IMDB top 250 movies - A retrospective
recently i was checking several top 100-250 imdb movie packs for movies i haven't seen yet (or vaguely remembered), so here is an overview and a general rating with short comments of the current (~last week) top 250, based on personal opinion
the movies are sorted in 3 categories (excellent/very good, good/average, overrated), the numbers representing their ~current position among the top 250
feel free to add your own (over)view, ratings & thoughts on the subject
notes:
- there may be several spoilers contained within some comments
- seems the txt is too long for a single post (lolol) so it will be a 2-3 part post
PART 1
***** excellent or very good (essential/recommended viewing) *****
1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
pro's: stephen king
con's: very slow
verdict: for the patient ones
2. The Godfather (1972)
pro's: great atmosphere, good acting & characters
con's: slow, self-indulgent
verdict: an offer you can't refuse
3. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
pro's: great atmosphere, good acting & characters
con's: slow, self-indulgent
verdict: see above
4. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
pro's: charismatic characters, top spaghetti western
con's: tends to drag, hilarious tunes to lol at
verdict: dirty pleasure
5. Pulp Fiction (1994)
pro's: innovative, refreshing, great dialogue & characters
con's: inconsistent sub-plot quality
verdict: tarantino's best movie
6. 12 Angry Men (1957)
pro's: great acting (fonda), almost claustrophobic atmosphere
con's: one-room show, re-hashing of the same subject, unprofessional jurors
verdict: for the patient ones
11. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
pro's: decent trilogy finale
con's: can't really keep up with the first two parts, unsatisfactory final battle
verdict: sauron should have made them pay more dearly, something worthy of the introductory scenes from the fellowship part
12. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
verdict: early star wars movie, essential viewing regarding the series, dated but fun to watch
13. Seven Samurai (1954)
pro's: nice story, interesting situations, great cinematography
con's: slow, certain local character behavior
verdict: for the patient ones, for a competent western remake see The Magnificent Seven (1960)
14. Fight Club (1999)
pro's: great acting (norton, pitt), charismatic characters, interesting story
con's: believability
verdict: hella fun
15. Goodfellas (1990)
pro's: interesting, great acting (pesci ftw, de niro, liotta)
con's: shallowness
verdict: top gangster movie
16. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
verdict: early star wars movie, essential viewing regarding the series, dated but fun to watch
17. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
pro's: great atmosphere, best fantasy book adaptation
con's: slow, occasionally melodramatic, too short/shy introduction
verdict: awesome
18. City of God (2002)
pro's: raw, dirty, gritty
con's: shallow, believability
verdict: pretty good effort
19. Casablanca (1942)
pro's: great atmosphere
con's: too nonchalant, believability
verdict: very enjoyable
20. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
pro's: great atmosphere, top spaghetti western
con's: very slow
verdict: epic stuff...for the patient viewers
21. Rear Window (1954)
pro's: very engaging, suspenseful
con's: slow, one-room show, repetitive voyeurism, lame ending
verdict: top hitchcock movie
22. The Matrix (1999)
pro's: innovative, great story, charismatic characters
con's: rather shallow characterization, futuristic propaganda/worship
verdict: awesome
23. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
verdict: fun adventure, essential indiana jones movie along with the other two early movies
24. The Usual Suspects (1995)
pro's: not what one would expect at first glance, not your usual gangster movie
con's: improvisations of the soze character
verdict: worthy accomplishment
25. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
pro's: great atmosphere, best lecter adaptation
con's: too perfect villain, too insecure female protagonist
verdict: gotta love it
26. Psycho (1960)
pro's: so simple yet so effective, something for the current filmmakers to learn from
con's: believability
verdict: top hitchcock movie
27. Se7en (1995)
pro's: great atmosphere, great acting (freeman, pitt)
con's: too dark, almost completely futile detective efforts
verdict: awesome
29. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
pro's: great atmosphere, more action than the first part
con's: occasionally melodramatic
verdict: awesome
30. Forrest Gump (1994)
pro's: hanks in top form
con's: melodramatic, over-the-top
verdict: a crazy ride
31. Memento (2000)
pro's: the story in reverse, the uncertainty
con's: repetitive, takes patience to follow
verdict: best nolan movie
33. Leon: The Professional (1994)
pro's: great acting (oldman, portman, reno)
con's: believability
verdict: take care of ur plant
34. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
pro's: hilarious, refreshing
con's: nuclear propaganda/fear
verdict: unusual comedy
35. Apocalypse Now (1979)
pro's: great atmosphere
con's: slow, short & somewhat unsatisfactory last part (finale)
verdict: the smell of napalm & war madness
36. American History X (1998)
pro's: great acting (norton), gritty
con's: tends to drag, strain the nerves in some scenes
verdict: well-done
40. American Beauty (1999)
pro's: great acting (spacey, bening)
con's: many teenage parts, irritating character behavior
verdict: unusual & bizarre in a successful mixture
41. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
pro's: great atmosphere, best terminator movie
con's: believability
verdict: hasta la vista, baby
43. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
pro's: great cinematography, battle/war scenes
con's: believability
verdict: better than expected
44. Alien (1979)
pro's: great atmosphere, impressive creature design
con's: slow, inadequate attention to the futuristic design
verdict: horror par excellence
45. Vertigo (1958)
pro's: excellent first part of the movie
con's: last twist is unbelievable and completely unnecessary, the hearing is a quite weak part too
verdict: top hitchcock movie
48. The Shining (1980)
pro's: great atmosphere, acting (nicholson)
con's: tends to drag, some filler/lesser scenes
verdict: pure insanity
54. Double Indemnity (1944)
pro's: the no holds barred, in your face attitude
con's: some continuity problems
verdict: very good noir
58. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
pro's: great acting (mcdowell)
con's: maybe too bizarre
verdict: great if you can dig it
60. Aliens (1986)
pro's: action overdose, sigourney ftw...again
con's: rather shallow supporting characters
verdict: thoroughly enjoyable
66. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
pro's: tarantino in his element
con's: no virgins here
verdict: hella fun
68. Back to the Future (1985)
pro's: feel-good/likable characters
con's: believability
verdict: marks the era of a more naive family-friendly entertainment
69. L.A. Confidential (1997)
pro's: great characters, multiple stories integration
con's: too long, maybe not enough action
verdict: enjoy the web of corruption
70. Chinatown (1974)
pro's: great acting (nicholson)
con's: low on action scenes
verdict: a pi (private investigator) movie classic
74. The Green Mile (1999)
pro's: stephen king
con's: slow, too optimistic, preachy
verdict: for the patient ones
81. Amadeus (1984)
pro's: eccentric, great acting (over-the-top mozart & scheming salieri)
con's: self-indulgent
verdict: an interesting if not accurate portrayal
83. All About Eve (1950)
pro's: interesting, solid acting (davis, baxter)
con's: dialogue overdose
verdict: better than expected
85. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
pro's: uncompromising, training scenes
con's: somewhat runs out of steam later on
verdict: well-done
88. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
pro's: great atmosphere, regardless of the depicted environment
con's: very slow
verdict: for the patient ones
89. Gladiator (2000)
pro's: competent action, great cinematography
con's: not really about gladiators
verdict: a fulfilling adventure
90. Braveheart (1995)
verdict: somewhat over-the-top 'historical' epic, but its quite enjoyable
96. Unforgiven (1992)
verdict: a dark & impressive western re-visited
97. The Sting (1973)
verdict: recommended light-weight & slick con-job story
102. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
verdict: early star wars movie, essential viewing regarding the series, dated but fun to watch
103. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
verdict: see above for Double Indemnity, its a bogart one-man show
104. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
verdict: fun adventure, essential indiana jones movie along with the other two early movies
105. Princess Mononoke (1997)
verdict: solid anime, somewhat incoherent, but interesting nevertheless
108. Die Hard (1988)
pro's: great action, possibly the best of the 'die hard' movies
con's: believability
verdict: top willis movie
111. Sin City (2005)
pro's: the graphic/visual department
con's: rather shallow
verdict: innovative & unusual comics based thriller
115. Heat (1995)
pro's: great acting (pacino, de niro, kilmer), memorable action scenes
con's: politically correct ending
verdict: epic stuff
117. Fargo (1996)
verdict: enjoyable coen brothers weirdness
119. Blade Runner (1982)
pro's: great atmosphere
con's: lots of too drawn-out scenes, replicant stupidity
verdict: a futuristic classic
120. For a Few Dollars More (1965)
verdict: yet another leone's spaghetti-flavored dirty pleasure
125. Snatch. (2000)
pro's: innovative, great characters, best ritchie movie
con's: pikey resourcefulness
verdict: hella fun
132. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
verdict: somewhat irritating but still a very good classic
142. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
verdict: quite over-the-top but thoroughly enjoyable tarantino extravaganza, the same goes for vol.2
143. Donnie Darko (2001)
verdict: bizarre but enjoyable if you can dig it
145. Platoon (1986)
verdict: a recommended, great & intense war movie
146. Into the Wild (2007)
pro's: the scenery, the adventure(s)
con's: the human-related side-plots
verdict: better than expected
147. Scarface (1983)
verdict: a well-done though quite lengthy al pacino one-man show
149. Trainspotting (1996)
pro's: its fun regardless of whats depicted
con's: the movie-makers just don't care
verdict: hella fun
150. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
verdict: well-done but somewhat melodramatic eastwood movie
152. There Will Be Blood (2007)
verdict: slow but intense daniel-day lewis one-man show
155. Gone with the Wind (1939)
pro's: cinematography, acting (leigh, gable)
con's: lengthy, at times strenuous
verdict: for the patient ones
159. District 9 (2009)
pro's: alien invasion with a twist
con's: shaky camera, irritating main character
verdict: unusual sci-fi refreshing the genre
161. The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)
pro's: great atmosphere, great acting (darin, villamil), especially using eyes & body-language
con's: slow
verdict: an unexpected gem, highly recommended
162. Groundhog Day (1993)
verdict: a classic & fun repeating-day scenario movie
164. Ben-Hur (1959)
pro's: grand production that actually works, top heston performance
con's: heavy christian bias
verdict: must-see movie of epic proportions (before cgi-era), similar recommendation: Quo Vadis (1951), The Ten Commandments (1956)
165. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
verdict: see under Snatch, quite similar stuff
170. Casino (1995)
pro's: great acting (pesci ftw, de niro, stone)
con's: propaganda
verdict: top gambler/gangster movie
171. The Terminator (1984)
verdict: not as good as terminator 2, however a strong performance nevertheless
174. The Thing (1982)
pro's: the scenery, atmosphere
con's: rather flat characters
verdict: among top carpenter movies
175. Stand by Me (1986)
pro's: stephen king
con's: low on action
verdict: a well-done family-friendly adventure
176. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
pro's: solid action though not as good as old-school ones (fi. Die Hard)
con's: shaky camera, damon's acting, believability
verdict: quality similar to other bourne movies
180. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
verdict: a bizarre but interesting ride with good performance by pitt & willis
181. How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
pro's: interesting, decent animation
con's: irritating main character, a bit formulaic
verdict: very enjoyable recent viking teens & dragons story
187. Avatar (2009)
pro's: cinematography, atmosphere
con's: stolen story, too naive approach, propaganda
verdict: well-done cameron movie after more than a decade of relevant directorial absence
188. Network (1976)
pro's: tongue in cheek approach
con's: propaganda
verdict: skillfully made 'critique' of the tv/media megalomania
205. The Wild Bunch (1969)
verdict: great late-period western with hard-boiled outlaws in a gripping performance
216. Rocky (1976)
pro's: rocky's character, rocky-apollo chemistry
con's: exaggerated fighting stamina, too naive approach
verdict: along with rambo, the defining stallone role
221. Magnolia (1999)
pro's: multiple stories interconnection, solid acting
con's: tends to fall into melodrama & exaggeration
verdict: for the patient ones
230. Roman Holiday (1953)
pro's: cinematography, atmosphere, great acting (peck, hepburn)
con's: believability
verdict: thoroughly enjoyable romance with some light-weight humor as well
233. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
verdict: quite over-the-top but thoroughly enjoyable tarantino extravaganza, the same goes for vol.1
235. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
pro's: john wayne (though he played in many better westerns)
con's: too black & white, propaganda
verdict: fun to watch, though not your usual western flavor
source:
Code:
http://www.imdb.com/chart/top?tt0032599