* What, me run with an idea for a couple of months and then get distracted by something shiny and wander off? How terribly unexpected, I know.
So I'm now going to switch it up and try sticking with my strengths in pop culture and making shorter posts on the best stuff in various media. Specifically, the best movies, albums, songs, and tv shows. Those are the ones I've ranked thus far anyway - if anyone cares enough to actually suggest other things that would fit in with the general theme, fire away.*
* Similar to ranking both songs and albums, I thought about ranking tv episodes as well as overall shows, before determining that that way lies madness. I can hit my iTunes account as a good starting place for individual songs (since I have total OCD on rating all my songs), but trekking through wikipedia or imdb to try to remember which was the best episode of BSG et al. seemed a bit much.
Of course, any ranking of "best" is inherently subjective, especially in the arts.* I'm not trying for universal truth here, just those items that I personally most appreciate. While that isn't an exact analogue for the things that I enjoy the most, that is typically going to be the most important criteria.**
* Is it too hoighty-toity*** to describe Britney, Spinal Tap, and Glee as "arts?" Do I care?
** Other criteria include how fiercely I would defend the actual merits of the item in question, cultural context, how well it holds up to repeated viewings/listenings, and how well it triggers other pleasant associations. Of course, each item will be computed and tallied pursuant to specific scientific proprietary formulae.
*** That's a word, right? It damn well should be anyway.
Before getting into the actual rankings, I first have short lists of items that for one reason or another* didn't quite make the cut for the top list.** So this is the short-hit description of the Honorable Mentions in the movie category.
* Such as not being quite as good as the items that did make the list. Innovative!
** How many items are on the lists? Ha! You'll have to check in after the honorable mentions*** to find out! Do I know how to build suspense, or what?!?
*** So, based on my typical posting schedule, that would be September 2013.
Without further ado,* here are the 6 Best Movie** Honorable Mentions:***
* Wait, didn't someone say something about making these posts shorter?
** Any thoughts on a name? Tom's Best seems like a bad strawberry jam or something.
*** In alphabetical order, of course. Ranking the honorable mentions would seem to defeat the point.
Honestly, I was shocked that Bring It On didn't make the Top List. Not only does it have Kirsten Dunst at her most sassy, Sparky Polastri's golden spirit fingers, and the immortal Eliza Dushku Funky Porch Dance, but there's a downright Shakespearean plot* involving betrayal, alienation, and general skullduggery. In the end, while this is a movie that I'm proud to own and that is assuredly in my top 10 most viewed, it couldn't quite hold up.
* Note: Comparison may be overblown.
HM Monty Python and the Holy Grail
So....many.....quotes....
I actually feel kind of bad on this one, like I'm really underselling it. Brilliantly funny and caustic and a wicked parody that also works as a straightforward comedy. For what it's worth, it is my son's favorite movie (or at worst tied for him with another film that actually did make the list). The credits and the Knights Who Say / Until Recently Said Ni are two of the best things ever committed to film. I think the only reason this didn't make the list for me was the 70s-style "gritty realism" in the production values. Other than when it was really necessary (ie the mud farmers), I could've done with less.....dirt. #prissy
HM Out of Sight
The ultimate example of a "Style" movie, in terms of the coolsexy characters, laying out a transcendently ideal caper film, and as a perfect exemplar of Elmore Leonard's distinctive universe. Assuming that I wouldn't be one of the bumbling clods (which may not be a safe assumption, of course), I would dearly love to live in an Elmore Leonard world. Even if I wasn't one of the ultra-cool elite, it would be so much fun to watch and comment on their exploits. This movie demonstrates that JLo can actually act when she wants to. I know, I was surprised too.
HM The Silence of the Lambs
It's been copied so much that it seems hackneyed now, but at the time the use of Hannibal Lecter as the homicidal untrustworthy criminal consultant and the flawed-yet-tough heroine was breathtaking in its originality and execution. This sucker swept the major Oscars (Movie, Actor, Actress, Director, Screenplay) and deserved it. Seriously spine-tingling. Thankfully they resisted the impulse to trade off of the critical and box-office wins by foisting on the public an unwanted sequel dealing more directly with Lecter as a principal character.*
* Go with me on this, okay?
HM Spider-Man
When I first saw the footage of Spidey web-slinging through New York, it was startling. Yes, it was CGI (duh), but they perfectly captured the feeling of....well, not of actually web-slinging so much but of being 12 and reading the comics and imagining web-slinging. The amazement of that initial impression has stuck with me, even though the movie came out 9 freaking years ago* This was also one of the first of the new wave of comics movies where it seemed like they actually cared about being true to the characters,** which is nice to nerds such as myself.
* Cue obligatory "OMFG are we old" feeling.
** Contra the 1989-1997 Batman movies, for more on which see the excellent Remedial Batmanology series.
HM Zoolander
I don't normally go for over-the-top ridiculousness in my pop culture entertainments. I'm not a Pee Wee Herman fan, I never understood the appeal of pro wrestling, and Benny Hill seemed childish even when I was a kid. But something about this blissed-out man-child feature hit all the right notes for me. Not that it's difficult to mock the fashion industry or the top models that inhabit it, but the joy and fun that Stiller and pals had making the movie are obvious in the viewing. Having that feature while still creating a watchable well-crafted movie with a discernible plotline is what differentiates it from everything that Mike Myers made since the criminally-underrated So I Married An Axe Murderer.
