Pretty unimpressive list. I’ve seen 27 of them, and if I’m being really generous I could consider about half of those four- or five-star movies:
Malcolm X
Groundhog Day
Fargo
The Big Lebowski
Being John Malkovich
Run Lola Run
Almost Famous
Best in Show (agree with ArchiveGuy that A Mighty Wind is superior)
Amelie
Donnie Darko
Lord of the Rings
Memento
Mulholland Dr.
A lot of movies on there I have absolutely no interest in seeing. You couldn’t pay me enough to sit through Oldboy. Guess that means I can’t die.
I got about halfway through making my list of movies I haven’t seen when I saw The Bourne Ultimatum. The Bourne Identity was amazing but any list that describes the two sequels as “modern classics” has lost my respect.
Finding Nemo is a brilliant movie in lots of ways. The effects aren’t cutting edge anymore but the storyline is original and can’t be beat. It is a fantasy, comedy, action flick, and drama as well as ground-breaking.
I’ve seen Raise the Red Lantern at least three times. Phenomenal film. Yet if someone had told me what it was about, it wouldn’t have sounded interesting to me.
I have seen 18 from that list, but 2 of my recent favorites (movies that became instant “Classics” in my world) are not on that list so the list is Crap.
I’ve yet to see 46 movies from the list. Seems like a decent enough list to me but I felt that Gosford Park and The Company, De-lovely, Spirited Away (instead of Mononoke), Talk to Her (either in the place of or in addition to All About My Mother), Wag the Dog (maybe Primary Colors also), Zatoichi, After Life (by Hirokazu Koreeda) and The Departed should have been featured. I also think Munich could be placed instead of either Schindler’s List or Saving Private Ryan and that either Carandiru or Elite Squad would be much better choices than City of God.
I also can’t figure out why the these movies were ever put in the list: Michael Clayton (great performance, boring movie), Shaun of the Dead (completely forgettable), Memento (good but not great), The Sixth Sense (same as the last one, also, loses a lot of impact after one knows the twist), There’s Something About Mary (crude humor at its worst), Scream (boring horror), Boogie Nights (I remember liking it a lot, but not enough, apparently, to remember anything else about it) and Ghost in the Shell (pretty decent but that’s it). There’s a few others I didn’t like so much but can see why people thought they did. In Oldboy’s case I understand why it made the list. I’m pretty sure it’s for the same reasons I hated it as much as man can hate a movie.
Actually, I guess that, as there are 12 movies I’d like to add or substitute and a further 9 that I’m pretty positive don’t belong and considering that some of the movies on the list I didn’t watch I failed to do so because I had a good idea I’d dislike them, the list suddenly doesn’t seem so decent anymore.
major kudos to putting Living in Oblivion on this list. I thought I was the only person who HAS seen this one, and it’s brilliant. What the heck is Supercop doing on there? And WHAT IN THE HELL is Elephant doing on there? That’s probably the WORST movie I’ve ever seen.
I have not seen:
Malcolm X - I really should, even though it’s a 3 hour movie which I’ve heard feels like 9 hours
The Player - Tim Robbins, Rob Reiner, why have I not even HEARD of this one (the generic title doesn’t help)
Raise the Red Lantern - heard the name, know nothing about it. Should watch sometime.
Before Sunrise - didn’t this get a Before Sunset sequel recently? Haven’t seen either…
Sense and Sensibility - gave me an impression of being a Pride and Prejudice sequel. No thanks.
Big Night - another one I’ve never even heard of…
Dead Man - (see above)
Lone Star - (see above…is this one about Texas, per chance?)
Secrets & Lies - another one I know the name of, but nothing else
Eve’s Bayou - "
The Sweet Hereafter - "
Fireworks - I know nothing about this one, but I love the title, so the movie must rock!
Election - I really do need to see this one…
Yi Yi - I actually own the DVD (anything that Criterion chooses to release automatically gets my interest) but haven’t gotten around to it yet
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - is this the one about the deaf kid?
I didn’t count this as one that I’d seen. I actually did see it once as an in-flight movie, and had a hard time hearing everything. It may have been an edited version, too. I didn’t like it much, but I should probably try it again under better circumstances.
It was nice to see Eve’s Bayou on the list. Anyway, I’ve seen 45 of the movies and parts of another 15 or so that bored me so much I stopped watching them partway through.