BOT's Ranking of the Top 200 Films of All Time Adjusted: THE OFFICIAL COUNTDOWN THREAD (after much delay, the full list on pg.10)

[Eevin]

5 hours ago, baumer said:

 

I'm surprised with your write up of this one.  I thought it was a terrific film.  Why did you think it was terrible?

Suicide Squad, or the Poseidon Adventure?

Poseidon I probably should have put in quotes,  the phrase "enjoyably terrible" is taken from a book by the founder of the Razzies. I quite enjoy the film, however.

Suicide Squad I believe needs no further comment.

[baumer]

I thought you were talking about PA.

 

As for SS, I thought it was terrific.

[The Stingray]

I agree with Eevin. SS was an abomination.

[4815162342]

Poseidon Adventure is pulp fun.

[Eevin]

I don't have any time to do the list tonight, so it shall continue in a couple of hours.

Edited May 2, 2017 by Eevin

[Eevin]

Next on the list: a Jackie Chan vehicle and a Kevin Costner vehicle.

Spoiler

#168

Rush Hour 2 (2001)

"You know, we could have been a good couple. We could have had something special. But you one crazy-ass bitch!"

Rank adjusted for inflation: 136

Lists: 10

Average points: 59.637

Rotten Tomatoes: 52%

 

One of the most decidedly '90s action films to make the 2000s, Rush Hour 2 is the sequel to the popular and leggy Rush Hour- and, as we've seen time and again on this list, audiences seem to flock to mediocre, uninspired sequels to fresh, unique comedy originals. But before there was The Hangover Part II and Meet the Fockers, there was this Jackie Chan-Chris Tucker romp, which revitalized the buddy / action comedy film (for a very short time) and to date is still the highest-grossing film of Jackie Chan's career. If you're a fan of action, you'll love the banter here, as well as the always-mesmerizing stunts of Chan, a true Hollywood legend.

Spoiler

#167

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

"That's it then. Cancel the kitchen scraps for lepers and orphans, no more merciful beheadings, and call off Christmas."

Rank adjusted for inflation: 185

Lists: 9

Average points: 66.982

Rotten Tomatoes: 50%

 

Before the "oh-so-slick adaptations of classic literary heroes" trend truly began with Pan, The Legend of Tarzan, and the upcoming King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, we were treated to Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves- a film that was a major success thanks to a dynamic marketing campaign and a marketable concept. The film isn't bad, necessarily - it's got a kickass theme and one of the most scene-chewing villains in history in Alan Rickman's Sheriff of Nottingham - but it's interesting to take a look at how what once seemed so different in the marketplace 25+ years ago is now utterly commonplace today. It is perhaps one of the earliest "modern" blockbusters - gritty, spectacle-filled, and easy to market - along with 1989's Batman.

 

Edited May 3, 2017 by Eevin

[75Live]

not saying some of these are top 10 material or anything, but shocked to see even some of the more current films are only on about 9 or 10 lists.

 

oh and Eevin, i want to hit like on all your stuff, but I run of likes quickly any more so I'll have to go back when it resets

Edited May 2, 2017 by 75live

[baumer]

Robin Hood POT is bad?  WTF?  It's one of the most enjoyable films out there.  Everything about it is just fun.

[Eevin]

1 hour ago, baumer said:

Robin Hood POT is bad?  WTF?  It's one of the most enjoyable films out there.  Everything about it is just fun.

I never specifically called it "bad". I didn't call it "good", necessarily, but I think there's a ton to love about it. 

[baumer]

It just seems that you and I have very different taste in film.

[Eevin]

Next up: another mediocre comedy sequel, and a 1990s Tom Cruise vehicle - both of which are reminders of the long-gone concept of the R-rated blockbuster.

Spoiler

#166

Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)

"Are you driving with your eyes open? Or are you, like, using "the force"?"

Rank adjusted for inflation: 186

Lists: 9

Average points: 67.824

Rotten Tomatoes: 46%

 

It's easy to forget, so many years ago, that Beverly Hills Cop II broke the opening weekend record. It held the record until 1989, when the record was broken three times in one month, ultimately resulting in Batman stunning the box office world with an astonishing $40.5m opening weekend. From that point on, Hollywood was never the same. Films like A Bad Moms Christmas are never going to be held on even close to the same plane as Star Wars or The Avengers. Of course, afterward, the film collapsed (er, "collapsed" by 1987 standards, that is) due to poor word-of-mouth. And it's a little shocking to think that the film has almost no cultural impact despite having helped catapult Eddie Murphy into superstardom. But Beverly Hills Cop II, in many ways, symbolizes the end of an era for what genre could do. Sci-fi and fantasy took their roots in the cultural mainstream, while horror and comedy slowly faded. That, perhaps, can be its legacy.

Spoiler

#165

The Firm (1993)

"I've loved you all my life. Even before we met. Part of it wasn't even you. It was just a promise of you. But these last days... You kept your promise. How could you lose me?"

Rank adjusted for inflation: 196

Lists: 9

Average points: 68.149

Rotten Tomatoes: 75%

 

The Firm, based on author John Grisham's 1991 book of the same name and released at the height of Grisham's popularity, had all the elements to make a surefire success. It starred Tom Cruise at what would seem to be a peak in his popularity, coming off of A Few Good Men and with hits like Interview with a Vampire and the Mission: Impossible franchise still to come. Like Beverly Hills Cop II, it's worth noting how an R-rated film, at that time, was a massive success with little fanfare. It, too, is a reminder of the long-absent adult blockbuster - a film that was able to stand alongside films like Jurassic Park and was expected to. We haven't seen that recently outside of perhaps The Passion of the Christ and American Sniper. It is an ode to the far-gone days of star power.

 

Edited May 5, 2017 by Eevin

[Eevin]

One of film's most important successes, and an action sequel:

Spoiler

#164

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)

"Dad... Dad, you're my father. I'm your son. I love you. I always have and I always will. But you think of yourself as a colored man. I think of myself as a man."

Rank adjusted for inflation: 146

Lists: 8

Average points: 78.567

Rotten Tomatoes: 68%

 

While every film that is a success in its own right deserves to be celebrated, there are certain films that, by being successful, have a major impact on the state of Hollywood going forward. I believe that's true of films like Get Out and Hidden Figures now, and I believe that it was true of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner 50 years ago. Debuting in the heart of the civil rights movement, the film's success challenged the notion that white filmgoers refused to see a film with black leads. It didn't reduce black characters to a mere "maid" stereotype, but made them full-fledged characters. Today, the film may be outdated in many aspects. But it's still a reminder of how far Hollywood has come in the last 50 years, and how far we have left to go.

Spoiler

#163

Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)

"Well, Mr. Hunt, this is not Mission: Difficult, it's Mission: Impossible. Difficult should be a walk in the park for you."

Rank adjusted for inflation: 178

Lists: 15

Average points: 41.942

Rotten Tomatoes: 57%

 

Mission: Impossible II is a reminder of why Hollywood makes sequels. It is fundamental proof that if audiences like a movie, they'll usually turn out to see a sequel even if it's mediocre. Is the film low on plot and substance? Sure. But (at the time), that was never part of what audiences wanted from a Mission: Impossible movie. They liked spectacle. They liked stunts. They liked @Ethan Hunt. And they liked Tom Cruise. In many ways, that's why films like the Transformers series are still having such success today - because they're giving audiences what they expect. It falls perfectly in line with the theory that if one film is successful, Hollywood will continue to make more films like it.

 

Edited May 4, 2017 by Eevin

[Plain Old Tele]

On May 2, 2017 at 4:39 PM, baumer said:

Robin Hood POT is bad?

 

Yes.  

[Arlborn]

@Eevin You didn't put how many lists The Firm was in.

 

Goo job so far, keep it up!

[Eevin]

22 minutes ago, Arlborn said:

@Eevin You didn't put how many lists The Firm was in.

 

Goo job so far, keep it up!

My bad lol, it was 9. Fixed!

[department store basement]

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is one of my favorite films of all time.

[Eevin]

Apologies for the delay in the list. A lot of stuff's come up this week. 

It shall continue tonight!

[Eevin]

An action-packed 1977 blockbuster, and a Glenn Close star turn.

Spoiler

#162

Smokey and the Bandit (1977)

"Give me a diablo sandwich, a Dr. Pepper, and make it quick, I'm in a goddamn hurry."

Rank adjusted for inflation: 71

Lists: 7

Average points: 89.995

Rotten Tomatoes: 81%

 

 

If I were to ask you to name a 1977 movie, I'd assume you'd say Star Wars. If I asked you to name another, you might say Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Saturday Night Fever or Annie Hall. But perhaps the most criminally underlooked blockbuster of 1977 falls to Smokey and the Bandit, which debuted at the height of Burt Reynolds' popularity, while acting as a precursor to the Fast and Furious series with the amount of stunts it attempts. It has been mentioned as a personal favorite of Alfred Hitchcock's. Why, then, is it so overlooked? 40 years ago, despite spawning 2 sequels and a relatively popular sandwich, not many seem to be able to remember it. It leads one to wonder which of the biggest films of today will be forgotten 40 years from now...

Spoiler

#161

Fatal Attraction (1987)

"Well, what am I supposed to do? You won't answer my calls, you change your number. I mean, I'm not gonna be ignored, Dan!"

Rank adjusted for inflation: 182

Lists: 9

Average points: 71.113

Rotten Tomatoes: 78%

 

When people mention the "adult thriller", they're usually referring to a film like Fatal Attraction- in recent years, this type of romantic thriller has been a more niche genre, with films such as When the Bough Breaks and The Boy Next Door being major but small successes. There was a time, however, when this type of film was a well-respected and popular genre that could stand next to the big guys. It inspired a wave of psychological thrillers that would populate the late 1980s and 1990s, and created an iconic role in Glenn Close's Alex Forrest. It was nominated for six Oscars, but lost to Moonstruck and The Last Emperor among others, going home empty-handed.  

 

[Eevin]

@angeldelmito's first disappointment (but not the last), and a superhero threequel. 

Spoiler

#160

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014)

"Miss Everdeen, it is the things we love most that destroy us."

Rank adjusted for inflation: 169

Lists: 14

Average points: 47.368

Rotten Tomatoes: 65%

 

In what is the first Hunger Games film on the list, Katniss and crew incite rebellion against the political establishment, adding nuance to the series beyond the Hunger Games themselves. Perhaps that's where the film suffers, as it moves to heavy-handed symbolism rather quickly while taking away from the action and drama that arguably made the first two so popular. Now, in this current political climate, whether or not it could have done better is an open question, but it still serves as a reminder of just how popular this series was.

Spoiler

#159

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

"Whatever comes our way, whatever battle we have raging inside us, we always have a choice."

Rank adjusted for inflation: 109

Lists: 16

Average points: 41.638

Rotten Tomatoes: 63%

 

Spider-Man 3, in a way, was before its time. Its $151m opening weekend broke the debut record, the culmination of an extremely popular franchise that had revitalized the superhero genre. It did all of this despite being a shallow, mediocre, and bloated film that spent more time focusing on the films ahead than the films behind it. Sound like any movie you know? It was a landmark in the superhero genre for trying to do too much at once. We would see this repeated again in films like Age of Ultron, Batman v Superman, and many more. 

It does win points for having the best dance scene in movie history, however.

 

[Kalo]

Both Mockingjay 1 and Spider-Man 3 are B- movie imo, they have things that work and parts I like, but overall they are just kind of boring, and in Spidy's case overstuffed and unfocused. and both vastly inferior threequels, to abnormally great sequels. 

Edited May 9, 2017 by Kalo