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“I guess I just like liking things”

December 2, 2014 Tuesday 286: 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

The “yearly” lists are getting smaller and smaller, so it seemed time to bring you an oversized one that you’ll never read all the way through.

There’s a book named 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die that has been updated a few times to include new movies and delete old ones.  I have not read any edition of the book, but if you’ve been around here at all, you know I like to respond to other’s people’s lists almost as much as I like making my own. We might as well change the name of the site to “zwolistnerd” or some such.

I thought it’d be fun (to me) for me to go through and see how many I’ve seen off the list. I used this as my guide, which includes every movie that’s ever been on the list, so it’s actually 1,167 movies long. Based on that, I have seen 24.5% of the films. I have a long way to go, I guess.

Lists like these tend to be heavy on early films, so it’s likely/probable/certain I’ll never catch up on it, but I’ve made my peace with that and you can, too.

I’ve left the numbers from the list in place rather than numbering them according to how many I’ve seen. I’m not going to comment on each of these because nobody wants that. Just tell us in the comments what your number or percent seen is.

124. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
133. Gone With the Wind (1939)
137. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
142. Fantasia (1940)
144. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
145. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
148. Pinocchio (1940)
15. Nosferatu, A Symphony of Terror (Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens) (1922)
150. Citizen Kane (1941)
158. Dumbo (1941)
165. Casablanca (1942)
199. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
239. Rio Grande (1950)
240. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
244. Strangers on a Train (1951)
245. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
252. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
253. The Quiet Man (1952)
260. High Noon (1952)
285. Rear Window (1954)
289. Seven Samurai (Shichinin no Samurai) (1954)
312. Oklahoma! (1955)
317. The Ten Commandments (1956)
347. Vertigo (1958)
355. North by Northwest (1959)
361. Ben-Hur (1959)
365. Rio Bravo (1959)
375. The Apartment (1960)
378. Psycho (1960)
386. Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
405. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
414. The Birds (1963)
432. Goldfinger (1964)
441. Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
443. A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
446. Mary Poppins (1964)
455. The Sound of Music (1965)
471. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Il Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo) (1966)
481. The Graduate (1967)
493. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
499. Planet of the Apes (1968)
506. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
507. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
510. The Producers (1968)
516. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
522. The Wild Bunch (1969)
528. Five Easy Pieces (1970)
535. M*A*S*H (1970)
541. Dirty Harry (1971)
542. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
545. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
551. Harold and Maude (1971)
557. The Last Picture Show (1971)
563. Deliverance (1972)
569. The Godfather (1972)
578. The Sting (1973)
582. American Graffiti (1973)
585. The Wicker Man (1973)
586. Enter the Dragon (1973)
60. Dracula (1931)
603. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
608. Young Frankenstein (1974)
609. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
610. Blazing Saddles (1974)
617. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
620. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
628. Jaws (1975)
63. M (1931)
633. Network (1976)
634. Carrie (1976)
635. Taxi Driver (1976)
636. Rocky (1976)
640. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
642. Star Wars (1977)
646. Annie Hall (1977)
651. Saturday Night Fever (1977)
657. Halloween (1978)
660. The Deer Hunter (1978)
663. Grease (1978)
670. Life of Brian (1979)
673. Alien (1979)
675. Manhattan (1979)
676. Apocalypse Now (1979)
678. The Muppet Movie (1979)
680. Mad Max (1979)
682. The Jerk (1979)
685. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
688. The Shining (1980)
693. Airplane! (1980)
694. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
696. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
699. Chariots of Fire (1981)
700. Body Heat (1981)
704. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
705. The Evil Dead (1982)
706. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
708. Poltergeist (1982)
710. Blade Runner (1982)
711. Diner (1982)
715. The Thing (1982)
720. A Christmas Story (1983)
723. The Big Chill (1983)
725. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
732. Scarface (1983)
737. The Terminator (1984)
738. The Natural (1984)
739. Ghostbusters (1984)
741. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
742. This is Spinal Tap (1984)
744. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
747. Amadeus (1984)
751. The Breakfast Club (1985)
756. Back to the Future (1985)
757. Brazil (1985)
768. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
773. Platoon (1986)
777. Aliens (1986)
778. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
779. The Fly (1986)
780. Top Gun (1986)
782. Stand By Me (1986)
786. Raising Arizona (1987)
79. Duck Soup (1933)
791. The Princess Bride (1987)
793. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
794. Broadcast News (1987)
796. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
797. Moonstruck (1987)
798. Wall Street (1987)
799. The Untouchables (1987)
801. Fatal Attraction (1987)
804. Bull Durham (1988)
807. The Vanishing (Spoorloos) (1988)
811. Akira (1988)
812. A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
814. The Naked Gun (1988)
817. Big (1988)
818. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)
82. King Kong (1933)
820. Rain Man (1988)
821. Die Hard (1988)
822. Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
824. RoboCop (1987)
830. When Harry Met Sally (1989)
832. Batman (1989)
833. Field of Dreams (1989)
834. Glory (1989)
840. Do the Right Thing (1989)
845. Say Anything (1989)
848. Goodfellas (1990)
850. King of New York (1990)
851. Pretty Woman (1990)
852. Dances with Wolves (1990)
855. Total Recall (1990)
856. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
859. Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
864. JFK (1991)
867. Thelma & Louise (1991)
869. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
870. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
879. The Player (1992)
880. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
883. Unforgiven (1992)
887. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
888. Candyman (1992)
893. Short Cuts (1993)
894. Schindler’s List (1993)
897. Groundhog Day (1993)
901. Jurassic Park (1993)
903. The Lion King (1994)
907. Heavenly Creatures (1994)
908. Pulp Fiction (1994)
910. Natural Born Killers (1994)
911. Muriel’s Wedding (1994)
913. Hoop Dreams (1994)
915. Clerks (1994)
917. Forrest Gump (1994)
919. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
923. Braveheart (1995)
925. Babe (1995)
926. Se7en (1995)
932. Clueless (1995)
934. Heat (1995)
935. Toy Story (1995)
936. Toy Story 2 (1999)
937. Toy Story 3 (2010)
938. Dead Man (1995)
939. The Usual Suspects (1995)
942. Strange Days (1995)
944. Fargo (1996)
948. Scream (1996)
950. The English Patient (1996)
953. Independence Day (1996)
955. The Ice Storm (1997)
957. Boogie Nights (1997)
958. L.A. Confidential (1997)
962. Titanic (1997)
964. Deconstructing Harry (1997)
971. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
972. Run Lola Run (Lola Rennt) (1998)
973. Rushmore (1998)
978. The Thin Red Line (1998)
980. Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
981. Pi (1998)
984. There’s Something About Mary (1998)
985. The Big Lebowski (1998)
986. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
987. Being John Malkovich (1999)
988. The Sixth Sense (1999)
989. Three Kings (1999)
990. Magnolia (1999)
991. Fight Club (1999)
993. American Beauty (1999)
996. The Matrix (1999)
1005. Gladiator (2000)
1008. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
1010. Memento (2000)
1011. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo Hu Cang Long) (2000)
1015. Meet the Parents (2000)
1017. Traffic (2000)
1019. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
1020. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
1021. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
1022. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
1025. Amélie (Le Fabuleux Destin d’ Amélie Poulain) (2001)
1031. Moulin Rouge (2001)
1035. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
1037. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001)
1038. Gangs of New York (2002)
1044. Adaptation. (2002)
1046. Chicago (2002)
1047. Hero (Ying Xiong) (2002)
1058. Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (2003)
1060. Lost in Translation (2003)
1066. The Passion of the Christ (2004)
1067. Collateral (2004)
1068. The Aviator (2004)
1069. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
1071. Crash (2004)
1072. Sideways (2004)
1079. The Constant Gardener (2005)
1080. Pan’s Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) (2006)
1082. Apocalypto (2006)
1084. Once (2006)
1087. The Prestige (2006)
1088. Children of Men (2006)
1091. Babel (2006)
1093. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
1094. The Departed (2006)
1097. There Will Be Blood (2007)
1100. Atonement (2007)
1102. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
1103. No Country for Old Men (2007)
1105. The Hurt Locker (2008)
1106. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
1107. The Dark Knight (2008)
1108. Let the Right One In (Låt den Rätte Komma In) (2008)
1109. Wall-E (2008)
1110. The Good, the Bad, the Weird (Joheun nom Nabbeun nom Isanghan nom) (2008)
1111. The Wrestler (2008)
1112. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
1115. District 9 (2009)
1117. Avatar (2009)
1119. Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire (2009)
1120. The Hangover (2009)
1123. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
1126. Black Swan (2010)
1127. Inception (2010)
1128. The Social Network (2010)
1132. True Grit (2010)
1134. The King’s Speech (2010)
1137. The Tree of Life (2011)
1139. The Artist (2011)
1141. War Horse (2011)
1142. The Descendants (2011)
1143. Hugo (2011)
1147. Bridesmaids (2011)
1148. The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
1150. Lincoln (2012)
1151. Django Unchained (2012)
1155. Life of Pi (2012)
1156. Les Misérables (2012)
1157. Argo (2012)
1158. Skyfall (2012)
116. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937)
1162. Gravity (2013)

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November 26, 2014 Lyn Plays Home Alone(s)

Not at all festive. I was expecting festive as Home Alone is supposed to be a Christmas movie. Apart from a small pile of decorations, not even a tree. Not even, you guys, a tree. Lame.

Not as lame as the game itself though, which is pretty lame. The premise is the same as the movie – there’s two criminals coming to find Kevin, so you (as Kevin) run around the house and find random items to leave in random places and stop the bad guys. I had a quick read of the guide and if you can get 10 hits on a bad guy you win. I got 1. There’s some great bits, like how a pile of toy cars in front of a window doesn’t count as a trap unless you pick them up and put them down again in the exact same place. You don’t even get to see the bad guys colliding with your careful traps, just an animation of them falling down or whatever. Added to this, once they arrive you lose control of Kevin, who runs wildly around the house towards the bad guys. Kevin is not so smart.

In order to fill the rest of the video, I grabbed the second game which is based on (obviously) the second movie. This is more fun, and requires more skill. Keven is fleeing through the streets of New York as the two bad guys chase him. By grabbing and throwing or dropping various things he finds in the street, he can gain time and keep running. Despite the number of adults around, no one calls the police. Even when you steal stuff from roadside stands, no one cares. It’s a world gone topsy turvy.  I read there’s only four levels, so it’s not going to eat your entire life and also there’s a couple of pictures of Tim Curry so that’s pleasing. If you’re desperate to pretend you’re Kevin for whatever reason I would say, grab the second game and ignore the first.

Both games are available at Abandonia, which is where I get the other games too. I figured it was time to just link the things in case you’re so desperate to play them you can’t bring your trembling hands to google them. I understand. We’re all friends here.

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November 25, 2014 Tuesday 25: Songs I Rarely Skip

I currently have 480 songs on my Zune. Unlike many people, I’m not a fan of putting whole albums on my MP3 player and then cultivating playlists. I’d much rather just put the songs I like the most from particular albums on there and then hit shuffle. Still, some days I’ll find myself skipping song after song after song. This is a list of the songs I’ll rarely skip, presented alphabetically. I’ve linked the videos, but I’m not going to vouch for them. I generally find videos to be weird and distracting, so they’re there simply so you can hear the songs if you want. I put them all into a playlist if you’d rather do that, too.

  1. Africa by Toto
  2. Beautiful Things by Gungor – Warning! Christian music alert!
  3. Brokenhearted by Karmin
  4. Call and Answer by Barenaked Ladies – I always just want to call them “BNL” because it’s weird to say their actual name
  5. Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd – I wonder if I’d ever actually make it all the way through watching The Wall
  6. Fix You by Coldplay – I literally don’t think I’ve ever skipped this one
  7. Ghostbusters by Run D.M.C. – I like this one so much more than the original song, but without the original we wouldn’t have this one, so I dunno
  8. Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day – To me this will forever be “The Seinfeld Song”
  9. Heroes by The Wallflowers – The best thing to come out of that 90s Godzilla movie
  10. I Was a Fool by Tegan and Sara
  11. It Can’t Rain All the Time by Jane Siberry – It’s from The Crow soundtrack and I know it’s not something you’ll enjoy but here we are
  12. Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri – One of my favorite voices from the last 5 years
  13. Lazy Eye by Silversun Pickups – Watching the video ruins the illusion that a woman is singing this one, which for some reason makes me sad
  14. Linger by The Cranberries – I did an informal Straw poll the other day and this beat Zombie 5-1 (it was a small poll)
  15. Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men – I’ll break my rule here and say I really like this video
  16. No One Sleeps When I’m Awake by The Sounds – This was playing one day at Best Buy and I liked it so I music-matched it and bought the album on the spot, so I guess that plot works.
  17. Pills [Live] by Sarah McLachlan and The Perishers
  18. Road to Nowhere by The Talking Heads
  19. The Scientist by Coldplay – Coldplay videos are some of my least favorite to watch, but at least this one has a neat backwards thing happening, for some reason
  20. Suddenly, Seymour by the cast of The Little Shop of Horrors
  21. Till My Head Falls Off by They Might Be Giants
  22. Ways to Go by Grouplove – A very odd video
  23. Wise Up by Aimee Mann
  24. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips – I made it through, like, 20 seconds of that video
  25. You Are the New Day by The King’s Singers

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November 24, 2014 Famous Iowans

We traveled to Iowa this weekend to see family and have an early Thanksgiving, and that seems to have affected my ability to have an actual post for you. Instead, I offer this list of famous people who were born in Iowa, which has been whittled down to some of my favorites. Please do not confuse this list with the Tuesday lists, as this is a completely different day and therefore a completely different kind of list.

  • Brandon Routh and George Reeves – two Superman actors from Iowa? They couldn’t find actual Kansans?
  • Ashton Kutcher
  • Elijah Wood
  • John Wayne
  • Kate Mulgrew and Terry Farrell – And Captain Kirk was (will be?) born in Iowa in the original (and superior) timeline
  • Cloris Leachman
  • Ron Livingston
  • Tom Arnold
  • Marcia Wallace
  • Johnny Carson
  • Jerry Mathers

There are many other people from Iowa, certainly. These are just the ones I felt most like listing.

 

November 21, 2014 tGIF: Short Edition

Happy Friday to you! Just a couple of quick ones for you today to set you on your way to a cheerful weekend.

 

We're shocked, but only a little

We’re shocked, but only a little

 

Run run run run run run run away Psycho Lizard

Run run run run run run run away
Psycho Lizard

So peaceful

So peaceful

"Chuckin' Chairs Forever" is the name of my eventual jazz-fusion album.

“Chuckin’ Chairs Forever” is the name of my eventual jazz-fusion album.