Filtering by Tag: movies

Allan Konigsberg Filmography

Added on by C. Maoxian.

The American Film Institute's List of 100 Years, 100 Movies, Sorted Chronologically

Added on by C. Maoxian.

2008 list, sorted chronologically … new additions made since 1997 in bold (the movies that were dropped from the original 1997 can be found at the bottom of this post):

  1. Intolerance (1916)

  2. The Gold Rush (1925)

  3. The General (1926)

  4. Sunrise (1927)

  5. City Lights (1931)

  6. Duck Soup (1933)

  7. King Kong (1933)

  8. It Happened One Night (1934)

  9. A Night at the Opera (1935)

  10. Modern Times (1936)

  11. Swing Time (1936)

  12. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

  13. Bringing Up Baby (1938)

  14. Gone with the Wind (1939)

  15. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

  16. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

  17. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

  18. The Philadelphia Story (1940)

  19. Citizen Kane (1941)

  20. Sullivan's Travels (1941)

  21. The Maltese Falcon (1941)

  22. Casablanca (1942)

  23. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

  24. Double Indemnity (1944)

  25. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

  26. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

  27. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

  28. Sunset Boulevard (1950)

  29. All About Eve (1950)

  30. The African Queen (1951)

  31. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

  32. High Noon (1952)

  33. Singin' in the Rain (1952)

  34. Shane (1953)

  35. On the Waterfront (1954)

  36. Rear Window (1954)

  37. The Searchers (1956)

  38. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

  39. 12 Angry Men (1957)

  40. Vertigo (1958)

  41. Ben-Hur (1959)

  42. Some Like It Hot (1959)

  43. North by Northwest (1959)

  44. The Apartment (1960)

  45. Psycho (1960)

  46. Spartacus (1960)

  47. West Side Story (1961)

  48. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

  49. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

  50. Dr. Strangelove (1964)

  51. The Sound of Music (1965)

  52. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

  53. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

  54. In the Heat of the Night (1967)

  55. The Graduate (1967)

  56. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

  57. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

  58. Easy Rider (1969)

  59. Midnight Cowboy (1969)

  60. The Wild Bunch (1969)

  61. M*A*S*H (1970)

  62. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

  63. The French Connection (1971)

  64. The Last Picture Show (1971)

  65. Cabaret (1972)

  66. The Godfather (1972)

  67. American Graffiti (1973)

  68. Chinatown (1974)

  69. The Godfather Part II (1974)

  70. Jaws (1975)

  71. Nashville (1975)

  72. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

  73. All the President's Men (1976)

  74. Network (1976)

  75. Rocky (1976)

  76. Taxi Driver (1976)

  77. Annie Hall (1977)

  78. Star Wars (1977)

  79. The Deer Hunter (1978)

  80. Apocalypse Now (1979)

  81. Raging Bull (1980)

  82. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

  83. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

  84. Tootsie (1982)

  85. Blade Runner (1982)

  86. Sophie's Choice (1982)

  87. Platoon (1986)

  88. Do the Right Thing (1989)

  89. Goodfellas (1990)

  90. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

  91. Unforgiven (1992)

  92. Schindler's List (1993)

  93. Forrest Gump (1994)

  94. Pulp Fiction (1994)

  95. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

  96. Toy Story (1995)

  97. Titanic (1997)

  98. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

  99. The Sixth Sense (1999)

  100. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)


AFI’s original 1997 list, sorted chronologically … movies that were removed from the list in 2008 are in BOLD:

  1. The Birth of a Nation (1915)

  2. The Gold Rush (1925)

  3. The Jazz Singer (1927)

  4. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

  5. City Lights (1931)

  6. Frankenstein (1931)

  7. Duck Soup (1933)

  8. King Kong (1933)

  9. It Happened One Night (1934)

  10. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

  11. Modern Times (1936)

  12. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

  13. Bringing Up Baby (1938)

  14. Gone with the Wind (1939)

  15. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

  16. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

  17. Stagecoach (1939)

  18. Wuthering Heights (1939)

  19. Fantasia (1940)

  20. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

  21. The Philadelphia Story (1940)

  22. Citizen Kane (1941)

  23. The Maltese Falcon (1941)

  24. Casablanca (1942)

  25. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

  26. Double Indemnity (1944)

  27. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

  28. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

  29. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

  30. The Third Man (1949)

  31. Sunset Boulevard (1950)

  32. All About Eve (1950)

  33. The African Queen (1951)

  34. A Place in the Sun (1951)

  35. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

  36. An American in Paris (1951)

  37. High Noon (1952)

  38. Singin' in the Rain (1952)

  39. From Here to Eternity (1953)

  40. Shane (1953)

  41. On the Waterfront (1954)

  42. Rear Window (1954)

  43. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

  44. Giant (1956)

  45. The Searchers (1956)

  46. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

  47. Vertigo (1958)

  48. Ben-Hur (1959)

  49. Some Like It Hot (1959)

  50. North by Northwest (1959)

  51. Psycho (1960)

  52. The Apartment (1960)

  53. West Side Story (1961)

  54. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

  55. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

  56. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

  57. Dr. Strangelove (1964)

  58. My Fair Lady (1964)

  59. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

  60. The Sound of Music (1965)

  61. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

  62. Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (1967)

  63. The Graduate (1967)

  64. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

  65. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

  66. Midnight Cowboy (1969)

  67. The Wild Bunch (1969)

  68. Easy Rider (1969)

  69. M*A*S*H (1970)

  70. Patton (1970)

  71. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

  72. The French Connection (1971)

  73. The Godfather (1972)

  74. American Graffiti (1973)

  75. Chinatown (1974)

  76. The Godfather Part II (1974)

  77. Jaws (1975)

  78. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

  79. Network (1976)

  80. Rocky (1976)

  81. Taxi Driver (1976)

  82. Annie Hall (1977)

  83. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

  84. Star Wars (1977)

  85. The Deer Hunter (1978)

  86. Apocalypse Now (1979)

  87. Raging Bull (1980)

  88. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

  89. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

  90. Tootsie (1982)

  91. Amadeus (1984)

  92. Platoon (1986)

  93. Dances with Wolves (1990)

  94. Goodfellas (1990)

  95. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

  96. Unforgiven (1992)

  97. Schindler's List (1993)

  98. Forrest Gump (1994)

  99. Pulp Fiction (1994)

  100. Fargo (1996)


Here are the 23 movies which in 2008 were dropped from the original AFI list from 1997, sorted chronologically:

  1. The Birth of a Nation (1915)

  2. The Jazz Singer (1927)

  3. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

  4. Frankenstein (1931)

  5. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

  6. Stagecoach (1939)

  7. Wuthering Heights (1939)

  8. Fantasia (1940)

  9. The Third Man (1949)

  10. A Place in the Sun (1951)

  11. An American in Paris (1951)

  12. From Here to Eternity (1953)

  13. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

  14. Giant (1956)

  15. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

  16. My Fair Lady (1964)

  17. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

  18. Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (1967)

  19. Patton (1970)

  20. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

  21. Amadeus (1984)

  22. Dances with Wolves (1990)

  23. Fargo (1996)

Here are the 23 movies that were added to the AFI list in 2008, sorted chronologically:

  1. INTOLERANCE (1916)

  2. SUNRISE (1927)

  3. THE GENERAL (1927)

  4. A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935)

  5. SWING TIME (1936)

  6. SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS (1941)

  7. 12 ANGRY MEN (1957)

  8. SPARTACUS (1960)

  9. WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966)

  10. IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967)

  11. THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971)

  12. CABARET (1972)

  13. NASHVILLE (1975)

  14. ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976)

  15. BLADE RUNNER (1982)

  16. SOPHIE'S CHOICE (1982)

  17. DO THE RIGHT THING (1989)

  18. THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994)

  19. TOY STORY (1995)

  20. TITANIC (1997)

  21. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)

  22. THE SIXTH SENSE (1999)

  23. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (2001)

John Farr's List of 150 Essential Movies

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Sorted first alphabetically (sort of), and then chronologically below:

  1. 12 Angry Men

  2. A Separation (Farsi)

  3. A Streetcar Named Desire 

  4. Adam's Rib

  5. All About Eve

  6. American Beauty

  7. Angels With Dirty Faces

  8. Annie Hall

  9. Apocalypse Now

  10. Au Revoir, Les Enfants (French)

  11. Bad Day At Black Rock

  12. Battleship Potemkin

  13. Bicycle Thieves (Italian)

  14. Bonnie and Clyde

  15. Breathless (French)

  16. Bringing Up Baby

  17. Bullitt

  18. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

  19. Cape Fear

  20. Casablanca

  21. Chinatown

  22. Citizen Kane

  23. City Lights

  24. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

  25. Cool Hand Luke

  26. Diabolique (French)

  27. Dog Day Afternoon

  28. Double Indemnity

  29. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

  30. Dracula

  31. Duck Soup

  32. East of Eden

  33. Fail-Safe

  34. Fanny and Alexander (Swedish, German)

  35. Frankenstein

  36. From Here To Eternity

  37. From Russia with Love 

  38. Gandhi

  39. Giant

  40. Goodfellas

  41. Grand Illusion (French)

  42. Harlan County, USA

  43. Harold and Maude

  44. Hearts and Minds

  45. High Noon

  46. His Girl Friday

  47. Hud

  48. In the Heat of the Night

  49. Inherit the Wind

  50. It Happened One Night

  51. It's a Wonderful Life

  52. Jaws

  53. Julia

  54. Key Largo

  55. Kind Hearts and Coronets

  56. Lawrence of Arabia

  57. Little Caesar

  58. Love and Death

  59. Man with a Movie Camera

  60. Midnight Cowboy

  61. Midnight 

  62. Mister Roberts

  63. Modern Times

  64. Mr. Deeds Goes To Town

  65. My Man Godfrey

  66. Nanook of the North

  67. Network

  68. North by Northwest

  69. Notorious

  70. Olympia (German)

  71. On the Waterfront

  72. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

  73. Ordinary People

  74. Psycho

  75. Pulp Fiction

  76. Ran (Japanese)

  77. Rashomon (Japanese)

  78. Rear Window

  79. Rebecca

  80. Red Dust

  81. Red River

  82. Rififi (French)

  83. Rio Bravo

  84. Roman Holiday

  85. Rome, Open City (Italian)

  86. Salesman

  87. Schindler's List

  88. Shane

  89. Shoah (French)

  90. Singin' in the Rain

  91. Some Like It Hot

  92. Sophie's Choice

  93. Stagecoach

  94. Strangers on a Train

  95. Sullivan's Travels

  96. Sunrise

  97. Sunset Boulevard

  98. Swing Time

  99. Taxi Driver

  100. The 400 Blows (French)

  101. The African Queen

  102. The Apartment

  103. The Asphalt Jungle

  104. The Awful Truth

  105. The Bank Dick

  106. The Best Years of Our Lives

  107. The Big Sleep

  108. The Bride of Frankenstein

  109. The Bridge on the River Kwai

  110. The Conversation

  111. The Deer Hunter

  112. The French Connection

  113. The General

  114. The Godfather

  115. The Godfather: Part II

  116. The Gold Rush

  117. The Graduate

  118. The Grapes of Wrath

  119. The Great Dictator

  120. The Great Escape

  121. The Haunting

  122. The Lady Eve

  123. The Lady Vanishes

  124. The Leopard (Italian)

  125. The Night of the Hunter

  126. The Philadelphia Story

  127. The Producers

  128. The Red Shoes

  129. The Searchers

  130. The Shop Around the Corner

  131. The Sorrow and the Pity (French)

  132. The Sound of Music

  133. The Sting

  134. The Thin Man

  135. The Third Man

  136. The Train

  137. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

  138. The Verdict

  139. The Wild Bunch

  140. The Wizard of Oz

  141. To Kill A Mockingbird

  142. Tokyo Story (Japanese)

  143. Tootsie

  144. Tunes of Glory

  145. Twentieth Century

  146. Vertigo

  147. White Heat

  148. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

  149. Wild Strawberries (Swedish)

  150. Woman of the Year


  1. Nanook of the North 1922

  2. Battleship Potemkin 1925

  3. The Gold Rush 1925

  4. Sunrise 1927

  5. The General 1927

  6. Man with a Movie Camera 1929

  7. City Lights 1931

  8. Dracula 1931

  9. Frankenstein 1931

  10. Little Caesar 1931

  11. Red Dust 1932

  12. Duck Soup 1933

  13. It Happened One Night 1934

  14. The Thin Man 1934

  15. Twentieth Century 1934

  16. The Bride of Frankenstein 1935

  17. Modern Times 1936

  18. Mr. Deeds Goes To Town 1936

  19. My Man Godfrey 1936

  20. Swing Time 1936

  21. Grand Illusion (French) 1937

  22. The Awful Truth 1937

  23. Angels With Dirty Faces 1938

  24. Bringing Up Baby 1938

  25. Olympia (German) 1938

  26. The Lady Vanishes 1938

  27. Midnight 1939

  28. Stagecoach 1939

  29. The Wizard of Oz 1939

  30. His Girl Friday 1940

  31. Rebecca 1940

  32. The Bank Dick 1940

  33. The Grapes of Wrath 1940

  34. The Great Dictator 1940

  35. The Philadelphia Story 1940

  36. The Shop Around the Corner 1940

  37. Citizen Kane 1941

  38. Sullivan's Travels 1941

  39. The Lady Eve 1941

  40. Casablanca 1942

  41. Woman of the Year 1942

  42. Double Indemnity 1944

  43. Rome, Open City (Italian) 1945

  44. Notorious 1946

  45. The Best Years of Our Lives 1946

  46. The Big Sleep 1946

  47. It's a Wonderful Life 1947

  48. Bicycle Thieves 1948

  49. Key Largo 1948

  50. Red River 1948

  51. The Red Shoes 1948

  52. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948

  53. Adam's Rib 1949

  54. Kind Hearts and Coronets 1949

  55. The Third Man 1949

  56. White Heat 1949

  57. All About Eve 1950

  58. Rashomon (Japanese) 1950

  59. Sunset Boulevard 1950

  60. The Asphalt Jungle 1950

  61. A Streetcar Named Desire 1951

  62. Strangers on a Train 1951

  63. The African Queen 1951

  64. High Noon 1952

  65. Singin' in the Rain 1952

  66. From Here To Eternity 1953

  67. Roman Holiday 1953

  68. Shane 1953

  69. Tokyo Story 1953

  70. Diabolique (French) 1954

  71. On the Waterfront 1954

  72. Rear Window 1954

  73. Bad Day At Black Rock 1955

  74. East of Eden 1955

  75. Mister Roberts 1955

  76. Rififi (French) 1955

  77. The Night of the Hunter 1955

  78. Giant 1956

  79. The Searchers 1956

  80. 12 Angry Men 1957

  81. The Bridge on the River Kwai 1957

  82. Wild Strawberries 1957

  83. Vertigo 1958

  84. North by Northwest 1959

  85. Rio Bravo 1959

  86. Some Like It Hot 1959

  87. The 400 Blows (French) 1959

  88. Inherit the Wind 1960

  89. Psycho 1960

  90. The Apartment 1960

  91. Tunes of Glory 1960

  92. Breathless 1961

  93. Cape Fear 1962

  94. Lawrence of Arabia 1962

  95. To Kill A Mockingbird 1962

  96. From Russia with Love 1963

  97. Hud 1963

  98. The Great Escape 1963

  99. The Haunting 1963

  100. The Leopard (Italian) 1963

  101. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb 1964

  102. Fail-Safe 1964

  103. The Train 1964

  104. The Sound of Music 1965

  105. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 1966

  106. Bonnie and Clyde 1967

  107. Cool Hand Luke 1967

  108. In the Heat of the Night 1967

  109. The Graduate 1967

  110. The Producers 1967

  111. Bullitt 1968

  112. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 1969

  113. Midnight Cowboy 1969

  114. Salesman 1969

  115. The Wild Bunch 1969

  116. Harold and Maude 1971

  117. The French Connection 1971

  118. The Godfather 1972

  119. The Sorrow and the Pity (French) 1972

  120. The Sting 1973

  121. Chinatown 1974

  122. Hearts and Minds 1974

  123. The Conversation 1974

  124. The Godfather: Part II 1974

  125. Dog Day Afternoon 1975

  126. Harlan County, USA 1975

  127. Jaws 1975

  128. Love and Death 1975

  129. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975

  130. Network 1976

  131. Taxi Driver 1976

  132. Annie Hall 1977

  133. Close Encounters of the Third Kind 1977

  134. Julia 1977

  135. The Deer Hunter 1978

  136. Apocalypse Now 1979

  137. Ordinary People 1980

  138. Fanny and Alexander (Swedish, German) 1982

  139. Gandhi 1982

  140. Sophie's Choice 1982

  141. The Verdict 1982

  142. Tootsie 1982

  143. Ran (Japanese) 1985

  144. Shoah (French) 1985

  145. Au Revoir, Les Enfants (French) 1987

  146. Goodfellas 1990

  147. Schindler's List 1993

  148. Pulp Fiction 1994

  149. American Beauty 1999

  150. A Separation (Farsi) 2011

Criterion Collection Top 40 Movies, Sorted Chronologically

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Forty-film box set celebrates forty years of the Criterion Collection… I would not have picked a lot of these, but to each his own:

Oh my god, I already blogged this back in August and forgot about it. You dat oldz, brah?

  1. His Girl Friday 1940

  2. Sullivan’s Travels 1941

  3. Bicycle Thieves 1948

  4. The Red Shoes 1948

  5. Ace in the Hole 1951

  6. Tokyo Story 1953

  7. On the Waterfront 1954

  8. The Night of the Hunter 1955

  9. Sweet Smell of Success 1957

  10. Pickpocket 1959

  11. Cléo from 5 to 7 1962

  12. Jules et Jim 1962

  13. 8½ 1963

  14. The Battle of Algiers 1966

  15. Persona 1966

  16. Seconds 1966

  17. Weekend 1967

  18. Night of the Living Dead 1968

  19. Wanda 1970

  20. Sunday Bloody Sunday 1971

  21. A Woman Under the Influence 1974

  22. Barry Lyndon 1975

  23. Mirror 1975

  24. House 1977

  25. 3 Women 1977

  26. All That Jazz 1979

  27. Being There 1979

  28. Repo Man 1984

  29. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters 1985

  30. Down by Law 1986

  31. Do the Right Thing 1989

  32. My Own Private Idaho 1991

  33. Naked 1993

  34. Safe 1995

  35. Ratcatcher 1999

  36. In the Mood for Love 2000

  37. Love & Basketball 2000

  38. Yi Yi 2000

  39. La Ciénaga 2001

  40. Y tu mamá también 2001

CC40 -- Criterion Collection 40-Film Box Set

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Interesting new box set from Criterion, here’s the blurb:

This monumental forty-film box set celebrates forty years of the Criterion Collection by gathering an electrifying mix of classic and contemporary films, and presenting them with all their special features and essays in a deluxe clothbound, slipcased edition … Neither a historical survey nor a top-forty compilation, this exciting, personal, unpredictable anthology reflects the cinematic joys and inspirations of the creative community that makes the Criterion Collection possible.

Here are the included films, listed chronologically, with my comments:

  1. His Girl Friday (1940) — No

  2. Sullivan’s Travels (1941) — Yes (Great movie)

  3. Bicycle Thieves (1948) — Haven’t seen in ages

  4. The Red Shoes (1948) — No (gay, showbiz thing)

  5. Ace in the Hole (1951) — No (Kirk Douglas plays an asshole)

  6. Tokyo Story (1953) — Yes (Great movie)

  7. On the Waterfront (1954) — No (Shirtless Brando mumbling)

  8. The Night of the Hunter (1955) — Yes (Great movie)

  9. Sweet Smell of Success (1957) — No (surprisingly I hated this)

  10. Pickpocket (1959) — Haven’t seen in ages

  11. Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962) — Haven’t seen in ages

  12. Jules and Jim (1962) — No

  13. 8½ (1963) — Haven’t seen in ages

  14. Persona (1966) — Never seen it? Seen lotta Bergman though

  15. Seconds (1966) — Yes (Great movie)

  16. The Battle of Algiers (1966) — Yes (Great movie)

  17. Weekend (1967) — Never seen it?

  18. Night of the Living Dead (1968) — Never seen it?

  19. Wanda (1970) — No

  20. Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) — No

  21. A Woman Under the Influence (1974) — God no, Cassavetes is AWFUL, ALWAYS

  22. Barry Lyndon (1975) — No

  23. Mirror (1975) — No, Tarkovsky, has some inspired scenes, but as a whole, no

  24. 3 Women (1977) — Never seen it?

  25. House (1977) — No (super weird Japanese thing)

  26. All That Jazz (1979) — No (gay showbiz thing, see The Red Shoes)

  27. Being There (1979) — No (but I usually love Peter Sellers and Hal Ashby, so it’s strange I don’t like this)

  28. Repo Man (1984) — Yes (Great movie)

  29. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985) — No, if it’s the movie I’m thinking of

  30. Down by Law (1986) — No, but Jarmusch made one great movie: Dead Man (also a Criterion issue)

  31. Do the Right Thing (1989) — No, I mean yeah, Spike Lee, 1980s New Yawk, had to put a black guy on the list, etc. but no…

  32. My Own Private Idaho (1991) — Never seen it, gay thing, I should see it

  33. Naked (1993) — No, this is Mike Leigh? He made Kes, which IS a great movie, this one is just sort of disturbing…

  34. Safe (1995) — Todd Haynes, very gay stuff, though I LOVE Nicole Kidman in everything, she is smart and hard-working…

  35. Ratcatcher (1999) — Lynne Ramsay, this is slash your wrists depressing, I recommend her You Were Never Really Here, I think that’s her masterpiece…

  36. In the Mood for Love (2000) — Yes (Great movie)

  37. Love & Basketball (2000) — Never heard of it, uh oh, looks like another token black movie

  38. Yi Yi (2000) — Three hour movie from Taiwan, never been able to make it through it…

  39. Y tu mamá también (2001) — Yes, I saw this when it first came out and liked it, but recently re-watched it and wasn’t as thrilled.

  40. La Ciénaga (2001) — YES! I’m thrilled they included a Lucrecia Martel movie, though I liked The Holy Girl best from the Salta Trilogy.

Honest Reviews of Martin Scorcese's Terrible Movie, "The Departed"

Added on by C. Maoxian.

From Rick Groen: “Rumour had it that the source material - a rejigging of the tense Hong Kong hit Infernal Affairs - was ideal for [Scorcese], a return to the mean streets and mobsters of his glory days. Rumour had it that the cast, including Jack Nicholson in his first teaming with the director, was exceptional. Rumour had it that God was in His heaven and Martin Scorsese was back on track. Rumour was wrong … Scorsese has been doing some channelling too - of Tarantino on a really off-day … As so often before, the body count is high in a Martin Scorsese movie. But where once the bodies pulsated with life in all its vainglorious furor, here they drop like wooden ducks in an artificial pond.”

From Stanley Kauffmann: “William Monahan’s screenplay is so full of cryptic pronouncements and swift portentous scenes that neatness is blown away … But [Sorcese’s] film is so frantic with plot jabs and counter jabs that the gravity of the theme is blurred in cop-and-criminal sorties. Even Scorsese’s usually gleaming direction is dulled to the Law & Order level, except for a few of his famous traveling shots … Jack Nicholson… virtually repeats his Joker in Batman … Is Scorsese desperate? This screenplay has the scent of it, as if he is scraping for material to feed his basic filmic interests. But the risk in this case—not evaded—was that his need led him close to painful strain. I can’t remember another Scorsese moment as shockingly banal as the finishing touch here. We look out the window of the stooge’s luxe apartment, past his terrace. Then a rat comes out and plays on the terrace railing.” [Yeah, I laughed out loud then.]

From Christopher Orr: “A remake of the sleek, superb 2002 Hong Kong police thriller Infernal Affairs, the movie has been Nicholsonized across the board, becoming fatter, coarser, and more self-indulgent than the original.”

From The Standard: “Being a Scorsese fan these days is like sitting at the bedside of someone on a life support machine. As each new offering appears we look, desperately, for signs of animation. Sad news, my friends. On the evidence of The Departed, it's time to pull the plug … scriptwriter Bill Monahan (fresh from the yawn-fest that was Kingdom of Heaven) fails to do anything interesting with the characters in the second half … As in his remake of Cape Fear, Scorsese has mucked up a B-movie he professes to love: producing something full of twists but devoid of that lovely, fluttery, rare thing: surprise.”

Best Thriller / Mystery Movies of the 2010s

Added on by C. Maoxian.

These are the best thriller / mystery movies of the 2010s according to John Farr. I’ve arranged them chronologically below:

English-language movies:

  1. Animal Kingdom (2010)

  2. Drive (2011)

  3. Margin Call (2011)

  4. Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)

  5. Take Shelter (2011)

  6. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011)

  7. We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

  8. Argo (2012)

  9. Mud (2012)

  10. American Hustle (2013)

  11. Captain Phillips (2013)

  12. Prisoners (2013)

  13. The Widower (2013)

  14. A Most Violent Year (2014)

  15. Foxcatcher (2014)

  16. Bridge of Spies (2015)

  17. Room (2015)

  18. The Gift (2015)

  19. All the Money in the World (2017)

  20. Personal Shopper (2017)

  21. Sweet Country (2017)

  22. Mr. Jones (2019)

  23. Queen and Slim (2019)


Foreign-language movies:

  1. In a Better World (2010) (Danish)

  2. Incendies (2010) (French)

  3. Of Gods and Men (2010) (French)

  4. Poetry (2010) (Korean)

  5. The King of Devil's Island (2010) (Norwegian)

  6. White Material (2010) (French)

  7. Aurora (2011) (Romanian)

  8. Bullhead (2011) (Dutch)

  9. Elena (2011) (Russian)

  10. Policeman (2011) (Hebrew)

  11. The Skin I Live In (2011) (Spanish)

  12. A Hijacking (2012) (Danish)

  13. No (2012) (Spanish)

  14. Bastards (2013) (French)

  15. Stranger by the Lake (2014) (French)

  16. Elle (2016) (French)

  17. The Handmaiden (2016) (Korean)

  18. The Salesman (2016) (Farsi)

  19. The Woman Who Left (2016) (Tagalog)

  20. Transit (2017) (German)

  21. A White, White Day (2019) (Icelandic)

  22. The Traitor (2019) (Italian)

Best Thriller / Mystery Movies of the 2000s

Added on by C. Maoxian.

These are the best thriller / mystery movies of the 2000s according to John Farr. I’ve arranged them chronologically below:

English-language movies:

  1. Sexy Beast (2000)

  2. Snatch (2000)

  3. The Contender (2000)

  4. Traffic (2000)

  5. Gosford Park (2001)

  6. Memento (2001)

  7. Mullholland Drive (2001)

  8. The Deep End (2001)

  9. The Bourne Identity (2002)

  10. Bloody Sunday (2002)

  11. Dirty Pretty Things (2002)

  12. Insomnia (2002)

  13. One Hour Photo (2002)

  14. Road to Perdition (2002)

  15. Elephant (2003)

  16. Mystic River (2003)

  17. Shattered Glass (2003)

  18. Maria Full of Grace (2004)

  19. Omagh (2004)

  20. The Machinist (2004)

  21. The Staircase (2004)

  22. Brick (2005)

  23. The Constant Gardner (2005)

  24. The Illusionist (2006)

  25. The Last King of Scotland (2006)

  26. United 93 (2006)

  27. American Gangster (2007)

  28. Boy A (2007)

  29. Breach (2007)

  30. Michael Clayton (2007)

  31. No Country for Old Men (2007)

  32. Zodiac (2007)

  33. Frozen River (2008)

  34. Julia (2008)

  35. Man on Wire (2008)

  36. The Square (2008)


Foreign-language movies:

  1. A Matter of Taste (2000) (French)

  2. Lumumba (2000) (French)

  3. Under the Sand (2000) (French)

  4. With a Friend Like Harry (2000) (French)

  5. My Father and I (2001) (French)

  6. Nine Queens (2001) (Spanish)

  7. Safe Conduct (2001) (French)

  8. The Devil’s Backbone (2001) (Spanish)

  9. He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (2002) (French)

  10. A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) (Korean)

  11. Cautiva (2003) (Spanish)

  12. Crimson Gold (2003) (Persian)

  13. Good Morning, Night (2003) (Italian)

  14. I’m Not Scared (2003) (Italian)

  15. Memories of Murder (2003) (Korean)

  16. Osama (2003) (Dari)

  17. The CIty of No Limits (2003) (Spanish)

  18. The Return (2003) (Russian)

  19. A World Without Thieves (2004) (Mandarin)

  20. Bad Education (2004) (Spanish)

  21. Kontroll (2004) (Hungarian)

  22. Red Lights (2004) (French)

  23. Shutter (2004) (Thai)

  24. The Edukators (2004) (German)

  25. 13 Tzameti (2005) (French)

  26. Caché (2005) (French)

  27. L’Enfant (2005) (French)

  28. Paradise Now (2005) (Arabic)

  29. Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005) (German)

  30. The Method (2005) (Spanish)

  31. Black Book (2006) (Dutch)

  32. Paprika (2006) (Japanese)

  33. Tell No One (2006) (French)

  34. The Lives of Others (2006) (German)

  35. Cargo 200 (2007) (Russian)

  36. Katyn (2007) (Polish)

  37. Lust, Caution (2007) (Mandarin)

  38. Secret Sunshine (2007) (Korean)

  39. Under the Bombs (2007 (Arabic)

  40. Volver (2007) (Spanish)

  41. Gomorrah (2008) (Italian)

  42. Just Another Love Story (2008) (Danish)

  43. Let the Right One In (2008) (Swedish)

  44. Revanche (2008) (German)

  45. The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008) (German)

  46. A Prophet (2009) (French)

  47. Mother (2009) (Korean)

  48. Rapt (2009) (French)

  49. Sin Nombre (2009) (Spanish)

  50. The Double Hour (2009) (Italian)

  51. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009) (Swedish)

  52. The Secret in Their Eyes (2009) (Spanish)

  53. The White Ribbon (2009) (German)

  54. Troubled Water (2009) (Danish)

Movies Watched -- Klute (1971)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

118 minute running time so about 20 minutes too long, which is a shame … this isn’t terrible, I didn’t hate it. The squalor of 1971 New York City on full display as is a glimpse of the World Trade Center (under construction) … Roy Scheider with a bowl cut … Donald Sutherland playing a square but not really … Hanoi Jane wearing her corduroy jacket and no bra to see her therapist … It gets a solid yellow rating, though John Farr recommended it. There were a lot of decent 1971 movies (French Connection, Straw Dogs, etc.), and this one fits right in there to give a flavor of the times.

Jane not darning socks in Tuscarora

Best Thriller / Mystery Movies of the 1990s

Added on by C. Maoxian.

These are the best thriller / mystery movies of the 1990s according to John Farr. I’ve arranged them chronologically below:

English-language movies:

  1. Goodfellas (1990)

  2. Hidden Agenda (1990)

  3. Miller's Crossing (1990)

  4. Reversal of Fortune (1990)

  5. The Grifters (1990)

  6. The Hunt for Red October (1990)

  7. The Rapture (1991)

  8. Thelma and Louise (1991)

  9. A Few Good Men (1992)

  10. Let Him Have It (1992)

  11. Malcolm X (1992)

  12. One False Move (1992)

  13. Reservoir Dogs (1992)

  14. The Crying Game (1992)

  15. Carlito's Way (1993)

  16. The Fugitive (1993)

  17. True Romance (1993)

  18. Clean, Shaven (1994)

  19. Fresh (1994)

  20. Heavenly Creatures (1994)

  21. Pulp Fiction (1994)

  22. Speed (1994)

  23. The Last Seduction (1994)

  24. Apollo 13 (1995)

  25. Dead Man Walking (1995)

  26. Heat (1995)

  27. Seven (1995)

  28. Sister My Sister (1995)

  29. The Usual Suspects (1995)

  30. To Die For (1995)

  31. Bound (1996)

  32. Fargo (1996)

  33. Lone Star (1996)

  34. Primal Fear (1996)

  35. Cop Land (1997)

  36. Donnie Brasco (1997)

  37. Hard Eight (1997)

  38. Jackie Brown (1997)

  39. L.A. Confidential (1997)

  40. The Apostle (1997)

  41. A Simple Plan (1998)

  42. Croupier (1998)

  43. Following (1998)

  44. Out of Sight (1998)

  45. The Big Lebowski (1998)

  46. The Interview (1998)

  47. A Civil Action (1999)

  48. The Insider (1999)

  49. The Sixth Sense (1999)

  50. The War Zone (1999)


Foreign-language movies:

  1. Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg (1990) (Swedish)

  2. Monsieur Hire (1990) (French)

  3. La Femme Nikita (1991) (French)

  4. Europa (1992) (German)

  5. Hard-Boiled (1992) (Cantonese)

  6. Man Bites Dog (1992) (French)

  7. 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance (1994) (German)

  8. The Kingdom (1994) (Danish)

  9. La Promesse (1996) (French)

  10. Zero Kelvin (1996) (Norwegian)

  11. Brother (1997) (Russian)

  12. Character (1997) (Dutch)

  13. Funny Games (1997) (German)

  14. Insomnia (1997) (Norwegian)

  15. Open Your Eyes (1997) (Spanish)

  16. Secrets of the Heart (1997) (Spanish)

  17. Seventh Heaven (1997) (French)

  18. Winter Sleepers (1997) (German)

  19. Run Lola Run (1998) (German)

  20. Secret Defense (1998) (French)

  21. In China They Eat Dogs (1999) (Danish)

  22. Running Out of Time (1999) (Cantonese)