IMDB ratings are nothing but a guideline. Nothing more, nothing less, really. Sometimes they are right, sometimes they are not. As far as I know, thats just a popular vote. How can we expect all people to like what the majority likes? 
Movie Marathon - IMDB Top 50, TSP Top 50, TSP 21st Century Top 50
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esanthosh
Well-Known Member
IMDB ratings are nothing but a guideline. Nothing more, nothing less, really. Sometimes they are right, sometimes they are not. As far as I know, thats just a popular vote. How can we expect all people to like what the majority likes?
+1 to that. No doubt, IMDB Top 250 has introduced me to a variety of movies which I otherwise would not have seen.
New movies always have a higher rating, some even say that studios rig the rating, which is not impossible. But over time, in general, undeserving movies drop out slowly. Fanboy-ism too is part of the voting process. When "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Curious case of Benjamin Button" were contesting, fans of one film would regularly cross-vote "1"s for the other film even though it has no impact on the eventual outcome at the Oscars (which itself is not the barometer of a great film).
A better way is to sample a film. And if you like it, read the IMDB boards for similar films. The other way I've tried of late is to cover select filmography of any director I "sample" and like.
Likewise for TSP too. A collection of critic's opinion is not necessarily much better than IMDB, but then it at least would introduce you to a few films normally "invisible" in IMDB.
At the end of the day, there's no "THE" best list - only personal opinions and favourite lists - my humble personal opinion.
sam9s
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IMDB ratings are nothing but a guideline. Nothing more, nothing less, really. Sometimes they are right, sometimes they are not. As far as I know, thats just a popular vote. How can we expect all people to like what the majority likes?
Not picking at you, but agree that not "all" people will like, but the probability increases, with a higher vote, why else would that be called majority....
Not picking at you, but agree that not "all" people will like, but the probability increases, with a higher vote, why else would that be called majority....
Simple reasoning, Sam9. The majority would be people who get convenient HTiBs. Not that I have anything against them. But certainly you will agree that people here have a vast scope of disagreeing with the majority in all matters hifi. I guess I just extended that to the source material as well. Feel free to disagree though, if inclined.
Saving Private Ryan
The logic doesn't seem right. Send 8 men on a mission to save 1 man as the men sent on the mission question themselves. This is a movie to be felt and get immersed into though nd the illogical part will be dealt with later in the movie.
The war scenes in the beginning and throughout the movie are brutal, bloody and takes no sides. Soldiers die thick and square like pins of needles falling thick and square. The battle scenes are awesome. Period. The scene where they are bent on killing the enemy soldier is also superb.
The person who is taken on the mission just because he knows French and German and knows nothing about warfare adds a lot to the movie. His helplessness, his character study and how it ends is well played out.
All in all an excellent war film which I think will have a fair repeat value. 7.5/10
The logic doesn't seem right. Send 8 men on a mission to save 1 man as the men sent on the mission question themselves. This is a movie to be felt and get immersed into though nd the illogical part will be dealt with later in the movie.
The war scenes in the beginning and throughout the movie are brutal, bloody and takes no sides. Soldiers die thick and square like pins of needles falling thick and square. The battle scenes are awesome. Period. The scene where they are bent on killing the enemy soldier is also superb.
The person who is taken on the mission just because he knows French and German and knows nothing about warfare adds a lot to the movie. His helplessness, his character study and how it ends is well played out.
All in all an excellent war film which I think will have a fair repeat value. 7.5/10
sud98
Well-Known Member
I suppose IMDB is a good indicator of public opinion whether its top 250 or the specific rating. As its voting encourages frequent voters they would be internet savvy and frequent movie watchers both not necessarily means they have watched movies of all genres and ages.
However, some movies like 'Citizen Kane' and 'Dr. Strangeglove' were movies that really disappointed me although they are highly rated.
Maybe its a generation thing. When I saw T2 and saw the floor emerge into a person I was wowed, but the next generation would think what so great. So probably with Dr. Strangeglove and Citizen Kane, which may have been breakthroughs at that time seem average when you watch now.
However, some movies like 'Citizen Kane' and 'Dr. Strangeglove' were movies that really disappointed me although they are highly rated.
Maybe its a generation thing. When I saw T2 and saw the floor emerge into a person I was wowed, but the next generation would think what so great. So probably with Dr. Strangeglove and Citizen Kane, which may have been breakthroughs at that time seem average when you watch now.
Ordet - Perfect
Ordet is a movie about faith. It really questions the faith we have to the extremest measures possible. Men and women of various levels of faith are shown for instance there is the man and wife, the man being a non believer while the wife is a believer 100%. Then there is the father who hopes he has faith but doesn't know because he is again, tested extremely because of his mentally ill son.
The movie seemed ok for the better half but I wasn't getting the concept of faith totally which Dreyer was trying to put across. Some where around the mid point of the movie, I would have thought I would give this movie a rating of around 5. It slowly shifted to 8 as the movie treaded along. Fifteen minutes after I had watched the movie, I finally got the concept exactly as the director was trying to put across and the movie seemed perfect to me.
It is a great piece of art. I don't think it is possible to depict the concept of faith any better than this movie has done and thus I give it a rating of 10/10. This movie is timeless.
Ordet is a movie about faith. It really questions the faith we have to the extremest measures possible. Men and women of various levels of faith are shown for instance there is the man and wife, the man being a non believer while the wife is a believer 100%. Then there is the father who hopes he has faith but doesn't know because he is again, tested extremely because of his mentally ill son.
The movie seemed ok for the better half but I wasn't getting the concept of faith totally which Dreyer was trying to put across. Some where around the mid point of the movie, I would have thought I would give this movie a rating of around 5. It slowly shifted to 8 as the movie treaded along. Fifteen minutes after I had watched the movie, I finally got the concept exactly as the director was trying to put across and the movie seemed perfect to me.
It is a great piece of art. I don't think it is possible to depict the concept of faith any better than this movie has done and thus I give it a rating of 10/10. This movie is timeless.
Yes, a very good movie. Don't mean to compare, but I personally found Full Metal Jacket a much better made war movie.
First half an hour of Full Metal Jacket is hilarious. Thanks to Gomer Pyle :lol:
Both the films were on my 21st Century TSP list and I watched them sequentially by co-incidence.
Cach
Thriller-drama putting across the message that the deeds of our past may come to haunt us any time in the future, you never know. This is a film about conscience and explores how people often forget the small yet significant deeds they have done in the past which may have changed some one else's life drastically. The protagonist earlier never feels any thing on his conscience but is made to feel a burden on it by the end of the movie in a very dramatic way. 7.5/10.
Summer Hours
I absolutely love this movie. It is about how modern day life is splitting families apart. Three siblings now live in three different countries. The mother might pass away soon and what to do of the family heirlooms and house is a question which needs addressing. The grand children don't feel particularly attached to the heirlooms as they show no interest in the paintings. The last two sequences of the film sum it up. In one, the caretaker of the family house is bidding her own son goodbye and awaits meeting him in next September summing up how life is in the modern world. In the last scene, grandchild mulls over her grandma with her boyfriend in a particular place where the grandma used to come with her boyfriend. This is a movie which pans generations and is about the 21st century way of life where families are families no more. Criterion has released a disk of the film in March, 2010 and I urge you to see this one. It is an absolute masterpiece. 9/10
Cach
Thriller-drama putting across the message that the deeds of our past may come to haunt us any time in the future, you never know. This is a film about conscience and explores how people often forget the small yet significant deeds they have done in the past which may have changed some one else's life drastically. The protagonist earlier never feels any thing on his conscience but is made to feel a burden on it by the end of the movie in a very dramatic way. 7.5/10.
Summer Hours
I absolutely love this movie. It is about how modern day life is splitting families apart. Three siblings now live in three different countries. The mother might pass away soon and what to do of the family heirlooms and house is a question which needs addressing. The grand children don't feel particularly attached to the heirlooms as they show no interest in the paintings. The last two sequences of the film sum it up. In one, the caretaker of the family house is bidding her own son goodbye and awaits meeting him in next September summing up how life is in the modern world. In the last scene, grandchild mulls over her grandma with her boyfriend in a particular place where the grandma used to come with her boyfriend. This is a movie which pans generations and is about the 21st century way of life where families are families no more. Criterion has released a disk of the film in March, 2010 and I urge you to see this one. It is an absolute masterpiece. 9/10
sam9s
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^^Its a Stanley Kubrick vision which Steven Spelberg completed, Stanley visualized the screen play way back when he could not find the technology enough to put his vision on screen, and so waited. Too bad he died before he could materialize his dream of his own...
Hatts off to Stanley
Hatts off to Stanley
Indiana Jones Trilogy
I watched one or two of them as a very small kid and didn't remember any thing about them. I was not very enthused to watch these movies as I had tried 3-4 times seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark and gave up as I found it boring. Any ways, I have finally watched them.
Raiders of the Lost Ark - First half was pretty boring but second half has some good action sequences. 6/10.
Temple of Doom - I found this the best of the three. Fun ride with a decent story and a lot of good action. 6.5/10.
Last Crusade - A lot of action again but not as good as Temple of Doom. 6/10
Frankly speaking I found the Indiana Jones films to be crap but good crap. It is fun movies you enjoy once you get into them.
I have no plans of watching the 4th and announced 5th movies of the franchise any time soon but you never know.
I watched one or two of them as a very small kid and didn't remember any thing about them. I was not very enthused to watch these movies as I had tried 3-4 times seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark and gave up as I found it boring. Any ways, I have finally watched them.
Raiders of the Lost Ark - First half was pretty boring but second half has some good action sequences. 6/10.
Temple of Doom - I found this the best of the three. Fun ride with a decent story and a lot of good action. 6.5/10.
Last Crusade - A lot of action again but not as good as Temple of Doom. 6/10
Frankly speaking I found the Indiana Jones films to be crap but good crap. It is fun movies you enjoy once you get into them.
I have no plans of watching the 4th and announced 5th movies of the franchise any time soon but you never know.
sam9s
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From wikipedia -
In an interview with Time, when asked about passing the fedora to Shia in the next Indy movie, Ford said, "What are you talking about? It's mine. I would love to do another Indiana Jones movie. George Lucas is working on an idea now. Shia can get his own hat. I earned that hat."[34]
On June 7, 2010 reports surfaced about a possible Indiana Jones 5. Although not fully confirmed, it is highly speculated that the fifth instalment will start shooting next year and involve a plot that revolves around the Bermuda Triangle. Apparently Lucas and Spielberg are almost done with the script and Ford is on stand by. La Beouf is also set to return.[35] The story was later confirmed as "completely false" by Frank Marshall on his Twitter page. It has been heavily rumoured by many fans that the fifth film might properly introduce Indiana's mother who has remained virtually absent throughout the franchise despite references and appearing in the television series.
There is a lot of speculation on the 5th film for about two years now and IMDB also lists it. You never know.
In an interview with Time, when asked about passing the fedora to Shia in the next Indy movie, Ford said, "What are you talking about? It's mine. I would love to do another Indiana Jones movie. George Lucas is working on an idea now. Shia can get his own hat. I earned that hat."[34]
On June 7, 2010 reports surfaced about a possible Indiana Jones 5. Although not fully confirmed, it is highly speculated that the fifth instalment will start shooting next year and involve a plot that revolves around the Bermuda Triangle. Apparently Lucas and Spielberg are almost done with the script and Ford is on stand by. La Beouf is also set to return.[35] The story was later confirmed as "completely false" by Frank Marshall on his Twitter page. It has been heavily rumoured by many fans that the fifth film might properly introduce Indiana's mother who has remained virtually absent throughout the franchise despite references and appearing in the television series.
There is a lot of speculation on the 5th film for about two years now and IMDB also lists it. You never know.
Before Sunrise, Before Sunset
I had seen Before Sunset a few years ago and I remember it as a very good film. Watching Before Sunrise for the first time, it struck me as nice film but not particularly great. Sure there were dialogues you could relate to but I didn't particularly love it.
Then I watched Before Sunset again and I realised that these two were really two parts of the same film. It shows how there a few people in life you really click with, with whom may not always go on to spend the rest of your lives. There is a sense of loss but there is also the treasuring of the special memories which may not remain so special had the relationship continued and went on to go dowhill.
I loved the second film much more. The two emotional dialogues by the leads in the car were very touching as was the waltz sung at the end of the film.
Before Sunrise - 6.5/10.
Before Sunset - 7/10.
I had seen Before Sunset a few years ago and I remember it as a very good film. Watching Before Sunrise for the first time, it struck me as nice film but not particularly great. Sure there were dialogues you could relate to but I didn't particularly love it.
Then I watched Before Sunset again and I realised that these two were really two parts of the same film. It shows how there a few people in life you really click with, with whom may not always go on to spend the rest of your lives. There is a sense of loss but there is also the treasuring of the special memories which may not remain so special had the relationship continued and went on to go dowhill.
I loved the second film much more. The two emotional dialogues by the leads in the car were very touching as was the waltz sung at the end of the film.
Before Sunrise - 6.5/10.
Before Sunset - 7/10.
Mystic River
Clint Eastwood is the ultimate macho director. His films are full of manliness and American patriotic fervour (in most cases) and it is great to watch. I love Eastwood as a director. Letters From Iwo Jima, Flags of our Fathers, Gran torino. So I was expecting a lot from Mystic River, and it delivered,
Top, top film. Where do I start the praising? The direction, the great acting by Sean Penn and Tim Robbins, the storyline, it was all superb. I found elements similar to Cache but very loosely. It was a suspense thriller murder mystery.
The movie was a slow smooth ride and it never went faster than walking but it never dragged. I really couldn't find much flaw with the film, truth be told. 8/10.
Clint Eastwood is the ultimate macho director. His films are full of manliness and American patriotic fervour (in most cases) and it is great to watch. I love Eastwood as a director. Letters From Iwo Jima, Flags of our Fathers, Gran torino. So I was expecting a lot from Mystic River, and it delivered,
Top, top film. Where do I start the praising? The direction, the great acting by Sean Penn and Tim Robbins, the storyline, it was all superb. I found elements similar to Cache but very loosely. It was a suspense thriller murder mystery.
The movie was a slow smooth ride and it never went faster than walking but it never dragged. I really couldn't find much flaw with the film, truth be told. 8/10.
A beautiful, well-constructed speaker with class-leading soundstage, imaging and bass that is fast, deep, and precise.
