The Top Films of the Decade - Results Thread

[No spoken words]

Laz. Unforgiven. Speak.

 

[monkeyskin]

Well, Broken Flowers has full frontal from its young starlet, so maybe that's what gives it the edge for you?

Good point.

It also has Jeffrey Wright but thankfully he keeps his kit on.

 

[lazarus]

Laz. Unforgiven. Speak.

Well, I'm not a huge Eastwood fan though I really like some of his films, esp The Outlaw Josey Wales and . I'm still bitter over his 2004 wins so I can't bring myself to watch Million Dollar Baby (from the criticism I've read I'm sure I'll hate it anyway) or the Iwo Jima films. And I found Mystic River painfully overrated.

I saw Unforgiven way back when it came out (at a drive-in!), and I remember liking it a lot, though it wasn't my favorite of the year. I much preferred Malcolm X, A River Runs Through It, and The Crying Game.

Just a few weeks ago a found a used laserdisc of Unforgiven for $1, but I haven't had time to watch it yet. I won't be home again for a couple months so it might be a while before I can post a reassessment.

 

[No spoken words]

I do not like or dislike Eastwood. Some films of his I love, some I can live without. But this one is fucking incredible, and, to me, stands the test of time better than The Crying Game or A River Runs Through it.

Malcolm X, I watch that and wonder if I like the movie, or do I just love Denzel's performance.

 

[lazarus]

Well, I felt at the time that Malcolm was a HUGE step forward for Lee, who went from making all very small films to a gigantic one, and one about a very polarizing figure. You have to admire that he even got the film made, and if you've read the Making Of book, it was a huge uphill battle.

I love how he portayed the vibrancy of Harlem, even during a time of struggle. And he also handed the Mecca scenes with great delicacy. Such an underrated film, even if Denzel is what propels it. Plus, that shot of the KKK guys on horses backlit by the full moon--WOW.

A River Runs Through It, is to me an American classic. It's not a very unique film, but I'm very moved by it each time I watch it. Redford never gets enough credit for what is actually a pretty diverse filmography, even if it's small. Eastwood, on the other hand, has made a lot of absolute SHIT, even after Unforgiven. And The Crying Game...well it's just one of the best screenplays ever written. Long after the shock has worn off, it's just a great character piece, with career best perfs from Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, and Forest Whittaker.

 

[No spoken words]

I definitely enjoyed A River Runs Through it (Read it long before the film was released), as well as The Crying Game. And, I've watched Malcolm X a lot, and I meant what I said as a good thing.

I guess I do not compare one Director's body of work to another when weighing how I like an individual film as compared to another. Redford should get a lot of credit for the work he's done, though, agreed.

Rewatch Unforgiven one day and let me know what you think.

 

[lazarus]

No, I was just talking about Eastwood's career in terms of why I've been reticent to watch (or rewatch) some of his films.

But I do plan on checking it out soon after I get back into town.

 

[Dalton]

I much preferred The Crying Game.

You would.

 

[monkeyskin]

laz, are you referring to Eastwood's acting or directorial career? Because I think as far as his acting goes he's proved himself to be one of the coolest guys in Hollywood.

 

[lazarus]

Well he's "cool", if you mean calm and collected. I don't find him a very interesting presence. I know in real life he's got a nice dry sense of humor, but it doesn't come out too often in his films.

I don't particularly like Charlton Heston, for example, but he's a lot more watchable.

 

[monkeyskin]

The opening of A Fistful of Dollars:

"Get three coffins ready"

A legend is born. Plus, I wouldn't call Harry Callaghan calm or collected.

 

[lazarus]

I would. He bucks the system, but he's not like Al Pacino in Heat or anything. His delivery is usually pretty ice cool.

 

[No spoken words]

Pacino in Heat is a sight to behold.

"....Cause she's got a great ass... and you got your head all the way up it! Ferocious, aren't I? When I think of asses, a woman's ass, something comes out of me."

 

[lazarus]

"Who? Who? Are you an owl?"

"Gimme what ya got!"

"Stop wastin' my muthafuckin' tiiiime!"

 

[No spoken words]

"I'm angry. I'm very angry, Ralph. You know, you can ball my wife if she wants you to. You can lounge around here on her sofa, in her ex-husband's dead-tech, post-modernistic bullshit house if you want to. But you do not get to watch my fucking television set!"

 

[lazarus]

"If it's between you, and some guy whose wife you're gonna make a widow...brotha, you are goin' DOWN."

 

[No spoken words]

"That's exactly what they're gonna do, they're gonna walk. This is my operation, I have tactical command that supercedes your rank, they will walk away and you will let them."

 

[lazarus]

"You could get killed while walking your doggie!"