bri-witched

The Others, The Ring, REC, 28 Days Later, The Host, May (more obscure but it's great), Thirst, The Descent, Under the Skin, It Follows, The Babadook, Stoker, The Conjuring, The Witch. It's cheating since it came out decades earlier, but since few people could see it until 2009, I'd throw in Wake in Fright too. Oldboy and Let the Right One In have already made it in or else I'd suggest those as well. I don't care for Scream or Saw but they deserve discussion too.

I mean, yeah it's ham-fisted but that doesn't make the message unoriginal and less thought-provoking. Most people, frankly, and especially in America, think they're above systems in place. Everyone thinks they're a special snowflake who's totally unaffected by media and the political commentary around them when it couldn't be further from the truth. This film is working in the tradition of other genre flicks where they're campy on some level and have really overt political intentions, but they're doing something really good in the process-explaining complex systems through allegory, and using genre elements to still entertain their audience (Snowpiercer and I Walked With a Zombie are both good examples of this-I'd argue Under the Skin does this too with gender, but more subtly). Carpenter has proven he can be subtle in other projects he's done so it doesn't make sense to say that because he isn't here that it's bad. Which is why you're also wrong about it not being historically significant-the film came out in 1988. It's a perfect period piece for Reaganomics and it still holds true today. Even on a pop culture level everyone knows the bubblegum line and the "Obey" sign.

Dirty Dancing or Bound-two of the few films that consistently fills me with joy.

I adored this film as a child and haven't seen it in probably 10 years. Really happy to revisit it.

It's kind of "baby's first step toward class consciousness" but it's a great first step so whatever. Easy yes.

Act of Killing and Look of Silence definitely should be in. I'm not sure what would be canon worthy, but here's some I think are worth discussion, in addition to the ones mentioned above: Under the Skin A Separation Snowpiercer Drive Melancholia Frances Ha This Is Not A Film Holy Motors We Need to Talk About Kevin Magic Mike XXL (I'm serious about this)

This film didn't hold up for me at all on rewatch- I don't find Singer's directing to be that inspired even here. It's the best thing he's ever done and it's still just "fine." It's a perfectly okay thriller from a time filled to the brim with thrillers like it. I cannot conceive of calling this "great" in anyway when it just reads so average to me-something a group of dudes in a Buffalo Wild Wings would gush over, in between talking about their favorite film "The Shawshank Redemption." Definitely not a bad film but in no way one that belongs in a film canon.

The James Bond franchise is pretty conservative and Casino Royale made it in. A lot of horror films have a conservative edge to them too ("other" is scary, normal life is good, etc). I guess it depends on your definition of conservative-I consider films like Ghostbusters and Ferris Bueller to be right-wing but other people only consider blatant stuff like American Sniper to be conservative. The Dark Knight reads as conservative to me because of the phone-tapping at the end-yes Batman allows it to be destroyed and Fox gives token protests against it, but it's still positioned as the "right" decision since it helped catch the Joker. I don't know other people's arguments for or against that however.

The last time I saw this was roughly 9 years ago, so I'm interested in revisiting it. I remember thinking it was fine at the time, but my opinion on Bryan Singer as a director has soured tremendously over the past few years so I don't know how I'll feel about it now.

I'm torn over this. I do think there's a lot of sloppy camerawork and really broad moments in the film, but I also don't have an as harsh view as Devin. There are better movies about similar subjects (I definitely agree with a user above about Killer of Sheep), but this is the one with the cultural impact. It's the one that's survived all these years and is still talked about, even by people my age, who were either not alive or too young to have seen it in theaters. If we put something as bad as Forrest Gump in because of its cultural impact, then this deserves a place too. I'm pretty sure Singleton was also the first black director to ever be nominated for the Best Director at the Academy Awards. I need the rest the day to think it over, but I'm leaning toward yes.

And that's understandable on some level-you can't change the past. We can't change that many people saw Woody Allen films before they knew what he did, and that they're a big influence. That doesn't mean you have to continually support his work, prioritizing a man's artistic output over the life of a woman he's destroyed. You don't have to write think-pieces about how you don't know who to believe and treat an accusation of abuse differently than if it didn't involve your favorite celebrity or brush off people who are uncomfortable discussing his works (who are often victims themselves as well). I'm definitely not saying Devin's a bad person for this (at all-we're all guilty of it at some point, that's how strong a force rape culture is in our every day lives) I'm saying he's definitely guilty of "deflecting honest discussion with a personal thing" and recognizing that would allow for more richer arguments and thoughtful discussions all around.

Re: that last sentence-perfect, I agree so hard, he does that all the time. His constant brush off of people who don't like that he consistently speaks highly of Woody Allen is pretty much that in a nutshell.

I've had this on my "To Watch" list forever, so I guess I need to finally make time for it.

Voting yes, could have been potentially convinced otherwise on the basis of it not being even in the top three best Fincher pictures. I sympathize with Amy's position (Freeman carries the film for me and Pitt's just along for the ride), but I do think it's one of the most influential thrillers ever made which makes it automatic canon for me.

I know Devin has said he hates all anime (not a totally unfair position) but c'mon. It's not at all fair to lump someone like Miyazaki in with stuff dudes with body pillows jerk off to. Spirited Away's visually stunning and overall a masterpiece. Miyazaki definitely deserves a spot in the canon (I'd also argue heavily for Satoshi Kon too, but more down the line).

It's a no for me. I had never seen this before and while I don't regret seeing it, I don't think I'll find myself revisiting it. It's a good film but I don't think it was good enough-I agree that lowercase "great" films should be in the canon and are definitely worthy of discussion, but I can't get behind Marathon Man. I do like Dustin Hoffman a lot though, so will be looking forward to some of his other work hopefully popping up (particularly Midnight Cowboy or All the President's Men).

Hard yes. There's basically nothing I don't like about this film from the actors, cinematography, and score. It all works perfectly. I'm a bisexual woman, but this film was really important to me growing up because it was the first film I ever remember seeing with gay characters in it (I was 12 when it hit DVD and was able to rent it-I hid it from my mom and got it through my local library). The cultural impact this has had really can't be overstated.

I can't either-the Podcast app on my iPhone says every podcast I've downloaded or is in my feed is "temporarily unavailable." I went directly to Soundcloud on my laptop though and am able to listen to it.

I'm so sorry for being the person to suggest we have another Ridley Scott film in the canon, but I love this film, it's 25th anniversary is coming up, and I think it definitely deserves a shot. It's really interesting to me to see Ridley Scott take on a film that's so character driven and have the leads feel like real people.

I love both these films so I'd end up hurt either way but it would be a really interesting debate, and I desperately want to see at least one Wong Kar-wai film in the canon.

Thanks for the shoutout! This was my first time seeing Pather Panchali and only my second time watching anything from Indian Cinema (ignoring some Shahrukh Khan films). I really liked it! The characters are multi-dimensional and above all I just enjoyed spending time with them. And it looked gorgeous too-the rain scene in particular was magical. I'm definitely voting yes.

500 Days is a good film but Eternal Sunshine is on a whole other level for me. Stunning cinematography and knock-out performances (it's also one of the few films to make me cry every time I see it), I definitely want to see it in the Canon.

Soft yes for me. The historical significance is what pushed it over the edge for me, that I think it deserves to be in the Canon and be a film that people should see at least once in their lifetime. But I also agree with the negative points as well. The film is good but not great (Helen's character is...such a problem), and Amy's right in saying it's not even in the top 5 best Wilder films. So while it's a yes for me, I wouldn't be devastated if it ends up not being voted in.

I love Fulci and totally want to see him in the canon. The Beyond and City of the Living Dead are my favorites by him.

Might be an oddball choice since there are other more well-known films that haven't made it into The Canon yet, but I love this film and think everyone should see it. I think it's Todd Haynes' most interesting work.