Mick LaSalle's 20 Best (US) Movies of the Millennium ...

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by prototoast

Inglourious Basterds is one of my favorite movies, and I think the fact it's not for everyone is part of what makes it great for some. Because of commercial motivation, so many prominent movies that come out today are designed to have as broad an appeal as possible, but at the expense of creating a really a really extraordinary experience for a smaller group of people.

agreed.

im a tarrantino fan, all the way around.

i think hateful eight and django were also excellent movies.

the irishman was, IMO, an abomination.

[nmrt]

i am sure you know but Rotten is not saying that critics gave the movie 90%. It is saying that 90% of critics liked the movie. Rotten does not say how much 90% of the critics liked the movie.

Originally Posted by eddief

I go see the movie and wonder what's up with the critics? How could they possibly rate a movie so high. As in the new Little Women. Super high ratings across the board with the exception of Rex Reed...who I agree with totally. Just a movie and nothing to get hung about.

https://observer.com/2019/12/little-...onan-rex-reed/

[slowpoke]

Mick LaSalle’s top 20 of the past 20 years is weak. The Irishman and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood are two overrated and out-of-touch movies. Both needed more editing. The former is for seniors at the twilight of their lives and the latter is for middle-aged men who dream of an era when violence solved everything.

LaSalle seems to have an affinity for Scorsese. I would’ve swapped out The Irishman for The Departed, which was far more intriguing (yes, I know it’s a remake of Infernal Affairs).

And while I haven’t seen Blue is the Warmest Color, my lesbian friends have shat on the movie it's straight males idealizing lesbian sex, i.e. girl-on-girl fantasies.

Glaring omissions..

- Wes Andersen (mentioned by other commenters)
- Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight)
- Villeneuve (Sicario, The Arrival, Blade Runner 2049)

Also, there are no films from Asia, when Korean films have offered some fresh air in the past decade. Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite should be on there.

All in all, Mick LaSalle is no Ebert, and doesn't seem to be a better barometer than my Lyft driver who told me they loved Thor Ragnorak (which I also dug).

[weisan]

I am a movie junkie, I watched a lot of movies, both the "good" and the "bad", I am non-selective.

The thing I don't like about picking top movies is....

There are all kinds of movies, classified under different genres, in different languages, from countries all over the world. Nobody, even if they try, could have covered all the grounds or seen everything that is out there. Thus, the title highlighted (US only).

They are many high-quality, "award-winning" foreign films that are not popular in the US or flew under the radar.

That's point #1.

Point #2...

I noticed the way people pick movies is almost like an ego trip proving their intelligence or level of sophistication. If you pick a movie that is too vanilla, you might be mistaken to be simple-minded, or uneducated, even though you really enjoyed that movie, it resonated deeply within you, it touched you at an emotional or personal level and to the point that you keep playing it back in your head....despite the fact that this movie will never make it to somebody's top list or win an academy.

So what now?

Are we really gonna be honest and talk about movies that make "our list" or just the ones that we think will get public approval or make us look good?

I will lead by example....

For starters, I like:

As good as it gets
Family man
Hero (Chinese)
Kill Bill (both vol 1&2)
House of flying daggers (Chinese)
King Arthur
Highlander (first one)
Fifty shades trilogy
Saving private ryan

Just to name a few...

[slowpoke]

Originally Posted by weisan

Are we really gonna be honest and talk about movies that make "our list" or just the ones that we think will get public approval or make us look good?

The role of a critic here when making a list is similar to that of a curator. Their job is to open up some eyes and hopefully show us some good things we've missed. I don't think LaSalle did that too well here.

[Matthew]

I'm with you weisan with Saving Private Ryan. I also love Braveheart and The Patriot. And 12 Years a Slave was great as well.

[DRZRM]

Are we counting a thousand years back from 2019 to define the millennium? Why are we talking about Groundhog Day, Bladerunner, and Willie Wanka (awesome movies all, I admit)? And what are you trying to tell us if two of your favorite Top Twenty of the Millennium are Mel Gibson movies from last century? Why not throw Rosemary's Baby and Annie Hall in there?

[FlashUNC]

Art is ultimately subjective but that is a terrible and bad list. Mick should feel bad. Both lists are a mess.

[Matthew]

Umm, not trying to tell you anything. Just happen to like those two movies. Sorry I picked from the wrong century.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by DRZRM

Are we counting a thousand years back from 2019 to define the millennium? Why are we talking about Groundhog Day, Bladerunner, and Willie Wanka (awesome movies all, I admit)? And what are you trying to tell us if two of your favorite Top Twenty of the Millennium are Mel Gibson movies from last century? Why not throw Rosemary's Baby and Annie Hall in there?

Agree, like a lot of threads like this and ‘best’ lists of anything in general, it gets OT real fast. It was about the last 20 years....not ‘last century’ movies. AND it’s about movies, not world peace or climate change. ‘Entertainment’...and since we are generally ‘mericans, not Chinese, and sub titles or miss-matched dialog to mouths, that wears me out. NOT being xenophobic, just want to be entertained, not ‘educated’...

Did like Knives Out...just saw it

[Hawker]

Originally Posted by Matthew

I'm with you weisan with Saving Private Ryan. I also love Braveheart and The Patriot. And 12 Years a Slave was great as well.

Movies I can't flip past without stopping to watch.

Also, Shawshank Redemption...what a great movie!

[eddief]

but i think those 90%ers are still way way out there compared to the movies i have walked out of lately = Irishman, Little Women, Blade Runner 2049, etc.

Originally Posted by nmrt

i am sure you know but Rotten is not saying that critics gave the movie 90%. It is saying that 90% of critics liked the movie. Rotten does not say how much 90% of the critics liked the movie.

[XXtwindad]

It's bizarre how many random members here hated the "Irishman." Makes you wonder what all the critics were raving about …

[Mzilliox]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

It's bizarre how many random members here hated the "Irishman." Makes you wonder what all the critics were raving about …

i constantly wonder at the crap critics rave about. the last 3 years of film have been particularly sucky, and every year im fed some crap about whichever the flavor of the day is, then nobody ever talks about that movie ever again, because it wasnt good.

lot of that

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

It's bizarre how many random members here hated the "Irishman." Makes you wonder what all the critics were raving about …

I rather enjoyed it.