Monday, December 30, 2024

Army v. McCarthy; Brown v. Board

Jesse Walker is now back to 1954.

https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-year-we-found-elvis-ive-reeled-off.html

Here's his top ten movies for the year:

1. Rear Window

2. Seven Samurai

3. Johnny Guitar

4. Wuthering Heights

5. The Age Of Swordfish

6. Sansho The Bailiff

7. On The Waterfront

8. Inauguration Of The Pleasure Dome

9. Journey To Italy

10. Track Of The Cat

Rear Window is an experimental Hitchcock film that actually works.  I've grown to appreciate it more over the years though I still don't think it would be my #1.

Seven Samurai is one of Kurosawa's greatest.

Johnny Guitar is an unusual Western for the era.  It's okay.

Wuthering Heights is the Bunuel version--good, but not his best film of the year (see below).

The Age Of Swordfish is a short I've never seen.

Sansho The Bailiff is one of Mizoguchi's greatest. (Whenever I see that title during holiday season I can't help but sing it to "Frosty The Snowman.")

On The Waterfront was the year's Oscar winner.  I consider it a decent melodrama with excellent acting.

Inauguration Of The Pleasure Dome is a Kenneth Anger short I've never seen.

Journey To Italy is a well-done film from Rossellini.

I've never seen Track Of The Cat.


Here are Jesse's honorable mentions:

11. Illusion Travels By Streetcar

12. Corral

13. The Far Country

14. Closed Vision

15. Islands Of Fire

16. Late Chrysanthemums

17. Father Brown

18. Jazz Dance

19. La Strada

20. Senso

I like 11, should be on the list--but still not the best Bunuel of the year (see below). 13 is a pretty good Anthony Mann/Jimmy Stewart Western.  16 is a fine Japanese drama. 19 is one of Fellini's best.

I'm embarrassed to admit I haven't seen 12 (a short), 14, 15 (a short), 17 (an Alec Guinness film I've been planning to see for years), 18 (a short) and worst of all, 20.


Other films that might make my top 20:

Robinson Crusoe (the best Bunuel film of the year, though I haven't seen The River And Death)

Seven Brides For Seven Brothers

Touchez Pas Au Grisbi

Top Banana (partly for historical value)


Other films I like:

Casanova's Big Night, Creature From The Black Lagoon, Dial M For Murder, Doctor In The House, Godzilla (the Japanese film Jesse left out), Hobson's Choice, Living It Up, The Million Pound Note, White Christmas


Other films of note:

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, 3 Ring Circus, Alibaba And 40 Thieves, Apache, April In Portugal, The Atomic Kid, Bang! You're Dead, The Barefoot Contessa, The Beachcomber, Beau Brummell, Betrayed, The Black Knight, Black Widow, The Bob Mathias Story, The Bowery Boys Meet The Monsters, The Bridges At Toko-Ri, Brigadoon, The Caine Mutiny, Carmen Jones, The Count Of Monte Cristo, Dangerous Cargo, Demetrius And The GladiatorsDesiree, Destry, Dragnet, Drums Across The River, The Egyptian, Executive Suite, Fear, Forbidden Cargo, French Cancan, The Glenn Miller Story, Go Man Go!, Gorilla At Large, Hell And High Water, Hell's Half Acre, The High And The Mighty, Impulse, It Should Happen To You, Jail Bait, King Richard And The Crusaders, Knave Of Hearts, Knock On Wood, The Last Time I Saw Paris, Lost Continent, Ma And Pa Kettle At Home, Magnificent ObsessionThe Men Of Sherwood Forest, Night People, Phffft, Prince Valiant, The Raid, Riot In Cell Block 11, River Of No Return, The Rocket Man, Sabrina, Salt Of The Earth, The Silver Chalice, A Star Is Born, Star Of India, The Student Prince, Susan Slept Here, Them!, There's No Business Like Show Business, Three Coins In A Fountain, Twist Of Fate, Valley Of The Kings, Young At Heart

Saturday, December 28, 2024

LBJ Landslide

We're now back to 1964 in Jesse Walker's movie lists.

https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-year-extremism-defended-liberty-we.html

Here's his top ten:

1. Dr. Strangelove

2. Woman In The Dunes

3. Diary Of A Chambermaid

4. The Killers

5. Kwaidan

6. The World Of Henry Orient

7. Onibaba

8. A Shot In The Dark

9. The Americanization Of Emily

10. A Fistful Of Dollars

I heartily endorse Dr. Strangelove--may be my top film of the decade.

I'm embarrassed to admit in previous posts I have confused Woman In The Dunes with another film.  I'm afraid I have to downgrade it out of my top twenty.

Diary Of A Chambermaid may not be top tier Bunuel, but it's good enough for the top ten.

The Killers is fun.  Even if the memory of Reagan as president is receding into the past, his performance here is still quite a kick.

Kwaidan is a good, if overlong, anthology movie.

The World Of Henry Orient is a fun oddity--unlike anything else people such as Peter Sellers and director George Roy Hill ever did.

Still haven't seen Onibaba.

I like A Shot In The Dark.  It's the second of the Pink Panther series and the last that is almost a European crime film intruded upon by Inspector Clouseau--the later ones are just straight Clouseau films.  Jesse dutifully notes it's based on "plays by Marcel Achard and Harry Kurnitz," but really this is Blake Edwards tossing out the play and turning it into a Pink Panther movie.

I'm not a fan of The Americanization Of Emily--yet another one of Chayefsky's overwritten scripts.  And I must take exception to Jesse's claim that unlike Stalag 17, this has the courage of its convictions (though I think Stalag 17 is a superior film regardless of any convictions either has).  First, the movie version of Stalag 17 is tougher than the play--in fact, William Holden unsuccessfully begged Wilder to soften his character.  And he doesn't sell out at the end, he takes advantage of the situation as he always does.  Meanwhile (spoiler alert), Emily seems to kill James Garner, but he ends up alive.  He then pretends to be a hero so he can be with Emily (which may be true to the character but lets the audience off the hook).

A Fistful Of Dollars is okay.


Here are Jesse's honorable mentions:

11. Kiss Me, Stupid

12. I Am Cuba

13. Seance On A Wet Afternoon

14. Nothing But A Man

15. Mermaid

16. The Train

17. Culloden

18. Becket

19. Evil Of Frankenstein

20. My Fair Lady

I've seen 11 several times.  It just doesn't work--casting and plotting are flawed--but the look and the mechanics fascinate me.

12 is certainly great to look at. 13 is pretty good. So is 14.

15 is a short I've never seen. 16 is okay.  17 is a TV-movie I've never seen.

18 is a little too stiff for me taste.  19 is decent Hammer horror. 20, the year's Oscar winner, is a respectable adaptation of something that worked better on stage.


Films that would make my top ten or twenty:

7 Faces Of Dr. Lao

A Hard Day's Night (#2 after Strangelove)

Mary Poppins

The Naked Kiss

The Patsy


Other films I like:

Adventures Of Zatoichi, Gertrud, Goldfinger, The Incredible Mr. Limpet, Mothra Vs. Godzilla, Muscle Beach Party, Pajama Party, The T.A.M.I. Show, Topkapi, The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg


Other films of note:

Bedtime Story, Before The Revolution, Behold A Pale Horse, The Best Man, Black Like Me, The Carpetbaggers, Carry On Spying, The Castle, The Creeping Terror, The Disorderly Orderly, Emil And The Detectives, Ensign Pulver, Fail-Safe, The Fall Of The Roman Empire, Fanny Hill, Father Goose, For Those Who Think Young, Get Yourself A College Girl, Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster, Good Neighbor Sam, Goodbye Charlie, The Gospel According To St. Matthew, Hag In A Black Leather Jacket, Hercules Against The Barbarians, Hercules Against The Moon Men, Hide And Seek, The Horror Of Party Beach, Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living And Became Mixed-Up ZombiesKisses For My President, Kissin' Cousins, Kitten With A Whip, The Last Man On Earth, Lilith, The Luch Of Ginger Coffey, Mail Order Bride, Man's Favorite Sport?, MarnieMarriage Italian Style, The Mask Of Red Death, McHale's Navy, The Misadventures Of Merlin Jones, The New Interns, Night Must Fall, The Night Of The Iguana, Of Human Bondage, One Potato, Two Potato, Paris When It Sizzles, The Pawnbroker, The Pleasure Seekers, The Pumpkin Eater, The Red Desert, Robin And The 7 Hoods, Robinson Crusoe On Mars, Roustabout, Santa Claus Conquers The Martians, Send Me No FlowersSeven Days In May, The Seven From Texas, Sex And The Single Girl, Shock Treatment, The Soft SkinSpartacus And The Ten Gladiators, Surf Party, Two Thousand Maniacs!, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, The Visit, Viva Las Vegas, What A Way To Go!, The Yellow Rolls-Royce, Your Cheatin' Heart, Zorba The Greek, Zulu

Thursday, December 26, 2024

Our Long National Nightmare Is Over

Jesse Walker brings us back to 1974:

https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-year-valis-overthrew-nixon-weve.html

The first half of the 70s were pretty special years for Hollywood.  Let's see if Jesse's picks reflect that.  Here's his top ten:

1. Chinatown

2. The Conversation

3. Lenny

4. California Split

5. The Godfather Part II

6. Primate

7. Swept Away

8. Phantom Of The Paradise

9. Young Frankenstein

10. Thieves Like Us

A pretty good list, and one that makes you realize how things have changed.  Eight of these films are Hollywood productions and they're generally adult drama--no superhero films and only one (well-deserved, unconventional) sequel.

I like Chinatown, but don't quite consider it a classic, much less #1 for the year.

The Conversation should be somewhere on the list--and somewhere under Coppola's other film from 1974.

Lenny looks great and features a memorable performance, but is less than the sum of its parts.

I love California Split, and it's hard to believe it was a major production back then, since it's the kind of thing that a major studio would run from today (not that it was a big hit back then).

The Godfather Part II is one of the great sequels (even if I don't rate it as highly as the first)--maybe because it was made so soon after the original, and Puzo and Coppola still had something to say.  Most years the Oscar-winner doesn't make the top ten list.

Swept Away--not ever to be confused with the Madonna remake--I haven't seen since college, but I remember it as being okay. (This is only tangentially related, but The Admirable Crichton is one of my favorite plays and it's time for a major revival on Broadway.)

I'm a big fan of Wiseman but have never seen Primate.

I just read a new book on De Palma's films from the early 70s to the early 80s and it made me want to watch them all over again.  I've seen Phantom Of The Paradise numerous times, yet I can't say I like it.  There are so many cool things about it, but I just can't get over that I don't like the score.  If someone could just dub in new music I might put it on my top ten list.  Sorry, Paul.

I like Young Frankenstein, one of Mel Brooks' best (even if I far prefer Woody Allen comedies from this period).

Altman, like Coppola, gets a second film in the top ten, Thieves Like Us.  It's pretty good, but it's no California Split.


Here are Jesse's honorable mentions:

11. A Woman Under The Influence

12.  Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia

13. The Taking Of The Pelham One Two Three

14. Blazing Saddles

15. TV Buddha

16. The Parallax View

17. Celine And Julie Go Boating

18. Every Man For Himself And God Against All

19. Ali: Fear East The Soul

20. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

11 is another Cassavetes film that's hard to get through.  12 is a Peckinpah film with a great title that flopped in its day but has aged okay. 13 would make my top ten.

14 I might rate more highly than Brooks' film in the top ten--it's aged well (in that it's gotten less and less acceptable). 15 is, I believe, an art installation--not sure what it's doing here.

16 is the 70s paranoia film, even more than The Conversation. 17 is a fine film, if a little too long (an occupational hazard with Rivette).

18 and 19 are two decent films from two very different German filmmakers (didn't Jesse used to have a Wenders film in his top 20?--would have been nice to have a trio).  20 is a classic of a genre--but I'm not much of a fan of the genre.


Other film that would make my top ten

The Phantom Of Liberty (maybe it could replace Phantom Of The Paradise)


Other films I like:

The Apprenticeship Of Duddy KravitzBread And Chocolate, The Cars That Ate Paris, Female Trouble, Five Shaolin Masters, Going Places, Juggernaut, Lacombe, Lucien, The Longest Yard, That's Entertainment!, We All Loved Each Other So Much


Other films of note:

11 Harrowhouse, 99 and 44/100% Dead, Adventures Of Sinbad The Sailor, Airport 1975, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, And Then There Were None, Andy Warhol's Frankenstein, Arabian Nights, Benji, Big Bad Mama, Black Christmas, Bruce Lee: A Dragon Story, Buster And Billie, Butley, Caged Heat, Claudine, The Clockmaker, Conrack, Crazy Joe, Daisy Miller, Dark Star, Death Wish, Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, Emmanuelle, Flesh Gordon, For Pete's Sake, The Four MusketeersFoxy Brown, Freebie And The Bean, The Front Page, The GamblerGhost Story, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad, Gone In 60 Seconds, The Great Gatsby, The Groove Tube, The Harrad Experiment, Harry And Tonto, Hearts And Minds, Herbie Rides Again, Huckleberry Finn, I Dismember Mama, I Spit On Your Corpse, If You Don't Stop It...You'll Go Blind, It's Alive, Killer Bees, The Korean Connection, Ladies And Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones, Lancelot du Lac, The Life And Times Of Grizzly Adams, The Little Prince, The Lords Of Flatbush, Macon County Line, The Man With The Golden Gun, McQ, Mr. Majestyk, Murder On The Orient Express, The Nine Lives Of Fritz The Cat, The Odessa File, The Return Of The Tall Blond Man With One Black Shoe, Rhinoceros, Son Of Dracula, S*P*Y*S, Stardust, Stavisky, Sugar Hill, The Sugarland Express, The Super Cops, Sweet Movie, T.N.T. Jackson, The Tamarind Seed, The Terminal Man, Three The Hard Way, Thunderbolt And Lightfoot, The Towering Inferno, The Trial Of Billy Jack, Truck Turner, Uptown Saturday Night, Vampira, Willie Dynamite, Winnie The Pooh And Tigger Too, The Yakuza, Zardoz

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Reagan Landslide

Jesse Walker brings us back to 1984.  It was a fine year for movies.

https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-year-of-delayed-dystopia-ive-told.html

Here is his top ten list for the year:

1. Repo Man

2. Love Streams

3. This Is Spinal Tap

4. Once Upon A Time In America

5. Nothing Last Forever

6. Antonio Gaudi

7. Amadeus

8. Ghostbusters

9. Secret Honor

10. Blood Simple

I have no problem with Repo Man at #1--the film came out of nowhere and is one of the best of the decade.

Regarding Love Streams, I keep thinking I should give Cassavetes another chance, and I keep being disappointed.

Rob Reiner pulled off something great with his first feature, This Is Spinal Tap. (In fact, he made a number of good films in his first decade as a director but hasn't been the same since.)

I've told Jesse before I'm not a fan of Once Upon A Time In America but also admit I haven't seen the uncut version.

Nothing Lasts Forever is an enjoyable, absurdist oddity.

Haven't seen Antonio Gaudi. I don't recall it showing anywhere, but in this age of streaming that's no excuse.

Amadeus is a conventionally done Oscar-winning adaptation of a respected play.  As such I enjoy it, though I'm not sure it would make my top ten or twenty.

Ghostbusters is a rare case of a big film that's also a great comedy.

Secret Honor is a fascinating solo performance shot by Altman at the alma mater of both Jesse and me.

Blood Simple is the Coen Brothers first feature.  It's stylish (for the budget) but doesn't do much for me.


Here are his honorable mentions:

11. King Lear

12. Before Stonewall

13. Favorites Of The Moon

14. There Will Come Soft Rains

15. After The Rehearsal

16. Paris, Texas

17. Comfort And Joy

18. Return To Waterloo

19. A Nightmare On Elm Street

20.  Stranger Than Paradise

11 is a TV-movie I haven't seen (that the IMDb says is from 1983).  12 is a solid documentary.  Haven't seen 13, 14 or 18.  15 is a Bergman TV-movie that's okay.  16 would maybe make my top 20.  17 would definitely make my top 20.  20 would definitely make my top ten.  19 started a highly popular horror series--it's okay, I guess.


Other films that would make my top ten or twenty:

The Brother From Another Planet

Choose Me

Gremlins

Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind

Splash

Stop Making Sense

Terminator

What Have I Done To Deserve This

Wheels On Meals


Other films I liked:

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th DimensionBachelor Party, Broadway Danny Rose, Finders Keepers, Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom, The Last Starfighter, Night Of The CometRevenge Of The Nerds, Star Trek III: The Search for SpockStreetwise, A Sunday In The Country, The Times Of Harvey MilkTop Secret!


Other films of note:

Against All Odds, All of Me, Alphabet City, American Dreamer, Angel, Another Country, Bad Manners,  Beat StreetBest DefenseBeverly Hills Cop, Birdy, Blame It on Rio, Blind Date, Body Double, Bolero, The Bostonians, The Bounty, Breakin', The Buddy System, C.H.U.D., Cal, Cannonball Run II, Carmen, Cheech & Chong's The Corsican Brothers, Children of the Corn, City Heat, Cloak & Dagger, The Company of WolvesConan the Destroyer, The Cotton Club, Crackers, The Dollmaker, Double Trouble, Dreamscape, Dune, The Dungeonmaster, Electric Dreams, Falling in Love, Finders Keepers, Firestarter, Firstborn, The Flamingo Kid, Footloose, Friday the 13th: The Final ChapterGarbo Talks, Give My Regards to Broad Street, The Glitter DomeThe Goodbye PeopleGrandview, U.S.A.Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the ApesHardbodiesHarry & SonHeartsounds, The Hit, Hot Dog…The Movie, The Hotel New Hampshire, The Ice Pirates, Iceman, In Heaven There Is No Beer?, Irreconcilable  DifferencesJohnny DangerouslyNational Lampoon's Joy of SexThe Karate Kid, The Killing Fields, Lassiter, Le Bon Plaisir, The Little Drummer Girl, The Lonely Guy, Love Letters, Maria's Lovers, Marlene, Mass Appeal, Meatballs Part IIMicki & MaudeMike's Murder, Missing in Action, Moscow on the HudsonMrs. SoffelThe Muppets Take Manhattan, Nadia, The Natural, The NeverEnding Story, Nineteen Eighty-Four, No Small AffairOh, God! You DevilOxford Blues, A Passage to India, The Philadelphia Experiment, Places in the Heart, Police AcademyThe Pope of Greenwich Village, Protocol, Purple Rain, Racing with the Moon, The Razor's Edge, Red DawnRhinestone, The River, Silent Night, Deadly NightSixteen CandlesSlapstick of Another KindA Soldier's Story, Songwriter, Starman, The Stone Boy, Streets Of  Fire, Supergirl, Swann in Love, Swing Shift, Talk to Me, Tank, Terror in the AislesThief of Hearts, Tightrope, The Toxic Avenger, Toy Soldiers, Twist and Shout, Under the Volcano, Unfaithfully Yours, Until September, Up the Creek, Where the Boys Are '84, The Wild Life, The Woman in Red

Sunday, December 22, 2024

Republicans Take Congress

Jesse Walker has gone back thirty years to 1994.

https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-year-of-newt-and-quentin-weve.html

Here's his top ten movie list for 1994:

1. Pulp Fiction

2. Crumb

3. Hoop Dreams

4. Before The Rain

5. The Secret Of Roan Inish

6. Red

7. Chungking Express

8. Ed Wood

9. Complaints Of A Dutiful Daughter

10. Pipsqueak Pfollies

A good list and I think 1994 was a pretty good year.  If nothing else, it had Pulp Fiction, which may be my favorite film of the decade--good to see it listed at #1.'

Crumb is a fine documentary that should be somewhere on the list.  I'm not as impressed with Hoop Dreams, though.

Still haven't gotten around to seeing Before The RainRed is considered the best of the highly-respected Blue, White and Red trilogy. That's probably right.  (See below for White.)

The Secret Of Roan Inish is something a little different for John Sayles. Not his best, but still good.

Chungking Express might be my #1 if it weren't for Pulp Fiction.

Ed Wood may not quite live up to its reputation, but it's still very enjoyable.

The last two films on the list are shorts I haven't seen.


Here are Jesse's honorable mentions:

11. Burnt By The Sun

12. The Last Seduction

13. The Kingdom

14. Heavenly Creatures

15. The Madness Of George III

16. White

17. Faust

18.  Barcelona

19. Fresh

20. True Lies

Haven't seen 11.  13 is a TV series I haven't seen (from the great Lars Von Trier). The rest I like.   Many would make my top 20 list.  18 stars an old friend, so it's tough to be objective.  I watched 19 in a movie house for the first time just last month.  20 is a fun action film marred by some weird plotting in second act (though I'll still take it over any Avatar movie).


Other films that would make my top ten:

Bottle Rocket

Dumb And Dumber

The Legend Of The Drunken Master

Speed

To Die For


Other films of 1994 I liked:

The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert, Backbeat, Bullets Over Broadway, Cabin Boy, Chickenhawk, Clerks, Eat Drink Man Woman, The Endless Summer II, Fist Of Legend, Forrest Gump (the Best Picture Oscar runs out of steam before it's over, but is still pretty good), Four Weddings And A Funeral, A Great Day In Harlem, The Hudsucker Proxy (though seriously flawed), Il Postino, Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision (Oscar winner for documentary), Muriel's Wedding, Once Were Warriors, Spanking The Monkey, Vanya On 42nd Street 


Other films of note:

47 Ronin, 8 Seconds, Above The Rime, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Air Up There, Airheads, Angels In The Outfield, Angie, Bad Girls, Being Human, Beverly Hills Cop III, Blank Check, Blankman, Blind Justice, Blown Away, The Browning Version, Car 54, Where Are You?, The Chase, City Slickers II: The Legend Of Curly's Gold, Class Of Nuke 'Em High 3: The Good, The Bad And The Subhumanoid, Clean Slate, Clear and Present Danger,  The Client, Clifford, Cobb, Color Of Night, Cops & Robbersons, Corrina, Corrina, Country Life, The Cowboy Way, The Cremaster Cycle, Crooklyn, The Crow, D2: The Mighty Ducks, Death and the Maiden, Disclosure, Don Juan DeMarco, Double Dragon, Dream Lover, Drop Zone, L'Enfer, Ernest Goes To School, Exit to Eden, The Favor, Fear Of A Black Hat, Federal Hill, The Flintstones, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Freefall, From Beijing With Love, The Getaway, Getting Even With Dad, Go Fish, God Of Gamblers Returns, Godzilla Vs. SpaceGodzilla, Greedy, Guarding Tess, House Party 3, How The West Was Fun, I Love Trouble, I'll Do Anything, I.Q, Immortal Beloved, In the Army Now, In The Heat Of The Sun, The Inkwell, Intersection, Interview With The Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, It Could Happen to You, It's Pat, Jason's Lyric, Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, Junior, Just Friends, Killing Zoe, Ladybird, Ladybird, The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure, National Lampoon's Last Resort, The Last  Supper, Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses, Leon: The Professional, Leprechaun 2, The Lion King (biggest worldwide hit of the year), Little Big League, Little Buddha, Little Giants, The Little Rascals, Love Affair, A Low Down Dirty Shame, Major League II, A Man of No Importance, The Mask, Maverick, Men of War, Milk Money, A Million To Juan, Miracle on 34th Street, Mixed Nuts, Mrs. Parker And The Vicious Circle, My Father the Hero, My Girl 2, Nadja, Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final InsultNatural Born Killers, Nell, The Next Karate Kid, No Escape, Nobody's Fool, North, Octobre, Oleanna, On Deadly GroundOnce Upon a Time in China V, Only You, The Paper, Police Academy: Mission to Moscow, Prêt-à-Porter, Priest, Princess Caraboo, Quiz Show, Radioland Murders, Rampo, Rapa-Nui, Reality BitesThe Ref, La Reine Margot, Renaissance Man, Richie Rich, The River Wild, The Road to Wellville, S.F.W., The Santa Clause, The Scout, Serial Mom, The Shadow, Shallow GraveThe Shawshank Redemption (how this film is now considered one of the greatest of all time is beyond me), A Simple Twist Of Fate, Sioux City, Sirens, Sleep with Me, Somebody to Love, The Specialist, Speechless, Star Trek Generations, Stargate, Street Fighter, Sugar Hill, Swimming With Sharks, Terminal Velocity, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, That's Entertainment! IIITimecop, Tom & Viv, Trapped in Paradise, The Violin Player, Wagons East!, The War, When a Man Loves a Woman, Wild Reeds, With Honors, Wolf, Wyatt Earp

Friday, December 20, 2024

The Year They Claimed The Voting Machines Were Rigged

So Jesse Walker brings us his movie list from 2004.

https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-year-of-swift-boats-on-wednesday-i.html

Here's his top ten:

1. Bad Education

2. Kill Bill: Vol. 2

3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

4. The Wire 3

5. Deadwood

6. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

7. Sideways

8. Palindromes

9. Team America: World Police

10. Nobody Knows

I liked Bad Education, but not enough for #1.

I like Kill Bill 2 better than Kill Bill 1, but consider both among Tarantino's weaker efforts.

The Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind has a cool idea that it sets up well, but once we get it, there's a whole lot of churning in the plot.

The Wire and Deadwood are TV series.

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou was not that well received twenty years ago, but people have grown fond in retrospect.  I suppose I like it, but it's still way too cute and has a plot you care about less than the set.

Sideways is fun.  Should be in the top ten.

Palindromes is pretty good, though, like so much Solondz, tough to take.

Team America is a successful experiment--should probably be in the top ten.

Nobody Knows I've never seen.


Here are his honorable mentions:

11. Howl's Moving Castle

12. Undertow

13. In the Realms of the Unreal

14. The Assassination of Richard Nixon

15. Panorama Ephemera

16. Before Sunset

17. Garden State

18. Light Is Calling

19. Kung Fu Hustle

20. Primer

11 should maybe be #1. I haven't seen 12 (or if I have I've forgotten it).  Definitely haven't seen 13, 14  or 15. 16 doesn't do much for me, but maybe I should see it again.  17 is fun.  18 is a short I've never seen.  19 is decent, though a little Stephen Chow goes a long way. 20 should probably make the top ten (and is the creation of a distinct stylist who, due to personal failings, seems to be finished making films).


Here are other films that would make my top twenty:

Downfall (the one with the Hitler rant scene)

The Incredibles (Jesse seems to have fallen somewhat out of love with it.  It's still the same fine film, so Jesse must have changed.)

Shaun Of The Dead


Other films I liked:

50 First Dates, Collateral, Dhoom, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Ella Enchanted, Finding Neverland, The Good Girl, I Heart HuckabeesIncident At Loch Ness, Jiminy Glick In Lalawood, Layer Cake, Mean Girls, Napoleon Dynamite, National Treasure, The Nomi Song, Ray, Starsky & Hutch, The Village


Other films of note:

13 Going on 30, 2046, Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, The Alamo, Alexander, Alfie, Alien vs. Predator, Along Came Polly, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Arizona Summer, Around the World in 80 Days, Art Heist, The Aviator, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, Be with You, Being Julia, Beyond the Sea, The Big Bounce, Birth, Blade: Trinity, Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, The Bourne Supremacy, Bride and Prejudice, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Butterfly Effect, Catch That Kid, Catwoman, Cellular, The Chorus, Christmas with the Kranks, The Chronicles of Riddick, Clifford's Really Big Movie, Closer, Club Dread, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Connie and Carla, Crónicas, Cube Zero, D.E.B.S., Dawn of the Dead, The Day After Tomorrow, De-Lovely, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, District 13, Employee of the Month, Envy, EuroTrip, Exorcist: The Beginning, Face, Fahrenheit 9/11, The Fallen, Fat Albert, Flight of the Phoenix, The Forgotten, Friday Night Lights, Garfield, The Girl Next Door, Going the Distance, The Grudge, Happily Ever After, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Head in the Clouds, Hellboy, Hidalgo, Hotel Rwanda, House of Flying Daggers, Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train, I, Robot, Imaginary Heroes, In Good Company, Intimate Strangers, Jersey Girl, King Arthur, Kinsey, Ladder 49, The Ladykillers, Laws of Attraction, The Libertine, Little Black Book, Look at Me, A Love Song for Bobby Long, The Machinist, The Manchurian Candidate, Meet the Fockers, Melinda And Melinda, The Merchant of Venice, Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas, Million Dollar Baby (Best Picture Oscar winner), The Motorcycle Diaries, Mr. 3000, Ocean's Twelve, Outfoxed, The Passion of the Christ, Perfect Strangers, The Phantom of the Opera, The Polar Express, Raising Helen, Saved!, Saw, The Scarlet Letter, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Shark Tale, She Hate Me, Shrek 2, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Soul Plane, Spanglish, Species III, Spider-Man 2, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, Starsky & Hutch, The Stepford Wives, Super Size Me, Surviving Christmas, Taxi, The Terminal, Troy, Twisted, Van Helsing, Vanity Fair, Vera Drake, A Very Long Engagement, Walking Tall, Welcome to Mooseport, White Chicks, The Whole Ten Yards, Wicker Park, Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

That Time Of The Year/Decade

This blog has been closed for years, but we open up in late December to publish and comment on my friend Jesse Walker's top ten picks.

He doesn't pick the best of this year, but of past years.  He goes over each decade ending with "4" this time around (because it's 2024).  So he starts with 2014.

https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-year-of-time-loops-its-december-so.html

Here is his top ten:

1.  Too Many Cooks

2.  Boyhood

3.  It Follows

4. The Leftovers

5. The Babadook

6.  The Grand Budapest Hotel

7.  When Marnie Was There

8.  Fargo

9.  The Infinite Man

10.  American Sniper

Looking at this list, it doesn't seem a very impressive year.

Too Many Cooks is a short that parodies TV opening credits and turns into analog horror.  Very well done, but, as Jesse knows, I don't think shorts--or material first shown on TV--should be included in top ten film lists. (Quentin Tarantino recently spoke to Joe Rogan about the difference between movies and TV.  I'm not sure if his distinction entirely holds, but I still feel they should be discussed separately.)

Boyhood was a fascinating experiment that worked--even made my top ten for the year--but I haven't felt the need to watch it since I saw it in the theatre.  Maybe I admire it more than I like it.

It Follows is one of those films I've been meaning to watch since it opened but haven't gotten around to.  I also haven't seen The Infinite Man, but I've never heard of that one.

The Leftovers is a TV series.  It's a fine series, but not a movie. (I think the second season--when they left the novel behind--is its best.) While we're at it, Fargo 2014 is a well-done TV series inspired by the Coen Brothers film.

The Babadook was a pretty good low-budget horror film from Australia.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is the apotheosis of the Wes Anderson style.  As such, it's a little too pleased with itself, but still fun.

When Marnie Was There is a fine animated feature from Japan. 

American Sniper was a huge hit directed by Clint Eastwood.  I don't know if it's that great, but after years of Hollywood churning out downer films about the American war machine, a film that was read (no matter the intentions) as triumphant and pro-American really hit the spot.


Here are Jesse's honorable mentions:

11.  The Tribe

12.  John Wick

13.  Nightcrawler

14.  Kumiko The Treasure Hunter

15.  Unedited Footage Of A Bear

16.  The Americans 2

17.  BoJack Horseman

18. Inherent Vice

19. Peaky Blinders 2

20. The LEGO Movie

11 is a film starring deaf actors.  There are no subtitles and they speak in Ukrainian sign language.  I thought the whole thing was ridiculous, but at least it was different.

12 is probably the best of a flawed series--the concept of a secret underworld is fun, but the protagonist's invincibility gets tiresome even in this first go-round.

13 would make my top ten.

Didn't see 14.

15 is something vaguely along the lines of Too Many Cooks, but not as good.

16, 17 and 19 are TV shows.

18's title should be "Incoherent Mess"--not sure if Paul Thomas Anderson or Thomas Pynchon is more to blame.

20 was better--and more touching--than expected.


Here are films Jesse didn't include that would make my top 20.

Blue Ruin

The Book Of Life

Edge Of Tomorrow (best action film of the 21st century)

Guardians Of The Galaxy

Ida

The One I Love

Snowpiercer

Song Of The Sea


Other films I liked:

Birdman, The Wind Rises, Jodorowsky’s Dune, Captain American: The Winter Soldier, Finding Vivian Maier, Only Lovers Left Alive, Chef, Calvary, We Are The Best, PK, Enemy, Under The Skin, Frank, Gone Girl


Other films of note:  Ernest & Celestine, Cheap Thrills, Draft Day, X-Men: Days Of Future Past, Chinese Puzzle, 22 Jump Street, Supermensch: The Legend Of Shep Gordon, Chaplin Of The Mountains, Life Itself, Mood Indigo, Lucy, Land Ho!, The Rover, The Dog, What If, A Trip To Italy, Life Of Crime, Are You Here, Let’s Be Cops, The Maze Runner, Whiplash, Harmontown, Fury, Interstellar, Listen Up Philip, The Imitation Game, Top Five, Walk Of Shame, Magician: The Astonishing Life And Work Of Orson Welles, Wild, Mr. Turner, Force Majeure, Annie, Why Don’t You Play In Hell?, Into The Woods, The Interview, Leviathan, Two Days One Night, Predestination, The Monuments Men, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, About Last Night, 3 Days To Kill, Non-Stop, Ride Along, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Bad Words, Veronica Mars, Sparks, Divergent, Muppets Most Wanted, Rob The Mob, Robocop, Joe, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Sabotage, The Double, God’s Pocket, Neighbors, Need For Speed, Transcendence, 300: Rise Of An Empire, Cold In July, A Million Ways To Die In The West, The Grand Seduction, Trust Me, Jersey Boys, The Other Woman, Million Dollar Arm, They Came Together, Obvious Child, How To Train Your Dragon 2, Begin Again, Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, Blended, A Man Most Wanted, I Origins, Wish I Was Here, Magic In The Moonlight, Get On Up, The Hundred-Foot Journey, Rich Hill, Maleficent, Starred Up, The Drop, The Skeleton Twins, This Where I Leave You, The Equalizer, A Walk Among The Tombstones, Men, Women & Children, St. Vincent, Guiseppe Makes A Movie, Dear White People, Big Hero 6, Foxcatcher, The Giver, The Theory Of Everything, The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1, Horrible Bosses 2, No No: A Dockumentary, Winter's Tale, The Legend Of Hercules, That Awkward Moment, Aftermath, The Judge, The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies, Exodus: Gods And Kings, The Gambler, Big Eyes, Selma, Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb, A Most Violent Year, Rio 2, Pompeii, Moms' Night Out

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