[macgeek2005]

Babel is now, in my opinion, the greatest film ever made. The Secret Garden is great, but Babel is beyond great. I always think more highly of Mac users, so turning away from the mobs of idiots in my life who hated this movie, I turn to you, in the hope that some people here will recognize it's brilliance.

Rate it from 1 to 10. 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest. Please only rate if you've seen the movie.

[mac128k-1984]

I can think of a dozen movies much better then this movie.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by mac128k-1984 

I can think of a dozen movies much better then this movie.

Only a dozen?

[Chuckit]

I liked Babel, but I wanted to like it more than it did.

There were points where I felt like it was going to go somewhere really interesting, but it didn't seem to completely come together in the end, and there were some parts that just didn't work for me. Like Brad and Cate? Blah! The babysitter's story didn't really get started until 3/4 of the way into the movie. The deaf Japanese girl's storyline was good, and the boys with the gun were good too. As a two-hour, cohesive whole, though, I felt like there was something I was missing.

[mac128k-1984]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

Only a dozen?

I was trying to be nice (for once)

[Nebagakid]

Babel is International Crash

[analogika]

MacGeek,

how many movies have you actually seen?

How many off this list? - 100 Best movies in the world - top 100 greatest films

Or, to make it easier, just Hollywood? - AFI's 100 YEARS...100 MOVIES

[voodoo]

El Laberinto del Fauno is the greatest film ever made. Just incredible.

V

[macgeek2005]

Originally Posted by analogika 

MacGeek,

how many movies have you actually seen?

How many off this list? - 100 Best movies in the world - top 100 greatest films

Or, to make it easier, just Hollywood? - AFI's 100 YEARS...100 MOVIES

7 movies from the first list.
15 movies from the second list.

[BlueSky]

Saw it last week. When it was over I said to Deb, "Well, I wish I was smarter. What was that all about?" She replied "Guns are bad?" OK, whatever.

While it held my interest and at times frayed my nerves, overall it didn't come together for me in the end. Maybe it wasn't supposed to.

[Nodnarb]

Originally Posted by macgeek2005 

7 movies from the first list.
15 movies from the second list.

...So 7-15% of the "all time best" movies...not very much. So does that mean you can stop posting "greatest movie made" threads, when you obviously have not seen very many movies.

If you see a movie, and it is so great that you feel compelled to start a thread/poll about it, just say it was a good movie, not the "greatest movie ever made"...it's retarded you keep trying to find the BEST movie or BEST trilogy.

[rickey939]

Hoosiers.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by Nodnarb 

...So 7-15% of the "all time best" movies...not very much. So does that mean you can stop posting "greatest movie made" threads, when you obviously have not seen very many movies.

If you see a movie, and it is so great that you feel compelled to start a thread/poll about it, just say it was a good movie, not the "greatest movie ever made"...it's retarded you keep trying to find the BEST movie or BEST trilogy.

Or at least title them "greatest film ever made - with a 90% chance it's not."

Doesn't make for good copy, does it?

[sek929]

Jesus Christ, see about 200+ more films before making a "This is the best film evar!!" post.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by BlueSky 

Saw it last week. When it was over I said to Deb, "Well, I wish I was smarter. What was that all about?" She replied "Guns are bad?" OK, whatever.

While it held my interest and at times frayed my nerves, overall it didn't come together for me in the end. Maybe it wasn't supposed to.

Yeah, that's kind of how I felt. Although I got the feeling that the message was supposed to be more about communication. You've got the boys with the awful secret, the mute girl who's trying to express herself and the nanny who sneaks off without telling anyone. Maybe it's saying that we exacerbate our problems through a lack of dialogue with each other?

[BlueSky]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

Yeah, that's kind of how I felt. Although I got the feeling that the message was supposed to be more about communication. You've got the boys with the awful secret, the mute girl who's trying to express herself and the nanny who sneaks off without telling anyone. Maybe it's saying that we exacerbate our problems through a lack of dialogue with each other?

Yeah, I was half-serious about the gun message, as there were no guns involved in Mexico. But I decided that if I had to work that hard to find an overall meaning, something about the film had failed. Maybe I was expecting too much, like expecting a "Crash" kind of thing.

[macgeek2005]

Originally Posted by BlueSky 

Saw it last week. When it was over I said to Deb, "Well, I wish I was smarter. What was that all about?" She replied "Guns are bad?" OK, whatever.

While it held my interest and at times frayed my nerves, overall it didn't come together for me in the end. Maybe it wasn't supposed to.

Tell me more about yourself. What do you do for a living? How successful are you? I.E. Are you intelligent?

Your post sounded so incredibly idiotic, and i'm happy for you that you have a parter who is as stupid as you, but seriously man, seriously, stupidity of that level should be censored, even compared to my posts sometimes.

[Nodnarb]

You seem like a real asshole.

[BlueSky]

Originally Posted by macgeek2005 

Tell me more about yourself. What do you do for a living? How successful are you? I.E. Are you intelligent?

Your post sounded so incredibly idiotic, and i'm happy for you that you have a parter who is as stupid as you, but seriously man, seriously, stupidity of that level should be censored, even compared to my posts sometimes.

I'll be kind since you're a kid, but I will say one thing that I say often to children such as yourself:

GET OFF MY LAWN YOU LITTLE BASTARD! AND TURN DOWN THAT #*@%#^% RADIO!

OK, that was two things, I get carried away sometimes.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by macgeek2005 

Tell me more about yourself. What do you do for a living? How successful are you? I.E. Are you intelligent?

Your post sounded so incredibly idiotic, and i'm happy for you that you have a parter who is as stupid as you, but seriously man, seriously, stupidity of that level should be censored, even compared to my posts sometimes.

Ouch, getting told you're unsuccessful and unintelligent by somebody who lives with his mom and hasn't even finished high school. That's gotta hurt.

[Nebagakid]

There are far better movies than Babel, enough said.

[Chuckit]

Personally, I still maintain that Terminator 2 was the greatest film ever made.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by Nebagakid 

Babel is International Crash

EXACTLY.

I think this deserves to be elaborated on. Babel actually felt a lot like Crash, except Babel didn't really seem to know the point it was trying to make. A good bit here and there, especially with the two Middle Eastern boys, but like Chuckit said, there was something that was missing. I just wish I could put my finger on what it was.

I gave it a 6.

[Jawbone54]

I just counted the AFI list for myself. I've seen 61 of the 100, and all but 2 of the top 20 (because for a while I used the list to determine what I should rent).

[Chuckit]

I stopped reading the AFI list when I saw Forrest Gump was on there. I'd seen most of them up to that point.

[Oversoul]

Another movie thread? Find some other interests kid.

[Railroader]

Does this remind anyone of the times back in the day when SWG would post a "OMFG?!?! THE uGliEst iPoD AccESSory EvAr made!!!" threads.

And then a week later "NO, this is THE mostest uGliEst iPoD AccESSory EvAr made!!! (and it's made in America!!!"

[dcmacdaddy]

Originally Posted by analogika 

How many off this list? - 100 Best movies in the world - top 100 greatest films

25 of the movies in this list. (Although I was surprised how many of the entries on this list were American.)

I have seen Nosferatu, all the Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns, and some of the modern French films on this list. But all the French New-Wave films (400 Blows, Breathless) are a complete blank to me, haven't seen a single one. Also included on this list is Fritz Lang's M but not his Metropolis; That seems like a mistake to me. Plus, there are almost no Asian films on this list other than one entry from Kurosawa (Seven Samurai).

Originally Posted by analogika 

Or, to make it easier, just Hollywood? - AFI's 100 YEARS...100 MOVIES

42 or 43 of the movies on this list.

The African Queen is on both lists and that is one of the few Bogart films I have not seen. Looks like I need to go out and buy it. Although, Close Encounters . . . was on both lists. Was it really that significant a movie--I saw it in my very early teens and haven't seen it since--to warrant being in the top 100? If so, what makes it significant?

[nonhuman]

Wait, are we supposed to be rating it on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, or are we supposed to be ranking it as one of the top 10 movies ever?

[nonhuman]

Hmm, i've apparently only seen 19 of the best movies in the world and 28 of the best from Hollywood, I should fix that.

[Nebagakid]

(Babel does not rank in the best 100 films ever made, nor the 100 most influential. )

That AFI list is pretty solid for the best 100 American films.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Like other artistic genres, best-of movie lists are always such a crap shoot, because you've got such incredible bias. The older-classic bias (eg. Citizen Kane, On the Waterfront) is obvious on the AFI list: that Raging Bull and ET are the first post-1980 films on the list (at 24 and 25 respectively) – or that there are almost no movies at all past this date – should be an obvious warning sign. Many films also simply don't stand up to modern scrutiny, either; Close Encounters is a prime example there, as well as The Graduate.

Of course, Fight Club isn't on that list either, unless someone else can find it? That would be ridiculous if it isn't. That's probably the defining movie of the 1990s.

Anyways, I have to go watch For A Few Dollars More. I'm practising my Clint.

greg

[jokell82]

Babel isn't even the director's best movie - I thought Amores Perros was a MUCH better movie.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by dcmacdaddy 

Also included on this list is Fritz Lang's M but not his Metropolis; That seems like a mistake to me. Plus, there are almost no Asian films on this list other than one entry from Kurosawa (Seven Samurai).

Oh, I agree.

Those links were just very quick-and-dirty google dredges, and I posted them because I didn't want to waist two much thyme on making a point. They're fairly useful starting points for life beyond Babel, at any rate.

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton 

Like other artistic genres, best-of movie lists are always such a crap shoot, because you've got such incredible bias. The older-classic bias (eg. Citizen Kane, On the Waterfront) is obvious on the AFI list: that Raging Bull and ET are the first post-1980 films on the list (at 24 and 25 respectively) – or that there are almost no movies at all past this date – should be an obvious warning sign. Many films also simply don't stand up to modern scrutiny, either; Close Encounters is a prime example there, as well as The Graduate.

Part of that is that you have to see the film in historical context. Much like music - much of the most influential or revolutionary stuff may seem commonplace or even quaint today, but at the time, it was completely unheard of.

The Graduate was a watershed in many respects. Morally, of course. It was also the first film ever IIRC to feature a pop music soundtrack.

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton 

Of course, Fight Club isn't on that list either, unless someone else can find it? That would be ridiculous if it isn't. That's probably the defining movie of the 1990s.

In searching for those lists, I read one interesting link where somebody was talking about the difficulty of compiling such lists, and how an AWFUL lot of the imdb viewers' absolute favorite movies were made within the last five years or so.

People who rate these things in polls are often like MacGeek: they see something they really like, but have absolutely no perspective to judge it within a realistic frame of reference. Or they're teens who have only actually been active viewers for a few years, and mostly contemporary stuff at that. Or they just have short memories.

His solution was to skew in favor of the test of time and throw out anything that hasn't been around long enough to attain "classic" status - in his case, post-1985.

Fight Club and the first Matrix film would probably qualify, but I certainly don't blame anyone for shying away from judgement on them just yet.

[brassplayersrock²]

Originally Posted by macgeek2005 

Tell me more about yourself. What do you do for a living? How successful are you? I.E. Are you intelligent?

Your post sounded so incredibly idiotic, and i'm happy for you that you have a parter who is as stupid as you, but seriously man, seriously, stupidity of that level should be censored, even compared to my posts sometimes.

YOU'RE AAAA-DOP-TED! YOU'RE AAA-DOP-TED! /cheering section to visitor team goalie chant

-a

[Mithras]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

Babel isn't even the director's best movie - I thought Amores Perros was a MUCH better movie.

Agreed. There's a nice David Denby piece in the latest New Yorker about this genre of 'slice-and-dice' film.

[macgeek2005]

The "Top movies" lists are bought. It's a brainwash.

How many of you wouldn't have liked the godfather, if it wasn't considered a great movie? I invite you guys to watch movies, pretending you have no knowledge of how they're held in society, or what they were rated. How much do you REALLY like the movies you watch? Do you really think that the movies on those top lists are the best ones?

I personally think that Babel is one of the greatest films ever made. And i'm not alone. It was deep, moving, emotional, brilliantly filmed, and it had some incredibly artistic sequences. I've never seen another movie quite like it, and I bet i'll say the same even after seeing Crash, 21 Grams, Traffic, and Amores Perros.

I just saw The Departed, and that's the final straw for me. I'm writing a letter of hate to the Academy. To give The Departed best picture over Babel is a ****ing crime to art and genius. Martin Scorsese is a ****ing low life piece of junk, and his movie was made for ****ing idiots.

Babel was a work of art. Only the intellectuals in the country, (who are the minority by far) can appreciate a really good movie, and that's why Babel didn't have much success in the USA (What I like to call the United **** Association).

In music, people can choose what Genre they want to listen too, so those that want to listen to low life music as opposed to sophisticated music, can have a choice. Someone that likes Rap won't listen to classical, but if they did, they'd talk about how boring and bad it is. In Movies, theres no distinction. Everybody watches everything, so the Mozart of movies is shown to the low lifes who can't appreciate it, and therefore it gets judged by the less intelligent majorities.

And even those of you that liked the Departed better, even those of you who are rotting in your own stink of stupidity and low life crap, can admit that Babel deserved Best Editing over The Departed. The Departed had several dozen editing glitches, and even those aside, was filmed in a very linear fashion. Babel stretched the possibilities with actors and cameras to the breaking point.

[Agasthya]

Originally Posted by macgeek2005 

The "Top movies" lists are bought. It's a brainwash.

How many of you wouldn't have liked the godfather, if it wasn't considered a great movie? I invite you guys to watch movies, pretending you have no knowledge of how they're held in society, or what they were rated. How much do you REALLY like the movies you watch? Do you really think that the movies on those top lists are the best ones?

I personally think that Babel is one of the greatest films ever made. And i'm not alone. It was deep, moving, emotional, brilliantly filmed, and it had some incredibly artistic sequences. I've never seen another movie quite like it, and I bet i'll say the same even after seeing Crash, 21 Grams, Traffic, and Amores Perros.

I just saw The Departed, and that's the final straw for me. I'm writing a letter of hate to the Academy. To give The Departed best picture over Babel is a ****ing crime to art and genius. Martin Scorsese is a ****ing low life piece of junk, and his movie was made for ****ing idiots.

Babel was a work of art. Only the intellectuals in the country, (who are the minority by far) can appreciate a really good movie, and that's why Babel didn't have much success in the USA (What I like to call the United **** Association).

In music, people can choose what Genre they want to listen too, so those that want to listen to low life music as opposed to sophisticated music, can have a choice. Someone that likes Rap won't listen to classical, but if they did, they'd talk about how boring and bad it is. In Movies, theres no distinction. Everybody watches everything, so the Mozart of movies is shown to the low lifes who can't appreciate it, and therefore it gets judged by the less intelligent majorities.

And even those of you that liked the Departed better, even those of you who are rotting in your own stink of stupidity and low life crap, can admit that Babel deserved Best Editing over The Departed. The Departed had several dozen editing glitches, and even those aside, was filmed in a very linear fashion. Babel stretched the possibilities with actors and cameras to the breaking point.

Way to make your point.

[besson3c]

How come "Earnest Goes to Camp" is not on these lists?

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by macgeek2005 

Babel stretched the possibilities with actors and cameras to the breaking point.

Hahaha. You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

[davesimondotcom]

I haven't seen Babel, but I can promise it's not the best film ever made.

And I've seen at least half of the AFI 100.

Give me Casablanca any day. Or Dr. Strangelove. Or Pulp Fiction. Or Citizen Kane.

[Nodnarb]

Originally Posted by macgeek2005 

The "Top movies" lists are bought. It's a brainwash.

How many of you wouldn't have liked the godfather, if it wasn't considered a great movie? I invite you guys to watch movies, pretending you have no knowledge of how they're held in society, or what they were rated. How much do you REALLY like the movies you watch? Do you really think that the movies on those top lists are the best ones?

I personally think that Babel is one of the greatest films ever made. And i'm not alone. It was deep, moving, emotional, brilliantly filmed, and it had some incredibly artistic sequences. I've never seen another movie quite like it, and I bet i'll say the same even after seeing Crash, 21 Grams, Traffic, and Amores Perros.

I just saw The Departed, and that's the final straw for me. I'm writing a letter of hate to the Academy. To give The Departed best picture over Babel is a ****ing crime to art and genius. Martin Scorsese is a ****ing low life piece of junk, and his movie was made for ****ing idiots.

Babel was a work of art. Only the intellectuals in the country, (who are the minority by far) can appreciate a really good movie, and that's why Babel didn't have much success in the USA (What I like to call the United **** Association).

In music, people can choose what Genre they want to listen too, so those that want to listen to low life music as opposed to sophisticated music, can have a choice. Someone that likes Rap won't listen to classical, but if they did, they'd talk about how boring and bad it is. In Movies, theres no distinction. Everybody watches everything, so the Mozart of movies is shown to the low lifes who can't appreciate it, and therefore it gets judged by the less intelligent majorities.

And even those of you that liked the Departed better, even those of you who are rotting in your own stink of stupidity and low life crap, can admit that Babel deserved Best Editing over The Departed. The Departed had several dozen editing glitches, and even those aside, was filmed in a very linear fashion. Babel stretched the possibilities with actors and cameras to the breaking point.

Look kid, I haven't even seen Babel so I'm not commenting on whether or not it is a good film.

But you seem to have some kind of complex where you feel you are better than everyone. You are a kid. Do you not think that there is some possibility that the people at the Academy's and film-makers who have been making films for their entire lives may have a little more expertise on the subject than you, who have seen relatively few movies in comparison with most movie buffs?

It seems as if you have some weird obsession with movies, and every one you see excites you more than the last so you claim "ALL OTHER MOVIES ARE **** COMPARED TO THIS!!! THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE TO THE EXTREMEEEEEEE."

As I said earlier: Calm down. Make a thread discussing the greatness of a movie if you feel so compelled. However, do not get on your high horse, and claim you are better and smarter than the majority of America, and that you have more knowledge of films than people who have dedicated their lives to movie making, because honestly kid, you don't know sh*t.

[Stogieman]

Originally Posted by macgeek2005 

I personally think that Babel is one of the greatest films ever made. And i'm not alone.

Yes you are. Judging from this poll, you're the only one that gave it a 10.

Originally Posted by macgeek2005 

I just saw The Departed, and that's the final straw for me. I'm writing a letter of hate to the Academy.

That's brilliant. Why don't you create a online petition while you're at it? I'm sure you can come up with a half dozen of signatures.

[macgeek2005]

America is lost.... you guys think you know what you're saying, but you're trapped in a nightmare of brainwash and control. You don't know anything. You don't think for yourself. You cannot possibly think for yourself because your entire life you've been told what to think and what to do.

My words fall past your ears, like an egg being cracked above an empty abyss, with no bowl to catch it.

I have nothing else to say, because no matter what I say, it isn't heard anyway.

Awareness is your greatest illusion.

[Tiresias]

Originally Posted by macgeek2005 

Babel is now, in my opinion, the greatest film ever made.

Come on. It ain't all that.

In essence, it's just a story about a rifle.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Originally Posted by macgeek2005 

My words fall past your ears, like an egg being cracked above an empty abyss, with no bowl to catch it.

Words...fail me.

greg

[abbaZaba]

Originally Posted by macgeek2005 

The "Top movies" lists are bought. It's a brainwash.

How many of you wouldn't have liked the godfather, if it wasn't considered a great movie? I invite you guys to watch movies, pretending you have no knowledge of how they're held in society, or what they were rated. How much do you REALLY like the movies you watch? Do you really think that the movies on those top lists are the best ones?

I personally think that Babel is one of the greatest films ever made. And i'm not alone. It was deep, moving, emotional, brilliantly filmed, and it had some incredibly artistic sequences. I've never seen another movie quite like it, and I bet i'll say the same even after seeing Crash, 21 Grams, Traffic, and Amores Perros.

I just saw The Departed, and that's the final straw for me. I'm writing a letter of hate to the Academy. To give The Departed best picture over Babel is a ****ing crime to art and genius. Martin Scorsese is a ****ing low life piece of junk, and his movie was made for ****ing idiots.

Babel was a work of art. Only the intellectuals in the country, (who are the minority by far) can appreciate a really good movie, and that's why Babel didn't have much success in the USA (What I like to call the United **** Association).

In music, people can choose what Genre they want to listen too, so those that want to listen to low life music as opposed to sophisticated music, can have a choice. Someone that likes Rap won't listen to classical, but if they did, they'd talk about how boring and bad it is. In Movies, theres no distinction. Everybody watches everything, so the Mozart of movies is shown to the low lifes who can't appreciate it, and therefore it gets judged by the less intelligent majorities.

And even those of you that liked the Departed better, even those of you who are rotting in your own stink of stupidity and low life crap, can admit that Babel deserved Best Editing over The Departed. The Departed had several dozen editing glitches, and even those aside, was filmed in a very linear fashion. Babel stretched the possibilities with actors and cameras to the breaking point.

just the fact that you completely bash one genre of music while putting another on a pedestal means you're a close minded egomaniac. also the fact that you, being a 14 or 15 year old, thinks you knows more about movies than people have dedicated their lives to the film industry also compliments this egomaniac assumption of mine. ALSO the fact that you think there is a vast conspiracy to keeps certain films at the top of lists is another testament.

you're barely a teenager. you are not that smart. get over yourself. don't force your opinions on other people. don't throw buzz words around like you know what you are talking about.

go smash an old macintosh and film it because that is what intellectual film savants, like you, do in their free time. also, go buy a katana.

[besson3c]

Originally Posted by macgeek2005 

America is lost.... you guys think you know what you're saying, but you're trapped in a nightmare of brainwash and control. You don't know anything. You don't think for yourself. You cannot possibly think for yourself because your entire life you've been told what to think and what to do.

My words fall past your ears, like an egg being cracked above an empty abyss, with no bowl to catch it.

I have nothing else to say, because no matter what I say, it isn't heard anyway.

Awareness is your greatest illusion.

Is that a quote from Secret Garden?

[analogika]

Originally Posted by macgeek2005 

The "Top movies" lists are bought. It's a brainwash.

How many of you wouldn't have liked the godfather, if it wasn't considered a great movie?

And then, one day, he realized that respecting something as truly great and actually *liking* it are two completely separate things.

Conversely, there is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying, say, made-for-tv trite fluff. Just realize that it's trite fluff before you start making absolute claims.

Originally Posted by macgeek2005 

I invite you guys to watch movies, pretending you have no knowledge of how they're held in society, or what they were rated. How much do you REALLY like the movies you watch? Do you really think that the movies on those top lists are the best ones?

Yes. And we invite you to watch them, KNOWING you have no knowledge of how they're held in society, or WHY.

You don't REALLY have to like all of them, but you seriously need to give at least some of them a chance before you can even remotely claim to know what you're talking about.

[besson3c]

MacGeek:

I think I understand what you are saying: screw what other people think, think for yourselves, and don't like a movie just because other people tell you you should like it.

Well, you are kind of expecting us to do this very thing here. The movies we like are purely subjective, there are no absolutes - no right or wrong.

Not only will you not get far in assuming that we are all brainwashed, but you also won't get far if you don't realize this simple, fundamental reality.


Papa3c is the voice of reason, yet again...