IMDB Top 250 films

[yovargas]

I'd been thinking about this and it occurred to me that it is very similar to what I'd just been saying about Jane Austin, someone whose great talents I can clearly recognize and respect while personally finding them pretty darn annoying.

[axordil]

Yov--

Given your philosophical leanings, I'm would be surprised if you bought into the "Rise and Fall of the Asshole" theme (great name btw). It seems like it's about the most anti-libertarian trope imaginable. Not because libertarians are assholes! No one has a lock on that distinction.

Rather, the theme must feel pretty insulting to someone who believes a combination of talent, hard work, and being left alone should yield success. The characters in question tend to succeed--while they do--by conniving, intimidation, and eliminating the competition, and when their comeuppance finally arrives, as often as not it comes from someone who's merely better at it than they are.

[yovargas]

I would hope that success by conniving, intimidation, and "eliminating" the competition would be against most anybody's philosophical leanings!

But since you mention, it is true that I do have extra fondness for the relatively rare movie or TV show that is about smart, honest, hard-working people succeeding because they are smart, honest, and hard-working. (See: Just about anything by Aaron Sorkin. I love Aaron Sorkin.)

[axordil]

And on a not-entirely-unrelated note: http://www.ilona-andrews.com/brief-anal ... c-fiction/

[Alatar]

That's an unfortunate shortening of the URL...

[Voronwë the Faithful]

[yovargas]

That's an unfortunate shortening of the URL...

Why, wish it wasn't brief?

[axordil]

[Lalaith]

[Primula Baggins]

NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW.

Ahem.

But since you mention, it is true that I do have extra fondness for the relatively rare movie or TV show that is about smart, honest, hard-working people succeeding because they are smart, honest, and hard-working. (See: Just about anything by Aaron Sorkin. I love Aaron Sorkin.)

Which means you would love Firefly. I mean. Right? *adores Firefly*

[Frelga]

* adores Firefly, too *

Firefly has been called a libertarian show before. But the Serenity crew isn't exactly succeeding, they are surviving at best.

I've also heard the Batman movies to be called libertarian. Possibly, but I was so underwhelmed by what I saw of Nolan's movies that I don't see it as a compliment.

Seriously, Bale was more charismatic and intense in the Big Short where he plays a fund manager with a glass eye and unspecified neurological disorder.

[yovargas]

Which means you would love Firefly. I mean. Right?

Of course. But I think that just means I'm human. Right?

[Impenitent]

firefly tshirt

[Primula Baggins]

I can tell I'm going to need to watch this again soon.

[Túrin Turambar]

I would hope that success by conniving, intimidation, and "eliminating" the competition would be against most anybody's philosophical leanings!

I'd also add that I share many of yov's philosophical leanings, and I really like the Godfather (and Citizen Kane is growing on me).

[axordil]

Which also doesn't surprise me.

Really, very little surprises me any more.

[yovargas]

Here is my most recent crop of movies for this list. Most notable in this group is my first F rating so far. That honor goes to the film Ran (from legendary director Kurosawa), one of the most obnoxious, melodramatic movies I've ever seen. Kurosawa's movies often have very melodramatic acting which I generally find pretty annoying but this one took that to the nth degree with practically every character constantly shouting or sobbing hysterically at the drop of a hat. UGH.

One other note - though Heat was the only crime drama on this list, I am really really really sick of crime dramas. I have a feeling that this obsession is more of a American/English thing as the classic non-English movies don't seem to feature nearly as many stories about criminals and gangsters. If I'm right that this obsession is particular to our culture, it is interesting to ponder why that would be. It is definitely an obsession I do not share.


Forrest Gump A
Touch of Evil A
The Sixth Sense A-
Rear Window B+
Heat B-
North by Northwest C-
The Kid C-
To Kill a Mockingbird C-
Blade Runner D
Gandhi D
Ran F

[Primula Baggins]

Why a D for Gandhi? (And props for spelling it right! )

Blade Runner—though I loved it and it's widely considered a classic, I can see that. Awesome visuals, slow pace. If you can't just bathe in the images, it might well drag. (Plus, of course, the incongruous ending tacked on to the theatrical release by studio order. I don't know which version you saw, yov, but if it was that, you have a point. That was the biggest "Oh, man!" of any SF film I've ever seen.)

I'd argue, though, that Blade Runner has had more influence on the visual imaginations of science fiction writers than any other film since 2001.

[Alatar]

Any film that contains a scene like this can't be a D. Those 3 minutes alone elevate the entire movie to at least a B.

[Túrin Turambar]

What was with Mockingbird? I don't believe that it falls into any of the categories you've criticised so far .