Jump to content

Alpha

Alpha's Countdown of the TOP 100 BEST FILMS OF CAYOM 2.0 - The Countdown Begins!

Recommended Posts



#46

 

Nirvana
Original soundtrack not written by Nirvana.
Written by: @The Creator
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Russell Crowe, Gina Torres, Mark Wahlberg, Samuel L. Jackson, Laura Dern
Release Date: July 2nd, Year 4
Domestic Gross: $416 million
Oscar Nominations: 5
Oscar Wins: 1

Nirvana is a crazily good science fiction epic. First off, it's visually stunning. That $200 million paired with a great director like Steven Spielberg makes for some amazing visual effects and cinematography. Let's get this out of the way; Spielberg knows how to direct a movie, and that no more evident than with Nirvana, which features top-notch technical elements. Secondly, it's story is engrossing and the worldbuilding is on point. Creator really does a great job of pulling the audience into this world and it's conflict. It's fun and action-packed, but it also strays away from being shlock. It's also really, really fucking ambitious. I wouldn't have expected to see a big summer sci-fi film to tackle themes about race and unity. There's also interstellar space travel, human/alien romance and a ton of other big developments thrown in only the first film. All I can say is, Nirvana is a really great and very ambitious sci-fi film that doesn't pander to summer audiences.

 

Edited by Alpha
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites



#45

 

The Terrible Plight of Freddy Zapper
I guess you could Ed Wood be proud, amirite?
Written by: @Spaghetti
Directed by: James Bobin
Starring: Darren Criss, Emma Stone, Elizabeth Gilles, Anton Yelchin, Ezra Miller
Release Date: April 14th, Year 7
Domestic Gross: $56 million
Oscar Nominations: 3
Oscar Wins: 0

It doesn't take much to look back at the 1950s in film history and let out a little chuckle. The Terrible Plight of Freddy Zapper is a pretty funny parody of the staggering levels of camp prominent in horror and sci-fi films of that time period. The best thing about that is that it's not looking down on that particular era, but rather serving as a homage. James Bobin gives the film the lighthearted bounce it needed, and Emma Stone hams it up whenever she's on screen. That same feeling is present in the songs, especially in the cornball anthem "You Gotta Love". If you're a big movie buff, then The Terrible Plight of Freddy Zapper is an awesome experience that captures exactly what makes 1950s sci-fi and horror films still relevant in film history; yeah, they're ridiculous and cheesy at times, but we still watch them for the entertaining campfests they are.

 

 
Edited by Alpha
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites



#44

 

The Dogs of Babel
A story about a dead wife not directed by Christopher Nolan.
Written by: @Blankments
Directed by: Ron Howard
Starring: Jason Isaacs, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Banks
Release Date: October 29th, Year 5
Domestic Gross: $86 million
Oscar Nominations: 9 (including Best Picture)
Oscar Wins: 2

The Dogs of Babel is a story about grief and desperation, and a fantastic adaptation of the novel of the same name. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a psychological drama, but it definitely has those elements in there. Jason Isaacs gives a great performance for the main character, along with a nice supporting turn from Bryan Cranston as a fake "mad scientist" of sorts. I think the film's real strength has to be attributed to Blankments' writing. He's able to retain the emotional undercurrent of the original source material and successfully place the audience within Paul's character, yet he's also able to translate it successfully to the big screen. The Dogs of Babel masters the adaptation route.

 

Edited by Alpha
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

#43

 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Sam Mendes wants his Oscar, badly.

Written by: @The Dark Alfred
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Starring: Craig Roberts, Tim Roth, Rachel Weisz
Release Date: December 15th, Year 7
Domestic Gross: $92.3 million
Oscar Nominations: 4
Oscar Wins: 0

I'll follow up The Dogs of Babel with another great adaptation. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is both energetic and quiet. I think Craig Roberts was a bit too old to play the part of the 15-year-old Chris, but I think he captures the manic, sometimes fearful emotions of a character like him. Yes, that age difference may be jarring at first, but it's impressive how he's able to succeed on pure technique alone. Aside from that, the rest of the film is done extremely well. Tim Roth was a big highlight in this film as Chris' secretive father and definitely deserved his Oscar nomination from that year. Sam Mendes creates a film that balances the "all-over-the-place" style of the original novel and handles the more dramatic moments well. It's kinda hard to call this a mystery film when the mystery itself is placed out of focus, but instead, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time becomes a subdued, excellent piece on autism.

 

1
Edited by Alpha
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites



#42

 

Alesia
Way better than a history textbook.
Written by: @4815162342
Directed by: Peter Weir
Starring: Clive Owen, Tom Hardy, Henry Cavill, Paul Bettany, Léa Seydoux
Release Date: December 19th, Year 4
Domestic Gross: $251.4 million
Oscar Nominations: 16 (including Best Picture)
Oscar Wins: 3

Alesia is an awesome start to Numbers' Rise of Rome trilogy. First off, the action in this film is exceptional. Peter Weir is a perfect choice for director, because what made Master and Commander the great film is what is applied here. The battle sequences are done with exhilarating results. Secondly, Clive Owen. He's absolutely perfect for the role of Caesar. No complaints with any of the other performances, considering they're also pretty great. Finally, the film, like The House of Atreus and The Rise and Fall of Julius Caesar (coming up later on this list), never loses grip of the story behind it by becoming too involved in it's own "epic-ness". Not much more to say, but well done Numbers.

 

2
Edited by Alpha
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

#41

 

The Legend of Redwall
No, just because there's talking mice in it doesn't make it cute.
Written by: @rukaio101
Directed by: Soren Ville
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, John Hurt, Mark Strong, Carey Mulligan
Release Date: April 13th, Year 8
Domestic Gross: $188.6 million
Oscar Nominations: 3
Oscar Wins: 3

First off, let me just say that The Legend of Redwall is an important lesson that it doesn't take a long word count to make a film soar. It's barely under 1,000 words and yet it's one of the best movies from Year 8. The Legend of Redwall reminds me of a 1980s Don Bluth animated movie. It's exciting, adventurous and not afraid to push the edge a little bit. John Hurt and Mark Strong remain standouts from a voice cast filled with familiar faces (or voices, really :P). Overall, it's really great and it's never limiting itself down to being "family-friendly entertainment," giving a pretty mature fantasy story with excitement.

 

 
Edited by Alpha
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites



#40

 

The Academy
*starts hearing those lush piano chords from Cloud Atlas*

Written by: @Spaghetti
Directed by: Andrew Niccol
Starring: Jamie Campbell Bower, Hayden Panettiere, Zac Efron, Keira Knightley, James McAvoy
Release Date: May 11th, Year 8
Domestic Gross: $48.1 million
Oscar Nominations: 0
Oscar Wins: 0

First off, let me preface my mini-review by saying that I completely understand why some people didn't like this film. Yes, there's a lot of unanswered questions regarding the plot device that is the elixir. And yes, the ending of the 2081 storyline does seem a little over-the-top sentimental. But Spaghetti is able to keep The Academy going through its five different storylines, all of which kept my attention and never lost it. Different time periods, different characters, even different genres are traveled through so seamlessly it's actually quite remarkable. I think it's a film I admire more than I flat-out love, but that's mainly because the storytelling techniques it uses are something I have to appreciate. I can't really say that about a ton of other films that have been released in CAYOM.

 

 
Edited by Alpha
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites



#39

 

56 Days of Love
Witherspoon x Portman

Written by: @Hiccup23
Directed by: Ang Lee
Starring: Henry Hopper, Tom Felton, Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Portman
Release Date: November 4th, Year 1
Domestic Gross: $69.6 million
Oscar Nominations: 0
Oscar Wins: 0

56 Days of Love is what I can only assume is a personal film for Hiccup. It actually had me affected a bit as well. It's a quiet, nuanced drama on homosexuality and relationships that never becomes emotionally manipulative. It's a coming-of-age film given a very heartfelt message about societal misunderstandings, broken relationships and struggling to find your place within all that. Ang Lee gives the film a meditative feeling, while Henry Hopper becomes a breakout actor with this film alongside his more popular co-stars. Overall, it's a great film with universal themes about love, sexuality, and repression, and it's given such subtle treatment that it's truly beautiful.

 

 
Edited by Alpha
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

#38

 

5 Centimeters Per Second
"Look at all these pretty landscape shots, I tell ya'."
Written by: @ChD
Directed by: Zoe Kazan
Release Date: June 7th, Year 9
Domestic Gross: $59.7 million
Oscar Nominations: 1
Oscar Wins: 0

The only thing I truly dislike about this film is the casting decisions. A pair of unspecified unknowns feels like laziness, and it takes away from the rest of the film. But aside from that, I love this film. It keeps the dreamy landscapes from the original anime film and gives them new life in live-action. I don't want to sound redundant coming off 56 Days of Love, but 5 Centimeters Per Second shares a lot of those similar themes; it paints a poignant picture of love and moving on from that love in the past going into the future. It's a really mature piece of art and a simple yet beautiful film.

 
Edited by Alpha
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites



OMG I never expected that. Thanks, Alpha. 

 

Yes, 56 Days of Love is a real life story. All the characters are real people (names changed) but everything else it accurate. I wrote that story a week after we broke up. I actually haven't read it since I wrote it because it still bothers me. I've debated removing it.

 

(Realized I removed Society from here :( worst mistake in my life. I have lost that film forever)

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites



58 minutes ago, Hiccup23 said:

 

(Realized I removed Society from here :( worst mistake in my life. I have lost that film forever)

I know that feel :( I lost Yzma from here even though it was my last absolute pet-project of a film :/

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites





#37

 

The Shark Mutiny
We all live in an American submarine.

Written by: @4815162342
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Starring: Scoot McNairy, John Hawkes, Ed Harris, Tony Leung, Damien Lewis
Release Date: August 6th, Year 5
Domestic Gross: $165.5 million
Oscar Nominations: 9 (including Best Picture)
Oscar Wins: 1

The Shark Mutiny is an intense, great follow-up to U.S.S. Seawolf from Year 2 (I hate to keep spoiling the list, but the latter does appear later). Ed Harris returns once again as Admiral Arnold Morgan, and he once again gives a damn good performance alongside strong lead performances from Scoot McNairy and Tony Leung. I think special praise should be reserved for the action, which has been expertly delivered by Sam Mendes in what culminates in a gripping submarine thriller.

 


 

Edited by Alpha
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites



#36

 

Extrasensory
Kid doing creepy things actually ends up being cool.
Written by: @Spaghetti
Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Kodi Smitt-McPhee, Michael Sheen, Julianne Moore
Release Date: August 11th, Year 7
Domestic Gross: $79 million
Oscar Nominations: 8 (including Best Picture)
Oscar Wins: 3

 

True to its premise, Extrasensory is a true mindbender. At the same time, though, it's hard for me not to love this film. It's not so much "hey, look, this kid's doing creepy things with his brain 'n' stuff and it's SCARY because we said so", but rather Spaghetti uses its slow-burning storytelling to make the film deceptively mellow. It keeps that unnerving, disturbing vibe common among Aronofsky's films, and being a big fan of his work I think it fits well into his filmography. Oh, and the telekinesis scenes are done not as cheap scares or "gotcha" moments, but rather as intense dramatic sci-fi horror sequences that help the film buildup to it's climax. It's the cinematic equivalent of a box of TNT, and I love it.

 

3
Edited by Alpha
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites



#35

 

Avarice
After Avarice, there is a pee-break.
Written by: @The Creator
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Russell Crowe, Gina Torres, Eric Bana, Samuel L. Jackson, Zoe Saldana
Release Date: July 15th, Year 6
Domestic Gross: $524.3 million
Oscar Nominations: 9
Oscar Wins: 1

Creator ups the epicness from Nirvana with Avarice. First off, it's a special effects extravaganza, with some pretty amazing visuals, cinematography and production design. Russell Crowe and Gina Torres remain the standouts from the large cast. It also shows how great of a writer Creator is that he can keep me involved with a "HOLY FUCKING SHIT" word count above 20,000 words. It's a big improvement over Nirvana, pretty much upping the ante in every single department. Reading this film though makes me kinda sad because of how close we were to getting Obliteration, especially considering it almost made it's debut at the Year 8 Festival. I think Creator was only hours away from submitting it before the deadline to the jury, but it never came to fruition. But I guess that kind of amazing epic is out of reach for us pure mortals, not been endowed upon us by our Creator.

 

1
Edited by Alpha
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites







  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Guidelines. Feel free to read our Privacy Policy as well.