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grudlian.

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Posts posted by grudlian.

  1. Posted

    10 minutes ago, sycasey 2.0 said:

    One thing that did come up was the generational distribution. The AFI list is pretty dominated by 1970s films, while this list is more dominated (not as much, but it is the clear plurality) by 1990s films. I think this reflects the likely average age of the voter bases more than anything else.

    AFI: 1910s (1), 1920s (3), 1930s (12), 1940s (11), 1950s (16), 1960s (17), 1970s (20), 1980s (8), 1990s (11), 2000s (1)

    Spoolers: 1920s (1), 1930s (9), 1940s (7), 1950s (10), 1960s (16), 1970s (16), 1980s (16), 1990s (18), 2000s (7), 2010s (3)

    Also a big gain for 80s films on the Spoolers list, mostly at the expense of the 40s and 50s.

    The list skewing heavily more modern is not a surprise at all to me. Obviously, the original list couldn't include modern stuff since, you know, it came out a decade ago. But so many people bemoan wanting "modern (insert genre here)".

    I like tons of modern movies. I've seen way more modern movies than older ones. But specifically wanting something modern feels like wanting familiarity over quality which is one of the main criticisms of this list.

  2. Posted

    I don't know how much the list being  dominated straight, white, cis-gendered men came up on the Facebook group, but this list only has six movies directed by people of color (Do The Right Thing, Moonlight, Get Out, Brokeback Mountain, Boyz N The Hood, and Children Of Men) and two by women (The Matrix and A League Of Their Own). They also didn't limit themselves to one film per director. There are also still some movies I question how American they are (including Children Of Men).

    I like this list a lot more on a quick scan though than the AFI list.

  3. Posted

    This isn't a coming of age high school movie but it's set in high school. The Browning Version is one of my favorite movies and I don't see any other way to slip it in here unless they do "understated, emotional dramas" as a category.

  4. Posted

    Since we're opening up to foreign films now, I'll also throw in Only Yesterday and Ocean Waves. They are two lesser known Studio Ghibli movies that are worth your time. Only Yesterday is in contention for best Ghibli movie in my mind.

    • Like 1

  5. Posted

    Maybe it's just because they are very recent films, but I like Lady Bird, Eighth Grade, Booksmart, and Edge Of Seventeen. I think Superbad does this list but I've kind of soured on it over the years. I'm kind of surprised their list doesn't include The Breakfast Club.

    The Diary Of A Teenage Girl is a great coming of age movie but significantly less school focused than it seems Unspooled is going for right now.

    • Like 2

  6. Posted

    1 hour ago, AlmostAGhost said:

    Yea maybe, but I took it as more similar to Amy's other podcast The Canon, and they will decide if something is worthy of inclusion just of a vague 'great list'. They have found a lot of things for this via the AFI list, and now time to diversify.

    I guess we'll know after the first ep when they conclude their thoughts on Mean Girls. 

    Based on the way this was framed in the episode, it very much felt like removing 50 to fit 50 different movies. That's fine although I still disagree with kicking off an arbitrary number of movies. If someone thinks 50 (or more) of the movies aren't worthy, fine.

    But I've disagreed with a lot of ideas the podcast has presented like "one movie per director" or "needs (more/less) of a genre". I think that violates the purpose of the list but that's a discussion we've all had multiple times here. So, maybe we don't need to get into it again.

    If they completely move away from the AFI list (which is fine with me for a number of reasons), then this new season is fine. The show has changed purposes and outgrown the AFI. Cool. But I'm wary about this going into it because sounds like it's just a vaguely themed "pick a movie and talk about it" podcast. As much as I like Paul and Amy, I'm unlikely to stick around for that.

  8. Posted

    On 7/18/2020 at 5:51 PM, AlmostAGhost said:

    Oh also, if anyone wants... I thought it would be interesting to hear your picks from these 100 movies for

    Best Picture
    Best Director
    Best Actor
    Best Actress
    Best Supporting Actor
    Best Supporting Actress
    Best Screenplay

    (and if you want to do Razzie versions too, feel free!)

    I'll do the best picture only. I'd need to put a lot more thought into the other categories.

    Best Picture top 10 in no particular order:

    All About Eve
    Bridge On The River Kwai
    Parasite
    Moonlight
    No Country For Old Men
    Silence Of The Lambs
    Rocky
    The Godfather
    Marty
    Casablanca

    Best picture bottom 5 (keep in mind I haven't seen every best picture winner and a lot of the ones I haven't seen are considered the weaker ones):

    Crash
    Tom Jones
    Around The World In 80 Days
    Gigi
    My Fair Lady

  9. Posted

    1 hour ago, ol' eddy wrecks said:

    In terms of possible Blacksploitation films (the ones actually made by African Americans). I've actually only seen some of the more obscure ones and haven't seen the well known ones. The one I'm really curious about is Superfly.

    I've seen most of the big name blaxploitation movies. Superfly is probably the best of them and the most likely to get anywhere near this list. I used to really love the movie. I had a full size poster for it in my dorm (which I subsequently realize is not a great look for a 19 year old white guy in the midwest). But I'd have a hard time really pushing for it on this list. It's fine. It is better acted than most blaxploitation movies. It doesn't have any glaring flaws. The soundtrack is fantastic. Unless you're into the specific aesthetic, there's not a strong selling point that people need to see it.

    The other one that I think could be considered would be Trouble Man. Like Superfly, it's good but nothing super special. Maybe Sweet Sweetback's Baadasss Song but that's purely for being first; it's a real mess as a movie. 

    Unless the AFI tried to be more representative of every genre in American film instead of the 100 "greatest," I don't see any blaxploitation movie getting near the final list. 

  10. Posted

    1 hour ago, sycasey 2.0 said:

    For movies made by POC, Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep is a great candidate. It's very indie, though, and the AFI seems to prefer higher budget productions.

    As I've said before, one of the major issues is that opportunities for women, LGBTQ, and POC directors were pretty few and far between until very recently.

    For sure. I'm pretty sure I've made the argument here or Letterboxd that part of the reason the list has virtually no representation is people of color, women and LGBT+ directors weren't allowed to direct movies until basically the 1980s. Lists like this are very hesitant to put anything modern and all our suggestions, every time this comes up, are recent movies. The only real "guarantees" came out years after the anniversary edition. 

    So, part of my reason for the question is: ok. We understand the list isn't representative of the diversity within America but is it even possible to do so given how racist, misogynist and homophobic Hollywood is? I realize that's getting into a very very problematic area of passing the buck by saying "it's not the list's or voters' fault the list is all white guys. White guys are the only ones making movies!"

    My larger point is genuinely asking about the movies that go unrecognized because I know they have to be out there. Killer of Sheep gets brought up regularly. I'll continue pushing for Heartbreak Kid over The Graduate. But that can't be the only movies that are pre 1990s contenders for women and black men right? Maybe Within Our Gates for historical reasons but I don't think it's a great movie.

  11. Posted

    I agree with you that Moonlight and 12 Years A Slave would be pretty much guaranteed. I'm fine with all those movies being considered and maybe making the list. I haven't seen Clueless in a long time and I'm curious how well it holds up for me. I think Boyz In The Hood has more recognition and came first. So, it's a more likely choice, but I remember liking Menace II Society a bit more of the early 90s, black teens in south central movies.

    Spike Lee is a tough one. I like him a lot but I think some of his best work are documentaries which AFI (foolishly) didn't allow. Of the rest of his work, I'm not sure what I'd really want to see on the list. I like Clockers a lot but seems like a real outside chance of making it. Malcolm X seems like his next best chance.

    I think Brokeback Mountain is certainly a good contender as well although it might not have won an Oscar either? I know it lost best picture but maybe Ang Lee won?

  12. Posted

    I'm not sure I understand the purpose of cutting 50 movies if the point is to put on 50 different movies. If someone thinks 50 of the movies aren't top 100 material, then so be it. But just to shake things up or highlight lesser known great movies is something I don't get. You either think it's genuinely one of the 100 greatest movies or you don't (conceding that "greatest" is pretty nebulous a concept). I'm trying to keep my overall criticisms of the list (and probably criticisms of criticisms) until the wrap up episode proper.

    I'll make my top 10 a list of personal favorites (in AFI list order, not my personal preference) instead of why I might demand stay on the list. I think a couple movies like Citizen Kane objectively belong on a list of greatest American movies, but it's not something I watch regularly.

    The Godfather
    Singin' In The Rain
    The Wizard Of Oz
    Star Wars
    2001:  A Space Odyssey
    It's A Wonderful Life
    To Kill A Mockingbird
    Jaws
    Raiders Of The Lost Ark
    Do The Right Thing

    Here's my list of 10 that I would be glad to kick off the list no question

    Lawrence Of Arabia (not American in my mind)
    Bridge On The River Kwai (not American in my mind)
    Intolerance
    Cabaret
    Tootsie
    Forrest Gump
    Easy Rider
    Sophie's Choice
    Yankee Doodle Dandy
    Ben-Hur

    One topic that has come up multiple times and I want to ask again before we get into the actual wrap up is:  what movies created by people of color and women belong on the list? We've discussed that the directors are basically all straight white men multiple times, but no one has really put up what movies from women, LGBT+ directors, people of color should be on the list.

    • Like 1

  15. Posted

    5 hours ago, Cinco DeNio said:

    Want to see our "hero" as he was a few years before the movie?

    TsQ5jGb.png

    So, this kind of confirms the makeup on this movie is fantastic. Watching this, I was shocked that Topol was 35. I don't know how old he is in this picture but I'd guess 40 at the absolute max whereas I would have guessed 50 minimum for Fiddler.

    • Like 2

  17. Posted

    A comic I'd recommend is Marvels. It is the Marvel version of Jason's description of Astro City. It's the rise of Marvel superheroes in the golden age told from the perspective of a journalist. It really blew my mind as a kid (partly because I'd never seen Alex Ross' work before). It will never happen, but I'd like a movie set in the MCU loosely following it.

  22. Posted

    7 hours ago, GrahamS. said:

    I love (or at least like) most of the Judd Apatow comedies. Still think Freaks and Geeks is a masterpiece. But films like Knocked up, Superbad, etc. have a SHITLOAD of gay panic jokes. I still enjoy This Is the End, but that has jokes about rape that are super uncomfortable. Really, I don’t think comedies got less problematic (if you’re viewing it through that lens) until 2015 or maybe even later.

    A lot of the time it doesn’t mean—if I liked the films/shows—that I won’t watch them again, it just makes me remember “oof, this is a record of when that humor was OK.” It’s just the pitfalls of making “edgy” comedy.

    Yeah. I watched Freaks And Geeks again a couple weeks ago and it still holds up. There is the one episode where Ken wonders if he's gay which, is not great, but with the context of being 1981, it's not bad.

    • Like 3

  23. Posted

    Amy & Paul take a bite out of 1975's blockbuster Spielberg creature feature Jaws! They take a close listen to John Williams' iconic score, praise the way Spielberg adds emotional stakes to the story, and ask whether Jurassic Park does much of what Jaws does, but better. Plus: Hannah Medd, founder of the American Shark Conservancy, weighs in on whether dolphins are bigger jerks than sharks.   Which AFI character do you think deserves their own thematic film festival, along the lines of Sundance? Call the Unspooled voicemail line at 747-666-5824 with your answer! Follow us on Twitter @Unspooled, get more info at unspooledpod.com and don’t forget to rate, review & subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts. Also check out our live Spool Party episodes on youtube.com/earwolf! Photo credit: Kim Troxall

  24. Posted

    Just now, Cameron H. said:

    I know that as a society we still have a long way to go, but it really is amazing how much has changed in a relatively short period of time. Even early HDTGM episodes have stuff that I’m sure they would no longer say.

    For sure. I watched Party Down as it aired (there are dozens of us!). I definitely was not using that word with that meaning by 2009 but it was common enough that I don't remember it sticking out at the time.

    I listened to the full run of HDTGM last year and was really surprised at some of the language in the early episodes.

    • Like 2

  25. Posted

    5 minutes ago, Elektra Boogaloo said:

    Whoops. I haven’t seen any but this once recently. That is a bummer.

    If I recall, it's mostly using "gay" as an insult (the football draft day episode was woefully out of date though). So, it's not worse than a lot of 90s shows but it's something I'd like to warn people about given how recent the show is. 

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