ahwell's Top 100 Movies - 2020

A Dabbler

07-27-20

Originally Posted by ahwell

65. Lady Bird (2017)

Astounding!

I love everything about it. The 2002 Sacramento setting, the soundtrack was good, and of course the script was excellent. Greta Gerwig has a perfect track record in my opinion, she did this and then Little Women, both amazing movies that are in my top twenty of the decade.

The acting is amazing, we get Beanie Feldstein, Saoirse Ronan, and Timothee Chalomet all in one movie!! Characters are so real, and it feels so relatable, all of it.

Just an excellent movie in every way.

Decent flick. I enjoyed it. Haven't thought about it since. No pull to revisit it.

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101 Favorite Movies (2019)

MovieMeditation

Friendo.

07-28-20

I didn�t like Lady Bird.

John-Connor

Registered User

07-28-20

I've only seen 2 films starring Saoirse Ronan so far; The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Way Back both of them were pretty good/great, curious to see Lady Bird and Brooklyn.

Films on the list I've seen and remember well enough to rate:

99. Elmer Gantry

97. Rebecca

+
94. The Last Crusade

+
93. M

+
92. La Haine

91. McCabe and Mrs. Miller

+
90. Stand by Me

+
89. The Assassination of Jesse James

-
88. The Long Goodbye

86. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

+
85. Ferris Bueller's Day Off

+
84. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

81. American Beauty

80. Platoon

79. The Sound of Music

78. Groundhog Day

77. The Princess Bride

+
76. Harakiri

75. The King of Comedy

+
74. Rear Window

72. Star Wars

68. Unforgiven

67. The Irishman

66. Trainspotting

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gandalf26

We've gone on holiday by mistake

07-28-20

Originally Posted by ahwell

65. Lady Bird (2017)

I bought Lady Bird what feels like a year ago and it's been sat on the shelf in its wrapping ever since. Its even on Netflix now.

This has resolved me to watch it.

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gandalf26

We've gone on holiday by mistake

07-28-20

Originally Posted by MovieMeditation

Unforgiven was better on my recent rewatch, but there�s something about it that keeps me from loving it. I�m not the biggest fan of the plot nor the very cruel feel that the movie has, though of course intentional. I really like Eastwood a lot. Always enjoy him on screen and this is no exception. But it�s not one of my favorites of his...

I feel like I need to revisit The Irishman. It�s such a gigantic piece of work. It really does feel like everybody�s career just lead towards this film. It was meant to be. Scorsese always makes quality movies. And the star power here is unreal. But the story was so big it was hard to take it all in and the CGI threw me off BIG TIME. It just wasn�t good enough for a film that�s so reliant on CG. It�s clearly possible to do properly today though, because Gemini Man is absolutely stunning with that technology.

I think the Irishman is a much better watch if you can just turn off the part of your brain that knows the CGI isn't working and that it would have been better 20 years ago with actors still in their 50s.

However if you do manage to ignore that it's cinematic gold in places, up there with the Godfather. Some of the tense conversations between De Niro Keitel Pacino and Pesci are such a treat. My favourite is probably Keitels scene, "you got a good friend here", "I know", "NO YOU DON'T KNOW".

rauldc14

2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ

07-28-20

Lady Bird is a definite favorite of mine too!

MovieMeditation

Friendo.

07-28-20

Originally Posted by gandalf26

I still found it pretty great even with the CG. It annoyed me a lot but it didn�t take away from all the other stuff. I just wish it wasn�t as obvious...

But yeah, I definitely need to see it again because while I thought it was great I�m still not sure where I stand because it�s such a massive and monumental movie. I absolutely LOVED the whole hour that lead up to �that kill�. The slow build and tension. That was one of my favorite parts. Actually in general just from there and all the way to the end was my favorite part and what I feel like was also the story Scorsese really wanted to tell from the start before even making the movie.

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-28-20

Originally Posted by John-Connor

I've only seen 2 films starring Saoirse Ronan so far; The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Way Back both of them were pretty good/great, curious to see Lady Bird and Brooklyn.

Brooklyn is a favorite of mine.

ahwell

Registered User

07-28-20

64. The Last Picture Show (1971)

It's winter. As far as you can see, everything is covered in white. Sparkling, magical, snow. It lines the rooftop of every house, every street in the neighborhood. Every tree branch. Depending on the density of the snow, there might be snowmen outside. You see kid after kid come to sled at the hill across the street. You sledded there when you were a kid. Your parents sledded there, and their parents. The snow is another sign that; a second has passed, a minute has passed, a day has passed, a year has passed. Time has passed, and once the snow melts it will all pass again.

The Last Picture Show feels timeless because we experience it through three different times of American history. Our time of course; the time this movie was made; and the time this movie takes place in. On a technical level, this is very much a 70s movie. But on an emotional level, this feels like an authentic 50s movie. The cinematography, the script, the acting - you're there, back in time. And in a funny way, that makes it easier to relate to our own time. It's a small dying down. It could be mine, it could be yours. It's all blown away anyways by now. Those high school seniors are all probably dead, or in their 80s/90s. Out with the old, in with the new.

It's spring. Finally, the chattering of the birds returns. And yes, flowers really do bloom. Grass grows. The snow turns into slush, and then into mud, and then into puddles. Nature is stretching her limbs. Wild thunderstorms. And then beautiful soft rains to follow. During those night rains, you look out, across the parking lot right next to your house, at all those gleaming lights up the hill. You know every family in every house, but the "newness" of it all makes you feel dazed and lonely. The dead of winter is gone. Life has started again. And each blossoming bud is a sign that time is indeed passing. Spring is less wistful about it, though; it gets down to the business of living.

In the Last Picture Show all the characters pretend they're looking for sex and love and relationships. But they're all really looking for a way out. There's so much world out there, and to be cooped up in a Texas town all your life must be saddening and maddening. Duane joins the army, not out of patriotism or even money, but out of boredom and frustration. Jacey wants to go to college, but she really just wants to leave her parents and her memories. Both good and bad. Sonny doesn't even know what he wants, but he knows that his time is going by quickly. And if he blinks, he might miss it.

It's summer. Hot, but not just hot. The type of air that sucks all the energy out of your longs. You're trying to get to the swimming pool down the block, but you don't even have the energy to walk there. The grass is yellow and sick. The sun beats down relentlessly. Makes the shade seem like Heaven. You've got nothing to do; school's out. You work at the grocery store, couple hours a day. Your parents worked there when they were in high school. And their parents. Every hot summer night, as a shift ends, you look up to the stars above the store and wonder if your parents and grandparents did the same. If your kids will do the same. And then wonder if it's a bad thing. Change doesn't have to be good. You forget that time is passing during the summer. But it is. It still is.

So as they all split off to their own lives, they realize they'll all come back to Anarene someday. Everyone knows them, everyone talks to them. There's something both exciting and frightening about the big city. The small towns are boring but comforting. Dying, but going out with a smile and a wink. Sonny, and Duane, and Jacey, and the rest of them, have grown up together. Shared laughs and tears and beers and picnics and dances and test scores. Shared their lives. It's scary to go out there and face the real world.

It's autumn. So many colors, all furious reds and oranges and yellows. The trees are dying; but how can they make dying look so beautiful? In a way, autumn is both a death and a start. For those of us stuck in high school, the stress and the grades begin again. You were almost beginning to miss it as the summer came to a close. You see some friends who were away from the summer. Play flag football in the backyard. Go to crappy school dances. Go for long walks. Every day on the walk to school you wonder if your parents and grandparents had walked that same path. If it's their path, is it still yours? How to be independent, and be happy? How to please yourself and others? There's too much to do and too little time. Speaking of time, it's still passing. And now, you really feel it. Every second. Every minute. Every day. Every week. Life is passing by. Keep your eyes wide open, and you might not miss it.

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Miss Vicky

MoFo's Resident Bitch

07-28-20

Did not like that one at all.

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gandalf26

We've gone on holiday by mistake

07-28-20

Hey ah well, what's the story with your username? Is it like "ah well it's raining today but let's make the best of it"?

ahwell

Registered User

07-28-20

Originally Posted by gandalf26

Hey ah well, what's the story with your username? Is it like "ah well it's raining today but let's make the best of it"?

Lol, I was so uncreative back then that I couldn�t think of a username and said �ah well� to myself, and suddenly that was a brilliant idea for a username...

gandalf26

We've gone on holiday by mistake

07-28-20

Lol its better and much more creative than mine.....

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-28-20

The Last Picture Show, one helluva directorial debut from Peter Bogdanovich...There's so many life lessons to learn from it, I wish I would've seen it back when I was in school. The #1 lesson is: avoid girls like Jacy!

Miss Vicky

MoFo's Resident Bitch

07-28-20

Originally Posted by Citizen Rules

The Last Picture Show...There's so many life lessons to learn from it.

I think the only thing I learned from it was that Randy Quiad was unattractive even when he was young.

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-28-20

Originally Posted by Miss Vicky

I think the only thing I learned from it was that Randy Quiad was unattractive even when he was young.

Ha! I know, it was kinda surprising. I couldn't figure out what Jacy seen in him? I guess it was because he was rich and had the keys to the naked swim party

Steve Freeling

You mean me? Kei's cousin?

07-28-20

Originally Posted by Citizen Rules

Ha! I know, it was kinda surprising. I couldn't figure out what Jacy seen in him? I guess it was because he was rich and had the keys to the naked swim party

Well, everyone has to have someone, right?

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ahwell

Registered User

07-29-20

63. Marriage Story (2019)

Wow, very very solid. It took a while to pick up it�s pace, but once it did, it was nearly perfect. The performances were incredible, I think Driver and Johansson have the two best acting performances of the year. The directing is awesome (I mean, of course, it�s ****ing Noah Baumbach), and it�s one of the most realistic movies I�ve ever seen, particularly regarding divorce. Just watch the 1967 �Divorce American Style� and you�ll know exactly what I mean with unrealistic divorce movies.

Miss Vicky