse Holstrom (1999)
Goodfellas, Martin Scorsesee (1990)
Rain Man, Barry Levinson (1988)
Man Who Would be King, John Huston (1975)
On Golden Pond, Mark Rydell (1981)
Mississippi Burning, Alan Parker (1988)
Quiz Show, Robert Redford (1994)
October Sky, Joe Johnston (1999)
To Kill a Mockingbird, Robert Mulligan (1962)
Goldfinger, Guy Hamilton (1962)
Salt of the Earth, Herman Biberman (1954)
Brazil, Terry Gilliam (1986)
Key Largo, John Huston (1948)
Judgement at Nuremberg, Stanley Kramer (1961)
25th Hour, Spike Lee (2002)
Scent of a Woman (1992)
Forrest Gump, Rob Zemeckis (1994)
Thief of Baghdad, Douglas Fairbanks (1924)
Network, Sidney Lumet (1976)

The AFI 100 is finally rereleased: preliminary thoughts on the new films

First of all, here's the list in case you missed it last night. It's actually relatively annoying that the AFI isn't publicly displaying it:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2007-06-20-AFI-movie-list_N.htm



Now this is basically the only time in 10 years that knowledge of classic film and current events ever mix together, so I better take advantage of that and start writing away. This was such an exciting event for me, because I didn't even recognize the names of most of those movies the last time around. So here are some notes:

-I talked to a spokesman for the AFI in an interview and she said the AFI is redoing the top 100 list to account for the last 10 years of film, but she also said that no films from the 400-ballot date later than 2004 because the films do need time to breathe to be properly evaluated and I agree with that. The end result is a little bit low, though. Only 4 films were included: Saving Private Ryan, Titanic, Lord of the Rings and The Sixth Sense. The most frustrating thing about this is the incongruity of this is that since only one of these films was in the 2000's, this could almost, almost pass for a 20th century list right up to the very last year.

-It also has me worried that perhaps since film critics are exposed to so many more Oscar contenders and there is so much Internet criticism out there, that maybe we can't agree on greatness anymore. During the Great Depression, films like It Happened One Night and 42nd Street pulled people together. I don't know if that's the case. We can still all get excited over Spiderman, Pirates of the Caribbean and X-Men, and Brokeback Mountain, Dreamgirls and Departed do dominate water cooler buzz, but maybe it's a fracture between the critics and the public. Spiderman, Shrek and Pirates were all on the ballot as were many of the Oscar nominees. At the very least it's nice to see a few films added:

• Lord of the Rings is an undeniable safe choice because it has been both part of the Blockbuster culture and the Oscar culture which divides film viewing now more than ever.
• I've already seen a lot of complaining about the Sixth Sense on message boards, but I say, let's just try to agree on something, rather than have this decade not represented. Sixth Sense is an interesting offbeat pick from a director who has a gift for originality. Even if he's currently struggling a little with where to go with it at the moment (Lady in the Water hit a nerve with audiences and it ended the director's streak of commercial success), let's honor how he once showed us something new and original.
• Saving Private Ryan was a film that came along when there was nothing left to say about World War II. It's another war classic and it shows that the tradition of making great war movies has not been forgotten. Flags of Our Fathers/Letters from Iwo Jima is the recent continuation of this.
• Titanic is such an interesting pick. When the last list came out in 1998, Titanic seemed like the biggest cinematic event to hit the face of the Earth. It broke all box office records and it had the biggest production budget ever and it won a record number of Oscars. Nowadays, box office draw and critical acclaim are two different things entirely. The box office champions of the last few years Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Star Wars III, Shrek II, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Spiderman, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Mission Impossible II, have virtually no chance at a best picture nomination and seldom appear on critic's top 10 lists. But back then, Titanic was unstoppable. Even if you wanted to hate it because it was a Goliath of a film and you tend to root for the Davids, the story was so damn moving and emotional, that you couldn't deny it's greatness. If Titanic was eligible for that ballot, who knows how high it would have gotten on the list. Some might have voted it #1 due to the fact that box office draw and greatness might have been more correlated. Nearly 10 years later, Titanic is almost forgotten and its entry onto this list is a fairly heavy reminder of the pervasiveness Titanic once held in our culture that one year. I still think it's relevant because Titanic was the last box office champ to even be nominated for an Oscar and for that might have been the last true blockbuster before our blockbuster culture got saturated. (Sixth Sense cracked the top 10 all time and it was nominated, however)

-The two preeminent directors of this decade, Eastwood and Scorsese, who collectively have earned 6 of the 25 best director nominations given out by the Academy since 2002, both enjoyed massive upgrades. Scorsese's Raging Bull catapulted to #4 ahead of "Gone with the Wind" and Eastwood's Western Unforgiven, previously in the 90s on the list, catapulted to the 68. In my opinion, Eastwood had one film that would be considered a classic before Mystic River and that was Unforgiven. In between, he had unextroadinary output with films ranging in quality from Space Cowboys to Bridges of Madison County. In recent books that have come out where film scholars dissect Eastwood's filmography movie-by-movie, it's kind of funny to see these guys try to dissect Space Cowboys with the same attention to detail reserved for Mystic River.



-I noticed 3 directors who moved up from being one-hit wonders to two-timers and that's because they had a good decade: Mike Nicholls who had recent critical successes with Closer and Angels in America got his 2nd best film, Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff added to the list in addition to "The Graduate." Rob Altman had a modest success in Prairie Home Companion and a big one in Godsford Park, but more importantly he strategically passed away right before they were balloting. No, I'm just kidding. Rob Altman's 2nd entry to the list "Nashville" was one of the glaring errors of the first list and with McCabe and Mrs. Miller or Godsford Park he could have easily had three or four. The same is true for the ever-so-prolific Sidney Lumet, recent recipient of the Honorary Oscar whose film 12 Angry Men made the list. 12 Angry Men is very deserving.

-The "Third Man" is a great film. One of my favorites. The photography is beautiful, Orson Welles' sudden appearance is so unexpected. It works on so many levels. I personally read it in so many ways: a pulp fiction novelist trying to give himself his own storybook ending with the girl at the end, the American literature form trying to return to its European influences. Maybe it didn't make the list this time, because it just wasn't an American production?

-I think it is upsetting that films like "A Place in the Sun," "Stagecoach," and especially "From Here to Eternity" (my favorite war film) were omitted from the list but i don't think that necessarily renders them historically irrelevant. The fact that they were on the first top 100 list cements them as classics, and it's simply that they wanted to mix it up a little. Mostly what the list did was introduce the public to some films that should have made the list last time (and probably almost did):

• Do the Right Thing: Spike Lee has combined his filmic ambitions with his desire to infuse the country with racial awareness
• Blade Runner (Ridley Scott): The film didn't have enough sci-fi the first time, and Blade Runner was aside from being a great and highly praised film, a great influence in the genre. It also introduced Ridley Scott to the list
• Cabaret (Bob Fosse): I saw this film in my film genres class when we studied musicals and in terms of reinventing the conventions of a genre, it's hard to top this film. In musicals, the songs are used to celebrate life, courtship, community and vitality. In Cabaret, the musical numbers are used to illustrate decadence and foreshadow death.
• All The President's Men (Alan Paluka): This film was basically the 1970's version of "Good Night and Good Luck," only it was actually relevant to the times. A strict docudrama that featured Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford running around and looking busy like the casts of Aaron Sorkin shows traditionally like to do, All the President's Men was as great of a suspense thriller as it was a history lesson. All the recent buzz about the story with Mark Felt's identity revealed as deep throat might have contributed to the film making the list this time around
• Sullivan's Travels (Preston Sturges): I've seen two of the three really famous Preston Sturges films: Palm Beach Story and The Lady Eve and wasn't much of a fun of either of them. The third, Sullivan's Travels, looks quite appealing now that I've seen clips of it and I'm thinking I might watch it. Perhaps, three times a charm. Many film historians consider him to be a historically significant film director because he was ingeneous at getting racy dialogue past the censorsing board.
• The General (Buster Keaton): The great silent film star who has been considered 2nd best next to Chaplain for the last 40 or 50 years or so. The General was his most epic film and I believe his most expensive to produce. I did see it and personally did not think it was as great as Chaplain or even Harold Lloyd's films, but it is certainly a different brand of comedy.
• 12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet): Along with Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (also on the list), there is no film that captures the spirit of American Democracy better than this film. It's also such an impressive film because its setting is pretty much confined to one single room and there's nothing but the dramatic tension to keep things moving
• Swing Time (George Stephens): If you thought that with A Place in the Sun and Giant that George Stephens got eliminated from the list, that's not true, because he got represented with "Swing Time." This is a far better and more convincing film than the other film that's cited as the best Astaire-Rogers pairing "Top Hat." Swing Time has a more endearing love story, a lightning-fast opening that grabs your attention right away, the brilliantly conceived dance number in which Astaire saves Rogers job by showing how quick of a study she is, a more convincing pairing of romantic doubles in Viktor Moore/Helen Broderick; a very nice change of piece in "Just the Way You Look Tonight" where Astaire just sings without dancing, and a more menacing foil in Ricky Romero.
• Sophie's Choice: This is the only film on the list that I know absolutely nothing about (there were other films that I knew close to nothing about). All I knew about this film was that it won Meryl Streep an Oscar and I wasn't even sure of that. Once again, the AFI list made me feel stupid, but that's ok.

-I think the biggest waste of a choice was Night at the Opera because one Marx Brothers film is enough. Honestly, I can't even remember if I've seen a Night at the Opera. I've seen about 4 or 5 Marx Brothers Films and i can't remember them by name. I think they all just blend into each other. Some have Zeppo and some don't, that's the only difference.