Well, I need to chat about this because I just finished the list!

This award has been given out since 2000 and it closely parallels the Oscar for Best film but not quite. Of course, I say this and the last movie I was missing? Winner of the Best film Oscar this year, Hurt Locker.

The List can be found on ListofBests (that is what the goal is about!). I did mark all the movies “Worth Consuming!” but, as always, some are worth more consumption than others. Musicals always have a soft spot, but I tend to listen to the soundtracks after the fact than re-watch the movies (even though I do have both winners on DVD). If I need to pick a favorite, it’s actually a lot easier than one might think.

No Country for Old Men

The Coen Brothers and quiet performances in a crime of opportunity that just about anyone can justify. After all, who is ever expecting a psychotic killer with a captive bolt device? Important lesson learned. 2 years ago

And yet another movie list! There are other kinds, but we’re still on the ones I’m closest to completing and I loves me the cinema. Hey, where else do you get a story in 2 hours that can take you just about anywhere, anytime and make you feel anything? And half the time you get to hear that fancy THX sound ad at the beginning (don’t you love the cow toy sound one they use for the animated movies?).

So Quickflix is Netflix for Australians. I swear I didn’t seek out the Aussies. In fact, this list is downright GO USA! in their love of movies. #1? Shawshank Redemption – so USA, it was filmed in Ohio. True fact. (I did enjoy the movie – of course, I read the source material, so there are changes that drive me nuts, but it’s still a good movie.)

What drew me to the list? That they included Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind at #8. I heart that movie in a major way. Charlie Kaufman is a screenwriter I’ll seek out because his stuff is so creatively unreal and yet it always has this mundane feel to it that brings the humanity of his story to the front and center.

Another one of my all-time favorites? Fargo! One of the funniest movies ever. You know, in that wood-chipper ha-ha, “it’s a cold one” kind of way.

Of course, there are some misses for me. I was never a fan of Titanic (I know, my girl card should be checked). Mostly it was the run time and the super-obvious fates of the leads. I believe my feelings on Forest Gump are well known (short version: I liked it much better when it was called Being There). And then there’s Snatch which was the beginning of the time when Guy Ritchie started dating the Succubus. Now that they’re divorced and he did Sherlock Holmes let’s hope that he gets his talent back.

Left to finish on the list? Well, I need to get past two issues. Issue #1: my 2nd grade flashbacks of having to sing the songs from The Sound of Music all semester. I’ve still not seen the movie. Issue #2: Michael Bay. I haven’t seen one of his movies on purpose since Pearl Harbor and the last one I saw was The Island because it was one of the few things playing in English in the hotel in Kyoto. Yeah, you can tell me to enjoy the cheesiness of Armageddon but did it have to be 2 1/2 hours long?

But, yeah…those two movies are on a lot of lists… 2 years ago

IMDB’s Top 50 Titles as Rated by Male Users

I am not a manly man, but I know some? Or something like that?

Anyway, IMDB slices and dices a lot of their lists and I happen to be mostly done with this list. (For the record, I’ve finished IMDB’s Top 10 voted lists of 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2005.) One could get all stereotypical and assume guys will love nothing but action films and movies about scantily-clad women who must have sex constantly in order to cure rare diseases. Although I’ve heard rumor of such a scene in Kubrick’s alternate ending of Paths of Glory, no such movies are really on the list. ;)

Instead, you have a pretty solid list of movies with my favorite at the top. I swear. The Godfather. Now my favorite version of all time was the special edition that was available on laser disc (that’s right!) which Coppola had re-cut into a largely chronological version. Totally different perspective. I will watch I & II whenever they’re on Bravo.

But still, it all becomes a list of obvious epics – Lawrence of Arabia (finally watched!), Once Upon a Time in the West, Schindler’s List, Lord of the Rings, etc.

It also goes to show that excitement is key – but the kind that leaves you on the edge. So whether you’re wondering how the tension of strangers will work out in 12 Angry Men or if the Joker will succeed in Dark Knight or how an assassin will protect a little girl in Leon or why soap matters in Fight Club or if Leo’s in over his head in The Departed…these are the movies that are the highest rated.

I think this is a pretty universal feeling and I actually like all of these movies. Everything I’ve marked as “WORTH CONSUMING!” because it really was. Although I’ve only seen Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List each once. For sort of opposite but the same reasons. I didn’t stop crying during Private Ryan. Really – I’m a softee at movies. I’ll cry at the drop of the hat (even cartoons – you should have seen me during parts of Up). Heck, certain episodes of Deadliest Catch have been making me weepy. So, anyway, from the time mother Ryan collapsed as she got her telegrams from the war department all the way up until the graveyard scene at Arlington, I pretty much found reasons to cry. It was just heartbreaking. Schindler’s List left me almost hollow all the way until they gave him the ring – and then I lost it. I tear up just thinking about the scene and I kept it up even watching the actors bring their real-life counterparts around to lay rocks on his gravesite. So both completely worth watching.

Where was I?

Oh, yeah – there are 2 left to watch. Seven Samurai and City of God. I happen to have City of God here from Netflix – hopefully we have some time to watch it tonight! 2 years ago

I am a compulsive tagger on LibraryThing. I’ve used the listofbests tag in the past, but I decided to create a new collection and add all the books associated with my lists of bests lists so I could log everything I’ve read, planned to read or need to read for the lists.

Compulsive? Mebbe. But I can, so I did! 2 years ago

So yet another Australian list of the 100 greatest movies. I figured an Aussie version of an entertainment magazine would have more Australian movies.

You know, like The Matrix, American Beauty and Pulp Fiction. I’m starting to think that these folks down under like us quite a bit. Oh, Baz gets Moulin Rouge! on the list, but it’s not Aussie-Aussie. And there’s Chopper which I haven’t seen but have added to the old queue, but the rest of it is an exercise in movies I haven’t really seen, but probably should have by now.

Let’s start admitting things ->

Gallipoli – > Hey, Gibson with his Australian accent. Yeah, it was on TV a billion times. Somehow, I missed them all.
The Sound of Music -> Believe it or not, I know the music for this, but I haven’t seen the movie. This is what happens when your entire 2nd grade music class is spent on the score for the musical. You just can’t face it. But I will, it’s time!
Picnic at Hanging Rock -> Another Australian hit (that’s what IMDB says).
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – > I’ve seen the last 10 minutes quite a few times…yeah, I’m sure I missed a few things along the way. :)
Seven Samurai -> I was on a Kurosawa kick a bit last year, and I’ve been saving this one for a while.

Maybe the Australians just think the American Cinema scene is super cool? Did we somehow hide Kangaroo Jack from them? Or was it just considered fair trade for Crocodile Dundee 2? 3 years ago

Well, after watching Lawrence of Arabia today, the next list on my listsofbests is this one.

Okay, technically, it’s the 50 State Quarters, but that’s already a goal and you don’t want to know how I feel right now about how elusive Iowa and Arkansas are being.

Anyway, Video Ezy is a chain in Australia and this was a combination of customer polls and rental data for this time period. To be honest, I thought there would be more Australian films on the list when I adopted it, but it looks like the good old USA really seems to have the influence. At the same time, it does show my snobbery towards bigger movies.

That’s right. I prejudge. I’m trying to get better about things. Of course, it doesn’t always pan out, but I hear other people put down things they’ve clearly not seen/read/heard and I realized I’ve sounded no better on more than one occasion. I’ve seen more than one person get caught putting down something in great detail while clearly having no first-hand knowledge of something and looking like a moron. I’ve decided that I can’t really say anything beyond, “I haven’t seen it.” And you know what? If I really want to not like it and be snarky, I need to give up an hour and half or so for the privilege.

Where was I? Oh, yeah…the list is mostly popular films and I actually have seen a lot – I’m just down to a few that I haven’t seen for one reason or another:

Jerry Maguire (admission – Tom Cruise does nothing for me)
Rush Hour (neither does Jackie Chan)
The Notebook (I do have it from Netflix now – I know, I’m the last woman over 9 not to see it)
Wolf Creek (I hadn’t heard of it before!)
Transformers (it’s a bias against Michael Bay)

I didn’t say any of the reasons were good. Now, onto the movies I did actually like – I love that The Departed is on the list, but am I bad for loving that The Breakfast Club is there and that it reminds me of high school? I did enjoy The 40-Year-Old Virgin and I miss comedies like Vacation and Trading Places – comedies with a little heart, no pandering to the preteen set and without an endless reliance on the gross-out gag.

Of course, there are the duds for me – a few of my Oscar Winner nail on chalkboard movies. A Beautiful Mind always bothered me because they changed so much from the book. Not that this doesn’t happen, but a small incident really bothered me a lot. I knew they wouldn’t show his real psychosis (aliens), but there was a cast-off line in the beginning where he mentioned getting to meet Einstein in the film and he was essentially laughed off – want to know the real story? He did MEET him as a freshman and exchanged some formulas which Einstein felt were immature, but promising. Not to mention, the entire “character” of the wife was dumbed down beyond belief. She went through a lot and didn’t just float through things.

Anyway – I also never really got the appeal of Ghost – it was never overly romantic and Whoopie Goldberg’s character got on my nerves. It really could have been better than it was and I feel like people were liking it for what it could have been. And “ditto” – really? A love so strong that “ditto” passes for intimacy. Wrong on many, many levels. Not romantic.

See – I watched them! I earned the right. :) 3 years ago

The List

I figure that I’ll write out why I picked lists – and you’ll end up learning that I’m pretty random. But you know what, that’s okay! So, the notation on this is simply, “from their May 2006 flyer.” That’s right, it was pretty much a way for Columbia House to say, “hey, you should have these 50 essential DVDs – and buy them from us! At the same time, it’s a pretty nice list of DVDs.

Really – you run the classics like Citizen Cane, It’s a Wonderful Life and Gone with the Wind – Modern Classics like the Godfather, Apocalypse Now and The Good the Bad & the Ugly – and lighter fare like Airplane!, When Harry Met Sally and Dirty Dancing. Not to mention, I’d watched nearly everything when I adopted the list. (Hey, it’s appealing to have a head start!)

I will say that the last remake of King Kong is on here and not the original – or the other remakes. And I did watch it because it appeared on this list. UGH. Bad decision. Really – that movie was bad. Sure, effects were okay, but BAD movie. And I likes me some Adrian Brody. Even Adrian wasn’t enough to help that one.

But this is the lesson of the lists – there will be gems and there will be the not-gems. This list just happens to have a few of my not gems. You can start hating me now – I’m one of the ones that never liked Forest Gump (short version: I liked it way better when it was called Being There – and then the “have a small dream” = death vs. “go with the flow/don’t question” = great reward theme was annoying after awhile). I also never liked Crash – but I know I’m not really out in the cold with that view.

To end on a more positive note, there are movies I could watch over and over from the list. First and foremost – thank you BRAVO – for showing The Godfather I & II throughout the year (we all pretend III never happened). I know this list only lists I, but II is implied. I could also watch The Usual Suspects over and over again. I love the reveal. I know it’s coming, but I love it. And Goodfellas – one of my top 5 of all time.

I only have Lawrence of Arabia to finish this list.

And now you know about it. Only 52 people are working it right now. It’s a pretty easy one to work if you’re so inclined. :) 3 years ago

As of today I have 152 – Everything from Columbia House Canada’s 50 Essential DVDs down to the NIV Holy Bible Textbook Edition – Books of the Bible.

And I’ve actually completed 43 lists (spooky!). Of course, a number of these are from a few days where I really started flipping through lists – and you know what? As I type this…it’s 42 because I just opened the Producer’s Guild of America – Producer of the Year Award list and the new entry of the Hurt Locker means I’ve no longer finished the list. So back up to 153.

:)

I’ll try to highlight lists I’ve been working on and some of my favorite discoveries here as well. In the meantime – you can find me here:

http://www.listsofbests.com/person/Stephmo

And, yes, I really need to push Lawrence of Arabia to the top to finish of List #1. I’ve seen large chunks of it, just not all the way through – you know, the kind where your Dad declares that this is what we’re watching on TBS today and you’ve had it because you clearly remember that this was the declaration 40 Sundays before because every John Wayne movie was instantly a classic and even at 11 you know that the man couldn’t possibly have won EVERY single war that the U.S. ever fought in…so you go out and play Pioneers and Indians with the neighborhood kids instead, right? Oh, is that only me?

Anyway… 3 years ago