Comments on: JonahKeri.com’s Top 20 Movies of All-Time: Honorable Mentions to the Honorable Mentions

By: My Criterion « Ryan Wilkins

My Criterion « Ryan Wilkins — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:56:48 +0000

[...] cinéasts and middlebrow wannabes think is the greatest thing in the history of the universe, but tends not to impress regular folks, who roundly prefer watching The Usual [...]

By: Jonah

Jonah — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:42:29 +0000

Definitely a good point about “films” vs. “movies,” James. I had a really hard time deciding where to rank “Swingers” for instance, vs. say, “The Conversation.” As you’ll see when my list comes out, my Honorable Mention section (nominally 40-21) has quite a few “movies,” serving as a hedge for all those great rewatchable flicks that I love. The actual Top 20 consists almost entirely of “films.”

Thanks for the tip on “Ambersons”, Christopher. I’m adding it to the Netflix queue as we speak!

By: Christopher Banks

Christopher Banks — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:35:22 +0000

I think it’s hard for Woody Allen to rate highly in “best of” lists, because his body of work is so strong that it would dilute the votes. My favourite is the much-derided “Stardust Memories”.

Looking forward to seeing your favourite Welles, mine is “Ambersons”, despite the butchering.

By: sorekara323

sorekara323 — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:04:03 +0000

oh i forgot..(damn, i could talk movies for hours..)

Big Lebowski is awesome, still holds up.
interested to hear what Welles film you are thinking of..i would guess “Touch of Evil”?

GREAT story abotu Winona Ryder..jeez, what happend to her??

still love the zany Woddy Allen of “Bananas” and “Sleeper”..

watching movies alone is great fun!! i actually prefer it as hate when people talk or make noise during a film…

By: sorekara323

sorekara323 — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:58:16 +0000

Talking about films is so interesting, yet unfortunately too many people still equate “films” with “light, fluffy, entertainment to pass the time”. My sister is a lawyer, intelectual, reads high-literature, etc etc and her taste in films in SHOCKING..she not only watched “Legally Blond 2″, but she LIKED it..we argue all the time on this, as she acknowledges that “Film is Art” (as Rudolph Arnheim said) but she chooses to focus only on light entertainment…

a long-winded way of saying: we should distinguish between our favorite films and those that contend for a “best” list.. i LOVE the Blues Brothers and have seen it at least 50 times, but it would not under anu circumstances qualify as a “great” piece of film art…(again, it’s so easy in literature. Ed McBain = awesome crime/police procedural craftsman, fun to read. Balzac, Dostoevsky, Saramago = great literature)

so..yes, I am a film snob and all my picks would be art films, many foreign. Jonah, check out some Bergman, Luis Bunuel, Fassbinder, and Antonioni if you want to dive in. and hundreds of Japanese film titles to send you soon too, promise.

oh, lastly…I was 3 when Star Wars came out so missed out on the whole thing…i can see why it was such a big deal then but now..it’s pretty unwatchable…

JHC