The IMDB 250

[JPG619]

I skimmed the top 10 just for now because I don't have time to get too involved (tonight), but I will say that as much as I love the top 10 films I disagree highly that they're top 10 or even close, HOWEVER #1 Shawshank is 100% right to me.

It's such a dramatic, hard, slap in the face, sad, FEEL GOOD movie.
It goes through its ups and downs, its actors are superb, the story is amazing, I can't think of a single movie I watch every time I see it come on a random channel (and often switch to Netflix). Well, one more, Forrest Gump. THOSE TWO. Greatest movies ever.

That is the problem with list since everyone has a different taste of movies so one person might thing that movie was awesome the other thinks that movie sucked. For me I could disagree with a lot of the movies on that list but the only way to get something 100 is to get a lot of people from different movie liking.

The same goes with music not everyone likes the same music

[Hanley!]

Film #015: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest


First time viewing?
I saw this for the first time about a year or two ago, but I had seen the play before that so I was familiar with the story.

Thoughts:
This is a really incredible film. It has two of my favourite acting performances ever. Jack Nicholson has been one of my favourite actors for as long as I can remember, and he's great in this. Louise Fletcher is his equal though, as Nurse Ratched.

Ratched is really one of the great movie villains. Because you can see how someone like that could convince herself that everything she's doing is 100% right, but as the audience grows to love the patients in the mental hospital over the course of the movie, she comes across as utterly loathsome; a cold, petty control freak.

It's funny that you could make McMurphy the villain of this story without even changing too much. But part of what makes this film so good is the unusual perspective, and that it gives us some insight into the lives of those in the psychiatric ward. And the film just hits all the right beats too. What happens to McMurphy at the story's conclusion is tragic, but they still manage to almost end it on a note of hope with the Chief escaping from the institution.

Personal Rating: 10/10

Does it belong on this list?
Absolutely. I'd say this will end up being one of my very favourite films on the list. Awesome stuff.

[Hanley!]

Film #016: The Two Towers


First time viewing?
I saw this in the cinema years ago

Thoughts:
This film wasn't as good as the first film in my mind, but it's still enjoyable. In the first film, the story felt more like a heroic quest. The tone was a bit lighter, and the focus was really on the journey. In the second film, the tone became considerably darker and the focus shifted to large impressive battle scenes. These were really impressive, and as someone who is rapidly put off by mindless action in a film, I have to say that the action here kept my attention throughout. It was done really well.

But there were enough more personal moments between Sam, Frodo and Golem to keep the story somewhat grounded, and there were moments of humour and fun to prevent the audience from getting bogged down in the darker atmosphere. The film found a nice balance. It was basically very similar to Lord of the Rings 3, but better in just about every way.

Personal Rating: 7.5/10

Does it belong on this list?
Sure. It probably isn't one of my favourite 250 films, but I can absolutely see what people love so much about it.

[Hanley!]

Film #017: Goodfellas


First time viewing?
No

Thoughts:
This is a film that I respect a lot, but which didn't really do it for me. At least not to the same extent as others. Most people I know who have seen this film, absolutely loved it. I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it and I wouldn't be enthusiastic about watching it again. I thought it was excellently shot. The characters were well drawn and interesting. The acting was great. There was some moments of genuine tension. I thought much of the film was excellent, honestly. But the pacing of the film killed things for me a little bit. I thought it was maybe longer than it needed to be, and I responded a little less to the drama and tension in the story as a result.

Stylistically it was a brilliant film, and I really can't say that much about it from a negative sense, but it failed to grab me on a gut level.

Personal Rating: 7/10

Does it belong on this list?
Yeah, I definitely think this one belongs up here, even though it's not a favourite of mine.

[Hanley!]

Film #018: The Matrix


First time viewing?
I've seen this film a bunch.

Thoughts:
This is one of those films that deteriorates in your mind over time, due to the horrible quality of the sequels. So whenever I revisit this film, I'm almost surprised by how good it still is. This was a really enjoyable blockbuster, and a pretty original one when it was released. Similar concepts have been explored in sci-fi before, but not in this kind of story. Though it has been copied and parodied innumerable times since.

The film does have its weaknesses. The acting in general isn't very good, but then I don't think it needs to be. It's a really simple action film, and everybody is at least serviceable. Also some of the plot doesn't hold up completely under scrutiny - most notably with the "who let Cypher into the Matrix" plot hole.

It's strengths are many though. The concept and the world is interesting. It's a good science fiction premise. Stylistically, it's pretty awesome. The action looks great, though not quite as great as it did when it was released. The score and the visuals make for a fun sensory experience, which is a lot of what you want from a blockbuster. And the climax was very satisfying.

The sequels were entirely unnecessary though. And they did their best to hide the first films strengths and accentuate its weaknesses.

Personal Rating: 8/10

Does it belong on this list?
Yeah, just about. It's an imperfect film, but it does certain things really well.

[Hanley!]

Film #019: Star Wars


First time viewing?
No

Thoughts:
I really like this film. I watched the Star Wars films as a kid, and then came back and watched it again a year or two ago. As a kid, I thought I remembered this being the weak link out of the original Star Wars trilogy, but it isn't at all. That title belongs to Return of the Jedi (the stuff with Luke & Vader was amazing, but the stuff with Han and the Ewoks was ... less amazing).

This set up the story really well. The opening shot is deservedly iconic, establishing the Empire as powerful villains before we even see any of the characters. Luke's hero's journey is set up perfectly, and the introductions of the other characters are all handled well. Obi Wan, Darth Vader & Han Solo in particular stand out as compelling characters right from the start.

I'm a big fan of trilogies done well, and this was the right way to kick off the Star Wars trilogy. The action wasn't as good as in later installments of the franchise, but it still had its own charm. And I always think it's more important that action scenes have character, rather than brilliant choreography. That's something the prequels really got wrong: there are far more flips and spins but no fight psychology whatsoever.

I loved Darth Vader in this film in particular. He's such a scary dude, and you really don't know what his deal is. In later films it becomes clear that he's extremely important in the Empire's hierarchy, but in this film that's not clear at all. He doesn't even appear to be the ranking officer present for most of the film. He comes across as a twisted relic that shouldn't belong in this world. He's completely other which makes him a fascinating villain.

Personal Rating: 8.5/10

Does it belong on this list?
Yes, for sure. It's not quite as good as Empire, but it's close.

[Hanley!]

Film #020: Seven Samurai


First time viewing?
Yes

Thoughts:
I really didn't think I'd like this film. It's three and a half hours long, and pacing always matters to me in films. Which isn't to say that a long film can't have good pacing, but when a film is this long it often is a sign that more should have been left on the cutting room floor. The film started out quite slow too, and I was worried I was in for quite the slog.

It picked up before long though, and I found myself really enjoying it. The pacing of the film was not a problem, as there were three distinct acts and none of them dragged on too long. It kept things from getting stale. First they had to find the samurai, then they had to set fortifications and prepare for battle, and finally there was the battle itself.

I thought they established unique characters quite well given the short amount of time they had to do this in. It's hard to set up a diverse set of characters in an old black and white movie set in this particular time period, where almost every character is male and Japanese, so they did a good job here. Some of the personalities were instantly compelling.

It's a weird kind of film, in that its about something very serious, and it depicts the horrors of battle extremely well, but it's often pleasant or outright funny. The characters come off as quite human, capable of making jokes and having fun even in the face of death.

This was a thumbs up from me in the end. Pleasantly surprised by this one.

Personal Rating: 7.5/10

Does it belong on this list?
Yes definitely. It's a really interesting film, and I've never seen anything quite like it before.

[EmperorWu]

7.5?



Good review man.

[Hanley!]

I apologise, Wu! I do think it's a really good film, I recommend it very highly. It's just not exactly a favourite of mine and the ratings I'm giving are entirely my own. Try not to judge me too harshly.

[EmperorWu]

I apologise, Wu! I do think it's a really good film, I recommend it very highly. It's just not exactly a favourite of mine and the ratings I'm giving are entirely my own. Try not to judge me too harshly.

Hahaha I completely understand brother. I know it's definitely not for everyone. I'm just glad you liked it.

[Hanley!]

I'm still expecting vader to attack me in my sleep for giving The Matrix a higher rating than Goodfellas.

[VaderBomb]

I'm still expecting vader to attack me in my sleep for giving The Matrix a higher rating than Goodfellas.

I have to re watch The Matrix and I still haven't seen the sequels. I give it a 6 from memory but with another viewing, my rating could very well go up.

I give Goodfellas a 9/10 and consider it to be one of Scorsese's best but it's never been one of my absolute favorites where I would criticize you for giving it a 7/10. Honestly, I think I may want to actually lower this to an 8.5/10.

Now, if you rate The Matrix higher than City Lights or Sunset Boulevard, then we have a problem.

Edit: Just checked back to my movie rating database and I gave Goodfellas an 8.5/10. I knew it!

[Hanley!]

I have to re watch The Matrix and I still haven't seen the sequels.

Please don't ever watch the sequels. Seriously. I really can't overstate how awful they were.

I'll be getting around to City Lights soon enough. Just four more films to watch first; I'm a little behind on writing up my reviews. It's not one that I've seen before, but I'm looking forward to it!

[VaderBomb]

I have to re watch The Matrix and I still haven't seen the sequels.

Please don't ever watch the sequels. Seriously. I really can't overstate how awful they were.

I'll be getting around to City Lights soon enough. Just four more films to watch first; I'm a little behind on writing up my reviews. It's not one that I've seen before, but I'm looking forward to it!

It's my favorite film. It has one of the most beautiful and iconic endings ever. There are a few other movies that I would call my favorite film but City Lights is #1.

I <3 Chaplin

[Hanley!]

Film #021: Interstellar


First time viewing?
Yes

Thoughts:
This is what the fuss was all about?

Honestly, I was expecting this to be a flawed movie with a lot of plot holes and contrivances, but that was also very insightful and profound and had a lot of great ideas. I figured that was the reason for the mixed opinions on the film: that it was this melting pot of the very good and the very bad. Instead, the whole film was just very meh.

I thought maybe it would be like Prometheus in that those who could ignore the stupid characters and the ridiculous plot would really love the ideas behind it, but I didn't think this film really had much in the way of interesting ideas. It wasn't all that profound. I just don't get why anyone considers this the best film ever. It was fine. Parts of it were enjoyable. But there was nothing special, new or unique about it. Nothing.

The film had a good cast and good acting for the most part. McConaughey, Hathaway, Caine ... these are some of the best actors working today, so they're going to improve any film. And some of the visuals were very impressive. There were also a couple of cool sci-fi concepts that I find interesting, like time moving at different speeds, etc. This stuff has been done before, but I still find it interesting and some of this was done quite well.

I also found Caine's character interesting. The film didn't fully explore it, but this guy was such a dick.
In the scenario he had planned, he was really the big winner. He'd probably be able to live out the rest of his life on Earth before everything went to shit, and then he gets to have actual descendants too. Hell, the entirety of the new planet would have him to thank for being alive and he'd probably be worshipped. He really didn't have anything to lose here, unlike everybody else on Earth. I found some of that stuff interesting to think about.

On to the bad though: people were praising the score of this film but it drove me up the wall at points. The sound was often way too loud compared to the dialogue so I had to strain to hear what was being said. The dialogue was absolutely awful. They're lucky they had some of the best actors in the world saying this stuff, because they were working their asses off to make this anything less than cringe-worthy.

I found the bootstrap principle stuff more irritating than anything. It was very predictable that McConaughey was the one pushing the books off the shelf. And then later he was floating around espousing his theories about how somehow they weren't being helped by aliens but by themselves. That's the sort of time travel stuff that's just wanky and doesn't hold up to any sort of logical scrutiny.

Also, if they wanted to go with a theme of humanity helping itself, then why were a bunch of the characters self-sabotaging? That guy who was putting his family in danger by refusing to leave the farm wasn't exactly helping himself. I did feel a bit bad for the guy though. Must be hard growing up in a house where your Dad clearly likes your sister way more than you.

Overall, this was an okay watch but I don't see why people made such a big deal out of it. I wouldn't go watching it again.

Personal Rating: 5/10

Does it belong on this list?
No. Fuck no. This film is not special.

[Ali]

And recency bias/fanboyism rear their ugly heads! Seriously, I haven't seen Interstellar, but the fact that it is #21 on this list just screams these two factors. It was a movie that everyone really wanted to like, just because they felt like they should since it's Christopher Nolan, so everyone coming out of it was like, "ZOMG THAT WAS AWESOME 10/10!!!" Granted, some viewers probably felt like that genuinely, but this highlights my one big issue with the IMDB list. So many people see a big ticket film that SHOULD tick all the boxes of a great film that they don't really take the time to think about it and rate it realistically.

[Matteo]

I am not a Christopher Nolan fan, but I enjoyed Interstellar. However, Nolan desperately needs a proper screenwriter and a decent editor. His work usually engenders way too much exposition on - what are - relatively interesting concepts, and I find this to be nothing but a detriment to the stories he is telling. He also seems to have no real conception of what constitutes rhythmic, sequential and cogent editing. These problems were apparent in Interstellar, although not to a conspicuously bothersome degree. I wish Nolan went with the original ending of the film, initially conceived by his brother (which was much more dark and dejecting), but he seemed to settle for something much more humane and somewhat optimistic. Ultimately, though, it's a good film, even if Spielberg's version of it would have arguably been better.

[Hanley!]

I am not a Christopher Nolan fan, but I enjoyed Interstellar. However, Nolan desperately needs a proper screenwriter and a decent editor. His work usually engenders way too much exposition on - what are - relatively interesting concepts, and I find this to be nothing but a detriment to the stories he is telling. He also seems to have no real conception of what constitutes rhythmic, sequential and cogent editing. These problems were apparent in Interstellar, although not to a conspicuously bothersome degree. I wish Nolan went with the original ending of the film, initially conceived by his brother (which was much more dark and dejecting), but he seemed to settle for something much more humane and somewhat optimistic. Ultimately, though, it's a good film, even if Spielberg's version of it would have arguably been better.

In fairness to Nolan, the original script was floating around prior to the release of the film and it was absolutely terrible. The thing was a mess. While the script for Interstellar wasn't great in my opinion, it had been much improved by the time of its release.

I agree that he tends to go quite heavy on exposition at times, and too much exposition is usually a detriment to a film. His editing can be a little slipshod too in terms of adding clarity to the story he's telling. I think this might have been better in Spielberg's hands, though it's difficult to say. I don't think there's anything inherently interesting about the story in any case.

[Hanley!]

Film #022: City of God


First time viewing?
Yes

Thoughts:
So I came into this film relatively cold, not having heard much about it. So I really didn't know what to expect. So I was really pleased when it turned out to be one of my favourite films on the list so far.

This is comparable to a lot of mob films, but I ended up responding to it more than most of those. I really enjoyed the chaotic atmosphere. The city was almost its own character, teeming with crime, drugs and desperation. Nobody in this world seems untouchable either. Even the powerful drug dealers - the guys that everyone fear - have to mingle with everybody else. It results in a film where it feels like anything can happen at any time.

There are some great characters in the film too. Li'l Dice (or Li'l Ze) is a terrifying villain, and the performances from both actors here (young & old) are captivating. Every second this character was on screen, I was on edge. You never knew what he'd do next. I kept saying during the film that this guy had to die ... not just because I found the character loathsome, but because it would be unrealistic for someone like this to stay on top for long. If someone is that violent and unpredictable, people are going to be nervous with with them in power. Too many people would have had a vested interest in his death for him to stay alive too long. So I thought the way his death was handled in the film ... killed in an alley by some kids ... that was just perfect.

Benny was another great character. I really bought him as the nice guy in the middle of this violent world. Knockout Ned was compelling too, and his story arc was quite tragic. This principled man lost track of what mattered in the midst of the chaos of gang warfare. I thought his demise was fitting too. When both gangs were recruiting I kept thinking to myself that they were being too careless about this and that they could easily be handing guns to people who wanted them dead. I love that the film actually addressed this through what happened later. It all seemed very realistic.

The film wasn't quite perfect. There were some plot points that were brought up early and weren't really explored later on, but that's a minor complaint. I could also say that the protagonist was pretty dull, but that wasn't entirely a bad thing for the film. He basically served as a lens through which we could watch the story, and as an aspiring photographer, I thought using him in that role was quite clever.

Big thumbs up from me overall.

Personal Rating: 8.5/10

Does it belong on this list?
Yes. I dig this film, and it's nice to see more foreign cinema on the list.

[Everlong]

I demand an update.