Re: The New Yorker's "Best of the Decade"
 

This list is, like, so pretentious. I mean, there are pretentious movies on there I haven't even heard of. Some I can't even pretentiously pronounce. It's pretentious all around.

Pretentious.

Re: The New Yorker's "Best of the Decade"
 

"Pretentious" is one of those words that it seems 1% of the forum really understands. Also, "over-rated".

Re: The New Yorker's "Best of the Decade"
 

Not pretentious. He's been living in France and hardly goes to movies.

Re: The New Yorker's "Best of the Decade"
 

That list is pretentiously overrated.

Re: The New Yorker's "Best of the Decade"
 

You can't find room for any of the lord of the ring flicks, but you can find room for MIAMI freaking VICE?

Re: The New Yorker's "Best of the Decade"
 

Knocked Up is the only movie I really love on that list actually...but yeah, what a pretentious list - how "cultured" those New Yorker folks are.

Re: The New Yorker's "Best of the Decade"
 

While I do like this list a lot more, still no City of God, so fail. at least change Miami Vice for that.

Re: The New Yorker's "Best of the Decade"
 

It's pretentious to have an interest in non-Hollywood movies, or any movie not featured on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, and to think those movies are better than regular movies. It's like these cultured folks think they're better than everyone else, with their watching of un-American movies that you have to read. Hang them! Their pretentiousness is....pretentious, and must be stopped!

Re: The New Yorker's "Best of the Decade"
 

Non-American movie = UN-American movie. Fuck these fucking pretentious foreigners!! Deport 'em!!

Re: The New Yorker's "Best of the Decade"
 

I doubt if anyone on this forum even reads The New Yorker.

Re: The New Yorker's "Best of the Decade"
 

I agree that the "pretentious" accusation is little more than a cop-out, knee-jerk reaction from a lot of folks with more pedestrian taste who resent being told that things entirely unknown to them are better than what they like. That said, there does come a point when it feels as though certain people view the potential quality for something as an inverse relationship to how familiar it is to the public.

We see this even more vehemently in the world of music, where an unknown artist is "fresh" and "inspiring" and all that...until they're no longer unknown. At that point, they're "sell-outs" and the same critics in whose eyes they once could do no wrong are now artistic outcasts whose only crime, really, has been that they have succeeded in establishing an audience.

Mind, I'm not necessarily taking a side at this point; just trying to participate in a healthy debate about a subject that fascinates me.

Re: The New Yorker's "Best of the Decade"
 

The AV Club just released their list of the 50 Best Films of the 00's, with writeups:



Very nice mix of obscure and popular, English and foreign, though some choices I don't agree with at all (to this day, I do not understand all the love their pick for #2 gets, nor #9).

Also, the staff has listed their picks for movies that did not make the cut.

Re: The New Yorker's "Best of the Decade"
 

I'm kind of amazed so many people are putting 25th Hour on their lists, and so high as well. I found it to be an interesting premise and a bland execution.

Also, Waking Life? I could barely make it through that half-baked piece of shit. A Scanner Darkly, on the other hand, would make it onto my list of best of the decade.

Re: The New Yorker's "Best of the Decade"
 

Yeah, I'm not so sure about that AV Club list. I've seen 44/50. There are plenty of films on there that I like and that I would personally put on my list (If I were to make one, which I won't - other than my Top 10 posted in another thread), but there are plenty that have me scratching my head:

I just watched Morvern Callar yesterday and that wouldn't make my top 50 for that year alone, the same with Gerry and Waking Life. I liked L'enfant, Audition, AI, The Prestige, American Psycho, The New World, and 25th Hour, but I didn't give any of them above 8/10. I love everything else on the list, though, so 37/50 isn't bad.

Re: The New Yorker's "Best of the Decade"
 

This NY'ers list is so intentionally obscure, it is almost a parody of lists The New Yorker would come up with. It is like when Jack Black says in High Fidelity, "you wouldn't know who my influences are, they're mostly German" ... as if that brings him more credibility. the american picks of wes anderson, judd apatow, woody allen, and alexander payne really bring it home (even the tongue in cheek inclusion of clint eastwood's most 'meta' film).. this isn't a list, it's a projection of a specific culture they're selling.

Re: The New Yorker's "Best of the Decade"
 

MR. ELINOFF: So, J. Peterman wants to hire some of our cartoonists to illustrate your catalog?

ELAINE: Well we're hoping that if perhaps that the catalog is a little funnier,people won't be so quick to return the clothes ha ha....For example.. I..I really do....Well I love this one

(Elaine shows him the cartoon)

MR. ELINOFF: Oh! yeah... That's a rather clever jab at inter office politics don't you think.

ELAINE: Ahan, Ahan....yeah...Euh but, Why is it that the, that the animals enjoy reading the email?

MR. ELINOFF: Well Miss Benes . Cartoons are like gossamer and one doesn't dissect gossamer. heh..hemm..

ELAINE: Well you don't have to dissect if you can just tell me. Why this is suppose to be funny?

MR. ELINOFF: Ha! It's merely a commentary on contemporary mores. (slides the magazine to her)

ELAINE: But, what is the comment. (she slides the magazine back to him)

MR. ELINOFF: It's a slice of life.

ELAINE: No it isn't.

MR. ELINOFF: Pun?

ELAINE: I don't think so.

MR. ELINOFF: Vorshtein?

ELAINE: That's not a word.....You have no idea what this means do you?

MR. ELINOFF: No.

ELAINE: Then why did you print it.

MR. ELINOFF: I liked the kitty.

ELAINE: (gets up) You know what? you people should be ashamed of yourself, you know ya doodle a couple of bears at a cocktail party talking about the stock market. You think you're doing comedy.

MR. ELINOFF: Actually that's not bad..

ELAINE: Oh really (laughs) well you know..... I have others.

Re: The New Yorker's "Best of the Decade"
 

Or you know, they could actually like those films. I don't see why it matters one way or another, just some opinion, that people are bound not to agree with. I'd be shocked if any 2 people came up with the same list.

Re: The New Yorker's "Best of the Decade"
 

Re: The New Yorker's "Best of the Decade"
 

#2 is a great movie and it deserves that spot. At the very least it deserves to be in the top 10.