OT: Edgar Wright's Fave 1000 films
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swanstep — 9 years ago(July 28, 2016 09:07 PM)
Here's the list (broken up over a couple of posts) in a more easily surveyable form:
Before 1960
1 The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Robert Wiene, 1920
2 Nosferatu F.W. Murnau, 1922
3 Safety Last! Sam Taylor, Fred C. Newmeyer, 1923
4 The Gold Rush Charlie Chaplin, 1925
5 The General Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman, 1926
6 Metropolis Fritz Lang, 1927
7 Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans F.W. Murnau, 1927
8 Steamboat Bill Jr. Buster Keaton, Charles Reisner, 1928
9 The Cameraman Buster Keaton, Edward Sedgwick, 1928
10 The Passion of Joan of Arc Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928
11 Un chien andalou Luis Bunuel, 1929
12 Animal Crackers Victor Heerman, 1930
13 L'Age d'or Luis Bunuel, 1930
14 City Lights Charlie Chaplin, 1931
15 Dracula Tod Browning, 1931
16 Frankenstein James Whale, 1931
17 Little Caesar Mervyn LeRoy, 1931
18 M Fritz Lang, 1931
19 Monkey Business Norman Z. McLeod, 1931
20 The Public Enemy William A. Wellman, 1931
21 Freaks Tod Browning, 1932
22 Island of Lost Souls Erle C. Kenton, 1932
23 Love Me Tonight Rouben Mamoulian, 1932
24 Scarface Howard Hawks, Richard Rosson, 1932
25 The Mummy Karl Freund, 1932
26 The Old Dark House James Whale, 1932
27 42nd Street Lloyd Bacon, 1933
28 Duck Soup Leo McCarey, 1933
29 Footlight Parade Busby Berkeley, Lloyd Bacon, 1933
30 Gold Diggers of 1933 Mervyn LeRoy, 1933
31 King Kong Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack, 1933
32 Sons of the Desert William A. Seiter, 1933
33 The Invisible Man James Whale, 1933
34 Dames Busby Berkeley, Ray Enright, 1934
35 The Man Who Knew Too Much Alfred Hitchcock, 1934
36 The Scarlet Empress Josef von Sternberg, 1934
37 Twentieth Century Howard Hawks, 1934
38 A Night at the Opera Sam Wood, 1935
39 Bride of Frankenstein James Whale, 1935
40 Top Hat Mark Sandrich, 1935
41 Modern Times Charlie Chaplin, 1936
42 The Awful Truth Leo McCarey, 1937
43 Angels with Dirty Faces Michael Curtiz, 1938
44 Bringing Up Baby Howard Hawks, 1938
45 The Adventures of Robin Hood Michael Curtiz, William Keighley, 1938
46 The Lady Vanishes Alfred Hitchcock, 1938
47 The Roaring Twenties Raoul Walsh, 1939
48 The Wizard of Oz Victor Fleming, King Vidor, Mervyn LeRoy, 1939
49 Fantasia Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Ben Sharpsteen & 8 others
50 His Girl Friday Howard Hawks, 1940
51 Pinocchio Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Ben Sharpsteen & 4 others
52 The Bank Dick Edward F. Cline, 1940
53 The Grapes of Wrath John Ford, 1940
54 Citizen Kane Orson Welles, 1941
55 Dumbo Wilfred Jackson, Ben Sharpsteen, Jack Kinney & 3 others
56 Sullivan's Travels Preston Sturges, 1941
57 Suspicion Alfred Hitchcock, 1941
58 The Maltese Falcon John Huston, 1941
59 Cat People Jacques Tourneur, 1942
60 Road to Morocco David Butler, 1942
61 I Walked with a Zombie Jacques Tourneur, 1943
62 Shadow of a Doubt Alfred Hitchcock, 1943
63 The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1943
64 Arsenic and Old Lace Frank Capra, 1944
65 Double Indemnity Billy Wilder, 1944
66 Murder, My Sweet Edward Dmytryk, 1944
67 Brief Encounter David Lean, 1945
68 Dead of Night Robert Hamer, Charles Crichton, Alberto Cavalcanti, Basil Dearden, 1945
69 Detour Edgar G. Ulmer, 1945
70 The Lost Weekend Billy Wilder, 1945
71 A Matter of Life and Death Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1946
72 Beauty and the Beast Jean Cocteau, Ren Clment, 1946
73 Notorious Alfred Hitchcock, 1946
74 The Big Sleep Howard Hawks, 1946
75 The Killers Robert Siodmak, 1946
76 Black Narcissus Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1947
77 Brighton Rock John Boulting, 1947
78 Nightmare Alley Edmund Goulding, 1947
79 Odd Man Out Carol Reed, 1947
80 Out of the Past Jacques Tourneur, 1947
81 Bicycle Thieves Vittorio De Sica, 1948
82 Oliver Twist David Lean, 1948
83 Rope Alfred Hitchcock, 1948
84 The Red Shoes Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1948
85 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre John Huston, 1948
86 Caught Max Ophuls, 1949
87 Criss Cross Robert Siodmak, 1949
88 Jour de fte Jacques Tati, 1949
89 Kind Hearts and Coronets Robert Hamer, 1949
90 The Third Man Carol Reed, 1949
91 All About Eve Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1950
92 D.O.A. Rudolph Mat, 1950
93 Gun Crazy Joseph H. Lewis, 1950
94 In a Lonely Place Nicholas Ray, 1950
95 Los olvidados Luis Bunuel, 1950
96 Rashomon Akira Kurosawa, 1950
97 Sunset Boulevard Billy Wilder, 1950
98 The Asphalt Jungle John Huston, 1950
99 Ace in the Hole Billy Wilder, 1951
100 An American in Paris Vincente Minnelli, 1951
101 Strangers on a Train Alfred Hitchcock, 1951
102 The Prowler Joseph Losey, 1951
103 High Noon Fred Zinnemann, 1952
104 Singin' in the Rain Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly, 1952
105 Duck Amuck Chuck Jones, 1953
106 Glen or Glenda? Edward D. Wood Jr., 1953
107 House of Wax Andr De Toth, 1953
108 M. Hulot's Holiday Jacques Tati, 1953
109 The Band Wagon Vincente Minnelli, 1953
110 The Big Heat Fritz Lang, 1953
111 The Wages of Fear Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1953
112 Godzilla Ishiro Honda, 1954
113 Magnificent Obsession Douglas Sirk, 1954
114 Rear Window Alfred Hitchcock, 1954
115 Seven Samurai Akir -
swanstep — 9 years ago(July 28, 2016 09:09 PM)
1960-1974
168 Beat Girl Edmond T. Grville, 1960
169 Black Sunday Mario Bava, 1960
170 Breathless Jean-Luc Godard, 1960
171 Eyes Without a Face Georges Franju, 1960
172 La dolce vita Federico Fellini, 1960
173 Peeping Tom Michael Powell, 1960
174 Psycho Alfred Hitchcock, 1960
175 Saturday Night and Sunday Morning Karel Reisz, 1960
176 Shoot the Piano Player Francois Truffaut, 1960
177 Spartacus Stanley Kubrick, 1960
178 The Apartment Billy Wilder, 1960
179 The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film Peter Sellers, Richard Lester, 1960
180 The Virgin Spring Ingmar Bergman, 1960
181 Village of the Damned Wolf Rilla, 1960
182 Zazie dans le mtro Louis Malle, 1960
183 Pit and the Pendulum Roger Corman, 1961
184 The Curse of the Werewolf Terence Fisher, 1961
185 The Hustler Robert Rossen, 1961
186 The Innocents Jack Clayton, 1961
187 West Side Story Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins, 1961
188 Yojimbo Akira Kurosawa, 1961
189 Carnival of Souls Herk Harvey, 1962
190 Jules and Jim Francois Truffaut, 1962
191 Knife in the Water Roman Polanski, 1962
192 The Exterminating Angel Luis Bunuel, 1962
193 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance John Ford, 1962
194 The Manchurian Candidate John Frankenheimer, 1962
195 What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Robert Aldrich, 1962
196 81/2 Federico Fellini, 1963
197 Billy Liar John Schlesinger, 1963
198 Bitter Harvest Peter Graham Scott, 1963
199 Black Sabbath Mario Bava, 1963
200 Charade Stanley Donen, 1963
201 From Russia with Love Terence Young, 1963
202 Jason and the Argonauts Don Chaffey, 1963
203 Shock Corridor Samuel Fuller, 1963
204 The Birds Alfred Hitchcock, 1963
205 The Great Escape John Sturges, 1963
206 The Haunting Robert Wise, 1963
207 The Servant Joseph Losey, 1963
208 X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes Roger Corman, 1963
209 A Fistful of Dollars Sergio Leone, 1964
210 A Hard Day's Night Richard Lester, 1964
211 A Shot in the Dark Blake Edwards, 1964
212 Blood and Black Lace Mario Bava, 1964
213 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Stanley Kubrick, 1964
214 First Men in the Moon Nathan Juran, 1964
215 Goldfinger Guy Hamilton, 1964
216 Onibaba Kaneto Shindo, 1964
217 Red Desert Michelangelo Antonioni, 1964
218 The Earth Dies Screaming Terence Fisher, 1964
219 The Masque of the Red Death Roger Corman, 1964
220 The Naked Kiss Samuel Fuller, 1964
221 The Pawnbroker Sidney Lumet, 1964
222 The Umbrellas of Cherbourg Jacques Demy, 1964
223 Zulu Cy Endfield, 1964
224 Bunny Lake Is Missing Otto Preminger, 1965
225 Darling John Schlesinger, 1965
226 Dr Terror's House of Horrors Freddie Francis, 1965
227 Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Russ Meyer, 1965
228 For a Few Dollars More Sergio Leone, 1965
229 Planet of the Vampires Mario Bava, 1965
230 Repulsion Roman Polanski, 1965
231 Simon of the Desert Luis Bunuel, 1965
232 The 10th Victim Elio Petri, 1965
233 The Collector William Wyler, 1965
234 The Hill Sidney Lumet, 1965
235 The Ipcress File Sidney J. Furie, 1965
236 The Knack and How to Get It Richard Lester, 1965
237 Batman Leslie H. Martinson, 1966
238 Blow-Up Michelangelo Antonioni, 1966
239 Cul-de-sac Roman Polanski, 1966
240 Daisies Vera Chytilova, 1966
241 Fantastic Voyage Richard Fleischer, 1966
242 Gambit Ronald Neame, 1966
243 Kill Baby, Kill! Mario Bava, 1966
244 Persona Ingmar Bergman, 1966
245 Seconds John Frankenheimer, 1966
246 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Sergio Leone, 1966
247 The Wild Angels Roger Corman, 1966
248 Tokyo Drifter Seijun Suzuki, 1966
249 What's Up, Tiger Lily? Woody Allen, 1966
250 Belle de jour Luis Bunuel, 1967
251 Bonnie and Clyde Arthur Penn, 1967
252 Cool Hand Luke Stuart Rosenberg, 1967
253 Don't Look Back D.A. Pennebaker, 1967
254 In Cold Blood Richard Brooks, 1967
255 In the Heat of the Night Norman Jewison, 1967
256 Le samourai Jean-Pierre Melville, 1967
257 Mad Monster Party? Jules Bass, 1967
258 Magical Mystery Tour Bernard Knowles, George Harrison, John Lennon & 2 others
259 PlayTime Jacques Tati, 1967
260 Point Blank John Boorman, 1967
261 Privilege Peter Watkins, 1967
262 Quatermass and the Pit Roy Ward Baker, 1967
263 Robbery Peter Yates, 1967
264 The Dirty Dozen Robert Aldrich, 1967
265 The Graduate Mike Nichols, 1967
266 The President's Analyst Theodore J. Flicker, 1967
267 The Producers Mel Brooks, 1967
268 The Trip Roger Corman, 1967
269 2001: A Space Odyssey Stanley Kubrick, 1968
270 Barbarella Roger Vadim, 1968
271 Bullitt Peter Yates, 1968
272 Coogan's Bluff Don Siegel, 1968
273 Danger: Diabolik Mario Bava, 1968
274 Dark of the Sun Jack Cardiff, 1968
275 Head Bob Rafelson, 1968
276 If. Lindsay Anderson, 1968
277 Night of the Living Dead George A. Romero, 1968
278 Once Upon a Time in the West Sergio Leone, 1968
279 Planet of the Apes Franklin J. Schaffner, 1968
280 Pretty Poison Noel Black, 1968
281 Rosemary's Baby Roman Polanski, 1968
282 Spirits of the Dead Federico Fellini, Louis Malle, Roger Vadim, 1968
283 The Boston Strangler Richard Fleischer, 1968
284 The Bride Wore Black Francois Truffaut, 1968
285 The Devil -
swanstep — 9 years ago(July 28, 2016 09:10 PM)
1975-1989
426 A Boy and His Dog L.Q. Jones, 1975
427 Death Race 2000 Paul Bartel, 1975
428 Deep Red Dario Argento, 1975
429 Dog Day Afternoon Sidney Lumet, 1975
430 Jaws Steven Spielberg, 1975
431 Lisztomania Ken Russell, 1975
432 Love and Death Woody Allen, 1975
433 Monty Python and the Holy Grail Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, 1975
434 Night Moves Arthur Penn, 1975
435 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Milo Forman, 1975
436 Picnic at Hanging Rock Peter Weir, 1975
437 Supervixens Russ Meyer, 1975
438 The Stepford Wives Bryan Forbes, 1975
439 Assault on Precinct 13 John Carpenter, 1976
440 Bugsy Malone Alan Parker, 1976
441 Carrie Brian De Palma, 1976
442 Logan's Run Michael Anderson, 1976
443 Marathon Man John Schlesinger, 1976
444 Murder by Death Robert Moore, 1976
445 Network Sidney Lumet, 1976
446 Nuts in May Mike Leigh, 1976
447 Taxi Driver Martin Scorsese, 1976
448 The Gumball Rally Chuck Bail, 1976
449 The Man Who Fell to Earth Nicolas Roeg, 1976
450 The Omen Richard Donner, 1976
451 The Tenant Roman Polanski, 1976
452 Who Can Kill a Child? Narciso Ibanez Serrador, 1976
453 Annie Hall Woody Allen, 1977
454 Capricorn One Peter Hyams, 1977
455 Close Encounters of the Third Kind Steven Spielberg, 1977
456 Demon Seed Donald Cammell, 1977
457 Eraserhead David Lynch, 1977
458 High Anxiety Mel Brooks, 1977
459 Jabberwocky Terry Gilliam, 1977
460 Martin George A. Romero, 1977
461 Rolling Thunder John Flynn, 1977
462 Sorcerer William Friedkin, 1977
463 Star Wars George Lucas, 1977
464 Suspiria Dario Argento, 1977
465 That Obscure Object of Desire Luis Bunuel, 1977
466 The Duellists Ridley Scott, 1977
467 The Kentucky Fried Movie John Landis, 1977
468 The Sentinel Michael Winner, 1977
469 The Spy Who Loved Me Lewis Gilbert, 1977
470 Blue Collar Paul Schrader, 1978
471 Coma Michael Crichton, 1978
472 Dawn of the Dead George A. Romero, 1978
473 Days of Heaven Terrence Malick, 1978
474 Death on the Nile John Guillermin, 1978
475 Fingers James Toback, 1978
476 Grease Randal Kleiser, 1978
477 Halloween John Carpenter, 1978
478 I Wanna Hold Your Hand Robert Zemeckis, 1978
479 Invasion of the Body Snatchers Philip Kaufman, 1978
480 Long Weekend Colin Eggleston, 1978
481 National Lampoon's Animal House John Landis, 1978
482 Piranha Joe Dante, 1978
483 Straight Time Ulu Grosbard, 1978
484 Superman Richard Donner, 1978
485 The 36th Chamber of Shaolin Chia-Liang Liu, 1978
486 The Deer Hunter Michael Cimino, 1978
487 The Driver Walter Hill, 1978
488 The Fury Brian De Palma, 1978
489 The Last Waltz Martin Scorsese, 1978
490 The Silent Partner Daryl Duke, 1978
491 Watership Down Martin Rosen, 1978
492 Alien Ridley Scott, 1979
493 All That Jazz Bob Fosse, 1979
494 Being There Hal Ashby, 1979
495 Mad Max George Miller, 1979
496 Manhattan Woody Allen, 1979
497 Monty Python's Life of Brian Terry Jones, 1979
498 Rock 'n' Roll High School Jerry Zucker, Joe Dante, Allan Arkush, 1979
499 Scum Alan Clarke, 1979
500 The Black Hole Gary Nelson, 1979
501 The Brood David Cronenberg, 1979
502 The Jerk Carl Reiner, 1979
503 The Wanderers Philip Kaufman, 1979
504 The Warriors Walter Hill, 1979
505 Winter Kills William Richert, 1979
506 Airplane! Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, 1980
507 Dressed to Kill Brian De Palma, 1980
508 Flash Gordon Mike Hodges, 1980
509 Raging Bull Martin Scorsese, 1980
510 Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back Irvin Kershner, 1980
511 Stardust Memories Woody Allen, 1980
512 Superman II Richard Lester, 1980
513 The Blues Brothers John Landis, 1980
514 The Changeling Peter Medak, 1980
515 The Elephant Man David Lynch, 1980
516 The Fog John Carpenter, 1980
517 The Long Good Friday John Mackenzie, 1980
518 The Ninth Configuration William Peter Blatty, 1980
519 The Shining Stanley Kubrick, 1980
520 The Stunt Man Richard Rush, 1980
521 An American Werewolf in London John Landis, 1981
522 Blow Out Brian De Palma, 1981
523 Body Heat Lawrence Kasdan, 1981
524 Cutter's Way Ivan Passer, 1981
525 Dead & Buried Gary Sherman, 1981
526 Diva Jean-Jacques Beineix, 1981
527 Escape from New York John Carpenter, 1981
528 Gregory's Girl Bill Forsyth, 1981
529 Looker Michael Crichton, 1981
530 Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior George Miller, 1981
531 Modern Romance Albert Brooks, 1981
532 Ms. 45 Abel Ferrara, 1981
533 Raiders of the Lost Ark Steven Spielberg, 1981
534 Road Games Richard Franklin, 1981
535 Sharky's Machine Burt Reynolds, 1981
536 Southern Comfort Walter Hill, 1981
537 The Beyond Lucio Fulci, 1981
538 The Evil Dead Sam Raimi, 1981
539 The Howling Joe Dante, 1981
540 Thief Michael Mann, 1981
541 Time Bandits Terry Gilliam, 1981
542 Venom Piers Haggard, 1981
543 48 Hrs. Walter Hill, 1982
544 Blade Runner Ridley Scott, 1982
545 Creepshow George A. Romero, 1982
546 Diner Barry Levinson, 1982
547 E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial Steven Spielberg, 1982
548 Eating Raoul Paul Bartel, 1982
549 Fitzcarraldo Werner Herzog, 1982
550 Koyaanisqatsi Godfrey Reggio, 1982
551 Poltergeist Tobe Hooper, 1982
552 Star Trek II: The Wrath of -
swanstep — 9 years ago(July 28, 2016 09:12 PM)
1990-2000
660 Arachnophobia Frank Marshall, 1990
661 Goodfellas Martin Scorsese, 1990
662 Gremlins 2: The New Batch Joe Dante, 1990
663 La femme Nikita Luc Besson, 1990
664 Life Is Sweet Mike Leigh, 1990
665 Miami Blues George Armitage, 1990
666 Miller's Crossing Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, 1990
667 Misery Rob Reiner, 1990
668 Tremors Ron Underwood, 1990
669 Trust Hal Hartley, 1990
670 Wild at Heart David Lynch, 1990
671 Barton Fink Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, 1991
672 Cape Fear Martin Scorsese, 1991
673 Delicatessen Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro, 1991
674 Homicide David Mamet, 1991
675 JFK Oliver Stone, 1991
676 Johnny Suede Tom DiCillo, 1991
677 L.A. Story Mick Jackson, 1991
678 Naked Lunch David Cronenberg, 1991
679 Point Break Kathryn Bigelow, 1991
680 Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky Lam Ngai Kai, 1991
681 Terminator 2: Judgment Day James Cameron, 1991
682 The Last Boy Scout Tony Scott, 1991
683 The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven, 1991
684 The Rapture Michael Tolkin, 1991
685 The Silence of the Lambs Jonathan Demme, 1991
686 Bad Lieutenant Abel Ferrara, 1992
687 Batman Returns Tim Burton, 1992
688 Bitter Moon Roman Polanski, 1992
689 Dead Alive Peter Jackson, 1992
690 El Mariachi Robert Rodriguez, 1992
691 Glengarry Glen Ross James Foley, 1992
692 Hard Boiled John Woo, 1992
693 Man Bites Dog Rmy Belvaux, Andr Bonzel, Benot Poelvoorde, 1992
694 One False Move Carl Franklin, 1992
695 Police Story 3: Super Cop Stanley Tong, 1992
696 Raising Cain Brian De Palma, 1992
697 Reservoir Dogs Quentin Tarantino, 1992
698 Romper Stomper Geoffrey Wright, 1992
699 The Player Robert Altman, 1992
700 Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me David Lynch, 1992
701 Unforgiven Clint Eastwood, 1992
702 A Man in Uniform David Wellington, 1993
703 Bad Boy Bubby Rolf de Heer, 1993
704 Carlito's Way Brian De Palma, 1993
705 Cronos Guillermo del Toro, 1993
706 Dazed and Confused Richard Linklater, 1993
707 Groundhog Day Harold Ramis, 1993
708 Jurassic Park Steven Spielberg, 1993
709 Naked Mike Leigh, 1993
710 Raining Stones Ken Loach, 1993
711 Red Rock West John Dahl, 1993
712 Suture Scott McGehee, David Siegel, 1993
713 The Legend II Corey Yuen, 1993
714 True Romance Tony Scott, 1993
715 Wallace & Gromit in The Wrong Trousers Nick Park, 1993
716 Amateur Hal Hartley, 1994
717 Chungking Express Wong Kar-wai, 1994
718 Clerks Kevin Smith, 1994
719 Ed Wood Tim Burton, 1994
720 Fist of Legend Gordon Chan, 1994
721 Heavenly Creatures Peter Jackson, 1994
722 Lon: The Professional Luc Besson, 1994
723 Nightwatch Ole Bornedal, 1994
724 Once Were Warriors Lee Tamahori, 1994
725 Pulp Fiction Quentin Tarantino, 1994
726 Speed Jan de Bont, 1994
727 The Last Seduction John Dahl, 1994
728 The Legend of Drunken Master Jackie Chan, Chia-Liang Liu, 1994
729 The Shawshank Redemption Frank Darabont, 1994
730 Three Colors: Red Krzysztof Kielowski, 1994
731 Desperado Robert Rodriguez, 1995
732 Heat Michael Mann, 1995
733 La Haine Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995
734 Seven David Fincher, 1995
735 The Doom Generation Gregg Araki, 1995
736 The Quick and the Dead Sam Raimi, 1995
737 The Usual Suspects Bryan Singer, 1995
738 Toy Story John Lasseter, 1995
739 Welcome to the Dollhouse Todd Solondz, 1995
740 Big Night Campbell Scott, Stanley Tucci, 1996
741 Bottle Rocket Wes Anderson, 1996
742 Bound Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski, 1996
743 Breaking the Waves Lars von Trier, 1996
744 Citizen Ruth Alexander Payne, 1996
745 Flirting with Disaster David O. Russell, 1996
746 Fargo Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, 1996
747 Freeway Matthew Bright, 1996
748 Romeo Juliet Baz Luhrmann, 1996
749 Scream Wes Craven, 1996
750 Small Faces Gillies MacKinnon, 1996
751 Swingers Doug Liman, 1996
752 Trainspotting Danny Boyle, 1996
753 Waiting for Guffman Christopher Guest, 1996
754 When We Were Kings Leon Gast, 1996
755 Boogie Nights Paul Thomas Anderson, 1997
756 Cube Vincenzo Natali, 1997
757 Fireworks Takeshi Kitano, 1997
758 Funny Games Michael Haneke, 1997
759 Grosse Pointe Blank George Armitage, 1997
760 Gummo Harmony Korine, 1997
761 Jackie Brown Quentin Tarantino, 1997
762 L.A. Confidential Curtis Hanson, 1997
763 Lost Highway David Lynch, 1997
764 Nil by Mouth Gary Oldman, 1997
765 Retroactive Louis Morneau, 1997
766 Starship Troopers Paul Verhoeven, 1997
767 The Ice Storm Ang Lee, 1997
768 A Simple Plan Sam Raimi, 1998
769 American History X Tony Kaye, 1998
770 Buffalo '66 Vincent Gallo, 1998
771 Happiness Todd Solondz, 1998
772 I Stand Alone Gaspar No, 1998
773 Last Night Don McKellar, 1998
774 Love Is the Devil John Maybury, 1998
775 Out of Sight Steven Soderbergh, 1998
776 Pi Darren Aronofsky, 1998
777 Ring Hideo Nakata, 1998
778 Run Lola Run Tom Tykwer, 1998
779 Rushmore Wes Anderson, 1998
780 The Celebration Thomas Vinterberg, 1998
781 The General John Boorman, 1998
782 There's Something About Mary Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly, 1998
783 Wild Things John McNaughton, 1998
784 A Room for Romeo Brass Shane Meadows, 1999
785 American Movie Chris Smith, 1999
786 Audition Takashi Miike, 1999
787 Being Joh -
swanstep — 9 years ago(July 28, 2016 09:14 PM)
2001-2016
812 The Low Down Jamie Thraves, 2000
813 Amlie Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001
814 Donnie Darko Richard Kelly, 2001
815 Frailty Bill Paxton, 2001
816 Jeepers Creepers Victor Salva, 2001
817 Mulholland Drive David Lynch, 2001
818 Ocean's Eleven Steven Soderbergh, 2001
819 Shaolin Soccer Stephen Chow, 2001
820 Spirited Away Hayao Miyazaki, 2001
821 The Devil's Backbone Guillermo del Toro, 2001
822 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Peter Jackson, 2001
823 The Others Alejandro Amenabar, 2001
824 The Royal Tenenbaums Wes Anderson, 2001
825 Training Day Antoine Fuqua, 2001
826 Y tu mama tambin Alfonso Cuaron, 2001
827 24 Hour Party People Michael Winterbottom, 2002
828 Adaptation. Spike Jonze, 2002
829 City of God Fernando Meirelles, Katia Lund, 2002
830 Hero Zhang Yimou, 2002
831 Infernal Affairs Andrew Lau Wai-keung, Alan Mak, 2002
832 Irreversible Gaspar No, 2002
833 Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance Park Chan-wook, 2002
834 Good Bye Lenin! Wolfgang Becker, 2003
835 High Tension Alexandre Aja, 2003
836 Kill Bill: Vol. 1 Quentin Tarantino, 2003
837 Los Angeles Plays Itself Thom Andersen, 2003
838 Lost in Translation Sofia Coppola, 2003
839 Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Peter Weir, 2003
840 Memories of Murder Bong Joon-ho, 2003
841 Oldboy Park Chan-wook, 2003
842 Ong-Bak Prachya Pinkaew, 2003
843 School of Rock Richard Linklater, 2003
844 The Triplets of Belleville Sylvain Chomet, 2003
845 Touching the Void Kevin Macdonald, 2003
846 Windy City Heat Bobcat Goldthwait, 2003
847 Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy Adam McKay, 2004
848 Before Sunset Richard Linklater, 2004
849 Born to Fight Panna Rittikrai, 2004
850 Collateral Michael Mann, 2004
851 Dead Man's Shoes Shane Meadows, 2004
852 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Michel Gondry, 2004
853 Kill Bill: Vol. 2 Quentin Tarantino, 2004
854 Kung Fu Hustle Stephen Chow, 2004
855 Man on Fire Tony Scott, 2004
856 Napoleon Dynamite Jared Hess, 2004
857 Sideways Alexander Payne, 2004
858 Spider-Man 2 Sam Raimi, 2004
859 Team America: World Police Trey Parker, 2004
860 The Bourne Supremacy Paul Greengrass, 2004
861 The Incredibles Brad Bird, 2004
862 A History of Violence David Cronenberg, 2005
863 Brick Rian Johnson, 2005
864 Brokeback Mountain Ang Lee, 2005
865 Domino Tony Scott, 2005
866 Hidden Michael Haneke, 2005
867 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Shane Black, 2005
868 Sin City Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller, 2005
869 The Descent Neil Marshall, 2005
870 Apocalypto Mel Gibson, 2006
871 Casino Royale Martin Campbell, 2006
872 Children of Men Alfonso Cuaron, 2006
873 Inside Man Spike Lee, 2006
874 Marie Antoinette Sofia Coppola, 2006
875 Pan's Labyrinth Guillermo del Toro, 2006
876 The Foot Fist Way Jody Hill, 2006
877 The Host Bong Joon-ho, 2006
878 United 93 Paul Greengrass, 2006
879 [REC] Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza, 2007
880 Control Anton Corbijn, 2007
881 Hot Rod Akiva Schaffer, 2007
882 No Country for Old Men Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, 2007
883 Persepolis Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi, 2007
884 Superbad Greg Mottola, 2007
885 There Will Be Blood Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007
886 The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters Seth Gordon, 2007
887 Timecrimes Nacho Vigalondo, 2007
888 Zodiac David Fincher, 2007
889 Gomorrah Matteo Garrone, 2008
890 Happy-Go-Lucky Mike Leigh, 2008
891 Hunger Steve McQueen, 2008
892 Let the Right One In Tomas Alfredson, 2008
893 Man on Wire James Marsh, 2008
894 Synecdoche, New York Charlie Kaufman, 2008
895 The Dark Knight Christopher Nolan, 2008
896 The Ruins Carter Smith, 2008
897 The Wrestler Darren Aronofsky, 2008
898 A Prophet Jacques Audiard, 2009
899 A Serious Man Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, 2009
900 Coraline Henry Selick, 2009
901 Crank: High Voltage Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor, 2009
902 District 9 Neill Blomkamp, 2009
903 Enter the Void Gaspar No, 2009
904 Fantastic Mr. Fox Wes Anderson, 2009
905 Fish Tank Andrea Arnold, 2009
906 Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno Serge Bromberg, Ruxandra Medrea, 2009
907 Inglourious Basterds Quentin Tarantino, 2009
908 Le Donk & Scorz-ayz-ee Shane Meadows, 2009
909 Moon Duncan Jones, 2009
910 Splice Vincenzo Natali, 2009
911 World's Greatest Dad Bobcat Goldthwait, 2009
912 13 Assassins Takashi Miike, 2010
913 Animal Kingdom David Michod, 2010
914 Black Swan Darren Aronofsky, 2010
915 Inception Christopher Nolan, 2010
916 Point Blank Fred Cavay, 2010
917 Senna Asif Kapadia, 2010
918 The Arbor Clio Barnard, 2010
919 The Social Network David Fincher, 2010
920 The Town Ben Affleck, 2010
921 The Trip Michael Winterbottom, 2010
922 Bernie Richard Linklater, 2011
923 Beyond the Black Rainbow Panos Cosmatos, 2011
924 Michael Markus Schleinzer, 2011
925 Midnight in Paris Woody Allen, 2011
926 The Artist Michel Hazanavicius, 2011
927 The Cabin in the Woods Drew Goddard, 2011
928 The Raid: Redemption Gareth Evans, 2011
929 The Skin I Live In Pedro Almodovar, 2011
930 Anna Karenina Joe Wright, 2012
931 Berberian Sound Studio Peter Strickland, 2012
932 Compliance Craig Zobel -
swanstep — 9 years ago(September 11, 2016 07:05 AM)
998 The Wolfpack Crystal Moselle, 2015
An undistinguished documentary on a decidedly unweighty subject (and with a massive blindspot about its own conception), The Wolfpack is probably one of Wright's least defensible/sensible picks. Urgent, landmark documentaries like Act of Killing, Fog of War, Capturing The Friedmans, Crumb aren't on his list, and this piece of fluff is? Too bizarre.
Next up, back to the '70s with:
Melody (1971)
Electra Glide in Blue (1973) -
swanstep — 9 years ago(September 12, 2016 08:08 AM)
377 Electra Glide in Blue James William Guercio, 1973
A pretty great-looking ramble through the same territory as Easy Rider and Two-Lane Black-top and Vanishing Point only this time from the vantage-point of a Vietnam Vet, straight arrow, motor-cycle cop in Monument Valley Arizona for the most part (with all the western film resonance that brings). It also has some of the same music instincts as Play Misty for Me and Zabriskie Point from the same period, so, e.g., there's a great concert performance thrown in.
The story and dialogue's fairly elliptical at times so I often had the feeling I was missing something or having to make guesses about what happened and often the action was staged in a way that just made it easy to miss something. This isn't a problem at home when you can pause and rewind etc., but I imagine that back in 1973 I lot of people probably left the theater going 'Huh?' Films pay a price at the box office for not spelling things out clearly. but maybe they make it back in rewatchability and cult-status later on?
Superior photography from Conrad Hall is a highlight throughout and some of the movie's thoughts about police paranoia and brutality feel quite timely right now. Every cop we see apart from Robert Blake is corrupt and one fantasizes that there's a 'Police genocide' going on. Yikes.
Jeannine Riley has a good supporting part that pays off with a scene that almost heads into Blue Velvet territory.
Does one really need Electra Glide after all the other movies I've mentioned? Probably not, but Wright doesn't seem to have been troubled by that sort of consideration (whereas if I make a top x list I'm always tortured by what I'm having to leave out, so I'm always eager to cull for redundancy, non-essential-ness, etc.!). Anyhow, I'm glad to have seen EGIB in the spirit of '70s downer completeness. -
ecarle — 9 years ago(September 12, 2016 05:06 PM)
377 Electra Glide in Blue James William Guercio, 1973
A pretty great-looking ramble through the same territory as Easy Rider and Two-Lane Black-top and Vanishing Point only this time from the vantage-point of a Vietnam Vet, straight arrow, motor-cycle cop in Monument Valley Arizona for the most part (with all the western film resonance that brings). It also has some of the same music instincts as Play Misty for Me and Zabriskie Point from the same period, so, e.g., there's a great concert performance thrown in.
How about them early 70's road movies, huh? Especially the ones with the wide desert vistas and hilly highways ahead
I would like to point out that a few years ago, I drove from Reno Nevada down to Las Vegas using a desert route andit was like those movies. Vanishing Point in particular, I think I ran through some of the same desert towns.
The story and dialogue's fairly elliptical at times so I often had the feeling I was missing something or having to make guesses about what happened and often the action was staged in a way that just made it easy to miss something. This isn't a problem at home when you can pause and rewind etc., but I imagine that back in 1973 I lot of people probably left the theater going 'Huh?' Films pay a price at the box office for not spelling things out clearly. but maybe they make it back in rewatchability and cult-status later on?
Maybe. Two Lane Blacktop is another good example of this. The actors are standing there, saying lines, but they don't really fit as dialogue in the razor sharp Ping-Pong Psycho tradition. And the actors mumble. And sometimes the screen goes dark in the lighting and you can't see who's who.
"I Love the Seventies!"Superior photography from Conrad Hall is a highlight throughout and some of the movie's thoughts about police paranoia and brutality feel quite timely right now. Every cop we see apart from Robert Blake is corrupt and one fantasizes that there's a 'Police genocide' going on. Yikes.
A theme that never really goes away. Keep in mind that in late (Xmas) 1973, Dirty Harry himself went up against a "uniformed death squad" in "Magnum Force." It seemed to be Clint Eastwood's apologia for the "fascist" aspects of Harry, but it won no solace for him from Pauline Kael(or was it Judith Crist?) who wrote: "Evidently Harry is only mad at these killer cops because they didn't check with him first."
The late Sidney Lumet made many films about crooked cops(Serpico, Prince of the City, Q and A, Night Falls on Manhattan), he said, "because that is the most important topic in the world. If your cops are corrupt, your society is in grave danger." (Or something like that.)
Jeannine Riley has a good supporting part that pays off with a scene that almost heads into Blue Velvet territory.
I've not seen all of this film, I don't remember her in it. She was a 60's cutie on Petticoat Junction?
As the younger folks say around these boards: does she get naked?
Oh, never mind.
Does one really need Electra Glide after all the other movies I've mentioned? Probably not, but Wright doesn't seem to have been troubled by that sort of consideration (whereas if I make a top x list I'm always tortured by what I'm having to leave out, so I'm always eager to cull for redundancy, non-essential-ness,
Well, you're doing a bang-up job.
I've only seen parts of this movie, but I do recall that the director had made his name as a producer of Chicago albums(?) and the famous last shot with Robert Blake , who slowly worked his way up to regular work (Baretta)mainly by showing up and playing the rebel on Johnny Carson(Carson loved it) and of course eventually threw it all away. -
swanstep — 9 years ago(September 12, 2016 05:49 PM)
I've not seen all of this film, I don't remember her in it. She was a 60's cutie on Petticoat Junction?
That's her.
As the younger folks say around these boards: does she get naked?
No. She's quite sexy though. She plays a beaten-down-by-life waitress/hostess and she's in a belly-top in her big sad scene which shows off her very long mid-riff with a great nipped in waist. Her character tells us she was a rockette before things started going wrong for her, and we see that she's still got a body that won't quit (as guys say). -
swanstep — 9 years ago(September 13, 2016 06:08 AM)
652 Virile Games Jan Svankmajer, 1988
Virile Games is a surreal, 14 minute, word-less, mostly collage and claymation short about football/soccer and the hooliganism that is often associated with it (particularly in the '80s). It didn't do much for me. Should perhaps be seen while intoxicated/stoned to be best appreciated I suspect.
At any rate, VG's inclusion marks Wright's list as a deeply personal one. Sticking to animation broadly conceived, maybe no other film buff alive would pick Virile Games over landmark late '80s animes like Grave of the Fireflies, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service yet that's what Wright does. -
swanstep — 9 years ago(September 14, 2016 08:30 AM)
336 Melody, Waris Hussein, 1971
Gawd, you need to be 10 or 11 to really enjoy Melody. It's the sort of film that breaks into a pop-song assisted montage literally every couple of minutes, i.e., about half the film is these montages. A very simple story that could be done within an hour is thereby stretched out to nearly double that length. If you quint properly I guess you can see some of Wes Anderson oeuvre as flowing from here, esp. Moonrise Kingdom but also Rushmore. Melody is a little like Moonrise Kingdom made by someone with no interest in production design, no real editing or shot-making skill, no understanding of good dialogue, and no ability to elicit good performances from young actors!
But, I dunno, the IMDb score for this film is 7.9 (on reletively few votes) - which is only just outside the IMDb top 250 (things like The Avengers and Roman Holiday are some of the lowest ranked 8.0s in the top 250 for comparison). So I'm guessing that Melody just does hit people very hard at a certain age and perhaps from a specific generation. There's no arguing with that.
In my view, then, this is another of Wright's picks that's truly personal.
684 The Rapture, Michael Tolkin, 1991
I remember this getting a delayed release or maybe re-release on the art-house circuit after The Player written by Tolkin hit fairly big in 1992.so I was glad to finally get to see it. SoTolkin does the official Christian end-of-the-world scenario pretty straight. Rather like Scorsese's Last Temptation of Christ, The Rapture's ideal audience is a a certain sort of thoughtful Christian, almost everyone else it's either going to really annoy or slightly bore. I was in the latter category. That said, there's a good central performance from Mimi Rogers, and her initial (pre-finding God) 'swinger lifestyle' + work ennui is intelligently drawn. Still, really not my thing. -
ecarle — 9 years ago(September 17, 2016 11:04 AM)
That said, there's a good central performance from Mimi Rogers, and her initial (pre-finding God) 'swinger lifestyle' + work ennui is intelligently drawn
I saw The Rapture once on cable. I don't remember much about it other than the premise(which gets talked about and had an HBO series about it a few years ago, the Rapture that is.) I recall that Ms. Rogers(the first Mrs. Tom Cruise, I might add) did some sex scenes as part of that swinger lifestyle part.
What I mainly remember but not why it happened, or to who was a long terrifying sequence of a crazed shooter killing a lot of folks in an office. Am I right? Was someone close to the Rogers character killed?
The concept of a crazed shooter killing a lot of folks in an office is chilling and too real, I might also add.
I recall one episode of "Six Feet Under." Each episode opened with the death of a character by some oddball means sometimes(a cougar killing a mountain jogger, a woman whose head was crushed when she raised it up out of a sunroof and hit a low hanging pole, etc.) The "probable victim" was in her kitchen cooking with gas and on the phone. She's gonna die. Nothe people on the end of the phone are going to die. Office shooting. Big surprise.
The John Grisham courtroom thriller "Runaway Jury" used then-noted actor Dylan McDermott to play a very brief role as a husband and father who is killed in the film's first scene: an office shooting.
I remember these scenes because they just seem to be one of the "top ten" horrors that could be visited upon "regular everyday people" in the course of their work. I doubt that Hitchcock could have ever brought himself to film such a thingbut it was his subject in more cinematic ways. -
swanstep — 9 years ago(September 17, 2016 07:38 PM)
What I mainly remember but not why it happened, or to who was a long terrifying sequence of a crazed shooter killing a lot of folks in an office. Am I right? Was someone close to the Rogers character killed?
That's one of the best and most memorable scenes for sure: pre-X-files, David Duchovny playing Mimi Rogers's husband (a sceptical swinger-type whom Rogers has been able to convert to her hyper-Christianity, and with whom she now - there's a '6 years later' intertitle - has a kid and a thriving business) is the shooter's final victim that we see.
The shooter isn't random, he's one of Duchovny's employees that he has to fire. There's a long-ish scene where we see Duchovny firing him as compassionately as it's possible to do so (explaining how they've tried to work with guy, got him to go to AA, etc. but the work's still terrible) but the guy just gets more and more angry and he ends up hurling a lot of invective against Duchovny's faith and the general saintliness of the office environment that Duchovny has created.
At this point we're about an hour into the movie waiting and expecting The Rapture to begin any second, and we expect that Rapture to be announced by Trumpets blaring from the heavens etc.
After the firing there's a short word-less, chorally-scored scene of Duchovny and Rogers at home in a maximally calm, The-End-Is-Nigh-but-we-couldn't-be-happier prayer circle with their kid. We cut back to a cherubic Duchovny in the office (the next day or possible a few days later we assume) on some thunderous sound. Could it be The Rapture arriving? No! It's the blasts from fired guy shooting up the office. He shoots and kills a few people then Duchonovy runs in to where he is:
uchovny: Louis (imploringly)
Shooter: No speeches preacher.
Duchovny (raising his hands): I have a little girl.
Shooter: So what? (shoots Duchovny dead, checks that he's dead)
Cut to daughter greeting mourners at family home. Mimi Rogers and her daughter are calm and comforting everyone else..
The concept of a crazed shooter killing a lot of folks in an office is chilling and too real, I might also add.
I had to check the timeline on this, but it turns out that The Rapture's office-shooting scene may have been one of the first directly responding to the up-tick of such incidents in the '80s. While disgruntled worker/office shooters/rampage killers have always occurred (once every decade or so in the US) there was a flurry in the late '80s and early '90s that really got people talking and nervous - a series of post office-related massacres (hence the grim humor of 'going postal') and a horrible stalking-related case in CA where the guy had the full military armor/1000s of rounds of ammo degree of preparedness for mayhem. The latter story was made into a pretty good and disturbing docu-drama,TV-movie in 1993, 'I Can Make You Love Me', w/ Brooke Shields as the stalkee and John-Boy Walton himself, Richard Thomas as the stalker. I remember that TV-movie being a bit of an event because of its novelty. But The Rapture's scene was 2 years ahead of that -
ecarle — 9 years ago(October 05, 2016 07:45 PM)
What I mainly remember but not why it happened, or to who was a long terrifying sequence of a crazed shooter killing a lot of folks in an office. Am I right? Was someone close to the Rogers character killed?
That's one of the best and most memorable scenes for sure: pre-X-files, David Duchovny playing Mimi Rogers's husband (a sceptical swinger-type whom Rogers has been able to convert to her hyper-Christianity, and with whom she now - there's a '6 years later' intertitle - has a kid and a thriving business) is the shooter's final victim that we see.
Aha. David Duchovny has some of that Dylan McDermitt look to him. Interesting that they played office shooter victims in two separate films.
The shooter isn't random, he's one of Duchovny's employees that he has to fire. There's a long-ish scene where we see Duchovny firing him as compassionately as it's possible to do so (explaining how they've tried to work with guy, got him to go to AA, etc. but the work's still terrible) but the guy just gets more and more angry and he ends up hurling a lot of invective against Duchovny's faith and the general saintliness of the office environment that Duchovny has created.
Yes, I remember this now. Firing an employee is always a tricky bit of business, but nowadays I suppose it can stand as a life-endangering task.
Could it be The Rapture arriving? No! It's the blasts from fired guy shooting up the office. He shoots and kills a few people then Duchonovy runs in to where he is:
Bait and switch? I cannot recall if The Rapture was actually portrayed in what was a modestly budgeted film. (Ah, hell, besides the office shooting and the sex scenes, I can't remember anything. And all I remember of the sex scenes is that they were there.)
uchovny: Louis (imploringly)
Shooter: No speeches preacher.
Duchovny (raising his hands): I have a little girl.
Shooter: So what? (shoots Duchovny dead, checks that he's dead)
Cut to daughter greeting mourners at family home. Mimi Rogers and her daughter are calm and comforting everyone else..
A sad invocation of what Hitchcock himself covered in Psycho and Frenzy: there's no reasoning with someone gone mad who is out to kill you.
The concept of a crazed shooter killing a lot of folks in an office is chilling and too real, I might also add.
I had to check the timeline on this, but it turns out that The Rapture's office-shooting scene may have been one of the first directly responding to the up-tick of such incidents in the '80s. While disgruntled worker/office shooters/rampage killers have always occurred (once every decade or so in the US) there was a flurry in the late '80s and early '90s that really got people talking and nervous - a series of post office-related massacres (hence the grim humor of 'going postal')
The post office ones were particularly scary in suggesting that there was something about the work pressure there that was "ready to blow." One massacre inspired another and another.
I've always been incredibly polite to post office workers, no matter how slow they go!
In a different context, I've sometimes felt that the beloved 4 guys versus 200 massacre that climaxes The Wild Bunch could be seen as the Bunch "going postal." Yes, their friend has been tortured and killed, but they are middle-aged men at the end with no prospects
and a horrible stalking-related case in CA where the guy had the full military armor/1000s of rounds of ammo degree of preparedness for mayhem. The latter story was made into a pretty good and disturbing docu-drama,TV-movie in 1993, 'I Can Make You Love Me', w/ Brooke Shields as the stalkee and John-Boy Walton himself, Richard Thomas as the stalker. I remember that TV-movie being a bit of an event because of its novelty. But The Rapture's scene was 2 years ahead of that
Hmmmdidn't see that one. Well, office shootings are "in the air" with everything else that's horrible out there right now. But evidently, the odds are still with us that this WON'T happen to us -
swanstep — 9 years ago(September 17, 2016 04:20 AM)
901 Crank: High Voltage Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor, 2009
Unbelievably horrible, unless perhaps you see it with a group and you're all stoned out of your gourds, Crank 2 is padded out with various sorts of nonsense and is finally the sort of 90 minute film that is really 80 minutes + ten minutes of credits laced with bloopers.
I actually watched Crank (2006) in preparation for this. It's considerably better. Crank 2 just repeats most of Crank's greatest hits but with much amplified cartoonishness and with no real regard fr wither plot or character, becoming I suppose something like a live-action, hard-R, video-game or Bugs Bunny or Wile E. Coyote movie.
Cranks 2's video-game-y, hyper-kinetic style does remind one a little of Edgar Wright's own Scott Pilgrim (also a failure in my view) but the plain fact of the matter is that Wright's just a lot better at such stuff than Neveldine and Taylor are. I remember N&T getting a bit of buzz out of the Crank films - they had some high-profile fans like Wright! - but that was clearly nuts as their subsequent (three duds in a row) career proves. -
swanstep — 9 years ago(September 20, 2016 09:10 AM)
918 The Arbor Clio Barnard, 2010
Absolutely shattering, innovative documentary about the life and family of precocious English voice-of-the-struggling-working-class playwright, Andrea Dunbar (who dies age 29). Becomes a case-study of cycles of hopelessness, abuse, and tragedy that's truly upsetting. Documentary works by having actors largely lipsync to tapes of Dunbar and her family and friends talking through Dunbar's life and those of her kids. It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but if The Arbor sounds at all like your sort of thing, it will be. It's a superb piece of work on a difficult subject-matter, one that probably will be remembered as one of the canonical documentaries henceforth. (It's the complete opposite of The Wolfpack from further down Wright's list!) -
swanstep — 9 years ago(September 26, 2016 06:39 AM)
993 The Gift Joel Edgerton, 2015
A very impressive thriller debut written and directed by (as well as co-starring) Edgerton. Owes a fair bit to Haneke's Cach I'd say, or, put another way, The Gift feels like the exact mid-point between Cach and standard Hollywood insinuating-Psycho-inside films going back to at least Strangers On A Train. Good stuff.
Suddenly for me there's reason to look forward to Edgerton's new film Loving about the Loving v. Virginia US Supreme Court Case that struck down all laws (such as Virginia's) forbidding inter-racial marriages. I'd kind of written Loving off as purest Oscar-Bait, but Edgerton showed in The Gift that he's got some serious chops and is one to watch so even if it is Oscar-bait it could be a very superior example. If it is then Edgerton himself may quickly start racking up awards as fellow actors vote for one of their own (following in the footsteps of Redford, Beatty, Costner, Gibson, Affleck, etc.).
Update: Oops, Loving is written and directed by Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, Mud, Midnight Special); Edgerton only stars. -
swanstep — 9 years ago(September 27, 2016 09:50 PM)
561 Breathless Jim McBride, 1983
An interesting film that I'll need to see again (and meanwhile rewatch Godard's original) before I can reach a final verdict I'd been looking forward to seeing this for a while since I vaguely remember the film getting poorly reviewed in 1983 and yet I've been aware since the '90s that it has its high-profile fans, most notably QT and Mark Kermode. I guess my way into the film (given that it has little of the timeless, ineffable cool of Godard's original) has therefore been to see it as trying to be a mixture of True Romance and Pulp Fiction before its time. (with a bit of Kill Bill 2 anticipation for good measure). True Romance rewrites and sexes up Badands much the way Breathless (1983) does Breathless (1960), and True Romances's way of using both music and pop-cultural references are both strongly in evidence in Breathless (1983). The use of multi-cultural 'Southlands' LA locations feels like Pulp Fiction (although the bits of PF it feels like most are, unfortunately, the Butch and Fabienne bits! The female lead in Breathless (1983) is Fabienne stretched out to 80 minutes!). First Time Through then I couldn't really say if I liked B (1983) or not; it's something to be ahead of your time but it doesn't necessarily make you good! Anyhow, it's a good sign that something makes you want to see it again, and Breathless definitely does that.
886 The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters Seth Gordon, 2007
Terrifically entertaining if insubstantial doc. about the world of the world champions of Donkey Kong and other arcade games. Well-edited and doesn't overstay its welcome.
Glad to have seen both of these. -
swanstep — 9 years ago(October 05, 2016 04:49 AM)
957 The Counselor Ridley Scott, 2013
Ha, I remember this one getting slammed by the critics when it came out enough so that I never even considered seeing it (Scott's been a pretty erratic director since the mid-'80s). Well, The Counselor turns out to be very watchable even somewhat fascinating (even though at least on first viewing the mechanics of the main caper and the double- and triple-crosses are still pretty obscure to me, to the point where I wasn't completely sure who was doing most of the killing at the end of the film). I'll certainly watch it again sometime soon.
The Counselor wr. by Cormac McCarthy is kind working the same beat as McCarthy's No Country for Old Men, and also things like Traffic and Sicario, but with a Double Indemnity/Body Heat layer over the top of the (by now) usual border-land spectacular violence. If that sounds like your kind of thing then this film probably will be. Interesting dialogues throughout are the principal compensation for not completely understanding in real-time the plot/caper mechanics. -
swanstep — 9 years ago(October 08, 2016 02:25 AM)
954 Only Lovers Left Alive Jim Jarmusch, 2013
A languid vampire tale of no particular distinction in my view. Swinton and Hiddleston are both amazing physical and acting specimens, some of the production design is fun to eyeball, and there's some interesting music, but with little story to speak of and only a few repetitive ideas, OLLA feels like a 30-40 minute exercise needlessly stretched out over two hours.
I'm intrigued by the fact that OLLA made Wright's list but the somewhat similar A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014) - the b/w indie Iranian vampire flick shot in L.A.! - did not. The latter had a few problems, but it still struck me as having most of the virtues of OLLA while being rather more fun, and getting through its paces in about 25 mins less. Hmmm.