The Center Seat

If you've been reading this blog o' mine for a while, you know about my love affair with lists. (If you haven't, you can go here, here, and especially here.)

So imagine my delight when I got home yesterday, and waiting in my mailbox was the 1,000th issue of Entertainment Weekly. The cover boldly proclaimed: "The New Classics: The 1000 best movies, TV shows, albums, books, and more of the past 25 years". Did I wait to read it till I got inside? Silly blogosphere. You know me better than that. Of course I ripped it open right there in the apartment lobby.

And now you get to be treated to the movie portion of the list. This is EW's 100 best movies of the past 25 years... basically, anything that's come out since 1983. The ones I've seen are in bold; also, because I'm eminently proud of my own top 100, my ranking appears next to the title of any movies that happened to make my list.

1. Pulp Fiction
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (1,2,3)
3. Titanic (77)
4. Blue Velvet
   
5. Toy Story
   
6. Saving Private Ryan
   
7. Hannah and Her Sisters
   
8. The Silence of the Lambs
   
9. Die Hard
   
10. Moulin Rouge (4)
11. This Is Spinal Tap
    
12. The Matrix (21)
13. GoodFellas
    
14. Crumb
    
15. Edward Scissorhands (40)
16. Boogie Nights
    
17. Jerry Maguire
    
18. Do the Right Thing
    
19. Casino Royale
    
20. The Lion King
    
21. Schindler's List (7)
22. Rushmore
    
23. Memento
    
24. A Room With a View
    
25. Shrek
    
26. Hoop Dreams
    
27. Aliens
    
28. Wings of Desire
    
29. The Bourne Supremacy
    
30. When Harry Met Sally...
    
31. Brokeback Mountain
    
32. Fight Club
    
33. The Breakfast Club
    
34. Fargo (34)
35. The Incredibles
    
36. Spider-Man 2
    
37. Pretty Woman
    
38. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (72)
39. The Sixth Sense
    
40. Speed
    
41. Dazed and Confused
    
42. Clueless (59)
43. Gladiator
    
44. The Player
    
45. Rain Man (86)
46. Children of Men
    
47. Men in Black
    
48. Scarface
    
49. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
    
50. The Piano
    
51. There Will Be Blood
    
52. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad
    
53. The Truman Show
    
54. Fatal Attraction
    
55. Risky Business
    
56. The Lives of Others
    
57. There’s Something About Mary
    
58. Ghostbusters
    
59. L.A. Confidential
    
60. Scream
    
61. Beverly Hills Cop
    
62. sex, lies and videotape
    
63. Big
    
64. No Country For Old Men (41)
65. Dirty Dancing
    
66. Natural Born Killers
    
67. Donnie Brasco
    
68. Witness
    
69. All About My Mother
    
70. Broadcast News
    
71. Unforgiven
    
72. Thelma & Louise
    
73. Office Space
    
74. Drugstore Cowboy
    
75. Out of Africa
    
76. The Departed
    
77. Sid and Nancy
    
78. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
    
79. Waiting for Guffman
    
80. Michael Clayton (60)
81. Moonstruck
    
82. Lost in Translation
    
83. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn
    
84. Sideways
    
85. The 40 Year-Old Virgin
    
86. Y Tu Mamá También
    
87. Swingers
    
88. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
    
89. Breaking the Waves
    
90. Napoleon Dynamite (81)
91. Back to the Future
    
92. Menace II Society
    
93. Ed Wood
    
94. Full Metal Jacket
    
95. In the Mood for Love
    
96. Far From Heaven
    
97. Glory
    
98. The Talented Mr. Ripley
    
99. The Blair Witch Project
    
100. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut
     

There you have it. I've seen 61/100, and 15 of my favorite 100 movies made their list. I've done much better with this list than either the IMDB 250 or the AFI 100, probably because EW picked so many mainstream movies.

So now it's your turn. How many have you seen on this list? Do you have any thoughts on EW's choices? ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

I've had the DVD of Reservoir Dogs from Netflix for a couple weeks now. I have no idea why I'm stalling, but I still haven't seen it.

So on Saturday morning I really was going to watch it. I curled up on my bed with my laptop (the most convenient way to see a movie at my home if Captain Crash is sound asleep in the other room), grabbed a box of White Cheddar Cheez-its (yummy!) and put the DVD in. I turned on the computer.... somehow strayed to Netflix.... and decided to watch Amadeus online. Oh, well.


I've wanted to see Amadeus for quite a while (it does have a crapload of Oscars), and I wasn't disappointed. It left me with a few thoughts:

1. Why isn't Tom Hulce more famous? Yeah, the laugh was annoying, but his performance was outstanding. I confess I didn't even know who he was until I checked out IMDB. By the way, check out this current picture of him on Wikipedia. Yeesh.
   
2. Salieri and Mozart: one is not so talented, but loved by the masses; the other is an artistic genius, but not much of a crowd-pleaser. Take out the murder and betrayal, switch the media, and you've got Michael Bay and Paul Thomas Anderson.
3. The score was outstanding. (Duh).
4. This was SO not based on history, but it was still really entertaining. On the other hand... I'm thinking the actual story might not have been too bad, either. (I read today that Mozart and Beethoven actually got syphilis from the same hooker. Gripping.)

OK, so I've seen it. Definitely worth the watch... but do you think I might catch Reservoir Dogs sometime soon?

Nah. I'm on an extended marathon of The Office at the moment. I can't be bothered. ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

I've been having a lot of fun lately with movie lists. First I posted the IMDB 250, then the AFI 100. For me, both these lists had a few flaws in common... For one thing, the number of films on each list which I had actually viewed was... pathetic. Secondly, neither list was complete: the IMDB 250 is arbitrary, driven by the Roland Emmerich/Michael Bay-loving masses; and the AFI 100, being an American list, eliminates all foreign language films (some of which are truly great).

So I decided to sit down and come up with the only top movie list that will ever be perfect. Of course, I'm talking about my list. (Hang on, while I pry my tongue out of my cheek. OK, that's better.) Seriously, it was a lot harder than I expected, especially putting all these movies in order. Frankly, if I compiled this list daily, it would probably look different every single time.

I've included movies from nearly every genre: sci-fi, comedy, fantasy, drama, animated, musicals, foreign films... there are even some short films and a documentary included. You'll certainly notice an abundance of "chick flicks". (Hey, I'm a chick.) All my favorite filmmakers are represented: Peter Jackson, the Coen brothers, Baz Luhrmann. You'll see my favorite actors here, too: Cate Blanchett, Edward Norton, Ryan Gosling, and Audrey Hepburn.

...And, yes, the Britney Spears movie makes the list. Say what you want, but Crossroads has a hold on me like The One Ring had on Gollum. The karaoke scene rocks. I adore that scruffy guy who drives the car. I want to go on a road trip with those girls. I like what I like, people.

And you know you love me anyway.

So here's Nayana's Top 100 as of April 2008.

1. The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King IMDB
2. The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring IMDB
3. The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers IMDB
4. Moulin Rouge! IMDB
5. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe IMDB
6. Love Actually IMDB
7. Schindler's List IMDB
8. The Passion of the Christ IMDB
9. Juno IMDB
10. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi IMDB
11. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back IMDB
12. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope IMDB
13. William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet IMDB
14. Pan's Labyrinth IMDB
15. Breakfast at Tiffany's IMDB
16. Ever After - A Cinderella Story IMDB
17. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly IMDB
18. The Little Matchgirl IMDB
19. Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut IMDB
20. The Princess Bride IMDB
21. The Matrix IMDB
22. Somewhere In Time IMDB
23. Persepolis IMDB
24. Once IMDB
25. Across the Universe IMDB
26. Casablanca IMDB
27. Into the Wild IMDB
28. My Big Fat Greek Wedding IMDB
29. Sweet Land IMDB
30. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith IMDB
31. Forrest Gump IMDB
32. The Graduate IMDB
33. 50 First Dates IMDB
34. Fargo IMDB
35. Notes on a Scandal IMDB
36. Walk the Line IMDB
37. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home IMDB
38. Pride and Prejudice IMDB
39. An American Tail IMDB
40. Edward Scissorhands IMDB
41. No Country for Old Men IMDB
42. Amélie IMDB
43. From Here to Eternity IMDB
44. Sleeping Beauty IMDB
45. Elf IMDB
46. The Wizard of Oz IMDB
47. The Truth About Cats & Dogs IMDB
48. Fiddler on the Roof IMDB
49. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan IMDB
50. Wayne's World 2 IMDB
51. Wayne's World IMDB
52. The Shawshank Redemption IMDB
53. Shakespeare in Love IMDB
54. Knocked Up IMDB
55. Happy Gilmore IMDB
56. Paris, Je T'aime IMDB
57. Lars and the Real Girl IMDB
58. Volver IMDB
59. Clueless IMDB
60. Michael Clayton IMDB
61. West Bank Story IMDB
62. Vertigo IMDB
63. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford IMDB
64. Enchanted IMDB
65. The American President IMDB
66. Fried Green Tomatoes IMDB
67. Dan in Real Life IMDB
68. It's a Wonderful Life IMDB
69. I Met the Walrus IMDB
70. O Brother, Where Art Thou? IMDB
71. The Italian Job IMDB
72. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind IMDB
73. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street IMDB
74. Batman Begins IMDB
75. Tommy Boy IMDB
76. Finding Nemo IMDB
77. Titanic IMDB
78. The Painted Veil IMDB
79. Waitress IMDB
80. The Notebook IMDB
81. Napoleon Dynamite IMDB
82. Babel IMDB
83. V for Vendetta IMDB
84. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day IMDB
85. Big Fish IMDB
86. Rain Man IMDB
87. Sabrina IMDB
88. The Sound of Music IMDB
89. Gandhi IMDB
90. Life is Beautiful IMDB
91. Chicago IMDB
92. Crossroads IMDB
93. Sleepless in Seattle IMDB
94. Ratatouille IMDB
95. Dead Poets Society IMDB
96. A Christmas Story IMDB
97. My Fair Lady IMDB
98. The Wedding Singer IMDB
99. City of Angels IMDB
100. This Film is Not Yet Rated IMDB

So there it is. Please do comment... I'm dying to know what you all think. ;-) ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

Nick Plowman over at Fataculture inspired me to post the IMDB Top 250, which some consider to be a list of the best films of all time (I have my doubts). The ones I've seen are listed in bold, and you can click on the few one that I've reviewed on this site.

So... out of 250 movies, I've seen a paltry 91. All right, let the ridiculing begin. I do have a teensy excuse, though: I haven't been fully aware of my movie geekdom for all that long. Let a girl catch up.

OK, so feel free to express your outrage in the comments section. I'll even help you out. Fill in the blank: "You've never seen _________?!?! And you call yourself a movie buff? Shame, Nayana, shame."

1. The Godfather (1972)
2. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
3. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
4. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly(1966)
5. Pulp Fiction (1994)
6. Schindler's List (1993)
7. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
8. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
9. Casablanca (1942)
10. The Seven Samurai (1954)
11. Star Wars (1977)
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
13. 12 Angry Men (1957)
14. Rear Window (1954)
15. Goodfellas (1990)
16. City of God (2002)
17. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
18. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
19. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
20. The Usual Suspects (1995)
21. Psycho (1960)
22. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
23. Fight Club (1999)
24. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
25. Citizen Kane (1941)
26. North by Northwest (1959)
27. Memento (2000)
28. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
29. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
30. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
31. The Matrix (1999)
32. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) -- I started to watch this one, and fell asleep.
33. Se7en (1995)
34. Apocalypse Now (1979) -- I've started to watch this one TWICE. I suppose I'll try again.
35. Taxi Driver (1976)
36. American Beauty (1999)
37. The Professional (1994)
38. There Will Be Blood (2007)
39. Vertigo (1958)
40. Amélie (2001)
41. American History X (1998)
42. The Departed (2006)
43. Paths of Glory (1957)
44. M (1931)
45. No Country for Old Men (2007)
46. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
47. The Third Man (1949)
48. Chinatown (1974)
49. The Lives of Others (2006)
50. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
51. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
52. Alien (1979)
53. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
54. The Shining (1980)
55. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
56. The Pianist (2002)
57. Spirited Away (2001)
58. Double Indemnity (1944)
59. Forrest Gump (1994)
60. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
61. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
62. L.A. Confidential (1997)
63. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
64. Das Boot (1981)
65. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
66. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
67. The Downfall (2004)
68. Aliens (1986)
69. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
70. Raging Bull (1980)
71. Rashômon (1950)
72. Metropolis (1927)
73. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
74. Modern Times (1936)
75. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
76. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
77. Rebecca (1940)
78. Sin City (2005)
79. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
80. All About Eve (1950)
81. The Seventh Seal (1957)
82. Some Like It Hot (1959)
83. City Lights (1931) -- It's up next on my Netflix. Thanks, David.
84. Amadeus (1984)
85. On the Waterfront (1954)
86. Life is Beautiful (1997)
87. The Great Escape (1963)
88. Touch of Evil (1958)
89. The Prestige (2006)
90. The Elephant Man (1980)
91. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
92. Jaws (1975)
93. The Sting (1973)
94. Cinema Paradiso (1988)
95. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
96. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
97. The Apartment (1960)
98. Braveheart (1995)
99. The Great Dictator (1940)
100. Blade Runner (1982)
101. Strangers on a Train (1951)
102. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
103. Batman Begins (2005)
104. The Bicycle Thief (1948)
105. High Noon (1952)
106. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
107. The Big Sleep (1946)
108. The Wages of Fear (1953)
109. Notorious (1946)
110. Back to the Future (1985)
111. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
112. Ran (1985)
113. Oldboy (2003)
114. Fargo (1996)
115. Unforgiven (1992)
116. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
117. Donnie Darko (2001)
118. Princess Mononoke (1997)
119. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
120. Ratatouille (2007)
121. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
122. For a Few Dollars More (1965)
123. Yojimbo (1961)
124. The Green Mile (1999)
125. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
126. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
127. Nights of Cabiria (1957)
128. Gladiator (2000)
129. Into the Wild (2007)
130. Die Hard (1988)
131. Annie Hall (1977)
132. The Battle of Algiers (1966)
133. The Deer Hunter (1978)
134. Ben-Hur (1959)
135. It Happened One Night (1934)
136. The Sixth Sense (1999)
137. Platoon (1986)
138. The General (1927)
139. Life of Brian (1979)
140. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
141. The Killing (1956)
142. Wild Strawberries (1957)
143. Amores perros (2000)
144. Les Diaboliques (1955)
145. Finding Nemo (2003)
146. The Incredibles (2004)
147. V for Vendetta (2005)
148. Heat (1995)
149. Brief Encounter (1945)
150. The Wild Bunch (1969)
151. Children of Men (2006)
152. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
153. The Graduate (1967)
154. The Princess Bride (1987)
155. 8½ (1963)
156. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
157. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
158. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
159. The Big Lebowski (1998)
160. Juno (2007)
161. Stand by Me (1986)
162. Crash (2004)
163. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
164. Gandhi (1982)
165. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
166. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
167. Snatch (2000)
168. Harvey (1950)
169. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
170. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
171. The Thing (1982)
172. The African Queen (1951)
173. Trainspotting (1996)
174. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
175. Gone with the Wind (1939)
176. The Gold Rush (1925)
177. Groundhog Day (1993)
178. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
179. Beauty and the Beast (1946)
180. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
181. Scarface (1983)
182. The Conversation (1974)
183. American Gangster (2007) -- This movie so does not belong on this list, IMHO.
184. Patton (1970)
185. Duck Soup (1933)
186. Toy Story (1995)
187. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
188. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
189. Nosferatu (1922)
190. The Terminator (1984)
191. Sleuth (1972)
192. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
193. The Hustler (1961)
194. Umberto D. (1952)
195. Stalker (1979)
196. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
197. Glory (1989)
198. Ed Wood (1994)
199. King Kong (1933)
200. Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
201. The Lion King (1994)
202. The Exorcist (1973)
203. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
204. Grindhouse (2007)
205. Spartacus (1960)
206. The Lost Weekend (1945)
207. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
208. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
209. The Lady Vanishes (1938)
210. The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
211. Magnolia (1999)
212. Stalag 17 (1953)
213. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
214. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
215. Run Lola Run (1998)
216. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
217. Frankenstein (1931)
218. Big Fish (2003)
219. Out of the Past (1947)
220. Casino (1995)
221. Rosemary's Baby (1968)
222. Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
223. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
224. Mystic River (2003)
225. Toy Story 2 (1999)
226. Once (2006)
227. 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
228. Rififi (1955)
229. A Christmas Story (1983)
230. Hot Fuzz (2007)
231. Ikiru (1952)
232. Dial M for Murder (1954)
233. Manhattan (1979)
234. Young Frankenstein (1974)
235. Infernal Affairs (2002)
236. Rope (1948)
237. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
238. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
239. Roman Holiday (1953)
240. In Cold Blood (1967)
241. His Girl Friday (1940)
242. Hero (2002)
243. The 400 Blows (1959)
244. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
245. Harold and Maude (1971)
246. La Strada (1954)
247. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
248. The Searchers (1956)
249. In Bruges (2008)
250. Le Samouraï (1967)

...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.