The MoFo Top 100 Films Directed By Women: The Countdown

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Big was one of my favorites as a child. I've seen it a few times as an adult and I still enjoyed it, though didn't quite love it the way I used to. But I still like it enough to put it at #6.



I haven't seen Big since it came out but I know I liked it. I thought about watching it again for this countdown but quite frankly I'd rather remember it fondly. I didn't vote for it.



I have Big at #15 I seen it for the first time only a year ago. My review:

Big (1988)
Director: Penny Marshall
Writers: Gary Ross, Anne Spielberg
Cast: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia
Genre: Comedy, Drama


Tom Hanks gets BIG in this 1988 hit comedy directed by Penny Marshall of Laverne & Shirley fame. The premise is simple but it works...Tom Hanks is a boy who wishes he was big and an evil looking carnival game genie grants him his wish.

The humor comes from how a 13 year old boy would cope in the adult world? The answer, he gets a kick ass job at a toy manufacture company and gets a hot babe as a love interest too. Which then begs the question, does a 13 year old boy in a man's body constitute abuse when an adult woman sleeps with him???

Hey! it's the 80's and no one is overly uptight about that kind of stuff. But I wonder if this film could be made in today's climate?



OK, so did I like it? Yuppers! This was a fun flick and I laughed out loud which is always a good thing!

Tom Hanks always delivers in his movies and in his younger days he cornered the market on nice guy comedies. I liked Elizabeth Perkins here too. It was interesting how she goes from wearing severe black/charcoal gray business suit/skirt outfits, to having a more lighter feel in softer colors and fabrics. I don't know why I noticed that but I just did.

Penny Marshal made a good one here!
++



Big is okay. I haven't seen it in a long time, when i did some of it was fun i guess. But even as a kid i found it weirdly dated and creepy, i dunno it was seemingly a film i should've loved at that age but i never did.



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I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
Big is okay. I haven't seen it in a long time, when i did some of it was fun i guess. But even as a kid i found it weirdly dated and creepy, i dunno it was seemingly a film i should've loved at that age but i never did.
I watched Big quite recently and weirdly dated and creepy was exactly how I'd describe it. Him pretending to his mum that he had kidnapped himself wasn't funny. Some of it was funny, though, and Tom Hanks is very convincing in the lead role.



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
Big is my #14. That means I didn't vote for the top three on the list because I think they're all so-so at best.

The only other film on my list is The Beaches of Agnès, my fave Varda film.


Seen 97/97
My List
1. Point Break (5)
2. Olympia (41)
3. Olivier, Olivier (76)
4. Wonder Woman (17)
5. The Piano (21)
6. The Hurt Locker (6)
7. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (14)
8. 13th (51)
9. The Matrix (20)
10. Boys Don't Cry (11)
11. A New Leaf (67)
12. Europa Europa (24)
13. The Adventures of Prince Achmed (38)
14. Big (4)
15. The Beaches of Agnès (-)
16. Awakenings (13)
17. The Heartbreak Kid (45)
18. Triumph of the Will (-)
19. Sleepless in Seattle (15)
20. Frida (49)
21. Harlan County, USA (71)
22. Bound (90)
23. Near Dark (8)
24. A League of Their Own (19)
25. Detroit (40)
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I'm happy for Kathryn Bigelow's nice showing on this list as I'm a pretty big fan of hers. I didn't vote for Point Break though. I loved the movie when I saw it in the cinema but I haven't seen it since then I think. But I kind of thought I was going overboard by putting three of her's on the list as it is, so I reeled it in. Happy to see Big on the list.

#73 Children of a Lesser God Randa Haines
#72 Clueless Amy Heckerling
#66 Thirteen Catherine Hardwicke
#62 Something's Gotta Give Nancy Meyers
#47 Real Genius Martha Coolidge
#45 The Heartbreak Kid Elaine May
#34 Wayne's World Penelope Spheeris
#22 Monster Patty Jenkins
#21 The Piano Jane Campion
#16 The Babadook Jennifer Kent
#17 Sleepless in Seattle Nora Ephron
#13 Awakenings Penny Marshall
#10 Zero Dark Thirty Kathryn Bigelow
# 8 Near Dark Kathryn Bigelow
# 6 The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow
# 4 Big Penny Marshall
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...Him pretending to his mum that he had kidnapped himself wasn't funny....
Glad you said that, cause I was thinking that was the only flaw in the movie myself. I felt bad for his mom and that kept the movie from being a popcorn rating higher.



Welcome to the human race...
I haven't seen Big and everything about it looks kind of stupid so who knows if I ever will.
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I saw Big when it was in the theaters, and I loved it. I've seen it a few times over the years, and I like it every time I watch it, but never as much as the first time I saw it. It was years since i'd seen it, and I recently bought the DVD at a garage sale, so I rewatched it for this countdown, and it's still a fun movie. It was #14 on my list.


My list (so far):
1) Mamma Mia! (Phyllida Lloyd-2008)
5) You've Got Mail (Nora Ephron-1998)
9) Real Genius (Martha Coolidge-1985)
10) What Women Want (Nancy Meyers-2000)
12) Sleepless in Seattle (Nora Ephron-1993)
14) Big (Penny Marshall-1988)
16) The Holiday (Nancy Meyers-2006)
23) The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow-2008)
25) Across the Universe (Julie Taymor-2007)



Welcome to the human race...
#3.
We Need To Talk About Kevin

(dir. Lynne Ramsay, 2011)




4 x 4th, 2 x 5th, 1 x 6th, 2 x 7th, 1 x 8th, 1 x 9th, 2 x 10th, 1 x 12th, 1 x 18th, 1 x 21st, 1 x 23rd
=
285 points






Late to reply, but Big was my #2. It's just really, really charming. I loved it as a kid and I rewatched it awhile back and it held up pretty well. I'm not sure if it's the first time we realized we could watch Tom Hanks in anything and it'd be pretty good, but it must have been one of the first times, especially given how silly the premise is. But it really believes in that premise. It really thinks about the ways a kid might react, and how the adults around them might react, too. It sounds goofy to say it's "believable," but once you grant it that premise, it kinda is. And it's just genuinely funny.

"$187?!?!" (I didn't look this up but I'm pretty sure that's the right number)

"I get to be on top."




I didn't like We Need to Talk About Kevin when I first saw it a few years ago, but I loved it when I watched it for a recent HoF. It's chilling with great performances.

1. Boys Don't Cry (#11)
2. Strange Days (#9)
3. Near Dark (#8)
4. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (#14)
5. Mikey and Nicky (#39)
6. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (#59)
7. The Virgin Suicides (#29)
8. We Need to Talk About Kevin (#3)
9. Bound (#90)
10. Zero Dark Thirty (#10)
11. American Honey (#23)
13. Detroit (#40)
14. Nothing Bad Can Happen (#51)
15. Harlan County U.S.A. (#71)
16. The Heartbreak Kid (#45)
17. The Edge of Seventeen (#98)
18. Fish Tank (#12)
19. Lady Bird (#7)
21. Sleepless in Seattle (#15)
24. Deep Impact (#87)
25. Private Parts (#96)



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
We Need To Talk About Kevin was my #4. Surprised to see it this high despite me placing it in my top 5. Depressing film to watch and one that doesn't give clear answers as to why.

I had BIG at #12. Just a funny film to watch Hanks be Hanks.

Point Break was my #10. I knew Bigelow was going to dominate the top ten. This is the most fun to watch, I had Hurt Locker at #3 and Near Dark at #16.


I guess my Top 2 will match this top 2.
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Welcome to the human race...
I watched it in the lead-up to the countdown and put it at #12. Definitely a rough watch - not sure how I'd rank it against Morvern or YWNRH just yet (though the latter is the only one I've seen twice).