MSUBear

If they did one film from each of the five "best"directors each representing a different country it would be like the World Cup. Hitchcock, Kurosawa, Godard, Tarkovsky, Bergman, etc.

What would make this episode interesting is discovering what gold-standard classics Amy or the cohost don't actually like. I nominate: Singin in the Rain Casablanca 8 1/2 Wild Strawberries Psycho The Graduate The Mirror The Shining Cabaret Apocalypse Now My Own Private Idaho Mulholland Drive These are all movies that I enjoy and have received substantial acclaim but each could be divisive to viewers.

Interesting and entertaining arguments. I liked how combative the two got, reminded me of the earlier episodes. I also appreciated how both critics seemed to talk about the films as they exist within their limits and did their best, intentionally or not, to keep cultural influence in the peripheral. I think Hairspray is the most watchable Waters film but for the same reasons it shouldn't be representative of Waters in the canon. Grease is perhaps the most rewatchable film from its era besides Star Wars and marked an important transition from cinematic musicals of old to the ones of today. Grease gets my vote.

It was like if Werner Herzog was my tipsy uncle at thanksgiving

I loved the conversation in this episode but was surprised neither of you touched on the idea of an expanded universe as it has come to define big studio projects and has failed in every attempt with Marvel being the lone example of value. The idea of an expanded universe is in my opinion an ultimately negative aspect of our era since it overstretches premises for the sake of profit. Marvel, however, has used the EU to develop each character individually and in turn has created a wholly unique feat in movie making and one that I doubt will be replicated in our lives. In the golden age of Hollywood up until the seventies, quality, critically lauded movies were seen in mass by the public and we as a culture were allowed to have a conversation about them. I think the last film to accomplish this was Pulp Fiction and since then the way we view movies has become so diffuse that often one can't have a face to face conversation with another over a recent film. Star Wars is a modern exception to this but has become so tied up in its own expectations. While I'm not claiming Marvel films are as high a quality of older films I do value their exsistence as they are telling original stories (for the bulk of us who don't read comics) and immediately enter the public consciousness. Re-watching the Avengers it is clear where Marvel's faults lie. The soundtrack is uninspired, the color scheme and set designs are muted, the villain is a faceless robot army. But! All these problems have been corrected ten fold by Black Panter and Thor 3. While the Avengers is less rewatchable than the films it has birthed, it deserves canon entry as being the evolutionary beginning of our own modern epic.

An uncle of mine wrote his college thesis on the psychology of sports movies. In his, somewhat expert, opinion he defines Field of Dreams to be transcendent of its time, genre, and plot to tell the rare American version of the magical realism stories so popular around the world. Although my even my favorite Kevin Costner baseball film (Bull Durham), Field of Dreams holds a special place in my heart. After driving 150 miles to the still standing set and playing catch near the bleachers where a young Gabby Hoffman choked on a hotdog, you realize that while Driving Miss Daisy tried to tell a human story in a human world, Field of Dreams reveals more about humanity by creating its own world of ghosts, strange voices, and miracle pilgrimedges to almost heaven Iowa

Some forgotten gems were Logan and Atomic Blonde, my favorite film of the year being the latter. If I had to create a time capsul for 2017 I'd include Get Out, Lady Bird, and Three Bilboards. The Big Sick is the most overrated film of the year and is unremarkable in its writing, acting, structure, and continued focus on the Apatow man-child as the rom com hero. I was told my critics that it was a modern Annie Hall when in fact it took none of the risks and yielded none of the laughs or insight. While I appreciated Kumail getting his due and telling his story and in fact enjoyed the film for what it was, the attempt by many to claim it is the best comedy of the year is the only thing I find laughable.

Wonder Woman was great but unfortunately I feel it eclipses another superhero that broke the narrative mold and that is Logan.

His Girl Friday, on the surface, seems to have less moving parts and on screen star power as PS. However, both films were introduced to me at a young age and His Girl Friday is the only one I rewatch nearly every year. Perfect chemistry and comedic timing, imperfect characters, and oddly dark subject matter make it more of a precursor to the comedies of today than any of its contemporaries.

Reasons: 1.) Amy's ties to both Michigan and Michigan's universities, like the characters in the film 2.) Recent shows like 'Friends from College' are direct heirs to the movie's influence 3.) Its a divisive film with some saying it's great and others saying its charm is from nostalgia 3.) The BEST soundtrack in modern movie history 4.) Available on Hulu right now 5.) JEFF GOLDBLUM

Fun Fact: Entertainment Weekly ranked Blue Velvet 37th on their "100 greatest films of all time" list in 1999 but re-ranked it 15th for 2013. Eraserhead did not make either.

And what about those of us who prefer Mulholland Drive, or the Disney one about a man who drives a lawnmower straight into inspiration, or Wild at Heart! Nick Cage is going to find his way into the Canon one way or another. Just kidding, Blue Velvet beats Eraserhead but Mullholland Drive beats Blue Velvet

The towering films of the noir genre that is seeing a resurgence is shows like Archer and films like Nightcrawler. I feel like both are regarded as classics, and both directed by giants, John Huston and Howard Hawks, respectively, but I enjoyed one way more than the other. I won't say which one I liked more but that illustrates how they each can be divisive and are emblematic of their era (Big Sleep famously was edited due to decency codes and Falcon created the classic detective in Sam Spade). FIGHT!

While I enjoyed both films and had a more visceral/emotional impact by Whiplash, I would show my future kids Juno before it for the following: -it is more influential/mimicked, virtually starting the indie craze alongside Little Miss Sunshine -it is the best product of many of he people involved (Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Allison Janney, Diablo Cody) whereas Teller and the director have arguably already gone on to better things -it has a soundtrack I still listen to every day (props to Kimya Dawson) -it holds up better under rewatches