Off the top of my head: THERE WILL BE BLOOD, THE MASTER, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF NICOLAE CEAUCESCU (look it up), WILD GRASS, FILM SOCIALISME, CHILDREN OF MEN (recently re-viewed...not as good as it seemed but great), A.I., YI YI, BEHIND THE CANDELABRA, IN JACKSON HEIGHTS
Usually when you name movies like this, not only have I not seen them, I've never heard of them. I had to check the web but I actually saw this one and recall liking it.
Certified Copy and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives come to mind. Thai and Iranian movies are underrated. To have none in the list is disappointing.
Comedy was pretty well represented by “Best in Show”, “Anchorman”, “Borat”, “Bridesmaids”, “O Brother, Where art Thou?” and “Superbad” (better I suspect than a poll of critics would have been). Comedy-drama by “Little Miss Sunshine”, “Amelie”, “Grand Budapest Hotel”, “Lady Bird” and “Frances Ha.”
This list of movie industry professionals is pretty mainstream. I recognize almost all the titles and have seen maybe 70%. They reward well-made movies without worrying too much about fashions: critics presumably wouldn’t have put “Black Swan” in their top 100. It also includes some not exactly fashionable but extremely competent movies normal people enjoy that critics might have passed by: “Ocean’s 11” by Soderbergh, “Gone Girl” by Fincher and (unobtrusively at #45), the ultimate dad movie “Moneyball”.
I was a sponge for all things Tolkien as a young teen (which made me irresistible to the ladies, as one might imagine), and I found Jackson’s movies well-made but tedious to watch. My young imagination turned out to be way better than what they eventually put onscreen.
Alan Lee’s work was pretty much my go to on how to view all things Tolkien. But I’m a sucker for the cinema (and games ) and will always have a preference for the level of immersion they provide over books. My hot take is that I believe Jackson’s interpretation of the Balrog is superior to pretty much every other “lore accurate” depiction prior.
I despise superhero movies and when I’ve been to see them with my kids I put in earplugs and take a nap.
Seems like the NYT agrees.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) is not the greatest movie of any century but its action sequences are absolutely unparalleled and I am still kicking myself that I don’t see it on the big screen.
I’ve seen eleven of those movies, two or three of them on airplane flights. Movie viewing has more or less disappeared from my life.
I would put Master and Commander on my personal list.
Brendan Gleason starred in a minor film called Calvary. I’ve only seen it once, based on a recommendation by one of your commenters, but that’s the movie I’ve thought about the most over the years.
PS - I like the thought of a book of your reviews. You’re good at it.
"What profound message is this great artist, Maestro Bong Joon Ho, trying to communicate to us?"
I didn't see Parasite, but from the title, the plot, and reviews other than the hilariously obtuse NY Times, the message is that Korean dads suck.
Paul Thomas Anderson is amazing but can be rather ... overwrought. Punch-Drunk Love is really good though, high-brow comedy. At the other extreme, I can never watch Lost In Translation without falling asleep after about 15 minutes.
Once Upon a Time In Hollywood is on my permanent floating "Top 10" list, movies I found compelling, substantive and profoundly enjoyable.
I would have included Top Gun: Maverick on the list. Time will tell, but it was probably the Last Picture Show, that is, The Last Hollywood Blockbuster. Rolled out in theaters and everything. Lots of soulfulness and story about the human condition; no wonder Tyler Cowen hated it.
I think the Coen brothers are titans but lots of people can't stand them. They're pretty existential. Miller's Crossing (1991) is on my "Top 10" list. A Serious Man was a very hard look at modern Judaism.
Speaking of, it was good to see Uncut Gems on the list. It's probably on my permanent "Top 10" as well. Adam Sandler is clearly happiest when up to his ears in his native Jewish culture. The supporting cast were all standouts as well. It's fun to watch a movie where every actor is amped up and dialing it in 100%. The unconventional casting was really fun too: Eric Bogosian, the two heavies, Judd Hirsch, who I think was only told to scowl like an old Jewish uncle and still does it memorably.
Your observation that the industry folks seem to be visual over verbal is a good one.
“Once Upon a Time In Hollywood is on my permanent floating "Top 10" list, movies I found compelling, substantive and profoundly enjoyable.”
I struggle to see why. With Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained, Tarantino seemed to be making satires where his own audience was the butt of the joke (the Nazis cheering at the movie-within-a-movie’s violence are you cheering at this movie’s violence!), but they didn’t get the joke, so OUATIH just seems like him passively accepting alternate histories as his new niche. Like, what was the point of spending so much screen time on Sharon Tate watching her own movie?
Oh--thanks. I appreciate that. I didn't even know how to do that. I'm only a one-name celebrity because of an error I made when signing up for Substack :) If it's easy to change I might add an exclamation point!
Inside Out, Frozen, Dune, Blade Runner 2049 and the other 2 LOTR movies would be on my list.
It looks like they chose older movies with only a few american movies from the last few years, matching the general belief that Hollywood's quality declined since the Great Awokening.
Off the top of my head: THERE WILL BE BLOOD, THE MASTER, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF NICOLAE CEAUCESCU (look it up), WILD GRASS, FILM SOCIALISME, CHILDREN OF MEN (recently re-viewed...not as good as it seemed but great), A.I., YI YI, BEHIND THE CANDELABRA, IN JACKSON HEIGHTS
I saw one Romanian movie about a dying alcoholic bouncing from one hospital to another. It was memorable.
But not memorable enough for me to remember all the vowels in the title of "The Death of Mr. ..."
P.S. In the category of "flawed but still deserves to be called great," Kenneth Lonergan's MARGARET
Usually when you name movies like this, not only have I not seen them, I've never heard of them. I had to check the web but I actually saw this one and recall liking it.
this one's good especially the sick scene at the beginning ha
“The Big Short!”
Also wild that the Wes Anderson movies come in right next to each other in the rankings.
I didn't like the Royal Tennenbaums, but had to admit The Grand Budapest Hotel was great by being awfully Wes Anderson-ish.
Certified Copy and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives come to mind. Thai and Iranian movies are underrated. To have none in the list is disappointing.
The Ballad of Buster Shrugs is fantastic. I guess comedy is forbidden.
The Coens aren't under-rated with 4 top 100 films, but only one is a pure comedy, the lovely O Brother Where Art Thou?
Personally, I love "Buster Scruggs," although only about half is a comedy. It seems to exemplify the Coens' extraordinary lucidity.
Comedy was pretty well represented by “Best in Show”, “Anchorman”, “Borat”, “Bridesmaids”, “O Brother, Where art Thou?” and “Superbad” (better I suspect than a poll of critics would have been). Comedy-drama by “Little Miss Sunshine”, “Amelie”, “Grand Budapest Hotel”, “Lady Bird” and “Frances Ha.”
This top 100 list isn't great, but it's not bad either.
This list of movie industry professionals is pretty mainstream. I recognize almost all the titles and have seen maybe 70%. They reward well-made movies without worrying too much about fashions: critics presumably wouldn’t have put “Black Swan” in their top 100. It also includes some not exactly fashionable but extremely competent movies normal people enjoy that critics might have passed by: “Ocean’s 11” by Soderbergh, “Gone Girl” by Fincher and (unobtrusively at #45), the ultimate dad movie “Moneyball”.
I spent years making fun of Brad Pitt for making a movie about On Base Percentage.
Brad was right and I was wrong.
On the cape shit category, they put godawful Black Panther, but no Logan or Guardians of the Galaxy?
No Collateral (2003)
All three LotR movies belong in the top 20 at least. Corny ass list.
I was a sponge for all things Tolkien as a young teen (which made me irresistible to the ladies, as one might imagine), and I found Jackson’s movies well-made but tedious to watch. My young imagination turned out to be way better than what they eventually put onscreen.
Alan Lee’s work was pretty much my go to on how to view all things Tolkien. But I’m a sucker for the cinema (and games ) and will always have a preference for the level of immersion they provide over books. My hot take is that I believe Jackson’s interpretation of the Balrog is superior to pretty much every other “lore accurate” depiction prior.
No Lala Land?
Lala Land is even batter than Whiplash by the same director.
Well that's damning with faint praise.
Epic Movie was better than Whiplash.
Disney's remake of Snow White was better than Whiplash.
My pre-teens' attempt at making a movie in our backyard with their tablets and GoPros was better than Whiplash.
Etc.
(To be clear, I didn't like Whiplash.)
The conversation ended when I saw Moonlight at 5. Gladiator at 92? Blasphemy.
I despise superhero movies and when I’ve been to see them with my kids I put in earplugs and take a nap.
Seems like the NYT agrees.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) is not the greatest movie of any century but its action sequences are absolutely unparalleled and I am still kicking myself that I don’t see it on the big screen.
Happened to me too. Didn't even need earplugs.
It’s a list of movies. Not much else.
There always had to be the too cool for school poster.
🥸
As opposed to being...? A list of books? A palette-shaped coffee table?
I’ve seen eleven of those movies, two or three of them on airplane flights. Movie viewing has more or less disappeared from my life.
I would put Master and Commander on my personal list.
Brendan Gleason starred in a minor film called Calvary. I’ve only seen it once, based on a recommendation by one of your commenters, but that’s the movie I’ve thought about the most over the years.
PS - I like the thought of a book of your reviews. You’re good at it.
There always had to be the too cool for school poster.
There were a bunch of good movies made (separately) by the McDonagh brothers, often with Brendan Gleeson.
"In Bruges" is the most popular.
What about "The Assassination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford"?....it's an outstanding movie
Agree 100%
Brad Pitt was in the movie top 100 movies of any star with 5, and this would have been a reasonable #6.
Pitt also produced “12 Years a Slave” and had a large hand in developing “The Departed”.
"What profound message is this great artist, Maestro Bong Joon Ho, trying to communicate to us?"
I didn't see Parasite, but from the title, the plot, and reviews other than the hilariously obtuse NY Times, the message is that Korean dads suck.
Paul Thomas Anderson is amazing but can be rather ... overwrought. Punch-Drunk Love is really good though, high-brow comedy. At the other extreme, I can never watch Lost In Translation without falling asleep after about 15 minutes.
Once Upon a Time In Hollywood is on my permanent floating "Top 10" list, movies I found compelling, substantive and profoundly enjoyable.
I would have included Top Gun: Maverick on the list. Time will tell, but it was probably the Last Picture Show, that is, The Last Hollywood Blockbuster. Rolled out in theaters and everything. Lots of soulfulness and story about the human condition; no wonder Tyler Cowen hated it.
I think the Coen brothers are titans but lots of people can't stand them. They're pretty existential. Miller's Crossing (1991) is on my "Top 10" list. A Serious Man was a very hard look at modern Judaism.
Speaking of, it was good to see Uncut Gems on the list. It's probably on my permanent "Top 10" as well. Adam Sandler is clearly happiest when up to his ears in his native Jewish culture. The supporting cast were all standouts as well. It's fun to watch a movie where every actor is amped up and dialing it in 100%. The unconventional casting was really fun too: Eric Bogosian, the two heavies, Judd Hirsch, who I think was only told to scowl like an old Jewish uncle and still does it memorably.
Your observation that the industry folks seem to be visual over verbal is a good one.
“Once Upon a Time In Hollywood is on my permanent floating "Top 10" list, movies I found compelling, substantive and profoundly enjoyable.”
I struggle to see why. With Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained, Tarantino seemed to be making satires where his own audience was the butt of the joke (the Nazis cheering at the movie-within-a-movie’s violence are you cheering at this movie’s violence!), but they didn’t get the joke, so OUATIH just seems like him passively accepting alternate histories as his new niche. Like, what was the point of spending so much screen time on Sharon Tate watching her own movie?
Master and Commander - surprised this is not on the list. Peak Russell Crowe
A Mighty Wind - quite funny and best soundtrack ever.
Yes
What? Another "Erik" on this comments section? As gratified as I am to see another K-man, in the end, there can be only one.
Sorry! Will update
Oh--thanks. I appreciate that. I didn't even know how to do that. I'm only a one-name celebrity because of an error I made when signing up for Substack :) If it's easy to change I might add an exclamation point!
Right. Master & Commander is a huge favorite of men above a certain age and IQ.
Guilty on the former!
Inside Out, Frozen, Dune, Blade Runner 2049 and the other 2 LOTR movies would be on my list.
It looks like they chose older movies with only a few american movies from the last few years, matching the general belief that Hollywood's quality declined since the Great Awokening.