My Top 50 Favorite Movies: Part V (#10-1)

10. The Conversation (1974)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola

My Top 50 Favorite Movies: Part IV (#20-11)

Coming down the home-stretch...





20. Aguirre, Wrath Of God (1972)
Directed by Werner Herzog

My Top 50 Favorite Movies: Part III (#30-21)

In case you would like to play catch-up, here are the first two posts of the series:

Part I: #50-41
Part II: #40-31





30. Seven Samurai (1954)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa

My Top 50 Favorite Movies: Part II (#40-31)

Miss my #50-41 post and you're too lazy to scroll down? Then you're in luck! Click here and I promise I won't link you to anything dark and evil.

40. Team America: World Police (2004)
Directed by Trey Parker

My Top 50 Favorite Movies: Part I (#50-41)

I think I'll let the title of the post speak for itself. Are you ready? 'Cuz I know I'm not.

50. The Lost Skeleton Of Cadavra (2001)
Directed by Larry Blamire

Top 100 Favorite Directors: Part V (#80 - 76)

80. David O. Russell

Top 100 Favorite Directors: Part IV (#85 - 81)

85. Hayao Miyazaki

Top 100 Favorite Directors: Part III (#90 - 86)

90. Michael Haneke

Top 100 Favorite Directors: Part II (#95 - 91)

Keep yourself updated! Czech out Part I (#100 - 96) here.

95. Rob Reiner

Top 100 Favorite Directors: Part I (#100 - 96)

Back in 2011, I made a very quick and poorly-conceived list of my top 50 favorite directors. The result was lazy, incomplete, and unfulfilling. So now, as I've given it time to develop and have watched hundreds upon hundreds of movies from many different directors in the meantime, I feel I can make a much more fleshed-out, well thought-out, and ultimately more rewarding (for myself) list of my top 100 favorite directors, and why I love them. This is the result, and I hope you enjoy.

100. Trey Parker

Top 10 Movies of 1959

I fear that sick sense of obligation to finish what I've started is rearing its ugly head again. Regardless, with this list I finish the 1950s. Enjoy!

EDITOR'S NOTE: I accidentally left off North By Northwest when I made this list, but since I'm unsure where I might have put it anyway, just magically insert it anywhere on here that suits you.

10. Pickpocket

Very slow-paced and emotionally vacant (as many of Bresson's films seem to be), Pickpocket is still a tense, well-written drama with great camerawork and fine editing.

Top 10 Movies of 1958

This entry might be interesting for some, because for the first time since I've started these lists, the movie in the #1 spot is something not everyone has heard of.

10. The Horse's Mouth

This was a pretty bizarre movie, but I found it very entertaining, and thought Alec Guinness' performance was great. Very screwball and oddly funny, this is certainly not a typical comedy -- but a very enjoyable one nonetheless.

Top 10 Movies of 1957

After a brief hiatus, I have decided to return (for an unknown amount of time) to, in the very least, present my top 10 list of 1957 - which is probably one of the strongest years in the history of film.

10. The Lower Depths

Yes, Kurosawa is the master, and this is yet another in a long list of the reasons why. The Lower Depths is one of the darkest, least hopeful films of Kurosawa's career, with one of the greatest, most cynical final lines in the history of film.

Top 10 Movies of 1956

I have been found guilty of writing very little and sounding very unenthusiastic in my past few posts, so I will try to make it more evident now that I'm making these lists because I want to (and because I love movies), rather than because I feel like I have to. After I let out a huge sigh, I will continue. Ready? *SIGH* Okay, here we go...

10. Bob Le Flambeur

Not one of the most significant films by Jean-Pierre Melville, Bob The Flambeur is still drenched with the auteur's signature style, and a fine dramatic effort from the great director.

Top 10 Movies of 1955

1955? That's the year that was 35 years before I was born! What a coincidence...

10. Rebel Without Cause

Making the list more for its impact than anything else, Rebel Without A Cause is one of the ultimate troubled teen films.

The Lost Skeleton Of Cadavra

The Lost Skeleton Of Cadavra [2001]

Directed by Larry Blamire

A film unlike anything I've ever seen before, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra is one of the funniest, most well-written and under-appreciated movies of the '00s.

Top 10 Movies of 1954

SPOILER ALERT: This is a list of my top 10 movies of 1954. That means as the list goes higher, the movies will get better and better. Isn't that crazy?

10. The Wild One

An early, iconic rebel movie with memorable performances by Brando and Marvin. Not a great film, but a very solid one.

Top 10 Movies of 1953

Only 4 lists in, and I've already run out of "clever" opening lines... Pathetic.

10. Mr. Hulot's Holiday

Well-constructed, though not particularly entertaining, Mr. Hulot's Holiday has more to offer as a social and political commentary than as a comedy.

Top 10 Movies of 1952

The return of my best movies of each year lists list has returned again!

10. Viva Zapata

A film that is largely memorable for two strong performances by a miscast Marlon Brando, and Anthony Quinn, Viva Zapata is a good, solid film.

Top 10 Movies of 1951

Part two of the first part of my list of many other parts. This time, instead of talking about movies from 1950... it's 1951.

10. The Lavender Hill Mob

One of the earlier comedic Alec Guinness performances I've seen, and though it is by no means what I might consider a "great" movie, it is still a very entertaining heist picture.

Top 10 Movies of 1950

Instead of just posting bulk lists (as I have very lazily done in the past), I have decided to make these lists with a little more pizzazz. My top 10 movies of each year 1950-present begins now with, you guessed it, 1950:

10. Scandal

One of Kurosawa's earlier works, and the film released only months prior to his breakthrough with Rashomon, Scandal is not one of his better efforts, but still a solid film with strong performances.

Top 10 Best Movies of 2013 (so far)

Slightly earlier in the year than my last "best of...so far" list, but not early enough. There have been some good movies this year, and plenty of bad, as it to be expected. So far, these are the 10 I feel stand out above the rest -- even if just slightly.

10. Lords Of Salem

To The Wonder

To The Wonder
Directed by Terrence Malick

Malick has done it again: left me pondering about nothing in particular, while simultaneously taking several years off my life with this bloated, uneventful, pretentious art-house "thing".

Most Anticipated Movies of 2013

2012 was an upsetting year for movies. Almost every movie I was looking forward to was a letdown, and quite frankly, very few other things impressed me much either. 2013 may be different, with its wider variety of dramatic releases from younger filmmakers. Okay, so there are about 350 sequels slated to be released over the next 9 months, but they aren't the ones I'm looking forward to.

Anyway, without dragging this on any longer, here are the 12 movies I'm most anticipating in 2013.

Top 10 Best Picture winners that are cool to like

With the Oscars only days away, I've decided to take this opportunity to announce to anyone who still reads this blog that I am, in fact, still alive, and will be back writing fairly regularly at some point, once I've decided the new direction I want to take this blog in. So, right before the Oscars, I've found myself thinking about various movie awards, and all the esteem, ridiculousness, politics, and taboo that comes with them. In this post, I will mostly be addressing the esteem, ridiculousness, and taboo, leaving out the politics, which is arguably the very worst part.

Ted

Ted

Directed by Seth MacFarlane

The story starts off as a sweet fable, and after the opening turns into your typical drinking, partying buddy comedy -- with the noted exception of one of the "buddies" being a talking teddy bear. Here is a concept that wears out its welcome the moment it is introduced. For a short segment, it might have been marginally entertaining, but as it is, this movie is far too long for all the more it has to offer.

Here Comes The Boom; Zero Dark Thirty; The Impossible; The Sessions

Here Comes The Boom
Frank Coraci

A very inoffensive movie. Kevin James is never unwatchable (hey, I actually liked Paul Blart), and he brings his usual likeability to this movie. The premise is slightly shaky, but there are a few good laughs and some nice moments throughout, so I'm not gonna complain. It was perfectly innocent entertainment, just don't get caught up in trying to take any of it seriously, or it will destroy you.

Top 25 Best Movies of 2012: Part II (#10-1)

Alright, I think I've wasted enough time in-between posts, let's get going on this thing. Without further ado, my top 10 favorite movies of 2012.

Killing Them Softly; Amour; Berberian Sound Studio

Killing Them Softly
Directed by Andrew Dominik

Generally forgettable and unnecessarily political, but made watchable thanks to some strong performances. Brad Pitt and James Gandolfini give it their best, but the material they have to work with doesn't allow for much. The story is slow, but luckily the movie isn't long enough for it to become boring. I would say this a well-made movie, but it doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. The result is a bit of an unfocused mess.

Top 5 Movie Images of 2012

And now, a swarm of countdown lists of my favorite movie [BLANK]s of 2012! Since I started with the most basic, simple list (best movies of the year), I will now move on to one slightly less conventional, that I'm hoping to make a future tradition of mine to post a list of each year: my favorite movie images of the year.

Sometimes when I'm watching a movie, a certain frame, whether held for a long period of time, or just a second, really sticks with me for a long time. Sometimes it's because the image speaks on the film's behalf in ways words could never describe, and other times it's just because of how fantastic the framing of the shot is, or just how striking the image is. Readers be warned: Some spoilers ahead.

Top 25 Best Movies of 2012: Part I (#25-11)

As a firm believer in keeping with traditions (as long as they're fun/good traditions), I have created my list of the 25 movies I feel are the best, most entertaining, interesting, etc. As is always the case with something like this, this is just my own personal opinion, so the entire ordering and contents of this are chosen and arranged solely by me. I have found this year to be amongst the most upsetting when it comes to movies I went into with high expectations and was ultimately let down by, so don't be surprised if you don't see one of your personal favorite movies of the year on here, because odds are I just didn't like it. So, just as a final reminder, this list is the product of a cynic. Consider yourself warned.

Here, at the beginning of 2013, instead of looking forward to what is yet to come, I'll be looking back at what I've seen from 2012. I have 25 movies I want to remind people of. They are as follows:

Beasts Of The Southern Wild; The Perks Of Being A Wallflower; Silver Linings Playbook

Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Directed by Benh Zeitlin

Typical emotionally-exploitative Oscar bait in the vein of 'Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close' and 'Precious'. The only difference is that this movie is actually really good. This is largely due to Quvenzhane Wallis, whose performance easily stands as one of the best of the year. Dwight Henry, who plays her father, is also quite good, though he does tend to go a little over-the-top at moments. Fueled by emotion, this movie somehow transcends simple tearjerker status and becomes something far more resonant. Its fantastic cinematography and musical score only add to the overall effect, making this one of the most well-rounded and powerful movies of the year.

Django Unchained; Cloud Atlas; The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Django Unchained
Directed by Quentin Tarantino

The question you have to ask yourself going into this, is: do I like Tarantino? If you do, you'll probably love it. He delivers his usual witty dialogue and over-the-top thrills, but this time in an excess I found at times distracting and monotonous. Most people seem to point to DiCaprio as the film's highlight, but I personally found his performance incredibly hammy and felt Waltz was the one to watch. Foxx felt like a placeholder for someone more interesting, and ultimately does nothing spectacular. But it's not the acting I have problems with here: my problems revolve around Tarantino himself. His style overwhelms his movies in a way I don't much care for. Still, it's a pretty entertaining movie, even if it falls apart in its second half and does nothing to add to Tarantino's artistic palette.

Flight; Trouble With The Curve; Arbitrage

Flight
Directed by Robert Zemeckis

It's really nice to see Denzel Washington playing an actual character again. In Flight, we see him taking on a role I didn't think I'd see from him: a character with true conflict. I didn't know if I was rooting for, or against him. As a character/performance piece, this is an excellent movie, however it falls flat in other ways that make it hard for me to appreciate it as much as I feel I should. The obvious musical cues and elongated ending, for starters, distracted me from what I feel could have been one of the better movies of the year. Still, this is definitely worth watching, even if just for Washington.

The Pact; The Possession; The Man With The Iron Fists

The Pact
Directed by Nicholas McCarthy

There exists a horror movie named 'The Pact'... and that's almost all there is to say about it. The concept is vague, performances unspectacular, and though there are a few suspenseful scenes, they often end abruptly and with little payoff. The movie starts too quickly, explains itself too slowly, and doesn't give the potentially horrifying villain much to work with. I'm sure this movie has as audience that would appreciate it more than me, but I found it too uninspired to be fully drawn into.