2.10.2008

Because we all need goals

Ah, life as a 2nd semester 3L. The time when you live it up. You never go to class, read, nor commit to other obligations. All you need to do is relax, keep from failing, and bask in the glory that comes from the high-paying job you’ve had secured for several months now.

And then there’s me. I’m behind in my classes, working too much, way over committed to things that aren’t even law or law school related (nor in the same city), have far too much to do for my Journal, and am still unemployed (with still no prospects to change that). Yet in the midst of all that, I’ve decided to partake in a new endeavor. One so bold it must be proclaimed as to be held publicly accountable. I am going to watch the top 95 movies ever made, as ranked by IMDB. Why 95? Because 96-128 are all ranked the same (8.2, in case you were wondering). If these movies are all ranked the same, I really can’t justify watching 5 and not the other 23. Also, is 95 any more arbitrary than 100?

In looking over this list, I’m surprised I haven’t seen more of these films. As for deadlines, that’s the hard part. There’s no point to having a goal with no deadline. I originally planned on doing this by the end of the semester. Of course when I came up with that deadline, I thought I’d only have 25-30 movies to watch. Turns out I have 62 to watch. With 14 weeks until the Sunflower Ceremony, that would come out to 4-5 movies a week. You know, I might be able to do that. Hmmmm….. I’ll keep you all posted on my progress. So far I have Il Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, and I plan on seeing that tonight. I should have Rear Window by the end of the week. I’m looking forward to this.

Here’s what I need to see:(rank, rating, title)
4. 8.9 Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966)
7. 8.8 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
9. 8.8 Casablanca (1942)
10. 8.8 Shichinin no samurai (1954)
12. 8.8 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
14. 8.7 Rear Window (1954)
15. 8.7 There Will Be Blood (2007)
17. 8.7 Cidade de Deus (2002)
19. 8.7 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
20. 8.7 C'era una volta il West (1968)
22. 8.6 Psycho (1960)
23. 8.6 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
25. 8.6 The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
27. 8.6 North by Northwest (1959)
28. 8.6 Memento (2000)
29. 8.6 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
30. 8.6 Sunset Blvd. (1950)
32. 8.5 Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
34. 8.5 No Country for Old Men (2007)
38. 8.5 American Beauty (1999)
39. 8.5 Léon (1994)
41. 8.5 Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, Le (2001)
44. 8.5 Paths of Glory (1957)
45. 8.5 M (1931)
46. 8.4 Chinatown (1974)
48. 8.4 The Third Man (1949)
49. 8.4 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
50. 8.4 Leben der Anderen, Das (2006)
51. 8.4 A Clockwork Orange (1971)
52. 8.4 Alien (1979)
54. 8.4 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
56. 8.4 Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001)
57. 8.4 The Pianist (2002)
60. 8.4 Boot, Das (1981)
61. 8.4 The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
65. 8.4 Requiem for a Dream (2000)
66. 8.4 Untergang, Der (2004)
68. 8.4 Aliens (1986)
69. 8.4 The Maltese Falcon (1941)
70. 8.4 Metropolis (1927)
72. 8.3 Rashômon (1950)
74. 8.3 Modern Times (1936)
75. 8.3 Hotel Rwanda (2004)
77. 8.3 Singin' in the Rain (1952)
78. 8.3 Rebecca (1940)
79. 8.3 Sjunde inseglet, Det (1957)
80. 8.3 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
81. 8.3 All About Eve (1950)
82. 8.3 Some Like It Hot (1959)
83. 8.3 The Great Escape (1963)
84. 8.3 On the Waterfront (1954)
86. 8.3 Vita è bella, La (1997)
87. 8.3 Touch of Evil (1958)
88. 8.3 City Lights (1931)
89. 8.3 The Prestige (2006)
90. 8.3 The Elephant Man (1980)
91. 8.3 Jaws (1975)
92. 8.3 Full Metal Jacket (1987)
93. 8.3 The Sting (1973)
94. 8.3 Nuovo cinema Paradiso (1988)
95. 8.3 The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Edit: Turns out it's only 61. I missed The Matrix on the list.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

So I thought, "62! Surely I've watched more of those movies than that." As it turns out, though many of them are different from the ones that you haven't watched, I have also failed to see 62 of 95. I notice that you have seen all the gangster movies... Something you need to tell us?

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Actually, I own each of those gangster movies.

-Ex.Coll

Anonymous said...

Obviously, you need to see The Lord of the Rings movies in order of release.

By the way, my wife, who doesn't particularly care for those kind of movies, was completely captivated.

Enjoy

Los Chupacabras

Ex.Coll. said...

Chup, those and the Harry Potter movies are some that I am seriously considering not seeing. I just have absolutely no interest in them. However, I'll probably watch them just for the sake of completing my list. Who knows, maybe I'll be surprised.

Anonymous said...

45 for me. And to be fair, I don't fault myself for not seeing those movies on the list that came out during the last 5 semesters (e.g. No Country for Old Men). Beyond that, there are only 5 unseen movies that I care about. One of them is a CLASSIC gangster film. I bet you own it.

--hawkmcgee

Anonymous said...

You've got to see the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Harry Potters. The visual effects in LoR are just stunning and the story is wonderful and deep. As for Harry Potter . . . they're fun; get on board. By the way, how do you have two kids and not have seen those movies?

-thinkc

Ex.Coll. said...

Thinkc, who ever said I had kids, much less two. Maybe you got me mixed up with Ruth.

While visuals are nice, I need more than that to see a movie. And while no one whose seen them have ever told me they didn't like them, I'm just not into those kinds of stories. That said, I'll probably end up seeing them anyway.

As for the current movies, I think No Country and There Will Be Blood, I think those are going to be the hardest for me to see before the Sunflower Ceremony.

Anonymous said...

Lord of the Rings may be fantasy, but it's a wonderful Christian allegory (the husband's Catholic school made them read it in middle school). And it's just exciting.

How have you not seen Jaws?

-jennybelle

Ex.Coll. said...

Re: Jaws

Probably the same way I've never seen Psycho.

A said...

43.