fling93 loves fishies

Andy's Response to My Movie Ratings

My cousin Andy e-mails me his own ratings of the movies on my ranked list, and they provide an interesting contrast with mine. These are listed in the order I presented, with his rating next to the film name. Films that I rated that he hadn’t seen are omitted. He also has a movie list up at Amazon, which has a few films not on this list.

Here’s my ratings of fling’s movies:

10 cute smiley fishies

The Shawshank Redemption - 7
L.A. Confidential - 8
The Godfather - 10
Aliens - 9
Braveheart - 8
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo hu cang long) - 9
Immortal Beloved - 7
Schindler’s List - 9
American Beauty - 2
Dark City - 7
The Godfather: Part II - 10
Alien - 8

All of these movies (that I’ve also seen) are great movies, except for American Beauty which is wildly unrealistic and ultimately pointless, two flaws that are fatal for a drama.

9.5 cute smiley fishies

My Fair Lady - 6
Rear Window - 5
Monsters, Inc. - 5
Blade Runner - 10
Beauty and the Beast - 7
Vertigo - 6
Psycho - 5
Taxi Driver - 2
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - 10
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - 10
Monty Python and the Holy Grail - 7
Goodfellas - 6
Pulp Fiction - 6
Silence of the Lambs - 9
Three Colors: Red (Trois couleurs: Rouge) - 9
The Princess Bride - 7
Interview with a Vampire - 6
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - 7
Notorious - 5
Fargo - 4

For some reason, about half of Hitchcock’s movies don’t really do anything for me (Psycho, Vertigo, Notorious, Rear Window) but the other half do (North By Northwest, Spellbound, etc.). Regarding Goodfellas and Pulp Fiction, they’re just examples of “stylized violence,” nothing more. I don’t consider them special, I don’t consider them classics, they’re not in the same league as LOTR or Bladerunner or even Star Trek II.

9 cute smiley fishies

Apocalypse Now - 8
Amélie (Le Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain) - 9
Contact - 7
Almost Famous - 8
Toy Story 2 - 4
Das Boot - 7
A Bug’s Life - 2
Sixth Sense - 8
Gandhi - 6
Chicago - 9
Toy Story - 6
Three Colors: Blue (Trois couleurs: Bleu) - 9
Lost in Translation - 10
Donnie Darko - 9
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring - 10
Monster - 8
Rain Man - 7

Some great movies here, but Toy Story 2 and A Bug’s Life don’t belong. They don’t even make my top 25 list of animated movies.

8.5 cute smiley fishies

Platoon - 8
The Fugitive - 6
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - 5
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - 5
Raiders of the Lost Ark - 6
Trainspotting - 7
North by Northwest - 10
The Game - 6
The Abyss - 3
Die Hard - 6
Terminator - 8
Heat - 8
Jaws - 8
Sense and Sensibility - 8
Little Mermaid - 7
Three Colors: White (Trois couleurs: Blanc) - 9
It’s a Wonderful Life - 6
Terminator 2: Judgment Day - 8
Shakespeare in Love - 5
Better Luck Tomorrow - 6
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - 6
The Piano - 3
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - 10
The Matrix - 10
X2: X-Men United - 6
Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime) - 3
The Last Temptation of Christ - 2
When Harry Met Sally - 10
Eyes Wide Shut - 3
Traffic - 6
The Age of Innocence (1993 - Daniel Day-Lewis) - 5
Cape Fear (1991 - Robert De Niro) - 5

I agree with many of the movies deserving about an 8, but you’ve got a lot of mediocre movies mixed in there, such as Age Of Innocence and Shakespeare In Love. Also, although most people would disagree, I just don’t think there’s that much to the Indiana Jones trilogy. Finally, The Abyss, The Piano, Eyes Wide Shut, and The Last Temptation of Christ are among the worst movies I’ve ever seen.

8 cute smiley fishies

Reservoir Dogs - 4
As Good as It Gets - 6
On Golden Pond - 2
Star Wars - 10
A Few Good Men - 6
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - 6
Shrek 2 - 6
Titanic - 7
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - 9
Gattaca - 7
The Matrix Reloaded - 5
In the Line of Fire - 4
To Kill a Mockingbird - 4
Breakfast at Tiffany’s - 9
Casablanca - 6
Say Anything - 3
Shine - 5
Groundhog Day - 8
Run, Lola, Run (Lola rennt) - 9
X-Men - 7
Thelma and Louise - 6
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones - 5
My Big Fat Greek Wedding - 4

Your ‘8’ is my ‘6.’

7.5 cute smiley fishies

The Firm - 6
Little Women - 7
Elizabeth - 5
Apollo 13 - 7
Face Off - 8
Leaving Las Vegas - 8
The Devil’s Advocate - 2
Born on the Fourth of July - 4
The Accidental Tourist - 7
Mission: Impossible - 6
Back to the Future - 9
Naked Gun - 7
Chasing Amy - 7
Back to the Future II - 5
Se7en - 7
La Femme Nikita - 6
The Ghost and the Darkness - 4
Heathers - 7
Dead Man Walking - 6
The English Patient - 7
Minority Report - 6
Ronin - 2
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery - 8
Kalifornia - 8
Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me - 8
Moulin Rouge - 3
The Truman Show - 4
There’s Something About Mary - 3
Misery - 5
The Tigger Movie - 7
Aladdin - 5
Amadeus - 3
The Sound of Music - 8
The Wedding Banquet - 5
E.T. - 6
Star Trek: Nemesis - 5
The Matrix Revolutions - 2
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace - 2
The Blair Witch Project - 9
Nixon - 4
Prince of Egypt - 4
Life is Beautiful (La Vita è bella) - 6

Some of the stuff here is pretty good, other stuff is mediocre. Given how good the other movies in the series were, Star Wars: Phantom Menace? and The Matrix Revolutions have got to be two of the most disappointing movies EVER.

7 cute smiley fishies

Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure - 4
Superman - 5
Grease! - 7
The Lion King - 5
Total Recall - 8
The Godfather: Part III - 7
Jurassic Park - 6
Romeo is Bleeding - 2
True Lies - 3
Lethal Weapon - 6
Top Gun - 8
Kindergarten Cop - 5
Air Force One - 6
Star Trek: First Contact - 8
Singles - 7
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi - 9
Back to the Future III - 3
Scent of a Woman - 4
Star Trek: Generations - 4
Independence Day - 5
Star Trek: Insurrection - 2
Alien Resurrection - 5
School of Rock - 6
Pump Up the Volume - 7
Scream - 8
Dead Calm - 6
The Wedding Singer - 6
Strange Days - 6
Pretty Woman - 2

Anything ‘6’ or over is worth watching I supposed if you have nothing better to do.

6.5 cute smiley fishies

A Civil Action - 4
Speed - 6
Con Air - 6
The Rock - 6
White Men Can’t Jump - 6
My Best Friend’s Wedding - 4
Batman - 6

I agree with most of the ratings here.

6 cute smiley fishies

Lethal Weapon 4 - 6

Movies are very subjective, so I’m not surprised he disagrees, particularly on American Beauty, which seems to polarize people. I also tend to be very child-like in my wonder, so I’m not surprised about our differences on the animated films, and I know Hitchcock can be infuriatingly obvious sometimes.

As for Age of Innocence, Winona Ryder’s presence possibly biased me. :)