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.
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
Like the biblical Lazaros the Four-Days Dead, but instead of having the greek name ending -os he has the most common romanian family name ending -escu like Ceausescu and Iliescu.
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.”
There were a lot of great comedies in 2000-2015 and not many since then. The moment when the Hangover guys ask the valet to get them their car and he pulls up in a police cruiser might be the single best of the era.
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”.
Sort of. Moneyball is an enjoyable movie, but it’s also been bad for baseball and the Michael Lewis book it’s based on is a heavily caked on “rebellion against the establishment” narrative that’s taken liberties with the truth.
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.
Ha! An airplane movie is my lowest category: well, if I’m strapped in a seat for eight hours over the Atlantic, I guess it’s better than looking at the seat back.
"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?
Like Steve said, it's as if the good guys had won the 60s, taken Hollywood, and goofy, carefree butterflies like Sharon Tate had remained safe because red-blooded, white American men stood up to those stinking, dirty hippies. What's not to like?
I didn't see Inglorious Basterds or Django Unchained but now that you mention it, Once Upon a Time... makes it a Jew-black-white trilogy. Interesting.
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.
2019 seemed like a good year for movies. I can recall driving down Hollywood or Santa Monica Blvd. in March 2020 and hearing that the mayor of Los Angeles was closing all the movie theaters. "Uh, oh, that sounds like the end of going to the movies after 115 years."
Happened to me too. Didn't even need earplugs.
Mad Max: Fury Road was probably the greatest trailer ever. But then the movie just turned out just like the trailer, only less awesome.
I went in to the theatre expecting that they were somehow going to top their trailer. Well ... they didn't, but I should have expected that.
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.
I like Black Panther, but Guardians of the Galaxy is a favorite and a I saw Logan on an airplane and really enjoyed it despite the difficult media.
The media was desperate to label “Black Panther” as the BEST Marvel movie.
🙄
It’s not even that good. Very formulaic.
Well, at least Ratatouille was rated ahead of Black Pantha
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. ..."
Like the biblical Lazaros the Four-Days Dead, but instead of having the greek name ending -os he has the most common romanian family name ending -escu like Ceausescu and Iliescu.
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 one Iranian film to make the top 100, A Separation, is really good.
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.
Yet was any of them funnier than The Hangover? Or Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle?
This is just another list of movies where almost nobody will watch the highest ranked movies twice.
There were a lot of great comedies in 2000-2015 and not many since then. The moment when the Hangover guys ask the valet to get them their car and he pulls up in a police cruiser might be the single best of the era.
Overall, Tropical Thunder might the be the best.
I found it unwatchable.
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.
Sort of. Moneyball is an enjoyable movie, but it’s also been bad for baseball and the Michael Lewis book it’s based on is a heavily caked on “rebellion against the establishment” narrative that’s taken liberties with the truth.
Moneyball was terrific, especially for we long time baseball and sabermetrics fans...
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.)
I’m with you. Saw 5 minutes of whiplash. No thanks. Steve needs to be more discerning.
You literally saw less than 5% of a movie and believe that's enough time by which to make a solid critical judgment?
WHIPLASH was incredible.
Yes, only 5 minutes. I’m usually comfortable me with my rash, snap decisions.
The conversation ended when I saw Moonlight at 5. Gladiator at 92? Blasphemy.
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.
Ha! An airplane movie is my lowest category: well, if I’m strapped in a seat for eight hours over the Atlantic, I guess it’s better than looking at the seat back.
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?
Like Steve said, it's as if the good guys had won the 60s, taken Hollywood, and goofy, carefree butterflies like Sharon Tate had remained safe because red-blooded, white American men stood up to those stinking, dirty hippies. What's not to like?
I didn't see Inglorious Basterds or Django Unchained but now that you mention it, Once Upon a Time... makes it a Jew-black-white trilogy. Interesting.
Rather than watch Django Unchained, you may as well dig up some of the old Mandingo films.
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.
2019 seemed like a good year for movies. I can recall driving down Hollywood or Santa Monica Blvd. in March 2020 and hearing that the mayor of Los Angeles was closing all the movie theaters. "Uh, oh, that sounds like the end of going to the movies after 115 years."