Oh nice ~ this is a good way to do the all-star thing! My choices:
Pre-60's - Wizard of Oz (Tilley)
Kane was farther ahead of its time, but to me Oz is more ubiquitous and heavily ingrained in our all-time movie consciousness. Just try and think of the title without having your brain overloaded with a barrage of burned-in imagery. (Also - and this is just weird me - but I don't really like that Orson Welles guy. He kind of pisses me off)
Best Picture - Pulp Fiction (VANFLAMESFAN)
This one was really tough. My shortlist would include The Godfather and The Silence of the Lambs; Godfather is just remarkable filmmaking - where to start or end about The Godfather - and I can't imagine a more effective, brilliantly acted thriller than Lambs (Hopkins' Hannibal, IMO, wins Best Villain Evar running away)... but I will go with Pulp Fiction for its tenacity, its creativity, and most of all, for being able to work on so many levels - and yet, you can sit and watch it and the whole 2.5 hours of it just fly by in a thoroughly entertaining rush. I haven't seen too many films as inspired as this.
Docu/Non-fiction - United 93 (FlamesguySJ)
You kinda got me on this category I must admit! - I don't watch a tonne of documentaries, because I just have this thing about movies and fiction being inextricable (I am sure I am selling myself short). There are some good picks that I have seen, however, in this category - but I am going with 93 for its spot-on, non-partisan re-enactment of events for which the exact details are sketchy; director Greengrass intelligently sidesteps the pratfalls of his contemporary Oliver Stone, whose laughable World Trade Center did everything this movie does right, wrong. I have never walked out of a theatre as jarred as I was after watching United 93.
Foreign - A Clockwork Orange (liamenator)
Easy pick here! I don't often pull this one out of the box set - and indeed, I find the Burgess novel upon which it is based a little lighter and more humorous to plow through - but this is a fantastic adaptation by the unparalleled Stanley Kubrick, when one is in the mood for a little of the old ultraviolence; the sets, the music, the ominous retro-future tone... and of course, Malcolm MacDowell in the performance of his life.
Action - Die Hard (HalifaxDrunk)
I was actually watching bits of this last night on TLC. Without question - the quintessential action movie, perfectly executed, from a surprisingly-nuanced, taut, brilliant script. The sequence where baddie Hans Gruber and hero John McClane meet up incognito - genius. Simply cannot be outdone.
Animation - The Iron Giant (Ro)
Lots of top-shelf options here, but it is the touching, wrenching story of the Iron Giant, delivered in all of its gorgeous hand-drawn magnificence - released at a time when animation films were flocking towards the CG format - that truly gets me every time. Beautiful movie.
B&W - King Kong (ResAlien)
The companion piece to the Wizard of Oz - a timeless story that is permanently entrenched in our movie memory. Sure, the stop-motion effects look a bit silly today, but I think they are still more effective than anything they hacked together in Peter Jackson's lousy remake. Shout-out to our Alberta countrygal Fay Wray!
Comedy - Swingers (sadora)
The toughest category of all! So many great, hilarious movies... but I will go with Swingers - because... well, I just effing love Swingers. Everything that is great about Jon Favreau - who I contend is one of the true gems in moviemaking today - is summarized by his role in this film; and then there is the young, pre-alcoholism Vince Vaughn, the perfect foil to Favreau... and of course, the guys sitting around trashtalking each other while they play NHL hockey on the Sega Genesis. That scene on its own wins this category.
Drama - Lost In Translation (Superflyer)
A toss-up between this and the superlative Fargo - but I give the edge to Translation for its affecting humanity (Coens don't quite understand this concept; although Fargo is the closest they've come). My brother calls this movie 'depressing' but I call it inspiring - sure, the ending is a bit sad, but doesn't it fill you with a warm sense of hope at the same time? Few performances as textured and brilliant as Bill Murray in this film - the Academy should be kicking itself for the rest of time not to have recgonized his work here (if not in many other places - but that's for another discussion).
Fantasy - The Princess Bride (getbak)
What a fantastic film The Princess Bride is. It truly has a little bit of everything, and it is the kind of movie I can watch anytime, in any mood, and come out feeling happy (which I am pretty sure is the point - the viewer's experience is meant to mirror that of the Fred Savage character). I could start a laundry list of favorite bits from this one. For example: the constant bickering between Fezzik (Andre the Giant) and the recently-revived Indigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) about "The Man In Black." Just kills me.
*note* Whatever happened to Rob Reiner? The guy made several top-notch movies and then... what... The Bucket List????
Musical - School of Rock (REDVAN)
If I ever have kids, they will be watching School of Rock before any other 'inspirational family-friendly' movies - this one gets the message just right. The perfect role for one of my personal faves, Jack Black - they might as well have just called his character 'Jack Black' - featuring several very good turns from a cast of gifted youngsters. Scriptwriter Mike White is hilarious as Black's wimpy roomate; Joan Cusack pitch-perfect as the school principal; Sarah Silverman also devilishly funny as White's controlling girlfriend. The scene where Black 'unveils' his epic rock masterpiece to the class - pretty sure he ad-libbed a lot of it - is one of the all-time greats. I raise my goblet of rock to this movie.
This is going to be really really long. Maybe I will do the other 9 later. I should really be doing other things right now anyway...
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