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NY Times Top 25 Films of the 21st Century (So Far)


Disco Stu

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The NY Times film critics have put together a list of their Top 25 films of the 21st century so far.

 

I won't quibble with what's missing because this is a really well put together piece with some great film writing.  A.O. Scott and Manohla Dargis are all-time great critics and it shows.

 

The films I was most happy to see included that weren't as obvious: Inside Llewyn DavisMunich, and Wendy and Lucy.  The latter especially which is very little seen and a masterpiece in my opinion.

 

The 25 Best Films of the 21st Century So Far.

 

Anyone who actually pays attention to me on this board knows that I'm a huge fan of Spielberg's more "adult" 21st century films so I was delighted to see Dargis and Scott on my side on this matter:

 

Quote

One of us regards “A.I.” as an immortal masterpiece. The other one said: “Over my dead body.” We share the conviction that “War Horse” didn’t get its due (though the best action sequence in “Wonder Woman” pays homage to its dark and thrilling vision of trench warfare). We have called “Bridge of Spies” “perfect” and “Lincoln” “splendid,” even as some of our colleagues ignored the first and nitpicked the second. 

 

Bridge of Spies is indeed perfect!

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Where would we be, without 'em? :)

3 minutes ago, nightscape94 said:

So out of the tens of thousands of movies made in the last 16 years worldwide, Boyhood and the 40 Year Old Virgin occupy spots on this list?

 

I'm inclined to agree.

No TRAFFIC? No MASTER AND COMMANDER? No P.O.A.? No ABOUT SCHMIDT? No GONE GIRL? M.M.F.R. is an odd one, but I approve.

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Good a list as any, obviously a nice, well-articulated read. My favorites on there are There Will Be Blood, Munich, Mad Max, I'm Not There, and Eternal Sunshine.

 

A lot of the best modern directors are represented even if they didn't pick my favorite films, but I'm a little surprised they didn't find room for Pedro Almodovar. Also I feel like I've seen a few too many of these 21st century critics' lists skip LOTR which ain't cool.

 

Of the 8 I haven't seen, probably most interested in Death of Mr Lazarescu.

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Yeah it does!

 

And In Jackson Heights for me because I love sociocultural documentary films and I am woefully ignorant of recent examples.

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Have you seen any of Wiseman's other movies? I've been trying to find his famous early stuff forever (Titicut Follies, High School, Hospital) but they're so hard to find. The Maysles have been a little easier. 

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"There Will Be Blood" as number 1 is not surprising. As effective as this film is, it is not the best film of the century. "Inherent Vice" is less appreciated, but it is more original and more creative. Besides: Where are Django Unchained, Inglourious Basterds, The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo, Zodiac, The Wolf of Wall Street, Silence, Mulholland Drive, The Dark Knight, Sicario, Enemy, ...

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14 minutes ago, TheGreyPilgrim said:

Seen all but three.  A largely odious list, but then, they always are. 

 

You always have a way of finding just the right adjective to make me roll my eyes.  I mean come on, odious?  They're just movies for goodness sake.

 

9 minutes ago, Sharky said:

I'm glad Munich, L'Enfant and Spirited Away made it, but Christ, how pretentious are those giant gifs?

 

How pretentious?  Just eye-catching graphic design to me.

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10 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

How pretentious?  Just eye-catching graphic design to me.

 

It's more s combination of the imagery and write-ups. I'll put it on the table and just say I've never been much of a fan of Scott or Dargis.

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2 minutes ago, Sharky said:

 

It's more s combination of the imagery and write-ups. I'll put it on the table and just say I've never been much of a fan of Scott or Dargis.

 

Fair enough.  I've always liked Scott's writing especially.  I read he and Ebert both voraciously as a teen.

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11 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

 

Fair enough.  I've always liked Scott's writing especially.  I read he and Ebert both voraciously as a teen.

 

At least we can agree on Vishnevetsky and White.

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I'm Not There is one of my favorites, but can't say I've seen most of the films on here.

 

Love Inside Llewelyn Davis, but No Country is better.

 

No Malick? The Tree Of Life or The New World would be an easy pick, in my opinion.

 

No Jesse James?

 

But we have The 40-Year Old Virgin. Ah, well. 

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Lists are wanking - they can be fun if there's an intellectual stimulus in the texts attached but they're still wanking. Not that wanking isn't a worthwile diversion but man, who the fuck needs a list to know Koray's (or anyone else's) favourite movies of the 21st century?

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1 hour ago, Disco Stu said:

 

You always have a way of finding just the right adjective to make me roll my eyes. 

 

 

That's the point, dude.  You should always read my posts with some mixture of sarcasm, cynicism, and self-deprication, especially those with highfalutin language.

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What? No Attack of the Clones?

 

In all honesty, I'm quite surprised and insulted that none of the Lord of the Rings films made the list. Call me a fanboy, but those are some powerful films.

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Some good choices, some head-scratchers and even more snubs.

 

So just another dumb list for the Internet.

 

 

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Honestly, the Lord of the Rings films are not just some mainstream films (which I thought before I've seen them as an adult in the extended version), they're also cinematic masterpieces (not using this term inflationarily).

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While I'm inclined to agree with you about the role those films played in the industry, you'd be hard-pressed to really find them on arthouse critic lists like this one.

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