The IMDb Top 250 - 365 Challenge

SiD the Turtle

SiD the Turtle

SiD the Turtle

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Shamelessly stealing an idea from NokkonWud, I'm going to attempt the IMDb Top 250 - 365 Challenge, which basically means I'm going to attempt to watch the IMDBb's top 250 films, as rated by users, in one year starting January 1st, 2010.

You're welcome to join me! Here's how it works:

  • On the first of January I'll post of copy of the top 250 films as they appear on that day.
  • Set yourself a target of watching as many as possible.
  • If 250 in one year is a lot (well, that's pretty much a film every weekday) then try a target of the top 100, 100 out of the top 250 or perhaps try the top 50 for a decade lists.
  • Post your progress, reviews or personal blog posts of the films in this thread after you watch them.
  • ???
  • Profit

If you stumble into this thread after the first of January, don't worry, you can still give it a shot.

If you want to join in, post in this thread and let us know how many you think you're going to attempt.
 
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SiD the Turtle

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SiD the Turtle

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weringo said:
Great idea! I'd join in if it wasn't for the fact that 99% of films made before 1980 cause me to fall asleep within half an hour :p

Is there any way of getting a top xxx list of films on imdb after a certain time period so people like me with short attention spans can join in?
Click to expand...

Expand your horizons :p Seriously though, yeah IMDB has top 50s for each decade you could try. I'll add them to the OP come the first.

http://www.imdb.com/chart/1980s
http://www.imdb.com/chart/1990s
http://www.imdb.com/chart/2000s
 

SiD the Turtle

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Right so I've watched the first of the 250:

64: Reservoir Dogs

I had my first viewing of Reservoir Dogs at about the age of 12. It was one of those films - like Pulp Fiction or Terminator 2 - that you were too young to watch but were 'cool' (wow I sound old) if you had seen it. Of course the main reasons for watching these kinds of films at that age were not artistic merit but simply blood and swearing. I haven't properly sat down and watched Reservoir Dogs since having borrowed it on VHS many years ago and I'm pleased to say there's more to it than just those teenage requirements.

It's well shot though different to how traditional films are shot. Scenes between two people that should be close-ups are shot down the corridor for example, yet somehow it works. Unfortunately the sound is all over the place, lots of dialogue can be missed because it's too fast and too quiet and the picture quality varies shot to shot. I think Tarantino learned a lot of lessons on these fronts in time for his later films (as well, no doubt, as receiving a much larger budget).

My main concern is that a lot of the dialogue went over my head (I'm probably too young) and in fifty years time it probably won't make a lot of sense being dipped in pop-culture as it is. It'll probably be on the top 250 in fifty years time too, but one of those films where people will note it as a classic, as a milestone, but not very good up against modern film.

It's a hard one to review. Like Pulp Fiction you can pick out your favourite scenes or quotes which make it memorable to an individual but when you put it all together you've got a film which almost every critic would agree is a classic.

7/10
 

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snowdog said:
...
Click to expand...

Luckily a lot of the crap you're referring to isn't in the top 250, such as Terminator 3 or the Matrix sequels. The old, more superior T1 and T2 (no CG in the first, pioneering CG in the second) are however.

Feel free to 'mix it up' though, my hope with this thread was to get people watching films, not be restricted by strict rules on what they can and can't watch :D
 

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snowdog said:
And I clearly hates rubbish like pearl harbour.
Click to expand...
Oh yes definately, many modern war films forget they're about the actual war and instead blow the budget on CGI battles. I got sick of seeing the advert for Perl Harbour where it ends with the CG bomb dropping out of the sky.

NickK said:
Das Boot beaten by Avatar...
Click to expand...
The list does suffer a bit from 'zomg that new movie was the best I've ever seen' effect, they tend to drop down the list though, if they're nothing special.
 

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Here's the next film I've watched as part of the IMDb Top 250.

227: (500) Days of Summer

500 slots into the romantic genre, of which I'm not the world's greatest fan. Still the Internet has heaped praise on it for being a funny, original take on the story of boy-meets-girl so I gave it a bash.

The story follows 500 days of the life of Tom, a drone at a greeting card company and the events of his relationship with the eponymous Summer, whom he meets at work. The 'twist' is that the film is chopped up in non-chronological order bookended by which of the 500 days in question the scene features, though these are not Tarantino-esque cuts. Because of this very early on we learn that the relationship between Tom and Summer doesn't last and the film flips between their dating and the relationship falling apart and of course the lessons that we the viewers can learn from their time together. For this reason alone I had high hopes for the film as normally you'd walk into a rom-com already knowing the ending.

Unfortunately the film is original isn't the slightest. As soon as the scene was set where we learn that Tom's job is to write cheesy greeting card slogans but yearns to be an architect, it becomes obvious that he'll rage-quit his job at some point with a speech on 'what is love' and pursue his architectural dreams. Summer turns out to be a two-dimensional generic slightly-quirky girl-next-door. Tom's friends include the non-threatening mate with no sex life who gets them together, conflict includes a jock-businessman trying to cut in between Tom and Summer at a bar, and so it goes on.

Now, don't get me wrong. It's an entertaining film with several laugh out loud moments, the acting is above average for this type of film and I'd recommend watching it once, but I don't see why it features in the IMDb Top 250. I could probably come up with another hundred (non-rom-com) films that should feature above it. It's, well, it's average.

5/10
 

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Next on the IMDB list:

247: Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbour Totoro)

My Neighbour Totoro is a Japanese children's film from Studio Ghibli, a studio famous for films such as Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away (both of which also feature on the Top 250). It follows the story of two children, Satsuki and Mei, who move with their father to a new home in the countryside to be closer to their mother, who is in hospital with an unnamed condition and meet the friendly spirits of the forest, the Totoro.

The appeal and originality of the movie comes from the fact that this film features no conflict, anger or threat while not going down the sterile, PC, modern children's story route. The bulk of the film simply follows the two girls exploring and playing in their new home and surroundings, which sounds boring but is anything but- the key to this being that the animation work retains the charm and magic of being a kid again. It's hard to put down in words, but I - a grown, cynical Brit - was smiling from cheek to cheek all of the way through.

Special mention has to be given to the animation which is simply beautiful. It's not an orgy of colour or gimicks, but a magical rendition of rural Japanese life. Highlights include Mei stroking Totoro for the first time: although this is a cartoon you do get the sensation of someone actually stroking a bear-sized furry animal (not that I've stroked any bears lately) and the watercolour-eque backgrounds.

A joy to watch, for adults and children alike.

9/10
 
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