Memetics: The EW Movie List

Another listicle from EW for us all to pore over -- the 100 best films from 1983-2008:

1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03)
3. Titanic (1997)
4. Blue Velvet (1986)
5. Toy Story (1995)
6. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
7. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
9. Die Hard (1988)
10. Moulin Rouge (2001)
11. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
12. The Matrix (1999)
13. GoodFellas (1990)
14. Crumb (1995)
15. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
16. Boogie Nights (1997)
17. Jerry Maguire (1996)
18. Do the Right Thing (1989)
19. Casino Royale (2006)
20. The Lion King (1994)
21. Schindler's List (1993)
22. Rushmore (1998)
23. Memento (2001)
24. A Room With a View (1986)
25. Shrek (2001)
26. Hoop Dreams (1994)
27. Aliens (1986)
28. Wings of Desire (1988)
29. The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
30. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
31. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
32. Fight Club (1999)
33. The Breakfast Club (1985)
34. Fargo (1996)
35. The Incredibles (2004)
36. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
37. Pretty Woman (1990)
38. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
39. The Sixth Sense (1999)
40. Speed (1994)
41. Dazed and Confused (1993)
42. Clueless (1995)
43. Gladiator (2000)
44. The Player (1992)
45. Rain Man (1988)
46. Children of Men (2006)
47. Men in Black (1997)
48. Scarface (1983)
49. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
50. The Piano (1993)
51. There Will Be Blood (2007)
52. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (1988)
53. The Truman Show (1998)
54. Fatal Attraction (1987)
55. Risky Business (1983)
56. The Lives of Others (2006)
57. There’s Something About Mary (1998)
58. Ghostbusters (1984)
59. L.A. Confidential (1997)
60. Scream (1996)
61. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
62. sex, lies and videotape (1989)
63. Big (1988)
64. No Country For Old Men (2007)
65. Dirty Dancing (1987)
66. Natural Born Killers (1994)
67. Donnie Brasco (1997)
68. Witness (1985)
69. All About My Mother (1999)
70. Broadcast News (1987)
71. Unforgiven (1992)
72. Thelma & Louise (1991)
73. Office Space (1999)
74. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
75. Out of Africa (1985)
76. The Departed (2006)
77. Sid and Nancy (1986)
78. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
79. Waiting for Guffman (1996)
80. Michael Clayton (2007)
81. Moonstruck (1987)
82. Lost in Translation (2003)
83. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)
84. Sideways (2004)
85. The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)
86. Y Tu Mamá También (2002)
87. Swingers (1996)
88. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
89. Breaking the Waves (1996)
90. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
91. Back to the Future (1985)
92. Menace II Society (1993)
93. Ed Wood (1994)
94. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
95. In the Mood for Love (2001)
96. Far From Heaven (2002)
97. Glory (1989)
98. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
99. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
100. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)

Unsurprisingly, I did better on this list than I did on the book list -- I've seen 95 of these 100 movies, and two of the five I haven't seen are on my to-watch list (There Will Be Blood and The Lives of Others). The other three are all chick flicks, more or less, though I'm actually surprised I never watched Hannah and Her Sisters, which is always at or near the top of any "Best Woody Allen Films" list, or Pretty Woman, which is on cable all the time. As far as Out of Africa goes, eh.

Movie Friday: SideStreet Cinema

Movies instead of music this week, as I finally got confirmation that SideStreet Cinema is back! I'll be there, Midtown cocktail in hand, for 'Dazed & Confused' this Saturday, and 'Raising

Son, you got a panty on your head.

Arizona' in a few weeks for sure. I'm glad to see they're doing the live music thing again, this time for the awesome 'Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.'

Here's the press release with the dates & movies:

----------

SideStreet Cinema returns to Midtown Harrisburg this summer. Moviate and The Salvation Army will kick off the outdoor movie series this Saturday, June 7. The screenings, held biweekly at the corner of Green and Cumberland streets, begin at 9 p.m. A $5 donation is requested and benefits The Salvation Army and Moviate Film Camp and Filmmaker In-Person Series.

Nonna's will provide hot dogs, Italian ice and Boylan's soda for most screenings.

SCHEDULE:
Saturday, June 7: "DAZED AND CONFUSED"
Saturday, June 21: "BARBARELLA"
Saturday, July 5: "RAISING ARIZONA"
Saturday, July 19: "FORBIDDEN PLANET"
Saturday, August 2: "SERIAL MOM"
Saturday, August 16: "MR. HULOT'S HOLIDAY"
Saturday, August 30: "THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI" with LIVE ACCOMPANIMENT

For more information, go to www.moviate.org.

Memetics: Movies (104)

One disadvantage of starting this blog in a vacuum the way I did is that I don't have blogfriends sending me all the various memes that career around the blogosphere. I guess that's both an advantage and a disadvantage, actually; it prevents me from doing stupid stuff, like I did this morning when I passed along the email that purported to be a school project but actually was just a spammy waste of time.

But sometimes I enjoy a spammy waste of time, so when I saw the "if you've seen 85 of these movies then you have no life" list, which is basically a list of a couple hundred movies, with no rhyme or reason to them, I had to grab it and see how I did.

Unsurprisingly, I have no life, though I saw the vast majority of these movies before 2004; I guess I can thank my daughter for getting me my life back. Here's the list -- I had to consult my "movies I've seen" list for a bunch of these, which marks the first time that five-year-old project has been useful in any way.

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
( ) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
( ) Universal Soldier
( ) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(x) Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
(x) Kingpin
( ) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
( ) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
(x) KING KONG
Total so far: 12

(x) A Cinderella Story
(x) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
( ) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
(x) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving X-MAS
( ) Flubber
Total so far: 16

(x) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
( ) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
(x) Ghost Ship
(x) From Hell
(x) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 22

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
(x) Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
( ) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 28

(x) Bad Boys
(x) Bad Boys 2
(x) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Slevin
(x) Ocean's Eleven
(x) Ocean's Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremacy
(x) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled
( ) Predator
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
Total so far: 37

(x) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
(x) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(x) ET
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
(x) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
(x) Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 44

( ) Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She's All That
( ) Calendar Girls
(x) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks!
( ) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
(x) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
(x) The Terminator 3
Total so far: 55

(x) X-Men
(x) X2
(x) X-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
( ) The Little Mermaid
( ) Freaky Friday
(x) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
( ) Shrek 3
Total so far: 65

( ) Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
( ) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
( ) Kippendorf's Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old-virgin
Total so far: 68

(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 74

(x) Baseketball
( ) Hostel
(x) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
( ) Elf
(x) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
(x) American History X
( ) Three
Total so far: 78

( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
(x) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(x) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
Total so far: 83

( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
(x) Hulk
(x) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
(x) Chronicle Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
( ) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(x) Waterworld
Total so far: 88

(x) Kill Bill vol 1
(x) Kill Bill vol 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) The Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
(x) Re-Animator
(x) Army of Darkness
Total so far: 92

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
( ) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 97

(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
( ) The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
(x) Evil Dead
(x) Evil Dead 2
(x) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
(x) Hannibal

TOTAL: 104

Feel free to grab this for your blogs and/or post your results in the comments.

Awesome

Courtesy of Pajiba. It's ten minutes long, but it's worth it:

100 Movies, 100 Quotes, 100 Numbers

Paradise By The Dashboard Light

When we were living out in the California mountains, one of the things we liked to do on occasion was drive down the hill to the drive-in movie theater in Santee. It was always a fun time, with families enjoying an evening out on the cheap. They showed relatively new movies, and you always got a double feature, which meant, for example, that you could follow up SWAT (a perfect drive-in movie) with The Grind, one of the worst movies ever to grace the silver screen. We usually picked up Mexican food on our way in and enjoyed a nice evening, with the baby (usually) sleeping in the back seat. It was a lot of fun.


Let's all go to the lobby to get ourselves a treat.

We never made it to the drive-in last summer; I think that we figured our girl was at the wrong age for it -- too old to just sleep in the back seat, but too young to sit still and watch the movie. Now, though, with the kid pushing three, I think we'll be heading out to see what central PA has to offer in terms of drive-ins.

My research (which consisted of visiting Drive-Ins.com) turned up four screens nearby:

* Haar's Drive-in, US-15, Dillsburg, 432-3011. Tickets are $7 for adults, $2 for children 3-7. This weekend they're showing Spider-Man 3 (woo!) and Are We Done Yet? (currently rating an 8% on Rotten Tomatoes. Unfortunately they have a link to this fruitbat news site on their site, which is enough to make me not want to patronize them.

* York Drive-In Theatre, 334 Carlisle Ave., York, 792-5223. Tickets are $8/$6. As of this morning, the website and phone message are still touting last week's movies (Meet The Robinsons & Wild Hogs).

* Sky-Vu Drive-In, Hwy. 25, Gratz, 365-3816. Tickets prices aren't shown on their website and there was no message when I called. This weekend they're showing Spider-Man 3 and Perfect Stranger.

* Cumberland Drive-In, 715 Centerville Rd, Newville, 776-5212. The website still shows them as "closed for the season" but the phone message is updated. Tickets are $6/$3. This weekend they're showing Spider-Man 3 (big surprise) and Premonition.

See you at the show!

The Oscarzzzzzzzz

Last night's Oscars were one of the worst in my memory. I'm a huge Oscar fan -- I've hosted countless Oscar parties, Oscar pools, etc. In my more active days on The Well I hosted the Movies conference and posted regularly during Oscar season about who was going to win, who should be nominated, etc. etc. It's not an exaggeration to say the Oscar telecast is one of the highlights of my TV-watching year, up there with Opening Day of the baseball season and the Survivor finale. Ordinarily I love nothing more than three hours in front of the TV spent critiquing dresses, speeches, and winners and losers.


An Oscar statuette hangs itself as the telecast enters its fourth hour

This year was completely and utterly disappointing. For years people have grumbled about the length of the telecast, how it drags, how boring it is, and I have typically sldiered on, always finding enough of interest to enjoy it. Not this year. For one thing, the producers backloaded all the "big" awards (they didn't give out an acting award until almost an hour in), presumably to build up suspense, but the result was that the first 2 1/2 hours just draaaggged. Then the acting awards came up, mostly foregone conclusions, and the pacing didn't improve!

In general, everything just seemed to take too long. It was maybe only 15 seconds or a minute in any one place, but added up over the whole night it felt stultifying. A perfect example was the shadow theater thing. It was neat, and it led to Ellen DeGeneres' funnies line of the night ("they're naked!") but each little bit lasted a minute or so for one payoff. Grouping them all together would have saved quite a bit of time.

People have a lot of strong feelings about the montages. Typically I enjoy them, and I certainly liked Erroll Morris' piece which started the show. Giuseppe Tornatore's foreign film piece was OK, but Michael Mann's America was just stupid. I would much rather have seen those 5 minutes given to an Altman tribute the way the Spirit Awards did on Saturday, or better yet excised completely. After all, if they did for Altaman whatthey did for Morricone, we might still be watching the show. My God, the Morricone tribute seemed endless! And you have to assume he knew he was getting the award - would it have killed the producers to make sure that Eastwood's translation happened a bit quicker?

Every year the producers try to shorten the show by limiting the amount of time on acceptance speeches, and once people start thanking their agent I start agreeing with Daniel Radosh that there should be a 3-person thanking limit. Thank your spouse, your kids, and your director, and that's it.

But really they could shave off 15-20 min just by having presenters already standing at the podium instead of having them walk. all. the. way. downstage. There was so much dead time that there was no way the show could get into any kind of rhythm. But even if they had tightened things up, the whole affair is so bloodless and obnoxiously self-congratulatory (the Oscars have gone green! What does that mean? Nobody knows!) that it's getting painful to slog through. I would have been much happier this morning if I had gone to bed at 11 and just looked at the winners list when I woke up this morning.

Such a shame.