Ben's List

I know, I know, does anyone still post to this list anymore? Six months later, here it is... (By the way, this is my first blog entry EVER.)

Top 10 (paying homage to the great works from HK and China):

Hero
House of Flying Daggers
Infernal Affairs
The Killer
In the Mood for Love
The Godfather
LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring
Saving Private Ryan
Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back
Matrix

Honorable Mention:

Young And Dangerous
Hard Boiled
The Terminator
Footloose
Pulp Fiction
Kingdom of Heaven
The Replacements
Flashdance
Quicksilver

Worst 5 (yes I did actually see these movies, and yes, I'm sorry, too...):

Johnny Mneumonic
Cool World
The Watcher
Grease 2
Showgirls

Calvin's Ultimate Top 10

Ultimate Top 10

Okay, so I'm finally posting to this Ultimate Top 10 site after being kindly reminded to by Rita last night.

First off, the "Givens" - I don't even think these movies should be on anyone's Top 10 list. They're just givens. Defaults, etc. Hence, as a disclaimer I am telling you now that I'm not going to list them:

Back to the Future
Shawshank Redemption
Lord of the Rings
Star Wars
Return of the Jedi
Raiders of the Lost Ark
hell, throw Temple of Doom in here as well.

That being said my top "10", in no particular order. I've attempted to create a list that doesn't really contain too movies from other people's lists, just to mix it up a bit. Too me, what makes a movie great? What makes a movie Top 10 worthy? Simple, it has to hold up to massive repeat viewing. It has to be totally quotable. And I have to be able to basically quote most of the movie by heart. Either that or it simply has to be just be totally cool. My list, in no particular order:

The Princess Bride
When Harry Met Sally
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail
Jerry Maguire
My Sassy Girl
The Professional
South Park the Movie
Groundhog Day
Bring It On

Honorable Mentions, man it was tough to leave these off.

Goonies
Perfect Blue
Chungking Express
The Incredibles
Heathers
X2
Mystery Men
Chasing Amy

Worst 5:
Other People's Money
The Avengers (Uma and Ralph)
Torque
Alex and Emma
Bring It On Again

and Honorable Worst 5 - Pirates of the Carribean 2: Dead Men's Chest. Okay, maybe this doesn't rate the absolute Worst 5, but since it's timely, I'm throwing it in there for now. Talk about horrible.

A.J.'s Top Ten

So here goes - my first attempt at joining any sort of online community or forum - or at least any one that does not include looking at pictures of naked men.

(Please note that the above comment was made before I started my own blog, which I guess I am announcing here:
Adventures of the HipGayChemistryTeacher)

I feel I must say that many of your entries made me think of the films that I have loved over the years. And - wow - Kami has good taste. (Though I did fall asleep during Chocolat.)


AJ's Top Ten List:

1. STAR WARS: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
2. STAR WARS (the original)
3. Collectively the entire STAR WARS saga - considered as a single body of work.

The rest (4-10) in no particular order:

Until the End of the World
Howard's End
Dead Again
(I went through an Emma Thompson phase)
Alien-Aliens (not Alien³, and definetly not Alien: Resurrection - sorry, Joss)
Waiting for Guffman
The Royal Tennenbaums
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory


Honorable Mentions:

Mr. Mom
ET
National Lampoon's Vacation
Groundhog Day
The Princess Bride
Being John Malkovich
Wedding Banquet (Mostly because I was indifferent to seeing it, but my then-wife wanted to go. Clearly, I liked it.)


Other:

Galaxy Quest (Should have made HM, but they would have had to edit out about 30 minutes of the slow material.)


Worst Ever:

Garfield
What Dreams May Come
Patch Adams (I saw this on a date. It was one of the few films I have ever wanted to actually walk out of. So I leaned over to my date and asked what he thought of the film. He said he loved it. I knew it wasn't going to work between us.)

Kevin's Top 10 Films

Fun Blog!

Top 10:

Star Wars V, The Empire Strikes Back
Lawrence of Arabia
Amadeus
Spirited Away
The Shawshank Redemption
Alien
Lord of the Rings, Return of the King
Amalie
The Mission (1986)
The Princess Bride

Honorable Mentions:

La Dolce Vita
Casablanca
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Silence of the Lambs
The Matrix (I)
(Monty Python's) Life of Brian
Bladerunner
The Iron Giant

Worst 5:

I honestly can not remember my worst 5. I know I've seen bad movies. I've walked out of at least 5. Somehow, the details of all that pain are no longer accessible to me. Talk about avoidance...

Okay, I do remember walking out of Moulin Rouge, but I think that one probably only deserves a spot in my worst 20. It sidesteps worst 5 just on the basis of that awesome Bowie/Massive Attack cover of "Nature Boy".

Karen's Top 10 Films

I started to make my list more than a month ago, and since Damon has been egging us on to post our lists so that we can move on to a different Top 10 topic, I'll just go ahead and list the first Top 10 off the top of my head.

In no particular order:

1. The Shawshank Redemption (isn't this true for everyone?)
2. The Hunt for Red October
3. My Best Friend's Wedding (this probably has one of the best endings I've seen for a mainstream romantic comedy)
4. Dead Again (back when Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson still worked together)
5. The Matrix (I remember reluctantly agreeing to see this film with a friend on opening night because I hadn't heard much about it, and it totally blew me away.)
6. LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring
7. The Sound of Music
8. Spirited Away
9. Down With Love (because I love the throwback to the sensibility of the 50's without having to watch an actual film from that period)
   
10. Raise the Red Lantern (one of my favorite Gong Li films)
    

I will refrain from listing Honorable Mentions, because I want to keep this post short. Happy watching!

Julie's Top 10

This was really, really hard. I plan to see a lot of movies this summer, so the honorable mention list will probably get even more bloated. The year is listed beside movies with multiple versions.

Top 10

1. The Matrix
2. French Kiss (1995)
3. Sabrina (1954)
4. Roman Holiday (1953)
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
6. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
7. Pulp Fiction
8. Oceans 11 (2001)
9. Iron Giant
10. ?

Honorable Mentions

I would happily watch any of these over and over again, except for the scary/disturbing ones.

Johnny: Benny and Joon, Pirates of the Caribbean
Drew: 50 First Dates, The Wedding Singer, Firestarter, E.T.
Keanu: The Gift (2000, scary), My Own Private Idaho
Foreign: Casablanca (1942), La Dolce Vita (1960)
Cute couples: The Marrying Man, Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Quirky: A Mighty Wind, Clerks (1994), Napoleon Dynamite, Office Space (1999)
Jackie: Rush Hour, Shanghai Noon
Band geeks: The School of Rock, Drumline, American Pie 2
For the music: Grosse Point Blank, Annie (1982), O Brother Where Art Thou?
Run!: Bourne Identity (2002), Catch Me If You Can, Cloak and Dagger (1984), La Femme Nikita (1990)
Animation: Monsters Inc., Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Over the top: Legally Blonde
Weddings: The Wedding Banquet (1993), My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Muriel's Wedding
Boys: Billy Elliot, About a Boy
Girls: Thelma and Louise, Girl Interrupted
Scary: Cape Fear (1991)
Disturbing: To Die For (1995), American Beauty (1999), Being John Malkovich, Falling Down, The Graduate

5 Worst

1. Spice World
2. New York Minute
3. The Muse (1999)
4. Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
5. a tie between Sweet November (2001) and Meet the Fockers

Rita's Top 10

This is near impossible.

Ultimate Top 10 (in no particular order)
Monsters Inc.
Emperor's New Groove
Point Break
Babe
Labyrinth
Henry V
Matrix
Strictly Ballroom
Groundhog Day
Beauty and the Beast

6 Truly Honorable Mentions
Mary Poppins--Has the shocking potential to even bump Beauty and the Beast, if I ever get the Special 40th Anniversary Edition on DVD! At one point in time, my all-time number one. The "Tuppence" song about feeding the birds, the "Let's Go Fly A Kite" ending, and the jumping in and out of sidewalk chalk art elevatate this into high art for me
Incredibles--Came so close to tempting me away from my number one Pixar love for Monsters Inc.
Amelie--Seamless, flawless, dreamy
L.A. Story--Endlessly quotable, including just the words, "Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful."
Casablanca--Seamless, flawless, miraculous, classic, i cannot explain
Shakespeare In Love--Like Amelie, no good stopping place

I have every line of some of these memorized (because I taped the audio off the tv and then played it in my walkman to fall asleep). Then again, Damon has every line memorized for tons of 80s movies . . . I have no idea why.

2nd-Tier Honorable Mentions
I didn't truly consider these for my personal "ALL-TIME TOP 10." So these are 2nd-Tier by definition, alas.

Whale Rider--Has hot potential to move up. Very new!
Prelude to a Kiss--The portrayal of "Rita" is yes.
Spellbound--Giddy, revealing, wonderful
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure--No explanation needed
Galaxy Quest

Caveats
All of this might change if I could just re-watch:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind--Blew even Being John Malkovich out of the water for me.(!!) LOVE
Eat Drink Man Woman / Wedding Banquet--I'd choose one of these. Probably Wedding Banquet
Moonstruck--Only saw this for the first time last year
School of Rock--Would totally be an Honorable Mention already if not for Bill & Ted's, which also ends in a feel-good concert
Roll Bounce--So new, I don't know if it's just giddiness or the soundtrack talking. LOVE!
Party Girl--Has its own special place in my heart. A perfect gem
Memento--Never saw this, but I bet I would love it

Ultimate Worst
Howard the Duck--I only saw this on TV; does that count??
Cat in the Hat--In the theatre . . . as a trade for a surplus Matrix IMAX ticket. Talk about worst deal ever
Garfield: The Movie--See comments in this other post
Karate Kid III--I've blocked this out but remember leaving the theatre pissed
. . . The Wedding Planner?? Had a terrific opening sequence but was really rotten, after. Still. I'm sure there's far worse I'm just repressing,

r

Howard the Duck makes NEWS

Look! Howard the Duck got cited on CNN.com today as a prime example of horrible:

[The Documentary] "Boffo!" presents a litany of films that defied convention and became major hits, among them "Jaws," "Star Wars," "Tootsie," "Forrest Gump," "Braveheart," "Apollo 13," "A League of Their Own" and "Cast Away."

The documentary focuses mainly on the blockbusters and is relatively light on the bombs, but does examine what went wrong with such duds as "Howard the Duck," "Clan of the Cave Bear" and "The Bonfire of the Vanities."

Full article here, under the brilliant headline "Nobody Knows Anything" [About How to Make a Good Movie]


I have yet to post my own Top 10 (and Worst 5), but Howard the Duck has always been my lead contender for Worst Movie Ever. I can't remember it anymore. I've blocked it out. But I still recall the horror I felt over that ridiculous duck suit, and that they attempted a romance!!

I forget what the duck suit looked like?



Oh, yeah.

(This image brought to you by BADMOVIES.ORG. I couldn't read the plot description and quotes there, though. I tried, but I went blind.)


Check out this quote from a Howard the Duck fan page:

I was very excited about the prospect of the film and seeing one of my favorite [comic book] characters brought to life. However, the film is a great disappointment due to what I call the "Howard Effect." . . . [T]hey cheaped out on the look of Howard and used a little person in a duck suit. . . . [T]hat in itself was the death of the film.

Also: from the Amazon.com review:

If you concentrate on the fact that Howard the Duck was a notorious box office dud (still brought up today) and considered one of the worst films of the '80s, it's entirely possible to enjoy this special effects piffle.

I sense a movie night coming on.

Assuming we can only endure one "Bad Movie" Night (not a series), and at most two titles during that one night, what movies should we watch?

Ishtar?
Waterworld?
Karate Kid IV??

r

the HORROR

they made a sequel to the GARFIELD movie!!!!

what the hell?!??!?

GARFIELD: TALE OF TO KITTIES.

ugh. even the name is wretched....

Irvin's Top 10 (plus more)

This is what I have so far (in NO particular order):

Top 10 (with one spot open)
Party Girl ("HE. HE. HELLO..." Parker Posey rocks)
Welcome to the Dollhouse ("special means retarded")
Ma Vie En Rose (better than Billy Elliot if you ask me)
The Incredibles (the best Pixar yet, but then I have that superhero thing)
Waiting for Guffman (ah more Parker Posey. "I've been working at the DQ for about six months now..." the bonus material on the DVD is fantastic)
Le Femme Nikita (the American and Cantonese remakes sucked big time)
The Opposite of Sex (Christina Ricci at her best)
Muriel's Wedding ("you're terrible Muriel...")
Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion (pure trashy fun, but i can watch it over and over again)

Honorable Mention
Being John Malkovich ("Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich..." this was the first time I realized that Cameron Diaz actually can act)
The Matrix(though Neo rocks, it was Trinity that I loved)
Heathers ("Teen Suicide... Don't Do It!")
The Royal Tenenbaums (really the only movie I've like GWYNETH in.)
House of Yes (Parker again. "Were you poor? Did yo eat chicken pot pie?")
Blue/White/Red (collectively, they are amazing)
Amelie (nothing need be said about this movie other than it's adorable)
Chungking Express (which I had nearly forgotten about, until it was on BENJI's list)
Mystery Men ("I am WAFFLE IRON MAN!")
X-Men 2 (mostly because I have a deep deep love of the X-Men that dates back to grade school - even if they did mess up ROGUE and gave my favorite character of KITTY PRYDE cameo apparances only)

Worth Mentioning, but Not quite Top Ten or Honorable Mention:
King of the Hill (the 1993 movie by Stephen Sonderbergh, not the animated tv show - based in St. Louis!)
Out of Sight (the only J.Lo movie worth seeing)
The Daytrippers (yet another Parker Posey movie. "he's a pointer, with anything to point with...")

Bottom Five:
The Trip (awful, just plain awful gay roadtrip movie)
Sister Act 2 (i wanted to burn my eyes out after seeing it)
People Under the Stairs (wes craven at his WORST)
Garfield (we had to stop watching it on the plane. it was that bad)
Daredevil (and ersatz Spiderman. Ben Affleck was atrocious)

Bottom Five Dishonorable mention:
Along Came a Spider (this was bad, but at least it had MORGAN FREEMAN in it)

Notice that I have listed a bunch of "honorable mention" but haven't filled my Top 10 yet. This is because I love the honorable mention ones, but i don't think they are good enough to list as my all time TOP TEN. I have also left a spot open, just for emergency sake. I don't like to box myself in.

Damon's Top 10

Top 10:
Strictly Ballroom
Babe
Goodfellas
Star Wars
The Shawshank Redemption
The Godfather, Part II
The Matrix
Glory
The Karate Kid
Back to the Future

Honorable mentions (second 10):
Die Hard
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Emperor's New Groove
Amelie
Top Gun
Groundhog Day
The English Patient
The Jerk
The Two Towers
National Lampoon's Vacation

Caveats:
The Godfather (haven't seen it all the way through)
Scarface (haven't seen it, but I bet I will love it)

Bottom 10:
Drop Dead Gorgeous
Howard the Duck
The Cat in the Hat
(to be continued...)