INDY, WHY DOES THE FLOOR MOVE? Leitch and Grierson rank all twenty-eight Steven Spielberg films. As a bonus (a) there's no slideshow, and (b) it's pretty much right. Sure, I'd move
Catch Me If You Can higher and drop
War of the Worlds some, but any list that has
Jurassic Park and
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom outside the top ten ... well, apparently Spielberg has made a lot of great, great films.
Move up Crystal Skull a few spots, drop Always to dead last, otherwise I have no problems with this list.
ReplyDeleteI guess this falls into the "I never knew I was in the minority" file, but I really like Always. I know it is saccharine and predictable but damned if I don't watch (and enjoy) it every time I find it on TV.
ReplyDeleteI can't possibly put Temple of Doom over Last Crusade, but otherwise pretty good. I never did see Amistad, and haven't yet seen Lincoln, but I think I've seen the rest of them.
ReplyDeleteI think there's an argument that The Terminal may be Spielberg's worst film. There are a few messes in there (Lost World, Crystal Skull, Hook, Tintin), but those messes are interesting and entertaining. The Terminal is just turgid and boring, and hampered by the decision to give Tom Hanks this accent of unknown origin.
ReplyDeleteI've heard that argument before. I believe it to be wrong, but I can understand it.(and looking again at the list, I'd probably move War of the Worlds down, especially so we can move Minority Report up, the best Philip K. Dick adaptation).
ReplyDeleteAgree on the Indy rankings. What's the argument against Last Crusade? Are there Ewoks in it that I missed? I really enjoy that movie, far more than Temple.
ReplyDeleteVicious, cannibalistic forest guerrillas improve everything.
ReplyDeleteIf you think that Temple of Doom is anything above bottom-five Spielberg movies: have you SEEN it recently? It gives Indy not one, but TWO indefensibly annoying sidekicks. Kate Capshaw is TERRIBLE - not that she gets any help from the script, which basically has Willie yell "Indy!" over and over again. But the worst is Short Round - he is, to put it bluntly, the Jar Jar Binks of the Indiana Jones universe.
ReplyDeleteThere's a chance I might actually rank Temple of Doom behind Crystal Skull. Skull is a disappointing movie, clearly, but it does give us Cate Blanchett wrapping her mouth around a deliciously evil Russian accent. And putting me in the minority even further, I think the "nuking the fridge" scene is unjustly maligned.
The real Spielberg top 5 (off the top of my head, minimal internal debate): 1. Jaws. 2. Minority Report. 3. Saving Private Ryan. 4. A.I. 5. Munich. (And yes, I realize everything that I excluded.)
I'm also pro Last Crusade, though they messed up the ending because Indy's Dad should've ended up as the new Protector of the Grail.
ReplyDeleteRandy, for putting Minority Report that high (though I think it might be TOO high) you get a drink when you're in Chicago.
ReplyDeleteI would have moved Munich and Doom WAY further down this list, and Lincoln and Jurassic Park up a bit. I also liked Color Purple and Hook more than the authors, but I'll allow that I don't always know what I'm talking about. Also, there should be a separate list of "Movies That were Solid until Spielberg Whiffed the Ending."
ReplyDeleteI agree! I liked Minority Report better than most people did. But I wouldn't have moved Munich that high. The negatives outweighed the positives.
ReplyDelete"Movies That were Solid until Spielberg Whiffed the Ending." I put Minority Report #1 on that list. But instead of whiff I'd say whiz, as in he had an uncontrollable bout of explosive urination all over a -- up until then -- decent movie.
ReplyDeleteExactly. The entire movie set itself up for Connery to take over. I consider it a moral failing* that they bailed on it for a riding off in the sunset moment.
ReplyDelete*eh, not really; but it does annoy me greatly
movies I hate:
ReplyDeleteHook
Temple of Doom
Minority Report
Jurassic Park
A.I.
I'll watch these any time:
1941
Close Encounters
Raiders
Jaws
Always
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