tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post8147420485230888416..comments2024-03-27T21:42:56.131-05:00Comments on 1001plus: What's Cooler than Godzilla?SJHoneywellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-33090301483967368582016-07-07T09:47:18.884-05:002016-07-07T09:47:18.884-05:00I suggest 10 movies every year, traditionally on C...I suggest 10 movies every year, traditionally on Christmas. The year before I started reviewing, I did it on New Year's Eve, I think, but otherwise, I've done this on Christmas or Christmas Eve every year, just to right a few wrongs.<br /><br />I figure suggesting a replacement 1% of the total each year is fair.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-81973700628251770702016-07-07T09:25:19.135-05:002016-07-07T09:25:19.135-05:00No Ray Harryhausen and no William Castle is a CRIM...No Ray Harryhausen and no William Castle is a CRIME! <br /><br />Also, no Esther Williams!<br /><br />Ridiculous. Take off Spellbound and put Million Dollar Mermaid in there.<br /><br />On one of those days where you don't write a review, you should consider an open thread for discussing the Great Crimes of The List. For example, no Meiko Kaji!Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17921029597363212734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-1422992633980784502016-07-07T00:11:35.043-05:002016-07-07T00:11:35.043-05:00In terms of comments on this one, I wrote this rev...In terms of comments on this one, I wrote this review very early in my blogging days when I didn't have much of a readership and comments were pretty scarce. It happens. It also happens that I did a lot of movies I really like early on, which means that a lot of my favorites haven't gotten a lot of traffic. <br /><br />In terms of The List, I take it for what it is in a lot of respects. It's important to remember that "must-see" can come from a lot of different places, and it's not just the quality of the film itself. There are enough great movies out there that have never made this list that certainly could be put on it--I could see making a 2002 Movies list without that much difficulty. Okay, some difficulty, but I could probably come up with 250 movies worth enshrining in a day for one reason or another. There are plenty of great old horror movies, for instance--The List contains nothing from William Castle and not a single instance of Ray Harryhausen's work, just as quick examples. <br /><br />As it happens, I'm with you on <i>Llewyn Davis</i>, which I didn't love. I did, however, like <i>The Queen</i> a lot, and think it's worth it for Helen Mirren. <br /><br /><i>Four Lions</i> is great. Really, really, pitch black dark, but great.<br /><br />As for the more recent stuff...I agree on some of these (I'm still shocked that <i>The Skin I Live In</i> wasn't added), but others I'm less convinced of. <i>300</i> would only be worth it for the way it was filmed and the effects. As a movie, I think it's pretty drippy.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-90477597297623075532016-07-06T19:40:32.721-05:002016-07-06T19:40:32.721-05:00I can't believe nobody has commented yet! I sa...I can't believe nobody has commented yet! I saw it last night and loved it. <br /><br />I was thinking of writing a few paragraphs on why I have mixed feelings about more recent (the last ten years or so) movies on The List. I might as well put it here, I guess. I was planning on putting it on the comments for Inside Llewyn Davis (as an example of an iffy entry), but The Host is a very good choice for The List.<br /><br />I got the 2008 edition of 1001 Movies from the library and I was struck by how many of these movies that I've already seen are not really "must see." I saw Atonement (2007) when it first came out and I liked it OK. I was surprised when it got a number of Oscar nominations. It's not really "must see," and it makes me a little suspicious of some of these other recent entries.<br /><br />There are a lot of movies that are old (and some not-so-old) that I'm not really a huge fan of. But at least in those cases, decades have passed, and there's been some time to really assess these films and really see if they should be considered "must see." <br /><br />I've been looking at The List and trying to find a cut-off date for myself. A date where I can safely say "You know, I'm not too concerned about The List after this date." I'm finding the late 1990s to be pretty safe so far. There's a few unquestionable classics from that era - notably The Big Lebowski - and I'm having great success with the films from 1996 to 2001 that I've seen lately - Lone Star, Moulin Rouge!, Three Kings, Traffic. <br /><br />And moving a little further along, Kill Bill is one of my very favorite movies ever. <br /><br />So I had just about settled on 2004 to 2006 for my own cut-off date. <br /><br />But then I looked a little more closely at the films from more recent years and it looks like a pretty decent guide for recent films I haven't seen. I loved Cabin in the Woods (I saw it two weeks ago) but it's been recommended to me quite frequently quite independent of The List. And I saw Citizenfour a few days ago. Great movie! I probably wouldn't have seen it not for The List.<br /><br />I also saw The Theory of Everything, and I liked it OK. I can see why Eddie Redmayne won Best Actor, but I wasn't really blown away by it. Putting it on the 1001 Movies List means you have to take something off.<br /><br />And then there was Inside Llewyn Davis. I liked it OK. Carey Mulligan was great! A slight change of focus might have really rammed this movie through. But it's really a very minor effort from the Coen Brothers. If it gets dropped from future editions of 1001 Movies, then is it really must-see?<br /><br />So, like I said, I have mixed feelings about recent films on the list. I saw The Host last night, and I was already thinking that 2006 might be a good cut-off point because of Borat, Little Miss Sunshine and Pan's Labyrinth. (I'm not quite so sure about the Queen. I liked it all right. I was surprised at how much I liked it. Must-see? I dunno.)<br /><br />But The Host is great! Maybe it's just because I love how crazy Korean movies are. But I found The Host to be a delight from start to finish.<br /><br />Still ... I was looking at the premise for Four Lions. And I watched the trailer yesterday. Now I'm trying to find it somewhere, anywhere. And I never would have heard of it if not for 1001 Movies.<br /><br />Like I said, mixed feelings. Where's The Skin I Live In, Wreck-It Ralph, Seven Psychopaths, Tropic Thunder, 300, Grindhouse, Silver Linings Playbook, etc.? Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17921029597363212734noreply@blogger.com