My top 333 favorite movies

[Gargantua]

I agree it needs to put categorized by -type-.

[aequitas-et-veritas]

smoke Valkyrie, it´s a piece of cemented together scrap version and not worth a watch…

exchange it with 12 monkeys instead… :-D :-D :-D

[Young Grasshopper]

I had a hard time leaving 12 Monkeys, and Almost Famous off the list, but no way would I lose Dazed and Confused, or Jacob’s Ladder.

[Hepps01]

Both are quality movies.  There would be no reason to leave those off a comprehensive list of movies that are impeccably done.

[hkytown1]

Oh agreed.  Dazed and Confused is in my top 10 for sure,  you have it listed twice.  Not that its not worthy of being listed twice.  “Straight A’s……just kidding.”

[Hepps01]

Truth be told that is why I didn’t really list any “to be removed” from the original list.

From my perspective, a list like this is HIGHLY subjective thing.

For myself I use three basic criteria to evaluate a movie’s “value” for myself…

1. Overall cohesiveness of the movie… ie. Does the story, cinematography, sound track, narration etc. etc… make sense and work together.  ie. Shawshank Redemption (need I say more? The movie had every element that makes a great movie)

2. Cast… Do the actors make the movie… ie. Edward Norton MADE American History X.  Not to say other actors couldn’t have filled the role, but at the end of the day Norton made you compelled to have sympathy and compassion for an otherwise anti-hero character and brought depth to what would otherwise be a black and white issue (pun intended).

3. Does the movie move you?  (This will easily be the most subjective of the categories)  The story needs to speak to you… and nothing in the first two criteria will do anything for you if this element is missing.  I will cite a few movies that I think are questionable (for this exact reason)  A River Runs through It (I will die knowing those hours were lost), South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut (offered to those who South Park doesn’t speak to), Water World (Costner couldn’t convince me that ice is cold).  Again a highly subjective category.

My last thought on this subject?

Was Blade Runner in there?  Cause if it wasn’t…

[Young Grasshopper]

I personally thought that “Blade Runner” was overrated, but their are worst movies that made the list, so I will add it for one of the “Dazed and confused” entries.

If I want to judge a movie, I ask myself….

“Do I want to watch it, even if I’ve seen it already?”

If the answer is yes, it’s a good movie IMO.

[Hepps01]

@Young:

“Do I want to watch it, even if I’ve seen it already?”

Well that doesn’t really make it a qualifier by my standards.  I’ll watch old re-broadcasts of golfing championchips on a Sunday morning when I’m hung-over over anything else… that doesn’t make them my “favorites” or great.

And on the subject of Blade Runner… yes (depending on your era)  I can see that watching it might be not as spectacular as others(especially when it was so critically acclaimed).  But then again if A.I. made your list… personally a movie I felt was the same, sans violence and real sense of a bleak future but with better graphics… then it really does come down to a sense of subjective perspective.  If Blade Runner had the technology that Spielberg used, then there wouldn’t even be a debate.

But again, it’s all subjective to the viewer.

At minimum I will say that of the 333 movies you listed, I share your view with well over 200. (didn’t count)

[Young Grasshopper]

@Hepps01:

@Young:

“Do I want to watch it, even if I’ve seen it already?”

Well that doesn’t really make it a qualifier by my standards. I’ll watch old re-broadcasts of golfing championchips on a Sunday morning when I’m hung-over over anything else… that doesn’t make them my “favorites” or great.

I enjoy watching movies, and a good or great movie is a mater of a simple equation IMO.

BTW… If your watching old re-runs of anything, it’s probably your favorite something… if not, you should change the channel and watch something better.

And on the subject of Blade Runner… yes (depending on your era) I can see that watching it might be not as spectacular as others(especially when it was so critically acclaimed).But then again if A.I. made your list… personally a movie I felt was the same, sans violence and real sense of a bleak future but with better graphics… then it really does come down to a sense of subjective perspective. If Blade Runner had the technology that Spielberg used, then there wouldn’t even be a debate.

I’m 40 years old, and have been watching movies since I was 9, I don’t need my Sci-Fi to be spectacular (Sunshine, Moon, and 2001 are all there), I just don’t feel great about Ridley Scott’s early stuff (Alien is not there, but Aliens is). However, He changed my mind recently with Prometheus.

Now lets use your example of Artificial Intelligence, A film conceived and started by Stanley Kubrick before he died, which was than finished by Steven Spielberg. The first half feels like Kubrick, where the second half is obviously Spielberg, and just like Blade Runner could have been better with technology, A.I could have been better with Stanley.

I like Kubrick and I get his work (A clockwork Orange, 2001, and Full Metal Jacket made my list) more than I get Ridley (Gladiator, and Robin Hood didn’t make it),…. and that is where subjective opinion enters any conversation about art.

But again, it’s all subjective to the viewer.

At minimum I will say that of the 333 movies you listed, I share your view with well over 200. (didn’t count)

Thanks, you have good taste in movies…… I just realized that I forgot “Black Swan”…  Amazing film!!.

Working Girl is out, Black Swan is in…

[LHoffman]

Not sure why you listed An Inconvenient Truth and Super Size Me, as those are documentaries; but if you really like them that much I guess it is your decision.

I was surprised at some inclusions and the lack of others. Namely: Bill & Ted… love it.

The Lord of the Rings/Star Wars: you have The Two Towers and Ep. III & V, but not the rest of them. I am curious as to why. You could get away with not including SW Ep. I and II and maybe The Fellowship of the Ring, but I would think if you like SW & LOTR then you must have A New Hope, Return of the Jedi and Return of the King.

[Gargantua]

Inconvienient truth, is more like “convenient lies”.

Especially when you consider how Al Gore the flimmaker lives. Petty fear mongering to raise capital for personal gain.

NEWS FLASH EVERYBODY

The earth heated up on it’s own and MELTED itself out of a petrified ice age WITHOUT any help from us on several occassions. 100 years of human anything, quite literally pales in comparison to trillions of years of history. IT’S NORMAL.
Whether we helped 1% or not is totally irrellevant.

Who are we to be so arrogant to think that we totally control a rock that is mindlessly spinning through the universe at 55,000 mph.

Freaking out about your -carbon footprint-, and going out of your way to support carbon/enegry based tax systems doesn’t help anyone but those who want to have power over you, and don’t care about their own footprints anyways.

It’s was a MOVIE, you saw what they wanted you to see.  WAKE UP! You are not on the Truman Show!

[LHoffman]

@Gargantua:

NEWS FLASH EVERYBODY

I think we agree on more than you realize.

[frimmel]

Note: the vilification of Al Gore is best understood in the context of personalisation. When opponents attack something abstract - like science - the public may not associate with the argument. By giving a name and a face and a set of behavioural characteristics - being a rich politician, for example - it is easy to create a fictional enemy through inference and association. Al Gore is a successful politician who presented a film, his training and experience suitable to the task. To invoke Gore is a way to obfuscate about climate science, for which Gore has neither responsibility, claim nor blame.

http://www.skepticalscience.com/al-gore-inconvenient-truth-errors.htm

[frimmel]

The lower 48 states set temperature records for the warmest spring, largest seasonal departure from average, warmest year-to-date, and warmest 12-month period, all new marks since records began in 1895.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/06/08/496265/four-major-us-heat-records-fall-in-stunning-noaa-report/

[frimmel]

So this year’s melting season has gone 1165 and 754 km3 below the 2010 and 2011 minimums. That’s, how shall I put it? A lot! More than at the time of the last update. Almost double the difference between the 2010 and 2011 minimums. Half the 2007 minimum.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/10/04/950761/an-illustrated-guide-to-2012-record-arctic-sea-ice-melt/

[frimmel]

@Gargantua:

The earth heated up on it’s own and MELTED itself out of a petrified ice age WITHOUT any help from us on several occassions.

http://www.skepticalscience.com/climate-change-little-ice-age-medieval-warm-period.htm

[Gargantua]

http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/weather/weather_news/recent-cold-spell-is-a-record-breaker

recent-cold-spell-is-a-100-year-record-breaker - Posted in the last 4 hours.

http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/Vancouver+stormy+summer+pace+record+cold/6778531/story.html

They called it Junuary… coldest summer on record in vancouver…

I suppose we could both do this all day? :P

But it wouldn’t resolve our difference of opinion?

Have you guys seen Van Kilmer in “The Thaw”? An eco-crusader who plans to use a thawed out insect like organism from the past to kill off huge swaths of the population to “save the planet” - what an idiot. I laughed with my whole heart when he died. Definetly not a movie capable of making the 333 list.

[Gargantua]

http://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2012/08/10/a-simple-proof-that-the-1930s-were-hotter/

And the 1930’s were warmer than today…

IF someone put together a story and told us that - Now that would make a good movie! :D

Of course, another -soon to be movie- the green peaceniks of the world are secretly pushing governments to start a limited global thermo nuclear war (Between India and Pakistan). Because the resulting nuclear winter will -cool- the earth.

Just make sure you know what road you’re going down Frimmel ;)

This is the article by NASA that appears in National Geographic
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/02/110223-nuclear-war-winter-global-warming-environment-science-climate-change/

[Gargantua]

YG,

Have you seen Pandorum?  That movie should make this list…

[Young Grasshopper]

@Gargantua:

YG,

Have you seen Pandorum?  That movie should make this list…

I would never include a movie I have not seen, that said, I’m 100% sure that there are movies out there that belong on my list if I would just give them a look. Maybe this Pandorum is one of them.