Board 8 > The SephG Top 250 [movies] - Topic II: the top 75

(+) Yeah! (+)

So 2001 was on TV last night and I decided to give it a watch. Fell asleep sometime after apes, woke up while dudes were getting lip read.
---

That's a movie I once caught on TV and wound up watching the whole thing on a complete whim. So much for boredom. To be fair, you could probably trim out a fair bit of it.
---

I can watch Avatar over and over again. I think the characters are so well done with ironically Sully him being the worst one.
---

Hoping to see OUATIH some time this week. Might have to wait for the weekend, though.

Apparently my brother loved it!
---

bumpo
---

Just watched Under the Skin.

Wow. Wow wow wow.

Just incredible.
---

Finally got around to watching Hoop Dreams last night and it was indeed excellent.

---

Nelson_Mandela posted...

Just watched Under the Skin.

Wow. Wow wow wow.

Just incredible.

Surprised you liked it. We got way different taste.

Black Swan is top tier though. Did you like that?

---

Corrik7 posted...

Nelson_Mandela posted...

Just watched Under the Skin.

Wow. Wow wow wow.

Just incredible.

Surprised you liked it. We got way different taste.

Black Swan is top tier though. Did you like that?

Black Swan is probably Aronofsky's best film not on this list. Great movie, but he has made better!
---

Menji posted...

Finally got around to watching Hoop Dreams last night and it was indeed excellent.

Stoked to hear that!
---

I am honestly not even sure I know what the main point of Hoop Dreams was. At first I thought it was the use of kids to exploit them unfairly based on their skill. But, then the Marquette coach says something that completely shatters that point that I am unsure what the point was again.

Preferred He Got Game.

---

I mean, it was a documentary so there's not exactly a central theme that's threaded throughout the film
---

Nelson_Mandela posted...

I mean, it was a documentary so there's not exactly a central theme that's threaded throughout the film

I thought they all were supposed to show a theme.

---

fun fact: aronofsky toyed with the idea of combining the wrestler and black swan as one movie.
---

The Wrestling Swan huh
---

the idea was that in one movie, he would show an example of pop culture (pro wrestling) and an example of high culture (ballet). kinda makes sense!
---

Black Swan was better than the Wrestler tho both were good.

---

Seph, can I recommend a movie to you that I doubt you have ever seen, and I think is super good despite zero clout?

---

Of course
---

Watch Only the Brave. Big fan of that movie. It isn't something you will think is top tier. But, I like it.

---

I'll check it out!
---

Watching Personal Shopper.

How exactly did this movie get shortlisted for the palm d'or? Yikes.
---

Tried watching that Cronenberg film Map to the Stars but could not make it past 15 minutes.

Netflix has been killing me lately.
---

Got my parents to watch the Man from Earth and they loved it too

---

finally got around to reading all of this second topic! I've seen 71 of them so... I've just decided to comment on every single one of those and tier em too

Didn't like at all:

241. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
Over-acted, uninteresting story about unlikable people.

212. Animal House (1978)
Mean-spirited and not funny.

98. Vertigo (1958)
I just didn't get it.

58. The 400 Blows (1959)
Legitimate claim to my least favorite movie of all time. Can't think of a single instant of the movie I enjoyed.

24. Raging Bull (1980)
Seriously, I don't understand what's supposed to be good about this movie. "Insecure, violent man is very insecure about his girlfriend and his brother." I've tried reading reviews, but... I just don't get it. Not remotely interested in rewatching it.

75. On the Waterfront (1954)
Couldn't believe how unenjoyable this was. I knew almost nothing about it other than the lead actor, the Best Picture win, that he was a retired boxer, and the famous monologue at the end. None of these delivered.

OK, but wouldn't really make a list for me:

246. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Low tier Disney when compared to even the 70s stuff (or Pinocchio just a few years later, for that matter!)

215. Princess Mononoke (1997)
Not really a 'fun' movie, which is often what I want from animation.

172. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Preferred the book I think. Too much camp creepiness.

146. Some Like It Hot (1959)
I thought it was funny, but didn't particularly see it as "great." No single joke made me laugh super-hard from what I remember, possibly because of the hammy way that actors seemed to talk in older films.

141. Hugo (2011)
The style of this was better than the substance. Visually beautiful, but once the mystery is revealed in the second act, the plot isn't as fun as it seems early.

92. Office Space (1999)
I remember a few scenes early on being funny - the rush hour traffic, the cubicle frustration - but the meanness of the actual revenge didn't strike me as funny. Maybe a rewatch would elevate it, though.
---

I like this movie:

244. The Fifth Element (1997)
Cult classics are less fun when you miss the boat on getting into the cult. But yeah, it's fun.

225. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
A great performance by Pacino, though the movie hasn't stuck with me.

219. 12 Angry Men (1957)
I didn't really think it did anything the play manuscript didn't, but it's a really good manuscript!

200. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Pretty, but I barely remember any of the plot.

196. The Dark Knight Rises (2013)
Bane's memeability alone raises this into this tier IMO.

188. The Big Lebowski (1998)
Another cult classic where I'm not in the "cult"

152. Juno (2007)
Favorite part of this movie was the hamburger phone, but I also remember enjoying the weird dialogue style. I don't always go for indie stuff so I wonder how I'd like it now.

145. Get Out (2017)
Really funny. Horror isn't really my thing but the dual humor/horror tone made the first half super-fun and carried me through the grosser parts later.

113. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Don't love a lot of the more celebrated parts, but I enjoy the tightness of this film a lot, plus the Tarantino dialogue early.

102. Coco (2017)
Was expecting this to be sadder than it was. The kid is a little too annoying for me, and the cute animal sidekick was even more so. The stakes felt super-real though, with my only slight qualm being that everything was so neatly tied up.

80. Die Hard (1988)
I don't get what makes it great, but it's certainly fun.

72. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
Anticlimactic ending, but stylish enough to make it here. Probably my least favorite Tarantino I've seen front to back.

69. Jurassic Park (1993)
This movie had me thrilled as a kid the one time I saw it, but that I haven't seen in so long I wonder whether I should even count it as having seen it. The raptors turning the door handles remains iconic in my memory.

57. The Little Mermaid (1989)
Like Jurassic Park, I didn't see it repeatedly and it was too long ago. But I have rewatched a lot of its songs and I've concluded that I like this movie, if only based on "Under the Sea."

53. No Country for Old Men (2007)
Tommy Lee Jones's character feels like a waste, but Javier Bardem is great. The existential aspect of it was slightly enjoyable to me. The way they handle the erstwhile protagonist is great.

42. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Another seen once as a kid movie - I mostly just remember it being a ton of fun.

33. Fantasia (1940)
I've seen this movie many times, but it's not really... a movie. Still, I enjoyed almost every short separately. Might be worth a full rewatch, since I haven't seen it since I was a kid.

31. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
Love the stylishness of it and in particular that "Battle Without Honor or Humanity," but not a huge fan of the ending climactic battle.

I like this a lot:

228. Inglorious Basterds (2008)
Fully agree on Hans Landa. That said I think this is a movie with a bunch of great scenes, but not a particularly amazing whole, if that makes sense.

211. Gladiator (2000)
Cheesy, but satisfying.

204. Inception (2010)
It's like a cool action movie, but not sure why it's considered an all time great. Still, Leo is cool, it looks great, and it's an absolute ton of fun.

162. Toy Story (1995)
Tons of heart and fun.

158. Skyfall (2012)
One of the technically best Bond movies, though nowhere near a personal favorite (favorite Bond stuff is usually the music, the colorful visual style, and honestly a lot of the camp, plus Bond's personal charisma). How great is Adele though!

155. Dumb and Dumber (1994)
This movie is so fucking stupid I love it.
---

I like this a lot (cont'd)

135. Up (2009)
A five minute montage which single-handedly brings it into this tier.

128. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Scorsese movies tend to *feel* as long as they are, which is a problem. The first two hours of debauchery are a blast, but the third starts to grind on me and leave me far less satisfied, so the movie feels lesser than the sum of its parts.

79. Psycho (1960)
Definitely didn't expect a horror movie to be this good, or for the twist that happens a third of the way in. The worst part of this movie is probably

78. The Departed (2006)
Definitely deserves a re-watch - I thought it was really enjoyable, but remember almost nothing from it other than the funny accents and the ending being whirlwind.

74. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Watched this as a kid so it barely registers now and therefore I can't put it any higher, but it got me really, really emotionally invested.

61. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Watching through this whole movie is a bit of a chore compared to the others - I feel like the best part of it by a gigantic margin is Luke vs Vader round 2, and everything leading up to it has me impatient, and even during it, we get interrupted a lot by Ewoks or whatever.

44. Amadeus (1984)
Another movie that I saw as a kid but only once. Mozart is brilliantly portrayed here and you can really feel Salieri's venom toward him. Also, pretty period clothing.

29. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Like you said, so internet-famous it's almost a meme. Both punishing to watch and uplifting - I'd never agree to watch just the first 30-60 minutes without the ending, but the last stretch of it wouldn't be as rewarding without the whole of it.

22. The Graduate (1967)
Didn't find it particularly funny, but the melancholy tone of it worked for me, big time. And yeah, that ending is great and I fucking love Simon and Garfunkel.

21. Goodfellas (1990)
With a rewatch, this could move up. There are scenes that stick out as ones I love already, but with how many scenes are considered classics, I think I could grow to enjoy the other scenes, too. And that would definitely bump it even higher. Like Wolf of Wall Street, I thought this movie just went on a bit too long.

17. There Will Be Blood (2007)
I dunno that I'm in any hurry to rewatch this rather dry, cruel, and epic movie, but unlike Scorsese, TWBB saved its best scene for last - finishing this movie felt like a burst of

Great:

233. Team America: World Police (2004)
Holy shit this is great. If its final acts were a bit stronger, would easily be in the next tier.

161. Children of Men (2006)
Not a personal favorite just due to how grim it is, but the story, the filmography, and the atmosphere are incredible.

150. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Never gonna watch this again, probably the single most emotionally devastating movie I've ever seen. I decided to rewatch it with a girlfriend, awful idea.

121. Django Unchained (2012)
Nearly non-stop action-y fun other than the almost pornographic reveling during Leo's most depraved scenes ("Mandingo fighting," bleh).

112. Fight Club (1999)
I didn't really related to any of the toxic masculinity stuff when I watched it and apparently that's a big part of it - maybe I would now. But the visual style, the memes, and the plot twist definitely worked for me, big time.
---

Great (cont'd)

106. American Beauty (1999)
Fantastic acting and the eeriest sense of humor all around.

91. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
I guess I technically liked this as much as FOTR (watching the battle of Helm's Deep in theaters was HNNNNNNNG), but it's not quite as formative to me.

88. Memento (2000)
Absolutely incredible.

86. Lost in Translation (2003)
I don't know that I would enjoy the "Asians are perpetual foreigners" humor of it as much now, but Scarlett Johansson was mesmerizing here. Shame that I've yet to find another role where she lived up to the promise.

73. Toy Story 3 (2010)
Better than the original due to those almost metafictional themes of growing up and moving on. Have never rewatched this one so scenes don't stick out as "iconic" in my head the same way, but don't need to.

64. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Some truly stellar songs here with, Stockholm Syndrome aside, a pretty decent plot too! Though the timeframe seems ridiculously condensed when you think about it. How many days did this take? Less than a week, it seems.

46. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
My favorite SW movie, and arguably belongs in the next tier, but its mythos was more about thinking about the movie than watching it itself, if that makes sense. Chewbacca is kinda annoying. But all the action is great, and I fucking love Darth Vader.

36. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Sterling are incredible. Buffalo Bill doesn't even make a strong impression on me, but any scene where Lecter is in play, you absolutely have to watch.

26. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Definitely one of the best action movies of all time. Reversing Arnold into a hero and then giving him an amorphous enemy is BRILLIANT.

19. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
This is probably has the highest floor of any of the Star Wars movies and is almost certainly the most quotable. Again, its being this high is probably as much due to popular culture as due to the movie itself.

Personal favorite:

198. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Watching this for the first time, rented on DVD with my parents on a rainy afternoon, is a treasured memory of mine. The films vastly exceed the books IMO.

156. The Dark Knight (2007)
My favorite superhero movie of all time. Also isn't this a 2008 movie?

118. The Matrix (1999)
A defining movie in my life that essentially set the standards of "cool" forever.

48. The Lion King (1994)
My favorite Disney movie, I think. I don't think 60 seconds can pass without something happening I love.

43. Aladdin (1992)
Okay, almost everything I said for Lion King can pretty much apply here too.

34. Rocky (1976)
The low-budget look of this movie just makes it all the more charming.

16. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
The Cuba parts of this movie are far worse than anything in The Godfather, and the cast is less likable by necessity and design. But the absolute moral abyss that Michael sinks into is fantastic, and Robert DeNiro as Young Vito is fucking inspired.

7. Pulp Fiction
Best scenes here by far are any with Samuel L. Jackson, which makes it brilliant that his scenes bookend the movie. Butch's girlfriend is annoying. As just a regular movie-watcher and not a historian, I don't find this movie revolutionary or anything, just fun and funny as fuck.

5. The Godfather
The warmth of this movie is its strongest aspect. This is a world you feel like you want to live in, a family you want to be part of, a journey you want to undergo. Beautiful music and impeccable casting and that baptism scene, goddamn.
---

Menji posted...

Got my parents to watch the Man from Earth and they loved it too

Awesome. It would please me to no one to see this movie get the recognition it deserves.
---

I watched Raging Bull for the first time earlier this year and I did like it a lot, but I would not say it's one of my favorite movies of all time. The black-and-white cinematography and the acting from De Niro and Pesci did a lot to draw me in, but past that I was a little underwhelmed. Would still consider it a great movie though, and not really overhyped at all, just not something for everyone. The movie wasn't so well-received on release anyway, so I imagine many critics of the time just saw it as a strange experimental effort from Scorsese.

I will also add that I saw the movie mostly because of seeing The Godfather Part II for the first time last year and being absolutely amazed with De Niro's performance there, so I wanted to see his other Oscar-winning role. Was not disappointed in the least on that front, but I don't think I'd be rushing to re-watch Raging Bull TBH.

Going off what SD said about the film...yes, it's essentially a character study. Not saying it's too complex for you or anything, just, again, not everyone's cup of tea.
---

SD what is your top 5? I should be able to give you a recommendation from the list based on that and your write-ups.
---

SeabassDebeste posted...

24. Raging Bull (1980)
Seriously, I don't understand what's supposed to be good about this movie. "Insecure, violent man is very insecure about his girlfriend and his brother." I've tried reading reviews, but... I just don't get it. Not remotely interested in rewatching it.

you can literally bash every movie ever made by dismissively reducing it to a one-line synopsis.

"seriously, i don't understand what's supposed to be so good about the matrix. 'some dude finds out he actually lives in a simulated reality.' yawn."

also, it's so annoying when people overrate the fuck out of up because of its opening.
---

Nelson_Mandela posted...

SD what is your top 5? I should be able to give you a recommendation from the list based on that and your write-ups.

hmm, honestly you might have covered every one of my top 5 in your list. goldeneye is probably the movie i'd most want added. and spider-man 1/2 maybe... mulan? i'd watch mulan any day.

plenty of other really good movies that would make a list for me but not necessarily contend for top 5 (LA confidential, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind)

i'm guessing on your list i'd enjoy south park, the thing, and fargo at the very least

also i missed a few i've seen. not counting ones i saw way too young (ghostbusters, bttf)...

zoolander (fun)
wizard of oz (i like the music!)
little miss sunshine (hated)
it's a wonderful life (sweet, but not beloved)
---

@LinkMarioSamus
Yeah, De Niro was incredible in Godfather so I assumed Raging Bull would be brilliant. I guess a character study is cool but there has to be either something interesting about the character or something interesting in the plot. Like, contrast to Breaking Bad - Walter has a lot going on with him and there are lots of scenes devoted to his own brand of toxic masculinity, but there's also a ton of great plot. Wolf of Wall Street by Scorsese doesn't have a lot of plot, but it has a ton of spectacle.

@Mr_Lasastryke
I think The Matrix is a pretty bad choice to prove your point, or at least that summary is. The Matrix isn't just a dystopia/revelation - it's about using that revelation to make an action movie. "Guy finds out world is a simulation, but he uses this to do absurd martial arts stunts" sounds like a great premise for a movie. My problem is that based on watching the film, there's very little that I can think of to make Raging Bull sound good to me.

Also Up is like, pretty harmless aside from the first 5 minutes. The rest of it isn't as good, but it's not like we're dealing with a bad movie to begin with.
---

SeabassDebeste posted...

"Guy finds out world is a simulation, but he uses this to do absurd martial arts stunts" sounds like a great premise for a movie. My problem is that based on watching the film, there's very little that I can think of to make Raging Bull sound good to me.

raging bull is about more than what you wrote in that synopsis too. you didn't mention how it brilliantly incorporates the "i coulda been a contender" scene from on the waterfront in the ending, for instance. obviously, you're always going to miss tons of stuff if you're trying to summarize a movie into one line of text. your synopsis for the matrix sounds cool, but i wouldn't say it perfectly sums up why it's generally regarded as a classic.

just seems weird to completely dismiss a movie based on its premise. like, the IMDb synopsis for the shawshank redemption ("Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency") doesn't sound super interesting to me either, yet it's a great movie. an idea for a film is one thing but execution is way more important.

Also Up is like, pretty harmless aside from the first 5 minutes. The rest of it isn't as good, but it's not like we're dealing with a bad movie to begin with.

i'd disagree with that. it's extremely tonally inconsistent, trying to balance serious moments with humor (painfully unfunny humor for the most part, i might add), which results in it being all over the place.

i'm fine with describing it as "pretty harmless," but it always rubs me the wrong way when people act like it's some kind of classic. it seems like they forget that after the amazing opening, there's still an entire movie to go that really isn't that great. it's pretty weird because no other movie gets this kind of preferential treatment because of one small portion. for example, i'd say finding dory is a pretty mediocre movie with a few great scenes, but nobody showers that movie with praise just because of a few scenes.
---

Save
---

Oh yeah, I remembered another reason I really liked Raging Bull - the brutality of the fights helping me get invested in Jake's story. Part of what inspired me to watch Raging Bull was a YouTube video about "how Logan succeeded where The Last Jedi failed", and the video closed with a statement that sucking the color out of Logan didn't hurt it while doing so for The Last Jedi would show nothing beneath. This in turn reminded me of an old episode of Siskel & Ebert where they argued for some advantages Black & White cinematography has over Color, specifically contrasting Raging Bull from Rocky IV for an example.

Also Siskel & Ebert both named Raging Bull the best movie of the '80s. While I wouldn't go quite that far, I'm not arguing against that pick.
---

Watching A Serious Man

This seems like a very specific kind of humor, even for the Coens
---

The verdict: probably a mid-range Coen Bros entry. I'd say somewhere in the Raising Arizona category.

Great ending though.
---

I've watched several movies on this list since, and i have to say i have not regretted seeing any of them.

Just watched Network tonight and thought it was simply sensational. Really amazing satire.
---

Glad to hear that!

Netflix just added a bunch of classic movies (Network included), so hopefully that introduces a new audience to them
---

Yeah, I also watched Network for the first time recently. I was glad I did.
---

bumpo
---

Greek bump

---

I finally saw Into the Spider-Verse this past weekend. "Greatest Superhero Movie Ever Made" seems like a pretty fair assessment for it.
---

So it turns out Silence is NOT a great movie to watch on the plane. Yeesh.

Easily my least favorite Scorsese film.

---

Cool list. I disagree with a heavy portion of it, but I still enjoy when people put these together. I'd love to do something similar but I'm shit at expressing my thoughts on the things I enjoy.
---

KeepAnEyeOut posted...

Cool list. I disagree with a heavy portion of it, but I still enjoy when people put these together. I'd love to do something similar but I'm shit at expressing my thoughts on the things I enjoy.

Don't worry about us! Just puke your thoughts into a list and we will read.

---

Saw Heat for the first time recently and liked it a lot.
---

Joker seen. Not great.

I am super pumped about The Irishman, The Lighthouse, and Uncut Gems though.

---