asterisk8 said:
DuracellEnergizer said:
I have given 7-8 ratings before, but sparingly, and usually to films that I've grown up watching.
Such as?
I assume you want a comprehensive list. Okay, then, here it is. I won't list any short films, as I suppose you're only concerned with feature-length films. Some of the films listed here, though, I only saw once and/or some time ago, so I don't know how I'd feel about them now; I'll put a star beside those ambiguously-rated films to indicate them, okay?
Films I've given 7/10: Fright Night (1985); *Pet Sematary (1989); *King Kong (1933); *Barton Fink (1991); *The Man in the Iron Mask (1998); *Rashomon (1950); *Children of the Corn (1984); Ghostbusters II (1989); Hobo with a Shotgun (2011); Evil Dead II (1987); *Four Rooms (1995); *Arcanum (2009); *Big Trouble in Little China (1986); *The Seventh Seal (1957); Event Horizon (1997); Cube (1997); Poltergeist (1982); Legend (American version) (1985); The Crow (1994); A Christmas Carol (2009); *Dark City (1998); Another Earth (2011); Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004); *Rear Window (1954); Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971); *The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005); *Twelve Monkeys (1995); *Fargo (1996); 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968); The Road (2009); *Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975); Black Christmas (1974); Silent Running (1972); Batman Begins (2005); The Changeling (1980); *Bubba Ho-Tep (2002); *Death Wish (1974); C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005); *Dementia (1955); One Hour Photo (2002); *Mr. Sardonicus (1961); Fahrenheit 451 (1966); *The Chamber (1996); Murder by Death (1976); The 'Burbs (1989); *Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982); Hour of the Wolf (1968); *The Phantom of the Opera (1925); *The Beguiled (1971); *THX 1138 (pre-DVD version) (1971); The Terror (1963); *The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976); *The Thief of Bagdad (1940); Black Sabbath (1963); *Wait Until Dark (1967); X: Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963); The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001); *Run (1991).
Films I've given 8/10: Fantasia (1940); Superman III (1983); The Frighteners (1996); *The Bodyguard (1992); The Mask of Zorro (1998); *Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007); Highlander (1986); *Desperado (1995); Army of Darkness (1992); Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987); *The Blair Witch Project (1999); Misery (1990); Mrs. Doubtfire (1993); Stargate (1994); Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984); *Cloverfield (2008); The Lost Boys (1987); Aladdin (1992); Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989); Predator (1987); *Hancock (2008); *The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948); *A Bug's Life (1998); Ghostbusters (1984); The Terminator (1984); *Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991); The Machinist (2004); The Dark Angel (1987); Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981); The Empire Strikes Back (1980); Psycho (1960); *Predators (2010); Super 8 (2011); Toy Story (1995); *The Silence of the Lambs (1991); *Grease (1978); The Lion King (1994); Star Wars (1977); *Bad Boys (1983); Bride of Frankenstein (1935); *A Sunday in Kigali (2006); The Shawshank Redemption (1994); Scrooge (1951); The Hitcher (1986); *Bringing Out the Dead (1999); Fiddler on the Roof (1971); *Stir of Echoes (1999); *The Edge (1997); *The Limey (1999); *Moving (1988); *Shoot to Kill (1988); *The War at Home (1996); Roadgames (1981); *Aurore (2005); *King of the Jungle (2000); *Mystery Date (1991).
DuracellEnergizer said:
And I have no list of movies rated 9-10. I've never seen a movie that qualifies for such high ratings and, IMHO, I doubt any exist.
How can that be? There are no perfect films, so it's pointless to reserve 10s for perfection. A 10 doesn't mean the film is flawless, it means that it is the best of what there is. It's a relative thing. Whether it's an attempt at an objective rating of all films, or a subjective rating of what films you've personally seen, it's relative. For instance, Seven Samurai, Lawrence of Arabia, Barry Lyndon, Sunset Blvd., Vertigo - these are the best films I've ever seen, films of incredible technical skill and beauty that I've become more emotionally and intellectually invested in than any other film. I'm passionately in love with each of them, I could watch them each 1,000 times, so they receive 10s. Maybe there's a better film out there that will lower the score of all of the above, but I haven't seen it yet.
I really don't think there are films that are almost perfect - great movies, yes, but almost perfect? I can't say that about any film I've seen, really, I just can't. Any movie I've seen that seemed perfect or nearly perfect at the time always went down a notch or two after subsequent rewatches (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and The Machinist are two examples that come immediately to mind).
To me, not giving any film a score above a 9 is like saying that there are no films that you are passionately in love with. You must have a favorite film or two that you think are almost perfect and you love and could watch again and again.
My top favourite film is Stargate. I first saw it back in 1999, have rewatched it all the years since so many times that I've lost complete count, have an obsession with getting all the tie-in novels that came out after it, and want to learn everything there is to know about how it was made. Regardless, it is an incredibly flawed movie, with so much room for improvement, that it isn't funny. It doesn't mean I can't enjoy the elements of the film I like, or the film in general, but I still see the flaws, they can't be ignored, and they influence my evaluation.
It also brings up the issue of whether we're trying to give objective or subjective ratings to films. Are you trying to be objective? Because I don't believe that individuals can give objective ratings, so that's why I tend to use the term "favorite films" instead of "best films". I think the closest we can get to an objective list of the best films is through consensus, by compiling A LOT of subjective lists.
I've never pretended to be anything but subjective with my ratings. I evaluate a film based on how well it clicks for me, personally - aesthetically, emotionally, spiritually, how the performances work within the film, how it all comes together, etc. - or doesn't, for that matter. It's all just my opinion completely, and I make no pretenses otherwise.