Celebrating Great Films


Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

#36 at time of writing.

Terminator 2 left an indelible impression on my young teenage mind when I first saw it, and some 20 years later it's still very impressive. James Cameron really knows how to make a movie.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is at his best as the indomitable T-101, ultra cool right from the start. And, geniusly, even though he was such a terrifying bad guy in the first movie, by the end of this one you're rooting for him all the way.

But the film's antagonist, the T-1000, is one of the all-time greatest bad guys. Invincible, cunning, relentless - my heart races when I think of him clawing his way onto the back of the police car. And he makes thrilling use of his powers in the final battle. The special effects were mind-blowing at the time, and hold up well.

And despite these two epic rivals trying to steal the show, Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor more than holds her own. She is a beautifully complex character, strong yet flawed, who's story is intrinsic to the film's excellent plot.

There is no fate but what we make.

(On a side note, according to IMDb trivia Arnold Schwarzenegger was given a slightly used Gulfstream III airplane, worth about $14 million, by producer Mario Kassar for accepting the role. I wonder what the Governator got for T3?!)

Monday, February 25, 2013

Snapshot III - IMDb's Top 250 Films Feb 2013

It's been well over two years since I last did a snapshot of IMDb Top 250...

Since I blogged about them, 25 films have gone up in the ranking:
  • Alien (up 3 places)
  • Gone with the Wind (+4)
  • Princess Mononoke (+5)
  • Batman Begins (+6)
  • How to Train Your Dragon (+6)
  • Life of Brian (+6)
  • Oldboy (+8)
  • Rocky (+9)
  • Forrest Gump (+10)
  • The Secret in Their Eyes (+10)
  • Full Metal Jacket (+13)
  • V for Vendetta (+17)
  • Fight Club (+22)
  • The Artist (+24)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (+25)
  • Back to the Future (+26)
  • The Big Lebowski (+28)
  • The Thing (+29)
  • Howl's Moving Castle (+30)
  • Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (+32)
  • Life of Pi (+39)
  • Inception (+69)
  • Dial M for Murder (+75, maybe thanks to the release of Hitchcock?)
  • The Prestige (+119!)
  • The Dark Knight Rises (previously unranked)

2 films have stayed the same:
  • The Great Escape
  • The Lion King

And the rest have gone down. The biggest losers, including the 23 which have dropped out of the ranking altogether, are:
  • Black Swan (down 130 places)
  • Star Trek (-143)
  • Slumdog Millionaire (-161)
  • District 9 (-169)
  • The Wrestler (-181)
  • Frost/Nixon (was #243)
  • Star Wars: Episode III (was #243)
  • X-Men: First Class (was #234)
  • The Day the Earth Stood Still (was #228)
  • True Grit (was #223)
  • The Fighter (was #222)
  • 127 Hours (was #221)
  • Little Miss Sunshine (was #221) - at last!
  • Almost Famous (was #212)
  • Walk the Line (was #200)
  • In Bruges (was #193)
  • Let the Right One In (was #192)
  • Letters from Iwo Jima (was #187)
  • Zombieland (was #185)
  • Brief Encounter (was #158) - I wonder why this dropped off?
  • Duck Soup (was #147)
  • Hero (was #143)
  • the African Queen (was #136)
  • The Social Network (was #133) - deserves a place in the ranking, I think.
  • The Hangover (was #130)
  • Kill Bill 2 (was #116)
  • Drive (was #90)
  • The Incredibles (was #80) - such a huge and undeserved plummet!

My mission is 29% complete!

RankRatingTitleBlogged?
1.9.2The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
2.9.2The Godfather (1972)
3.9.0The Godfather: Part II (1974)
4.8.9Pulp Fiction (1994)
5.8.9The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
6.8.912 Angry Men (1957)
7.8.9The Dark Knight (2008)Yes
8.8.9Schindler's List (1993)
9.8.8The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
10.8.8Fight Club (1999)Yes
11.8.8Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)Yes
12.8.8The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
13.8.8One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
14.8.7Inception (2010)Yes
15.8.7Goodfellas (1990)
16.8.7Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)Yes
17.8.7Seven Samurai (1954)Yes
18.8.7Forrest Gump (1994)Yes
19.8.7The Matrix (1999)
20.8.7The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
21.8.7City of God (2002)Yes
22.8.6Se7en (1995)
23.8.6Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
24.8.6The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
25.8.6Casablanca (1942)Yes
26.8.6The Usual Suspects (1995)
27.8.6Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)Yes
28.8.6Rear Window (1954)Yes
29.8.6It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
30.8.6Psycho (1960)
31.8.6Leon (1994)
32.8.5Sunset Boulevard (1950)
33.8.5Memento (2000)Yes
34.8.5American History X (1998)
35.8.5Apocalypse Now (1979)
36.8.5Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
37.8.5Saving Private Ryan (1998)
38.8.5Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
39.8.5Alien (1979)Yes
40.8.5City Lights (1931)
41.8.5Django Unchained (2012)Yes
42.8.5North by Northwest (1959)
43.8.5Spirited Away (2001)
44.8.5Modern Times (1936)
45.8.5The Dark Knight Rises (2012)Yes
46.8.5Citizen Kane (1941)
47.8.5The Shining (1980)
48.8.5Back to the Future (1985)Yes
49.8.5The Pianist (2002)
50.8.4The Departed (2006)Yes
51.8.4Vertigo (1958)
52.8.4M (1931)
53.8.4Life Is Beautiful (1997)
54.8.4American Beauty (1999)
55.8.4Taxi Driver (1976)Yes
56.8.4Paths of Glory (1957)
57.8.4Double Indemnity (1944)
58.8.4Aliens (1986)
59.8.4Toy Story 3 (2010)Yes
60.8.4WALL·E (2008)Yes
61.8.4The Lives of Others (2006)Yes
62.8.4Untouchable (2011)
63.8.4Gladiator (2000)
64.8.4A Clockwork Orange (1971)
65.8.4The Green Mile (1999)
66.8.4Amelie (2001)
67.8.4The Great Dictator (1940)
68.8.4The Prestige (2006)Yes
69.8.4Lawrence of Arabia (1962)Yes
70.8.4To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
71.8.4Reservoir Dogs (1992)
72.8.4Das Boot (1981)Yes
73.8.4The Third Man (1949)
74.8.4Requiem for a Dream (2000)Yes
75.8.4The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
76.8.3Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)Yes
77.8.3Cinema Paradiso (1988)
78.8.3Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
79.8.3The Lion King (1994)Yes
80.8.3Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)Yes
81.8.3Full Metal Jacket (1987)Yes
82.8.3Chinatown (1974)Yes
83.8.3L.A. Confidential (1997)
84.8.3Braveheart (1995)
85.8.3Oldboy (2003)Yes
86.8.3Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
87.8.3Singin' in the Rain (1952)
88.8.3Some Like It Hot (1959)Yes
89.8.3Metropolis (1927)
90.8.3Amadeus (1984)
91.8.3Rashomon (1950)Yes
92.8.3Bicycle Thieves (1948)
93.8.32001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
94.8.3Princess Mononoke (1997)Yes
95.8.3Unforgiven (1992)
96.8.3All About Eve (1950)
97.8.3The Sting (1973)
98.8.3The Apartment (1960)
99.8.3Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
100.8.3Raging Bull (1980)
101.8.3The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
102.8.3Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
103.8.3Die Hard (1988)
104.8.3Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
105.8.3Batman Begins (2005)Yes
106.8.3A Separation (2011)
107.8.3Downfall (2004)Yes
108.8.3Yojimbo (1961)
109.8.3Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
110.8.3For a Few Dollars More (1965)
111.8.3Snatch. (2000)
112.8.3Inglourious Basterds (2009)
113.8.3The Great Escape (1963)Yes
114.8.3Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
115.8.2Up (2009)Yes
116.8.2On the Waterfront (1954)
117.8.2Toy Story (1995)
118.8.2The Elephant Man (1980)
119.8.2The Seventh Seal (1957)Yes
120.8.2Heat (1995)
121.8.2The General (1926)
122.8.2The Maltese Falcon (1941)
123.8.2Blade Runner (1982)Yes
124.8.2Rebecca (1940)
125.8.2Gran Torino (2008)Yes
126.8.2Wild Strawberries (1957)
127.8.2The Kid (1921)
128.8.2Scarface (1983)
129.8.2Fargo (1996)
130.8.2The Big Lebowski (1998)Yes
131.8.2Touch of Evil (1958)
132.8.2Ran (1985)
133.8.2The Deer Hunter (1978)
134.8.2Cool Hand Luke (1967)
135.8.2The Gold Rush (1925)
136.8.2Sin City (2005)Yes
137.8.1Avengers Assemble (2012)Yes
138.8.1It Happened One Night (1934)
139.8.1Strangers on a Train (1951)
140.8.1Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
141.8.1No Country for Old Men (2007)Yes
142.8.1Jaws (1975)
143.8.1The Sixth Sense (1999)
144.8.1Platoon (1986)
145.8.1The Thing (1982)Yes
146.8.1Casino (1995)
147.8.1Hotel Rwanda (2004)Yes
148.8.1High Noon (1952)
149.8.1Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
150.8.1Trainspotting (1996)
151.8.1The Wizard of Oz (1939)Yes
152.8.1Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)Yes
153.8.1Warrior (2011)
154.8.1Good Will Hunting (1997)
155.8.1Annie Hall (1977)
156.8.1The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)Yes
157.8.1Gone with the Wind (1939)Yes
158.8.1Notorious (1946)
159.8.1The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)Yes
160.8.1The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
161.8.1Into the Wild (2007)Yes
162.8.1Life of Brian (1979)Yes
163.8.1The King's Speech (2010)Yes
164.8.1V for Vendetta (2005)Yes
165.8.1My Neighbour Totoro (1988)
166.8.1Finding Nemo (2003)Yes
167.8.1How to Train Your Dragon (2010)Yes
168.8.1Dial M for Murder (1954)Yes
169.8.1The Big Sleep (1946)
170.8.1Network (1976)
171.8.1Ben-Hur (1959)
172.8.1The Terminator (1984)
173.8.1There Will Be Blood (2007)Yes
174.8.1The Night of the Hunter (1955)
175.8.1Million Dollar Baby (2004)
176.8.1Stand by Me (1986)
177.8.1Donnie Darko (2001)
178.8.1Groundhog Day (1993)
179.8.1Black Swan (2010)Yes
180.8.1Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
181.8.1Twelve Monkeys (1995)
182.8.1Amores Perros (2000)
183.8.1Mary and Max (2009)
184.8.1The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)Yes
185.8.1The 400 Blows (1959)
186.8.1Persona (1966)
187.8.1Gandhi (1982)Yes
188.8.1Life of Pi (2012)Yes
189.8.1Howl's Moving Castle (2004)Yes
190.8.1The Graduate (1967)
191.8.0The Killing (1956)
192.8.0The Princess Bride (1987)
193.8.0A Beautiful Mind (2001)
194.8.0 (1963)
195.8.0Slumdog Millionaire (2008)Yes
196.8.0The Hustler (1961)
197.8.0Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
198.8.0La strada (1954)
199.8.0The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
200.8.0The Artist (2011/I)Yes
201.8.0Rocky (1976)Yes
202.8.0Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
203.8.0The Wild Bunch (1969)
204.8.0The Exorcist (1973)
205.8.0Stalag 17 (1953)
206.8.0Rope (1948)
207.8.0Sleuth (1972)
208.8.0The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
209.8.0Barry Lyndon (1975)
210.8.0Infernal Affairs (2002)
211.8.0Stalker (1979)
212.8.0Memories of Murder (2003)
213.8.0District 9 (2009)Yes
214.8.0Roman Holiday (1953)
215.8.0The Truman Show (1998)
216.8.0Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)Yes
217.8.0In the Name of the Father (1993)
218.8.0The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
219.8.0The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
220.8.0Monsters, Inc. (2001)
221.8.0Ip Man (2008)
222.8.0Ratatouille (2007)
223.8.0A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
224.8.0Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)Yes
225.8.0Star Trek (2009)Yes
226.8.0A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
227.8.0Beauty and the Beast (1991)
228.8.0La Haine (1995)
229.8.0Rosemary's Baby (1968)
230.8.0Incendies (2010)
231.8.0Like Stars on Earth (2007)
232.8.0Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
233.8.0All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
234.8.0Harvey (1950)
235.8.0Shutter Island (2010)
236.8.0Rain Man (1988)
237.8.03 Idiots (2009)
238.8.0Mystic River (2003)
239.8.0The Wrestler (2008)Yes
240.8.0Manhattan (1979)
241.8.0Nosferatu (1922)
242.8.0Jurassic Park (1993)
243.8.0Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring (2003)
244.8.0Papillon (1973)
245.8.0The Help (2011)
246.8.0Big Fish (2003)
247.8.0Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
248.8.0The Untouchables (1987)
249.8.0Battleship Potemkin (1925)
250.8.0Castle in the Sky (1986)