Popular Movies I've seen over the past 15 years

Marco Arment recently posted about how few popular movies he’s seen, and proves it by listing out seen/not-seen:

In an effort to accelerate that, here’s a list of the Academy Award Best Picture nominees and top 10 highest-grossing films for the last 15 years. My “I’ve seen it” ratio starts bad and only gets worse over time. Had I not seen most of the Pixar movies because I have a kid, it would be even worse.

Because I’m a sucker for lists I figured I’d do my own evaluation. When I get done I can decide whether I feel bad for missing a lot of them or feel bad for how much time I spent on them.

Key: Seen it, Haven’t seen it

2000

  • Gladiator
  • Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
  • Traffic
  • What Women Want
  • Meet the Parents
  • Chocolat
  • Erin Brockovich
  • Mission: Impossible II
  • Cast Away
  • Dinosaur
  • How the Grinch Stole Christmas
  • The Perfect Storm
  • X-Men
  • What Lies Beneath

2001

  • A Beautiful Mind
  • Monsters, Inc.
  • Ocean’s Eleven
  • Gosford Park
  • In the Bedroom
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
  • Moulin Rouge
  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
  • Shrek
  • Pearl Harbor
  • The Mummy Returns
  • Jurassic Park III
  • Planet of the Apes
  • Hannibal

2002

  • Spider-Man
  • Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
  • Men in Black II
  • Die Another Day
  • Minority Report
  • Chicago
  • Gangs of New York
  • The Hours
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
  • The Pianist
  • Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
  • Signs
  • Ice Age
  • My Big Fat Greek Wedding

2003

  • Finding Nemo
  • The Matrix Reloaded
  • The Matrix Revolutions
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
  • Lost in Translation
  • Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
  • Mystic River
  • Seabiscuit
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
  • Bruce Almighty
  • The Last Samurai
  • Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
  • X2
  • Bad Boys II

2004

  • The Incredibles
  • Ocean’s Twelve
  • Million Dollar Baby
  • The Aviator
  • Finding Neverland
  • Ray
  • Sideways
  • Shrek 2
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
  • Spider-Man 2
  • The Passion of the Christ
  • The Day After Tomorrow
  • Meet the Fockers
  • Troy
  • Shark Tale

2005

  • Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
  • Crash
  • Brokeback Mountain
  • Capote
  • Good Night, and Good Luck
  • Munich
  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
  • The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
  • War of the Worlds
  • King Kong
  • Madagascar
  • Mr. and Mrs. Smith
  • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
  • Batman Begins
  • Hitch

2006

  • Little Miss Sunshine
  • Casino Royale
  • Cars
  • The Departed
  • Babel
  • Letters from Iwo Jima
  • The Queen
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
  • The Da Vinci Code
  • Ice Age: The Meltdown
  • Night at the Museum
  • X-Men: The Last Stand
  • Mission: Impossible III
  • Superman Returns
  • Happy Feet

2007

  • No Country for Old Men
  • Juno
  • Ratatouille
  • I Am Legend
  • Atonement
  • Michael Clayton
  • There Will Be Blood
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
  • Spider-Man 3
  • Shrek the Third
  • Transformers
  • The Simpsons Movie
  • National Treasure: Book of Secrets
  • 300

2008

  • The Dark Knight
  • Quantum of Solace
  • WALL-E
  • Slumdog Millionaire
  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  • Frost/Nixon
  • Milk
  • The Reader
  • Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
  • Kung Fu Panda
  • Hancock
  • Mamma Mia!
  • Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
  • Iron Man
  • The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

2009

  • The Hurt Locker
  • Avatar
  • The Blind Side
  • District 9
  • An Education
  • Inglourious Basterds
  • Precious
  • A Serious Man
  • Up
  • Up in the Air
  • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
  • Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
  • Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
  • 2012
  • The Twilight Saga: New Moon
  • Sherlock Holmes
  • Angels & Demons
  • The Hangover

2010

  • The Social Network
  • Toy Story 3
  • The Kings’ Speech
  • 127 Hours
  • Black Swan
  • The Fighter
  • Inception
  • The Kids Are All Right
  • True Grit
  • Winter’s Bone
  • Alice in Wonderland
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
  • Shrek Forever After
  • The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
  • Iron Man 2
  • Tangled
  • Despicable Me
  • How to Train Your Dragon

2011

  • The Artist
  • The Descendants
  • Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
  • The Help
  • Hugo
  • Midnight in Paris
  • Moneyball
  • The Tree of Life
  • War Horse
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
  • Transformers: Dark of the Moon
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
  • The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1
  • Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol
  • Kung Fu Panda 2
  • Fast Five
  • The Hangover Part II
  • The Smurfs
  • Cars 2

2012

  • Skyfall
  • Argo
  • Amour
  • Beasts of the Southern Wild
  • Django Unchained
  • Les Misérables
  • Life of Pi
  • Lincoln
  • Silver Linings Playbook
  • Zero Dark Thirty
  • The Avengers
  • The Dark Knight Rises
  • The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
  • Ice Age: Continental Drift
  • The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2
  • The Amazing Spider-Man
  • Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted
  • The Hunger Games
  • Men in Black 3

2013

  • Monsters University
  • 12 Years a Slave
  • American Hustle
  • Captain Phillips
  • Dallas Buyers Club
  • Gravity
  • Her
  • Nebraska
  • Philomena
  • The Wolf of Wall Street
  • Frozen
  • Iron Man 3
  • Despicable Me 2
  • The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
  • The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
  • Fast & Furious 6
  • Man of Steel
  • Thor: The Dark World

2014

  • Birdman
  • American Sniper
  • Boyhood
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel
  • The Imitation Game
  • Selma
  • The Theory of Everything
  • Whiplash
  • Transformers: Age of Extinction
  • The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
  • Guardians of the Galaxy
  • Maleficent
  • The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1
  • X-Men: Days of Future Past
  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier
  • The Amazing Spider-Man 2
  • Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
  • Interstellar

Yeah… I’m kinda feeling bad that I’ve watched so many.

The Spiritual Pep Rally

Really good stuff on the Christian movie phenomenon, in the deliciously-titled “Do You Believe in Confirmation Bias?”

I do remain concerned, however, that when such anecdotal evidence [e.g. of Atheist professors persecuting Christian students] is amplified and looped in and through the echo chamber, it has a detrimental effect on God’s people. It promotes a culture of fear and a culture of antagonism. It reinforces the belief that those outside our circle are our enemies, to be battled, rather than our mission field, to be loved and evangelized.

To the extent it overstates our persecution, it pushes us to prioritize standing our ground and protecting our rights over being salt and light. To the extent it fixates on archetypal stories of our victimization, it makes us quick to assume evil intent when we face conflicts and slow to acknowledge our own roles in perpetuating them.

Perhaps—perhaps—it tempts us with the lie that those times and places where we have been wronged justify ignoring our teachers’ admonitions to treat those who question our beliefs with gentleness and respect.

Maybe the more pertinent question to ask in the face of Christian movies like God’s Not Dead and Do You Believe? is not whether they are accurate representations of the world we live in, but whether the way they respond—and invite us to respond—to that broken world will help us to remake it into something healthier, holier, and more reflective of kingdom principles.

[Christianity Today]

A famous scene minus the dialogue

OK, I’m just shamelessly reposting something Jason Kottke dug up, but it’s fascinating - somebody took the courtroom scene from A Few Good Men and edited all the dialogue out. It holds up really well; a sign, I would imagine, of the quality of the filmmaking.

Winnie the Dude

On the topic of my previous post, I had this Twitter interaction with Stephen Granade:

twitter.com/cjhubbs/s…

twitter.com/cjhubbs/s…

But then I started wondering… what about Lebowski?

So then I had to do it - casting The Big Lebowski using Winnie the Pooh characters.

The Dude

This one is pretty obvious. Winnie the Pooh himself gets to play The Dude. His laid-back personality is nicely analogous to Jeff Bridges’ beloved stoner.

Walter Sobchak

Based on my Twitter assertion, I’m gonna commit to it. Tigger is the only Hundred-Acre Wood inhabitant with a personality big enough to play a John Goodman character. Think of it as the grittier side of Tigger. You know he’s not always been such a jovial tiger.

Donny

Who’s gonna be the weasely, nervous sidekick to Tigger’s Walter? I think it’s gotta be Piglet.

The Big Lebowski

A large, pompous man with a big attitude? Owl gets to play this role, no question about it. And then to serve his needs:

Brandt

This nervous young assistant (played brilliantly by Philip Seymour Hoffman in Lebowski) goes to Rabbit. You can just see him puttering around straightening all of Lebowski’s photos and trophies outside his office.

Minor Characters

  • With Kanga being the token female in the Hundred-Acre Wood, we’ll give her the role of Maude Lebowski.
  • Christopher Robin would have to paste on a mustache and work on his Texas accent, but we’ll give him the role of The Stranger.
  • And where’s Eeyore in this whole thing? Based on his general outlook on life, I think he’s one of the Nihilists. However, as my friend Andy said:

https://twitter.com/The_Pulpiteer/status/530449494027296769

Fun for Friday: Star Wars without the Music

How awkward would the final scene of Star Wars Episode IV be without John Williams’ awesome score?

Pretty awkward, as it turns out.

Spike Jonze' 'Her'

Tonight I went to the theater and saw *Her*, the recent movie from Spike Jonze. For those who might not be familiar with the film, here’s the trailer:

youtu.be/dJTU48_yg…

What an amazing film. So much to think about afterwards. How does our relationship with technology affect our relationships with people? Where do we find relational fulfillment? What is “real” in a relationship, anyway? Would a relationship that’s exclusively about my happiness really make me happy in the long run?

Joaquin Phoenix gives a fantastic lead performance; Amy Adams is great as his friend, and Scarlett Johanssen plays a prominent role with her voice even though you never see her on screen. It’s a beautiful film to look at, too - the use of colors, lights, and cityscapes is just lovely.

I came back to my hotel room tonight and turned on Lost in Translation, a 10-year-old movie also featuring Scarlett Johannsen and one that also leaves me with a raw inner yearning for relationship. The movies make a great pair.

My buddy Dan informed me tonight that the films are connected another way - Sofia Coppola, who wrote/directed Lost in Translation was married for a few years to Jonze, who wrote/directed Her. Maybe they’re both processing their breakup in similar ways?

I find myself thankful tonight for films that make me think, and even more, perhaps, for films that make me feel; not just the adrenaline rush of an action thriller or the sadness of a weepy drama, but the complicated ache of friendship, yearning, and love.

A little inspired art

We were looking for a family movie tonight and Netflix recommended The Secret of Kells. I had only a vague familiarity with the movie, but the reviews and info looked good, so we gave it a go. It turned out to be a beautiful little movie, in a unique 2-d animated style, relating a story around the Book of Kells, an illuminated copy of the four Gospels created by Celtic monks in the 7th century. Neat movie.

That took us to the Book of Kells iPad application, which I had gotten months ago when it was a freebie but had never really looked at. The girls were suddenly intent to look at the pictures, try to understand the text (whoops! it’s Latin!) and KP (age 4) even pulled out a Bible then to find the book of John after she found out it was part of the Book.

[caption width=“460” align=“aligncenter”] An Illustration from the Book of Kells, courtesy of Wikipedia[/caption]

But the fun doesn’t end there. Shortly thereafter, using their Christmas notebooks and glitter pens, they started on their own Kells-inspired artwork. (Click on each to see it full-size.)

From KP:

From AG, age 7:

From Laura, age 9:

Across the centuries, art inspires art. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

A Rich Mullins... movie?

Matthew Johnson alerted me yesterday to the trailer that’s out for a movie about Rich Mullins. Before I comment, here’s the trailer:

www.youtube.com/watch

Honestly, my first thought was that it’s been more than 15 years since Rich died in a car accident, and I’m still not really ready to see a movie. All the trailer’s foreshadowing with him driving in the Jeep is enough to bring tears to my eyes.

I never met Rich Mullins or even saw him play a concert, and yet he remains my most significant musical influence. I listened to his records (well, cassette tapes and CDs) over and over and over through high school and college. I sang his songs. I learned his piano riffs. After he died I organized a little band to do a 4-song memorial tribute to him in our college chapel service. I guarantee you if you sat me down at a piano I could play and sing at least three dozen of his songs from memory.

Here’s my other hang-up with the movie: I know Rich almost exclusively from his songs. Do I really want to deal with some other writer’s dramatization, and some actor’s impression, of his life? Maybe not.

Instead, I kicked up iTunes and started on a bender playing through Rich’s classic albums The World As Best As I Can Remember It, Vol. 1 and 2, Never Picture Perfect, and A Liturgy, A Legacy, and A Ragamuffin Band. You guys can let me know how the movie turns out, but those records may be all of the Rich I ever really need to know.

Top Ten Movies

Well, I haven’t done a meme in a while, and Jeff tagged me for this one, so I’ll give it a go.

The rules of the “game” are simple: 1. list your top ten favorite films (in no particular order). 2. if you’re tagged, you’ve got to post and tag 3-5 other people. 3. give a tag back (some link love) to the one who tagged you in your post 4. give a hat tip (HT) to Dan (I have no idea who Dan is, but hey, there ya go).

This is gonna be a challenge for me, because I haven’t watched that many movies lately, and really, how do you go about choosing favorites? Simply by number of times watched? At least you’ll get 10 from me here that I really like. Maybe not the 10 greatest movies I’ve ever seen, but 10 that I’d be happy to sit down and watch again semi-regularly or would recommend to a friend. Oh, and off the top, I’m not gonna say Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, because they’re almost prerequisites for this kind of list, and it seems boring. So, in no particular order…

  1. The Princess Bride An oldie but goodie. Yes, I can quote far too much of it. But to leave it off the list would be, well, inconceivable. And how can you dislike a movie with Andre the Giant?

  2. Lost in Translation Bill Murray. So good. Scarlett Johannson. Amazing. Slow, light on plot, heavy on atmosphere. I loved it.

  3. That Thing You Do So I’m a sucker for a movie about musicians who briefly make the bigtime. Tom Hanks is such a fantastic character in this movie, and yeah, if I’m one of the guys in the film, hands down, I’m the drummer.

  4. Fiddler on the Roof I really need to include a musical on here somewhere, and Fiddler is a great musical. It’s been far too long since I’ve watched this one. But Topol captures Tevye so well, and the songs are classics.

  5. Once OK, so I’m gonna include a second musical on here, and it’s gonna be a film that I’ve only seen, well, once. Low-budget, first-time actors, but the story feels real in a way that very few films seem to manage. I need to buy this one.

  6. Apollo 13 Jeff mentioned this one in his list, but I’m gonna include it here, too. Sure, Tom Hanks is great in the starring role, but Ed Harris is the guy that makes the movie for me. And how can I not love a movie where the true heroes are nerdy engineers? Can you build a CO2 scrubber from this random assortment of parts?

  7. Heat Michael Mann at his best, and Pacino and DeNiro to boot. A big crime drama, spread across Southern California, with the atmosphere and expanse that Mann seems to do so well. Oh, and did I mention Pacino and DeNiro?

  8. The Matrix Can we just forget that this is supposedly the beginning of a movie trilogy? This movie works so well by itself - the cyberpunk genre, the stop-action camera work, the ridiculous action scenes… so much fun.

  9. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Too many of the old song-and-dance movies were very weakly plotted, with just enough plot to string things together between musical numbers. Mitty isn’t one of those. Yes, it provides ample opportunity for Danny Kaye to mug for the camera, do some hilarious song-and-dance routines (how can you not love Anatole of Paris?), and generally cut up, but they actually belong as part of the plot. Lots of fun.

  10. L.A. Confidential It was harder than I thought coming up with a tenth film, but this one deserves a spot here. A gritty film noir filled with all the elements you could want - dirty cops, femme fatales, Hollywoord in its heyday. Add in Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, and James Cromwell, and you’ve got a great film.

Now, then, who to tag? Rae. CanaDan. Bridget.

Christians and Sin in the Movies

There’s been a good discussion going on over at The Rabbit Room regarding how Christians should deal with profanity and other sin portrayed in movies.

It started with a thread where Andrew Peterson recommended the movie Once, but warned of “the F-bomb” being used 30 or so times. After that comment thread got interesting, he followed up with a post titled “He Said A Wordy Dird”, where he explored his thoughts on the use of strong language. 46 comments, and good discussion that thread. Finally, Ron Block chimed in with an excellent post summarizing his views on how we approach art.

The discussion in the comment threads has been very good: respectful, thoughtful, and not without controversy. If you haven’t yet checked out the Rabbit Room, go take a look. The topics aren’t always this controversial, but the writing is good and the topics thoughtful.