I’m not sure what this means. Like, you think the NYT is out of step with other critics and their readers would pick differently from other segments of the population? Or, differently, if the NYT critics are often like other critics, how would you even tell?
Yeah I’m not sure what the objection about The NY Times is supposed to mean. Pretty much every film on this list is well-regarded by both critics and the general public. It’s not some snooty arthouse only-liked-by-critics list.
It’s not an objection: it’s an observation. It’s a poll taken of a select audience that isn’t necessarily reflective of the opinions of people who get their reviews elsewhere, let alone the general movie going population.
Note that this list was published just one day ago. Obviously, as time goes by, the years included in the 21st century so far increases. This means that the films included in the list are different than the ones in a list with the same name published a year ago or a decade ago or whatever. Here’s the list:
Bear in mind, the “general public” attends about 2 movies a year. I’m not sure I’d want to discuss a poll dominated by the general public. (Am i an elitist? Why yes, yes i am)
I said the general movie going public.
That’s the number i used. The general Adult moviegoing public.
Wait, we shouldn’t be talking about ‘moviegoing’ public or attendance, given nearly everything on this list has streamed.
I think Parasite is obscenely overrated. I haven’t seen Mulholland Drive, but No Country is one of my favorite movies of all time. Dark Knight overrated, Children of men underrated. Memento actually the best Nolan film.
Of the ones I’ve seen I think Killers of the Flower Moon is the only one I might say shouldn’t be on there. Top Gun: Maverick isn’t deep or anything, but god damn is it a spectacle.
My top 5 would probably be: 1) No Country for Old Men 2) Mad Max Fury Road 3) Children of Men 4) Inglourious Basterds 5) Fellowship of the Ring. Firm on the top 3, could be convinced of the other two.
Fury Road is the greatest action movie of all time. I also think the Raid 2 is better than all the John Wick movies, but then all 4 JW movies right after.
But that’s what I’m saying. Most reviews everywhere have most of these films in high regard. The NY Times isn’t special in that. IMO these films don’t seem like the opinion of a select audience.
There are a lot of movies on there I have never heard of, and of course most of them I have never watched, but of the ones I have watched on there, there are a lot I did not respond to like others seemed to, so I would tend to want them lower on the list, or removed entirely (these include Bridesmaids, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and Barbie). I’d also add some more animated movies that are not Pixar, like How To Train Your Dragon, or Tangled.
But these lists are really just a way to think about your own tastes, and maybe inspire you to check something new out, so in that spirit it’s a fine and unremarkable list.
Exactly. Categories like “top” or “best” or “greatest” are completely subjective without some specific criteria behind them. I mean, I like Hardcore Henry a lot better than Fury Road as an action film, but I get why most people wouldn’t agree.
I ran the 100 films against their IMDb scores to see what outliers there might be (editorial note: yes, IMDb is also subjective), it looks like Under the Skin (6.3) is the biggest one. But also Bridesmaids and Tree of Life (both at 6.8) both come in under 7.0.
I have seen 76 of the 100 and, while my list would be quite different, I don’t see anything at first glance to be outraged about.
I do think these missing titles belong:
- 1917
- A Complete Unknown
- Argo
- Lincoln
- Nebraska
- Poor Things
- The King’s Speech
And I would remove:
- Everything Everywhere All At Once
- Phantom Thread
- The Wolf of Wall Street
- The Tree of Life
- Mean Girls
- Barbie
- Top Gun: Maverick
- Knives Out
Deserve to be much higher:
- Midsommar (99)
- Memento (61)
- Up (85)
- Almost Famous (51)
- Get Out (17)
mmm
I see what you did there.
If we’re talking about the lack of Spielberg on this list - and we should be - then where is Catch Me if You Can? It’s one of his best films, and features Leo Dicaprio’s all-time best performance.
Sorry, is RRR an abbreviation? Google just leads me to a seemingly average Indian movie
ETA: Upon further review, it seems more notable than that. The IMDb 7.8 confused me.
Good call on 1917, that was superb, even if as pointed out in articles after I’d seen it, the premise is daft because they would have just used pigeons.
I also forgot Master and Commander. It’s a real shame that they never made any more of those, because Crowe and Bettany are far too old now, and Weir (the director) is 80 now. But the one they did make was so good.
Wasn’t most of Spielberg’s work 20th century?
One notable absence is Avatar. Now, I’m not saying that it necessarily should be on the list, but it was certainly extremely popular when it came out, to the point that its absence is notable.