the giraffe's Listal 16 day movie meme

Mary and Max

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:55:01 GMT

Day 1 - Best Film discovery from another Listal member or list

Jaytoast - Top Movies of 2009
and
Cal's List of the Greatest Films You've Never Seen
...as well as countless other high ratings from other Listal members. When I watched it earlier this year it took the top spot in my Best movies of 2009 list, #6 in my Best of 00s list, and joined my all-time favorite films. Simply amazing.

Le Corbeau

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 22:45:56 GMT

Day 2 - Obscure film discovery. I would have never watched this film unless...

History of Horror by diabolical dr voodoo

diabolical dr voodoo has compiled the most exhaustive list of horror films I've ever seen, so when I was creating my own "Horror favorites" lists for each decade I used his list as a reference. Not only did it remind me of a few I've seen and hadn't thought of in a while, but it provided me with a slew of films I hadn't heard of to check out. Le Corbeau was among them, a French film with no ties to Edgar Allan Poe's famous work. I noticed it was available to watch instantly on Netflix, so I added it to my queue. About a week later Netflix decided to take it down, so I stayed up way too late to watch it & didn't regret the lack of sleep at all the next day.

I could tell you what it's about, but since I went into it knowing nothing I prefer to do the same for others.

Buried

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 17:09:00 GMT

Day 3 - Movie Review that swayed you to watch a film

lotr23's review

I rarely ever read a review of a film I want to see before I check it out, so there was only one choice here. Honestly I'd forgotten I wanted to see this film before coming across lotr23's review. I saw the trailer once & was intrigued, but his review encouraged me to go ahead & check it out. It wound up in my top 10 for 2010.

The Orphanage

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 17:11:14 GMT

Day 4 - Most Disappointing Movie watched after hearing about it on Listal

Among my contacts, The Orphanage has an average rating of 7.9, which encouraged me to check it out. The film is made well enough (solid acting, interesting premise, solid storytelling, great cinematography, etc.), but I figured out where it was going at the halfway mark & it never bothered to prove me wrong. And the final scene was just stupid. Its predictability worked against it in my book and severely drove down its rating.

Apocalypse Now

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 22:02:47 GMT

Day 5 - Movie List that you still use to find a movie

100+ Awesome Netflix Instant Flicks by BoomBoom3000

Since my daughter was born last year, Netflix instant watch is my primary dealer for my movie fix. BoomBoom3000's list is full of films I already loved when I first came across it, so my interest in the ones I hadn't seen yet went up & many of these I've checked out since or still plan to.

Seven

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 17:15:46 GMT

Day 6 - Favorite Film List

Facts about my movie-watching by Kris

Kris's list is perfection in my book. Much like the memes that have become so popular of late, "Facts about my movie-watching" provides great insight into Kris's tastes in film and just how enthusiastic he is about watching movies. Unlike the memes, however, his is (for now) a true original and I'm surprised that Listal users haven't taken his idea & run with it (if any have, I haven't seen it yet). One day I may create my own list similar to it, though I'm reluctant to make a movie version just so his will continue to stand alone.

Runner-up: Few things I love about cinema by eleonora

Mothra

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 18:53:13 GMT

Day 7 - I always vote for a film list if it has this...

A sense of humor and/or thoughtful analysis

Top 10 Weird Giant Movie Monsters by Pumpkinate

Let’s face it, an insect as benign as a moth is a rather strange choice to enlarge into a giant, intimidating monster. They’re not aggressive by any stretch and don’t even possess the ability to bite or sting; they simply fly around and repeatedly slam into light fixtures. Making said monster fuzzy and imbuing it with a color scheme that suggests candy would tumble out of its body if it were struck hard enough isn’t exactly helping things either. As her cinematic appearances wore on, Mothra began to sport increasingly fanciful powers that would make an entomologist weep, including (but not limited to) plasma beams, generating a poisonous powder that could reflect energy, and shooting quill-like stingers from her abdomen. This concept was taken even further when she starred in her own trilogy of films during the 90’s and displayed a Pokémon-like ability to evolve into different, specialized forms (like an armored body or one that could swim underwater). The crazy superpowers can be somewhat excused in that Mothra is supposed to be a mystical being, but it doesn’t make them any less bizarre.

Also, she has a larval form that looks like a colossal dog turd. There, I said it.

Jedi of the Caribbean: Curse of a New Hope by KCenturion

Will Turner could be Luke Skywalker

Connections:
- - Both have a world-changing destiny.
- - Both are very skilled with a sword.
- - After leading eventless lives for their first 20 years, they are thrown head first into an unforgettable adventure.
- - Both were orphaned from a young age.
- - Both provide humourless roles.
- - Both of their fathers were corrupted by a dark power.
- - They share a kiss with the female lead. Related or not.

Evolution

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 17:19:04 GMT

Day 8 - A type of film list I never vote for...

Here's the perfect example: The evolution of Megan Fox

I refuse to vote for the majority of lists with the current "it's a good thing you're attractive, because you've got nothing else going for you" poster-child (if you're making fun of her I'm more likely to vote). The moment I see that idiot I move onto another list. As for the "evolution" lists, I dislike them because A) they're basically a list version of what movies somebody has been a part of, and if I needed to know what movies an actor has done I can find out on his/her page (or IMDb)...and B) the vast majority of people don't continually evolve/improve themselves over time (this list being a prime example). "Evolution" therefore is a misnomer.

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 02:11:01 GMT

Day 9 - A List that deserves more attention

Indiana Jones & Die Hard: A Shared History by JMan616

So brilliant, I don't know why I'd never thought of it before.

Grown Ups

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 17:36:36 GMT

Day 10 - A Film you have avoided watching thanks to a review/list warning

(I imagine this is everyone's reaction to watching this film)

The number of negative reviews and lists that include this among the worst films of 2010/ever is far too great for me to even choose which to provide a link to. I'd initially wanted to see this simply because it reunited a handful of actors I once loved watching on Saturday Night Live, despite the involvement of Kevin James (who pretty much sucks). Once the reviews started rolling out, however, I crossed it off my "Want-to-watch" list.

Commando

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 18:22:19 GMT

Day 11 - Listal member whose reviews you can usually trust

PvtCaboose91's reviews

If you've seen any of my lists where I've linked to reviews, PvtCaboose91 shows up a LOT and with good reason. More often than not his views reflect/echo my own, but even when we disagree he consistently provides a well-written and thoughtful read.

Runners-up: Xanadon't, lotr23, KCenturion and AgentLexi

The Extra Man

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 01:41:36 GMT

Day 12 - A Listal Member who inspires your movie choices

Xanadon't

Moreso than anyone else on Listal, I find myself following Xanadon't's recommendations the most often, to the point where we end up watching some of the same movies each month (whether on purpose or not). We regularly let each other know when we've found a little-known gem (like The Extra Man), and have discussions on films whenever we get the chance to compare notes & share our thoughts. We may not always agree on a film (though when we do you can definitely count on whatever we say about it), but even when we disagree it's respectfully and usually a matter of taste/mood/him being more critical than I am in general. ;)

Putting this list together without putting his name under the majority of these categories wasn't easy, but this isn't my "celebration of Xanadon't" list. :P

Honorable mention goes to the following parties for their inspiration as well (in no particular order): jaytoast, johanlefourbe, drugs, phillydude, PvtCaboose91, lotr23, Bml93, Frank White, and Kris

Memento

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 22:05:29 GMT

Day 13 - A List that inspired you to create your own list

30 days, 30 movies and 30 lists by johanlefourbe

Johan's list of others who had created "30 Days, 30 Movies" lists (including his own) encouraged me to get on the ball and make my own 30 day movie list so it could be included on his before he reached 30 people. I had so much fun making my movie list that I decided to create 30 day lists for other areas as well.

Drag Me to Hell

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 01:53:27 GMT

Day 14 - A List that inspired you to improve the way you make lists

A Year of Horror - 2009 by jaytoast

That'd be the main one, but all of his Year of Horror lists caused me to step up the way my lists look. I love the way those lists look (well, the completed ones anyway haha), and how they present an image from each film, links to Listal reviews, trailers, and comments sprinkled throughout. I love the way it's broken into categories, and oh that pretty pretty blood image that leads off each section.

Ever since I first came across those lists my lists have improved I think, though now & then I fall back on using only images just because I prefer saying as little as possible about films most of the time. Now if I could just figure out how he got the blockquotes to sit beside the images...

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 02:04:41 GMT

Day 15 - A Listal member whose lists you look forward to seeing

drugs

Miz drugs creates a wide variety of lists, which means there's something for everyone. When it comes to films, she's seen an impressive range of films considering her age and her taste is very close to my own. We also have similar taste in music, which has given us a lot to talk about. Every time I notice she's posted a new list I rush to check it out, and I'm almost always pleased with what I see.

Runners-up: (again in no particular order) everyone else named in this list, Nocturne, Kami-chan, Maary, Hacksaw Hamza, propelas, Zozoulini, Zaishe, From Superior Genes, Orlok, CHANi, AFIoscar, Film Ninja, Aira, Nonfictionguy, quisma88, and LWinters

Mother

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 23:03:22 GMT

Day 16 - If you had to pick only one of your film lists to showcase it would be...

Best movies of 2010

I have "Best movies of" lists for 1977 through 2010 now, but the 2010 list is a bit different from the rest. There's some of everything in that list, and I plan on it being the design idea for the rest of my "Best movies of" lists for 2011-2019 (assuming I'll still be here that long, of course, though right now I see no reason to not be).