The Panda

Spring Break

BATB should hit 85 - 90m second weekend then. I shouldn't have expected it to hold slightly worse than TJB.

I can go back and look at Cinemascore but I didn't find it to be significant. You could maybe force it to be significant if you treated it as the only variable, but that wouldn't be an accurate test (low r-square). The other problem with Cinemascore is certain genres movies tend to get certain scores. Pretty much every comic book movie gets a B+ or A-, yet legs definitely do differ. Plus, Cinemascore is simply flat out bad at how they do their surveys, terrible sampling and it wouldn't accurately reflect GA sentiment of the movie. At best it shows you the sentiment of the West Coast fan base for the film, mixed with the demo that rushes to see movies.

I don't see how you can statistically prove many variables for a film's legs such as RT scores unless you run separate regressions for different genres that you think will behave similarly (such as animated movies, comic book movies, etc.) Even then, I tried doing so with Animated movies and I wasn't getting any meaningful results beyond trailer views and whether the animation was a sequel or from Disney/Pixar/Illumination (Brand name studio) for DOM and OW counts. The only significant variable for legs was "Holiday Movie". Theres just too many factors that go into a movie's legs to say "It'll do x because RT scores and cinemascores". They give you glimpses that you take with a grain of salt. But there's factors like competition, whether the film hits with a certain demo even if others don't like it, is there a fanbase to cause frontloading, are there wide releases to eat up screencounts, etc.

Lol, I literally ran a regression on this stuff. None of those correlated with good legs. YouTube Views are good for openings and domestic total. RT scores are simply not significant (at least not when looking at general titles), and lol at Cinemascore.

Jaws

This is a good one to leave it off on for tonight Number 30 Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) "Use the Force, Luke." Most Valuable Player: George Lucas' Visionary Worldbuilding Box Office: 307.3m (1.23b Adjusted) Tomatometer: 93% Notable Awards: Won 6 Oscars, nominated for Best Picture Synopsis: Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle-station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the evil Darth Vader. Critic Opinion: "“Star Wars” is nothing short of pure unadulterated entertainment, something that has been sorely lacking in a great majority of recent films. As writer and director, Lucas unabashedly uses “Star Wars” to pay tribute to all the grand adventure films ever made, be they westerns, swashbucklers, fantasies or space operas. And he does it without resorting to camp or satire." - Perry, Orange County Register User Opinion: "It's STAR WARS, what more needs to be said honestly? If TFA didn't show you how powerful this legacy is I don't know what would at this point." - GiantCALBears Reasoning: I shouldn't need to say why this movie is on here, but I'm going to anyways. Star Wars is pure entertainment and spawned one the greatest franchises to have ever been made. It's really hard to undersell how great this movie is. Yeah, the acting and screenplay are at times corny, but in a way that just enhances the movie to an even higher level than it'd be if it felt too overly dramatic or serious. John Williams' score is GOAT, enough said there. All of the characters are lovable and entrenched into cinematic history. Star Wars is a movie that changed the landscape of films. Seriously, you should know why Star Wars is awesome. Decade Count: 1930s: 11, 1940s: 14, 1950s: 17, 1960s: 22, 1970s: 27, 1980s: 36, 1990s: 34, 2000s: 28, 2010s: 28 Top 100 Decade Count: 1930s: 3, 1940s: 2, 1950s: 7, 1960s: 10, 1970s: 13, 1980s: 5, 1990s: 14, 2000s: 7, 2010s: 11 Top 50 Decade Count: 1930s: 2, 1940s: 1, 1950s: 3, 1960s: 1, 1970s: 8 1980s: 1, 1990s: 3, 2000s: 2, 2010s: 1

Ask him yourself! @baumer Number 31 Dr Strangelove Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room." Most Valuable Player: Stanley Kubrick's Direction and Writing Box Office: 9.2m (85.2m Adjusted) Tomatometer: 99% Notable Awards: Nominated for 4 Oscars, including Best Picture Synopsis: An insane general triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically try to stop. Critic Opinion: "Like most of his work, Stanley Kubrick's deadly black satirical comedy-thriller on cold war madness and its possible effects (1964) has aged well: the manic, cartoonish performances of George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, and Peter Sellers (in three separate roles, including the title part) look as brilliant as ever, and Kubrick's icy contempt for 20th-century humanity may find its purest expression in the figure of Strangelove himself, a savage extrapolation of a then-obscure Henry Kissinger conflated with Wernher von Braun and Dr. Mabuse to suggest a flawed, spastic machine with Nazi reflexes that ultimately turns on itself." - Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader User Opinion: "One of the best black comedies ever. Sellars is great, as usual, but the real surprise (for me) is George C. Scott, going all out in an amazingly demented way." - Telemachos Reasoning: An absolutely demented and hysterical black comedy and satire that fully shows off how not only genius Kubrick was, but how the man had the the biggest pair of balls of steel in Hollywood. Imagine a film being made today that takes a dramatic and realistic Military "War Room" setting, a compelling drama, and then plays the entire thing for laughs, making complete fun of the military think-style at the time it was made. What makes the movie even more relevant, is that the actual plot going on the screen is something that'd make for an entirely compelling and suspenseful drama on its own, but it's the twisted hilarity of it all that pushes it over the edge. The performances in the film are completely spot on, especially with Sellars in the lead the role. It's hard to get comedy on a higher level than this one right here. Decade Count: 1930s: 11, 1940s: 14, 1950s: 17, 1960s: 22, 1970s: 26, 1980s: 36, 1990s: 34, 2000s: 28, 2010s: 28 Top 100 Decade Count: 1930s: 3, 1940s: 2, 1950s: 7, 1960s: 10, 1970s: 12, 1980s: 5, 1990s: 14, 2000s: 7, 2010s: 11 Top 50 Decade Count: 1930s: 2, 1940s: 1, 1950s: 3, 1960s: 1, 1970s: 7 1980s: 1, 1990s: 3, 2000s: 2, 2010s: 1

Number 32 Citizen Kane (1941) "Rosebud." Most Valuable Player: Orson Welles for Directing, Writing and Starring Box Office: N/A Tomatometer: 100% Notable Awards: Won 1 Oscar, nominated for Best Picture Synopsis: Following the death of a publishing tycoon, news reporters scramble to discover the meaning of his final utterance. Critic Opinion: "From the tight log cabin of Kane’s youth to the cavernous castle he builds himself to die in, from a fecund breakfast parlour to a mausoleum-like library, built environments are put to richly expressive use throughout the film. Many of the novel techniques Welles developed with cinematographer Gregg Toland were calculated to offer new angles on film space: as well as refining deep-focus photography, they used camera tricks to elide scales and locations, and dug holes in the floor to shoot upwards. But there’s a constant tension between the freedom with which the camera creeps, swoops and climbs and the restrictions bearing on the characters’ behaviour: the more lavish the buildings get, the more ammunition they provide for the picture’s scepticism about the pursuit of material acquisition. Welles remained alive to the expressive potential of architecture throughout his career, from the doomed richness of the Ambersons’ mansion to the splendidly anonymous Chartres cathedral in ‘F for Fake’." - Walters, Time Out User Opinion: "We judge a movie by its execution of the story. The execution is revolutionary. Because a story had never been told that way in cinema. It's just set a standard in illustrating "The rise and fall of a character". It invented a new cinematographic language most directors use nowadays on daily basis. I mean Nolan built his whole schtick of fragmented narrative puzzle and convoluted temporality on Citizen Kane, 60 years after its release! What other movies of that era can brag about that? You can't dissociate its story to the way it is narrated. That's what makes Citizen Kane the achievement and the crown jewel it is in movie history." - dashrender Reasoning: At first it was boo'ed when it won its Oscar, and then it was re-discovered as the greatest movie ever made, and then many people on the internet backlashed against it because any movie hailed at the "Greatest Movie Ever Made" is going to receive some. Even though this is number 32 on my list, I wouldn't argue with somebody who put this at number 1, while I would raise eyes at somebody who thought it was bad or mediocre in anyway. Citizen Kane is a groundbreaking movie in the cinematography, to the way the film is paced and edited, to the way it depicts the "rise and fall" epic narrative. Orson Welles not only directs the hell out of this movie, and not only does he write one of the most compelling screenplays ever written, he also manages to be a charismatic lead performer. While Citizen Kane may not be my personal favorite of all time, it's easy to see why this movie is hailed as the greatest. Decade Count: 1930s: 11, 1940s: 14, 1950s: 17, 1960s: 21, 1970s: 26, 1980s: 36, 1990s: 34, 2000s: 28, 2010s: 28 Top 100 Decade Count: 1930s: 3, 1940s: 2, 1950s: 7, 1960s: 9, 1970s: 12, 1980s: 5, 1990s: 14, 2000s: 7, 2010s: 11 Top 50 Decade Count: 1930s: 2, 1940s: 1, 1950s: 3, 1970s: 7 1980s: 1, 1990s: 3, 2000s: 2, 2010s: 1

Lol, 13 - 15m isn't that good for Rangers. Maybe mid 30s opening.

This next movie I am also putting at number 33, because I forgot to include it when I started the list, but I absolutely had to add it in. It's that essential. (This will also mean that I have 4? movies from 1939 in my top 50) Number 33 - Part 2 Stagecoach (1939) "Well, you gotta live no matter what happens." Most Valuable Player: John Ford's Direction Box Office: N/A Tomatometer: 100% Notable Awards: Won 2 Oscars, nominated for Best Picture Synopsis: A group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo and learn something about each other in the process. Critic Opinion: "Ford never makes the mistake of cutting so quickly that the sense and context of an action sequence is lost. The extended stagecoach chase always makes sense, and he allows his camera to be clear about the stunt work. Consider this extraordinary stunt: An Apache leaps from his own horse onto the stagecoach team, straddling the lead horses. He is shot. He falls between the horses to the ground, and the horses and stagecoach pass entirely over him. No CGI here; he risks his life. Wayne is the hero of the film, but not an "action hero." He was manifestly a bad man; the "Ringo Kid" doesn't get his picture on Wanted posters for nothing. But he never suggests evil, and seems prepared to be taken to prison even though he has many opportunities to escape. There is the suggestion he stays with the stagecoach because he is needed to protect its passengers, especially the two women. We see here Wayne's extraordinary physical grace and capacity for tenderness, and understand why Ford later cast him as "The Quiet Man."" - Roger Ebert User Opinion: None Reasoning: Stagecoach is a Western that is going to seem fairly archetypal if you watch it now, it'll be hard to see the revelations that were made in this film when you compare it to modern cinema. Stagecoach is a film that really created the Western genre, sure there were Western's before this, but it's hard to deny the sheer influence this had. Not only that, but it began John Wayne's career and his attachment to John Ford as a director, creating a dynamic duo that crafted so many great pieces of cinema. John Ford really demonstrates his ability as a director in this movie to shoot some truly exhilarating and risky action sequences, and the film as a whole is still an absolute blast to watch today nearly 80 years after it has been made. The score roars loudly and beautifully, and John Wayne excels in his lead performance. Stagecoach is the classic of classics when it comes to Westerns. Decade Count: 1930s: 11, 1940s: 13, 1950s: 17, 1960s: 21, 1970s: 26, 1980s: 36, 1990s: 34, 2000s: 28, 2010s: 28 Top 100 Decade Count: 1930s: 3, 1940s: 1, 1950s: 7, 1960s: 9, 1970s: 12, 1980s: 5, 1990s: 14, 2000s: 7, 2010s: 11 Top 50 Decade Count: 1930s: 2, 1950s: 3, 1970s: 7 1980s: 1, 1990s: 3, 2000s: 2, 2010s: 1

Number 33 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) "Men should hold it up in front of them every single day of their lives and say: I'm free to think and to speak. My ancestors couldn't, I can, and my children will. Boys ought to grow up remembering that." Most Valuable Player: Sidney Buchman for the Screenplay Box Office: N/A Tomatometer: 94% Notable Awards: Won 1 Oscar, nominated for Best Picture Synopsis: A naive man is appointed to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate. His plans promptly collide with political corruption, but he doesn't back down. Critic Opinion: "If that synopsis is balder than the Capitol's dome, it is because there is not space here for all the story detail, the character touches, the lightning flashes of humor and poignance that have gone into Mr. Capra's two-hour show. He has paced it beautifully and held it in perfect balance, weaving his romance lightly through the political phases of his comedy, flicking a sardonic eye over the Washington scene, racing out to the hinterland to watch public opinion being made and returning miraculously in time to tie all the story threads together into a serious and meaningful dramatic pattern. Sidney Buchman, who wrote the script, has his claim on this credit, too, for his is a cogent and workmanlike script, with lines worthy of its cast. And there, finally, Mr. Capra has been really fortunate. As Jefferson Smith, James Stewart is a joy for this season, if not forever. He has too many good scenes, but we like to remember the way his voice cracked when he got up to read his bill, and the way he dropped his hat when he met the senior Senator's daughter, and the way he whistled at the Senators when they turned their backs on him in the filibuster, (He just wanted them to turn around so he could be sure they still had faces.) Jean Arthur, as the secretary—lucky girl being secretary to both Deeds and Smith—tosses a line and bats an eye with delightful drollery. Claude Rains, as the senior Senator, Edward Arnold, as the party steam-roller, Thomas Mitchell, as a roguish correspondent, are splendid all. Have we forgotten to mention it? "Mr. Smith" is one of the best shows of the year. More fun, even, than the Senate itself." - Nugent, The New York Times User Opinion: None Reasoning: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a film that'll probably turn a few heads from people on these forums on why exactly this movie made my list (and there'll be another one a little bit later that'll turn even more for similar reasons), mostly because even though I wouldn't call it an obscure classic, it isn't well known here. Frank Capra is one of the great directors from the early years of film history, directing movies that are filled with sentiment, humor and charm, and Mr Smith Goes to Washington is a movie that embodies just about everything that made Capra such a great director. James Stewart demonstrates his range as an actor in this movie, fully embodying the good-natured Mr. Smith as he attempts to take on the corruption in Washington. There's rich lines of dialogue that are full of true American patriotism and it stands as one of the most fun political movies to have ever been made. This is a classic film that you should definitely take some time to go and watch. Decade Count: 1930s: 10, 1940s: 13, 1950s: 17, 1960s: 21, 1970s: 26, 1980s: 36, 1990s: 34, 2000s: 28, 2010s: 28 Top 100 Decade Count: 1930s: 2, 1940s: 1, 1950s: 7, 1960s: 9, 1970s: 12, 1980s: 5, 1990s: 14, 2000s: 7, 2010s: 11 Top 50 Decade Count: 1930s: 1 1950s: 3, 1970s: 7 1980s: 1, 1990s: 3, 2000s: 2, 2010s: 1

Number 34 Pulp Fiction (1994) "But Marcellus Wallace don't like to be fucked by anybody except Mrs. Wallace." Most Valuable Player: Quentin Tarantino for his Direction and Screenplay Box Office: 107.9m (219.6m Adjusted) Tomatometer: 96% Notable Awards: Won 1 Oscar, nominated for Best Picture Synopsis: The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption. Critic Opinion: "Quentin Tarantino's astonishing "Pulp Fiction" is a slow dance on the killing ground, a great horror-comedy done tongue-in-cheek, with a wacko wit and buoyancy that belie its seeming cruelty. Expanding on the violence, virtuoso tough-guy acting and verbal dazzle of his brilliant 1992 debut movie, "Reservoir Dogs"-pulling out homages and steals from all over the hard-boiled film noir map-Tarantino has craftily, artfully fashioned the buddy-buddy movie from hell, an art movie lover's super-thriller and a charnel house romantic comedy punctuated with massacres." - Wilimgton, Chicago Tribune User Opinion: "This may not be for everyone as some people forget this is a film and they think it is a documentary on life and they get offended because it is not about love and honesty and morals and all that other crap that exists in some Hollywood films. This is a film that takes all that you have ever known about film and bludgeons it to death with a pen and paper. It redefines what is acceptable and what is off beat and all it asks you to do is enjoy this film for 2 and a half hours. I did, immensely, and I think most people will, and have. If you really have not seen this, then you are robbing yourself of one of the best cinematic experiences in the history of film. This is easily one of the best films ever made. How anyone can disagree is beyond my understanding and I can't see how you can truly call yourself a film fan if you can't see the brilliance of this film." - Baumer Reasoning: Pulp Fiction was wildly outrageous and inventive in its narrative structure, to its unapologetic use of violence, profanity and pop-culture, and simply the controversial (yet brilliant) nature of the movie. The film creates a sense of nihilism and archaism in every aspect of the its structure, giving an aimless sense of meaning to everything that transpires on the screen. Beyond that, the movie is simply entertaining and original to the highest degree, never ceasing to be less than 100% enjoyable, even when it makes your stomach curl up a little bit. I found every aspect of the movie to work, and when everything intertwines it's way together to wrap up at the end, it brings a sense of meaning to the random craziness that all happened throughout the film. Pulp Fiction is a pinnacle point for noir filmmaking. Decade Count: 1930s: 9, 1940s: 13, 1950s: 17, 1960s: 21, 1970s: 26, 1980s: 36, 1990s: 34, 2000s: 28, 2010s: 28 Top 100 Decade Count: 1930s: 1, 1940s: 1, 1950s: 7, 1960s: 9, 1970s: 12, 1980s: 5, 1990s: 14, 2000s: 7, 2010s: 11 Top 50 Decade Count: 1950s: 3, 1970s: 7 1980s: 1, 1990s: 3, 2000s: 2, 2010s: 1

Number 35 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) "Get out of my way son, you're usin' my oxygen." Most Valuable Player: Jack Nicholson's Lead Performance Box Office: 109m (464.4m Adjusted) Tomatometer: 95% Notable Awards: Won 5 Oscars, including Best Picture Synopsis: A criminal pleads insanity after getting into trouble again and once in the mental institution rebels against the oppressive nurse and rallies up the scared patients. Critic Opinion: "Nicholson could always be relied on to supply a certain rakish charm. Here he actually becomes the brash, outspoken McMurphy, delighting us with his impudence and defiance. He also manages to expose yet another, less noticeable layer of McMurphy - his deep compassion for his fellow human beings, which acts as a balance for his otherwise violent nature. It is a performance of dazzling complexity and energy, the kind of perfect triumph that happens in those rare times when the right actor meets the challenge of the right role. That the remainder of the cast is equally brilliant is a tribute not only to their talent, but to Forman’s ability to draw such natural responses from everyone. One must mention Louise Fletcher as the icily determined, hopelessly misguided Nurse Ratched, William Redfield as the ward’s fussy intellectual, Will Sampson as the Indian chief - a gentle giant - and Brad Dourif as the painfully tongue-tied victim of Nurse Ratched’s heartlessness. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is the best film therapy one can recommend." - Carroll, New York Daily News User Opinion: "It definitely is my kind of movie, where characters are not defined by their evilness or their goodness, where people are shown as complex animals that they are instead of simplistic stereotypes that some filmmakers like to shove down your throat to make their vision of reality work. The last sequence is the absolute highlight of the movie." - Goffe Reasoning: Absolutely spectacular in every way you could put it. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a film that neither defines heroes, villains, crazy or sane, but simply crafts a set compelling characters and lets the craziness all happen completely naturally. It's a brilliant work of filmmaking. In it, Jack Nicholson gives not only the best performance of his career, but one of the best performances of all-time. A Top 10, or even top 5 of all time level performance by Nicholson. That's also not to diminish the other cast members of this piece, as they all are perfectly done in how naturally their characters act, and how well they work together as an ensemble. Milos Forman as a director is also spot on in how he approaches this film, and you have to credit a lot of the great performance work by the actors to him as well. The film is still thematically relevant in its ideas, and never ceases to be entertaining without losing its depth and honesty. Pure and perfect cinema. Decade Count: 1930s: 9, 1940s: 13, 1950s: 17, 1960s: 21, 1970s: 26, 1980s: 36, 1990s: 33, 2000s: 28, 2010s: 28 Top 100 Decade Count: 1930s: 1, 1940s: 1, 1950s: 7, 1960s: 9, 1970s: 12, 1980s: 5, 1990s: 13, 2000s: 7, 2010s: 11 Top 50 Decade Count: 1950s: 3, 1970s: 7 1980s: 1, 1990s: 2, 2000s: 2, 2010s: 1

This is the end! My only friend! Number 36 Apocalypse Now (1979) "I love the smell of napalm in the morning!" Most Valuable Player: Francis Ford Coppola for Writing and Directing Box Office: 78.8m (271.5m Adjusted) Tomatometer: 97% Notable Awards: Won 2 Oscars, nominated for Best Picture Synopsis: During the Vietnam War, Captain Willard is sent on a dangerous mission into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade colonel who has set himself up as a god among a local tribe. Critic Opinion: "In contrast to Coppola’s earlier ‘The Godfather Part II’ and ‘The Conversation’, ‘Apocalypse Now’ isn’t a conspicuously ‘smart’ film: literary references aside, there are no intellectual pretensions here. Instead, as befits both its tortuous hand-to-mouth genesis and the devastating conflict it reflects, this is a film of pure sensation, dazzling audiences with light and noise, laying bare the stark horror – and unimaginable thrill – of combat. And therein lies the true heart of darkness: if war is hell and heaven intertwined, where does morality fit in? And, in the final apocalyptic analysis, will any of it matter?" - Huddleston, Time Out User Opinion: "One of the best films ever made. Brilliant, atmospheric and unforgetable. Everything is impressive but the final 30 minutes when Brando appears is something truly unforgetable. A film with so many layers and interpretations. Coppola during the 70's had the best streak ever starting with The Godfather up until Apocalypse Now! The horror, the horror... One of the best lines and deliveries ever." - acab Reasoning: My favorite of Coppola's works, and what a way to finish off his 70s win streak of films! Apocalypse Now is a movie that is packed to the brim with so many scenes and images that are completely out there. There were many Vietnam War films that came out around this time period, and Apocalypse Now is the best out of all of them. The movie manages to accomplish something over the top that none of the other 'Nam war movies were able to accomplish. Apocalypse Now truly showed off the dizzying and hypnotic madness that was the Vietnam War. The film showed the psychological effects, to the lucid and physical imagery that accompanied it. This is the greatest "horrors of war" movie ever made, as I really can't think of another movie that shows off the hellish nature of war more than Apocalypse Now manages to do so. A monumental film. Decade Count: 1930s: 9, 1940s: 13, 1950s: 17, 1960s: 21, 1970s: 25, 1980s: 36, 1990s: 33, 2000s: 28, 2010s: 28 Top 100 Decade Count: 1930s: 1, 1940s: 1, 1950s: 7, 1960s: 9, 1970s: 11, 1980s: 5, 1990s: 13, 2000s: 7, 2010s: 11 Top 50 Decade Count: 1950s: 3, 1970s: 6, 1980s: 1, 1990s: 2, 2000s: 2, 2010s: 1

Yeah, if we did that, I'd go ahead and do 2012 now, and just give a heads up that 1987 is coming so to watch some movies for it.

Holding just like TJB puts BATB at 120m. So I'm thinking 95-100m second weekend is looking likely.

I've seen plenty. I actually saw one before a PG-13 movie once.

Out of Pixar's golden age films (Finding Nemo to Toy Story 3), Rataouille is only better than Cars.

Number 37 A Clockwork Orange (1971) "It's funny how the colors of the real world only seem really real when you viddy them on the screen." Most Valuable Player: Stanley Kubrick for his Direction and Writing Box Office: 26.6m (135.3m Adjusted) Tomatometer: 90% Notable Awards: Nominated for 4 Oscars, including Best Picture Synopsis: In future Britain, Alex DeLarge, a charismatic and psycopath delinquent, who likes to practice crimes and ultra-violence with his gang, is jailed and volunteers for an experimental aversion therapy developed by the government in an effort to solve society's crime problem - but not all goes according to plan. Critic Opinion: "It seems to me that by describing horror with such elegance and beauty, Kubrick has created a very disorienting but human comedy, not warm and lovable, but a terrible sum- up of where the world is at. With all of man's potential for divinity through love, through his art and his music, this is what it has somehow boiled down to: a civil population terrorized by hoodlums, disconnected porno art, quick solutions to social problems, with the only "hope" for the future in the vicious Alex. It is hardly a cheery thought, which is why the sound of Gene Kelly singing "Singin' in The Rain" as we leave the theater is so disconcerting. It's really a banana peel for the emotions. "A Clockwork Orange" might correctly be called dangerous only if one doesn't respond to anything else in the film except the violence. One critic has suggested that Kubrick has attempted to estrange us from any identification with Alex's victims so that we can enjoy the rapes and the beatings. All I can say is that I did not feel any such enjoyment. I was shocked and sickened and moved by a stylized representation that never, for a minute, did I mistake for a literal representation of the real thing. Everything about "A Clockwork Orange" is carefully designed to make this difference apparent, at least to the adult viewer, but there may be a very real problem when even such stylized representations are seen by immature audiences. That, however, is another subject entirely, and one for qualified psychiatrists to ponder. In my opinion Kubrick has made a movie that exploits only the mystery and variety of human conduct. And because it refuses to use the emotions conventionally, demanding instead that we keep a constant, intellectual grip on things, it's a most unusual--and disorienting--movie experience." - Canby, The New York Times User Opinion: "One of Kubrick's most enjoyable films, imo. Here he has a clear sense of what the story is and what kind of message he wants to send, and he's helped by memorable performances and a wickedly dark sense of humor." - tribefan695 Reasoning: It's absolutely disturbing just how funny and comical this dark, dystopian sci-fi film manages to be. So much to a point, that it almost feels like Kubrick's point isn't to show the terribleness of the human beings on screen, but just how terrible you are by how he manipulates it to enjoy it. The film slams a powerful thematic punch by displaying the psychopath Alex, brilliantly portrayed by McDowell, and despite the awfulness of the man, he manages to match it with the awfulness of the world surrounding him, leaving you perplexed. Is it truly Alex that is wrong, or is it the society that allowed for people like Alex to exist in the way they "rehabilitate" criminals and glorify ultra-violence? The film is rich in ideas, production design, screenplay, and all of it is pulled together with a distinct and focused vision by Kubrick. Like many of Kubrick's movies, this film was quite controversial when it was released, but that polarizing controversy is what makes this movie just the wild and maniacal masterpiece that it truly is. Decade Count: 1930s: 9, 1940s: 13, 1950s: 17, 1960s: 21, 1970s: 24, 1980s: 36, 1990s: 33, 2000s: 28, 2010s: 28 Top 100 Decade Count: 1930s: 1, 1940s: 1, 1950s: 7, 1960s: 9, 1970s: 10, 1980s: 5, 1990s: 13, 2000s: 7, 2010s: 11 Top 50 Decade Count: 1950s: 3, 1970s: 5, 1980s: 1, 1990s: 2, 2000s: 2, 2010s: 1 Warning: Scene is potentially NSFW as it features two people fighting with a Beethoven head and a penis sculpture

But that's exactly why Jesse James is better than all of those.

Once missed? Fuck you guys.

Number 38 Vertigo (1958) "You shouldn't keep souvenirs of a killing. You shouldn't have been that sentimental." Most Valuable Player: Alfred Hitchock's Direction Box Office: N/A Tomatometer: 97% Notable Awards: Nominated for 2 Oscars Synopsis: A San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her. Critic Opinion: "Alfred Hitchcock’s audaciously intricate melodrama, from 1958, concerns an acrophobic detective (James Stewart) who spurns the attentions of a fashion illustrator (Barbara Bel Geddes) to pursue his frustrated passion for a chilly, suicidal platinum-blond woman of mystery (Kim Novak). It’s as much a wonder of suspense as it is a catalogue of the director’s themes and an allegory for his own art of enticement—and for the erotic pitfalls of his métier. Novak’s famous transformations, Stewart’s haunted fabrications, and Bel Geddes’s unrequited longing are all tethered to the whim of another master plotter, the detective’s long-lost friend (Tom Helmore), whose marital suspicions are the MacGuffin with which Hitchcock unfurls his own obsessions: the tragic difference between friendship and love, the seductive power of style and disguise, the proximity of lust and madness, and the inseparability of sex from suspense, danger, and death. (The story is, among other things, a template for how Hitchcock makes a borrowed story his own.) The irrepressible allure of Hitchcock’s visual extravagance—his baroque swirl of caustic greens, voluptuous purples, acidic yellows, and fiery reds, and the indecent glare of daylight—conjures a torrent of unconscious desires beyond the realm of dramatic machinations; his happy ending, of health restored and crime punished, resembles an aridly monastic renunciation." - Brody, New Yorker User Opinion: "i was wondering how hitchcock's most acclaimed movie would turn out. quite well, apprently. probably is his best." - lisa Reasoning: Alfred Hitchock's masterwork, which is crazy to say given how many great films and masterpieces this man has been able to churn out throughout the years. What makes Vertigo stand as the best of Hitchcock's works is he shows his tender ability to deconstruct himself. Hitchcock takes the recipes and formulas that made so many of his movies successful and he breaks them all down in Vertigo, making possibly the most unique vision of Hitchock's filmography. The movie is beautifully crafted, scary to a degree, and contains that same level of high-stakes suspense you'd expect out of Hitchcock. The imagery of the movie is absolutely livid, each shot and sequence drawing you in and being a wonder to the eyes. The movie is something you can watch multiple times and always find something new to appreciate in it. Phenomenal. Decade Count: 1930s: 9, 1940s: 13, 1950s: 17, 1960s: 21, 1970s: 23, 1980s: 36, 1990s: 33, 2000s: 28, 2010s: 28 Top 100 Decade Count: 1930s: 1, 1940s: 1, 1950s: 7, 1960s: 9, 1970s: 9, 1980s: 5, 1990s: 13, 2000s: 7, 2010s: 11 Top 50 Decade Count: 1950s: 3, 1970s: 4, 1980s: 1, 1990s: 2, 2000s: 2, 2010s: 1

To low for Jesse James, probably because people didn't see it.

I feel like this weekend is a hangover from last weekend's insanity.