Baumer's ridiculous, uninformed, stupid list of MY BEST 105 FILMS EVER , FULL LIST PG 42

[baumer]

25) Swingers (1996)

Doug Liman

Written by a thin Jon Favreau

 

Original review:

 

I think when I was about ten or twelve or fifteen, my wonder years, my only concern was to see the latest film by Spielberg or the latest sequel to First Blood and of course any number of one syllabled, one liner Arnold movies. I only wanted to see films that I recognized. When I was about fifteen, I dated a girl named Marnie, who worked at the local theater in Forest Glade in Windsor, Ontario. This was convenient because not only was she pretty but she could get me into movies for free. This is the summer that I became quickly hooked on movies. I loved them before, but now I was addicted. The problem was, the only films I was interested in at the time were films like Rambo, Commando, Secret of My Success, Burgler and so on. These were all films that I enjoyed thoroughly and they acted as somewhat of a catalyst for me to see some other films that perhaps normally I would avoid. I can remember seeing David Lynch's Blue Velvet and then films like The River's Edge or even straight to video bombs like Zandalee. It doesn't matter if these films were good or not, the point is that as I grew in age, my taste and insatiable hunger for films of all types grew. I was finally ready to see the not so prime time films, the ones that may have a budget of less than $30 million. I began to appreciate films like Boyz N The Hood, Clerks, Reservoir Dogs, El Mariachi and of course Swingers. Swingers is a film that if you were pretty much into mainstream films ( in 1996 of course ), you may avoid. There were no real stars in this film. It was a film made for $200 000, and it didn't have explosions, car chases and a fight scene every five minutes. That is why films like this make 4 million dollars at the box office, there is no mass appeal to them. But when you can find a film like this on video, it makes you appreciate film for all the positive aspects of it. It makes you appreciate the fact that there are people like Jon Favreau, Doug Liman and Vince Vaughn. These are people that seem to love what they do and it is exemplified perfectly with Swingers. That is not to say that you can't enjoy films like True Lies, Titanic, Forest Gump, Hannibal and any other big budgeted Hollywood film because you can, but sometimes the best films out there are films that may not find a true audience until it hits video. Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino can lay claim to that fact and so does Doug Liman and Jon Favreau's Swingers. This is one of the best films to come out of 1996 and it was made for 100 times less than Titanic. 

 

Swingers is about breaking up, how hard it is to break up, films and the Hollywood scene, friendship, guys, swing dancing and so much more. Jon Favreau plays Mikey, who has just moved out to California because his girlfriend of six years dumped him. He has been single six months but still checks his messages every day to see if she has called. He checks them so frequently that one morning while his friend Trent ( in a fantastic comedic performance by Vince Vaughn ) is in the middle of scoring with a cocktail waitress, he has to use the only phone available, the one in the bedroom. This scene is perfect but the scene to follow is even better. Mikey apologizes to Trent for ruining his good time and Trent replies,

"Don't worry about it Mikey. I just wanted to get you out and show you a good time."

or something to that effect. Friendship is important to these cast of characters. That is evident when Mikey's best friend Rob, who has also moved out to L.A. from New York, is the only one that Mikey really seems to be able to talk to. They share some very real and passionate scenes together and their talks about making it in Hollywood and learning to let go of the past are some of the best written scenes in any film. This is work similar to the candor and starkness of Smith and Tarantino. While there are times in this film when you will laugh yourself silly because of the realistic absurdity of some of the characters, you will also find yourself in awe with some of the honesty. Jon Favreau is a gifted writer and as they say, you should write with what you are familiar with. Swingers exemplifies the fact that he is very familiar with trying to break into Hollywood and how it feels to have the love of your life break up with you. There is also a very clever scene where he is talking to his ex and she tells him that she is dating a guy named Pierre. Is he french, Mikey wonders out loud to her. She tells him that he is not and I wonder if Favreau ever had that same question posed about himself with his last name.

Not only is Swingers a wonderful film about the mysteries of women, it also has two incredible homages to Reservoir Dogs and Goodfellas and without even knowing it, Halloween as well ( Goodfellas and Halloween share a very similar shot. Halloween at the beginning, Goodfellas in the restaurant ).

And of course what has to be mentioned about this film is the language used by everybody. Friends tell each other that they are gorgeous, that they are money and they refer to each other affectionately as baby. It is so catchy that when I watched this with my fiancee she was in hysterics after five minutes and we were calling each other money for the next three days.

Swingers is one of the best films of 1996. People that hold the lofty position of revered film critics and Academy members should realize these sorts of facts. While perhaps films similar to this will never see their reward at the box office, it will see new life on video and perhaps more importantly, it will thrill and invigorate a generation of movie fans.

"Your money baby!"

Swingers certainly is!

This is not just a hidden gem, it is an excellent film and props have to be sent out to Favreau for writing this and Liman for directing it. I really wish that Favreau would write more films. He has a gift. Swingers is a perfect example of that gift.

One last observation: Check out the Sega hockey scene. It is absolutely hilarious. With all due respect to Gretzky, it is a treat to listen and watch someone make his head bleed ( in the game that is ).

 

Trivia:  The movie is loosely based on the experiences writer Jon Favreau had when he first moved to LA. He had just broken up with a long term girlfriend and counted on his friendsVince Vaughn and Ron Livingston to cheer him up. The characters they play in the film are based on themselves.

 

The scene with Mike and Trent talking in the car on the side of the road was also filmed without a permit (not only could the production not afford one, it is actually impossible for any film production to acquire one to film on that particular highway). Originally they had planned to film just an establishing shot of the two of them in the car, and a shot of them driving away, and then film the dialog shots later. But director Doug Liman decided instead to film the entire scene on the actual side of the road. During filming, several police showed up, and demanded to see a permit. The assistant director held up the police by telling them that they had a permit, but it was in the office across town, several miles away. To get away with the rest of the scene being filmed, Liman had to pretend he was not filming, and didn't look in the viewfinder, and used a microphone inside of the car instead of a boom. Most of the scene was filmed like this, with the police waiting just out of shot, and the two actors and the director pretending they were in fact not shooting.

 

The "Bear" monologue that Trent delivers to Mike is almost verbatim something actorVince Vaughn told Jon Favreau one night at a bar. Favreau liked it a lot and incorporated it into the script.

 

[baumer]

Well, that's a good day.  I've listed quite a few.  

 

On to the top 25, maybe tonight.

[baumer]

Haven't seen in The Ring in ages, needs a rewatch. Have you seen Ringu? 

 

Of course.  It's good.  But nowhere near the class of Verbinski's.  

[RobinHood26]

YES!!!! You're so money and you don't even know it!

 

Swingers is a top 25 movie for me too and one of my biggest inspirations. Bravo 

[Empire]

Swinger is such a great movie! A/A+ movie no doubt!

[#ED]

1 Nolan film so far?

 

Saving the best for last I see? 

 

[baumer]

Next three:

 

Man I had a finger up my asshole tonight.

Is it Friday already?

Jump in lover boy, I'll love ya.

 

Sell me this pen

 

First I'm gonna rip the buttons of your blouse one by one...

[baumer]

24) The Usual Suspects (1995)

Bryan Singer

 

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing people he didn't exist.

Who's Keyser Soze?

 

Rarely does a film of any genre rise to the level of perfection achieved in The Usual Suspects. The ultimate goal of any whodunit is to keep the audience guessing right up until the very end, perhaps even never quite answering the question with absolute certainty. This movie hits the proverbial bullseye with mind boggling precision. Someone jacks a truck loaded with guns in New York City but police have no leads. So they bring in five of the Big Apple's best known thieves to shake the underworld's tree. But unbeknownst to the police, or our "suspects," there are greater forces at play. When it's all said and done, LAPD, NYPD, and the feds are left sifting through an abandoned cargo ship in an L.A. harbor with lots of bodies but not much else. All they have to go on is the shaky story of a talkative small-time crook named Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey, who won an Oscar for best supporting actor for the role), and a dying victim of the shootout who claims to have seen the devil incarnate on the ship, a legendary criminal kingpin whose name sends shivers up the spines of police and lawbreakers alike.

 

 

It may not sound like much, but every aspect of this film comes off so astoundingly well, from the morose cinematography and foreboding score, to the impeccable performances by its stars (Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Pollak, and Benicio Del Toro as the "suspects" and Chazz Palminteri as the federal agent trying to piece their story together), The Usual Suspects concludes with a classic stunner that only adds to its reputation as one of the greatest crime dramas ever filmed, if not the best ever.

 

 

Along with Sixth Sense, this might be the most fun you'll have watching a movie the second time.

 

Trivia:  When he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Kevin Spacey famously said "Well, whoever Keyzer Soze is, I can tell you he's gonna get gloriously drunk tonight."

 

Al Pacino also read the part of Dave Kujan, but had to pass due to scheduling conflicts. Pacino has since noted that this is the film he regrets turning down the most.

 

When Redfoot flicks his cigarette into the face of McManus, it was originally intended to hit his chest, so McManus' reaction is actually Stephen Baldwin's real unscripted reaction that Bryan Singer decided to keep in the movie.

 

The character of Fenster was named after the German for window, and originally conceived as the oldest man of the group, a more seasoned veteran. Benicio Del Torowas originally asked to audition for the role of McManus. Benicio asked to audition for the role of Fenster, telling the director that he had an 'idea' for the part. The unintelligible way that Fenster spoke was Benicio's idea, and the director decided to go with it. In one scene, Hockney says in response to Fenster, "What did he just say?" That was Kevin Pollak the actor speaking, not his character; he actually did not understand what Fenster said. The cop's (Christopher McQuarrie) reaction to Fenster in the line-up ("In English please") was unscripted and unrehearsed, as was Fenster's rather strong reaction.

[baumer]

23) The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Martin Scorsese

 

Taken from my 2013 best films thread

 

1) The Wolf of Fucking Wall Street:   Let me tell you something.  There's nobility in poverty.  I've been a poor man, I've been a rich man.  And I choose rich every FUCKING time. 

 

Unquestionably one of the best films I've ever seen.  Every scene, every shot, every performance is about as good as it gets.  Standing out of course are DiCaprio and Hill.  Hill transforms himself in this film but DiCaprio gives the best performance of his career.  He jumped head first into the role and there isn't one moment that you are watching this where you feel like you are watching Leonardo DiCaprio.  What you are seeing on screen is Jordan Belfort.  He is brave, brilliant and fearless.  Snort coke off a hookers breasts?  No problem.  Blow coke into a hookers ass?  He does that.  Give rousing speeches that me, the viewer, want to work for him?  It's in here.  Dance, get naked, party,     crawl around like a baby, cry, show vulnerability, it's all in here.  It is one of, if not the best performance in a film I have ever seen.  DiCaprio is good in everything I have seen him in, but he has taken the extra step here.  He knows Jordan Belfort.  There is a scene where he crawls around on the floor for 10 minutes in a drug induced paralysis and it will go down as not only the scene of the year (along with the cum part in This is the End) but one of the most messed up but brilliant scenes in film history.  When DiCaprio first came on the scene, his talent was easily seen.  Then he did Titanic and became a heart-throb to teenage girls.  But he's never just let loose like this.  Scorcese did it with Pesci and Liotta in Goodfellas and he has done in Wolf with DiCaprio.  He holds nothing back and just goes for it all.  

 

 

This is the Goodfellas of the 2000's.  It's created from the same palette that made Goodfellas.  It's long but never boring and it's so entertaining and funny and exhilarating that I hope the 4 hour cut we have heard about does find it's way to the DVD.  I'm not sure yet if this is better than Scorcese's opus, Goodfellas, but it is certainly on par with it.  I don't know if the academy is going to be progressive enough to reward this film with what it deserves, but in time, regardless of the awards, it will be remembered as one of the great films in the annals of film history.  

 

 

It has to be said that the movie makes you kind of envious of the lifestyle these guys lead.  Their life is a party.  They make 22 million dollars in three hours and then spend the next 12 hours snorting coke, swallowing queludes, banging the hottest strippers and hookers around, flying in private jets and spending 2 million dollars on bachelor parties.  Their life is a fairy tale and it makes you a little sad that after you leave the theater you have to go back to your 9-5 existence.  This world is full of excess and debauchery but damn it looks like fun.

 

  I understand this will not be a film for everyone's liking but it is undeniably hilarious, expertly directed, crisply edited and beautifully acted.  And Margot Robbie is insanely sexy, insanely sexy.

 

And as Gopher said, Scorsese dropped the mic after he made this film.

***Side note:    The cast included three other prominent directors in acting roles:  Rob Reiner, Spike Jonze and Jon Favreau.  

 

 

Trivia:  Matthew McConaughey's scenes were shot on the second week of filming. The chest beating and humming performed by him was improvised and actually a warm-up rite that he performs before acting. When Leonardo DiCaprio saw it while filming, the brief shot of him looking away uneasily from the camera was actually him looking at Martin Scorsesefor approval. DiCaprio encouraged them to include it in their scene and later claimed it "set the tone" for the rest of the film.

 

Wanting to work with Martin Scorsese, Jonah Hill took a pay cut by being paid the S.A.G. minimum, which was $60,000.

 

On a routine visit, Steven Spielberg spent a day on the set, watching the shoot of the Steve Madden speech. Martin Scorsese claims that Spielberg essentially codirected the scene, giving advice to actors and suggesting camera angles.

[4815162342]

Usual Suspects yes!

 

 

Terminator incoming

[baumer]

22) The Terminator (1984)

James Cameron

 

 

The film that gave Arnie true screen cred, and launched James Cameron's career, this modest-budget sleeper hit from 1984 has become one of the greatest-loved sci-fi films ever, featuring an iconic robotic killing machine, The Terminator.

The film makes full use of Arnie's imposing presence, a towering, relentless behemoth who carves a path of destruction, wiping out anyone in his way to assassinate his target - Sarah Connor, played by Linda Hamilton, who is about to learn the fate of mankind, and her destiny to play in it.

Like the titular character, this film rarely lets up, only pausing for brief moments when Sarah and her protector, soldier-from-the-future Kyle Reese - Michael Biehn - hide out in a motel away from the city. James Cameron shows what he can be capable without mega-million-dollar budgets, getting great mileage out of limited resources. Brief visions of the nuclear-ravaged L.A. of 2029 still look fantastic for their age, a bleak, hellish landscape, where everyone is in constant fear of the roving robotic 'Hunter-Killers', and the Terminators.

This first film has a much darker edge than the others, sometimes veering into horror territory with The Terminator a virtually indestructible, literally inhuman foe, though one who still has human organs that have to be dealt with when too damaged - like removing a damaged eyeball for example.

 

 

And of course, this is the first film in which Bill and James work together.  They might even be on this list again.  Maybe.

 

Trivia:  Arnold Schwarzenegger's famous debut line 'I'll be back' was originally scripted as 'I'll come back'.

 

One afternoon during a break in filming, Arnold Schwarzenegger went into a restaurant in downtown L.A. to get some lunch and realized all too late that he was still in Terminator makeup - with a missing eye, exposed jawbone and burned flesh.

[baumer]

Wow.  We're rolling today.  This is what happens when you have almost a full day off and you feel refreshed.  I worked overtime until 9AM, slept and feel great.  

 

Maybe we'll get to number 11 tonight.

 

Top ten on the weekend.

[Avatree]

Huh, baumer you were envious of their lifestyle in WOWS?

[Plain Old Tele]

Huh, baumer you were envious of their lifestyle in WOWS?

 

Sure, who wouldn't want to have so much money you could basically do whatever you wanted? I don't agree with how they chose to spend it, but the basic allure is still there.

[Avatree]

Trivia:  Arnold Schwarzenegger's famous debut line 'I'll be back' was originally scripted as 'I'll come back'.

Dunno about the original version of the script, Arnie himself wanted to say it as, "I will be back" as he thought it suited the character better and he couldn't pronounce "I'll". I'm glad Cameron insisted on "I'll be back"...

[baumer]

Huh, baumer you were envious of their lifestyle in WOWS?

 

Really?

 

Drugs, women, good times, private jets, do whatever you want whenever you want?

 

What's not to like?  Take out the drugs for those who don't like them but they live a life of insouciance.  Yes, I envied them.

[baumer]

Next three

 

The forums (and ED) will be happy

Filmscholar and Numbers will be happy

Go down to the MacKenzie's house and call the police....but not the 1978 version of it.

Edited March 5, 2015 by baumer

[Avatree]

Sure, who wouldn't want to have so much money you could basically do whatever you wanted? I don't agree with how they chose to spend it, but the basic allure is still there.

Hmm. Yeah I can see why the film might make it look tempting to some people, everyone likes money. But I personally didn't want any of that lifestyle, at any point of the 3 hours. If anything I felt quite superior to Belfort.

I don't feel the 'allure' is there at all.

[baumer]

Hmm. Yeah I can see why the film might make it look tempting to some people, everyone likes money. But I personally didn't want any of that lifestyle, at any point of the 3 hours. If anything I felt quite superior to Belfort.

I don't feel the 'allure' is there at all.

 

Then we'll agree to disagree.

 

Those guys made something like 2 million dollars in 20 minutes.

 

I'm not sure how long it will take me to make 2 million dollars, but it will be in decades, not minutes.

Edited March 5, 2015 by baumer

[Avatree]

 

Really?

 

Drugs, women, good times, private jets, do whatever you want whenever you want?

 

What's not to like?  Take out the drugs for those who don't like them but they live a life of insouciance.  Yes, I envied them.

Fair enough hun

 

Money itself is a "what's not to like" object, but the way it's presented in the film isn't. The 'wealth' they supposedly have is all stolen; not only are they evil people but it's impossible to empathise with them (the fault of which I blame on Winter and Scorsese), which is the real fundamental problem the film has.

 

They just hurt people. I didn't find any of the stuff they had appealing!

 

edit: sorry didn't see your newest post, yes I'll agree to disagree.

Edited March 5, 2015 by treeroy