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I couldn't think of a top 10 cause there is so much to choose from but I think I pretty much got a top 8 locked down. What do you think?
8. This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)
7. Malcolm X (1992)
6. 12 Angry Men (1957)
5. Sicko (2007)
4. The Truman Show (1998)
3. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
2. The Skin I Live In (2011)
1. For A Few Dollars More (1965)
I couldn't think of a top 10 cause there is so much to choose from but I think I pretty much got a top 8 locked down. What do you think?
8. This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)
7. Malcolm X (1992)
6. 12 Angry Men (1957)
5. Sicko (2007)
4. The Truman Show (1998)
3. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
2. The Skin I Live In (2011)
1. For A Few Dollars More (1965)
Well, I think you're male. And I think you haven't seen many old movies.
Interesting choices. It's rare that someone will include documentaries in their top movies.
Yeah I'm younger so haven't seen many older movies, but my friends say I have seen a lot in comparison with them, since I have seen a lot going back to The Birth of a Nation even. I guess I just like a lot of newer movies. A large part of it, is censorship, and there is a lot more you can do now, compared to movies from the Hays code era, if that makes sense.
I couldn't think of a top 10 cause there is so much to choose from but I think I pretty much got a top 8 locked down. What do you think?
8. This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006) - I thought this was a very bland, formulaic documentary. It provides a few insights into movie marketing, but to be among someone's 8 favorites? I think it is borderline worth watching if someone is interested in the topic, but I'd never watch it twice...
7. Malcolm X (1992) - Malcolm X the person was a complex, contradictory human that can't be done justice in a 2 hour biopic. This one was okay as far as biopics go, but I don't think it illuminates anything about the human. At any rate, there are a bunch of biopics I'd be more inclined to watch twice.
6. 12 Angry Men (1957) - The plot is kinda gimmicky, but it is a chance to see 12 fine actors together in a room. The performances are better than the directing and writing; it's another film I mildly enjoyed but wouldn't be in a rush to watch again.
5. Sicko (2007) - I skipped this one when it was out, it just seemed like such a dreary topic. It may well be very enlightening (although very outdated already), but again...one of someone's top 5 movies? Even Michael Moore's kids wouldn't rate it that high. At least in "Roger and Me" his shtick was new.
4. The Truman Show (1998) - Okay, I agree. This is a pretty great film. I wouldn't include it in my top 50, but it might make it into my top 100. The writing is clever and engaging, the performances are touching, the plot is compelling, and the direction is focused and lively. The only Jim Carrey movie I am 100% behind.
3. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - I skipped this because the title annoyed me for some obscure reason. I can't comment on this one, but odds are there are greater foreign films out there.
2. The Skin I Live In (2011) - I haven't seen this one either, but I am pretty fond of some of Almodóvar's films. I think, without seeing it, that this is probably the most interesting film on your list, and might very well be the best although I'd have to see it to know. I added it to my list of to-view films.
1. For A Few Dollars More (1965) - One of the better spaghetti westerns, but I've never been an acolyte of spaghetti westerns (a lot of knowledgeable film people are). To me, they all kind of seem the same.
I will say that compiling a "top 8" is not as easy as it sounds. I would agonize all night over such a list, and probably change the whole thing the very next day. I do think from this list that you might not have seen many films of the 20th century; there's a lot of great ones that some of these choices would pale next to. I'm guessing from your list that you might be Spanish, between the ages of 25-30, give or take, with a fondness for documentaries.
Check out some new wave cinema of the 60's and 70's; you might dig some of that stuff. It was a golden age.
8. This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006) - I thought this was a very bland, formulaic documentary. It provides a few insights into movie marketing, but to be among someone's 8 favorites? I think it is borderline worth watching if someone is interested in the topic, but I'd never watch it twice...
7. Malcolm X (1992) - Malcolm X the person was a complex, contradictory human that can't be done justice in a 2 hour biopic. This one was okay as far as biopics go, but I don't think it illuminates anything about the human. At any rate, there are a bunch of biopics I'd be more inclined to watch twice.
6. 12 Angry Men (1957) - The plot is kinda gimmicky, but it is a chance to see 12 fine actors together in a room. The performances are better than the directing and writing; it's another film I mildly enjoyed but wouldn't be in a rush to watch again.
5. Sicko (2007) - I skipped this one when it was out, it just seemed like such a dreary topic. It may well be very enlightening (although very outdated already), but again...one of someone's top 5 movies? Even Michael Moore's kids wouldn't rate it that high. At least in "Roger and Me" his shtick was new.
4. The Truman Show (1998) - Okay, I agree. This is a pretty great film. I wouldn't include it in my top 50, but it might make it into my top 100. The writing is clever and engaging, the performances are touching, the plot is compelling, and the direction is focused and lively. The only Jim Carrey movie I am 100% behind.
3. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - I skipped this because the title annoyed me for some obscure reason. I can't comment on this one, but odds are there are greater foreign films out there.
2. The Skin I Live In (2011) - I haven't seen this one either, but I am pretty fond of some of Almodóvar's films. I think, without seeing it, that this is probably the most interesting film on your list, and might very well be the best although I'd have to see it to know. I added it to my list of to-view films.
1. For A Few Dollars More (1965) - One of the better spaghetti westerns, but I've never been an acolyte of spaghetti westerns (a lot of knowledgeable film people are). To me, they all kind of seem the same.
I will say that compiling a "top 8" is not as easy as it sounds. I would agonize all night over such a list, and probably change the whole thing the very next day. I do think from this list that you might not have seen many films of the 20th century; there's a lot of great ones that some of these choices would pale next to. I'm guessing from your list that you might be Spanish, between the ages of 25-30, give or take, with a fondness for documentaries.
Check out some new wave cinema of the 60's and 70's; you might dig some of that stuff. It was a golden age.
Yeah true, I keep on changing the list and the order. #7 and #8, I sometimes wonder if I should take off. The top 6 is pretty solid, I keep re-arranging the order a little.
As for Macolm X, to say that 2 hours does not do the man justice, the movie is actually 3 and a half hours long, though.
I couldn't think of a top 10 cause there is so much to choose from but I think I pretty much got a top 8 locked down. What do you think?
8. This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)
7. Malcolm X (1992)
6. 12 Angry Men (1957)
5. Sicko (2007)
4. The Truman Show (1998)
3. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
2. The Skin I Live In (2011)
1. For A Few Dollars More (1965)
Maliblue gave a very good critique. No way would any of those movies even come close to my top ten, but tastes vary and I have seen a LOT of film.
Slumdog is, IMO, one of the worst excuses of supposed film that I have ever seen - pure unadulterated crap presented to audiences as art, with many lapping it up. "Lion" was a far far better film in that genre.
Michael Moore films are a genre of their own, over-the-top with a dash of Prairie Home Companion tossed in for a down-home feel. I have rarely laughed so hard as I did in his anti-gun film when he had an actor conceal about twenty weapons and then pull them out one by one. Wiley Coyote couldn't have done it better.
Actually, without the context of what you've actually seen, there is no way to judge your taste in film. If you're 16 years old and have seen 20 or 30 films, well, how can anyone say why did you pick this when this is better? If you haven't seen it, you can't compare it to your top 8. And no one but the op knows what they've seen so far, to date, up until this point in time.
It's just like in the (pick a movie) thread, say Dunkirk (which it not there atm). This film has been hyped to high heaven and everyone and their cousin will see it and have an opinion and want to share it in that thread. They come out of the woodwork and are suddenly film critics. But there is no context as the majority of posters don't post here in Movies, or rarely. So there is no context as to what they like, what they've seen, so it's basically a random comment that can leave you scratching your head. Where did that come from?
It'd be hard of rme to come up with a top 8 list for sure; even if we limit by genre, because some films within the same genre are equally worthy of the no 1 position but for far different reasons so still an apple to orange comparision.
Well as far as Moore's film being manipulation goes, I think that may be kind of naive to say, because movies are all about manipulation. If the filmmaker has strong believes, and wants the audience to feel a certain emotional effect, of course you are going to structure and edit the material in a way, that is going to make them feel what you want them to feel, and of course you are going to leave out certain information, if you feel that it is going to sidetrack the point you are trying to make.
So I feel that movies are all about manipulation to create an effect, unless I am just being cynical about it?
Well as far as Moore's film being manipulation goes, I think that may be kind of naive to say, because movies are all about manipulation. If the filmmaker has strong believes, and wants the audience to feel a certain emotional effect, of course you are going to structure and edit the material in a way, that is going to make them feel what you want them to feel, and of course you are going to leave out certain information, if you feel that it is going to sidetrack the point you are trying to make.
So I feel that movies are all about manipulation to create an effect, unless I am just being cynical about it?
Totally agree; manipulation is inherent in many ways, in film.
In the case of Moore, he manipulates poorly; I mean, he fails to present facts and data in an unbiased manner, and fails to provide full data, what he does is provide partial and skewed data in an effort to manipulate. I feel this causes his message to be lost as he can be dismissed as a biased wacko, even though I concur with much of what he is trying to get across.
With a documentary on such a subject as Sicko addresses, there ought to be zero manipulation and more facts as it is a doc after all; I can forgive the emotional manipulation present in fiction film (though am partial to the sort of films that minimize the emotional manip. factor; I like absence of a music soundtrack for example, as it is blatantly there to manipulate emotion, and minus the soundtrack one's reaction is then based upon only what is happening in the film) but what Moore does is unforgivable and his agenda is lost to those who realize his data is skewed/incomplete.
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