Philly Cheesesteak

Now there's an idea...

I really have to disagree there. New York City, as envisioned by Scorsese, perfectly encapsulates Travis Bickle's diseased state of mind. It evokes his sense of imprisonment, his alienation, his isolation and feeds into his mistrust, paranoia and misanthropy. It's a reflection of his broken soul. The Warriors' vision of New York is that of antiquity transplanted to the modern day, with all the street gangs serving as microcosms to ancient warrior nations. It's also a land fraught with adventure, infused with youthful rebellious energy. Taxi Driver's New York is a place that suffocates, imprisons and drives people to despair and discontentment. It's a New York for bitter adults who have failed in their lives, like Travis. They're both valid characterizations of the city, but Travis Bickle's New York--as it was in the 70's--is a little more true to form by comparison. The Warriors' New York, as mentioned, is based on a novel that was written decades prior that was in itself based on the Anabasis. That New York is the Bronze Age hiding in the cloak of youthful modernity. It's more fanciful than Bickle's seedier, noir-inspired, economically poisoned well of a town.

What about Taxi Driver?

Don't forget Highlander and The Princess Bride! Oh, and Time Bandits and Baron Munchausen!

Wrath of Khan. No other Trek movie comes close. It's the standard for the franchise.

When it comes to Canon debates, I like seeing a wide berth of opinions. The better articulated, the brighter the light it shines on the subject matter. It might lead to some interesting ideas or viewpoints I'd never have considered prior and I value moments like that. You, HeadSpin, you guys brought valid arguments to the table. Now, at the end of the day I don't think Harry Potter as a film franchise is strong enough on its own merits to qualify for the Canon, I am glad to see good arguments for its inclusion at all. That's the important thing for me.

I do... but I don't think it's Canon worthy. When you think about it, it's like two-thirds of a good movie and one-third padding and needless romantic subplots. It deserves its status as a cult classic, but I don't think there's enough polish to give it the Canon treatment.

That pic just made my day.

Dragonslayer is amazing. First off, it's an underrated gem. Secondly, best practical dragon effects ever. Thirdly, it handles fairly heavy thematic subject matter such as the erasure of native culture and histories, represented by Christianity dominating "pagan Europe" as best represented by the dragon and the wizard. And fun fact, the design for the dragon influenced del Toro's kaiju designs in Pacific Rim. It needs more respect. Excalibur, likewise, needs more respect. Willow I haven't seen in years, so no comment, and Black Death? If you cut some of the filler getting to the village with the dark secret, it'd go from good to great in a second.

Devin repeats this in the mirror ten times before recording a vs episode with Amy.

Damn, might just be the best argument in its favour yet. Thanks!

I approve of Meam Girls as a Canon candidate.

So you'd definitely argue Prisoner of Azkaban, in of itself, is a worthy Canon contender?

Sure, but what do you think of the arguments made against HP in this thread?

I'm with him on this. Blood Simple's a raw first entry, while No Country shows off how far they've come as filmmakers.

Really? Damn, that's all kinds of neat!

Ooph... ... I... I can't choose. You broke my brain. And my heart.

S'all good, man, no harm done and no need to apologize. Even I don't think the films deserve to be in the Canon, and I say this as a legit fan of the books/franchise. But it's always interesting to play devil's advocate. Their arguments should never be dismissed out of hand.

Mind you, The Canon has inducted a fair few films of questionable quality based solely on historical value (I.e. Forest Gump). There is an argument to be made that to omit something of that value is to fail to capture the totality of a time and place.

Django Unchained, Gone Girl, Blackfish, The Lego Movie, Frank, The Babadook, Ex Machina, Inside Out, Anomalisa, Tangerine, Chi-Raq? Yay or nay?

Damn, no love for Conan.

That said, what do you think of the arguments laid here about the actual quality of the films, even PoA, in of themselves? You can make the argument, for instance, that Casino Royale is not only more polished but possesses a technical flourish the HP movies might have lacked. This is me taking the Amy side of the argument.

Sweet! In that case, I nominate Black Swan, Inside Llewyn Davis, The Grand Budapest Hotel (already voted in, I believe), Holy Motors, The Act of Killing, The Look of Silence, Frozen (I'd argue for its candidacy), Her, and The Hateful Eight.

Just so we're clear, we're talking from 2010 to now, yes? Not 2006 to now?

Yeah, I can get behind this 100%. Come to think of it, Kiki's Delivery Service alone is rather better than most of the movies.