World On Edge During Cuban Missile Crisis

Believe it or not, some people have declared 1962 a great year for movies.  Really?  I could have sworn it was in the middle of one of the worst periods in Hollywood history.

What does Jesse Walker think?

https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2022/12/sixty-two-skidoo-weve-toured-my.html

Here's his top ten:

1. The Exterminating Angel

2. The Music Man

3. La Jetee

4. Ride The High Country

5. The Manchurian Candidate

6. The Fabulous Baron Munchausen

7. Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?

8. Sanjuro

9. An Occurence At Owl Creek Bridge

10. Carnival Of Souls

Some good stuff here, though not necessarily great stuff.  For instance, I consider The Exterminating Angel second-tier Bunuel, but that's nothing to be sneezed at.  Same for The Music Man--not a classic movie musical, but a very enjoyable adaptation of a great Broadway musical.

I don't think La Jetee is a feature, but it's certainly something special. Same for Owl Creek, I guess.

Ride The High Country is either the last of the old Westerns or the first of the new ones (and maybe Peckinpah's best). 

I've never seen the 1962 Munchausen film, but I've wanted to for years (so what's stopped me?).

The Manchurian Candidate is odd and flawed, but I'll give it credit for being different (especially in 1962).

Baby Jane is modern gothic.  I've never known quite what to make of it--it seems like camp, but I admit it's fascinating.

Sanjuro is Kurosawa's lighter take on Yojimbo, and well worth it.

Carnival Of Souls captures a mood in an era when plenty of horror falls flat.

Here are the honorable mentions.

11. Pitfall

12. Cleo From 5 to 7

13. Lolita

14. Lawrence Of Arabia

15. The House Is Black

16. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence

17. The Trial

18.  Knife In The Water

19.  Hell Is For Heroes

20. The Tom And Jerry Cartoon Kit

11 is pretty memorable.  12 is a fine film (even if critics are overrating it on the S&S poll). 13 has a great first half but runs out of steam--and is way too long--but is still worth watching. 14 also runs out of steam, but I'm less enamored of the project as a whole. Never seen 15.

16 may be Ford's most overrated Western, which takes some doing. 17 may be Welles most underrated--it has a lot of flaws, but is still fun to watch. 18 is a major talent announcing himself to the world. 19 is a passable war film with a bizarre mix of a cast. 20 is a short.

Here are other films that would make my top ten:

Le Doulos

Jules And Jim

The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner

Here are other films from the year I liked:

David And Lisa, The Day Of The Triffids, Dr. No, The Intruder, Hatari!, It's Only Money, It's Trad, Dad!, The L-Shaped Room, The Miracle Worker, Only Two Can Play, The Tale Of Zatoichi

Other films of note:

The 300 Spartans, 40 Pounds Of Trouble, Advise & Consent, All Fall Down, Any Number Can Win, The Awful Dr. Orlof, Bachelor Flat, Billy Budd, Billy Rose's Jumbo, Birdman Of Alcatraz, Boccaccio '70, Boys Night Out, Cape Fear, Carry On Cruising, Cartouche, The Chapman Report, Confessions Of An Opium Eater, Days Of Wine And Roses, L'Eclisse, Eegah, Experiment In Terror, Five Finger Exercise, Follow That Dream, Gigot, Girls! Girls! Girls!, Gypsy, How The West Was Won, The Interns, The Intruder, It Happened In Athens, Jack The Giant Killer, Kid Galahad, A Kind Of Loving, Light In The Piazza, Lonely Are The Brave, Long Day's Journey Into Night, The Longest Day, Merrill's Marauders, Mondo Cane, Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation, Mutiny On The Bounty, My Geisha, The Notorious Landlady, Panic In The Year Zero!, Period Of Adjustment, The Pigeon That Took Rome, Requiem For A Heavyweight, The Road To Hong Kong, Sergeants 3, State Fair, Sweet Bird Of Youth, Taras Bulba, Tender Is The Night, That Touch Of Mink, This Is Not A Test, The Three Stooges Meet Hercules, To Kill A Mockingbird, Two For The Seesaw, Two Weeks In Another Town, The Vendetta, Walk On The Wild Side, Waltz Of The Toreadors, We Joined The Navy, The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm, The World's Greatest Sinner, Zotz!

Nixon Reelected In Landslide

Jesse Walker now brings us the top films of 1972.

https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2022/12/pols-and-mobsters-i-have-told-you-my.html

Some--including me--call it a golden age, a time of great openness and experimentation in Hollywood (catching up to what had happened everywhere else a decade earlier).

Here's his top ten.

1. The Godfather

2. The Ruling Class

3. Images

4. The Candidate

5. Sleuth

6. The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie

7. The King Of Marvin Gardens

8. Tomorrow

9. Bone

10. Cries And Whispers

A fine list (and I think I've seen them all).  I might not put them all in the top ten (or twenty), but this is a rare list from Jesse where I won't say of any "this one shouldn't be here."

By the way, can't argue with 1, but 2 is presently at 6.  And 4 is still the best film made about our political system.

Here are the honorable mentions:

11. The Heartbreak Kid

12. Fat City

13. The Getaway

14. Frenzy

15. Bad Company

16. Play It Again, Sam

17. Love In The Afternoon

18. Deliverance

19. The Mechanic

20. Junior Bonner

Once again, a fine list.  Even the films that maybe shouldn't be here are still fascinating.  What a different time it was: 11 is a comedy, but of a kind that's unimaginable today.  Same for 13 as an action film or 15 as a Western.

By the way, 16 reminds us that Woody Allen was (is?) more important as a writer than director.

I'm not sure how many other films of 1972 I could fit in the top ten, or twenty, but here are some I'd at least consider:

1776

Aguirre, The Wrath Of God

The Harder They Come

The Hot Rock (just watched it a few days ago)

Pink Flamingos

Tout Va Bien

What's Up, Doc?

Here are other films of note:

Across 110th Street. Avanti!, Behind The Green Door, Ben, The Biscuit Eater, The Better Tears Of Petra Von Kant, Blacula, Boxcar Bertha, Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Buck And The Preacher, Butterflies Are Free, Cabaret, The Carey Treatment, Come Back Charleston Blue, Concert For Bangladesh, Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes, The Cowboys, The Culpepper Cattle Co., Deep Throat, The Doberman Gang, Dr. Phibes Rises Again, Dynamite Chicken, Eat The Document, The Effect Of Gammy Rays On Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, Elvis On Tour, Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex (But Were Afraid To Ask), Fist Of Fury, Fritz The Cat, Fuzz, Get To Know Your Rabbit, Greaser's Palace, The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid, The Great Waltz, Heat, Hickey & Boggs, Hit Man, I Love You Rosa, J.W. Coop, Jeremiah Johnson, Joe Kidd, Journey Through The Past, Kansas City Bomber, Lady Sings The Blues, Last Of The Rest Hot Lovers, Last Tango In Paris, The Life And Times Of Judge Roy Bean, Man Of La Mancha, Marjoe, Napoleon And Samantha, The New Centurions, The New Land, Now You See Him, Now You Don't, The Other, Pete 'n' Tillie, Play It As It Lays, Pocket Money, Prime Cut, Roma, The Seduction Of Mimi, Shaft's Big Score, Silent Running, Slaughterhouse-Five, Snoopy Come Home, Solaris, Sounder, Super Fly, Tales From The Crypt, The Tall Blond Man With One Black Shoe, Trouble Man, Ulzana's Raid, The Valachi Papers, Young Winston

Highest Unemployment Since The Depression

Here's Jesse Walker's latest list, from 1982.

https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2022/12/mostly-on-edge-i-have-reeled-off-my.html

As he notes, a good year, though not for Hollywood.  Let's see if he's right:

1. Fanny And Alexander

2. Danton

3. Blade Runner

4. Fitzcarraldo

5. Dimensions Of Dialogue

6. Say Amen, Somebody

7. Veronika Voss

8. Forbidden Zone

9. The Draughtman's Contract

10. The Thing

I just caught a bit of Fanny And Alexander last week.  While I like it, I don't consider it the best of Bergman or of 1982.

Still haven't seen Danton or Forbidden Zone.  I have no excuse.

Blade Runner is like [fill in blank for joke]--dumb but good-looking.

Fitzcarraldo is okay.  I prefer Burden Of Dreams, the documentary about the making of the film--I'm guessing we're going to see that title below.

Dimensions Of Dialogue is great, but a short.

Say Amen, Somebody is a fine documentary.

I like Veronika Voss and The Draughtsman's Contract, though I haven't seen them in years.  Really need to see them again.

I've got problems with The Thing, but it looks better today than it did then.

Here are his honorable mentions:

11. Burden Of Dreams

12. Moonlighting

13. Liquid Sky

14. The Verdict

15. Honkytonk Man

16. Down To The Cellar

17. The Atomic Cafe

18. Vincent

19. The Return Of Martin Guerre

20. Fast Times At Ridgemont High

Re 11--what did I tell you?  I like 12. I like 13. Don't like 14.  Don't like 15. 16--a short, but wow, what a year for Svankmajer.  I like 17.  18 is another short, this one announcing a new talent. I kind of like 19.  I like parts of 20, but it's no classic.

Here are some other films of 1982 that would make my top ten:

Diner

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

Shaolin Temple

Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan

Tootsie

Here are some other film of the year I liked:

48 Hrs., Eating Raoul, Ladies And Gentlemen The Fabulous Stains, Koyaanisqatsi, Monty Python Live At The Hollywood Bowl, The Night Of Shooting Stars, Night Shift, Privates On Parade, Rocky III, The Secret Policeman's Other Ball, Swamp Thing, Smithereens, The Sword And The Sorcerer, Tempest, That Night In Varennes, Tron

Other 1982 films of note:

Airplane II: The Sequel, Android, Annie, The Beastmaster, Le Beau Marriage, Best Friends, The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, The Best Of Friends, Brimstone And Treacle, Cafe Flesh, Cat People, Chan Is Missing, Class Of 1984, Come Back To The Five And Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, Conan The Barbarian, Creepshow, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, Death Wish II, Deathtrap, The Escape Artist, Evil Under The Sun, Firefox, First Blood, Flight Of The Eagle, Frances, Friday The 13th Part III, Gandhi, Grease 2, The Grey Fox, Hanky Panky, Human Highway, I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can, It Came From Hollywood, It's Your Move, Jinxed!, Kiss Me Goodbye, The Last American Virgin, A Little Sex, Lookin' To Get Out, Making Love, The Man From Snowy River, A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy, Missing, The Missionary, My Favorite Year, Neil Simon's I Ought To Be In Pictures, Not A Love Story, An Officer And A Gentleman, Partners, Personal Best, Pink Floyd--The Wall, The Pirate Movie, Poltergeist, Porky's, Richard Pryor: Live On The Sunset Strip, Savannah Smiles, The Secret Of NIMH, The Shaolin Drunken Monk, Shoot The Moon, Some Kind Of Hero, Sophie's Choice, Still Of The Night, Tex, That Championship Season, They Call Me Bruce?, The Toy, Tragedy Of A Ridiculous Man, Trail Of The Pink Panther, The Weavers: Wasn't That A Time!, White Dog, The World According To Garp, The Year Of Living Dangerously, Yes, Giorgio, Young Doctors In Love, Zapped!

Bush Versus Clinton Is The Most Important Election Ever

Jesse Walker's latest list takes us back to 1992.  Was it a much of a year?  Decide for yourself.

https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2022/12/our-perot-year-i-have-listed-my.html

Here's his top ten:

1. Unforgiven

2. Glengarry Glen Ross

3. Brother's Keeper

4. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me

5. Reservoir Dogs

6. Porco Rosso

7. Candyman

8. Food

9. The Player

10. Swoon

I found Unforgiven so dull back then I haven't been tempted to give it another look.

Glengarry Glen Ross isn't much more than a filmed play, but as such, it's highly entertaining.

Brother's Keeper is pretty good.

David Lynch's Twin Peaks film is his most underrated work.

Reservoir Dogs is a fine film announcing a fine filmmaker.

Porco Rosso is good, if far from Miyazaki's best.

Candyman is perhaps somewhat better than most horror films of the time, but that's not saying much.

Food is a (well done) short.

The Player is an overrated film by Robert Altman.

Still haven't gotten around to Swoon.

Here are Jesse's honorable mentions:

11. Careful

12. Wayne's World

13. My New Gun

14. Prime Suspect 2

15. A Brief History Of Time

16. The Crying Game

17. L.627

18. Barjo

19. Leolo

20. Rock Hudson's Home Movies

11 is sort of odd, even for Guy Maddin, but fascinating. 12 isn't much--I prefer the sketches.  15 is minor but enjoyable.  I wonder if there's much to 16 after the surprise.  I like 17.  I like 20 even more, though I wonder how it plays in today's world.  Haven't seen 13, 18 or 19, and 14 is a TV series.

Other films of 1992 that would make my top ten:

Aladdin

My Cousin Vinny

The Story Of Qiu Ju

Other films of 1992 I liked

Bad Lieutenant, Diggstown, El Mariachi, A Few Good Men, Housesitter, Into The Soup, A League Of Their Own, Love Potion No. 9, Memoirs Of An Invisible Man, Mistress, Police Story 3

Other 1992 films of note:

1991: The Year Punk Broke, Alien 3, Basic Instinct, Batman Returns, Belle Epoque, Bob Roberts, The Bodyguard, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Chaplin, Un Coeur En Hiver, Death Becomes Her, Far And Away, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, Hard Boiled, Hero, Hoffa, Honey, I Blew Up The Kids, Honeymoon In Vegas, Howard's End, Husbands And Wives, Indochine, Into The West, Jamon, Jamon, The Lawnmower Man, The Last Of The Mohicans, Leap Of Faith, Like Water For Chocolate, Lorenzo's Oil, Love Field, The Lover, Luna Park, Malcolm X, The Mambo Kings, Man Bites Dog, Man Trouble, Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky And The Media, The Mighty Ducks, Mister Saturday Night, New Dragon Gate Inn, Noises Off, Passion Fish, Patriot Games, A River Runs Through It, Romper Stomper, Scent Of A Woman, School Ties, Shakes The Clown, Single White Female, Singles, Sister Act, Strictly Ballroom, This Is My Life, Toys, The Waterdance, White Men Can't Jump

The Year After 9/11

We're now up (or down) to Jesse Walker's movie list for 2002.  Doesn't seem that long ago.

https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-year-i-moved-to-baltimore-on-monday.html

Here's his top ten:

1.  The Wire

2.  Talk To Her

3.  Mai's America

4.  The Office 2

5.  Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind

6.  Decasia

7.  The Quiet American

8.  Dirty Pretty Things

9.  About Schmidt

10.  City Of God

Looking over the list, I'm surprised how little I've rewatched (or just watched) any of these.  Which means I'm mostly going on impressions I had twenty years ago.

I like, but don't love, Talk To Her and Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind.  I like The Quiet American, Dirty Pretty Things and About Schmidt less, though they have their moments.

City Of God is one of the best films of the year, maybe decade.

I haven't seen Mai's America or Decasia.  The Wire and The Office are TV shows (and the only things on the list I truly have rewatched).

Here are his honorable mentions:

11.  Man On The Train

12.  25th Hour

13.  Femme Fatale

14.  In Smog And Thunder

15.  Punch-Drunk Love

16.  The Girl On The Train In The Moon

17.  Chicago

18.  28 Days Later...

19.  Hero

20.  Nixon

Haven't seen 11 or 16, though I have to ask if the man and the girl meet on that train?  Also haven't seen 14 or 20.

12 is Spike Lee's best. 13 has great visuals, but not much of a story.  15 has a fascinating look, but an impossibly stupid story. 17 won the Best Picture Oscar, but is pretty bad.  18 is a pretty good film from a director who tries lots of different things but is generally reliable.  19 isn't bad, though hardly the best the director has to offer.

Films from 2002 that would make my top ten:

About A Boy

Adaptation

Catch Me If You Can

Jackass: The Movie

Other films from 2002 I like:

24 Hour Party People, All Or Nothing, Bend It Like Beckham, Big Trouble, The Good Girl, The Kid Stays In The Picture, Whale Rider

Other 2002 films of note:

Clockstoppers, The Panic Room, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Hollywood Ending, Spider-Man, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. Undercover Brother, The Bourne Identity, Death To Smoochy, Lilo & Stitch, Minority Report, Men In Black 2, Road to Perdition, Signs, One Hour Photo, 8 Mile, Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, Die Another Day, Gangs Of New York, Lord Of the Rings: The Two Towers, Ali G Indahouse. Antwone Fisher, Auto Focus, Ballistic: Ecks vs.Sever, Better Luck Tomorrow, Bowling For Columbine, Bubba Ho-tep, Frida, Full Frontal, The Good Thief, The Guru, The Hours, House Of Fools, Igby Goes Down, In America, Infernal Affairs, Irreversible, The Magdalene Sisters, Morvern Callar, Narc, Phone Booth, The Pianist, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Ripley's Game, Russian Ark, The Salton Sea, Secretary, Sunshine State, Tadpole, Welcome To Collinwood

A Simpler Time

The blog has gone into a deep sleep, only rousing itself this time of year to report on the top ten movie lists of Jesse Walker.  He's looking back at decades that end in 2.  His first list is for 2012:

https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2022/12/mayan-apocalypse-now-while-other.html

Let's jump right in. The top ten:

1.  Moonrise Kingdom

2.  Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning

3.  The Act Of Killing

4.  Room 237

5.  Django Unchained

6.  Seven Psychopaths

7.  Barbara

8.  Deceptive Practice

9.  Frances Ha

10.  Veep

I wouldn't say I don't like Moonrise Kingdom, but even Wes Anderson's fans admit he can be a bit precious, and this is a good example.

I didn't think much of the first Universal Soldier, so it's hard to imagine what the sixth looks like.  But Jesse is vouching for it, so who knows?  The Act Of Killing didn't seem like my cup of tea, so I avoided it, even though it got great reviews.

Room 237 is a better film than the overrated (see latest Sight and Sound poll) Kubrick film it's about.

Django Unchained may be Tarantino's biggest hit, but it was a disappointment (especially after one of his best, Inglourious Basterds).  Like the Anderson film, I wouldn't say I didn't like it, but it magnifies some of his worst traits, being disjointed, indulgent and bloodthirsty.  Worst of all is a third act that makes no sense.

Martin McDonagh regularly features psychopaths. You'd think he'd be going to the well too often, but he manages one fine entertainment after another, and Seven Psychopaths is one of his best.

Barbara is a solid film. (Its lead, Nina Hoss, is featured in Tar, which is going to make a lot of top ten lists for 2022--we'll know in a decade it if makes Jesse's.)

If Deceptive Practices is what I think it is, I definitely liked it.

I went to the opening of Frances Ha. (Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig spoke afterwards.) Not bad, but very minor.

Veep was a fine TV show, but TV shows shouldn't be on these lists.

Here are Jesse's honorable mentions:

11. The Imposter

12. Stories We Tell

13. Get The Gringo

14. Sightseers

15. Byun, Object Trouve

16.  Spring Breakers

17.  Feral

18.  A Scandal In Belgravia

19.  John Dies At The End

20.  Bestiaire

Haven't seen too many of these.  Didn't see 11, 13, 14, 15 (which I believe is a short), 17 (another short), 18 (a TV episode, though not from Scandal, which the director also worked on in 2012) or 20.

12 was okay. 16 is probably Harmony Korine's most coherent feature, which is not necessarily a good thing. 19 was raggedy but fun.

Here are some other 2012 titles that might make my top ten.  By the way, I didn't think it was much of a year for film:

The Cabin In The Woods

Chicken With Plums

Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

Safety Not Guaranteed

Zero Dark Thirty

Other films I liked:

Arbitrage, Argo, The Avengers, Bernie, Carol Channing: Larger Than Life, Cloud Atlas, Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope, Frankenweenie, Holy Motors, Jiro Dreams Of Sushi, Lunch, Paul Williams: Still Alive, Pitch Perfect, A Royal Affair, The Secret World Of Arrietty, Wreck-It Ralph

Other films of note:

Chronicle, Let The Bullets Fly, Footnote, 21 Jump Street, The Hunger Games, Headhunters, Natural Selection, Ted, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Klown The Movie, Dark Horse, Beasts Of The Southern Wild, Side By Side, Sleepwalk With Me, Robot And Frank, The Inbetweeners, Looper, This Must Be The Place, Lincoln, Searching For Sugar Man, The Sessions, Life Of Pi, This Is 40, Jack Reacher, Amour, Kon-Tiki, Contraband, Coriolanus, Haywire, The Grey, The Woman In Black, Man On A Ledge, Rampart, Thin Ice, Safe House, Wanderlust, John Carter, Friends With Kids, Mirror Mirror, The Lorax, American Reunion, The Three Stooges, Project X, The Five-Year Engagement, Dark Shadows, The Dictator, The Intouchables, Men In Black 3, A Cat In Paris, Battleship, Prometheus, Rock Of Ages, Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World, Brave, To Rome With Love, The Pirates! Band Of Misfits, The Amazing Spider-Man, Savages, Snow White And The Huntsman, The Dark Knight Rises, Killer Joe, Ruby Sparks, Total Recall, The Campaign, The Bourne Legacy, A Thousand Words, Paranorman, The Expendables 2, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, That's My Boy, Premium Rush, 2016: Obama's America, Hit & Run, Lawless, The Vow, The Master, Taken 2, End Of Watch, Smashed, Flight, Skyfall, The Details, The Comedy, Silver Linings Playbook, Trouble With The Curve, Hitchcock, Killing Them Softly, Red Dawn, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Rise Of The Guardians, Playing For Keeps, Stand Up Guys, This Means War, Les Miserables, Not Fade Away, The Guilt Trip, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Big Miracle, The Impossible, Think Like A Man

I guess you can expect another list soon.  Sorry I no longer put up visuals.