The IMDB 250

[Hanley!]

So myself and @Kirbi recently decided to try to tackle the IMDB 250. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, this is a list of the 250 "greatest" movies of all time, as determined by the ratings of the website's users. We figured it would be a good way to catch up on some beloved films that we really should have seen by now. And hopefully we'll discover some films that could become favourites of ours.

I already know that my opinions on some of these films are going to be controversial, and might piss some people off, but I figured I might document some of my thoughts here anyway. Might be a good way of sparking some discussion. Feel free to weigh in with your own thoughts of the films I'm reviewing, or to tell me how wrong I am about your favourite films.

I'm going to post a list of the Top 250 here, because this is the list we'll be working through. The IMDB 250 is changing all the time, and given it takes a while to watch this many movies, it may be changing too fast for us to keep up with. So the goal instead is to watch the 250 films listed below:

001. The Shawshank Redemption
002. The Godfather
003. The Godfather: Part II
004. The Dark Knight
005. Pulp Fiction
006. 12 Angry Men
007. Schindler's List
008. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
009. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
010. Fight Club
011. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
012. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
013. Forrest Gump
014. Inception
015. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
016. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
017. Goodfellas
018. The Matrix
019. Star Wars: A New Hope
020. Seven Samurai
021. Interstellar
022. City of God
023. Se7en
024. The Usual Suspects
025. The Silence of the Lambs
026. It's a Wonderful Life
027. Once Upon a Time in the West
028. Léon: The Professional
029. Life is Beautiful
030. Casablanca
031. Raiders of the Lost Ark
032. American History X
033. Saving Private Ryan
034. City Lights
035. Spirited Away
036. Psycho
037. Rear Window
038. Whiplash
039. The Untouchables
040. Modern Times
041. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
042. Memento
043. The Green Mile
044. The Pianist
045. The Departed
046. Sunset Blvd.
047. Apocalypse Now
048. Gladiator
049. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
050. Back to the Future
051. Alien
052. The Prestige
053. The Great Dictator
054. The Lion King
055. The Lives of Others
056. Django Unchained
057. Cinema Paradiso
058. The Dark Knight Rises
059. The Shining
060. Paths of Glory
061. American Beauty
062. Wall-E
063. North by Northwest
064. Aliens
065. Citizen Kane
066. Vertigo
067. Amélie
068. M
069. Grave of the Fireflies
070. Das Boot
071. Oldboy
072. Princess Mononoke
073. Toy Story 3
074. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
075. Once Upon a Time in America
076. Reservoir Dogs
077. A Clockwork Orange
078. Taxi Driver
079. Braveheart
080. Double Indemnity
081. Requiem for a Dream
082. To Kill a Mockingbird
083. Witness for the Prosecution
084. Lawrence of Arabia
085. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
086. Full Metal Jacket
087. Singin' in the Rain
088. The Sting
089. Bicycle Thieves
090. Amadeus
091. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
092. Snatch
093. 2001: A Space Odyssey
094. For a Few Dollars More
095. Rashomon
096. L.A. Confidential
097. The Kid
098. All About Eve
099. The Apartment
100. Inglourious Basterds
101. Some Like It Hot
102. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
103. Toy Story
104. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
105. The Third Man
106. A Separation
107. Yojimbo
108. Batman Begins
109. Like Stars on Earth
110. Metropolis
111. Unforgiven
112. Scarface
113. Raging Bull
114. 3 Idiots
115. Up
116. Chinatown
117. Downfall
118. The Great Escape
119. Die Hard
120. The Hunt
121. On the Waterfront
122. Pan's Labyrinth
123. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
124. Heat
125. The Bridge on the River Kwai
126. Good Will Hunting
127. My Neighbour Totoro
128. The Seventh Seal
129. The Bandit
130. The Gold Rush
131. Ikiru
132. Gone Girl
133. The Elephant Man
134. Ran
135. Wild Strawberries
136. Blade Runner
137. The Wolf of Wall Street
138. The General
139. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
140. A Wednesday
141. The Secret in their Eyes
142. Casino
143. Gran Torino
144. Warrior
145. The Big Lebowski
146. Boyhood
147. Howl's Moving Castle
148. V for Vendetta
149. Rebecca
150. Ran De Basanti
151. The Deer Hunter
152. How to Train Your Dragon
153. Cool Hand Luke
154. It Happened One Night
155. Judgment at Nuremberg
156. Fargo
156. Trainspotting
158. Gone with the Wind
159. Into the Wild
160. A Beautiful Mind
161. Rush
162. The Maltese Falcon
163. Dial M for Murder
164. The Sixth Sense
165. The Wages of Fear
166. Hotel Rwanda
167. The Thing
168. Finding Nemo
169. No Country for Old Men
170. Mary and Max
171. Incendies
172. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
173. Kill Bill: Volume 1
174. Platoon
175. Life of Brian
176. 12 Years a Slave
177. Network
178. Touch on Evil
179. Diabolique
180. Annie Hall
181. There Will Be Blood
182. The Princess Bride
183. Birdman
184. Dil Chahta Hai
185. Stand By Me
186. Guardians of the Galaxy
187. The Grand Budapest Hotel
188. Sin City
189. Ben-Hur
190. In the Name of the Father
191. The 400 Blows
192. Amores Perros
193. Million Dollar Baby
194. Hachi: A Dog's Tale
195. The Grapes of Wrath
196. Persona
197. The Wizard of Oz
198. The Best Years of Our Lives
199. The Imitation Game
200. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
201. The Avengers
202. Gandhi
203. The Bourne Ultimatum
204. Donnie Darko
205. Strangers on a Train
206. 8 1/2
207. Shutter Island
208. Infernal Affairs
209. Twelve Monkeys
210. Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India
211. Stalker
212. Jaws
213. Gangs of Wasseypur
214. High Noon
215. Before Sunrise
216. The Terminator
217. Notorious
218. X-Men: Days of Future Past
219. Groundhog Day
220. The King's Speech
221. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
222. Ip Man
223. Fanny and Alexander
224. Rocy
225. The Night of the Hunter
226. Monsters, Inc.
227. Dog Day Afternoon
228. The Battle of Algiers
229. La Haine
230. Memories of Murder
231. Barry Lyndon
232. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
233. A Fistful of Dollars
234. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
235. The Truman Show
236. The Road
237. Castle in the Sky
238. The Big Sleep
239. The Help
240. Jurassic Park
241. Roman Holiday
242. The Graduate
243. Papillon
244. Beauty and the Beast
245. The Hustler
246. Prisoners
247. In the Mood for Love
248. Rope
249. The Celebration
250. Before Sunset

I'm really looking forward to some of these films, and I'm dreading some of the others. But at this early stage, I'm still pretty excited about the idea.


WARNING: There may be some spoilers ahead, so browse with caution!

[Circled Square]

Can't believe that pile of dross inception is in the top 20.

[Hanley!]

Film #001: The Shawshank Redemption


First time viewing?
I saw most of it before, but back when I was a kid.

Thoughts:
It's easy to see why this is so universally loved. The direction is considered and the performances all highly compelling, but it's the screenplay that shines in particular. The movie was a little long at 2 hours 20 minutes, but it didn't feel it's length. It was paced nicely throughout.

It couldn't have been easy to let the audience feel such attachment to a group of murderers, but it manages it brilliantly. It even lets the viewer believe (if they choose) that the protagonist is a murderer for the majority of the film. And even with that thought in mind, it's hard not to sympathize with him. The movie also manages to walk a fine line between drama and comedy. In it's darkest moments, we really feel how hard prison life must be. But those small victories scattered throughout the film stop things from getting too dark. The film makes a few simple beers feel more special than the grandest of prizes in many other films.

It was also just cleverly executed from start to finish. Andy's escape plans are built up gradually throughout the film and no Chekov's gun is left unfired. This is a film I'll likely watch again. It seems like good Sunday afternoon viewing.

Personal Rating: 8.5/10

Does it belong on this list?
Yes. I can't say that it's a particularly original or imaginative idea for a film, but it's executed so well that I can't mark it down too much for that. Just about everyone can find something to like in this film.

[Locke]

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.

[Hanley!]

Film #002: The Godfather


First time viewing?
Yes

Thoughts:
This will be the first of many controversial opinions in this thread: I didn't like this film. Though I didn't hate it either. There were a lot of things that I admired about this film, but it had some huge issues that negatively impacted my final opinion on it.

The film started strong with a great opening scene that slowly introduced us to the major characters and the Godfather's world in general. I really enjoyed the slow deliberate pacing of this film at first. It was shot beautifully too, and the score added a lot to the atmosphere. The story of Michael Corleone getting sucked into the mafia war and transformed into a ruthless gangster was compelling stuff. But while this was the primary story arc of the film, I felt like it was already finished 90 minutes in.

And then the film went on for another 90 minutes. The biggest problem with this film is that it wouldn't end. When Michael fled to Italy, it felt like the film was wrapping up because he had already become the ruthless mafia member that could replace his father some day. He had already undergone 90% of his character development, and then the last 10% took forever. I really enjoyed the first 90 minutes of this movie. I thought it was great. And then everything went wrong.

The next 30 minutes were mostly meaningless. Michael's time in Italy seemed utterly unimportant by the end. He married a new woman, who we're never allowed to care about. We're never convinced that their relationship means anything to either of them. And then he leaves and gets back with his first girlfriend and marries her and it feels like the last half hour didn't effect the story at all. There are a lot of little script details like that which seem awkward to me. On a similar note, the Godfather is on his death bed at one point, then recovers, then he randomly dies a few minutes later ... and it feels like they added an extra step in there that didn't need to exist.

I also feel that we didn't get enough insight into Michael's motivations. This felt fine for the first half of the film, when it was more of an ensemble. But in the final half of the film he was very much the main character and I don't think he was hugely well developed, especially in the context of the film's running time.

Not everything is bad after the first 90 minutes. There are still a few great scenes. The baptism scene is really powerful stuff, and the last shot of the film ends things on the perfect note. I just wish they had gotten there a little sooner. If the script was a bit more streamlined, this could have been a 2 hour film that I loved. Instead it was a 3 hour film that I'll never watch again.

Personal Rating: 5/10

Does it belong on this list?
Yes. I say it grudgingly, but despite the films flaws there is so much to praise about it. There are shots and scenes that are deservedly iconic and the film has been so influential, that I can't say it's not worthy of a place here.



I'll get to the next film on the list soon. It's Godfather 2, so I'm feeling a bit anxious about it now. But I'll get to it soon. I'm interested to see if it really is better than the first.

[SortaCreative]

spoilers: Hanley hates all the films in the top 250

[Daz]

I've seen about 85% of the films on this list, which means I have way too much spare time on my hands.

[Hanley!]

spoilers: Hanley hates all the films in the top 250

I already said I loved the very first film, you enormous cunt.

[Daz]

spoilers: Hanley hates all the films in the top 250

I already said I loved the very first film, you enormous cunt.

But if you hate Wizard of Oz. I'll cut you.

[SortaCreative]

spoilers: Hanley hates all the films in the top 250

I already said I loved the very first film, you enormous cunt.

LMAO

[Hanley!]

spoilers: Hanley hates all the films in the top 250

I already said I loved the very first film, you enormous cunt.

But if you hate Wizard of Oz. I'll cut you.

Come at me, bro.

I'm just kidding - Wizard of Oz is great. But y'know. I will hate something you love. So be prepared.

[Ali]

I am upset that I did not think of this idea first. I'll have to do this whenever I start making videos.

*Throws on the pile of projects that I may or may not ever do*

[Hanley!]

Dammit, it's impossible to find Part 2 online with English subtitles. It's a lot of work for a film I don't even actually want to watch.

[PorkChop]

Dammit, it's impossible to find Part 2 online with English subtitles. It's a lot of work for a film I don't even actually want to watch.

Watch Warrior instead. #144 on the list.

It's a favourite of mine and I want to hear your review.

[Hanley!]

Film #003: The Godfather, Part II


First time viewing?
Yes

Thoughts:
I'm going to have to skip this one for the moment. We watched about an hour of it, and then reached an Italian speaking section that didn't have subtitles. I couldn't find a subtitled version online, so I'll come back to this later. We probably know someone who owns it on DVD who could loan us their copy at some point.

It's worth mentioning that I didn't enjoy the part of the movie I saw. We were only just finally getting some plot by the time we had to stop watching the film, which is far too much waiting around for something to happen. This film is even longer than the first and I don't really see the artistic reason for this. The portion of the movie I saw set up very little plot, and didn't even establish much about the characters really. The slow pace from the first film is still present, but here it seemed to serve no purpose. The camera would slowly pan across a room when nothing was happening, where the shot didn't establish anything, and where the shot didn't even create an impressive visual. It felt like directorial masturbation.

Not going to make any assessment of the movie as a whole yet though, I'll edit this when I manage to see the whole thing.

Personal Rating: N/A

Does it belong on this list?
Not from what I've seen of it so far, but I really need to finish the film to make any kind of call on this.

[Hanley!]

Film #004: The Dark Knight


First time viewing?
I've seen this film a bunch of times by now

Thoughts:
As a Nolan film, this is one that everybody seems to either love or hate. I belong to the former group. This isn't my favourite comic book film (which is #148 on this list). It might not even be my favourite superhero film. But it's definitely up there with the best of both categories.

I think a big reason this movie gets so much hate from some is because of the massive amount of hype there was around it after it was released. It can be easy to be put off by that level of constant praise. But while some people might find the film overrated, I think anyone being completely honest with themselves would find at least some things to like about this.

The story is really different for a superhero film. Joker makes for a fascinating villain and represents Batman's biggest challenge. He can't outsmart the Joker because he's too unpredictable. He can't scare him, because Joker doesn't fear for his own life. Joker basically takes away all of Batman's most valuable tools. Batman is left with only his gadgets and his strength to rely on, but you can't bring peace to society using violence alone and this was one of the major themes throughout the film. Batman capturing Joker and realising that he had still lost was a powerful moment.

It's probably one of the better sequels out there. It takes everything we know already from the first film, but then uses this to subvert our expectations. It also raises the stakes just enough. Gotham is in chaos yet again, but this time it feels more personal to Batman because on some level it's his fault.

The acting in the film is really top notch for a superhero movie, with Heath Ledger being the star. His performance as Joker is completely compelling. But Oldman & Caine are excellent too, and Bale and Eckhart keep up their end of the bargain too. And Gyllenhaal is far and away better than Holmes as Rachel. I just wish she had played the role in Batman Begins also.

The film isn't perfect though. There's a long chase scene which is pretty dull, there are some minor pacing issues towards the end, and while I like the ending, I really hate the little speech Gordon gives as the film is coming to a close. That being said, it's a really great film and the best of the trilogy.

Personal Rating: 8.5

Does it belong on this list?
Absolutely. It's arguably the best superhero movie ever made, with the most iconic movie villain of our generation. The storytelling in the film defied the conventions of the genre. I think it deserves a spot on the list.

[Daz]

Film #003: The Godfather, Part II


First time viewing?
Yes

Thoughts:
I'm going to have to skip this one for the moment. We watched about an hour of it, and then reached an Italian speaking section that didn't have subtitles. I couldn't find a subtitled version online, so I'll come back to this later. We probably know someone who owns it on DVD who could loan us their copy at some point.

It's worth mentioning that I didn't enjoy the part of the movie I saw. We were only just finally getting some plot by the time we had to stop watching the film, which is far too much waiting around for something to happen. This film is even longer than the first and I don't really see the artistic reason for this. The portion of the movie I saw set up very little plot, and didn't even establish much about the characters really. The slow pace from the first film is still present, but here it seemed to serve no purpose. The camera would slowly pan across a room when nothing was happening, where the shot didn't establish anything, and where the shot didn't even create an impressive visual. It felt like directorial masturbation.

Not going to make any assessment of the movie as a whole yet though, I'll edit this when I manage to see the whole thing.

Personal Rating: N/A

Does it belong on this list?
Not from what I've seen of it so far, but I really need to finish the film to make any kind of call on this.

I'm gonna have to douse you in holy water and perform some sort of exorcism. Te demon that has sucked the joy from your soul has clearly gained the higher functions and reasoning portion of your brain. I pray for you sir.

[Hanley!]

Like I said, I haven't actually seen the vast majority of that film yet. So I can't make a real call on it. Though I do think that if a film goes an hour without letting the audience know what the plot is, that's a bad sign.

I'll come back to it in a while, but hopefully in the mean time I can build up a little lee way with a few less controversial opinions. Cos there's still a good chance I won't like it once I've watched the whole thing.

[UTK]

@Hanley! I don't remember what was featured in the first hour, but I'm surprised. I remember finding the first Godfather to be a little boring, while the second one never lost my attention.

Also to hell with you, the christening scene at the end of the first film is one of the best things ever.

[Hanley!]

@Hanley! I don't remember what was featured in the first hour, but I'm surprised. I remember finding the first Godfather to be a little boring, while the second one never lost my attention.

Also to hell with you, the christening scene at the end of the first film is one of the best things ever.

I did like the christening scene, as I said above. The majority of the last hour and a half bored me, but that scene was extremely well done.

I get the feeling that while the first film was front-loaded and got dull towards the end, the second film probably does the opposite. I reckon it's just building to something slowly. If it picks up momentum as the film goes on, I could see myself preferring the second film.