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Vertigo
Alfred Hitchcock, 1958

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28	7.92	2.059	81

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I expected to be awed, stunned. And some scenes, some frames were indeed stunning. But I don’t really know what to do with this film ...

Vertigo left me cold the first time I saw it (over a decade ago).  But through the year's I've revisited it a few times and it's grown on every viewing.

I'm still waiting to have my breakthrough; maybe next time.

Vertigo bored me the first time I saw it.

I imagine that it's the kind of movie that you can watch several times and that will grow each time and finally become like a good old friend.

I still need to re-watch Vertigo, in full.  It definitely grew on me, as I continued just to think about it, so I suspect I'd appreciate - and like - it a great deal more now, seeing it again.

I've only seen it once, and it rubbed me the wrong way.  Mainly because I didn't want to watch an obsessive, creepy Jimmy Stewart.  I think I would appreciate much more during a second viewing.

I didn't quite appreciate Vertigo as much as I had hoped to when I watched it, but I would like to try again sometime.

I will never watch The Lady Eve (or Vertigo) a second time. Impress me the first time if you want me to watch you again.

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Speed Racer
Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski, 2008

Votes	Average	St Dev	Rank
20	5.72	2.060	80

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Of course like most trips you start out with awe and anticipation and close with rapture as the destination finally comes into view 2.25 hrs later but there sure are some stretches in the middle when you’re about to fall asleep.

I really liked the colors and all the racing sequences and that most of the between races scenes were essentially an unending series of really cool wipes.  But the plot just went on way too long.  There was far too much of it for how simple it all really was.  Confused and bloated, not complex.  If the Wachowskis had cut out all but, say, 20 minutes of non-racing scenes, this would have been a really good movie.

I wasn't looking for psychological depth or anything; but a little consistency in the characters and logic wouldn't have hurt.  But, whatever.  Pretty colors, etc.

Look, all you people who hated this movie, that's fine.  Perhaps you never watched the series, perhaps you hated the series, whatever.  I don't care.  In my heart, I am still a Speed Racer fan, and this movie is for fans of the series.  Clearly.  All the rest of you can leave it alone.  But I love it, and I'm sticking to it.

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Unforgiven
Clint Eastwood, 1992

Votes	Average	St Dev	Rank
27	8.08	2.071	79

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I loved how this movie is essentially the end of the western. The old guys can't really do it like they used to (unless they need to bring justice), and the new guys are too weak to continue the tradition. It's also an interesting take on the myths that most westerns create - beginning and ending with text like a book, the kid making his own name, Little Bill telling the writer how things really went down - when you match those things up with Munny, who was once as low as you can get as a human, not being able to get on a horse it says something about myths and reality. ... And of course, Eastwood, Freeman, Hackman, and Harris were amazingly fantastic. Big props to Eastwood's directing. It looked amazing and was perfectly paced.

I'm not a western fan, just not into the genre and Unforgiven does nothing for me.

The entire film is a slow build all the way to the end. The final sequence of this film is one the greatest I've ever seen. Along with the Gene Hackman prisoner scene this films has so many good scenes.

... dark and difficult, but one of the best deconstructions of the western out there ...

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Crumb
Terry Zwigoff, 1994

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14	6.98	2.076	78

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The best part about Crumb, from what I remember, was going from thinking Crumb was pretty nuts to thinking that, compared to the rest of his family, he was an absolute rock.

The crazy thing here is that Robert Crumb himself isn't even the most interesting character in this film. His opinion on women and sex and everything can be seen in any of his comics or drawings, and so the doc isn't really telling us all that much. I found his two brothers however to be very fascinating, both of them, also great artists in their own right yet completely socially inept. Their tragic lives are of great interest and Crumb's laid back attitude towards them (as well as almost everything) is a somewhat depressing one.

Crumb did nothing for me though I probably saw it 10 years ago so.

It's a good film, a portrait of a unique artist and the outside forces that drive his work. The best bits are when he watches people and immediately draws them, filling the frame with his personal demons and insecurities. Crumb also makes an excellent defense for the sexism and racism in his work, spinning it back onto the people who find it offensive. ... What wasn't as compelling was Crumb's family. Yes, they certainly provided context and set up the environment that created Crumb (and an entire family of artists), but Zwigoff is only using them for context. He isn't out to analyze the Crumb family, and so I got the point with them fairly quickly. The more time spent, the more it felt like Zwigoff was gawking at their odd behavior like characters at a carnival freak show.

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Mulholland Dr.
David Lynch, 2001

Votes	Average	St Dev	Rank
28	8.18	2.079	77

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Mulholland Dr. made me wet my pants. Even more than before, I mean.

Lynch's surreal mode of filmmaking is ideal for a story about Hollywood, the Dream Factory that's founded on people changing their identities.  A world run by gangsters and cowboys where everything is recorded and everything is an illusion.  Naomi Watts is as terrific as advertised, just about the cutest girl ever as Betty and then tragic and heartbreaking.  The rest of the cast is very good as well (Ann Miller!).  Even Billy Ray Cyrus, of all people, is hilarious.  And it's always stunning to look at: both the clean bright colors of the first half and the harsh dinginess of the second.  I really like Lost Highway, but this is even better.  Without a doubt one of the best of the decade.

Mulholland Dr. is a self-indulgent poopsicle! I think I hate it more than free jazz.

Listen, I love the first season of Twin Peaks as much as the next guy for its weirdness, but it has a spark of fun that seems entirely lacking from David Lynch's filmography. If he's trying to say something with his films, especially something like Mulholland Drive, it is lost on me, though I've often been told my quest for understanding is missing the point.

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Natural Born Killers
Oliver Stone, 1994

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20	5.66	2.079	76

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i did love that back in the day but i don't think it holds up well to some of his others.

I liked Natural Born Killers a lot when it came out, but I've really turned on it as I've aged.

I could deal with the crazy style if there was any characters I cared for in the movie. I can't stand Juliette Lewis. Somebody should tell her to act interested in what is going on. ... And the "message" was loud and clear, almost too loud. I get it, we are obsessed with murderers. Thanks for telling me a bajillion times.

Natural Born Killers is good. Very good.

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Sin City
Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller, 2005

Votes	Average	St Dev	Rank
26	6.93	2.096	75

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Sin City is one of the decade’s most unique creations.  A visual thrill ride with larger than life characters played by a murderer’s row of Hollywood heavyweights.  Rodriguez did right by adapting cinema to match Frank Miller’s comics rather than the other way around. ... Sin City was a film geek’s dream project, but done with such great skill that even serious film critics had to take notice.

Before Watchmen this was it. I didn't think they could do a comic book movie any better.

I’m a pastor and known to be of high moral fiber.  Whatever.  And often when discussing movies with people who do not know that I’m a movie nerd they would often warn me away from the film Sin City. “It is utterly devoid of any redeeming quality. It is dark and evil.” Well, I love that film. Yeah, it is dark and melodramatic. But like many great films, the ethical aspect is hidden behind a lot of evil deeds. Besides, Mickey Rourke is so cool.

My problem wasn't the violence. My problem was the lack of heart. ... It feels like a "must-see", one in a kind. But on the other hand, I can't hide that I didn't connect with it. Not even with Mickey Rourke.

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Love Actually
Richard Curtis, 2003

Votes	Average	St Dev	Rank
23	6.68	2.098	74

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Love Actually is a clumsy, saccharine mess.

Love Actually is awful.

A crowd-pleaser of the highest order, I don't know where to begin talking about my love for this film.  Hilarious, sweet, corny and touching in all the right measures.

The only conglomerate film I have seen that works and I love it bunches. Great Christmas movie.

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All About My Mother
Pedro Almodóvar, 1999

Votes	Average	St Dev	Rank
18	7.51	2.100	73

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I suspect that I may not be sophisticated, nor learned, enough to do more than skim the surface of this film. Am I wrong or is it just an interesting soap opera? I didn't love it but I won't forget it.

The heart of the film is Cecilia Roth, and she really is remarkable. So strong, so beautiful, such a great film presence. If I was moved at any point, it was despite Almodóvar and because of her. Also, though I’m not a big fan of his style, there’s no question that Almodóvar has painstakingly crafted this film; the music, the colours, his work with the cast. I may not love it, but there is a lot to love here.

It combines the best of Almadovar's character work from other films, and better, with a slightly more restrained emotional range. It took me a little bit but eventually I was deeply involved in the lives of these women; their unusual yet unremarkable lives.

Almodovar isn't one of my favorites, but I won't forget this film anytime soon.  The high melodrama made me cry a number of times, but the actresses made me respect this film more than any other Almodovar film I've seen.

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Sunshine
Danny Boyle, 2007

Votes	Average	St Dev	Rank
27	6.90	2.111	72

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It was a very well made sci-fi action movie that I don't think really aspired to anything be more than that.  And that's OK.

It seems to be the thing everybody talks about when Sunshine comes up. Not the masterful cinematography, not the performances, not the themes or messages of the movie but the way it changes at the end.

Yeah, I get very tired of hearing "I liked/would have like Sunshine, but [the end blah, blah, blah]."

For the first two acts, Sunshine is pretty good.  A tad clichéd and the acting isn't that hot (I have a somewhat low tolerance for Cillian Murphy) but it's got a fairly interesting premise, tense situations, stylish visuals, nice score... it's an engaging watch, it's fun.  I was really enjoying it even if a lot of it seemed familiar.  I thought, "This could be my favorite Danny Boyle movie"... which isn't saying a whole lot, but I haven't hated anything by him yet.  And then came the third act.  Wow.  Messy, confusing, stupid clusterCINECAST! of an ending.

This was the worst experience I've ever had with a Sci-Fi film.