BEST PICTURE
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street
DIRECTING
American Hustle (David O. Russell)
Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón)
Nebraska (Alexander Payne)
12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen)
The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese) Continue reading
If I had one wish that I could wish this holiday season, it would be that all the children of the world could join hands and sing together in the spirt of harmony and peace. And if I had two wishes this holiday season, the first–of course–would be the stuff about the kids, and the second would be for $30 million dollars a month to be given to Jason Pyles for all of his work on Movie Podcast Weekly. Or at the very least, enough money that Jason wasn’t losing money on the hours of content we provide you with here (as well as on Horror Movie Podcast, The Donut Show, and Movie Stream Cast).
Dave Becker’s Top 5 Most Life-Changing Movies:
1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
2. Blazing Saddles (1974)
3. Sabotage (1936)
4. Fame (1980)
5. Alien (1979)
Josh’s Top 5 Most Life-Changing Movies:
1. The Lives of Others (2005)
2. Thumbsucker (2005)
3. The Tree of Life (2011)
4. Pulp Fiction (1994)
5. Halloween (1978)
Karl’s Top 5 Most Life-Changing Movies:
1. Amadeus (1984)
2. The Ten Commandments (1956)
3. Gattaca (1997)
4. Jaws (1977)
5. …And Justice for All (1979)
Andy’s Top 5 Most Life-Changing Movies:
1. A Few Good Men (1992)
2. Very Bad Things (1998)
3. Se7en (1995)
4. The Invisible Kid (1988)
5. Rad (1986)
Jason’s Top 5 Most Life-Changing Movies:
1. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
2. The Passion of the Christ (2004)
3. My Life (1993)
4. Breakdown (1997)
5. Cinderella Man (2005)
Dave Becker’s Top 10 Movies You Should See (Before You Die):
1. Local Hero (1983)
2. The Lion in Winter (1968)
3. Vanishing Point (1971)
4. The Changeling (1980)
5. Cromwell (1970)
6. The Odd Couple (1968)
7. Son of Frankenstein (1939)
8. Ragtime (1981)
9. Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
10. Advise & Consent (1962)
Josh’s Top 10 Movies You Should See (Before You Die):
1. All the President’s Men (1976)
2. The Act of Killing (2013)
3. The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2005)
4. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
5. Dogville (2003)
6. The Puffy Chair (2005)
7. Intolerance (1916)
8. The Celebration (1998)
9. Lost in La Mancha (2002)
10. Koyaanisqatsi (1982) and the Qatsi Trilogy
Karl’s Top 10 Movies You Should See (Before You Die):
1. Cinema Paradiso (1988)
2. The King’s Speech (2010)
3. High Noon (1952)
4. The Kid (1921) | Modern Times (1936)
5. North by Northwest (1959)
6. Lincoln (2012)
7. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
8. Alien (1979)
9. Titanic (1997)
10. Manhunter (1986)
Andy’s Top 10 Movies You Should See (Before You Die):
1. Brick (2005)
2. Let the Right One In (2008)
3. Overnight (2003) and for additional context, The Boondock Saints (1999)
4. Jean de Florette (1986) and Manon of the Spring (1986)
5. The Son (2002)
6. Charade (1963)
7. The General (1926)
8. Misery (1990)
9. Dolores Claiborne (1995)
10. Chasing Ice (2012)
Jason’s Top 10 Movies You Should See (Before You Die):
1. The “Up” Documentary Series (1964 – 2012)
2. The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2005)
3. Running Scared (2006)
4. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)
5. Frozen River (2008)
6. The Good Girl (2002)
7. Duane Hopwood (2005)
8. Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
9. John Q (2002)
10. Touching the Void (2003)
Dave Becker’s Top 10 All-Time Favorite (Desert Island) Movies:
1. The Godfather (1972)
2. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
3. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
4. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
5. The Big Lebowski (1998)
6. Pulp Fiction (1994)
7. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
8. Fargo (1996)
9. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
10. Spirited Away (2001)
Josh’s Top 10 All-Time Favorite (Desert Island) Movies:
1. Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
2. Forget Paris (1995)
3. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
4. Rear Window (1954)
5. The Thing (1982)
6. The Lost Boys (1987)
7. Clue (1985)
8. The Beach (2000)
9. Bottle Rocket (1996)
10. Three Kings (1999) and Zodiac (2007)
Karl’s Top 10 All-Time Favorite (Desert Island) Movies:
1. Blade Runner (1982)
2. Star Wars (1977)
3. Amadeus (1984)
4. Casablanca (1942)
5. The Great Escape (1963)
6. The Harry Potter franchise (2001 – 2011)
7. Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
9. Love Actually (2003)
10. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Andy’s Top 10 All-Time Favorite (Desert Island) Movies:
1. The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather: Part II (1974)
2. 127 Hours (2010)
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
4. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
5. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
6. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001, 2002, 2003)
7. Zombieland (2009)
8. The Bourne Trilogy (2002, 2004, 2007)
9. The Daniel Craig Bond Trilogy (2006, 2008, 2012)
10. My Blue Heaven (1990)
Jason’s Top 10 All-Time Favorite (Desert Island) Movies:
1. The Village (2004)
2. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
3. The Dark Knight (2008)
4. The Godfather (1972)
5. The Apostle (1997)
6. Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
7. Adaptation. (2002)
8. 8 Mile (2002)
9. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007)
10. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
by Jason Pyles
Here is a topic that relatively few people will care about, but like my post on my rating system, I believe it has to be addressed.
I’m sure there’s an official standard for determining a film’s year of release. I just don’t know what that authoritative standard would be — and even if I knew it — I would probably disagree with it.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has its criteria for qualifying a film’s year of release. And it appears as though the Internet Movie Database goes with the film’s first U.S. screening (for U.S. films), where the date of its festival debut determines the year. And if not a festival debut, then perhaps a limited release. And if not a limited or widespread release, then the direct-to-video release date. Whatever. Continue reading
I know rating systems are dumb. But they’re an attempt to quantify some sort of standard of comparison by measuring a critic’s opinions with a sliding scale.
Perhaps every critic feels this way, but I am honestly proud of the way my film rating scores relate to one another. Naturally, I think my ratings are “accurate” in relation to one another and according to my own tastes, but I am not foolish enough to believe that something so subjective as my opinionated value judgment of a film’s quality has any universal relevance or application for anyone. And yet, here I am, taking my ratings and myself way too seriously…
So, that brings me back to acknowledging again that rating systems are dumb. But I don’t care. Here’s what mine means: Continue reading