Because Nobody Asked For It: The Panda's Top 250 Movies of All Time - COMPLETE

[baumer]

Ill never understand the Moonlight love.

[The Panda]

Number 97

Django Unchained (2012)

 

"I like the way you die, boy."

 

Most Valuable Player: Quentin Tarantino's Direction and Screenplay

Box Office: 162.8m (176.8m Adjusted)

Tomatometer: 88%

Notable Awards: Won 2 Oscars, nominated for Best Picture

Synopsis: With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.

Critic Opinion: "“Django Unchained” delivers a number of audacious scenes. The initial meeting of the slave Django and bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz in the woods, for starters. But they flow purposefully into a tale of sacrifice and courage, friendship and love, that finds the two men embarking on a quest to free Django’s wife from a notorious plantation called — wait for it, board-game enthusiasts — Candyland.  “Django Unchained” is Tarantino’s most complete movie yet. It is also his most vital. His storytelling talents match the heft of the tale. Slavery is the bedeviling, nasty chapter in America’s story. Tarantino crafted a parable of decency versus evil for a generation that never saw “Roots.”" - Kennedy, Denver Posts

User Opinion: "Loved it, loved it, loved it. First off, Foxx blew me away. I love Will Smith, but I couldn't imagine him or anyone else in this part. Foxx was just so cool, so badass, and so likable. Killer. Waltz gets incredible dialogue, and runs away with the first half of the movie. He's amazing. Leo started off a little slow, but once they got to Candyland, boy oh boy did he blow me away. The dinner speech scene with the skulls and the negotiation might just be the best acted scene of the year. SLJ was everybody's favorite in my theater, even if he was so hateable. Absolutely stole every scene he was in, hilarious. The rest of the cast was great too. Excellent music and directing, perfect writing. Hated the scene with QT himself, took me out of the movie. But besides that, loved it." - cmasterclay

Reasoning: My second favorite Tarantino movie, Django Unchained is a raucous spaghetti western that leaves you begging for more after the end of a nearly three hour revenge epic.  The dialogue is sharp and bounces from line to line in hilarity and grit.  The performances are all spot on, in particular, DiCaprio and Waltz's, while Foxx's performance is also solid and charismatic.  Django Unchained is bloody, brutal, grimacing and hilarious, it shows all of Tarantino's qualities as a director and writer at his best.  So many already iconic moments are buried throughout the film, as well as quotable lines.  Django Unchained is masterclass work from Tarantino and co.

Decade Count:  1930s: 8, 1940s: 12, 1950s: 11, 1960s: 13, 1970s: 15, 1980s: 31, 1990s: 20, 2000s: 21, 2010s: 19
Top 100 Decade Count: 1950s: 1, 1960s: 1, 2010s: 2

 

 

 

 

 

[The Panda]

Number 96

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

 

"Oh, what a day... what a lovely day!"

 

Most Valuable Player: George Miller's Direction

Box Office: 154.1m (156.6m Adjusted)

Tomatometer: 97%

Notable Awards: Won 6 Oscars, was nominated for Best Picture

Synopsis: A woman rebels against a tyrannical ruler in postapocalyptic Australia in search for her home-land with the help of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshipper, and a drifter named Max.

Critic Opinion: "Yes, it’s as bad-ass as you’ve heard: powerful yet fluid, gritty yet crisp, sublime in the daring originality of its action sequences and flat-out gorgeous to watch. Just when you think that Miller, as director and co-writer, has topped himself with a grand and gripping set piece, he goes even more gloriously over the top with the next. Believe all the hype: This movie will melt your face off. See it on the biggest screen you can possibly find with the best possible sound, because this is a complete sensory experience. There’s one image that was so vividly gnarly, it made me jump out of my seat and grab the shoulder of the friend sitting next to me." - Christy Lemire, ChristyLemire.com

User Opinion:  "Worthy of being in the discussion of "greatest action film ever"." - Telemachos

Reasoning: An absolutely livid action movie, and one of the most re-watchable films to come out of the 2010s decade.  Mad Max: Fury Road is the new pinnacle of the Mad Max franchise, and possibly even the action genre as a whole.  You're just completely absorbed into this world of fire and blood, crazy car chases, great editing, bombastic sound and score, and some of the most wicked cinematography on film.  Mad Max: Fury Road is an absolute blur of sound, color and a man who knows how to shoot action.  Beyond all of the bombasity of the film, there's plenty of wonderful quiet moments, especially between Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy who really give into their roles.  The film is simple, yet excessive, and I'd be hard-pressed not to love every minute of it.

Decade Count:  1930s: 8, 1940s: 12, 1950s: 11, 1960s: 13, 1970s: 15, 1980s: 31, 1990s: 20, 2000s: 21, 2010s: 20
Top 100 Decade Count: 1950s: 1, 1960s: 1, 2010s: 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[franfar]

3 minutes ago, The PandAA said:

Number 96

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

 

 

What a lovely movie

 

The visuals were great in theaters

[The Panda]

Number 95

Back to the Future (1985)

 

"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads."

 

Most Valuable Player: Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis' Screenplay

Box Office: 210.6m (510.8m Adjusted)

Tomatometer: 96%

Notable Awards: Won 1 Oscar

Synopsis: Marty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.

Critic Opinion: "There aren't many films we'd describe as perfect, but Robert Zemeckis's oh-so-'80s time travel tale fits the bill.  Despite repeated asteroid threats, nuclear meltdowns, wars great and small and potentially species-eliminating plagues, we as a planet have finally made it. Happy ‘Back to the Future’ Day, everyone! October 21, 2015 is the day Doc and Marty jetted off to at the end of the first film: the dream destination for these experienced time travellers. What would the world be like so far in the future, everyone asked back in 1985? The answer came four years later in ‘Back to the Future 2’ and involved hoverboards (yep, we have those), ’80s nostalgia (check) and ‘Jaws 15’ (sadly, still in development hell). But how, on this momentous day, does the original ‘Back to the Future’ stack up? Pretty much perfectly, to be honest. Time has not blunted its fresh wit, Capraesque sweetness, effortless moebius-strip storytelling and endlessly charming performances one iota. There’s the odd you-wouldn’t-get-away-with-that-now moment – Marty (Michael J Fox) basically hatches a plan to sexually assault his own mum (Lea Thompson) in a car park, and there’s that scene where it turns out a white guy invented rock ’n’ roll after all. But overall this is every bit as classy, clever and cockle-warming as it was 30 years ago." - Tom Huddleston, Time Out

User Opinion: "This is easily one of the greatest movies of all-time! Not only that, but one of my favorites!
 
Such a great story and it is full of great performances. I think it is one of the few perfect movies!" - Empire

Reasoning:  It's hard to deliver on full on pure throttle entertainment better than Back to the Future manages to do it.  While the film captured much of the pop-culture from its time, and so it is very much an 80s movie, it still manages to be completely relevant, watchable and loveable in this day.  Iconic and witty lines, and gags are all buried throughout the film, and everything about it manages to just be purely loveable.  The characters from Marty McFly, to Doc, to Biff have all become cinematic icons.  This is a blockbuster from a time that realized there's much more to entertainment value than large action set-pieces, having an endearing and hilarious storyline is definitely more essential in becoming prime summer theatrical material.  Back to the Future is one of the greatest blockbusters to ever be created.

Decade Count:  1930s: 8, 1940s: 12, 1950s: 11, 1960s: 13, 1970s: 15, 1980s: 32, 1990s: 20, 2000s: 21, 2010s: 20
Top 100 Decade Count: 1950s: 1, 1960s: 1, 1980s: 1 2010s: 3

 

 

 

[The Panda]

Number 94

There Will Be Blood (2007)

 

"Did you think your song and dance and your superstition would help you, Eli? I am the Third Revelation! I am who the Lord has chosen!"

 

Most Valuable Player: Daniel Day Lewis' Lead Performance

Box Office: 40.2m (48.5m Adjusted)

Tomatometer: 91%

Notable Awards: Won 2 Oscars, was nominated for Best Picture

Synopsis: A story of family, religion, hatred, oil and madness, focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.

Critic Opinion: "I've already heard people mumbling about There Will Be Blood's inordinate length (it's over two and a half hours long), about the fact that for long stretches nothing much seems to be happening. They are wrong, of course. Within these beautifully photographed (by Robert Elswit) landscapes, we are witnessing the impact of events (some of them by no means dramatically uninteresting) on an overmatched mind, one that dimly aspires to something more than mere acquisition, but is slowly undone by a universe ineluctably prone to mischance, misunderstanding and just plain mischief. It requires time for Day-Lewis and Anderson to realistically explore the life-long processes of disillusion which is their film's true subject. But the promise their sometimes langorously paced film makes is openly stated in their title — yes, there will be blood. And when it comes it will more than reward whatever patience — and impatience — you have invested in this unique experience, one of the most wholly original American movies ever made." - Schickel, Time Magazine

User Opinion: "A masterpiece. Probably the best allegory about the rise and true nature of capitalism." - acab

Reasoning: Paul Thomas Anderson has a small, but potent filmography of films he's made over the last few decades, and There Will Be Blood stands as his best.  Every shot in this movie has a purpose and feels like it could be showcased in an art gallery.  The film is an epic over capitalism, greed, the American Dream and all of the insanity that goes on with it.  The film isn't just near technically perfect, but it also bolsters some of the 2000s decade's best performances, most notably with Daniel-Day Lewis's.  The movie can feel a bit slow-building, but by the time the whole thing concludes, all of the buildup will have been worth it.  This is PTA's masterpiece.

Decade Count:  1930s: 8, 1940s: 12, 1950s: 11, 1960s: 13, 1970s: 15, 1980s: 32, 1990s: 20, 2000s: 22, 2010s: 20
Top 100 Decade Count: 1950s: 1, 1960s: 1, 1980s: 1, 2000s: 1, 2010s: 3

 

 

 

 

 

[The Panda]

Number 93

Good Will Hunting (1997)

 

"You'll have bad times, but it'll always wake you up to the good stuff you weren't paying attention to."

 

Most Valuable Player: Robin Williams for his Supporting Performance

Box Office: 138.4m (255.3m Adjusted)

Tomatometer: 97%

Notable Awards: Won 2 Oscars, was nominated for Best Picture

Synopsis:  Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.

Critic Opinion: "The best thing about Good Will Hunting is not in its well-crafted, psychological symmetries but in the just-plain messiness of its humanity. It's rowdy, it's funny, it's heartbreaking — it rings of life.  Director Van Sant (To Die For, My Own Private Idaho) has distilled the personal stories to breath-gasping dimension and he has layered in the philosophical themes in correct perspective — as subsets to the human stories." - Byrge, Hollywood Reporter

User Opinion: "Just saw it for the first time. Wow. Damon/Affleck need to write another movie, and even though I prefer his performance in Dead Poets Society, this was a damn good Robin Williams performance." - Blankments

Reasoning: A purely good-natured movie, with plenty of humor, heart and intelligence poured into the screenplay by Affleck and Damon.  While the movie might sound a bit trite on paper, everything manages to work in a manner in which it's not only perfectly believable, but it leaves you completely engaged into the personal psychology of it all.  Robin Williams is wonderful in his supporting role, it's one of (if not) the best performances he gave in his career.  The ensemble as a whole is solid, and there really isn't anybody who doesn't fully sell their roles.  This is a movie that could manage to be overly sentimental and cliche, but then it doesn't, which in the end helps it turn out to become something quite special and touching.

Decade Count:  1930s: 8, 1940s: 12, 1950s: 11, 1960s: 13, 1970s: 15, 1980s: 32, 1990s: 21, 2000s: 22, 2010s: 20
Top 100 Decade Count: 1950s: 1, 1960s: 1, 1980s: 1, 1990s: 1, 2000s: 1, 2010s: 3

 

 

 

[The Panda]

Number 92

Taxi Driver (1976)

 

"Loneliness has followed me my whole life, everywhere. In bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. There's no escape. I'm God's lonely man."

 

Most Valuable Player: Martin Scorsese's Direction

Box Office: 27.3m (110.9m Adjusted)

Tomatometer: 99%

Notable Awards: Nominated for 4 Oscars, including Best Picture

Synopsis: A mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran works as a night-time taxi driver in New York City where the perceived decadence and sleaze feeds his urge for violent action, attempting to save a preadolescent prostitute in the process.

Critic Opinion: "Forty years on, ‘Taxi Driver’ remains almost impossibly perfect: it’s hard to think of another film that creates and sustains such a unique, evocative tone, of dread blended with pity, loathing, savage humour and a scuzzy edge of New York cool. Bernard Herrmann’s score sounds like the city breathing, ominous and clammy, while De Niro’s performance is a masterclass in restraint and honesty. Back on the big screen, this is still one of the pinnacles of cinema." - Tom Huddleston, Time Out

User Opinion:  "Such an incredible film, and Robert De Niro totally nailed it. Can you believe this was only his second feature film? Man he played the character like he was living in it the whole life time. And to think about it, he already got an Oscar award before that, for the role in Godfather2. This is really what we called "genius"." - vc2002

Reasoning: There's few movies that manage to encapture such a unique mood and tone within them as Taxi Driver does, it's a look into the psyche of De Niro's character and wow does the film do so terrifically.  Scorsese has a collected a vast repertoire of films to put under his belt over the years, each of them always having distinct direction (even with his weaker movies), and Taxi Driver is that unique direction and style at its finest.  The film is a bit weird, and feels a bit experimental, but never to the extent where it takes you out of the film.  Beyond the great performance by De Niro and the delving into the inner turmoils of the character, the film also manages to give a dark and urban feel to the setting of New York City, making it a character that works within the movie.  There's really just not a flaw in this movie, it's strangely perfect.

Decade Count:  1930s: 8, 1940s: 12, 1950s: 11, 1960s: 13, 1970s: 16, 1980s: 32, 1990s: 21, 2000s: 22, 2010s: 20
Top 100 Decade Count: 1950s: 1, 1960s: 1, 1970s: 1, 1980s: 1, 1990s: 1, 2000s: 1, 2010s: 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The Panda]

Number 91

No Country for Old Men (2007)

 

"Whatcha got ain't nothin new. This country's hard on people, you can't stop what's coming, it ain't all waiting on you. That's vanity."

 

Most Valuable Player:  Joel and Ethan Coen for writing and directing

Box Office: 74.3m (91.5m Adjusted)

Tomatometer: 93%

Notable Awards: Won 4 Oscars, including Best Picture

Synopsis: Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong and more than two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.

Critic Opinion: "The Coen brothers have always had a flair for stylish archetype and sick black humor, from 1984's Blood Simple right on through The Ladykillers 20 years later. But here they've trained their considerable eccentric powers on a single, bloody fable of men and the madness of evil. Interpret its symbolism, if you like, or thrill to its taut suspense, but either way you're headed toward the same strange end. An anticlimax in an El Paso motel startles by what it doesn't show, and the final scenes unsettle by what they fail to tell us.  But it's beautiful, in its way. It has a taciturn script and a taste for allegory that make it read like verse: The spaces between dialogue, like the distance over deserts, hold their own epic meaning. It has the purity of those early Dogma 95 movies, with no musical score and the same arid cinematography that spooked Roger Deakins' last photographic effort, 2005's Jarhead. So we see the pointed tips of a dead man's boots looming in silhouette on the horizon. Later we see the another pair, the killer's, as he moves them delicately aside from the pooling blood of his latest victim.  How vicious and unforgettable they are, these silent evocations of the Coens' dark art. And how murderously good this is: a singular masterwork of ludicrous clichés." - Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

User Opinion: "A masterfully told existential chase thriller, that brilliantly builds tension and is perfectly paced. It is also beautifully shot (pretty much a given since Deakins is behind the camera), and features one of the all-time great villains.
 
Imo, one of the top 5 films of the 2000s, and the Coens' best feature since Fargo." - The Stingray

Reasoning: The Coen Brothers always manage to dish out something interesting and somewhat good (if not flawed), but give them great source material to work with?  Boy are you in for a treat, which is exactly what happens with one of their prime pictures, No Country for Old Men.  The film is rife with stinging dialogue, it manages to build a great sense of tension throughout the film, has surprising twists and turns, and is filled to the brim with great performances, in particular, Javier Bardem's chilling villain in the movie.  The film is a semi-religious blend of the Western Genre, with noir crime genre, and it manages to be utterly genius.  No Country for Old Men is a nihilistic wonder of a movie.

Decade Count:  1930s: 8, 1940s: 12, 1950s: 11, 1960s: 13, 1970s: 16, 1980s: 32, 1990s: 21, 2000s: 23, 2010s: 20
Top 100 Decade Count: 1950s: 1, 1960s: 1, 1970s: 1, 1980s: 1, 1990s: 1, 2000s: 2, 2010s: 3

 

 

 

 

[The Panda]

Number 90

The Truman Show (1998)

 

"Good morning, and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!"

 

Most Valuable Player: Andrew Niccol for the Screenplay

Box Office: 125.6m (231.7m Adjusted)

Tomatometer: 94%

Notable Awards: Nominated for 3 Oscars

Synopsis: An insurance salesman/adjuster discovers his entire life is actually a television show.

Critic Opinion: ""The Truman Show" is a movie loved by so many of the more consciously serious movie critics, I suspect, because -- alienated from many modern big audience studio movies -- they sometimes feel a lot like Truman. Maybe they even worry a bit about succumbing to his fate.  But don't we all wonder, to some degree, about TV's effect on us? Brood about the ways we now experience most of the world outside our workplace or home? Those flat, circumscribed images, with their vacuous brightness and lack of depth? What is it doing to us all. We may never know. But "The Truman Show" -- delicately subversive, hypnotically sardonic, full of terror, banality and wafer-thin lyricism -- suggests a way out. Just grab onto your paranoia, ride Jim Carrey's smile to the end of the world. And jump off." - Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

User Opinion: "Brilliant. Jim Carrey gives the best performance of his career (even better than in Eternal Sunshine, for my money) and the film is sharp and prescient enough in its criticisms of the growing widespread fascination with "reality" TV that it still plays as well now as it did when it opened fourteen years ago." - Webslinger

Reasoning: I'll admit, the first time I saw this movie I was much more enamored with it than I am now, after my first viewing I likely would have placed it within my top 10 of all-time, but that was 5-6 years ago and I was much younger then.  Now, that's not to say that I still don't find this movie fantastic, because I do, I am placing it at number 90 on my list and above a lot of films I obviously really loved.  The Truman Show is poignant in its themes, and it's only managed to grow more relevant with the culture's fascination with social media and reality TV.  The film is funny, but there's a lot more to the drama in this movie than the comedy, and watching Truman on his road to discovery and escape at the very end is an incredibly fascinating ride.  Jim Carrey is a funny man, but he's shown with this film and Eternal Sunshine that he is absolutely top-notch when doing a drama with a strong screenplay.  The Truman Show can often play out as a revelation, and there's a great deal of power to it.  A summer blockbuster that managed to be something more.

Decade Count:  1930s: 8, 1940s: 12, 1950s: 11, 1960s: 13, 1970s: 16, 1980s: 32, 1990s: 22, 2000s: 23, 2010s: 20
Top 100 Decade Count: 1950s: 1, 1960s: 1, 1970s: 1, 1980s: 1, 1990s: 2, 2000s: 2, 2010s: 3

 

 

 

 

[Plain Old Tele]

I have such whiplash between agreement and disagreement. 

 

[The Panda]

Number 89

Fruitvale Station (2013)

 

"You shot me. I got a daughter."

 

Most Valuable Player: Ryan Coogler for Writing and Directing, as well as Michael B. Jordan for his Lead Performance

Box Office: 16.1m (17.8m Adjusted)

Tomatometer: 94%

Notable Awards: One of AFI's 10 Movie's of the Year

Synopsis: The story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008.

Critic Opinion: "Anyone familiar with those headlines — and the demonstrations and criminal trial that ensued — will know how “Fruitvale Station” ends. But Coogler’s intimate, spontaneous style and skillful pacing make the movie a genuine, if wrenching, nail-biter. When Grant’s mother (Octavia Spencer) urges him to take the train instead of driving into San Francisco for New Year’s Eve, what has been a lively and revealing portrait takes on the dimension and weight of true tragedy (heightened by a sound design dominated by Oakland’s BART trains, whose screeches and moans course through “Fruitvale Station” like a mournful Greek chorus).  Because Coogler is in such superb control as an artist, “Fruitvale Station” never succumbs to demonizing or bathetic sensationalism. Coogler is clearly more interested in bearing somber witness than in pointing fingers or wringing hands. Thanks to his sensitive direction, and to Jordan’s bruised, wounded portrayal of a man who can go from gentle to aggressive in the blink of an eye, “Fruitvale Station” isn’t just a great film about a timely subject but a great film, period — a study in character and atmosphere every bit as urgent and expressive as the Italian neo-realists or Cassavetes and Scorsese in their prime." - Hornaday, Washington Post

User Opinion:  "I saw the movie today.  Wow.  The very last scene had me in tears.  I went to the bathroom afterward and started bawling.  Michael B Jordan's performance gave life to the character which made Oscar's demise even more powerful.  Surprisingly, the movie helped me see flawed inner city youths like Oscar in a more nuanced way.  I understood that underneath Oscar was a good person, a family man, who felt he had to make the choices he made (selling dope) given his upbringing, financial struggles, and lack of alternative options.  He made some bad choices but he's really a good person though, at the core.
 
 I also saw a warrior, someone with an innate sense of self respect.  During the altercations with the police, I kept saying "Why are they getting up?!... "Why are they arguing with the police?!...just sit tight".  While that is true and what they should have done, Oscar and his friends ARE grown men who felt they were worthy of respect and weren't going to let anyone (police or otherwise) abuse their rights.  Not judging the right and wrong, just saying that I understand now, more so than ever.  I would have probably taken a beating and asked, "Please sir, may I have another" but part of the reason why is because I don't have the inner strength that Oscar and his friends had that night. 
 
As far as the technical aspects, I enjoyed the direction in this film.  The use of long interrupted shots,  great acting, good staging, lighting.  Everything was expertly shot.  Top notch effort.  I look forward to Coogler's career with great interest.  Michael B Jordan and Ariana Neal (played the daughter) did fantastic jobs and are deserving of Oscar consideration (along with Coogler)." - lilmac

Reasoning:  Possibly one of the most heart-wrenching films I've ever watched, I was fairly somber the entire way through the picture and I was crying at the end.  Hell, I'm tearing up just thinking back on this movie.  The true story behind it is painfully sad, and something that happens time and time again in the U.S. today, it's something that has leaves me outraged everytime I see another case of it in the news.  Fruitvale Station is a steady-handed take on this subject by Ryan Coogler, and it plays out as an un-biased observer, leaving you to draw your own conclusions after it lays everything out there.  It's absolutely heartbreaking to watch it all, and it's played out so compellingly real by Michael B. Jordan, with his best performance of his career so far, and Octavia Spencer.  It's a beautifully made movie, maybe not perfect or groundbreaking, but raw in the best of ways.  You probably haven't seen Fruitvale Station yet, maybe I can sell it to you on the fact that it's the same Actor-Director pairing of Creed, and the guy's also going to direct Black Panther.  If those two things excite you, watch this and see Coogler's current peak and a film that shows the potential power he has a filmmaker (plus part of my love for this movie is beyond its merits as a film, and it's also not all that fit for re-watches).  This is a really great movie, maybe I should have put it even higher than this, but I feel like I need to leave room for Coogler to surpass his debut movie (because I know he can).  Anyways, go watch Fruitvale Station and be moved.

Decade Count:  1930s: 8, 1940s: 12, 1950s: 11, 1960s: 13, 1970s: 16, 1980s: 32, 1990s: 22, 2000s: 23, 2010s: 21
Top 100 Decade Count: 1950s: 1, 1960s: 1, 1970s: 1, 1980s: 1, 1990s: 2, 2000s: 2, 2010s: 4

 

 

 

 

[The Panda]

18 minutes ago, TelemAAchos said:

I have such whiplash between agreement and disagreement. 

 

 

 

You have disagreements!? 

[The Panda]

Number 88

The Terminator (1984)

 

"Come with me if you want to live."

 

Most Valuable Player: James Cameron's Direction and Writing

Box Office: 38.4m (98.2m Adjusted)

Tomatometer: 100%

Notable Awards: Ranked #229 on IMDb's Top 250

Synopsis: A seemingly indestructible humanoid cyborg is sent from 2029 to 1984 to assassinate a waitress, whose unborn son will lead humanity in a war against the machines, while a soldier from that war is sent to protect her at all costs.

Critic Opinion: "The real star here, however, is the story - written by director James Cameron with Gale Anne Hurd. It’s so good, in fact, you almost forget the film’s flaws - like the cartoony look of the war-ravaged future. Here, the most absurd excursion is believable and we go along willingly - stopping now and then for a breath or a laugh.  And the occasional laughs, incidentally, keep the movie from taking itself too seriously. Even at the end - when we know all too well what the future holds for the heroine - we smile at the jeep she drives into the forbidding storm clouds. It’s a Renegade." - Gallo, New York Daily News

User Opinion: "This is also the first film that I saw as a youngster that ever warned me of the dangers of nuclear war and of the rapid advancements of machinery. Perhaps I was too young and naive to fully understand all that James Cameron was trying to say, but now that I am older, I can honestly say that the two Terminators are perfect anti nuke films. And they are so passionate with what they have to say. I like it when a film has something to say. I enjoy being entertained in the process but if you can manage both then you have a masterpiece. This is a masterpiece.  Finally. there are two other reasons to enjoy this film. One, this is the first film where "I'll be back" was spoken. Now it is part of Arnolds vernacular. Secondly, Bill Paxton is in it. And he adds spark to any film that he's in. Especially here, as the idiot punk leader that really gets the hell beat out of him, he has some great lines.  A great film." - baumer

Reasoning: This was the first Rated R film I ever saw, I think I was maybe 8 or 9, possibly younger?  Anyways, I remember being absolutely terrified the first time I saw this movie, but in the end I absolutely loved it.  I thought it was crazy and I wanted my dad to show me the rest of them.  While T2 is obviously an incredibly strong action film, I don't think any of them are able to live up as strongly as the original does for me.  There's just so many classic moments throughout it, this is where the entire story is rooted in (and the rest of the movies and the TV Show are really just rehashes of this one in a way, some done better than others).  Everything is iconic and it is James Cameron at his absolute best, one of the most fun 80s action classics out there.

Decade Count:  1930s: 8, 1940s: 12, 1950s: 11, 1960s: 13, 1970s: 16, 1980s: 33, 1990s: 22, 2000s: 23, 2010s: 21
Top 100 Decade Count: 1950s: 1, 1960s: 1, 1970s: 1, 1980s: 2, 1990s: 2, 2000s: 2, 2010s: 4

 

 

 

 

[The Panda]

There should be bets on how many movies I can list off before I list another Western.  You know what, I'll give out 15 likes to somebody who can guess what number the next Western after this will appear (there's an adventure film with Western tendencies in between this one and that one, but I won't count it because it's not really a Western)

 

Number 87

True Grit (2010)

 

"The ground's too hard. If they wanted a decent funeral, they should have got themselves killed in summer."

 

Most Valuable Player: The Ensemble of the Performances

Box Office: 171.2m (187.1m)

Tomatometer: 96%

Notable Awards: Nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Picture

Synopsis: A tough U.S. Marshal helps a stubborn teenager track down her father's murderer.

Critic Opinion: "The Coens have made a western that assumes a pleasing position  between stately and earthy. There’s plenty of black humour and the brothers don’t ignore the grim realities of danger and death, but this is no ‘The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada’. They scrimp on neither warmth nor wit. There’s love, too, for the values, language and landscape of the time, and as such it’s a fairly traditional film, as stressed by Carter Burwell’s quietly monumental and wistful score. It could be the Coens’ most straightforward film, but it’s also one of their best." - Calhoun, Time Out

User Opinion: "True Grit is a rollicking good western with quite a bit of depth. The Coens' script mixes their clever plotting in with some wacky humor, unforgettable characters, and dramatically tense moments. Their direction emulates a western nearly perfectly, along with Burwell's delightful score. Deakins' cinematography is restrained but beautiful, and the cast is excellent. Bridges is spectacular as Cogburn and Damon is obnoxious in the best sense. However, it's Steinfeld who really deserves the most praise, as she steals the movie while being the lead of it too, a rare feat. She is a true marvel in this, being an anchor of all the themes about youth and idealizing the past the film plays with. True Grit has been praised by many others, and I'm adding my voice to the crowd; it is a remarkable western and a really great film." - Blankments

Reasoning:  SO GOOD!  I loved the original version with John Wayne, but this version pretty much rendered that one obsolete, because if I ever want to watch True Grit I now see this adaption as the definitive cinematic version.  The soundtrack is a gorgeous mixture of folk music and hymns put to a grand orchestral backing, giving this a definitive Western and somber sound to it all.  All of the performances in this movie are spot on perfect, especially from Steinfeld and Bridges, but every actor really eats into their roles giving fun performances.  This is probably the most commercial and straightforward of the Coen Brothers' works, but that doesn't stop it from being one of their absolute bests.  True Grit is a moving and exciting film that shows there's still life to be had in the Western Genre.

Decade Count:  1930s: 8, 1940s: 12, 1950s: 11, 1960s: 13, 1970s: 16, 1980s: 33, 1990s: 22, 2000s: 23, 2010s: 22
Top 100 Decade Count: 1950s: 1, 1960s: 1, 1970s: 1, 1980s: 2, 1990s: 2, 2000s: 2, 2010s: 5

 

 

 

 

[The Panda]

Number 86

North By Northwest (1959)

 

"You gentlemen aren't REALLY trying to kill my son, are you?"

 

Most Valuable Player: Alfred Hitchcock's Direction

Box Office: N/A

Tomatometer: 100%

Notable Awards: Nominated for 3 Oscars

Synopsis: A hapless New York advertising executive is mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and is pursued across the country while he looks for a way to survive.

Critic Opinion: ""North by Northwest" is the Alfred Hitchcock mixture - suspense, intrigue, comedy, humor. Seldom has the concoction been served up so delectably. Hitchcock uses actual locations - the Plaza in New York, the Ambassador East in Chicago, Grand Central Station, the 20th Century, Limited, United Nations headquarters in Manhattan, Mount Rushmore National Monument, the plains of Indiana. One scene, where the hero is ambushed by an airplane on the flat, sun-baked prairie, is a brilliant use of location." - Variety Staff

User Opinion: "Favorite Hitchcock movie as well as my favorite Cary Grant one.  Not as tension-filled as several of Hitchcock's other films, but I think this is far and above his best pure storytelling." - BiffMan

Reasoning: One of Hitchcock's most accessible films to a modern audience, and also one of his best films period.  The film is lively paced, and it's more focused on the excitement and thrills, rather than suspense (not to say there aren't suspenseful moments throughout the film).  The movie is purely entertaining, and really show off Hitchcock as the master entertainer that he really was.  The film is absolutely brilliant, and it's written and edited supremely.  The whole Mount Rushmore sequence is absolute genius and stands as one of the greatest action-thriller set pieces of all time.  If you haven't seen North by Northwest know that it is a cinematic classic, and that it deserves your attention as soon as you get the opportunity to watch it.

Decade Count:  1930s: 8, 1940s: 12, 1950s: 12, 1960s: 13, 1970s: 16, 1980s: 33, 1990s: 22, 2000s: 23, 2010s: 22
Top 100 Decade Count: 1950s: 2, 1960s: 1, 1970s: 1, 1980s: 2, 1990s: 2, 2000s: 2, 2010s: 5

 

 

 

 

[aabattery]

I'd say about 6 till the next Western.

[chasmmi]

Western at 78th

[franfar]

Never seen a Terminator film

[The Panda]

3 minutes ago, franfar said:

Never seen a Terminator film

 

You should fix that before Skynet nukes us all.