toddly6666

We all love to throw the words "best" and "masterpiece" and "a review of four out of four stars" around, but i'm just curious how honest people are with themselves.

Star Trek, The Dark Knight, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Pixar-animated films, for example, are the last bunch of films that I noticed that got generally perfect review scores at around release dates. I do like these films but I wasn't totally blown away by them.

I have loved a lot of films in the past 15 years, but they generally seem to usually be the "fair" to "good" (ranging from 2 and half stars to 3 and a half stars) reviewed films.

And furthermore, many films graded at 4 stars around initial release get dated fast and don't seem as amazing after all the hype and initial excitement cools off.

For me, I think the last film that I saw that got high praise during initial release (4 stars from many movie critics) that I was actually blown away during initial release and still deserves 4 stars is Michael Mann's HEAT.

Can anyone think of any other recent films (post-1990s) off the top of your head that you really think deserve a perfect review of 4 our of 4 stars? What I'm trying to figure out from everyone is what super-high, perfect reviewed films (4 out of 4 stars) did you really think deserve a perfect score at initial release and still deserve a perfect score? Don't list films that got generally decent reviews that you personally think are masterpieces (for me, I personally think Matrix, Gladiator, Hero, The New World, The Fall are masterpieces but they all just got decent "3-star" reviews). What films got called masterpieces on initial release and are still considered masterpieces in your eyes?

RichC2

It's tough to know whats considered a "4 star reviewed film".

Going off Meta Critic scores, both Star Trek (83) and The Dark Knight (82) averaged a 4 out of 5 in terms of absolute score. The most recent example of a big movie to almost be an actual 4-star movie was Wall-E (93), and I'm still unsure of how it managed that (it just wasn't that good.)

I think a "What movies have stood the test of time" would be a better route to go.

jeffbase34

Into the Wild. Just Beautiful, touching and amazing.

PopcornTreeCt

What critically praised films do you actually agree with?

4 stars doesn't jive with me. It's either the alphabet grading system or 5 stars.

MoviePage

Most recent?

No Country For Old Men
Wall-E

OldBoy

Good Burger

Supermallet

What rating system are you going off of? Metacritic? RT? What numerical value are you equating to four stars? 90%? 95%? 100%?

Apone

The Wrestler

naitram

Same here, I recently watched this and thought it was one of the few I've seen that actually lived up to the praise.

Deftones

Really, the only one I can think of in recent memory is The Dark Knight.

Groucho

This is the Internet, man. Everything is either "a masterpiece" or "worst film ever". THERE IS NO MIDDLE GROUND.

If you didn't like an art film that I liked, it's because "you didn't get it".
If you didn't like a popcorn movie that I liked, it's because "you need to turn your brain off an enjoy the ride".

If a lead actor dies before a film is released, it's immediately promoted to "masterpiece" status -- even before you've seen the film!

Sessa17

Don't know how far back you consider recent & I don't read reviews, so I don't know what officially has been called a "four star" movie. I see people have posted Wall-E which IMO the second half of the movie is boring & trite, so it's far from a 4-star film IMO. But off the top of my head a few that stick out as worthy of 4 stars or more would be. . .

The Lives of Others (the most flawless film I've seen in recent years)
Let The Right One In
Michael Clayton
There Will Be Blood
Tropic Thunder (I hate Jack Black & Stiller, but found this movie completely original, refreshing & funny despite how unfunny Black & Stiller are)

BullGooseLoony

I have very high standards for what constitutes as a 4-star movie. It has to be something that, even on first viewing, I know will still constitute as a classic years later.

The most recent movies I've given four stars are:

The Dark Knight
Crash (2005)
In America
Chicago
Saving Private Ryan
Titanic

A few others that I remember awarding four stars that might not be as perfect as I remember are Apt Pupil, Fight Club, and A.I..

Sessa17

Can we officially state what is considered "recent". I think I was in middle school when Titanic came out, this is hardly a recent movie. I mean if you have to go back that far to come up with a 4 star movie, you need to watch some more film.

Recent IMO is the past 3-4 years at most.

Groucho

Also, got a slow-paced vampire movie you need to market? Toss a "bully revenge fantasy" sub-plot in there and BAM! Internet masterpiece!

BullGooseLoony

I said it was one of the most recent movies I've given four stars. Considering that I can only name about six, '97 will have to do.

And I don't think it's quite fair to say that I "need to watch some more film." As it would happen, I've seen thousands and thousands of movies. I just feel that four stars is something very special, and unlike say, Roger Ebert, I don't think it comes along several times a year.

Shannon Nutt

The Dark Knight was probably the last "4 Star" movie I actually thought was worthy of the rating. I certainly have yet to see a 4 Star film in 2009.

Quake1028

The Dark Knight
The Wrestler
LotR: Return of the King

GoldenJCJ

Last Year I saw two within about a week of each other:
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood

DonTHX1378

Last ones I have seen were:
The Dark Knight
Milk
The Wrestler
Wall*E

All those films were A+ films or 4 star films. So far this year Star Trek and Watchmen were great films, but would only get an A- or a 3 and a 1/2 star grade from me.

toddly6666

Recent meaning: let's not talk about Godfather or Casablanca, just post-1990s flicks
Grading system: such as what you would see in the newspaper review section, usually a 4-star scale.

I thought that The Wrestler was one of the best films last year, but I really have no desire to see it again. I just think it's a plain ol' good film, but not a masterpiece. I don't remember it getting perfect reviews as well - just very good to good reviews...

I agree with SESSA17 that THE LIVES OF OTHERS is truely a masterpiece and totally deserving of the high reviews it got.

Sondheim

Here are the ones from the past two years that I would give four-stars, and which also got an 80 or above on Metacritic:

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Happy-Go-Lucky
Let the Right One In
No Country for Old Men
Once
Sweeney Todd
There Will Be Blood

Maybe I'm just too generous in giving out the stars, but they're all films that I really loved on first viewing, that I've felt compelled to watch more than once, and that I still like to think/talk about. None of them are flawless, and I know a lot of people would disagree with my choices - but, well...

Hokeyboy

The only films I would rate as absolute, FIVE star, masterpieces, could not be improved even if f God himself came off a cloud and offered editing tips, since the year 2000, would be:

1. Hable Con Ella
2. Mulholland Dr.
3. Synecdoche, NY

That's about it, I think. These movies are perfection.


Wait did someone actually mention Crash and Tropic Thunder? REALLY? Jeepers...

RichC2

Yeah, Mulholland Drive is my pick, but our local paper slaughtered it.

superdeluxe

LotR: TTT.

It was the best of the trilogy.