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Kevin's mom is definitely a MILF. Mom I'd Like on Forums.

We’re better than the FB group by far ;)

My question is, do we have to leave something on the list because it is considered influential? Does that automatically make it good? I'm not saying this isn't good because I have yet to see it, but a lot of these weeks we have had people come and say that a movie must stay on the list because of how influential it was. But why? I think something can be influential and then improved on in later movies. I think something can inspire artists to make better things and may have not necessarily been good itself. This list is titled the 100 Greatest American Films, not the 100 Most Influential American Films. So, in my opinion, saying something is extremely influential has no bearing to me on whether or not it deserves to be on this list. I believe that's why I'm all for cutting out The French Connection, because I just don't think it's one of the greatest films I've ever seen despite how much it influenced.

Oh thank god someone else feels this way. Over on the Facebook group people have been fawning over this movie all week and I just don't get it. The dialog is awful, it is really sexist, and the romance is so dumb. I understand that the movie is hugely influential but I just don't think it has aged very well compared to something like Wizard of Oz which was released just 6 years later.

can we track down a picture of kevins mom so CMB can make a 'where in the world is kevin's mom' poster? please

It’s RAINING! It’s going to get out of control! Damn you, Zephryus! Why must you curse my curb appeal!

As long as all the yard work is done.

This week Amy & Paul unveil 1933’s seminal monster movie King Kong! They ask if this was the first true blockbuster film, discover how the distinctive animal sounds were made, and wonder what Ann sees in Jack Driscoll. Plus: primatologist Kate Gilmore stops by to explain King Kong is not a gorilla! What do you think All About Eve is all about? If you haven’t seen it, call the Unspooled voicemail line at 747-666-5824 with your best guesses. Follow us on Twitter @Unspooled, and don’t forget to rate, review & subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts.

My point is I'm saying that influential doesn't necessarily automatically equal great. Technically The Birth of a Nation is considered to be influential but that's a terrible movie that sparked the actual creation of the KKK. So yeah some technically influential movies have created negative impacts. The Blair Witch Project inspired a completely new version of the Horror genre and even made it on Roger Ebert's 10 most influential movies of the 20th century list, but I know a LOT of people that genuinely hate that movie. But even still my point is actually that let's say King Kong wasn't really received as a good movie but still sparked a revolution of new ways to tell a story, should it still be on the Greatest list? Whether or not we think a film is good is completely subjective, as Cameron pointed out, but there are always movies we're going to think of as good or even great as a universal society. I'm saying that purely sticking a movie here that maybe a large group of people don't like solely because of it's influence muddles the point of this list. Obviously everyone's list is going to look differently, but AFI is the one that titled this list and then curated it, so we have to the interpret what they mean by "greatest." If they just want to stick things (again like Cameron said) should be on this list rather than actually deserve to be here then I claim this whole list is then pointless because that's not actually what they think is the greatest.

I believe you're talking about Swing Time cause we're all just wanting Top Hot to take its place lol, right? ETA: Also, shut your face Titanic deserves to be there LOL

White privilege in action: Bring a monster to New York, have it escape, eat/kill lots of people, cause billions of dollars in structural damage, require air force assistance, and no one says a goddamn thing. Denhem wants to get to the front of the crowd to view the carcass, and everyone is just like "Ooh! That's Mr. Denhem. He caught the creature you know..." Not a single person is like "A car was thrown through my living room window and my wife was dropped to her death you shit-stain!" Honestly, I think Denhem should have seen some repercussions in the film as it would have made his journey would have somewhat mirrored that of Kong's. That way, when he says"It was Beauty that killed the Beast," he's not just talking about Kong, but the nature of obsession. (i.e. how Kong's obsession over Wray was just as self-destructive as Denhem's obsession with fame and fortune.)

I have to question whether or not the love story was intentional terrible or not. When Denham is explaining why he needs an actress for the movie he complains that after he works hard to make a movie the critics and exhibitors claim "if this movie had a love interest it'd gross twice as much." He also cites this is what the public wants and it makes him sore. Cut to twenty minutes later or so and we have John and Ann fall in love out of nowhere. Was this the writer and director giving the critics and exhibitors what they wanted? Were they aware they were doing what they just complained about? I'd like to think this was some meta message.

(I hope no one minds that I’ve been creating these threads.)

That's how I feel about Swing Time and Titanic (less so, Titanic). And in the case of Swing Time, it's not even particularly influential. While I think lists of this sort will always be subjective, I think it has to come down more to craft than influence. Maybe even more than enjoyability. I feel like a lot of these picks are on the list because they "should be" rather than they deserve to be.

Was this the earliest instance where, when everyone is running around in a panic, the movie cuts away to a child crying by itself in the street? You know, just so the audience knows the shit just got real.

Sorry, but I just don't see an argument for leaving it off. It's way too iconic and influential. Personally, I find it very entertaining. Some of the racist/sexist stuff I largely chalk up to being a product of its time, and on the other hand the movie also has hints of progressivism in how it gets you to sympathize with the creature. As a thrill ride I think it holds up marvelously. The characterization/dialogue only needs to be good enough to serve as scaffolding for the adventure spectacle, and IMO it does.

I’m listening right now but I really exactly agree with Paul & Amy. As I expressed on my Letterboxd comments, I’m quite conflicted. It’s definitely thrilling to watch and I love so much of the action! But I just can’t get over the pulpy side of it all- the dumb romance, the meta filmmaking stuff, racial and sexist stereotype, etc. (Even if it was their point to be intentionally dumb, it’s still dumb.) so I dunno, I voted no for this to remain on the list. To me it’s like putting a comic strip on a list of best literature.

Even though the spider sequence is missing, a handful of pictures exist (on mobile so, sorry, not going to look for them). These pictures and a description of the scene were used by Peter Jackson to make a recreation of the scene when he remade King Kong. Here is his version of what he believed the scene might have been:

I wanted to share this incredible find that I came across on some sketchy Russian mp3 website when I was looking for REM demos. All it said was "Михаи́л Стипенд 1983" for the credit, which piqued my interest, since that's around the release of Murmur, one of my favorite REM albums. Unfortunately, my computer now seems to be infected with quite a few viruses, rendering it almost unusable, but in the end, it was all worth it. Much credit to user Jordo for posting the other version. If I hadn't had heard that, I would have never known what this song was supposed to be. I've uploaded the file to my Soundcloud below...enjoy!

Carl Tart is a(n inter)national treasure. I was convulsing with laughter for the opening. Part of it was just because the singing was so funny - but also, laughing at the fact that he was going to have to sustain it for the duration of the episode. Scott's blatant setups later on were gold. Especially when Carl didn't seem to get them quite so immediately.

For July: Technicality No Down June Over

"I want April, gimme April" (dat pill)

Here's a big question I actually have about this movie. So army dude that's dating EVR at the start of the movie is shipped off to boot camp and says he's coming home before he actually gets sent to Vietnam, right? So then Lucy sings "It Won't Be Long" as she anxiously awaits his return, which we never get to see. The next thing we know is he has been killed. So does he get killed just in training, does he actually not get to come home and he was immediately sent to war, or did they skip over his entire return and send off and he then got killed in battle? She tells Jude later that he died doing something brave so it makes me think the first option is incorrect but there is a missing step here that does confuse me.