My Studios

NSpannaus wrote:

JackO wrote:

I don't understand the best and favorites difference either. Sure, I can understand the distinction for a pure concept movie like the 5 Obstructions being that way, but No Country? An Academy Award winner? A Clockwork Orange? Based off one of the best books made in the history of mankind? I don't know. Maybe it's because I grew up watching the Sundance Channel and IFC. Hell, I think the more diverse choices the better. I would be more then happy to see a list that features both Harold and Kumar and My Left Foot. Maybe I should start making a list . . . .

...but wouldn't you admit that there's some "good" movies that you personally don't like?

Yup. For years I heard how amazing Garden State was, then I watched and was more then disappointed. Maybe it was because I saw The Last Kiss first, but well no. But really, it wouldn't appear on either of a best list or a favorite list because I hated it. I can't really name a movie that I like and wouldn't want to watch again. I don't watch movies like they are paintings. I look at every detail, I memorize the actor's and actresses performances, I don't know. I've got Dogville sitting right next to Borat on my DVD rack.

numbersix_99 wrote:

I don't think we shoudl distinguish between what think is great and what we think is enjoyable.

That would just mean we're buying into the pretension of cinema. If you think Citizen Kane is a great film but you don't enjoy it... then you don't think it's a great film. Just be honest about it. I don't see a point of having two lists... films I enjoy... and then films I think are great just because Sight and Sound etc says so.

Still gotta disagree. "Greatness" doesn't just mean "because Sight and Sound says so." Great could mean that it changed the way movies are made, distributed, etc. "The Jazz Singer" had a phenomenal impact on the movie business. If "great" equals "important," then it belongs on a list somewhere. But it's painfully dull to actually sit down and watch, and I don't know that anybody under the age of 90 would put it on a "favorite" list.

Is it just semantics? Different shades of the word "great"? Dunno.

I do appreciate your argument, though. One thing I've noticed as I refine my own "Best Movies" lists annually (my one OCD weakness) is that the farther I get away from film school, the more I'm able to admit to myself that I love "West Side Story" and still don't really get "Taxi Driver."

The definition I try to use is one I read from Roger Ebert, but I'm pretty sure he was quoting somebody else: "A great movie is one I can't imagine living the rest of my life without seeing again."

That is a damn good quote Mutard, and that is exactly the mindset I had in putting together my list. I could never have put it better.

geezer9687 wrote:

That is a damn good quote Mutard, and that is exactly the mindset I had in putting together my list. I could never have put it better.

So you'd kick the bucket if you could never see Mission Impossible 2 again..

Although i gotta say, good inclusion of Waynes World. Not one you would see in too many peoples top 100.

I would absolutely hate it if I never saw MI2 again. It is a thoroughly entertaining film in my opinion, but then again, it is very close to the bottom of the list, so it will most likely be bumped off the list in the not so distant future. And I'm glad you like Wayne's World, I hope you also like the sequel... It's coming in the next update

geezer9687 wrote:

95. The Bad News Bears (the original obviously)
94. X-Men
93. Wayne’s World
92. U-571
91. Shrek

There you have it.. Stay tuned for numbers 90-86 tomorrow and feel free to make your comments on these 5 fine films

#95. Well, OBVIOUSLY. Walter Matthau lent such gravitas to that role, one of his best. Can never hear Carmen without thinking of it.
#94. Not the best comic movie ever, but certainly in the top 1/3. Pity the whole series got bogged down after that.
#93. You don't even need your OTHER hand to count the good movies based on SNL sketches. This is always going to be #1.
#92. Didn't see it.
#91. Two Mike Myers films so close together? Well, with this one it's OK. This was such a great surprise at the time, very refreshing.

Bring on the next 5!

So Mutard, you're actually saying that on your "Best Films" list, you would put films you don't enjoy watching ? You did not, do not, and probably never will ???? That you just put them because it is acknowledged to be a defining film of the history of cinema ????!!!!!

Maybe that's why I don't quite get that distinction of "Best Films" and "Favourite Films", because when I make a list of what I think are the best films, they also are my favorite films. I don't put a single film on it that did not leave a huge mark on me, that did not make me change as a film watcher. That I did not genuinely, fully enjoy watching, even if a few of them were hard but deeply moving.

Shryke I highly recommend watching U-571. It is one of the best World War 2 films I have ever seen and like I said, when it first came out it was my favorite movie. Matthew McConaughey's best role in my opinion. very very good movie. I also disagree on your point about Wayne's world being the best SNL related movie, I have another very high up on my list, and I'm not talking about Wayne's World 2, as that falls in at the number 90 spot:

101. A Christmas Story
100. Rush Hour
99. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
98. Snatch
97. Mission: Impossible II
96. The Bad News Bears
95. X-Men
94. Wayne’s World
93. U-571
92. Shrek
91. Wayne’s World 2

90. Cool Runnings
89. Mrs. Doubtfire
88. Home Alone
87. Dumb and Dumber
86. The Poseidon Adventure

It was always a running question for me which Wayne's World movie I preferred. They were always so close in my mind, both really great. I just decided that I like the second one slightly more, so it falls 3 spots higher. I want to see anyone else with Cool Runnings on their list! I love that movie, goes back to the childhood thing. I could watch it any day to this day, it is great!

And chien, each one of these films has left a great mark on me, but hasn't necessarily changed me as a film watcher. I think you look at films more as a work of art, rather than just a medium of entertainment. There is nothing wrong with that, its just a different way of looking at films, and obviously results in different movies being considered great or even good.

Films ARE works of Art ! Of course Geezer !!
The minute you stop thinking of cinema as an art, that's when it's in danger. In some cases it can be just the art of entertaining, but even that is an art. It must be considered an art, because if it's not, the business takes over the quality and the talent.
Film is a craftsman's work. Even films you might consider as just entertaining. Heck, Dumb & Dumber is a crafstman's work. Farrelly Bros are good filmmakers.
You have to see art in everything. If you don't, life gets ugly.

Sorry that was the thought of the day

Yes but looking at films that way makes you hold them to a higher standard and makes it more difficult to just sit back and enjoy a lighter movie. I'm not saying that films are not art, I am saying that the ones you consider your favorites, are the ones that take the art of film-making above and beyond, whereas with me, that is not what I am looking for when I watch a movie. I just want to be entertained for the duration of me watching it. If a film can keep me thoroughly entertained, then it has done its job. These films are the most entertaining of the bunch as far as I am concerned.

Agreed, Chein. Everybody has a different taste in art though. I dont think people should distinguish between great and favorite either. I understand that people can think that a movie was a great movie, but they didnt enjoy (like) it. People just need to admit it. For example, I thought No Country was a greatly made and well acted movie but i didn't like it. Then on the other end, At World's End, I agree it could of been made better, but i really liked it. Another example, Assassination of Jesse James, most everybody would agree that its a well made movie, and I thought it was amazing.

What i'm trying to say is people just need to admit if they liked the movie or not.

UDM, I think you just proved my point. Just because you didnt like a movie doesn't mean it isn't great, and just because you did like it doesn't make it great. You're point about No Country is key to my arguement. You would never put it on a list of your favorites, but you can acknowledge it one of the better films that has been made. I would never argue that from a film-making standpoint that Wayne's World is a masterpiece. But I laugh my ass off every time I see it. The "best" movies take into account all the elements of film, the acting, the cinematography, the Oscar calibur films. Shryke put it best, The "best" movies show up at the Oscars, the "favorite" movies show up at the MTV Movie Awards. I would definitely say There Will Be Blood was a terriffic film from every aspect of film-making. But I wouldn't include it as one of my favorites, because I don't feel the need to ever see it again after the first viewing, as I have said before. I guess we will just have to agree to disagree on this. I don't think anyone is going to budge on their position. It is just all about an attitude towards watching a film. Different films try to accomplish different things. I can appreciate a film that accomplishes what it set out to do, or makes me think about a message and moves me emotionally. But the films that make my list are the ones that simply entertained me more. Thats what I consider to be my favorite. Of course there will be films that accomplish both, like Schindler's List, American History X and No Country for Old Men. These films all make my list. Its just a different taste and a different take on watching movies. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but this is mine. How's that for rambling?

geezer9687 wrote:

90. Wayne’s World 2
89. Cool Runnings
88. Mrs. Doubtfire
87. Home Alone
86. Dumb and Dumber

#90. I liked WW2, but not as much as the first one. As to what might be your favorite SNL film of all time, what could it be? Do you consider The Blues Brothers to be a "sketch"? If so, that'd be my guess. (And by God, if it turns out to be The Ladies Man, or It's Pat, or Night at the Roxbury, or friggin' Stewart Saves His Family, God help me, I will track you down and use harsh language on you.)
#89. Absolutely wonderful movie. I could watch that over and over again. And have.
#88. Also very good.
#87. Also also very good.
#86. I can see the comic appeal of this one, but to me it was just... well, dumb. And not in the good way. I did like the very last scene, though, it was hysterical (with the babes on the bus).

Well Geezer, we do agree on the fact that each of us will stand on his position, and each of us has a different view on cinema !
The rest, indeed, is a whole different story. If I don't like or enjoy a film, I can't ever consider it great. No way. lol

I think we need to distinguish what we've all been referring to as great, and something else. Great is a term of taste, like good, enjoyable, entertaining, etc. I think a lot of you seem to be distinguishing between a film you enjoy, and a film that is not so much "great", but rather it is important to the history and progression of cinema in some way.
I absolutely hate Easy Rider, but it did change cinema for the better, allowing low-budget to get mass distribution. Someone else mentioned The Jazz Singer, etc.

So Geez, just because you don't like a movie does indeed mean you don't think it's great. However, you may not be able to deny that it affected cinema in some way.

To be honest, I've never met one, but if I did meet someone who only included films in their Top 100 because of their importance in cinema's history, I'd punch them. Well, not really, but such a person would be forgetting the most important aspect of cinema.... to entertain an audience. Now, everyone has a difference idea of what's entertaining, which is where the disagreements start. But that's the fun part.

My Studios

ADVICE & ANALYSIS: