(I'll need to come up with a better naming system than that for these blogs...)
Last December, I wrote a post about the movie site Flickchart, which lets you pit two movies against each other and choose which one you like better. Over time it builds up a list of your favorites, but a lot of the enjoyment comes from just ranking the movies, period. I did a series of match-ups to show you how it worked, and now I'm back again to rank some more movies, just for fun! Feel free to jump in and tell me where I've chosen wrong.
I have 2344 movies on my chart as I rank today, which is about 70 more than the last time I did this blog. Then I ranked my entire chart, but today I'm just going to rank my top 1000 movies. That may make the match-ups more interesting, as they'll all be movies I liked at least slightly above average -- no Casablanca vs. The Santa Clause 3.
1. The Great Gatsby (2013) vs. Notes on a Scandal (2006)
Two movies I remember liking, but don't remember all that much about. I do remember that with Gatsby the best part was that it looked great (Baz Luhrmann is one of my favorite directors for visuals), and I still have some of those images playing in my head. So Gatsby gets the nod here, although on a second viewing of either movie that could change. Looks like Gatsby was ahead in the first place, and it holds steady at #397, which is clearly far too high for a movie that faded from my memory pretty quickly.
2. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) vs. Angels in America (2003)
As much as I love Woody Allen, Hannah and Her Sisters is not one of my favorite Allen movies. The Angels in America miniseries, on the other hand, is amazing and devastating and one of my favorite things ever. It wins, no contest, and stays steady on my chart at #61.
3. The Hunger Games (2012) vs. Take Shelter (2011)
I liked The Hunger Games when it first came out, but it's faded some as I'm no longer sure I liked the movie itself as much as I liked the book and the movie was an accurate representation of the book. That's the problem with so many faithful book-to-screen adaptations -- it's very difficult for me to distinguish from the source material. Take Shelter, on the other hand, made a strong but confusing impression on me to begin with and then grew stronger in my mind the longer I stood back from it. I think I'd still say The Hunger Games wins because I'm not sure Take Shelter would improve upon another viewing -- it might slide back into "I don't know how I feel about this" territory. Hunger Games wins, and apparently I have Take Shelter ranked much higher than it perhaps should be, because Hunger Games' win takes it from #683 to #401.
4. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) vs. Sleuth (1972)
Will Smith is really charming and likable in Pursuit of Happyness, and it's a good movie, but it's not as awesome as the twists and turns in the 1970s version of Sleuth, which is really so much fun. Sleuth wins and holds steady at #139.
5. Pushing Tin (1999) vs. The Star-Spangled Girl (1971)
Another pretty easy one for me here. I liked Pushing Tin, but The Star-Spangled Girl is one of my favorite Neil Simon comedies (though I seem to be in the minority there) and this is a great movie version. It's funny and strange and is cast perfectly. It wins and holds steady at #60.
6. Secret Window (2004) vs. Secretary (2002)
Yeah, I don't hate Secret Window. I don't think it's great, but I thought it was kind of fun as a dumb suspense movie. (I don't hate The Tourist either, so maybe I just have a fondness for Johnny Depp's least-liked movies...) Secretary, though, is wonderful. I watched it last year for my movie challenge and wasn't sure what to expect, but it ended up being really lovely. It wins and holds steady at #454.
7. The Miracle Worker (1962) vs. The Master (2012)
This... is a difficult one. Specifically because I don't remember much about either of these movies, except that I liked them. I've been meaning to rewatch The Miracle Worker for a very long time and just haven't yet. I think for now I'm going to give it to The Master, because I saw it more recently and can be more confident in liking it. It holds steady at #743.
8. It Happened One Night (1934) vs. About a Boy (2002)
I know a lot of people adore It Happened One Night, but I never quite fell in love with it the way others did. I think it's fine, but there's just nothing about it that stands out to me. About a Boy, on the other hand, always hits me unexpectedly when it comes to Toni Collette's performance and makes it seem like a much deeper movie than it maybe is. Or maybe it is that deep. I don't know. But I keep watching it to find out and I enjoy it every time. It wins, holding steady at #147.
9. What's Up, Doc? (1972) vs. Brave (2012)
I really liked what Brave was trying to do... I just didn't care at all about the execution. What's Up, Doc? on the other hand, is one of my favorite ridiculous screwball comedies. Clear win here, and it holds steady at #101.
10. High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008) vs. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
...Oh, gosh.
OK, I do like the High School Musical movies a lot, though #2 is my favorite. The third one has some fantastic musical numbers but the dumbest plot of all three movies. So it's going to sit in the lower half of the 1000s. Saving Private Ryan is a pretty good movie that is about as different in tone as you can get from HSM3.
The serious movie fan side of me wants to pick Saving Private Ryan. The goofy musical fan wants me to pick High School Musical.
OK. I think I'm going to go with Saving Private Ryan for now... but if this was High School Musical 2, it'd be a whole different story.
Saving Private Ryan holds steady at #802, and I finish this blog just in time for it to be published. Whoo!
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