The Panda

Last one for tonight! Number 193 A Fistful of Dollars (1964) "When a man's got money in his pocket he begins to appreciate peace." Most Valuable Player: Ennio Morricone for his Scoring Box Office: 14.5m (104.5m Adjusted) Tomatometer: 98% Notable Awards: Won Best Score at Italian Syndicate Film Journalists Synopsis: A wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge. Critic Opinion: "A cracker-jack western made in Italy and Spain by a group of Italians and an international cast, this is a hard-hitting item, ably directed, splendidly lensed, neatly acted, which has all the ingredients wanted by action fans and then some. Basically, it’s about a loner, Joe (Clint Eastwood), who arrives in a small Southwestern settlement split by the rivalry of two families. For money, he plays both sides against the middle, eventually winning his longstanding battle with the heavy. Tale [by Toni Palombi, based on the 1961 Japanese film Yojimbo] is well developed, and though there is plenty of cliche, it’s handled with an all-stops-out style, vigorous use of widescreen camera, effective juggling of closeups and long shots." - Variety Staff (1963) User Opinion: "The start of Leone's dollars trilogy, and Clint Eastwood's career as a leading man. A nameless gun-for-hire plays two feuding families against each other in a small town - the plot is a rehash of Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" but works well enough. There' a lot to love here: Camerawork, Eastwood's squint, Morricone's unrivaled music, and even some Austrian contribution (Josef Egger, as "Joe Edger", lends his characteristic face to the town's undertaker)" - IndustriousAngel Reasoning: As a Western fan, Sergio Leone is literally the king of it all, and A Fistful of Dollars marks a remarkable start to the legacy of his most famous trilogy, The Dollars Trilogy. The score is absolutely sprawling and wonderfully Western, Morricone proves himself a masterclass in this film. This film set the groundwork for all of his even greater movies to come after, and although it may have been fairly ignored upon release, it has left an impactful and lasting legacy. The long shots and close ups are brilliant, Eastwood begins his career on fire in his most iconic role, there's really everything to love and nothing to hate about this movie. If I had any negatives its that its somehow the least of Leone's big four, which is why I was being modest by putting it a bit lower than it probably deserves. Fantastic western. Decade Count: 1930s: 4, 1940s: 4, 1950s: 4, 1960s: 5, 1970s: 3, 1980s: 10, 1990s: 10, 2000s: 11, 2010s: 7

Number 194 National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) "You want me to strap her to the hood? She'll be fine. It's not as if it's going to rain or something." Most Valuable Player: John Hughes for the Screenplay Box Office: 61.4m (168.6m Adjusted) Tomatometer: 93% Notable Awards: It was awarded a terrible remake Synopsis: The Griswold family's cross-country drive to the Walley World theme park proves to be much more arduous than they ever anticipated. Critic Opinion: "John Hughes' screenplay is a nominally updated adaptation of his original National Lampoon story "Vacation '58," one of the best comic fantasies the magazine ever published. Reprinted in the July issue to help promote the movie, it still reads beautifully and enjoys a stylistic concentration that the movie, subject to the collaborative input of several humorists, fails to duplicate. There were two irresistible psychological keys to the story's effectiveness: The father of the family goes certifiably crazy as a consequence of the trip's frustrations and this process is described, with admiring affection, through the eyes of his adolescent son, who derives considerable pride and excitement from the sequence of events that drive dad around the bend." - Arnold, Washington Post User Opinion: None Reasoning: A more controversial, yet still hysterical, comedy classic that should be much higher regarded than it actually is. Chevy Chase delivers an exceptional comedic lead performance, and John Hughes' story turns out to be one of his best. The film is loud, screwy, obnoxious and profane but that doesn't stop it from being a consistent and re-watchable favorite to turn on. Over thirty years since this comedy came out, and it still resonates just as perfectly as it did upon its initial release, it's 90 minutes of laughter that never ages. Decade Count: 1930s: 4, 1940s: 4, 1950s: 4, 1960s: 4, 1970s: 3, 1980s: 10, 1990s: 10, 2000s: 11, 2010s: 7

Number 195 High Noon (1952) "You risk your skin catching killers and the juries turn them loose so they can come back and shoot at you again. If you're honest you're poor your whole life and in the end you wind up dying all alone on some dirty street. For what? For nothing. For a tin star." Most Valuable Player: Gary Cooper's Lead Performance Box Office: N/A Tomatometer: 96% Notable Awards: Won 4 Oscars, was nominated for Best Picture Synopsis: A marshall, personally compelled to face a returning deadly enemy, finds that his own town refuses to help him Critic Opinion: "A Western of stark, classical lineaments: Cooper, still mysteriously beautiful in ravaged middle-age, plays a small town marshal who lays life and wife on the line to confront a killer set free by liberal abolitionists from the North. Waiting for the murderer's arrival on the midday train, he enters a long and desolate night of the soul as the heat gathers, his fellow-citizens scatter, and it grows dark, dark, dark amid the blaze of noon. Writer Carl Foreman, who fetched up on the HUAC blacklist, leaves it open whether the marshal is making a gesture of sublime, arrogant futility - as his bride (Kelly), a Quaker opposed to violence, believes - or simply doing what a man must. High Noon won a fistful of Oscars, but in these days of pasteboard screen machismo, it's worth seeing simply as the anatomy of what it took to make a man before the myth turned sour." - Adams, Time Out User Opinion: "One of my favorite western films." - bartonfinke Reasoning: Do not forsake me oh my darling! A classic western, bolstered by a powerful performance by Gary Cooper and another remarkable score by Tiomkin, it's easy to see why this movie is regarded so highly in history. This is a movie that defined a variety of the "Western Cliches", yet for its time it was a highly unconventional film and that's what makes it so important to cinematic history. The movie defies time in its themes and brevity, and its something that's serves well to multiple re-watches. I'm not entirely sure what to say about it other than, duh this is an -All-American classic. Decade Count: 1930s: 4, 1940s: 4, 1950s: 4, 1960s: 4, 1970s: 3, 1980s: 9, 1990s: 10, 2000s: 11, 2010s: 7

Number 196 White Christmas (1954) "When I figure out what that means I'll come up with a crushing reply." Most Valuable Player: Bing Crosby for his performance and singing Box Office: N/A Tomatometer: 77% Notable Awards: Nominated for 1 Oscar Synopsis: A successful song-and-dance team become romantically involved with a sister act and team up to save the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding general. Critic Opinion: "Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, along with VistaVision, keep the enteratinment going in this fancifully staged production, clicking well. The directorial handling by Michael Curtiz gives a smooth blend of music (13 numbers plus snatches of others) and drama, and in the climax creates a genuine heart tug that will squeeze tears." - Variety Staff User Opinion: None Reasoning: An all-time Christmas classic, with a joyful soundtrack. This movie is an absolute blast to watch every time, and a fairly strong plot with an emotional hook near the end. The film may be a bit sappy, but that just makes it all the better for Christmas. The musical numbers leave you singing along, and it's a film you can always get everyone to agree on to watch during Christmas time. Maybe it's not as technically great as other movies on my list, but it has certainly stood the test of time, and that definitely lends it credence. It's one of the greatest Christmas movies ever made, 'nuff said. Decade Count: 1930s: 4, 1940s: 4, 1950s: 3, 1960s: 4, 1970s: 3, 1980s: 9, 1990s: 10, 2000s: 11, 2010s: 7

Number 197 This is Spinal Tap (1984) "It's like, how much more black could this be? and the answer is none. None more black." Most Valuable Player: Authentic cast and rocking soundtrack Box Office: 4.7m (11.6m Adjusted) Tomatometer: 95% Notable Awards: Being regarded as an all time great comedy? Synopsis: Spinal Tap, one of England's loudest bands, is chronicled by film director Marty DeBergi on what proves to be a fateful tour. Critic Opinion: "Since the antics of so many heavy metal bands already teeter on the edge of self-parody, it would have been no surprise if this spoof 'rockumentary' about a comeback tour by a has-been English rock group had turned out to be a one-joke movie. In the event, Reiner's brilliantly inventive script and smart visuals avoid all the obvious pitfalls, making this one of the funniest ever films about the music business. Filmed in cinéma vérité style, it follows the group from venue to venue, observing the trials and tribulations of life on the road, personal tensions within the group, and problems with expanding egos. Interviews with the group fill in the details of their chequered musical career: they have trouble keeping their drummers, one of whom choked on vomit (somebody else's), while another spontaneously combusted on stage. Most importantly of all, the musical numbers acutely mimic the crashing drums, thudding bass lines, whining lead guitar solos, and juvenile, sexist lyrics of heavy rock." - Andrew, Time Out User Opinion: "One of my favorite rock and roll related cult movie. (along with Rocky Horror Picture Show and Hedwig And The Angry Inch). The Rutles of Hard Rock. -"Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?" -"These go to eleven!" Stonehenge part had me in tears." - dashrendar44 Reasoning: Another cult classic comedy to pop up on my list, and This is Spinal Tap is most definitely a deserving one. I wouldn't go as far as calling this an actual musical, but if I did, I would regard it as one of the greatest musicals of all time. The film if frenetic and never ceases to give away its energy and electricity, not to leave out that it's also hilarious the entire way through as well, it almost makes me respect metal as an actual musical genre. I shouldn't have to be telling you this, but This is Spinal Tap is definitive satire and it's one of the most creative films of its genre that you're going to see. If you haven't seen this movie, what are you doing? Go watch it. Decade Count: 1930s: 4, 1940s: 4, 1950s: 2, 1960s: 4, 1970s: 3, 1980s: 9, 1990s: 10, 2000s: 11, 2010s: 7

Number 198 Dazed and Confused (1993) "That's what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age." Most Valuable Player: The Ensemble of the cast Box Office: 8m (16.7m Adjusted) Tomatometer: 94% Notable Awards: Nada Synopsis: The adventures of high school and junior high students on the last day of school in May 1976. Critic Opinion: "The teenage wasteland, 1976-style, of Dazed and Confused is smack-dab between The Brady Bunch and Children of the Damned , and it’s a scary, if sometimes giddily amusing, place to visit. This is Richard Linklater’s followup to his no-budget Slacker. All the action takes place within 24 hours, as listless Austin, Texas, teens endure their last day of school, making bongs in shop and cataloguing every episode of Gilligan’s Island in history, before the summer’s serious business of drinking, fighting and generally humiliating each other and themselves." - Variety Staff User Opinion: "What gets me is how exceptionally generous it is - Linklater could have taken the easy road and judged some characters but not the others, or firmly put you into someone specific's shoes for the entire duration, instead he really gives equal attention to everybody, and their joy and pain/humiliation and everything in between are equally vivid and relatable, no one's experience is more legitimate than someone else's. Like how Affleck's character could have just been a one-dimensional bully, but for all his genuine hostility, in that moment where they dump paint all over him you go from cheering to feeling sorry for him too. Or McConaughey is kind of a creep and pretty clearly a loser if he can't find people his own age to socialize with, but of course I would have been drawn to him in that age as much as the high schoolers here are. Goldberg works up the courage to start a fight, then the whole thing predictably turns nasty and messy instead of triumphant. The atmosphere is infectious, but you know this won't last and Pink's smart enough to recognize it, at the same time it's very possible that, as an adult, he'd laugh at his "Remind me to kill myself" line and just chalk it up to having been an over-dramatic high schooler. The entire thing just absolutely nails that wild mix of emotions of being a teenager through everything including throwaway lines and tiny moments, and without a slightest hint of detachment or condescension." - Jake Gittes Reasoning: While this movie really wasn't much of a hit when it was released, it has since become a cult classic in a sense, and it features some iconic performances and hilarious one liners from various famous actors who were once in their youth and worked on these kinds of movies. Linklater is a director who works incredibly well at making fantastic movies that focus little on plot and much on the authentic simplicity of human relationships, and Dazed and Confused is Linklater pulling off this magical formula again, only this time in the day and the life of high school in the 70s. The soundtrack is jamming, the screenplay is right on point, and Linklater proves himself as one of the greatest and most overlooked directors of all time. Decade Count: 1930s: 4, 1940s: 4, 1950s: 2, 1960s: 4, 1970s: 3, 1980s: 8, 1990s: 10, 2000s: 11, 2010s: 7

Number 199 The Birds (1963) "Don't they ever stop migrating?" Most Valuable Player: Hitchock's Direction Box Office: N/A Tomatometer: 96% Notable Awards: Nominated for 1 Oscar Synopsis: A wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people. Critic Opinion: "It is one of the most disturbing sequences in cinematic history: a woman tiptoes through a house until – in three staccato shots – she discovers the bloody corpse of its occupant on the bedroom floor, his eye sockets two black holes dripping with gore. The scene is just one of several grisly moments in Alfred Hitchcock's peerless horror flick, The Birds, made three years after his scorching success with Psycho." - Sooke, The Telegraph User Opinion: "the build up to the bird attacks were pretty perfect, but the attacks itself were pretty meh, except the last one inside the house, which was one of the most tense scenes I've seen, just brilliantly constructed. I really liked the first act, the drama was well made and Melanie was a interesting character that still feels fresh today. The chemistry between her and Mitch was unbelievable, it was really fun to watch when they were on screen. I think I don't need to tell you how visually good looking the film is." - Goffe Reasoning: The first entry on my list of Alfred Hitchcock, and it definitely won't be the last, while The Birds isn't the best of his work, it is an exceptionally well-made horror features that leaves you fearful of the most unlikely of enemies. It's a real testament of Hitchcock's power and ability as a director that this picture works as well as it does, because on paper it really shouldn't, at all. However, the slow and eerie build up really creates a mood and atmosphere, something Hitchcock excels at doing, Hitchcock realizes that the horror in a horror feature is in the build up, not the final delivery of the kill. That's why The Birds succeeds, it builds up the premise so well, that it practically forces the final delivery to do its job. Decade Count: 1930s: 4, 1940s: 4, 1950s: 2, 1960s: 4, 1970s: 3, 1980s: 8, 1990s: 9, 2000s: 11, 2010s: 7

Number 200 The Ten Commandments (1956) "The man stupid enough to use you as a footstool would not be wise enough to rule Egypt." Most Valuable Player: The VFX Team and Cinematography Box Office: 65.5m (1.133b Adjusted) Tomatometer: 94% Notable Awards: Won 1 Oscars, was nominated for Best Picture Synopsis: The Egyptian Prince, Moses, learns of his true heritage as a Hebrew and his divine mission as the deliverer of his people. Critic Opinion: "His latest spectacular production of "The Ten Commandments" was unveiled to the world at the Criterion Theater last night by Paramount Pictures. It is not only the longest motion picture ever released by Hollywood — it runs three hours and 39 minutes, plus a 10-minute intermission — but it has the trickiest photography ever displayed on the screen. There are scenes in the picture that were never dreamed of until DeMille and his expert cinematographers got to work on them and discovered that they could command their VistaVision cameras to perform miracles for them. The photographing of the Exodus, for instance, is a major miracle in itself. Although the picture is too long for one sitting, it is, nevertheless, an absorbing and exciting historical record, documented with excerpts from the Books of Exodus and Numbers of the Old Testament, the Psalms and from the works of such ancient historians as Josephus, Philo and Eusebius." - Kate Cameron, New York Daily News (1956) User Opinion: None Reasoning: The Ten Commandments, while once a massive box office smash of the levels of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has become an underappreciated epic that deserves more attention than it really gets. The visual effects of this movie were groundbreaking for its time, even if they appear pretty dated today. The production and costume designs are on an epic scale, Bernstein's score is soaring, and the cinematography is incredibly impressive. Whether or not you're a Biblical believer, it's really hard to not watch this film and be able to appreciate it for everything that it was. It still stands strong upon watching today, and deserves the title of being an all-time classic. Decade Count: 1930s: 4, 1940s: 4, 1950s: 2, 1960s: 3, 1970s: 3, 1980s: 8, 1990s: 9, 2000s: 11, 2010s: 7

Number 201 What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) "No shimmering. You shimmer, and you glow." Most Valuable Player: Johnny Depp and Leonardi DiCaprio's performances Box Office: 10m (20.8m Adjusted) Tomatometer: 89% Notable Awards: Nominated for 1 Oscar Synopsis: After his father's death, Gilbert has to care for his mentally disabled brother, Arnie, and his morbidly obese mother, which is suddenly challenged when love walks into his life. Critic Opinion: "“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” is an offbeat, middleweight charmer that is lent a measure of substance by its astute performances and observational insight. A modest effort of uninsistent qualities but many felicitous moments, this is not the sort of self-trumpeting, broadly commercial release normally associated with the year-end holidays. But word of mouth, probably starting with teenage girls but potentially extending to a wide variety of audiences, could reward distrib patience with good long-term results." - McCarthy, Variety User Opinion: "At first I thought this movie was some average movie that had a solid performance from DiCaprio. While the beginning of it suggested that, throughout the movie, it gets more and more emotional. One of the saddest scenes I've ever seen was when their mother came out of that police station and everyone was kind of staring at her (a few people even laughing). Reminds me in what a shitty society we live. The ending was also quite emotional, especially with the house burning down. It didn't hit me until the 'epilogue', near Arnier's nineteenth birthday. The scene starts off as it does, with the voice over from Gilbert, but then the theme starts playing and you're just going to have to let it out. That's one thing that always gets me. In this movie, everyone lived together until their mother died. At the end you find out that they split ways and that Gilbert was going 'on the run' with Arnie, deciding to travel around the country with Becky. These kind of situations always get me. In the end, this movie was pretty great. Of course I won't forget DiCaprio's amazing performance and Depp's gorgeous hair." - ChD Reasoning: Another movie from the nineties that is criminally underrated. Often seen as the movie that had DiCaprio's breakout role, there is a lot more going on here than just a wonderful performance by DiCaprio. The movie is a quiet take on the lives of people feeling trapped in a life where their duty is to take care of their family, and how they long to be free to pursue their own desires. While the movie does get Depp a plot point to finally pursue this at the end of the film, it has a sort of poetic poignancy that I found particularly moving and relate-able. Where does one's duty lie? How far are you allowed to run before you have to return to normalcy and take care of that duty? It's a subtle film that really does the trick if you let it. Decade Count: 1930s: 4, 1940s: 4, 1950s: 1, 1960s: 3, 1970s: 3, 1980s: 8, 1990s: 9, 2000s: 11, 2010s: 7

Number 202 October Sky (1999) "No. Coal mining may be your life, but it's not mine. I'm never going down there again. I wanna go into space." Most Valuable Player: Lewis Colick's Screenplay and Homer Hickman's Story Box Office: 32.5m (55.4m Adjusted) Tomatometer: 90% Notable Awards: Nominated for a WGA Synopsis: The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes. Critic Opinion: "The tension in the movie is not between the boys and their rocket, but between the boys and those who think that miners' sons belong down in the mines and not up in the sky. Homer's father is not a bad man; he fights for the jobs of his men, he rescues several in a near-disaster, he injures his eye in another emergency. He wants Homer to follow in his footsteps. The mine may seem an unhealthy and hateful place to some, but when John takes Homer down for his son's first day on the job, his voice glows with poetry: "I know the mine like I know a man. I was born for this.'' The high school principal (Chris Ellis) sees the job of the school to send miners' sons down to the coal mine. But a young teacher (Laura Dern) tells Homer she feels her life will have failed if some of the kids don't get out and realize their dreams. Then there's a crisis (did a rocket set a forest fire?), and a scene in which Homer and his friends use trigonometry to argue their innocence." - Roger Ebert User Opinion: "Jake Gyllenhaal plays a young Homer Hickam in this feel good film about a boy dreaming to change his destiny from ending up in the coal mines like his father (Chris Cooper) to being a pioneer in rocketry. I love this movie so much, it's so inspirational & well acted. The setting & music really set it apart." - GiantCALBears Reasoning: This is a movie that is really overlooked and not really remembered all to well, that doesn't mean it's not a really solid film though, because it is. October Sky is an inspiring and crowd pleasing film about pursuing your dreams and what you're good at, as well as balancing that with the idea of fulfillment in family. The score is beautiful, the writing is excellent, and watching this in school was something that helped inspire me to pursue academics (not the sole reason or anything, but it was a nice). I also love how the film is also a bit of a homage to math and science, so that gets it kudo points from me. Great, underrated film. Decade Count: 1930s: 4, 1940s: 4, 1950s: 1, 1960s: 3, 1970s: 3, 1980s: 8, 1990s: 8, 2000s: 11, 2010s: 7

Number 203 South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (1999) "Remember what the MPAA says; Horrific, Deplorable violence is okay, as long as people don't say any naughty woids! That's what this war is all about!" Most Valuable Player: Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the writing and song writing Box Office: 52m (88.6m Adjusted) Tomatometer: 81% Notable Awards: Nominated for 1 Oscar Synopsis: When the four boys see an R-rated movie featuring Canadians Terrance & Phillip, they are pronounced "corrupted", and their parents pressure the United States to wage war against Canada. Critic Opinion: "Four little boys looking for excitement in the form of new expletives sneak into a movie theater to see a controversial Canadian musical glorifying scatology and profanity. Their enjoyment winds up setting off World War III, allowing this inspired, self-referential animated musical (1999), set in Colorado and hell, to suggest that the U.S. might evolve as a nation if even a fraction of the energy we spend trying to suppress irreverence went to examining bigotry and hypocrisy. Even more striking than the mockery of whipping boys right alongside sacred cows is the celebration of farting and saying fuck, which makes it seem overwhelmingly obvious that people who worry about the effects of such stuff on children are idiots." - Alspector, Chicago Reader User Opinion: "One of the most brilliant pieces of social satire ever, packed into a hilariously warped musical." - lisa Reasoning: You know it has to be a good movie if even lisa raves it. South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut is one of the best musicals off all time, one of the best comedies of all time, and one of the best animated movies of all time. The film leaves you rolling on the floor laughing at the satire, referential to other films and the socio-culture at the time, and it also manages to pack so relevant political punch within the hilarity. Not only that, but the movie is a celebration of profanity, which just elevates it to an even higher level than it was already at. If you don't like this movie, then you can go fuck yourself and report me to the MPAA for my profanity. Decade Count: 1930s: 4, 1940s: 4, 1950s: 1, 1960s: 3, 1970s: 3, 1980s: 8, 1990s: 7, 2000s: 11, 2010s: 7

Number 204 Bonnie and Clyde (1967) "This here's Miss Bonnie Parker. I'm Clyde Barrow. We rob banks." Most Valuable Player: The Acting Ensemble Box Office: N/A Tomatometer: 88% Notable Awards: Won 2 Oscars, and was nominated for Best Picture Synopsis: Bonnie Parker, a bored waitress falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow and together they start a violent crime spree through the country, robbing cars and banks. Critic Opinion: "Arthur Penn’s “Bonnie and Clyde” is about two real thieves of the early thirties who behaved as if they thought of themselves as film stars in a movie. They came of age in the Depression, when their beauty, their dash, and their tough past turned them into folk heroes, and they thought they had charmed lives. The film shows them holding up grocery stores and banks as if the two of them were box-office draws who were bound to survive because of their audience pull. When they are finally run to earth, they die without even reaching for their guns. Their fitful contact with unwelcoming reality affected the planning of the holdups, and the resulting quality of the ludicrous in their crimes seems to have infuriated the police as much as it captivated the out-of-work public. The records of the time show that the cops used a thousand rounds of ammunition to kill them. The movie is full of scenes of giggling and showoff, but the moods belong to the characters, not to the film. “Bonnie and Clyde” could look like a celebration of gangster glamour only to a man with a head full of wood shavings. These two visibly have the life expectancy of dragonflies; their sense of power and of unending gang fun is a delusion, and to see them duping themselves is as harrowing as the spectacle of most other hoaxes. Their motive isn’t gain but an urge to be theatrically remembered. Arthur Penn and the screenwriters—David Newman and Robert Benton—seem to have been especially absorbed by this drive in Bonnie and Clyde to record themselves. The picture often makes you think of Lee Harvey Oswald." - Gilliat, The New York (1967) User Opinion: None Reasoning: Bonnie and Clyde is an excellent gangster film and character piece that really set the stage of so many other gangster classics to follow it, its influence on American film should appear obvious. The film has a tight ensemble, there's a reason it managed to garner 5 acting nominations, and Arthur Penn really takes the time to show off the characters who are obliviously uncaring to their violence, while ensuring that the audience watching is not. It may have been pretty criticized at the time as seeming like an homage to villains, but it's much less of glorifying the killers but showing them for what they were, carefree to a fault which inevitably leads to their downfall. Bonnie and Clyde is a thoroughly modern American classic. Decade Count: 1930s: 4, 1940s: 4, 1950s: 1, 1960s: 3, 1970s: 3, 1980s: 8, 1990s: 6, 2000s: 11, 2010s: 7

Hell, I found out this year that even running the BOFFYS is chaotic, I can only imagine the Oscars. And from running coffee houses and experience in music trying to get everybody to coordinate to do simple tasks is hard af.

Occam's Razor, there's no conspiracy. They made a human error and picked up the wrong card. End of story.

Lol, so you're trying to turn it around on me by using a strawman again? I never mentioned Slumdog and your argument is completely irrelevant. I'm just trying to tell you how you're coming across. And you're coming across as either a consciously racist troll, or passively racist privileged white male. And I've reached the point where I'm just going to call it out and be honest. Anyways, arguing with you is like trying to argue with Kellyanne Conway. And if you don't get the negative connotations of that then you truly are hopeless.

So you're saying films with white casts are awarded based on merit and films with minority casts are based on politics. That sums up your viewpoint, and it's pretty insulting.

Lolololol, if it was BBM guilt they had plenty of other chances to make up for it since then. That has nothing to do with it at all.

Honestly, Moonlight's easily my favorite BP win of the decade. It's probably my favorite since either Hurt Locker or No Country for Old Men.

So you're going to trash Moonlight, without seeing it, making assumptions of what it's about and why people liked it? The movie wasn't made to win Oscars, man. It's a small indie film with mostly smaller named actors, that broke out and resonated with audiences. It wasn't because of politics that it got in, it's because it was a well made film. If they wanted an easy political choice they would have gone with Hidden Figures over Moonlight. Moonlight isn't a white guilt movie at all, if you saw it, maybe it'd click with you. Nobody was guilted into voting Moonlight. And it's incredibly offensive to any minority filmmaker to say their movie only got acclaim because of white guilt, instead of recognizing that maybe they're talented people who made a good movie about human struggle and self-identity.

Number 205 (Again) Cast Away (2000) "Wilson! I'm sorry Wilson! I'm sorry!" Most Valuable Player: Tom Hanks for his lead performance, and Wilson for his heartbreaking supporting performance Box Office: 233.6m (362.4m Adjusted) Tomatometer: 90% Notable Awards: Nominated for 2 Oscars Synopsis: A FedEx executive must transform himself physically and emotionally to survive a crash landing on a deserted island. Critic Opinion: "I'm sure there will be wags who will glibly compare Cast Away to the likes of "Gilligan's Island" and "Survivor", but, in tone, approach, and overall accomplishment, this atypical Robinson Crusoe tale bears a strong resemblance to one of director Robert Zemeckis' earlier efforts, Contact. No, Cast Away isn't about space or messages from another planet, but, at its core, neither was Contact. Both films ask the same crucial existential question, one that Shakespeare pondered for years: taking all things into account, what does it mean to be human? How do we cope with loss, hopelessness, and isolation, and still find the courage to face the next day? The love and dream of a dead father sustained Jodie Foster's character in Contact. For Tom Hanks' Chuck Noland in Cast Away, it is the promise offered by the smile of his equally absent - and equally beloved - wife-to-be. The last time Zemeckis and Hanks teamed up, a legend was born - the idiot savant Forrest Gump. A brilliantly conceived trip through the latter half of the 20th century, Forrest Gump was part folksy feel-good drama and part well-concealed satire. The 1994 blockbuster offers much more than its detractors, and even some of its supports, acknowledge. Those expecting Zemeckis and Hanks to re-examine the same territory in Cast Away will be surprised - aside from the films' Oscar potential, there's little synergy. Cast Away will not be the crowd-pleaser that Forrest Gump was, but it's a deeper, more rewarding experience. And, just when you think it's over, it defies expectations and metamorphoses into something different and more compelling." - Berardinelli, reelviews User Opinion: "This movie is a great, somewhat under-appreciated treasure, even with some third-act issues. World class filmmaking from Zemeckis and Hanks." - Telemachos Reasoning: Cast Away is quite a humbling and surreal kind of watch, and it's still a little shocking to me how it managed to pull in so much money at the Box Office. Zemeckis delivers one of his stronger works, as well as Hanks giving one of his best performances. There may not be a whole lot to the movie plot wise, but the themes of isolation and loss that are slowly developed on the island are powerful. Also, unlike some others, I thought the it was a strong way to end the film. Not to forget, the heartbreak that endures when Hanks loses his volleyball buddy, Wilson, it takes a pretty well-made film to make you feel bad about a man losing his volleyball. Decade Count: 1930s: 4, 1940s: 4, 1950s: 1, 1960s: 2, 1970s: 3, 1980s: 8, 1990s: 6, 2000s: 11, 2010s: 7

Im sorry. This wasn't rigged, the Oscars wouldn't stage a screw up like this because it looks bad on them. If you watched they literally read from the Best Actress Card. Also, ties happen. I've tallied totals before, and even with preferential ballots, they happen much more often than you'd think. Especially when it's a dead heat like 12YAS and Gravity were. Youre pulling out a tinfoil conspiracy hat that you're only pulling out because it was a minority dominated movie. It might not be that the Academy is biased for "political race movies" (hint: they're not and that's not how I'd describe either 12YAS or Moonlight). It might just be that you're biased against them and get made when they win. That certainly seems like the case.

You're applying a strawman argument and literally proving the point the people you're arguing against are trying to make. It's a little demeaning to those groups of people to always cry "They only hired them for political/progressive reasons" when a minority or woman wins an award, or when a minority or woman gets hired into a job. Instead of taking the simple solution that, they got hired because they're qualified and talented? It'd be like saying every time a white male won something that they only won because the voters were racist. That's practically the logic here, because this comes up every single time there's a situation like this.

Or maybe they sign on directors to stories they relate to or care about? As if the director doesn't, they aren't right for the movie? I also think there should be more diversity in the technically fields of moviemaking, because it's lacking. However you're being pretty outrageous and overdramatic. Moonlight won because academy members liked Moonlight. This was a highly critically acclaimed film that was topping best of the year lists. This also wasnt rigged. There's too many academy members to do so. The preferential ballot lends itself to delivering surprise winners, even if there's a clear frontrunner. It's why there was uncertainty in 2013s winner leading up the award, and it's why Spotlight won out of the blue. Moonlight is politically relevant for the times, but I can assure you people didn't just vote for it because of politics. They voted for it because they liked it. End of story.

Gave myself a new title because of my new Gold member bling.

Hold up guys, I just went and double checked the BOFFY totals. It turns out I accidentally counted all of the votes for Emma Stone as Best Actress as Best Picture. Awkward. Hunt for the Wilderpeople wins Best Picture!