Author Topic: Second Cousin Once Removed Of Film Poll: XVII  (Read 23848 times)

Ocicat

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on: January 30, 2008, 08:40:49 PM
Last week Citizen Kane couldn't quite beat out the geek factor that is Empire.  But this is the last poll Empire will be in - it will either be beaten, or be retired. 

This week's new films are a bit low on geek factor and heavy on more mainstream popularity.  The random pick this time included both IMDB's #1 and #2 top rated movies of all time.  And the other's aren't shabby either.  Fight!



lowky

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Reply #1 on: January 31, 2008, 01:34:12 AM
Well I enjoyed Shawshank, and what can you say about a classic like the godfather.  I voted for sixth sense.  I think Empire was better, but voting for it is like voting for an independent candidate in the US presidential election, wasting your vote. 


stePH

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Reply #2 on: January 31, 2008, 01:49:44 AM
I can't consider Shawshank or The Sixth Sense even remotely in the same league as the others.  Shawshank was a decent adaptation of King's story, but otherwise nothing special.  The Sixth Sense hangs entirely upon the twist at the end, and even so I think it a mediocre film that I wouldn't watch a second time -- though it was better than Signs.

Though I thought The Godfather was a great film (only slightly diminished by its sequels), and watching Oz every year on TV was an essential part of my childhood, I voted Empire.

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Tango Alpha Delta

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Reply #3 on: January 31, 2008, 03:01:41 AM
I can't consider Shawshank or The Sixth Sense even remotely in the same league as the others.  Shawshank was a decent adaptation of King's story, but otherwise nothing special. 


NOTHING SPECIAL!!!   (Words fail... visions crumble... the ground opens wide...)

Okay, I know that "mileage may vary", and I'm not really upset or trying to convince you that you are a big, unfeeling, heartless, brainless .... um, scratch that last bit....

But seriously, there are a very few movies that I point to as all-time favorites, and would be willing and able to defend with references, quotations, and anecdotal evidence of the life-changing impact they had on me.  One is The Fisher King, and the other is Shawshank Redemption.

I don't suppose you want my life story (though the tale of Ketchup Girl might make a good Pseudopod... as would most of my dating life), but I was profoundly moved by that film.  The root of it -- "Get busy livin', or get busy dying" -- was brought into sharp focus for me by the events of the rest of the story; and the parallels I discovered later between being unjustly sent to prison (which hasn't happened to me) and being ground down by a lousy stint in the military (which has) were close enough that the film actually worked to help me survive that experience.  I knew guys like Brooks (the old man that hung himself after being paroled from a 40+ year sentence), and I knew guys like the guards (had to salute some of them and call them sir, though I would have preferred smacking them with sticks).  And I realized I had to be smart, and bide my time; stay focused on my Zihuatanejo.

This was the first slam-dunk, no question about which one I'm voting for poll in the whole series, but I see once again, I am alone.  *sigh*  Just me and Ron Paul on prom night, again.

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Reply #4 on: January 31, 2008, 03:26:35 AM
I went with the Wizard of Oz. Of the only other two I've seen, I haven't seen ESB in a very long time (maybe I should fix that) and haven't voted for it yet, and Sixth Sense was fine but it wasn't one of the greats. Plus, I can't turn down a movie that not only was excellent in its own right, but spawned Wicked to boot.

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stePH

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Reply #5 on: January 31, 2008, 03:50:33 AM
I can't consider Shawshank or The Sixth Sense even remotely in the same league as the others.  Shawshank was a decent adaptation of King's story, but otherwise nothing special. 


NOTHING SPECIAL!!!   (Words fail... visions crumble... the ground opens wide...)

Okay, I know that "mileage may vary", and I'm not really upset or trying to convince you that you are a big, unfeeling, heartless, brainless .... um, scratch that last bit....

But seriously, there are a very few movies that I point to as all-time favorites, and would be willing and able to defend with references, quotations, and anecdotal evidence of the life-changing impact they had on me.  One is The Fisher King, and the other is Shawshank Redemption.
Hey, I loved the novella ... it was easily the best of the four in Different Seasons.  The movie just didn't quite capture it for me -- Stand by Me was a better adaptation out of the same book.

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DKT

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Reply #6 on: January 31, 2008, 06:50:49 PM
No contest this week, I guess.  ESB all the way for me.  Although I think the others are great, amazingly crafted films. 


Darwinist

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Reply #7 on: January 31, 2008, 07:01:07 PM
I can't consider Shawshank or The Sixth Sense even remotely in the same league as the others.  Shawshank was a decent adaptation of King's story, but otherwise nothing special. 


NOTHING SPECIAL!!!   (Words fail... visions crumble... the ground opens wide...)


Ditto.  Shawshank was amazing.  It hit me more that ESB.  Really tough vote...... I thought all were excellent.

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Reply #8 on: January 31, 2008, 07:17:37 PM
I really like Shawshank, but it's not over the top special.  I see TAD's personal connection to it, but I don't have that.  It is a film I can sit down and watch whenever it's on and in whichever language it's in.  I think that's more because it's so comfortable to watch.  But it just doesn't have any greatness in it.



Tango Alpha Delta

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Reply #9 on: February 01, 2008, 01:17:07 AM
I can't consider Shawshank or The Sixth Sense even remotely in the same league as the others.  Shawshank was a decent adaptation of King's story, but otherwise nothing special. 


NOTHING SPECIAL!!!   (Words fail... visions crumble... the ground opens wide...)

Okay, I know that "mileage may vary", and I'm not really upset or trying to convince you that you are a big, unfeeling, heartless, brainless .... um, scratch that last bit....

But seriously, there are a very few movies that I point to as all-time favorites, and would be willing and able to defend with references, quotations, and anecdotal evidence of the life-changing impact they had on me.  One is The Fisher King, and the other is Shawshank Redemption.
Hey, I loved the novella ... it was easily the best of the four in Different Seasons.  The movie just didn't quite capture it for me -- Stand by Me was a better adaptation out of the same book.

Did you ever see "Apt Pupil"?  I haven't... just that you reminded me of it... I didn't care for the story as much as I did the others in that collection, and I was surprised that they turned it into a film.  Hasn't clawed its way up the Netflix queue, yet.

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stePH

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Reply #10 on: February 01, 2008, 02:01:45 AM
Did you ever see "Apt Pupil"?  I haven't... just that you reminded me of it... I didn't care for the story as much as I did the others in that collection, and I was surprised that they turned it into a film.  Hasn't clawed its way up the Netflix queue, yet.

"Apt Pupil" was an okay story.  The less said about the film, the better. :-X
« Last Edit: February 01, 2008, 02:04:24 AM by stePH »

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Simon

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Reply #11 on: February 01, 2008, 09:04:55 AM
Wont be voting for any more of these...

George Lucas for fucks sake, and not only that but half a George Lucas film...  And not only that, but after 3 weeks of a bloody Spielberg/Lucas collaboration.

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« Last Edit: February 01, 2008, 10:19:33 AM by Simon »



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Reply #12 on: February 01, 2008, 10:32:51 AM
Sixth Sense for me.  It's still, with the possible exception of Unbreakable, the smartest, most dialled back movie he's done and the final scene just breaks my heart.  Plus, I really, really like it when I get wrong footed by a movie:)



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Reply #13 on: February 01, 2008, 12:30:43 PM
Did you ever see "Apt Pupil"?  I haven't... just that you reminded me of it... I didn't care for the story as much as I did the others in that collection, and I was surprised that they turned it into a film.  Hasn't clawed its way up the Netflix queue, yet.

"Apt Pupil" was an okay story.  The less said about the film, the better. :-X

What?!?!  I LOVED Apt Pupil.  It wasn't the novella, but that was okay with me.  Ian McKellan scared the hell out of me in that movie and Brad Renfro was pretty disturbing. 


Tango Alpha Delta

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Reply #14 on: February 01, 2008, 12:44:26 PM

Like going to a jazz festival and finding you're the only one not wearing a Kenny G t-shirt


Ha!  Do they make Freddie Hubbard t-shirts?

I'd opt out, too, but a) my favorite movies wouldn't get any votes, and b) I already shot my mouth off in another thread about how important it is to vote.  :)

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stePH

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Reply #15 on: February 01, 2008, 01:47:41 PM
"Apt Pupil" was an okay story.  The less said about the film, the better. :-X

What?!?!  I LOVED Apt Pupil.  It wasn't the novella, but that was okay with me.  Ian McKellan scared the hell out of me in that movie and Brad Renfro was pretty disturbing. 
It could get somewhat dull if we all agreed on everything, wouldn't it?  :)

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Darwinist

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Reply #16 on: February 04, 2008, 07:10:08 PM
ESB continues to dominate.  Is there a movie out there that could beat ESB considering most of us voters are sci-fi geeks? 

For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.    -  Carl Sagan


Simon

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Reply #17 on: February 04, 2008, 07:33:32 PM
I like to think in my darkest heart that one of the below could kick its ass:

2001: A Space Odyssey
Gattaca
Solaris
The Thing
Aliens

But to be honest, I doubt it... 



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Reply #18 on: February 04, 2008, 07:52:22 PM
"Apt Pupil" was an okay story.  The less said about the film, the better. :-X

What?!?!  I LOVED Apt Pupil.  It wasn't the novella, but that was okay with me.  Ian McKellan scared the hell out of me in that movie and Brad Renfro was pretty disturbing. 
It could get somewhat dull if we all agreed on everything, wouldn't it?  :)

Hell no!  ;)
I like to think in my darkest heart that one of the below could kick its ass:

2001: A Space Odyssey
Gattaca
Solaris
The Thing
Aliens

But to be honest, I doubt it... 

Not for me, at least.


Darwinist

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Reply #19 on: February 04, 2008, 08:00:48 PM
I like to think in my darkest heart that one of the below could kick its ass:

2001: A Space Odyssey
Gattaca
Solaris
The Thing
Aliens

But to be honest, I doubt it... 

Maybe 2001.   Never saw The Thing but I liked the others - including both versions of Solaris.  But I don't think the bottom four on the list could pull it off. 

For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.    -  Carl Sagan


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Reply #20 on: February 04, 2008, 08:14:36 PM
Fight Club should have won way back... :P

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


Simon

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Reply #21 on: February 04, 2008, 09:19:31 PM
The Thing...  Now *that* is a John Carpenter movie...

We haven't had nearly enough Carpenter on this list yet.



Darwinist

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Reply #22 on: February 04, 2008, 09:29:57 PM
The Thing...  Now *that* is a John Carpenter movie...

We haven't had nearly enough Carpenter on this list yet.

I'll have to add to the NetFlix list.  Not sure how I missed seeing it before.  Is it by chance about those crazy little dudes from Cat In The Hat?   ;)

For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.    -  Carl Sagan


Ocicat

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Reply #23 on: February 04, 2008, 09:30:23 PM
I like to think in my darkest heart that one of the below could kick its ass:

2001: A Space Odyssey
Gattaca
Solaris
The Thing
Aliens

But to be honest, I doubt it... 

2001 already had it's chance, it went down back in week 8, and lost to Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  Actually it was third, with Blade Runner also getting knocked out.

Gattaca and Aliens, and The Thing are on the list, but won't get a chance to knock out ESB, since it's being retired.

Solaris isn't on the list.  I disliked the original Russian version (and doubt enough people have seen it), and never saw the recent American version.  Do folks think either one deserves a spot?



Darwinist

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Reply #24 on: February 04, 2008, 09:36:06 PM

Solaris isn't on the list.  I disliked the original Russian version (and doubt enough people have seen it), and never saw the recent American version.  Do folks think either one deserves a spot?

No.  I don't think either one has a chance.

I'll have to look back at the original 2001 vote.  I wonder how close it was. 

For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.    -  Carl Sagan