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Whenever a collection of flawed characters in desperate need intersect in movies, it usually manages to stamp out the salad and kill the mood in an elephant in rural China-kind of way. But then they got those Pandas...

And Thomas McCarthy's directional debut is warm and fuzzy, funny in an Bill Murray on Ari Kaurismäki light kind of way, and so bloody confident in its audience that it rides its dramatic subtleties all the way to the train depot. My kind of confidence. My kind of story. My kind of movie.

This is why I love movies, and it's exactly why I'm taking on my new Riding the High-series to get back to watching them a bit more again. A series to revisit movies I already love, adore or respect the heck out of. Movies that in general I've rated 4 stars or more before, or in a few rare genres a 3.5 might have to make the cut. Revisiting The Station Agent just short of 6 years since I last watched it, sure was a brilliant way to get back in the saddle.

I laughed, I grinned like an idiot, and I never even once lost faith in the movie McCarthy made. An absolute gem!

Watched on Sunday June 23, 2019.

Watched on Sunday June 23, 2019.

Watched on Thursday January 10, 2019.

Watched on Sunday February 3, 2019.

Watched on Saturday April 27, 2019.

"but all things considered I wouldn't be shocked if I return in a couple of years..."
-Monsieur Flynn 2013

Yeah, how about that. Turns out I know myself pretty well after all these years.

I couldn't for the life of me give you a good reason as to why I've watched this movie as often as I've done. It doesn't even quite fit the guilty pleasure quota, because I'm not so sure I get all that much pleasure from it. It's more like unhealthy comfort food, and it leaves me more nauseated than comforted, truth be told.

I wonder if I missed something in my younger days. Maybe there's some unknown older woman out there that left a subconscious mark on me? I haven't got a clue who she might be, but looking at the number of revisits both this one and that Sandra Bullock-movie The Proposal has got over the years... I do think it's a legitimate question to ask. Neither of the movies are especially good, I'm not a fan of the humor in them for the most part, and still... Here we go again.

Not much to say about this one, this time around either. It's not a great story, and the story there is to be found aren't done especially well. I like Zeta, I don't hate the kids, and ...well, I wish they took more chances with this one. It doesn't have nearly the edge needed.

It must surely have some redeeming qualities? Probably, but I couldn't tell you. I honestly don't trust my own judgment as far as this movie goes anymore, but nothing springs to mind. Or, well. The swearing was a nice touch. Especially around the kids. It might not be PC, but it is what it is. at least there's that...

Rewatch-probability: ?/5
(Who the hell knows? I wish I could tell you I wouldn't ever watch it again, but somehow I knew last time around that I would back then...)

Unlike the last movie I watched, this one I know perfectly well why I got hold of in the first place. I really enjoyed Émilie Dequenne in both The Brotherhood of the Wolf and in A Housekeeper; two of her other movies from early in her career around this time, so I was always interested in checking out the others she took on in these early years. To get hold of a copy of this one with subtitles proved difficult, but eventually I did succeed.

I feel like I'm barely cheating here. As I searched so long for this largely overlooked and forgotten movie, I knew full well all about its cast and premise, so normally I wouldn't include it among my Oz Airlines-movies. However, as I'm pretty confident only a couple of cinephiles would have been able to say anything at all about this one if you asked a sample-size of one thousand who watches way more movies than the average, I feel like I can get away with it for this one.

It's interesting to find a movie where there's a lot of positive to say about the use of therapy, both within the movie and as help for a character. Normally movies tend to be very negative towards them, or use them as simple plot-devices. Here the therapy is the central element in telling the protagonist's story, and the efficiency varies greatly. Both Émilie Dequenne as the girl in question and Gérard Jugnot as her therapist are excellent. I've always enjoyed Émilie's range, and she once again manages to reach the necessary emotional depth to bring her character to a complex life. Jugnot is also a very comfortable presence throughout the movie, guiding her and us with comion, wisdom and a disarming respectful dignity.

The story might lack the heights to truly elevate it towards its potential. And I'm not necessarily speaking about important heights that make for a climax, but even more subdued ones could have managed it. I've seen several absolutely great movies that managed to elevate without going there, but I don't think this one was close to be such a movie, and without it it just felt like a good ride with something missing.

Émilie Dequenne does however manage to take another step up my latter of respect. Her take on this role adds a few facets to her range that I hadn't seen before, and as such adds to my desire to keep hunting down these rather unknown movies of her. More importantly, I guess I'll have to get around to her debut sooner rather than later; the Dardennes-brothers' Rosetta. A debut that among others earned her the best actress award at Cannes in 1999.

Rewatch-probability: 3/5
(Not one I necessarily see too much upside in revisiting, but there's a tender honesty to it that make for a calmly intriguing little piece I wouldn't mind taking another turn with when I'm in a particular mood.)

Another one of the Oz-movies, and I got to it I have no idea how this one found its way into my collection. My best guess is that it was the closest one to the Some Kind of Wonderful-era Mary Stuart Masterson-movies I came across, and as such picked it up as I really enjoyed her in that one. Reading the title as I stumbled across it today, I certainly had no idea what kind of movie it was.

Anyways. Chances Are is a surprisingly delightful little gem, much thanks to its cast. Robert Downey Jr, Cybill Shepherd, Mary Stuart Masterson and Ryan O'Neal are all delivering good performances, and especially Downey Jr and Shepherd pulls really important parts to get the engine off the ground. Without getting those spot on, this might very well just have become extremely awkward.

But they did, and so this became a more enjoyable experience than it really had any right to. I don't know what it was about the 80s, but I seem to recall a lot of different mind-swaps, reincarnations and similar themes. This one deal with a husband dying in the opening minutes, and then reincarnated to find his way back to the wife he widowed. Seemingly silly enough, and this certainly is lightweight entertainment. But it plays almost all its cards correctly, and the result is a warm movie with a clever sense of humor and plenty of throwbacks to the pre-codes and the screwball-era where lightweight comedies were at their finest. As such this one in some ways remind me of the 1972 Peter Bogdanovich-movie that Ryan O'Neal starred in opposite Barbara Streisand; What's Up, Doc? As this, that one also succeeded in using plenty of inspiration from that golden era of lightweight romantic comedies. Come to think of it, O'Neal and Bogdanovich did the same in their 1973-collaboration Paper Moon as well, so maybe Ryan O'Neal just was born about four decades too late?

I'm not crazy about the opening part of this movie, and it has a very distinctive 80s-feel to its take on the heaven our dead husband barely stops by in. But as soon as the foundation is in place, Downey Jr's reborn character have met Masterson's at Yale, and then happened to find his way to her house through the O'Neal close family friend, it's all uphill from there. Well, at least maybe until the last few minutes, but I'm kind of a forgivable guy about that when it comes to the genre. Some crosses we got to carry as they are inherited with it. Everything in between is so well executed and enjoyable that I'll easily look past both the somewhat slow start and the end.

Rewatch-probability: 2/5
(Sure I enjoyed it much more than I'd imagined, but I got plenty of other lightweights to revisit, and maybe especially those fluffy 30s and 40s ones with the likes of Ginger Rogers, Joan Blondell, Barbara Stanwyck, Hepburn and so on and so forth. Mix in all my guilty pleasures within this genre, and it's very likely this one will have to wait quite a while...)

Unless you like Parker Posey, there really aren't much else to take away from this one. With that said, there's really no good reason not to love Posey. She's a Hal Hartley-girl after all, and not for no reason. Weirdly charming is often mentioned, and deservedly so.

Party Girl feels like it's stuck without an identity. It seems to be made just a few years too early or too late, despite its somewhat time-capsule-like qualities. The ing roles does very little to justify their existence, besides allowing for quite the eclectic 90s New York-esque character-gallery.

Posey is a hoot and a half, thou. A shame now even her character managed to live up to its promise.

Rewatch-probability: 1/5
(despite its possible cult-classic status, I think this one was a one and done as far as my viewings are concerned)

This review may contain spoilers.

A love letter to Yellow Truck Airlines.

I haven't written a review in quite a while, and I've already made a couple of them for this one before, so I'll allow myself some rather unusual time strolling down Spoiler Avenue with this one. I'll make plenty of stops along the way, visiting my favorite barber and the local watering hole and whatnot, so bare with me... or let me stroll along on my own, if you're so inclined. I certainly wouldn't blame you, cause this will be a long stroll...

I've said it before, and it's probably worth repeating; this isn't a highly original movie and it struggles with some cliches, it's pretty far from perfect and it probably knows and acknowledges its shortcomings, and I'm sure that's pretty much enough to ruin it for plenty of people.

I'm obviously not among them. I love this tiny gem of a movie, and it's easily in my top 50 favorites. It's been a decade since its release, and I've already watched this one five times. Considering I probably didn't watch it until 2011 or so, and I've barely seen anything the past two years, that makes for a pretty packed revisiting schedule for it on my part.

And I don't love it for its big punch. It packs one, for sure, but as most great storytellers will confide in you; telling stories is nothing like boxing or martial arts. It's not like that one big moment at the end of the fight, where you still can knock your opponent out with that one big punch or kick, despite being kicked around for most of the fight by your opponent. Telling stories is about getting the audience invested enough ahead of the punch, as it's really only effective enough if we're well on board ahead if it. It doesn't matter whether we talk about Rosebud, Keyser Söze, cancer or whatever. If you as a storyteller depend on that punch to do the job for you, then you've already lost the battle.

So why do I love this movie? I'm not even sure I should know. Sometimes you're better off just taking the win. I still couldn't tell you why I fell head over heels for my first love, and despite its ending and all those years that have ed since... She still holds a part of me I can't explain and don't really understand at all, but I can't deny that part of me. I doubt I'd be doing myself any favors by trying, but at least I do know why I love Keith.

It's raw, emotional and it's brimming with heart. And you can't measure heart. You can't fake it either, and that's the thing about Keith. It knows what story it wants to tell, and it sure as hell knows all its inherit flaws and pitfalls. It doesn't run away from them, but rather embrace it as part of its genetics. If you're going to fall, at least do it by standing up for something. Something that matters. And stand tall, confident in your choice. Keith does, and it doesn't make up excuses for why it does so.

I absolutely love Natalie's story. Sure, Elisabeth Harnois is excellent in this one, but it's the care taken with her character that really drives this one home for me. We've seen it plenty before, and we'll see plenty of it going forward. There's probably an own sub-genre-tag for these kind of movies/stories, although I can't recall what it would be. The kind of stories where one person enter a protagonist's life and spur a big transformation in them. The movie might be named for the main male character, but it's the female one that I always get stuck on here. That's not to say his story is weak or that Jesse McCartney's acting is below average. On the contrary, my friend. They are both an integral part of this movie's DNA, but it might help that I find more people complaining over her choices and actions than his.

Ever since the turn of the millennium we've seen a rise in troubled teenagers over their strive for perfection. Social media certainly are partly to blame. Not just for all those photoshopped perfect models, actors, influencers and otherwise somewhat famous people posting impossible standards on Instagram, Facebook and whatnot, but also for the seemingly perfect lives their friends and acquaintances portrays online. There's an unhealthy strive for perfection inherit, despite most of them fully realizing none of these posts actually reflects reality. The image outward (or facade) are in many ways more important than the realities. That's the kind of pressure no-one measures up against.

But they aren't the only problems. Parents trying to achieve their own faded goals through their children also post a big problem, although not a particular new one. They want their children to go to the best schools, and push them into taking on way too much just to achieve part of it. They want them to succeed in sports, acting, music, dance or whatever, and have them practice hours on end week in and week out despite knowing full well that barely a fraction of a percent of those doing so will ever really come even remotely close to reach the heights these parents dream about.

There are other factors and other ways this new decease spreads, but the result is a generation of youth where many try to live up to impossible standards. They shall have great grades, be social butterflies, plenty of curricular activities on their resume, and in addition compete in a sport or practice hard for dance, music or something like that.

This is the kind of life Natalie lives in her senior year at high school. She's pretty, outgoing and likable, on just about every extracurricular club there is, performs well enough in tennis to be eligible for a scholarship, and has early acceptance to the dream school of her father. Along with that comes a high social standing, plenty of friends, and when the new exchange South-American student catch her eye... he's obviously intrigued and interested.

She's also living her life by the plan. Every day is filled with activities, schoolwork and tennis-practice, and she's making lists and checking them twice. She needs to keep a high enough tennis-ranking to qualify for the $10k stipend, and when she get early acceptance to Duke it's nothing more than an expected goal to check off her list. She's got her road-map, and she's not deviating from it at all.

I'm not saying her parents are monsters or anything, but through several scenes we see that they are obviously way too focused on those goals and expectations. Nor are all encouragements from parents to their kids unhealthy like these ones. Some needs that extra push just to keep their head above water, and some needs some degree of it to achieve the goals they--like their parents--also long for. Natalie isn't unhappy, and these are her goals as well. She knows no other life, as this is the way it's always been. These are the things she's made a priority of.

But they make no road-maps to the paths less taken, and these are the paths Keith comes along to show her. He brings her out of her shell, and he doesn't do it in an attempt to seduce her or win her love. He does it to feel normal for once in his life. He plays a game, but does so from a longing for a connection to the life the rest of the school lives. The life he's spent the weeks looking in at from the outside in the hallways and weekends looking down at across the quarry from his spot with his old yellow Chevy. He's not taking to the game to be cruel or to disrupt Natalie's seemingly perfect life. Although he would probably allow for her being pretty even to himself, the real attraction is her status at school. She's the center of their universe with her involvement in all the clubs, taking part in all parties each weekend, and so on. Already surrendered to his cruel faith, he's got nothing left to lose. It does make him a bit careless about his possible impact on others, but it's hard to fault him when he's got only one dice left to roll.

It's unfair, but then again everyone's got a sappy story. Sure, his is a bit more unfairly cruel than most. He's already lost his mother at young age, and then he get to prepare to die himself before even finishing high school. It's all but impossible to not become angry and bitter, and to feel cheated and view the world as nothing but a cruel joke. It's almost depressing just to watch the story, not to mention live it your senior year in high school. Although most of us will never actually quite be able to fully relate, we sure can sympathize and completely understand the whys of it all as it unfolds.

And what about her then? Much like Keith, she doesn't set out with romantic intentions towards him. She's not a scheming vixen, nor a girl playing the field. She's got her road-map which she dutifully slugs along, from one activity to another. She's also got this new relationship with the exchange student Rafe. A relationship that might not be the flaming one she might have fantasized about, but one that certainly fits into a more typical one for a popular high school girl following the rather good girl-one. Not that she's prudish, as we see in her interactions with Rafe. She might still be a virgin and not be ready to go there, but she's certainly looking to add to her experiences. Not spicing them up exactly, but at least adding some flavor. She don't mind her jeans unbuttoned and his hand under her shirt, and the trip to the cabin has the potential to take the next step.

Princess never the little people

So why Keith? It begins with the dare. He dares her to skip out on her regular year book class if she wants to get their AP-homework done, as he much rather do that in his yellow truck than stay inside at school. The challenge triggers her as much as his slight blackmail over homework does. Doing something she just don't ever do, rather than do what's fully expected from her. That's what first intrigues her. Unlike everyone else, he doesn't expect that of her, but rather encourages her to step out of her comfort zone.

Then his playful and carefree side starts to rub off on her. The playacting around classmates in their AP-class, or the strangers in the elevator at the lawyer office, or the silly bowling balls outside teacher's houses. It's all something she's never experienced. And of course the big one. He doesn't care about school, his GPA, or what happens ten years down the road. It's the opposite of everything she's taught, she's thought and acted on for a long time. It confuses her, annoys her, and somewhere deep down it starts to trigger a question about her own life, whether or not she'd actually it to it.

And she doesn't. Of course she doesn't. He's pushing her out of her comfort zone, and she's been all about following the plan. She pretty early on starts to see him in a different way, as she learns his ways, but that doesn't translate to her being comfortable with being pushed so hard. It's scary to change your ways, and maybe even more so in high school when it's all about fitting in and doing what is expected from your status. You want to take it slow, one small step at a time. The trouble is of course that unbeknownst to her, time is the only thing he hasn't got. So he pushes her too hard, and she withdraws. All perfectly understandable.

It's still inevitable. The heart wants what the heart wants, and they are perfect for each other. At least there and then. She doesn't just give him a glimpse into the other half, bug she's also got empathy, a moral com and kindness. She's not judgmental, although not slow to take up playful banter or teasing. For the outsider short on time, she's the complete package to make his end even more painful, bitter and tragic than he'd expected heading into his last experiment.

For her it might even be worse. She gives herself over completely, and he hits the handbrake to pour a storm on her newfound possibilities. He's brought her out of her shell, taught her a new way to look at life, and dangled the promise of a different life in front of her. When it's taken away, she falls to pieces. I know many dislike some of the emotional sides to this movie, and criticize it for being too over the top. I for one have seen plenty of teenagers react much harder to way less. Hormones magnifies everything for a lot of teenagers at that age, making their highs greater than life and their lows unbearably painstakingly cruelly devastating. It's the double edged sword of dealing with the emotional roller-coaster of youth, however much some of us would like to forget it. So while I'm not exactly crazy about the Rafe-car-chase scene either, I have no problem with the rest of them. They are raw and emotionally heavy, but that's thankfully not the same as being unrealistic.

What I do love most about this movie is however all the unsaid things. It's only 1:34, and it packs so much in it if you allow yourself to look close enough. It doesn't rely on dialogue to do the heavy lifting, but Todd Kessler allows Elisabeth Harnois and Jesse McCartney to do it for him. All the small glances, the way they look away or the way their face just barely give away the changed tone in a scene. All the little things that helps make this movie a lot better than the sums of all its parts, or at least it does so for me.

My favorite non-verbal moments of this movie are many and includes the likes of...
Keith's father telling Natalie that Keith doesn't want to see her then, and without a word telling us so we can see the painful realities of the father. The way he apologizes without actually doing so, while still dealing with his own pain of losing his son way too young after already losing his wife.
Natalie sitting besides Keith in the truck, the first time she its to herself that he's nothing like she expected, just with a sidelong glance at him while he's driving.
The way Natalie and Keith both enjoys the moment after they've playfully on cue been playacting dominatrix and slave just loud enough for their neighbors in AP-class to have heard them.

There are way more I could say about this movie, and especially the second half that I haven't really touched all that much on this time around. I guess I should save something for the 6th viewing's review? I sure as hell know it will be a 6th, a 7th and probably a 10th and 12th as well. This one is a strangely depressing good mood-pill for me. A reminder of youth, a celebration of coming of age, and a gut-punch that doesn't rely on its own strength to knock me out. It draws me in, gets me heavily invested in these two kids with good storytelling and respect for the realities of teen angst, first loves and whatnot, and then it delivers its final blow with precision and delicate imperfection.

No, this isn't one of the fifty best movies ever made. It's probably not even close to one of the hundred best movies I've seen, but I'll stand by it as one of my fifty favorite movies still. Because all its imperfections, and all its flawed moments or less than brilliant cinematography doesn't take anything away from the love and care it's made with. It packs heart aplenty, and as mentioned before; you just can't measure heart. You just know it when you see it, and the fifth time around this one still makes me weak. Maybe even more so than it already did the fourth time, and as long as it keeps doing that it will definitely stay close to my heart.

I respect everyone who doesn't like this one, and I do to some extend understand why they throw out their simple criticisms. To each their own and all that good stuff. To me it's a tour de force of efficient film-making. A reminder of what you can achieve when you tell a story very well, respect its foundation, and allow it to run its course on its own . The reason I ever watched as many movies as I did, and why I went out and searched through those that didn't make a lot of noise, wasn't hyped and rarely anyone ever talked about.

In many ways I'm rather snobbish in my taste, and the big movies of this day and age will almost always get the very low ratings that they thoroughly deserves. But there's just that many movies made by Kurosawa, Bergman, Miyazaki, Melville, Kieslowski and the likes at their best, and I for one are so grateful that these smaller movies can have such an effect on me and win me completely over.

If it wasn't for the likes of Keith, Fucking Åmål, Moonlight Whisper, Hana and Alice, Mädchen in Uniform and New Waterford Girl, my love for movies would never have grown into what it did in the first place. And these mentioned just happened to be a handful of those with coming of age theme. I could easily make a list of 50 movies that never got anywhere close to the kind of attention I feel they deserve, and written a love letter to each of them (and I'm sure I'll eventually do so with a lot of them). Fucking Åmål might be the only one mentioned that doesn't quite fit the bill because of its Scandinavian love back in the day, but it's one of my absolutely favorite movies so it would've felt awkward to leave it out....

Anyways. I'll probably restrict myself to focus on the second half the next time I'll stroll on down Spoiler Avenue about this favorite of mine. I can't promise it'll be equally boring, but I think the odds are ever in your favor at that one. As such I won't take it personally when you stroll on by without saying hi, and if you look down on me because of my love for this one.... Well, shame on you then. You can't choose who you love or what you love. You just do, and I'll be damned if this pearl was the reason I became a closeted elitist. Relax, I would never do that to you Elisabeth Harnois.

tldr; yeah, shocker.

P.S. I love the yellow old Chevy. It's such a fitting car for this movie, and pleasing to the eye as well. Much like the movie itself, it got plenty of personality and heart.

A step up from the latest couple of instalments in the franchise, but that doesn't say much. Charlize Theron is wasted on this. Otherwise the usual dumb loudmouth over the top stuff they have built the franchise on. You should know what you get by now.

Rewatch-probability: 1/5
(Nah, I wasn't entertained much)

It opens well spurring on female power, childish glee and whatnot, and then it goes kind of meh... You keep feeling the male writing behind it, and within a genre already riddled with obstacles... Oh, well.

I've seen plenty of worse lately, and it's not half bad for what it is. I also got some lingering issues with WWII settings for superhero movies. I don't think it work nearly as well as these Marvel and DC guys seem to think, but that's just me, I guess. I'm also mixed about Gal. She seem to lack a certain charisma about her to capture a role like this. She looks good; pretty and all, but I never get the feeling I got from other female leads taking on roles that aim to achieve similar.

Rewatch-probability: 2/5
(Not likely any day soon, but wouldn't quite rule it out either)

In desperate need of a better villain, and henchman, and hero, and so the story goes. Maybe I'm just getting too old for this crap?

Generic shit, pseudo family, lone wolf protector kind of crap I've seen done better, more entertaining and a heck of a lot more intriguing than this. Probably doesn't help that Cruise gives me the creeps just by ogling a woman... Kind of a flashback to the Free Katie days.

Rewatch-probability: 1/5
(I'd rather give the other Cruise-franchises a go again, and that's saying something... but probably most of it about me.)

There's a saying about the number of chefs relating to the mess, and there's six writers getting credits in this movie... I'm just sayin'

I don't mind taking Spidey back to his early days and being a kid rather than a pseudo grown up, or whatever, but I hated the execution. I didn't enjoy the story, I wasn't entertained and i hated the attempts at comedy as well as its tie-ins to the rest of the Marvel universe.

More than anything, it feels like it's pity that makes this avoid the half star rating. Not sure that's the entire reason, but I was certainly bored as hell.

Rewatch-probability: 1/5
(Nah, I'll rather watch the Raimi years, the Dunst and Stone years, and what not. This wasn't made for me.)

Have you ever wondered what happens when you capture footage of a six-year-old playing with his Transformers for two and a half hour, and then you get Micheal Bay to re-shot it all into a movie; scene by scene and line by line?

In a franchise riddled with bad sequels, this is the one that makes a few of them seem like Summer Blockbuster Hall of Fame material.

If anyone who has hit puberty got writing credentials from this one, they should all be fined with eight-digit figures (and preferably bankrupt them in the progress).

And the two new female characterizations are probably enough to ban the "actresses" from Hollywood under the 'traitors to own gender'-parole. What else is new with Bay?

Rewatch-probability: 1/5
(You've got to be kidding me? Did you just ask that with a straight face?)

Zoey Deutch has obviously potential, but that's about all I take away from this one. Fully understand why they didn't spin on with the sequels from this franchise-opener....

Watched on Saturday May 27, 2017.

Watched on Friday May 26, 2017.

The only thing more puzzling than Kate Beckinsale's dedication to this franchise, might just be how underappreciated her talent is.

Here's to you, my dear, and more than a decade's worth of franchise trying to figure out if spandex, latex or leather is the correct description of Selene's preference.

How do you spell abomination?

I'm very fond of Sorkin, and this one is the blueprint that he later built The West Wing on. In fact, he spent quite a few of the same lines, actors and ideas in that show later (but then again, he often recycles his material).

The romance drags and as a main focus for this presidential take it's not really all that. But the dialogue, the walk-and-talk, the Sorkin-pen and all that is quite refreshing. Not nearly as well done as he later would, but it's a start.

Reiner does well enough with the Sorkin-material, but it's not the kind of material he had to work with in the 80s. Strange to watch Martin Sheen in the oval office without being The President....

Rewatch-probability: 1/5
(Nah, I'm much more inclined to keep on revisiting TWW every so often, and as far as movie-scripts go; he's done better)

John Boorman's Excalibur is the manifestation of everything Verhoeven gave a good kick towards in his Flesh + Blood a few years later, but that's not to say Boorman's take on this legendary tale isn't among the best out there.

Much like Verhoeven's movie, also Excalibur is uneven and with obvious areas it doesn't succeed. This is however not nearly as ambitious a project, and it's most definitely squarely within the schmaltzy that is easy to detest. I wish it wasn't so, for at its best this is excellent done. Some of the scenes are fabulous, some of the writing is both adventurous and ambitious, and some of the choices are inspired.

Sadly, there is also quite a bit of weak stunt-work, table-reading dialogue that takes me straight out of the medieval setting, and acting that is stiff. It lacks the sheer joy of Errol Flynn's Robin Hood, the magnitude of Peter Jackson's battles in the LOTR-trilogy, and the brute realism of Verhoeven. As such, there's most definitely plenty of room for improvement.

Helen Mirren as Morgana is, at times, a sight for sore eyes. Some of the monumental glory of this magnificent legend, is sometimes coming alive on the screen. And every so often they manage to add a certain brutality and sensitivity that elevates this adaptation above many others. In the grand scheme of things, that's not nothing. Not enough to be especially memorable or a classic, but it's at least easy to see why so many tries to make their own take on this tale. There's room for a true classic within.

Rewatch-probability: 2/5
(A bit too long for easy rewatches, but every so often there is gold within this Boorman creation.)

As usual, Paul Verhoeven has the pair of brass cojones to make the kind of movie Hollywood would never dare even attempt. It's not his best work, nor is it by any stretch a great one, but the ambitions, the creative foresight and the bloody guts are there as shining lanterns.

This background will resurface every so often. It's just too bloody visual and cinematic not to, and in the 80s it had its heydays. From Excalibur to Krull. From Ladyhawke to Conan. And in the midst of it all, Verhoeven made this as his first international movie after making a name for himself through his Dutch outputs culminating in the 1983-movie The 4th Man.

Here are none of the caricatures and cliches we are used to. There are none noble knights, and the noble Lords are back-stabbing greedy men that don't honor their word. There are no maiden in white waiting at the end of the quest, and the protagonist is perfectly cast with an Rutger Hauer in his early 40s--battle-worn, self-serving and a fair cry from the knights of the round table.

Verhoeven delivers a reversed Disneyian take on medieval times, as opposed to the glorified takes those have on the grim realities of fairy tales. That's why it works so well despite its shortcomings. That's why you absolutely love so many of the scenes, despite some failures in the storytelling.

The following part of this review will be spoilers.....

Jennifer Jason Leigh is excellent in this movie, in a very difficult role that few actresses have the guts to take on. Sure, she had to prance around naked for a lot of it--as if that alone isn't reason enough for most to reject it. She was also stripped bare of any dignity early on by a very graphic group-rape, as more movies should dare do with similar themes. These are mercenaries depicted, and they are angry and humilated after they have been betrayed by their leaders. They would and should lash out given the opportunity, and not be painted with the romanticized brush that most do. Half the age of Hauer, and Jen stands up and goes punch by punch with him throughout the movie. I'd like to see which of todays starlets that would embrace this kind of project today.

They kill, ravage and rape. They take what they want and can, and afterwards they feast with their loot--and their victims burning close by. They are appaling, but also strangely appealing. Not because we like them, but because they are so much closer to the realities of their time and profesions--and we embrace Verhoeven's vision and guts to put it all there on display. That's what makes so many of the scenes so extraordinary. It's not the filth, gore and exploitations, but the realities when the glorified veil is pulled aside.

Spoilers end.....

Everything doesn't work. Some of the storytelling lacks the clarity and drive it should have had. A couple of the characters aren't as well done as most. A couple of the sidesteps doesn't quite manage to live up to the broader spectre.

It's okay. I much rather take this, than the usual schmaltzy stuff Hollywood delivers. I don't need perfection, as long as I'm entertained, as long as I'm challenged, and as long as I can stay behind the vision of the director. I most definitely can with Verhoeven, and I'm thoroughly entertained and challenged along the way. And when some of the scenes are so magnificently done as here....

You can have your maid Marion from the tales of Robin Hood, your Genevieve of the Camelot tales, or your Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Just leave me Agnes, and I won't care for the lack of whites.

Bravo, Verhoeven. You didn't outdo yourself, but you certainly did enough...again.

Rewatch-probability: 4/5
(Yes, please. Sure, its imperfections and lenght makes it a movie I won't be returning to too often, but as long as they don't make more like these, I'll have to keep returning for the few that delievers, deliciously.)

Oh, it was a simpler time. Still, a bit too simple for my taste. I understand Louis de Funès became a beloved comedic icon of , and even Europe in general during the 60s and 70s, but I'd much rather take the old legends of the 20s and 30s myself. Not to say Louis de Funès doesn't show proof of his talent and his energetic style and many facial expressions, but the comedy is for the most part a bit too naive and simple.

This tale of an ambitious police officer that is promoted and transferred to St. Tropez, where he goes with his daughter, isn't especially funny or entertaining. Likable enough, but that just doesn't cut it in my book. Struggled to get through it, and I won't be checking out the future instalments it spurred for a blossoming Le gendarme-franchise.

Rewatch-probability: 1/5
(Nope. Once is once too many as far as I'm concerned.)

If it wasn't for Felicity Jones, I'm pretty sure this one would have received the half star rating. It's a bloody pulpy mess of a story, and I struggled really hard to sit through it. The characters are just thrown in there without much planning, and it's all rather weird how anyone would sign up for this project.

As stated before, I haven't read the novels. I noticed that some complain that the original ending has been screwed up here. I for one have enough problems with all that came before the ending, so it probably wouldn't matter much to me. Hard to believe screenplay-adaptor Koepp once co-adapted Jurassic Park with Crichton....

Rewatch-probability: 1/5
(I would do a lot for Felicity Jones, as proven by revisiting the first two instalments of this franchise before watching this, but I won't do that... I just won't ever watch this crap again)

I can't stand religion. I should probably go as far as saying I hate religion, but I try not to drench my heart and soul in such...

On the other hand, I find faith an iring quality. I have no problems with faith. Everyone should be free to think, feel and believe whatever they want. My problems only arrive when it becomes systemized. When religious leaders takes advantage of their positions, or they don't speak up against evil.

I don't care whether or not people believe in Allah or God. I don't care whether they read the Koran, the Torah or the Bible. I do however have major problems when priests, bishops and popes doesn't speak up against all those s of sexual abuse done by priests under them in the system. And I do have major problems with religious leaders that still haven't managed to turn around the tide and manage to understand and make their flock understand that the stoning or whipping of a girl that has been raped is wrong. It's just wrong. No matter what faith, what screwed up logic, or if she walked around naked and teased every boy and man in her village. No girl or woman should be punished through the following of some ancient religious crap, in addition to the outrageous crime already been heaped upon them. It's just wrong, and as long as religion doesn't speak up against these kind of things, I'll keep despising religion.

As such, a franchise that takes quite a few stabs at church should have the potential of endorsement? Well, this franchise keeps going downhill. This movie is even worse than the first in length versus interesting aspects, and the sidekick female is just poor writing. Then, this is mostly dull. Not crap, much thanks to Vatican City, but dull nonetheless.

Rewatch-probability: 1/5
(I'd much rather try to change interpretations of religious texts in the eyes of religious leaders, than try to sit through this one again)

Filed under things I do for Felicity Jones, and she doesn't even know my name. Oh, Felicity. If you only knew...

The Da Vinci Code franchise is the dull, old, religiously challenged uncle of franchises like National Treasure and Tomb Raider. The movies are overlong, Tom Hanks' Robert Langdon is quite dull, and the female sidekicks are strangely attached--although Audrey Tautou's Sophie in this one isn't anywhere near as badly done as in later instalments.

Speaking of, Tautou is definitely one of the reasons I can stand this movie--all things considered. Haven't read Dan Brown's novels, and somehow I doubt I'll ever get around to it. A shame really, because when it comes to explorations, digging into church does offer quite a few great possibilities. Whenever we look at exploring adventures, the two main interesting things is exploring the unknown and exploring the history for secret clues left behind by smart men and women in a different time.

Besides Tautou, also McKellen, Bettany, Molina and Reno does well here. I've never been a fan of Tom Hanks, and this franschise never helped his standing with me. He's not much of a hero, and it's of course much more entertaining to watch Cage bicker with his ex-wife or Lara Croft prance around, than it ever is to listen to Hanks go on about religious symbols and church lore.

Rewatch-probability: 1/5
(Seen it twice now, and for all of Tautou, I can hardly imagine ever doing it again.)

Luis Buñuel's swan-song does get quite a bit of positive attention, but it never managed to reel me in. I can appreciate both the theme and the trickeries from Buñuel to approach it, but the movie doesn't engage me--unlike the way filmmakers like Kurosawa, Bergman, Sautet, Rohmer, Kieslowski, Renoir and Rivette does with theirs. As such, it ends up as an attempt I can appriciate, but not quite bother to consider all that great.

More than anything, my problems are with the set-ups of quite a few of the scenes, the flow of the events and dialogies, and how it all doesn't feel coherent enough even around its main theme. I got a distaste from that early on in the train compartment, and it never really let go.

There are still touches I really like, observations I find intriguing, and filmmaker-creativity that is somewhat inspired, so it's not like I didn't find it worth my while overall. Hopefully Buñuel will manage to connect with me in the next few movies of his I'll watch, but so far he's like a distant cousin I barely exchange a few words with whenever we bump in to each other.

Watched to check it off my TOTAGA-list.

Rewatch-probability: 2/5
(I still have plenty of other Buñuels to get around to, and so far this one is probably likely to await turn in a rewatch-cycle as well, but it's not impossible that I'll return one day to see if it has the power to win me over)

Frank Nesbitt's Dulcima is a blast from the past. Not only from the early 70s, but also in many ways with an echo from the Victorian novels and movies. The difference is--mainly--that Dulcima makes no excuses for its story nor its characters. There are no fancy dress-ups, no eloquent language and no noble men or women. It's certainly a refreshing change of pace, especially in this day and age.

Dulcima is a simple girl, working her arse off home for her parents accompanied the constant complaining of her lazy father. She dreams of elegance, refined clothing and her prince--all created in her imagination from ads in magazines.

Mr. Parker is the rich and old widowed farmer that hides his fortune away all over the house, thanks to his distrust of banks and his hatred of taxes. He drinks too much and his farm looks like crap--in desperate need of someone to keep it clean, change curtains, keep the animals out of the house and so on.

As these two intersect it's all the typical foundation for a heartwarming tale of convenience, or for a tragedy. Whatever happens, the most interesting part of this adaptation of H.E. Bates' story, is that writer-director Nesbitt doesn't hide the realities. Carol White's Dulcima uses her youth, curves and sexuality to achieve steps of her ambitions. John Mills' Mr. Parker is amazed by the changes she manages around the farm when it's kept clean, but neither he nor Nesbitt denies the fact that factors like her breasts and his re-awakened lust plays more of a role.

As such, it's not unlike the tales told lovingly from the past centuries, but done so with an honesty and injection of a female protagonist that spends her assets without apologizing for it. Whether or not the sum of all parts is a step forward or a step back is something for wiser women or men than me to answer, but I would definitely like to see someone do a contemporary take on the same kind of theme. It would be interesting to see what kind of choices they'd land at.

Mills and White are mostly great in the leads, and they both show an excellent understanding of the material at hand, and some comic timing that works well within the scope of things. There are a couple of scenes where I felt White might have needed at least another take, but overall there's a range to her performance that makes up for those few exceptions.

Dulcima isn't a movie you're ever likely to get the opportunity to watch, but should it ever come along, there's certainly a lot worse ways to spend an hour and a half. More so because it will challenge you and your views of the world in a couple of interesting ways. I don't think it quite elevates to the heights it could have reached, but it's a good movie with a breath of some things you'll rarely see. That's not something all that many movies can stand by.

Rewatch-probability: 2/5
(Yes, it might be interesting to revisit one day with the knowledge I now got, and maybe especially after I've seen a couple of classic Austen/Bronte-tales, or their likes)

Watched on Tuesday January 10, 2017.

Another one I've been meaning to get around to for ages. Honestly not sure whether or not I've seen it in the late 80s or early 90s, but have at least not seen it for a couple of decades--and been meaning to do so.

Beetlejuice feels like a really good first pitch with a couple of brainstorming thoughts thrown into the mix, but then it never got worked out. It's like they settled for that pitch and those spur of the moment additions, and never bothered to adjust the kinks and address the flaws. Not necessarily a disaster with a director like Buron, as you don't want to completely wash out the creativity and imagination of it all, but in this case I feel like the classic status of the movie must be very tightly woven with nostalgia.

Wynona is always a nice addition from way back when, I see the future Deep-roles in Keaton's take on the titular character, and the switcharoo between the normal ghosts and the highly bizarre new owners of their former house is understandable enough as a choice--albeit I don't think it worked out especially well, as Wynona's parents mostly just bored the crap out of me.

Enjoyable enough, and even inspired in parts, but overall pretty far from what I expected considering its status and how well I enjoyed Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Also watched to check it off my TOTAGA-list.

Rewatch-probability: 2/5
(Not all that unlikely, but I won't be in a hurry)

A long overdue time to spin the bottle again, and this time I'm at least perfectly well aware of why I got hold of the movie in the first place. I've noticed it mentioned on several lists of overlooked movies, undervalued movies or underseen movies--like Crouse's list--and always meant to give it a go. Something has always held me back though, and I honestly think it could easily have been another decade or two until I got to it, if the bottle hadn't intervened.

I wasn't too impressed though. I think the first two-thirds mostly felt like a too long double-episode of some rather dull crime-show like Criminal Minds or something, and that neither the characters nor the tale was interesting enough. It doesn't quite manage to outgrow those problems either, but some things about the script are nice touches and at least makes up for some of the eye-rolling early on.

In all fairness, it has to be said almost everything religious is a turn-off for me, and we've seen plenty of religiously inspired murderers roam movies throughout the ages. I like a murder mystery more than most, and I can fully appreciate crime movies without mystery just because they manage to get the atmosphere right for their story, and so on. With Frailty I'm never close to get very invested.

Not like I regret watching it, but there was a stretch when I seriously just wanted to switch it off. That I could see the writing on the wall way too early probably didn't help either.... In quite a few movies it doesn't hurt to know what is coming, as the journey, the atmosphere or whatever is as important as what is to come. In Frailty's case it probably hurt a bit too much... I will for sure not ever rate this among most overlooked movies or anything like that.

It should probably be mentioned that McConaughey's role here reminded me a lot of the opening of season 1 of True Detective...

Rewatch-probability: 1/5
(Definitely not. One of those been there and done that movies, and I can't possibly see why I would ever revisit it)

Outland has some redeeming qualities that goes a long way, but in the end it really wasn't all that for me. The storyline felt too flat for me, and I yearned for depth and some motivation that didn't come across as whimsy.

Among the redeeming qualities, s Sternhagen's Dr. Lazarus definitely deserves a top mention, ahead of the set design and special effects--including the miniatures. I've always had a weakness for worn down environments in space, much like this mining colony, but Outland never manages to gain the kind of atmosphere possible from such.

The connections to High Noon hurts this one a lot, especially as the script kept letting it down. Then a line like "I could use a little help" feels so wrongly injected, and I could definitely need a little help in understanding why I should care much about Connery's character. The stakes feels flat, the characters thin, and the whole thing becomes another B-SciFi.

As such, it's pretty good--making it an okay movie overall, but okay only takes you so far...

Rewatch-probability: 2/5
(Not sure I'll gain much more from ever revisiting, but I won't rule it out. There's quite a few interesting aspects beyond the script & story, that might get me back to Io again some day)

I've wanted to revisit this one for quite a while, and after Barely Lethal yesterday, this seemed like the best possible opportunity to do so. I only regret not getting around to it sooner.

Clueless is nothing short of a classic. Writer-director Amy Heckerling have created something utterly unique, and somehow managed to hit all the right notes to make a contemporary take on Jane Austen's Emma something much larger. From the top of my head, only a handful of teen-movies even deserve comparison.

With a mid-90s take on Emma, it really couldn't take place anywhere but LA. We were halfway through Beverly HIlls, 90210 at the time, and as such there's no wonder Cher was saving her cherry for Luke Perry, while Christian wonders whether his leather jacket is James Dean or Jason Priestley. Darren Star's teen-soap made a worldwide impact we are unlikely to ever see again from such a show, and in between the typical Princess-like theme and Victorian aristocracy, Cher almost just had to live in a mansion-style luxury environment.

The most interesting part of the movie is probably its lack of the bully-character we see almost everywhere else in high school movies. For all their Queen Bee and popularity, Cher and Dionne are likeable despite their clueless materialistic want-nothing lifestyles, and they take on their Pygmalion project with the best of intentions. Sure, they are running high on their teacher-success, but this pre-social media era is also a reminder that we aren't dependent on overcoming evil/bullies to create a transformation.

My favorite part of Clueless is the way Amy Heckerling lovingly cares for her creations. Almost in her mid-40s at time of directing, she doesn't look down her nose on her characters nor the generation she puts under the microscope. She didn't have the advantages the likes of Linklater had with Dazed and Confused, Bogdanovich with Last Picture Show or Mottola with Adventureland; she didn't look back at an era past a couple of decades ago, and then sliced out the things worth ing, the things that would ring through for the audiences, or the nostalgia to spin off. She made her movie in its own time-capsule of the mid-90s, and thank god she did. I can't imagine it standing up as well if she didn't. Even the things you can't quite relate to any longer, works all the better for its authenticity of being captured then and there.

And within that she managed to create a beloved heroine that despite her shallowness and popularity, in no way is mean, hateful or broken by fear. Despite having the classical fall from grace-moment, she doesn't ever come close to play on her own popularity to drag others down. In a time where close to half the voting Americans found it in their hearts to vote for a small person like Trump, it might be time to listen to a shallow princess from Beverly Hills; it does not say R.S.V.P. on The Statue of Liberty...

Heckerling might lack some of the punch Austen had in her pen, but that's not to say this isn't extremely well written. It's quotable, creates its own lingo that grew to common phrases, and it does it all more or less within the spirit of Austen. Clueless isn't so much a contemporary adaptation of Emma, as it is a time capsule of the 90s with the same theme and lessons as Emma. The soundtrack is excellent, the settings at times the same, its pop-culture humor is loving rather than mocking, and the satirical elements and its considerations of teens are done with class and a certain style that is all too uncommon.

Clueless doesn't try to be more than it is, although it certainly could have achieved that as well if it tried a little harder and spent thirty or forty more minutes doing so, but still... There's an unspoken aspiration in the material that has to be both acknowledged and contributed as a major factor as to why it still works so incredibly well two decades later. Because of that it doesn't come across as pompous, overbearing or lecturing, but rather succeeds beyond anything Heckerling could possibly have imagined.

It helps that Alicia Silverstone is excellent in it. We all though this Aerosmith-girl would go places after watching this one, and somehow she never again entered these heights. In other roles Dan Hedaya, Paul Rudd and Brittany Murphy are certainly the ones worth most attention--in hindsight as well as because of their performances.

Clueless isn't perfect, and I can see why there still are plenty of people who thinks of it as less than me. It certainly helped that I was a teen back then, it helped that I grew up with the transition to PC, mobiles and social media, and it helps that I love Austen. Still. I suspect most of those that doesn't love this, still sells it too short. There's a depth here that goes beyond the lessons taught, the Austen-motive of the original material, and the double-edged sword of teens as its focus.

To me, Clueless is a modern classic. One with the potential of being re-done in any time and place, but I wouldn't hold my breath for anyone to manage to do so anytime soon. This one is just too well done for many to try, and for the few that does; the bar is set so impossibly high.

Rewatch-probability: 5/5
(Definitely not going to be as long to my next revisit of this one)

I was pleasantly surprised by Barely Lethal. Sure, it's not a great movie. It can't compare to the likes of Mean Girls, Heathers and such, but some of the terrain it tries to manoeuver, it does manoeuver with ease and a good understanding of its own ancestry.

I especially enjoyed the way Hailee's character's understanding and knowledge of high school came from a distorted planning based on teen-movies and -TV-series. I enjoyed most things built from that premise.

I could have done without a few of the other threads they pulled at, and especially the romances of the movie are weak in execution. We don't see much of Jessica Alba or Samuel L. Jackson either. The latter did well, and it was good to not have him do yet another ing role overacting bad guy, but then again they left that for Alba... I'm really missing the mutant girl of Dark Angel.

Anyways. Nothing outstanding about this, but I'm surprised that I seem to have enjoyed it quite a bit more than most. That's rather unusual. Then again, high school movies and tv-shows have been a guilty pleasure of mine for a long time. As such, the spoofing and twistings of the genre are well suited to entertain me if done halfway decent.

Dove Cameron was an interesting new acquaintance for me. I've never seen her in Liv and Maddie or any of the other Disney stuff she's done, but she definitely had a certain edge and charm to her that should bring her some job offers in the years to come. I'm still not sold on Hailee Steinfeld, but I guess I'll have to await The Edge of Seventeen for that one...

Rewatch-probability: 3/5
(Yeah, it's likely I will one day try to revisit it, mostly just to figure out if my over-average rating of this movie just was a fluke of the right movie at right time variety, or something else..)

This is why I try to avoid trailers, because somewhere deep down in my muddled mind I suspect this movie has tricked itself through repeated infections from trailers. This is also a hard learned lesson in checking out credits, as one of the co-writers of it also is responsible for the disgraceful waste of perfectly good celluloid that Material Girls is.

This movie isn't that bad, but then again, I have yet to watch anyone that is. I even debated for a few second whether or not should rate this half a star or a full star. I'm pretty sure I made the right choice in the end. This just wasn't funny at all, and it was a chore to sit through most of the stereotypical cliches and dialogues. I did chuckle once, I think, but I can't for the life of me why.

Rewatch-probability: 1/5
(No, just, no.)

Wasn't very impressed by this when I watched it 5 years or so ago, but for whatever reason I got an urge to revisit last year. Finally got around to it, and for a popcorn movie that doesn't really ever try to be anything more than a silly oneliner 80s inspired actioneer... it does somehow pull off enough to not annoy me.

Purely guilty pleasure and mostly for the dialogue (as far as oneliners can be called dialogue). It' not great. Well, it's not even good... Come think of it, it's not quite even okay, and yet it didn't feel as wasteful a revisit as so many others I've done of better movies.

Rewatch-probability: 2/5
(Well, twice is probably at least once more than was needed, but I'm not fully confident I won't get a silly urge again in another decade or so....)

On paper, I have no problem understanding why it would be so easy to pitch 10 Cloverfield Lane as an exciting project. It has plenty of potential, but the execution works too often against its own well being. There are choices taken in the build-up of its core, that is then left totally without a follow-up at all. Other strands are only slightly touched upon at all, before being left in the wake of new disastrous decisions. Even the title and the tagline work against its strongest points, and as such I was never really won completely over.

It's a movie that had the potential to do several things really well, but in the end it ended up being rather dull and telegraphed in form. Too many things are too obvious, too many things lacks a certain courage in storytelling, and the characters within were never fully fleshed out. It gave me an aspiration for what it could have been, more than a satisfaction over what it actually was.

Still not a completely waste. It helps that I usually enjoy Goodman very much, and that Winstead have shown some promise elsewhere. Here, I feel both are let down more by the script and director, than by their own actual performances.

Rewatch-probability: 1/5
(Nah, I'd rather revisit a few others that relate to its themes and aspirations)

Soulless, lacking depth, rather dull for long stretches, and Alicia Vikander's Heather Lee is as much of a poorly written hollow shell as Julia Stiles' Nicky Parsons was back in the trilogy days of Jason Bourne--one of the few complaints I have with those three--and I'm so sick and tired of female roles written like that.

Not that the gender of the character is what makes it so weak. It's been a common thread with with Greengrass' Bourne-franchise, and it's definitely not his strong suit to add layers to his characters--neither with his directing nor the writing. Earlier the tale told have managed to engage and entertain more than enough to gloss over these failures, but this time around... the movie feels like exactly what it is; an unnecessarily tagged on instalment. The stakes are lower than ever, and the tentacles of the Agency are busy doing god knows what--and I couldn't possibly care less about any of it.

Another great example of how to not do an actioneer-sequel, and yet is's nowhere as bad as the worst franchises like Die Hard, Transformers, Taken or Fast and Furious has served up in later years--for whatever that is worth.

Rewatch-probability: 1/5
(I need to revisit the original trilogy just to shake off the bad taste in my mouth from this one, and Alicia is nowhere captivating enough to make this one worthwhile even from a shallow point of view)

Watched on Friday December 23, 2016.

Watched on Thursday December 22, 2016.

Watched on Saturday July 23, 2016.

I couldn't for the life of me tell you why I didn't rate it half star, and I don't think I'll insult my brain by trying to re-cap my evaluation.

Rewatch-probability: 1/5
(In twenty years, when the next sequel comes around, I still won't remind myself of this one....)

Watched on Tuesday November 8, 2016.

Watched on Monday November 7, 2016.

Watched on Sunday November 6, 2016.

Watched on Saturday November 5, 2016.

Watched on Saturday November 5, 2016.

Watched on Saturday November 5, 2016.

Established in 1982, Hong Kong Film Awards have gone on to award 31 best pictures so far, being awarded for the Best Hong Kong film of the year, spanning a wide range of movies being recognized. There's been comedies, classic Hong Kong action, Jackie Chan-style action, gripping drama, raw violence, artistic beauty and historic movies based on legends as well as real events. In common they've had quality, whether in pure delightful entertainment or thought-provoking masterpieces.

So if you're new to explore Asian cinema outside the latest rush of Korean movies gathering recognition everywhere, a Hong Kong Awards' Best Picture winner would be a good place as any to start...

Also check out The Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures as released by Hong Kong Film Awards to celebrate 100 years of Chinese cinema.

1. Father and Son

   1982

2. Boat People

   1983

3. Ah Ying

   1984

4. Homecoming

   1985

5. Police Story

   1986

6. A Better Tomorrow

   1987

7. An Autumn's Tale

   1988

8. Rouge

   1989

9. Beyond the Sunset

   1990

10. Days of Being Wild

    1991

...plus 29 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

A slow ease back into movies, revisiting some of my old favorites, old classics and whatnot; movies previously rated 4 stars or higher, usually... (with maybe the rare exception for some genres....)

• The Station Agent

...or mostly Blockbusters: Revisited.

I've spent some time with n.o.i.s.e. the past week, so I guess this was the logical evolution. We're coming up at another summer blockbuster season, and one step up (or down, all depending on the point of view) from noise, is blockbusters--and especially the summer popcorn ones.

I'll rank them according to my fresh experience of them, and I'll tag all of these "bbb". Some of them I won't have seen in decades, and a very few I haven't seen at all. Some of them might not even be considered blockbusters, but I'll still take my subjective ruling as to which I'll include here. I'm looking to revisit and re-asses the hyped ones, the ones that dominated the box office, and the ones that made all kind of fuzz before they eventually bombed at the office. Franchises, movies they hoped would launch franchises, superhero-adaptations and crappy adaptions of YA-novels are also to be expected these days.

They'll almost exclusively be American, big, loud, obnoxious and dumb, but I still doubt many of them will be worse than Godzilla that I watched just the other day... As such, I'll include that one here as well, just to have a low-bar to compare the rest to....

For this list, I'll only consider the movies that go for the action/adventure/superhero/thriller/fantasy/spy/disaster/Sci-Fi-side of things, so there will be no Titanic, Pretty Woman, Bridget Jones' Diary or animated Pixar-movies thrown in here. This is the one for all those Pirates of the Caribbeans, Die Hards, Terminators, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Supermans, Batmans, Transformers, Indiana Jones', Armageddon, The Rock, Jurassic Parks, Jason Bournes and whatnot... I'll however also allow for comedies that tend to go towards any of these genres, and as such include crime-comedies, buddy-cops, Ghostbusters, Back to the Future and whatnot

I've also chosen to add a small handful of movies that I've seen in the last year, but that I haven't seen fresh for this particular rating. I sill choose to include them now, with the tiniest of reservation regarding their ratings, but to give an overall idea over my popcorn-ratings in general. These are the ones included without a fresh viewing;

Raiders of the Lost Ark, Alien, Die Hard, Aliens, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, Furious 7, John Wick, Kingsman: The Secret Service, X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. Alien
3. Die Hard
4. Jaws
5. Star Wars
6. The Empire Strikes Back
7. Jurassic Park
8. Aliens
9. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
10. John Wick

...plus 55 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Small towns (, small stories, big hearts....)

I'm looking for all kinds of those small town movies, but you know; preferably good ones... Stories where the town itself almost feels like a character of its own, or it sets the tone for the movie, its main character(s) or whatnot.

I value all recommendations, especially since this is a sub-genre I got a real weakness for.

1. The Last Picture Show
2. Lars and the Real Girl
3. The Spitfire Grill
4. Heavy
5. Eye of God
6. Hot Fuzz
7. The Year My Voice Broke
8. Election
9. Wonder Boys
10. Beautiful Girls

...plus 177 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Definitely not in Kansas anymore.

Raffle through my gigantic collection for unseen movies, and whenever I come across a movie I don't immediately know what is based only on its title (or at least I don't always know what the premise is or the cast are, as my brain holds an abnormal amount of information about movies after years browsing for hidden gems and whatnot, making it almost impossible to at least have some info on a movie just based on the title...), I'll get it watched next without looking any more into it beforehand.

So, I'll never quite know what I put on at any given time. Seems the only way to actually get around to some of the titles I've had around for ages without a view. Hopefully I haven't got too much strange shit to stumble upon, but I honestly have no idea about some of the stuff. I suspect there will be some really strange ones coming...

• Party Girl
• Chances Are
• Yes, But...

In a 2010 survey, the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival asked 122 film professionals to vote for the 100 greatest Chinese-language films. Most of the voters were from Taiwan, but film professionals from Hong Kong and China and Chinese cinema experts from other countries participated as well. You can see the individual ballots on the Golden Horse website.

List-makers note: Since A Chinese Odyssey is 2 parts and usually occupy 77th & 78th in lists, I've still decided to place Part II at 101 just to make sure every other movie is visible at page one in grid view.

Source: ICheckMovies-list.

Also check out Hong Kong Film Awards' The Best 104 Chinese Motion Pictures.

1. A City of Sadness
2. A Brighter Summer Day
3. The Time to Live and the Time to Die
4. Days of Being Wild
5. Spring in a Small Town
6. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
7. Yi Yi
8. Dust in the Wind
9. Dragon Inn
10. In the Mood for Love

...plus 91 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

The half-star movies I've actually bothered to watch until their end credits....

...ranked from the crappiest of crappy waste to the merely disgraceful waste.

As usual, I stick to movies seen since mid-2010.

Sometimes even I'm unable to sit through a movie until the end credits. It doesn't happen often, but once in a blue moon it does. Those few, those wretched ones, aren't present here, but rather sent to their own very special level of hell. A level they reserve for child molesters and people who talk at the theater.

1. Material Girls
2. Beastly
3. Transformers: The Last Knight
4. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
5. Lay the Favorite
6. Taken 3
7. American Pie Presents: The Book of Love
8. Hall
9. Godzilla
10. Casshern

...plus 46 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

When you've seen all the must-see's from my other list, there's always a lot of other great movies well worth your time...

I'll keep adding movies as I come across them, but the first 115 are arranged after Letterboxd' year of release. Movies will be added at the bottom of this list as I find them worthy, to make it easy to keep up with new additions.

As with the must-see list, I'll only add movies viewed or re-viewed since mid-2010.

1. The 39 Steps
2. The Wizard of Oz
3. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
4. The Set-Up
5. The Asphalt Jungle
6. Strangers on a Train
7. Singin' in the Rain
8. Kansas City Confidential
9. The Killing
10. Bob le Flambeur

...plus 170 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

These aren't my 80 BEST movies of the 80s, nor are they my 80 FAVORITES of the decade. It's a mixture of the best, my favorites, a few essentials on the side, and even sprinkled with a couple of movies I just think deserves the attention because of the era and how they relate, their popcorn value or genre status with me...

Disclaimer: Quite a few movies that are considered classics--or that I far back in my muddled memory recall as such--have been left out simply because I haven't revisited them in--literally--ages (stuff like The Thing, Predator, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket and whatnot...), and will have to await a much needed revisit before they get included..

List will probably be updated as I get around to new stuff from the era, revisits other important ones and so on. Entries pushed out of the list will get honorary mentions below:

05/08-'14: List published
25/08-'14: Rewatching The Killer leads it to a headliner-spot, knocking Paris, Texas down into alphabetizing
09/12-'14: Watching A Short Film About Killing replaces Trading Places
12/12-'14: Watching Alice replaces Personal Best
18/03-'15: Watching Damnation replaces Wallace and Gromit: A Grand Day Out
19/04-'15: Watching Clue replaces Babette's Feast
03/12-'15: Watching Local Hero replaces Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
07/12-'15: Watching Le professionnel replaces A Better Tomorrow
11/12-'15: List now ranked somewhat according to possibility of surviving new entries
16/03-'16: Watching Shadows in Paradise replaces The Outsiders
17/03-'16: Watching Confidence replaces Vabank
19/03-'16: Watching Spoorloos replaces Lethal Weapon
12/01-'17: Watching Flesh + Blood replaces Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Other decades--and those that will follow--linked to below:
If This Was a Movie; 10s
How You Remind Me; 00s
Fields of Gold; 90s
Teenage Kicks; 70s
I’m a Believer; 60s
Great Balls of Fire; 50s
40s
In the Mood; 30s
20s

Lists inspired by Adam's lists of his favorites of each decade.

Dishonorable Mentions
AKA
Acclaimed and/or beloved movies seen this decade that didn't make the cut;

Escape from New York, Time Bandits, Hachi-ko, Do the Right Thing, Used Cars, The King and the Mockingbird, Big Trouble in Little China, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Hoosiers, Commando, Airplane!, House of Games, Caddyshack, Pretty in Pink, The Monster Squad, Romancing the Stone, Modern Romance,

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
3. Die Hard
4. Say Anything...
5. The Company of Wolves
6. When Harry Met Sally...
7. The Killer
8. Grave of the Fireflies
9. RoboCop
10. Back to the Future

...plus 69 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

You all know how it is. They are so easy to pick up, and one day you can barely why you picked them up in the first place. Was it a recommendation from a friend? Was it just because of one of the actors, actresses, the director or even the writer? Did the cover-art lure you in, or was it maybe one of the screen-grabs on the back?

For whatever the reason, it doesn't take much to find yourself with hundreds--or even thousands--of movies you've never seen. For each new addition, it makes it even less likely that you'll get around to one of the old ones collecting dust on your shelf. I always look for new and interesting ways to get around to watch one of them, and thus the cinematic spin the bottle was created for my own selection-process.

This is in short just a completely random--run your finger across the back-spine of the unseen, and watch whatever your stop at--collection of movies that I watched simply because faith said it was their ninety+ minutes of local fame.

It doesn't say anything about why I got hold of them in the first place, but hopefully I'll get across hidden gems every so often. I'll mix in these kind of viewings every so often, just to hand my old stuff a fair shake of being watched in between other ing ideas, like time machines, springcleaning, stalking, n.o.i.s.e., explorer, blockbusters revisited, short & Joe and whatnot.

Just for the heck of it, I'll rank these titles (from hidden gold to trash you simply forgot to take out). That way I can look back at this list and with a quick glance see which titles I can thank spin the bottle for getting around to earlier than I otherwise might. It might also be an incentive for others to dig through their unseen stuff...

1. Defence of the Realm
2. Frailty
3. Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez

With the Stamp of Zapproval, 49 Coming of Age-movies continues the Zapproved-series of genre-approved quality--replacing my old Q25-series. It's where the good ones usually not make it, but only the ones ranking from very good and straight up to the masterpieces are gaining the full VIP access.

Much like with the Zapproved: Romance I've set the bar quite a bit lower for inclusion here than I did with the Zapproved: Animation-list, but in all fairness the general quality is a bit lower in this genre as well. In advance I'd also have to say I might struggle to separate some of my guilty pleasures from their objectively deserved ratings.

Disclaimer: Some crossovers to other genres/movie-types are unavoidable, and might be moved to a more appropriate Zapproved-list at a later date.

Disclaimer 2: This is a genre where I usually kept myself up-to-date on most movies for quite a while, thus there's quite a few I haven't seen in so long they'll often be overlooked until I revisit (but also a few I've included that I have quite a few doubts over whether or not they will survive after a revisit)...

Disclaimer 3: Many animation-movies would easily have made this list, but as I've collected all animated works in their own category without exception, you'll have to look there also for the typical coming of age-ones as well.

Only the first line--the top 5 movies--are selectively picked to headline and represent the list because of their quality and my love for them. The rest are listed alphabetically, or something along those lines at least...

List will be updated as I get around to new stuff from the genre, revisits omitted ones that makes a better impression and so on. Entries pushed out of the list will get honorary mentions below, and new entries will also be noted as included:

04/08-'14: Original list published
04/08-'14: Rewatched But I'm a Cheerleader removes it from list
05/08-'14: Rewatched Superbad removes it from list
11/12-'14: Watching The Secrets adds it to the list
16/03-'15: Watching Looking for Alibrandi adds it to the list
19/03-'15: Watching Velantín adds it to the list
19/03-'15: Watching The Bow adds it to the list
05/12-'15: Watching Picnic at Hanging Rock adds it to the list as headliner
08/01-'17: Rewatched Clueless adds it to the list

Other lists in the Zapproved-series:
Animation
Romance
Action

1. Show Me Love
2. Say Anything...
3. The Company of Wolves
4. Picnic at Hanging Rock
5. Dazed and Confused
6. Adventureland
7. All About Lily Chou-Chou
8. An Education
9. Au Revoir les Enfants
10. Blue Car

...plus 43 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Movies well worth your time and then some, from my point of view.

I'll keep adding movies as I come across them, but the first 98 are arranged after Letterboxd' year of release. Movies will be added at the bottom of this list as I find them worthy, to make it easy to keep up with new additions.

Only movies I've viewed or re-viewed since mid-2010 is on this list, and that's often the only reason a lot of other worthy movies aren't included... until I revisit them.

For more movie suggestions, I've also doubled the canon.

1. M
2. Trouble in Paradise
3. It Happened One Night
4. Make Way for Tomorrow
5. Grand Illusion
6. The Awful Truth
7. The Adventures of Robin Hood
8. The Lady Vanishes
9. The Shop Around the Corner
10. The Maltese Falcon

...plus 168 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

These aren't my 90 BEST movies of the 90s, nor are they my 90 FAVORITES of the decade. It's a mixture of the best, my favorites, a few essentials on the side, and even sprinkled with a couple of movies I just think deserves the attention because of the era and how they relate, their popcorn value or genre status with me...

As usual with my lists I've focused on those I've seen since medio-2010, but a chosen lucky few have made it on nostalgic memories alone. Others will sadly be missing because I just haven't gotten around to them yet (Satantango, La Haine, A Brighter Summer's Day etc), and some will be missing because I desperately need a rewatch (Fight Club, Beautiful Girls, Twelve Monkeys, Starship Troopers, American Beauty etc), and some are omitted just because I simply don't think they deserve as much as attention as they already got elsewhere (Schindler's List, American History X, Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King etc).

I've also taken the liberty to include some chosen miniseries and short movies, but they will in time find themselves pushed out of the list.

Only the first two lines--the top 10 movies--are selectively picked to headline and represent the list because of their quality, their representation of the decade, and/or my love for them. The rest are listed alphabetically, or something along those lines at least...

List will probably be updated as I get around to new stuff from the era, revisits other important ones and so on. Entries pushed out of the list will get honorary mentions below:

26/02-'14: List published
01/03-'14: Rewatched Beautiful Girls replaces To Live on the list
14/03-'14: Rewatched Starship Troopers replaces Running Out of Time on the list
16/03-'14: Rewatched Zero Kelvin replaces The Boondock Saints on the list
17/03-'14: Watched Empire Records replaces But I'm a Cheerleader on the list
05/08-'14: Doubling the 90s-headliners from 5 to 10 moves Beautiful Girls, Pulp Fiction, The Usual Suspects, Groundhog Day and Terminator 2: Judgment Day up into headliner-positions
07/02-'15: Watching Hoop Dreams replaces The Spitfire Grill on the list
16/03-'15: Watching Comrades, Almost a Love Story replaces Bad Boys on the list and T2 as headliner
19/03-'15: Watching A Heart in Winter replaces Mission: Impossible on the list
20/04-'15: Watching Nelly and Mr. Arnaud replaces Three Colors: White
14/05-'15: Watching Delicatessen replaces the brilliant British miniseries House of Cards (, the latter the chosen for replacement mostly just because HoC is a miniseries)
17/09-'15: Watching La Belle Nosieuse replaces American Pie
08/03-'16: Watching Festen replaces Wallace & Gromit: A Close Shave
24/04-'16: Rewatching Jurassic Park replaces Wallace & Gromit - The Wrong Tros
08/01-'17: Rewatching Clueless replaces Zero Kelvin

Other decades--and those that will follow--linked to below:
If This Was a Movie; 10s
How You Remind Me; 00s
Can’t Fight This Feeling; 80s
Teenage Kicks; 70s
I’m a Believer; 60s
Great Balls of Fire; 50s
40s
In the Mood; 30s
20s

Lists inspired by Adam's lists of his favorites of each decade.

1. The Double Life of Véronique
2. Show Me Love
3. Raise the Red Lantern
4. Léon: The Professional
5. Pride and Prejudice
6. Groundhog Day
7. Beautiful Girls
8. The Usual Suspects
9. Comrades, Almost a Love Story
10. Pulp Fiction

...plus 80 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

"Nothing changes here but the seasons...."
-Beautiful Girls (1996)

Well, ladies and hairier legs. You all know the drill by now, so without much further ado; In addition to the movie that made a fifteen year old Parisienne realize that movies actually can answer one of the big questions in life, these are the other 99 movies I care about today. They aren't the best 100 I've seen, nor the essentials or the most influential ones, and the one ranked at 3rd isn't necessarily better than the one ranked at 4th, but these are the 100 ranked somewhat according to my current esteem.

I'm still looking to do this annually in late December or early January, so the next edition is estimated to be published in December 2017 or January 2018, a full year from now.

Last year's edition
2015 edition
2014 edition
2013 edition
50 Loved Ones (the original 2012 steppingstone)

Publisher's notes:
- Top 3 unchanged
- Rear Window and Nausicaä switches places on 4th and 5th
- Alien makes the first top 10 change in years when it breaks in with its 6th
- Léon, Make Way for Tomorrow and Raiders of the Lost Ark drops out of top 10, also leaving room for L'Atalante and The Company of Wolves breaking their way into the top 10
- Highest placed newcomer is Metropolis in 19th
- Highest lower half bump is Persona moving up from 60th to 42nd
- Highest top half bump is Mulholland Drive moving up from 49th to 27th
- Largest drop is V for Vendetta dropping out from 71st
- Largest surviving drop is Winter's Bone from 70th to 95th
- Largest top half drop is Make Way for Tomorrow dropping from 7th to 20th

Some stats: (change from 2016-edition)

European: 36 (+6)
Asian: 19 (-4)
Animated: 8 (-1)

2010s: 2 (+-0)
2000s: 19 (-3)
1990s: 24 (+-0)
1980s: 12 (-1)
1970s: 8 (+2)
1960s: 9 (+2)
1950s: 9 (+-0)
1940s: 4 (+1)
1930s: 9 (-2)
>1930: 4 (+1)

Directors with multiple entries:

3 Entries:

Krzysztof Kieslowski (2, 45 & 76)
Akira Kurosawa (14, 29 & 100)

The following 9 directors have all two entries each:

Fritz Lang (4 & 19)
Jean-Pierre Melville (15 & 26)
Alfred Hitchcock (4 & 71)
Billy Wilder (35 & 44)
Ingmar Bergman (42 & 59)
Claude Sautet (22 & 80)
Steven Spielberg (11 & 93)
Satoshi Kon (43 & 87)
Patrice Leconte (66 & 85)

2017 New Entries: (linked to my reviews)

#19 Metropolis
#21 The Spirit of the Beehive
#29 Seven Samurai
#36 Closely Watched Trains
#81 The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
#88 A Town Called Panic
#93 Jaws

2016-Entries revisited that survived: (linked to my reviews)[last year's placing]

#11 Raiders of the Lost Ark [9]
#27 Mulholland Drive [49]

New (re-)entries without a 2016-viewing:

#80 Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud

Drop-outs from 2016-Edition: (last years placing)

V for Vendetta (#71), All About Lily Chou-Chou (#81), The Awful Truth (#91), Millennium Actress (#94), Captain Blood (#97), The Big Lebowski (#98), Grave of the Fireflies (#99) and 3-Iron (#100)

As usual, in a week or so I'll publish an accompanying B-sides-list of 100 movies.

Publisher's words:

I've hardly ever seen as few movies as this past year, but much thanks to the Around the World-challenge of March I still managed to get in a few great ones. Hopefully I'll manage to get around to many more in the year that comes, but I'm not looking to force the issue. I much rather it stays a loving long distance relationship with movies, rather than an ugly break-up that leaves wounds that might never fully heal.

I still love movies deeply. I've just found little time to keep the romance blossoming. Here's to magic in celluloid form. May its powers never fade.

Then I guess only one thing remains... to wish you all...

Merry Christmas and a happy viewing New Year,
Monsieur Flynn.

1. Lost in Translation
2. The Double Life of Véronique
3. Show Me Love
4. Rear Window
5. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
6. Alien
7. M
8. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
9. L'Atalante
10. The Company of Wolves

...plus 90 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Seems to me, the 2016-season missed its mark by a few weeks or so...

1. Crown for Christmas
2. Christmas Under Wraps
3. Once Upon A Holiday
4. Let It Snow
5. Naughty or Nice
6. Northpole: Open for Christmas
7. Family for Christmas
8. Charming Christmas
9. A Royal Christmas
10. I'm Not Ready for Christmas

"Why?"

I understand your question. It's a warranted one, for sure. It's not lost on me why you keep shaking your head while you ask it, or why you roll your eyes so hard they almost pop out of the back of your neck as soon as my back is turned towards you.

Because as much as I'm a snob when it comes to movies. As much as I'll eagerly praise L'atalante, Spirit of the Beehive, Kurosawa or Bergman; I'm more than anything in love with storytelling. And whether you dress your storytelling up in gigantic metal robots fighting each other, dystopian youth adult stories, or sparkling vampires, I'm not just interested in storytelling that works. I'm also interested in those that doesn't work, and the reasons why they don't.

Epic love-stories are great. The tales of how you met your ever after in high school, and never again looked at another girl the same way. But you should know a little about the things you don't know about as well. It's nice to sit old and gray at the pouch and watch your grandchildren play in the garden, while nostalgic memories of you and your Juliet puts a satisfied smile on your face.

But you should know there's another kind of smile. A devilish one you only achieve from other memories. Memories of blindly following the crazy girl next door out into the pond for a midnight skinnydipping. The way the moonlight shone in her hair as your young lustful gaze took in the sight of her firm perky breasts as they broke the surface. It was never destined to be more than a one night thing under the stars, but those are the kind of memories that puts a certain kind of smirk on an old man's face in the sunset.

Whether or not it's worth the slow-mo angles as Megan Fox' breasts bounces across your screen as she follows the wimpy Shia LeBouf character running through the desert sand, the sexist jailbait angles at Bay caresses her young body cinematographically perfect angled under the hood of his first car to show off her curves and her tan body... Well, that's another discussion altogether.

I don't think audiences need bad writing or weak storytelling to enjoy a blockbuster movie--not even the American audiences. They aren't dependent on the flag-waving idiocy of the writing and directing we're usually served, and I'm still confident there's room to make better movies--even within these genres--and still make a lot of money.

So I keep watching what they actually put out there--awaiting the time when directors, producers and studio-heads again finds the courage to bring back atmosphere, like old battleworn men that discuss their scars while preparing to take on the terrifying shark that terrorizes an idyllic summer town.

Until then I keep watching and waiting; noting their mistakes, sighing and rolling my eyes over their choices, and every so often I find bits and pieces to the puzzle of my own unfinished stories; many of them born from the mistakes of these movies, rather than from their strengths. As such, they do have a purpose--I suppose.

And even if they didn't, I should be excused. I've just spent plenty of hours being distracted by the female form of the likes of Megan Fox, Milla Jovovich, Jennifer Lawrence, Keira Knighley and Ali Larter, and by the less than artful direction of Michael Bay and Paul W.S. Anderson. You didn't really eect me to come out quite the same at the other side of it, did you?

Not ranked; just added in watched order.

1. Resident Evil
2. Resident Evil: Apocalypse
3. Resident Evil: Extinction
4. Resident Evil: Afterlife
5. Resident Evil: Retribution
6. The Maze Runner
7. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
8. Allegiant
9. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
10. Transformers

...plus 4 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Another year, another challenge. For those that didn't participate last time around; here's a link to the original Letterboxd Season Challenge 2015-16.

This is not the list for the actual 2016-17 challenge, but the "brainstorming" list where you can keep up with the process of creating next season's challenge.

Some of the ideas will be scrapped as it comes together. Some will grow into different "weeks" than initially planned. This is a continuous peek into the creation, where you can keep up with the weeks as they grow into their place, and as you drop in you'll probably note things that have disappeared or appeared since the last time you dropped by.

Feel free to drop in your suggestions, objections or wishes. I make no promises to listen, but I tend to do more often than not (although I might not agree with what I hear).

1. The Adventures of Robin Hood

   Week 1: September 4th-10th
   Centennial Girl Week

   July 1st, 1916. In Tokyo, Japan, Olivia Mary de Havilland was born. As far as I'm concerned, she's the last one standing of the old guard. Known for movies like Captain Blood, The Heiress, Gone with the Wind and The Adventures of Robin Hood, Olivia de Havilland is a legend. A legend making it to the big 100, and as such deserving the honor of being celebrated beyond what most of these weeks aims at.

   The challenge of the week is to watch a previously unseen movie starring Olivia de Havilland.

   Weekly tag: "lsc2016-17 week1"

2. L'Atalante

   Week 2: September 11th-17th
   Poetic Realism Week

   A French film movement in the 30s and 40s, Poetic Realism is best known through the works of Jean Renoir, Marcel Carné, Jean Vigo, Julien Duvivier, Jean Grémillon, Jacques Feyder and Pierre Chenal.

   Had a heavy influence on the film industry, and although the French New Wave and the Italian Neorealism is what most mentions, its influences are easy to trace also to more commonly known material.

   Your challenge of the week is to watch a previously unseen Poetic Realism movie, and Vince di Meglio's list might be a fine place to start your search.

   Weekly tag: "lsc2016-17 week2"

3. Closely Watched Trains

   March 5th-11th
   Czech New Wave Week

   Your challenge of the week is to watch a previously unseen Czech New Wave movie. Christopher Henderson's list might be as good a place as any to gather inspiration.

   Weekly tag: "lsc2016-17 week"

4. Raise the Red Lantern

   Fifth Generation Week

   Beginning in the mid-late 1980s, the rise of the so-called Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers brought increased popularity of Chinese cinema abroad. Most of the filmmakers who made up the Fifth Generation had graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in 1982 and included Zhang Yimou, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Chen Kaige, Zhang Junzhao and others.

   The challenge of the week is to watch a previously unseen movie from the Chinese fifth generation wave.

5. The Celebration

   Dogme Week

6. Persona

   Master of the West Week; Ingmar Bergman

7. Night of the Living Dead

   Week of the Living Dead

   Zombie-movies, whether political, farcial, unique or following all the rules of the mythology. They come in many shapes and tones, but the resilience of the theme seem to stand up decade after decade to draw the audiences in.

   The challenge of the week is to watch a previously unseen zombie-movie, and Gavin Rye's list (although--note--not a perfect one) is a fine place to find inspiration, but you could always just go with our own Hollie and one of her top 20 zombie flicks...

8. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

   Spaghetti Western Week

   Challenge is to watch a previously unseen essential Spaghetti Western as voted up by the s at forum.spaghetti-western.net as compiled here at LB by pileofcrown.

9. Tokyo Story

   Master of the East Week; Yasujirô Ozu

10. Pyaasa

    Bollywood/India Week

...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Art thieves, cat burglars, immaculate plans, gentleman thieves, masterminds, big diamonds, and whatnot.

Movies with men and women relying mostly on their guns have been purposely left out, and as such quite a few well known bank robbers won't be found here. I've also left out movies that are focusing stronger on dramatic elements relating to other stuff or action, revenges where blood counts more than the loot, and even cases of crime-comedies where too many will find the heists not even secondary at best.

As such movies like Schrader's 'Blue Collar', Tarantino's 'Reservoir Dogs', Monicelli's 'Big Deal on Madonna Street', or Mann's 'Heat' are left out, not to mention all the big con-movies (I see them as their own brand) like Hill's 'The Sting'.

Disclaimer: sometimes time makes memories foggy, so I can't guarantee there's not a movie left out or left in that shouldn't have been rectified. But please; do feel free to remind me of movies I've forgotten, or point out what probably should be removed.

1. Le Cercle Rouge
2. Rififi
3. The Asphalt Jungle
4. The Killing
5. Bob le Flambeur
6. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
7. Touchez Pas au Grisbi
8. Le Deuxième Souffle
9. To Catch a Thief
10. Thief

...plus 36 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Experiencing a movie is something subjective, and as such we'll never have the exactly same taste. I figured it was about time I again took a look at those movies that didn't win me over, despite giving so much to others.

These are the beloved, acclaimed and generally praised 20th century releases I've seen and rated 2.5 stars or lower. Some cult-movies and genre-movies haven't been added to the list, and might find themselves thrown into a list of their own one day. I've also neglected to add movies from the current millennium, as those often need a while to settle into a "considered quality", "presumed loved", "lasting acclaim" or whatever.

I've watched most--if not all--of these movies in the last five or six years, and as such not entered a few disappointments from what I've considered too far ago.

I'm not saying all of these movies are bad or disappointing. Many of them deserves a second chance--one day--and I'm sure a few of them will win me over. These are just the ones that for now are recalled with a strange curiosity over why so many people enjoyed them so much, and I'll update the list as new movies deserve to get entered or current ones deserves to be taken away after being revisited. As usual I'll keep a log over such events.

List is ranked according to what I believe will upset people the most, alienate most followers, and in general make people reconsider ever listening to my point of view again.

07/12-'15: List published with 59 entries
09/12-'15: Watching À bout de souffle adds it to the list
10/12-'15: Watching To Be or Not to Be adds it to the list
10/12-'15: Watching The Great Dictator adds it to the list
11/12-'15: Watching The Man Who Came to Dinner adds it to the list
09/01-'16: Watching Chariots of Fire adds it to the list
09/03-'16: Watching The Philadelphia Story adds it to the list
21/04'16: Watching Chicago adds it to the list
05/05-'16: Watching Return of the Jedi adds it to the list
08/05-'16: Watching Notorious adds it to the list
09/05-'16: Watching Watchmen adds it
09/05-'16: Watching Midnight Run adds it

1. Citizen Kane
2. Schindler's List
3. Breathless
4. Return of the Jedi
5. Bringing Up Baby
6. Dog Day Afternoon
7. Notorious
8. Airplane!
9. Top Hat
10. Watchmen

...plus 60 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

I get around to see a little fewer miniseries than I would have liked, but they've made quite a few great ones over the years. For this particular list, I'll only add those I've seen that I consider masterpieces. In time I'll probably get around to make one list of the ones I also enjoy a lot, but not quite of this class of excellence...

• Band of Brothers
• Pride and Prejudice
• State of Play

Do you ever get the need to watch a bunch of crappy movies? I'm talking gung-ho, over-the-top, faster and furio, franchised adventures and shit, that you know deep down that you will never ever like. You won't even truly enjoy most of them, and still that urge is there in the pit of your stomach... These over-hyped (mostly) American monsters looking to take over the world, one cinema at the time... And still I can't help but opening the door for them.

At least I try to throw in a few actresses I enjoy resting my eyes at. Yeah, deep down--okay, really not all that deep down--I'm just that easy. Let's for the heck of it keep count;

Amber Heard: II
Anna Kendrick: II
Carla Gugino: II
Rachel Weisz: II

Abbie Cornish: I
Alice Eve: I
Alicia Vikander: I
Amy Adams: I
Catherine Zeta-Jones: I
Elizabeth Banks: I
Elizabeth Olsen: I
Hailee Steinfeld: I
Isla Fisher: I
Jessica Alba: I
Malin Akerman: I
Michelle Rodriguez: I
Morena Baccarin: I
Olivia Munn: I
Olivia Wilde: I
Rose Byrne: I

• Chicago
• The Mummy
• Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
• The Mummy Returns
• The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
• Hot Rod
• The Grey
• Non-Stop
• Godzilla
• 22 Jump Street

...plus 12 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Despite the lack of success last year, and the year before, I once again try to reach 80 movies from around the world this year. At least I got five more under my belt in 2015 than I did in 2014, and in both years I only began mid-March. This year I'm actually already taking my first trip down under in the first week of January.

Once again, I'm not trying to make it 80 different countries, but I won't be taking on more than three stops from any one country.

Movies are listed in order watched.

Spent quota:

USA: Safe Men, Ace in the Hole and Baby Face
United Kingdom: Chariots of Fire, The Chalk Garden and Defence of the Realm

1. The Little Death

   Australia

2. Chariots of Fire

   UK

3. Songs from the Second Floor

   Sweden

4. Green Snake

   Hong Kong

5. Mad Max 2

   Australia (2)

6. Chocolate

   Thailand

7. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

8. The Forty-First

   Soviet Union

9. Safe Men

   USA

10. The Chalk Garden

    UK (2)

...plus 28 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

These aren't my 70 BEST movies of the 70s, nor are they my 70 FAVORITES of the decade. It's a mixture of the best, my favorites, a few essentials on the side, and even sprinkled with a couple of movies I just think deserves the attention because of the era and how they relate, their popcorn value or genre status with me...

As usual with my lists I've focused on those I've seen since mid-2010, and as a result obvious probable entries like the first two Godfathers, Jaws, and whatnot are not to be found. It's simply too long since I last revisited those, and unlike with so many others; neither of those classic 70s-movies ever grabbed me enough to spawn my obsession for the medium. Other movies will have to take the credit for that...

As usual there's also a number of movies I fear never will enter here. Movies I personally consider very overrated, and some of those include Dog Day Afternoon, American Graffiti, The French Connection, and some more cult ones like Mad Max, Animal House. Death Race 2000, and of course Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.

The 70s really aren't my strongest decade, yet, and as such this list will be published lacking in numbers. Fear not, much like other decades in this series of decade gold, I'm confident it will in time be filled to the brim, forcing me to eject some of these early entries. A few of those I won't have much problem doing so with, but for now I feel they've all earned their spot.

This list is ranked out of likelihood to survive new entries once I've sured 70...

And as usual list will probably be updated as I get around to new stuff from the era, revisits other important ones and so on. Entries pushed out of the list will get honorary mentions below:

30/11-'15: List published with 38 movies
05/12-'15: Watching Picnic at Hanging Rock adds it to the list
05/12-'15: Watching Get Carter adds it to the list
18/03-'16: The Spirit of the Beehive added
27/04-'16: Re-watching Jaws adds it to the list
07/05-'16: Watching The Day of the Jackal adds it to the list

Other decades--and those that will follow--linked to below:
If This Was a Movie; 10s
How You Remind Me; 00s
Fields of Gold; 90s
Can’t Fight This Feeling; 80s
I’m a Believer; 60s
Great Balls of Fire; 50s
40s
In the Mood; 30s
20s

Lists inspired by Adam's lists of his favorites of each decade.

Dishonorable Mentions
AKA
Acclaimed and/or beloved movies seen this decade that didn't make the cut;

American Graffiti, Murder on the Orient Express, Dog Day Afternoon, Love Story, Drunken Master, The Driver, Animal House, Death Race 2000, Mad Max, The French Connection, Blue Collar,

1. The Spirit of the Beehive
2. Alien
3. All the President's Men
4. Badlands
5. Claire's Knee
6. Le Cercle Rouge
7. The Sting
8. Get Carter
9. Assault on Precinct 13
10. Annie Hall

...plus 33 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Whether we're talking about the lighter sex comedies of the 80s--those that were more focused on fun, games and adolescence than on being particularly dirty--or the filthier images conjured from the dirty old men like Joseph W. Sarno, Tinto Brass, Radley Metzger or Jésus Franco, I'll throw every movie that has a "unhealthy" fascination with T & A, sexual objectification and whatnot into this list. I'll rate them, tag them and review them.

A couple of un-reviewed formerly watched classics from Radley Metzger added to set the bar.

1. The Image
2. Score
3. Private School

   sex comedy

4. The Teasers

   commedia erotica all'italiana

5. Screwballs

   sex comedy

6. Bibi

   softcore

7. The Keyhole

   erotica

Among all the classics, the masterpieces, the highly recommended ones, the blockbusters and the guilty pleasures, there always seems to be quite a few movie that find their way into your shelves, harddrives or wherever it is you collect your movies.

Every so often I feel the need to get them out of the way, and the only way to do so with good conscience is to watch them and then dispose, delete or stick them away at the attic.

From now I'm going to collect the movies watched for this main reason in this list, opening with yesterdays experience of The Day After Tomorrow (and link to my reviews of these movies I started on with mostly no or low expectations).

• The Day After Tomorrow

  Review

• One Last Thing...

  Review

• One Week

  Review

• Monsters vs Aliens

  Review

• Push

  Review

• Australia

  Review

• Boarding Gate

  Review

• Red Dawn

  Review

• Splash

  Review

• Van Helsing

  Review

...plus 100 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

My work in progress preliminary list for my hosted

Letterboxd Season Challenge 2015-16

As these things goes, at least more often than not, I do not do it halfway... I've picked/am picking my most likely movie for each challenge, but have/will also in the notes mentioned alternatives I consider as well as highlight movies I've seen that I recommend for those that look to make their own schedules for the challenge.

—————————————————————————————————

Most information when read in list-view!

1. La Belle Noiseuse

   Week 1: September 6th-12th
   Roger Ebert Week

   My love for French cinema is well known, and as I'm still on my French focus year for the first half of this challenge, I'm rather inclined to make as many French picks as possible for my own schedule.

   I haven't seen anything from Jacques Rivette yet, but between his reputation and the leads of Michel Piccoli and Emmanuelle Béart; 'La belle noiseuse' have been a work I've been excited to check out for quite a while. This might just be that time, unless I happen to get to it before the season kicks off, that is...

   Other movies on my shortlist includes; Au Hazard Balthazar, À bout de souffle, La collectionneuse, L'Atalante, Les quatre cents coups, French Cancan, Conte d’hiver, Orphée, Mon oncle d’Amérique and La Règle du Jeu.

   Yeah, I should probably mention that French titles are one of the few origin-countries where I very much prefer the original titles....

   I expect I'll have seen a few of these before the season starts, and who knows? I might actually be so sick and tired of before then, that I end up picking something completely different when the week arrives.

   Of Ebert's Greats that I've seen, I can easily recommend a lot (as mentioned in the initial challenge I do find so many of his Greats are likely to be amongst my Greats one day), but here are a small sample divided into light viewings, deeper/heavier stuff and underseen stuff I'm glad at least Ebert had discovered and pushed, and I'll keep pushing;

   Depth: The Double Life of Veronique, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Grave of the Fireflies, The Three Colors Trilogy and obviously Jean-Pierre Melville's masterpiece L'Armée des ombres.

   Light: Alien, The Adventures of Robin Hood, City Lights, Double Indemnity, Le samouraï, Say Anything..., Singin' in the Rain, Groundhog Day and of course Raiders of the Lost Ark.

   Underseen: The Last Picture Show, Make Way for Tomorrow, Monsieur Hire, Pandora's Box and Raise the Red Lantern.

2. House of Games

   Week 1 #2

3. It's a Wonderful Life

   Week 1 #3

4. The Great Dictator

   Week 1 #4

5. French Cancan

   Week 1 #5

6. The Rules of the Game

   Week 1 #6

7. Top Hat

   Week 2: September 13th-19th
   30's Musicals Week

   I'm a bit sad I don't get to experience the magic of Busby Berkeley for the first time during this challenge-week. I would have loved to watch The Gold Diggers of 1933 again. It's very much due a rewatch these days, and Busby's numbers were incredibly impressive in that one.

   As it is, I haven't really seen much of Fred & Ginger's collaborations. I think I've only seen one, and they didn't exactly blow me away. More to the point; Fred annoyed me a bit. I do love me some Ginger, though, so I guess it's about time I give one of their most famous ones a shot here.

   Others on my shortlist are: Indiscreet, The Smiling Lieutenant, Show Boat, Love Me Tonight, Animal Crackers, À nous la liberté, Shall We Dance, Gold Diggers of 1935, The 3 Penny Opera and Street Angel

   Recommended: Gold Diggers of 1933, The Wizard of Oz, 42nd Street, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Footlight Parade.

8. High and Low

   Week 3: September 20th-26th
   Master of the East Week; Akira Kurosawa

   I'm very likely to go with one of the master's own movies for this one, but I can't completely rule out me sticking with either. High and Low is my number one Kurosawa-movie to get to, and it's very likely that one will be my pick. I've only seen a couple of Kurosawa-movies, but both are regulars at my favorite-list. He was an amazing director, and I guess the main reason I don't rush to see all his work is the same as with Bergman's acclaimed ones; I want to have those remaining experiences to look forward to, to cherish the anticipation, and to know I got safe bets awaiting me for those days I really need a masterpiece to pick me up.

   Shortlist: Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, À bout de souffle, Les quatre cents coups, L'Année dernière à Marienbad, Zazie dans le métro, Thérèse Raquin, and Orphée.

   Recommendations: Rashomon, Yojimbo, Paris, Texas, The Third Man, My Neighbor Totoro, Annie Hall, and La Grande Illusion.

9. Seven Samurai

   Week 3 #2

10. Pather Panchali

    Week 3 #3

...plus 39 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

AKA 100 reasons we should be grateful Y2K wasn't all it was hyped up to be...

These aren't my 100 BEST movies of the 00s, nor are they my 100 FAVORITES of the decade. It's a mixture of the best, my favorites, a few essentials on the side, and even sprinkled with a couple of movies I just think deserves the attention because of the era and how they relate, their popcorn value or genre status with me...

Only the first two lines--the top 10 movies--are selectively picked to headline and represent the list because of their quality, their representation of the decade, and/or my love for them. The rest are listed alphabetically, or something along those lines at least...

List will probably be updated as I get around to new stuff from the era, revisits other important ones and so on. Entries pushed out of the list will get honorary mentions below:

27/02-'14: List published
08/05-'14: The Island replaces House of Sand and Fog
08/05-'14: The White Meadows replaces Bang Bang You're Dead
04/08-'14: Rewatched Keith moves it up to headline as replacement for 5 Centimeters per Second
05/08-'14: Doubling the 00s-headliners from 5 to 10 moves 5 Centimeters per Second, Sin City, The White Meadows, Wall-E and You Are Alone up into headliner-positions
05/08-'14: Rewatched Adventureland replaces Lucky Number Slevin
09/12-'14: Polytechnique replaces Stranger than Fiction
10/12-'14: Rewatched Shaun of the Dead replaces Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
20/01-'15: Rewatched Millennium Actress replaces Into the Wild
19/03'15: Watching Valentín replaces 21 Grams
19/03-'15: Watching The Bow replaces Crazy Heart
17/04-'15: Watching Nine Queens replaces Defendor
15/03-'16: Watching A Town Called Panic replaces TV-miniseries Fingersmith
04/05-'16: Rewatching Mulholland Dr. moves it up in headlining

Other decades--and those that will follow--linked to below:
If This Was a Movie; 10s
Fields of Gold; 90s
Can’t Fight This Feeling; 80s
Teenage Kicks; 70s
I’m a Believer; 60s
Great Balls of Fire; 50s
40s
In the Mood; 30s
20s

Lists inspired by Adam's lists of his favorites of each decade.

1. Lost in Translation
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. Mulholland Drive
4. Keith
5. You Are Alone
6. Sin City
7. Oldboy
8. 3-Iron
9. WALL·E
10. The White Meadows

...plus 90 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

These aren't my 60 BEST movies of the 60s, nor are they my 60 FAVORITES of the decade. It's a mixture of the best, my favorites, a few essentials on the side, and even sprinkled with a couple of movies I just think deserves the attention because of the era and how they relate, their popcorn value or genre status with me...

Only the first two lines--the top 10 movies--are selectively picked to headline and represent the list because of their quality, their representation of the decade, and/or my love for them. The rest are listed alphabetically, or something along those lines at least...

List published with only 35 titles to get the decade started, and will be updated as I get around to new stuff from the era, revisits other important ones and so on. Entries pushed out of the list will get honorary mentions below:

29/04-'15: List published with 36 movies
30/04-'15: Added Le doulos
26/09-'15: Added High and Low
09/12-'15: All movies ranked in accordance with likelihood of surviving new entries past 60
02/03-'16: Added Les parapluies de Cherbourg
04/03-'16: Added Mafioso
05/03-'16: Added Closely Watched Trains
28/04-'16: Added 2001: A Space Odyssey

Other decades--and those that will follow--linked to below:
If This Was a Movie; 10s
How You Remind Me; 00s
Fields of Gold; 90s
Can’t Fight This Feeling; 80s
Teenage Kicks; 70s
Great Balls of Fire; 50s
40s
In the Mood; 30s
20s

Lists inspired by Adam's lists of his favorites of each decade.

Dishonorable Mentions
AKA
Acclaimed and/or beloved movies seen this decade that didn't make the cut;

Breathless, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Gambit, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Trans-Europ-Express, How to Steal a Million, Dr. No,

1. High and Low
2. Army of Shadows
3. Le Samouraï
4. Closely Watched Trains
5. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
6. The Virgin Spring
7. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
8. Yojimbo
9. The Big Risk
10. The Americanization of Emily

...plus 32 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

These aren't my 30 BEST movies of the 30s, nor are they my 30 FAVORITES of the decade. It's a mixture of the best, my favorites, a few essentials on the side, and even sprinkled with a couple of movies I just think deserves the attention because of the era and how they relate, their popcorn value or genre status with me...

Some movies will sadly be missing simply because I just haven't gotten around to them yet. As such I especially apologize to the Japanese masters of the era, but I'll get there...

Edit 12/05-'15: All 30 movies now ranked.

List will probably be updated as I get around to new stuff from the era, revisits other important ones and so on. Entries pushed out of the list will get honorary mentions below:

26/02-'14: List published
21/03-'15: Watching Ecstasy replaces Blonde Crazy at list and 'Captain Blood' as headliner
23/03-'15: Watching Our Neighbor, Miss Yae replaces Bachelor Mother
12/05-'15: All 30 movies are now ranked, eliminating headliners as such
07/06'15: Watching Port of Shadows eliminates Our Neighbor, Miss Yae from the list
08/06-'15: Watching L'Atalante eliminates Maskerade from the list
10/06-'15: Watching Daybreak eliminates Five Star Final from the list
28/11-'15: Watching Frankenstein eliminates Topper from the list
01/12-'15: Watching Stagecoach eliminates Footlight Parade from the list
11/12-'15: Watching La règle du jeu eliminates The Thin Man from the list
21/03-'16: Watching Baby Face replaces Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Other decades--and those that will follow--linked to below:
If This Was a Movie; 10s
How You Remind Me; 00s
Fields of Gold; 90s
Can’t Fight This Feeling; 80s
Teenage Kicks; 70s
I’m a Believer; 60s
Great Balls of Fire; 50s
40s
20s

Lists inspired by Adam's lists of his favorites of each decade.

Dishonorable Mentions
AKA
Acclaimed and/or beloved movies seen this decade that didn't make the cut;

Bride of Frankenstein, Top Hat, Shanghai Express, Pygmalion, Bringing Up Baby, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Monkey Business, Swing Time, Duck Soup, Ruggles of Red Gap, You Can't Take It With You,

1. Make Way for Tomorrow
2. L'Atalante
3. M
4. City Lights
5. Ecstasy
6. The Adventures of Robin Hood
7. Captain Blood
8. Grand Illusion
9. Port of Shadows
10. The Awful Truth

...plus 20 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

List will be expanded to the intended 50 as I watch enough worthy candidates.

These aren't my 50 BEST movies of the 50s, nor are they my 50 FAVORITES of the decade. It's a mixture of the best, my favorites, a few essentials on the side, and even sprinkled with a couple of movies I just think deserves the attention because of the era and how they relate, their popcorn value or genre status with me...

Edit 12/05-'15: List is now entirely ranked, with currently 40 movies.

List will probably be updated as I get around to new stuff from the era, revisits other important ones and so on. Entries pushed out of the list will get honorary mentions below:

06/03-'14: Original list published with 30 movies
06/03-'14: Added Rashômon headlining, pushing High Noon into the alphabetizing
13/03-'14: Added Marty
13/12-'14: Added Ballad of a Soldier headlining, pushing Pickup on South Street into the alphabetizing
17/03-'15: Added A Girl in Black
17/04-'15: Added Rififi
17/04-'15: Added Big Deal on Madonna Street
11/05-'15: Added Rio Bravo
11/05-'15: Added The Cranes Are Flying headlining, pushing Sweet Smell of Success into the alphabetizing
12/05-'15: Added Murder by Contract
12/05-'15: Added The Wages of Fear, and ranked all 40 current movies on the list, eliminating headlining as such
26/05-'15: Added A Man Escaped
28/11-'15: Added The Day the Earth Stood Still
12/12-'15: Added French Cancan
14/03-'16: Added Seven Samurai
15/03-'16: Added The Seventh Seal
16/03-'16: Added Ashes and Diamonds
18/03-'16: Added Pather Panchali
21/03-'16: Added Ace in the Hole

Other decades--and those that will follow--linked to below:
If This Was a Movie; 10s
How You Remind Me; 00s
Fields of Gold; 90s
Can’t Fight This Feeling; 80s
Teenage Kicks; 70s
I’m a Believer; 60s
40s
In the Mood; 30s
20s

Lists inspired by Adam's lists of his favorites of each decade.

Dishonorable Mentions
AKA
Acclaimed and/or beloved movies seen this decade that didn't make the cut;

Shane, Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Forbidden Games, The Lavender Hill Mob, The Caine Mutiny, The Ladykillers, Godzilla, Harvey, Johnny Guitar, Pillow Talk,

1. Seven Samurai
2. Rear Window
3. Rashomon
4. The Cranes Are Flying
5. Sunset Boulevard
6. Ballad of a Soldier
7. Sweet Smell of Success
8. Pickup on South Street
9. High Noon
10. Dial M for Murder

...plus 38 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

For the 2016 30 countries-challenge.

Ranked according to esteem, with country and viewing order in notes.

End of challenge-summary:

19 Days, 30 countries and no rewatches.
Signed, sealed and delivered.

#1-4 Masterpiece, Essential cinema
#5-8 Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door
#9 Classics within sub-genre/theme, sets the bar
#10-12 Great movies, albeit not masterpieces nor moves sub-genres/themes
#13-14 Great movies, Quality, but lacks the Midas-touch
#15-20 Good takes on their respective sub-genres/themes, worth their time, but nothing you can't overlook if those sub-genres aren't your thing
#21-26 Oh, well....
#27-29 Just stay away
#30 Definitely not my cup of tea, but many seem to like it

My 2015-postcards for the 30 countries challenge.

1. The Spirit of the Beehive

   #28 Spain

2. Seven Samurai

   #17 Japan

3. Metropolis

   #16

4. Closely Watched Trains

   #11 Czechoslovakia

5. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

   #4

6. A Separation

   #24 Iran

7. Pather Panchali

   #26 India

8. Confidence

   #23 Hungary

9. A Town Called Panic

   #19 Belgium

10. Shadows in Paradise

    #22 Finland

...plus 20 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

These aren't my BEST movies of the 10s, nor are they my FAVORITES of the decade. It's a mixture of the best, my favorites, a few essentials on the side, and even sprinkled with a couple of movies I just think deserves the attention because of the era and how they relate, their popcorn value or genre status with me...

I'm notoriously late to the party, and thus in no hurry to get new movies seen. That's what you get for taking enjoyment from simple guilty pleasures, TV-series, and for enjoying 80 year old movies just as much as the latest from Hollywood. I do get around to them, in time. As such I begin the current decade with only 10 movies listed, and expand as seen fit.

List ranked according to current probability of surviving new entries.

Entries pushed out of the list--and re-entries due to revisits or list-expansions and whatnot--will get honorary mentions below:

26/02-'14: List published with 10 movies
04/12-'15: Watching Once Upon a Time in Anatolia replaces Shame on the list
17/03-'16: Watching A Separation replaces Super 8

Other decades--and those that will follow--linked to below:
How You Remind Me; 00s
Fields of Gold; 90s
Can’t Fight This Feeling; 80s
Teenage Kicks; 70s
I’m a Believer; 60s
Great Balls of Fire; 50s
40s
In the Mood; 30s
20s

Lists inspired by Adam's lists of his favorites of each decade.

1. A Separation
2. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
3. Confessions
4. Winter's Bone
5. The Cabin in the Woods
6. 13 Assassins
7. Certified Copy
8. Drive
9. Toy Story 3
10. The Painting

It seems the recent trend is lists with recommendations of movies with less than 500 checks here at LB, and as I think it fitted me quite well just I stole it.

I know I've already got my obscure-list for those under 100 checks, but there I've allowed for movies I rate as lowly as 3,5 stars. The same is very much the case for me hidden gems-list that have a bit other criteria. One or both of them are likely to be fazed out in time, much thanks to this and a few other of my lists.

In this one I'll focus on movies I score 4 stars or more, that have at most 500 checks at the time I include them. I'll also avoid movies that haven't been out very long, and in some cases I might even not allow four star movies a place here (in cases I definitely suspect my subjective taste won't be to most people's liking).

List ranked according to my view of their quality.

21/03-'15: 57 movies at lists origin.
17/04-'15: Added Big Deal on Madonna Street
19/04-'15: Added Consider All Risks
20/04-'15: Added Nelly and Mr. Arnaud
20/04-'15: Added The Things of Life
12/05-'15: Added Murder by Contract
13/05-'15: Added Man on the Train
17/03-'16: Added Confidence

Movies I still hold as highly will only be removed if they should suddenly gather an amazing amount of viewers, and then listed below as former ones.
Movies that I rewatch will also be removed if they don't hold up, and maybe noted in comment section.

1. Spring in a Small Town
2. Ballad of a Soldier
3. Comrades, Almost a Love Story
4. Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud
5. The Big Risk
6. The White Meadows
7. You Are Alone
8. Ecstasy
9. A Heart in Winter
10. The Americanization of Emily

...plus 54 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Movies hardly anyone have seen, with stories worth telling. There won't be too many totally overlooked masterpieces, but a lot of great movies for those who'd like to dip into terrain their friends probably haven't been.

Most of these movies won't have more than 8.ooo IMDB-votes in this list, or at least they'll have had to earn those additional votes after I initially threw them in here (as I'll not remove movies that finally have found a bigger audience). A few selected ones have a little more, but still really deserves more attention then they've gotten already.

The first 111 entries are ranked according to release year. New entries will just be added at bottom to make it easier to keep up with added movies.

1. Blonde Crazy
2. Trouble in Paradise
3. Gold Diggers of 1933
4. 42nd Street
5. Footlight Parade
6. Dinner at Eight
7. Only Yesterday
8. Masquerade in Vienna
9. Captain Blood
10. My Man Godfrey

...plus 137 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Whatever the title said...

Unranked; just thrown in as I checked they had less than 100 views.

Movies will not be removed as they receive their much deserved viewers taking them above 100, but newly found titles worthy of a place will be added to the initial 48.

BTW: There's a couple of movies I came across at 102 and 104 views I found very difficult to leave out. I really should have made this list a month ago...

1. You Are Alone
2. Moonlight Whispers
3. Be with You
4. Sara
5. Hana & Alice
6. Friends (With Benefits)
7. Yellow Earth
8. The Great Sacrifice
9. This Charming Girl
10. Electric Shadows

...plus 51 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

With the Stamp of Zapproval, 43 animated works kick-starts the Zapproved-series of genre-approved quality--replacing my old Q25-series. It's where the good ones usually not make it, but only the ones ranking from very good and straight up to the masterpieces are gaining the full VIP access.

Only the first line--the top 5 movies--are selectively picked to headline and represent the list because of their quality and my love for them. The rest are listed alphabetically, or something along those lines at least...

List will be updated as I get around to new stuff from the genre, revisits omitted ones that makes a better impression and so on. Entries pushed out of the list will get honorary mentions below, and new entries will also be noted as included:

26/02-14: Original list published
03/04-14: Rewatching Pinchcliffe Grand Prix adds it to the list
12/04-14: Rewatching Pinocchio adds it to the list
23/03-'15: Watching The Tale of the Princess Kaguya adds it to the list
09/12-'15: Watching My Neighbors the Yamadas adds it to the list
15/03-'16: Watching A Town Called Panic adds it to the list

Other lists in the Zapproved-series:
Romance
Action
Coming of Age

1. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
2. 5 Centimeters per Second
3. Grave of the Fireflies
4. Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal
5. Ghost in the Shell
6. Akira
7. Castle in the Sky
8. Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
9. Fantastic Mr. Fox
10. Finding Nemo

...plus 38 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

To give you some insight into what I've seen from Japan, and how well they were received as this list is ranked, and as such adds a helping hand in recommending me Japanese movies for my 2015-project.

I begin the list with the 61 highest rated ones seen in my Criticker-days, and add new entries (and adjust old ones) as I dig further into Japanese movies. Some movies I've seen a while back aren't entered here, but hopefully a few of them will be revisited throughout 2015.

Other National Pride-Countries:

1. Seven Samurai
2. High and Low
3. Rashomon
4. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
5. Grave of the Fireflies
6. 5 Centimeters per Second
7. Confessions
8. Yojimbo
9. Survive Style 5+
10. Millennium Actress

...plus 57 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Favorites:

100 Favorites: 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012
The B-Side: 2016 | 2015 | 2014

Essential Cinema

Main List | Pt. I | Pt. II | Pt. III | Pt. IV | Pt. V | Pt. VI

Zapproved:

Animation | Romance | Action | Coming of Age

Decades:

10x10s | 100x00s | 90x90s | 80x80s | 70x70s | 60x60s | 50x50s | 30x30s

Ranked; Sub-Genres & Themes

Heist/Caper

National matters:

Japan: National Pride | My Year Abroad | Recommend Me
: National Pride | My Year Abroad | Recommend Me

My Letterboxd viewings; Rear Windowed:

Wonderful Discoveries: 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012
Old Year, Old Friends: 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012

My Letterboxd 'Motivational' To-Do Lists:

The One That Got Away | The Ones That Also Got Away

Alternative Lists:

My 70 Best Movies You've Never Seen
My 35 Best Movies You've Never Seen Either (a sequel to the list above)
Leonard Maltin's 151 Best Movies You've Never Seen
Richard Crouse's 100 Best Movies You've Never Seen
Richard Crouse's Son of the 100 Best Movies You've Never Seen

Chinese/Asian top-lists and Award-lists:

Hong Kong Film Awards' The Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures
Golden Horse's 100 Greatest Chinese-Language Films
Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film

Top Ten Guilty Pleasures:

Romance | Action, Adventure, Heist, Spy and Blockbusters

Recommendations:

Movies To See Before Your End Credits
Doubling My Canon.... and then some
Treasure Chest
Hidden Gems of Cinema
Undiscovered Gems of the 21st Century
Movies I Sincerely Think Required Everyone Should See
My 2013 Push 10
Obscure Quality AKA Recommendations with less than 100 viewers at LB
100 Great Subtitles

Miscellaneous:

A Disgraceful Waste of Perfectly Good Celluloid
Asian Romances - Ranked
70 Overrated Films From the Top of My Head
Joey's Favorites
My Time Machine is Looping
Look Who's Stalking Too
A Tribute to Jean-Pierre Melville's L'armée des ombres AKA Army of Shadows

My Letterboxd Community-polls Participation:

Decades 25: 00s | 90s | 80s
Top Tens: Sexiest Actresses | Animated | Guilty Pleasures | Directors | Foreign | Desert Island Survival Kit | My LB Top 250-2013 Ballot | Favorite Actors | My Blind and Deaf 2012-Ballot

This list of lists will be updated with new lists, and sooner or later I'll also fill in a few of the missing ones I haven't at the moment updated in a while...

• The Hit List

10 by 10 I'll keep updating this list with my opinion of movies that are essential cinema. Each batch of 10 movies will have its own list on its release (to easily keep up with the progress), and I'll link to all batches in this main list.

Movies aren't chosen in a ranked order, nor in any particular system. I'll however try to pick from several different genres, countries and whatnot within each part-list.

Pt. I | Pt. II | Pt. III | Pt. IV | Pt. V | Pt. VI

1. The Adventures of Robin Hood

   3 years after Captain Blood, Curtiz and his cast all came back together for the well worn story of Robin Hood; and with it--in glorious technicolor--set the bar for adventurous cinematic entertainment. And they did it so well, it would take 43 years for anyone to clear it.

2. Rashomon

   'The Rashomon effect' is contradictory interpretations of the same event by different people. Akira Kurosawa retold the same story again and again, from different perspectives, and cut to the very essence of human nature while doing so. So brilliant storytelling-device that it's still copied in all form of storytelling, and yet no-one have come close to the original.

3. Rififi

   The planning and execution of the heist became the blueprint for the sub-genre. Blacklisted in Hollywood, Dassin revived his career in and along the way created his most influential work with this heist classic.

4. Grave of the Fireflies

   Many directors have told us war is hell, but Takahata took it one step further. He did it with an animated movie, and he started the movie without leaving us much hope.

5. Groundhog Day

   With a simple enough fantasy element, Ramis and Murray gave us an endlessly enjoyable movie that we can return to again and again. Who would have thought a day in Punxsutawney could be so charming, humane, heartfelt, and--more than anything else--funny.

6. Oldboy

   With the new millennium came South Korea as the fresh revitalization of world cinema, and in no other genre than Thriller was it more felt. Loudest of them all; Oldboy echoed that message around the world with its twisted tale.

7. M

   One man had an entire city terrorized, but when Lang went beyond the whistling, the dinner-table that lacked a kid and the opposite worlds of crooks and police chasing the same goal; he managed to make a child-murderer into an antagonist that we couldn't simply resent. An achievement he wouldn't even gotten away with today, and proved just exactly how far ahead of his time Lang was.

8. Alien

   Alien created an atmosphere that was unlike any other. We got to know the cast, we got to love the tired spaceship, and Scott never bothered with simple release for the built tension; he just kept turning the heat up on us, and we screamed so everyone heard us. On Nostromo there was no-one but the Xenomorph to hear our dying heroes.

9. The Killer

   Hong Kong action kept growing, and John Woo took it all further with his two late Heroic Bloodshed-masterpieces than his local colleagues or Hollywood ever managed. Whether you prefer Hard Boiled or The Killer is a matter of taste, put Woo took his Chow Yun-Fat led killing ballets to a different sphere altogether. Slow motion, bullet-clips that wouldn't empty, and well choreographed action unlike anything else.

10. Dazed and Confused

    Linklater really didn't have all that much of a story, nor did he have the kind of evolving dialogue that he later should be known for. But he captured a time and a place in a way rarely done--and not just the town and the mid-70s, but also the teenage life at the brink of the next step. Not even the feel of my own last day of school can compete with the feel of that from Dazed and Confused.

...plus 50 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

6th part of my ongoing opinion of movies that are essential cinema. Each part will consist of 10 movies. Each movie will have a short reasoning for my inclusion, as read in list-view.

Movies aren't chosen in a ranked order, nor in any particular system. I'll however try to pick from several different genres, countries and whatnot within each part-list.

I'll collect all chosen movie in a Essential Cinema-list, and all subsequent part-lists will link back to previous parts as well as the main collection.

Main List | Pt. I | Pt. II | Pt. III | Pt. IV | Pt. V

• Metropolis

  An expensive tour de force to create, but with the set designs, gigantic visual creations and the sheer scale of it all, Fritz Lang's genius payed dividends resulting in one of the greatest silent movies ever made.

• All the President's Men

  The blueprint for investigative journalism movies, and created by setting the bar so high few murder mysteries ever matched it in intensity, intrigue, nor in coming together as a well oiled machinery.

• High and Low

  Kurosawa's masterclass in blocking, but it's also a movie that efficiently spends its three layers so efficiently that it even managed to create one of the greatest procedurals somewhere within, all the while playing around with the differences in status, personalities and possibilities.

• L'Atalante

  Jean Vigo's only feature film is still one of the most cherished ones to come out of , taking poetic realism to a place where poetic is the only keyword you can recall.

• High Noon

  Criticized as anti-American, anti-Western, communist, and whatnot, loosely because of writer Carl Foreman and loosely because of the story, but that doesn't mean John "Duke" Wayne and Howard Hawks were correct in their protection of their own brand of Westerns. Zinnemann's creation with Gary Cooper as the lone lawman is as essential as any of the traditional Westerns.

• It's a Wonderful Life

  The Christmas season movie, and a storyline that has been copied, homaged and referred to ever since its release. Not for nothing, as the Capra's movie with Stewart deserves all the attention it ever got. A human foundation in celluloid form.

• Infernal Affairs

  The action-thriller that twisted and turned its way around the tale of cop versus criminals in new and imaginative ways. More focused, fast paced (and well paced), and well oiled than Scorsese's remake, The Departed.

• The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

  A musical with every line sung, and a pastel-colored almost too striking to get away with it, but Demy's creation is unique and uniquely qualified to complete a vision unlike all others, reeling you in for the depth underneath.

• Perfect Blue

  With a protagonist stepping away from a J-pop girlband to a fresh career as an actress, Satoshi Kon's creation becomes a muddled stark thriller that blends fiction with reality, dreams with roles, and fantasies with real life, and with a--then--young internet-age to help create obsessive stalkers, Kon's storytelling and editing created a unique tale with layers and surprises.

• Closely Watched Trains

  A sweet coming of age tale, with an old fashioned sex comedy's sidetracks, or maybe just simply an allegorical tale of Czechoslovakia throughout the 20th Century--but most likely all that and then some.

For this 2015's 30 countries-challenge I only have a week, and I'll try to stick to movies tagged 'Romance' at IMDb...

Ranked according to esteem, with country and viewing order in notes.

End of challenge-summary:

6 Days, 30 countries and no rewatches.
Thirty Shades of Romance.
Signed, sealed and delivered.

#1 Masterpiece, Essential cinema
#2-3 Classics within sub-genre/theme, sets the bar
#4-5 Great movies, albeit not masterpieces nor moves sub-genres/themes
#6-10 Great movies, Quality, but lacks the Midas-touch
#11 As lightweight goes, an iceberg; the peak of sub-genre, new guilty pleasure favorite
#12-17 Good takes on their respective sub-genres/themes, worth their time, but nothing you can't overlook if those sub-genres aren't your thing
#18-27 Oh, well....
#28-30 Just stay away

1. Spring in a Small Town

   #26 China

2. Comrades, Almost a Love Story

   #11 Hong Kong

3. Ecstasy

   #27 Czechoslovakia

4. A Heart in Winter

   #20

5. The Bow

   #18 South Korea

6. A Girl in Black

   #9 Greece

7. Damnation

   #12 Hungary

8. Valentin

   #17 Argentina

9. Divorce Italian Style

   #7 Italy

10. Brief Encounter

    #19 UK

...plus 20 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

To give you some insight into what I've seen from , and how well they were received as this list is ranked, and as such adds a helping hand in recommending me French movies for my continued 2015-project.

I begin the list with the 63 highest rated ones seen in my Criticker-days, and add new entries (and adjust old ones) as I dig further into French movies. Some movies I've seen a while back aren't entered here, but hopefully a few of them will be revisited throughout 2015.

Publisher's note: get to borrow directors like Kieslowski and Enyedi, or at least the work of theirs that take place mostly or in its entirety in and/or French.

Other National Pride-Countries:

Japan

1. Army of Shadows
2. The Double Life of Véronique
3. L'Atalante
4. La Belle Noiseuse
5. A Heart in Winter
6. Le Samouraï
7. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
8. Claire's Knee
9. Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud
10. The Big Risk

...plus 78 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Like last year, and the year before and the one before that, I'll take a quick peak at the best movies seen in 2015; both revisits and new acquaintances. This list are for those best revisits that almost feels like old friends by now.

I've seen less than I'd liked to during the year, but returning for the best ones have absolutely been worth every single moment. Still. I've revisited all too few movies in the year that ed, and as such only these seven deserves their place on the list. Here is to more movies watched in 2016 and the Letterboxd community keep giving me as much--or more--than in the year that was. Love you guys and gals!

Here are the accompanying best new discoveries of the year that was.

1. Lost in Translation
2. Army of Shadows
3. Pride and Prejudice
4. Millennium Actress
5. Trust
6. The Consequences of Love
7. It Happened One Night

Like last year, and the year before and the one before that, I'll take a quick peak at the best movies seen in 2015; both revisits and new acquaintances. This list are for those new discoveries, and only the ones made in 2013 or before.

I've seen less than I'd liked to during the year as well, but the best ones have at least been brilliant discoveries and I've watched a larger portion of great old movies than in the latter years. Here is to more movies watched in 2016 and the Letterboxd community keep giving me as much--or more--than in the year that was. Love you guys and gals!

Here are the accompanying best revisits of the year that was.

1. High and Low
2. L'Atalante
3. The Cranes Are Flying
4. Spring in a Small Town
5. A Heart in Winter
6. All the President's Men
7. La Belle Noiseuse
8. Comrades, Almost a Love Story
9. Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud
10. The Big Risk

...plus 32 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

"At a meeting just outside Paris, a fifteen-year-old girl came up to me and said that she'd been to see [The Double Life of] Véronique.
She'd gone once, twice, three times and only wanted to say one thing really - that she realized that there is such a thing as a soul.
She hadn't known before, but now she knew that the soul does exist.
There's something very beautiful in that.

It was worth making Véronique for that girl.
It was worth working for a year, sacrificing all that money, energy, time, patience, torturing yourself, killing yourself, taking thousands of decisions, so that one young girl in Paris should realize that there is such a thing as a soul.

It's worth it."
-Krzysztof Kieslowski

Yes, Krzysztof. It was bloody well worth it, and then some. Once upon a time Kieslowski opened my eyes for a certain blend of movies, and still, on this anniversary list here at Letterboxd, Kieslowski once again is the most successful director on it. I strongly suspect Kurosawa will manage to knock him down a notch for the next one, so I've chosen to celebrate Kieslowski especially for this one.

Well, lads and legs. You all know the drill by now, so without much further ado; In addition to the movie that made a fifteen year old Parisienne realize that movies actually can answer one of the big questions in life, these are the other 99 movies I care about today. They aren't the best 100 I've seen, nor the essentials or the most influential ones, and the one ranked at 3rd isn't necessarily better than the one ranked at 5th, but these are the 100 ranked somewhat according to my current esteem.

I'm looking to do this annually in late December or early January, so the next edition is estimated to be published in December 2016 or January 2017, a full year from now.

Last year's edition
2014 edition
2013 edition
50 Loved Ones (the original 2012 steppingstone)

Publisher's notes:
- Top 4 unchanged
- All top 10 movies still in top 10, although rearranged as Make Way for Tomorrow drops from 5th to 7th, and Rear Window moves up from 6th to 5th. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind also drops down from 7th to 8th, and Léon drops from 8th to 10th, while M moves up from 9th to 6th and Raiders of the Lost Ark moves up from 10th to 9th
- Highest placed newcomer is L'atalante in 13th
- Highest bump is Starship Troopers moving up from 65th to 28th
- Highest top half bump is Le samouraï moving up from 27th to 22th
- Largest drop is Serenity (*) dropping out from 23rd
- Otherwise the highest placed movie on last year's list to drop all the way out is 5 Centimeters per Second from 64th
- Largest surviving drop is The Big Lebowski from 63rd to 98th

Some stats: (change from 2015-edition)

European: 30 (+3)
Asian: 23 (-1)
Animated: 9 (--)

2010s: 2 (-1)
2000s: 22 (-6)
1990s: 24 (+2)
1980s: 13 (-1)
1970s: 6 (+2)
1960s: 7 (+1)
1950s: 9 (+1)
1940s: 3 (+1)
1930s: 11 (+1)
>1930: 3 (--)

Directors with multiple entries:

3 Entries:

Krzysztof Kieslowski (2, 35 & 47)
Akira Kurosawa (11, 20 & 84)
Satoshi Kon (48, 80 & 94)

The following 8 directors have all two entries each:

Jean-Pierre Melville (18 & 22)
Alfred Hitchcock (5 & 75)
Patrice Leconte (42 & 52)
Billy Wilder (45 & 50)
Leo McCarey (7 & 91)
Ingmar Bergman (57 & 60)
Michael Curtiz (32 & 97)
Shunji Iwai (77 & 81)

2016 New Entries: (linked to my reviews)

#13 L'atalante
#16 The Cranes are Flying
#20 High and Low
#26 Un cœur en hiver
#64 Picnic at Hanging Rock
#72 Comrades: Almost a Love Story
#87 All the President's Men
#90 Ecstasy
#94 Millennium Actress
#96 Spring in a Small Town

2015-Entries revisited that survived: (linked to my reviews)[last year's placing]

#1 Lost in Translation [#1]
#18 L'armée des ombres [#17]
#46 Trust [#29]

New (re-)entries without a 2015-viewing:

None...

Drop-outs from 2015-Edition: (last years placing)

Serenity (#23), 5 Centimeters per Second (#64), Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (#85), Le conseguenze dell'amore (#86), Confessions (#87), Infernal Affairs (#88), Oldboy (#93), RoboCop (#95), A Moment to (#96), It Happened One Night (#98)

As usual, in a week or so I'll publish an accompanying B-sides-list of 100 movies. Edit 1/1-'16: Now released here.

Publisher's words:

(*) During my re-watch of Firefly and Serenity this year, I came to understand that my love for the movie was so linked to my love for the TV-show that I found it impossible to judge the movie on its own. As such I decided to 'demote' Serenity to the annual B-sides list, so it dropping out of this list should in no way be seen as my love for it diminishing. Browncoat for life.

Otherwise, 2015 has been a quiet year. I think I would have to go back at least a decade to find a year when I watch less movies, but at least the annual 30 Countries-challenge gave me a handful of great experiences. I was looking to broaden my horizon in Japan this year, but then I discovered Claude Sautet during the 30 Countries-challenge, and I was soon lost in him as well as the rest of instead.

As a result I figure I'll always look back at 2015 as the year I discovered Claude Sautet. Only one of those reached this list this time, but the general quality of his movies was nothing short of incredibly impressive. In other aspects, I'll probably also especially think back at the year as my first experiences with the poetic masterpiece L'atalante from Jean Vigo and the amazing cinematic achievements in Mikhail Kalatozov's The Cranes are Flying.

Although I haven't seen as many movies as I'd liked, I've still had them on my mind quite a bit. Not for nothing movies like Starship Troopers, Sedotta e abbandonata, and Mächen in Uniform all have climbed a lot without a viewing in the past year. I've of course also spent quite a bit of time on creating the Letterboxd Season Challenge. Hopefully quite a few participants have enjoyed their experience with it. So far, I've already myself spent it falling in love with movies like High and Low and Picnic at Hanging Rock, and been impressed as heck by the likes of Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, La belle noiseuse, It's a Wonderful Life, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Assault on Precinct 13 and Get Carter. Hopefully I can add another dozen or so movies to either of those list by the end of the challenge.

For 2016 I hope to revisit quite a few of the movies on this list. Some of them because they desperately need such a revisit to have any hopes of appearing on the next list, and others simply because I crave them. It's quite common that fresher experiences live on better in memory, and as such some great experiences from years ago doesn't manage to keep hold of my esteem as well as those fresher ones. There's a few notable exceptions, though. A movie like M have I only seen once, and still it amazingly enough managed to climb from 9th to 6th this year because it grew in esteem as I pondered a few of its qualities in the year that ed.

A last note on Krzysztof Kieslowski. I mentioned I do believe Akira Kurosawa stands a good chance to overtake him in 2016, but I also need to revisit Kieslowski's Three Colours-trilogy sooner rather than later. And the lovely combination of his magic and Juliette Binoche's outstanding acting stands a very good chance of adding Blue to this list next time around.

Then I guess only one thing remains... to wish you all...

Merry Christmas,
Monsieur Flynn.

1. Lost in Translation
2. The Double Life of Véronique
3. Show Me Love
4. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
5. Rear Window
6. M
7. Make Way for Tomorrow
8. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
9. Raiders of the Lost Ark
10. Léon: The Professional

...plus 90 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

A week since I released my annual favorite-list, so as usual it's time for the B-side. This year they all come ranked as well, somewhat according to how likely they are to be back for the next edition. Another change is the fact I've now removed all TV-miniseries, web-series, shorts and whatnot. Although, no rule without an exception, and as such Wallace and Gromit managed to hang on there.

What are the B-sides movies? They are the ones that are genre-favorites, nostalgic favorites or plain guilty-like pleasures I just can't seem to shed as they go a bit over and beyond. Adventures and fun. Zombies, pirates and superheroes. Comedies, time travel, fantasy, and spoofs. These movies might not win me over as much as the likes of Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Killer, Iron Monkey, The Adventures of Robin Hood and Gold Diggers of 1933--like the ones that made it into my favorites-list--but they are all movies I fully embrace.

Earlier editions:
The B-side: Top 100 – 2015 Edition
The B-side: Top 50 – 2014 Edition

I guess it's about time I stats up this one a little as well.

Some stats: (change from 2015-edition)

European: 16 (-1)
Asian: 17 (+1)
Animated/Stop-Motion: 6 (-4)

2010s: 10 (-1)
2000s: 27 (-8)
1990s: 19 (--)
1980s: 17 (-2)
1970s: 7 (+2)
1960s: 6 (+2)
1950s: 4 (+3)
1940s: 2 (+2)
1930s: 7 (+2)
>1930: 1 (--)

Directors with multiple entries:

3 Entries:

Hayao Miyazaki (12, 39 & 61)

The following 11 directors have all two entries each:

Terry Gilliam (3 & 13)
Frank Capra (5 &19)
Jim Henson (27 & 31)
Joss Whedon (1 & 56)
John Hughes (8 & 65)
Rob Reiner (41 & 72)
Kwak Jae-Young (17 & 98)
Jean-Pierre Jeunet (29 & 95)
Michel Haznavicius (57 & 93)
Ernst Lubitsch (63 & 91)
Allan Moyle (75 & 94)

2016 New Entries: (linked to my reviews)

#5 It's a Wonderful Life
#18 Assault on Precinct 13
#24 Local Hero
#29 Delicatessen
#34 The Day the Earth Stood Still
#37 Frankenstein
#52 Divorce Italian Style
#73 Letters to Santa

I guess that just means I have to to wish you all

Happy New Year!
Monsieur Flynn

1. Serenity
2. The Sting
3. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
4. Singin' in the Rain
5. It's a Wonderful Life
6. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
7. Infernal Affairs
8. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
9. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
10. Heathers

...plus 90 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Letterboxd have changed the way we communicate about movies. Roger Ebert might have ed away, but it's never been easier to find great resources amongst the average Joe. Sure enough, few of us will ever aspire to the heights of Ebert or that of Letterboxd's own legend, Adam Cook, but there are still plenty of people out there worth getting to know, and Letterboxd allows us all to do so.

Should you ever wonder about which horror-movies to check out, Hollie Horror have covered just about everything ever made. Wondering about what's worth to check out from before 1940? PUNQ's your guy. I doubt any living person have bothered to watch as much crappy early era movies as him, and he's helpful enough to give us his top lists from each years--often spanning no less than 300 movies a year. Want to know which crime flicks were great in the 70s? Ask Steve G. And so on and so forth. There are no shortage of knowledge here, and plenty of s with very specific areas of expertise most acclaimed movie critics would envy.

And there are no shortage of s helping you discover gems you otherwise might not even have heard about. Plenty of lists with obscure movies, hidden treasures, and recommendations with less than xx viewers thus far. There are also plenty of s putting a very personal touch on their lists or reviews by sharing from their own experiences, adding a depth that is unparalleled. If that wasn't enough, there's always a community challenge coming along to help you discover new things. Sometimes its a scavenger hunt, every year there is a 30 countries in 31 days challenge, and more often than most of us can find time; there's always someone looking to watch and review 100 movies in a single month.

Now, if you're anything like my good friend, Thomas, it doesn't matter how many projects or challenges you attempt; you always seem to come up short, never actually completing any of them. You love the idea of them, but there simply aren't enough time in each month and there are too many other movies crying out for your attention, you got work or school, and of course children need food on the table and whatnot. For every challenge or project you wished you could fully participate in, you're left a little more dispirited. Fret not. This might just be the thing for you, and it even might be a thing for all those hardworking of the community that find the time to do all those monthly challenges as well...

Created in the spirit of Letterboxd, I give you the Letterboxd Season Challenge. A challenge that follows the typical TV-season, from early September to early May, and demands less than a movie a week at that. Even with three kids, two jobs and a mistress at the side, you might just find the time to make it by May 2016.

It's of course also created with the more typical Letterboxd spirit in mind, looking to expand horizons and check out stuff you might not find the motivation to lend the light of day without a little push. Still. It's not looking to be too heavy handed, and most of the weeks there will be so many possible movies to choose from, everyone should both find something they really would like to watch, and have no problem getting their hands at at least one of those.

To qualify for the first LSC Hall of Fame around May 10th, you'll have to have watched, reviewed and tagged at least one movie from each week's challenges between September 1st and May 10th. Whether you choose to watch them according to the scheduled weekly program or get through all of them already in September (or as late as all in May), that's up to you. I do think it for most s will be most enjoyable to follow the weekly schedule somewhat, and then you'll also get the added benefit of your fellow participants watching and reviewing the same kind of movies as you most weeks.

I've chosen to test the waters for interest even though there are a couple of months left until the beginning of the season. That way people will get a lot of time to check out the challenges and get their hands on a few of those movies they just haven't found place for in their library yet. It also should give people time to dig a bit into each weekly challenge if they choose to do so, and that way they might just also find inspiration to check out even more than one movie from each category/theme/list/decade/whatever. Although summer might not be the best time for watching movies, for someone interested in movies it's as nice a time as any to create future watchlists in your head while enjoying the sunny beach with a cold drink in your hand.

Each weekly challenge is explained in list view, represented by one qualifying movie for that week. Each weekly tag will also be found there.

Letterboxders participating will be listed below (and for the remainder of the summer these names will be s that have voiced their interest):

Monsieur Flynn (your host/his list)
Dave Vis (list)
Jonathan White
Lise
DirkH (list, only a clone thus far)
Thomas Ringdal (list)
Bridger_Wingate (list)
Arnold Furious (list)
Bendik Kaalaas (list)
Thomas Fjellum (list)
—————————————————————————————
Henrik Løberg (list)
Nathan
Daniel Rodriguez (list)
William Tell (list)
James Richards (list)
JimmyDean (list)
Aaron (list)
Peter Schubert (list)
David Lawrence (list)
Jayce Fryman
—————————————————————————————
Da_Bill (list)
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As you make your own lists for the challenge, I appreciate it if you all tag it with at least:
lsc2015-16

Additional challenge-stuff:

Stephen Huseby have taken on the task of added value to the preliminary chosen movies from each participant. Here's his list for the first week's chosen ones at Roger Ebert-week. Head over there and spread the love, discuss the trends and whatnot.
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | Week 17 | Week 18 | Week 19 | Week 20 | Week 21 | Week 22 | Week 23 | Week 24 | Week 25 | Week 26 | Week 27 | Week 28 | Week 29 | Week 30 | Week 31 | Week 32 | Week 33

And here are the links to keep up with the latest thanks to the weekly tags;
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | Week 17 | Week 18 | Week 19 | Week 20 | Week 21 | Week 22 | Week 23 | Week 24 | Week 25 | Week 26 | Week 27 | Week 28 | Week 29 | Week 30 | Week 31 | Week 32 | Week 33

And Connor Denney have taken it upon himself to keep up with a master spreadsheet of all movies reviewed for the challenge.

Please give a big hand of appreciation to Stephen and Connor for all their hard work!

1. Monsieur Hire

   Week 1: September 6th-12th
   Roger Ebert Week

   I might not always have agreed with the man, but truth be told; whenever I reach 363 movies for my take on the equivalent of his 'Great Movies', I'm confident at least 150 of those will be the very same as his (probably at least 200). A man that finds room for My Neighbor Totoro, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Groundhog Day, Say Anything..., My Man Godfrey, and Raiders of the Lost Ark along the likes of Raise the Red Lantern, Monsieur Hire, The Double Life of Veronique, Rashomon, Alien, Rear Window, The Last Picture Show, Pandora's Box, and Persona (to mention a lot).... he just can't be a man of bad taste from where I'm standing.

   Your challenge of the week, should you choose to accept it, is to watch at least one previously unseen movie of his Great Movies.
   Weekly tag: 'lsc2015-16 week1'

2. Gold Diggers of 1933

   Week 2: September 13th-19th
   30's Musicals Week

   They had barely began talkies before they started singing and dancing, and in the 30s they had more than Fred and Ginger to offer. Whether you'd like to check out them or maybe Lubitch, von Sternberg or legendary dance choreographer Busby Berkeley, as they take on the likes of Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Marlene Dietrich, Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Claudette Colbert, Judy Garland or Ruby Keeler, there should be plenty of options out there.

   Your weekly challenge; watch at least one previously unseen musical from the 30s.
   Weekly tag: 'lsc2015-16 week2'

3. Rashomon

   Week 3: September 20th-26th
   Master of the East Week; Akira Kurosawa

   Kurosawa is a name that need no further introduction, but there are still plenty of people out there that haven't dipped their toes in his pond--and a whole lot more that still have a lot unseen from his filmograpy. You won't however be limited to Japanese movies, as the grand old man also had knowledge of the cinematic world up his sleeve...

   Your challenge of the week is to either watch at least one previously unseen Kurosawa-movie, or to watch at least one of the unseen movies from his 101 mentioned ones in A Dream is a Genius.
   Weekly tag: 'lsc2015-16 week3'

4. Goldfinger

   Week 4: September 27th-October 3rd
   60's Blockbuster Week

   James Bond made quite an impact on the 60's box office, taking 6 of the 28 top grossing spots. It was still Sound of Music that made the largest splash, and other options include Romeo and Juliet, Dr. Zhivago, True Grit, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Psycho and Planet of the Apes.

   Your weekly challenge is to watch at least one previously unseen 60s-movie amongst the top 50 grossing ones at the US box office.
   Weekly tag: 'lsc2015-16 week4'

5. Safety Last!

   Week 5: October 4th-10th
   PUNQ Week

   For the sheer insanity inherit in the quantity of early age movies he's watching each year, PUNQ deserves his own week of recognition in the community. It doesn't hurt that his achievements also is reason enough no-one thinks of me first whenever someone mentions something along the lines of "that crazy Norwegian"....

   Your weekly challenge is to watch at least one previously unseen feature film that made it into one of PUNQ's top ten spots at any of his yearly lists taking on the years prior to 1940.
   Weekly tag: 'lsc2015-16 week5'

6. The Double Life of Véronique

   Week 6: October 11th-17th
   Eastern European Week

   Countries that doesn't produce that many acclaimed directors, but every so often one comes along that makes a difference. Just because they were born in "smaller" movie-countries, doesn't mean you should deny yourself the pleasure to check out what they got to say.

   Your weekly challenge is to watch at least one previously unseen movie from one of the following directors; Czech Jan Švankmajer, Polish Krzysztof Kieślowski, Turkish Nuri Bilge Ceylan or Hungarian Béla Tarr.
   Weekly tag: 'lsc2015-16 week6'

7. Linda Linda Linda

   Week 7: October 18th-24th
   Midnight Eye Week

   Japan rightfully get a lot of praise and recognition for their early masters; the likes of Kurosawa, Ozu, Mizoguchi, and Kobayashi. Although South-Koreans get a lot of well deserved praise in the new millennium, Japan shouldn't be forgotten. They still know how to make great movies.

   Your weekly challenge is to watch at least one movie from one of the seven Midnight Eye crew's top ten lists, or from the top list from their reader's poll.
   Weekly tag: 'lsc2015-16 week7'

8. The Phantom Carriage

   Week 8: October 25th-31st
   Halloween Special: Old School Horror Week

   The first wave of Vampire movies, early moral tales, and freaks as Frankenstein or monsters as King Kong. The late days of silent movies and the early days of talkies were brimming with early attempts at scaring the bejeezus out of us. Wiene, Murnau, Whale, Sjöström, Browning, and of course Fritz Lang.

   Your weekly challenge is to watch at least one previously unseen horror-movie made between 1920 and 1935.
   Weekly tag: 'lsc2015-16 week8'

9. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

   Week 9: November 1st-6th
   Hardboiled Wonderland Week

   The 70s had their crime renaissance. Grittier, murky, violent, and not always so politically correct. Just what the genre ordered.

   Your weekly challenge is to watch at least one previously unseen Hardboiled Wonderland-movie
   Weekly tag: 'lsc2015-16 week9'

10. Stagecoach

    Week 10: November 8th-14th
    Western Week

    Between John Wayne and Clint Eastwood you've pretty much summed up the two main shades of Westerns, and if you add the directors John Ford, Sergio Leone and Budd Boetticher you've pretty much covered the spread.

    Your weekly challenge is to watch at least one previously unseen western-movie made by Ford, Leone or Boetticher.
    Weekly tag: 'lsc2015-16 week10'

...plus 23 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Despite my lack of success last year (only reached 46), I'm trying to build on my 30 Countries success this year, once again looking to get to 80 movies from around the world. I'm obviously not looking to get through 80 countries, but I'll set the bar at max 3 Movies from any country counting towards this journey.

Movies are listed in order of watched.

Spent quota:

: A Heart in Winter, Rififi and Crooks in Clover
USA: Life Partners, Larceny Inc. and How to Steal a Million
Russia: Inadequate People, Strike and The Cranes Are Flying
Italy: Divorce Italian Style, Big Deal on Madonna Street and The Consequences of Love
Japan: Heavenly Forest, High and Low, and Moon & Cherry
Australia: Looking for Alibrandi, Predestination and Picnic at Hanging Rock
UK: Brief Encounter, The League of Gentlemen and Get Carter

1. Looking for Alibrandi

   Australia

2. The Princess and the Warrior

3. Loft

   Belgium

4. Letters to Santa

   Poland

5. When Brendan Met Trudy

   Ireland

6. As It Is in Heaven

   Sweden

7. Divorce Italian Style

   Italy

8. Inadequate People

   Russia

9. A Girl in Black

   Greece

10. The Trap

    Canada

...plus 41 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

My main 2015-project was to dig deeper into Japanese cinema, but my sudden love affair with Claude Sautet sent me across the world back to my originally intended second stop; , and here I'll collect those I get to on my unintended trip to Parisian streets, the riviera. and Provence. To recommend me movies to check out, please feel more than free to do so in my Recommend Me: French movies-list that I made back in December 2014.

And if you feel really festive you might even want to help me collecting titles for the original destination this year; Japan...

List is unranked, just added accordingly to the order I watched them during 2015. Those rated 3 stars or better are also added to my National Pride; -list, and there they are ranked according to how they stack up against all French movies I've seen (since medio-2010).

Other destinations;

Japan

1. A Heart in Winter
2. Rififi
3. Crooks in Clover
4. The Big Risk
5. Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud
6. The Things of Life
7. Le Doulos
8. The Wages of Fear
9. A Very Long Engagement
10. Man on the Train

...plus 28 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

As I'm looking to do a better job digging into the filmography of different directors, this list is to keep up with the directors I do dig into with five movies. I'm not necessarily looking to watch five previously unseen movies, as I figure it will often be just as valuable to revisit movies I've seen before--especially in the light of knowing the director better with new information of his/her other work.

Rather than set up a list of directors I want to explore, I think it will work out better if I just explore as they catch my fancy or I get curious about something.

I'll rank their five entries according to how well they sit with me on this exploring viewing, from left to right for each director.

#s for director: Director Explored [previously seen from director] (Time for exploration)

#1-5: Jean Renoir [La grande illusion & Le crime de Monsieur Lange] (December 2015)

1. French Cancan
2. The Rules of the Game
3. La Bête Humaine
4. La Chienne
5. The Lower Depths