The Top 100 Films on IMDB Meme

Just found a new meme over at A Gentleman’s Domain. Nick took the first 100 of the Top 250 films list from imdb.com and bolded the ones he has seen.
I was surprised at how many movies Nick hasn’t seen yet, so I decided to find out how many of them I have seen already. Although having seen them in many cases doesn’t necessarily mean having liked them.
This list does definitely not resemble my own Top 100, but I agree with it insofar as there are a lot of well-known movies on it that were a part of pop-culture in their time.

1. The Godfather (1972)
2. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
3. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
4. Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966)
5. Pulp Fiction (1994)
6. Schindler’s List (1993)
7. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
8. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
9. Casablanca (1942)
10. Shichinin no samurai (1954)
11. Star Wars (1977)
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
13. 12 Angry Men (1957)
14. Rear Window (1954)
15. Goodfellas (1990)
16. Cidade de Deus (2002)
17. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
18. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
19. C’era una volta il West (1968)
20. The Usual Suspects (1995)
21. Psycho (1960)
22. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
23. Fight Club (1999)
24. Citizen Kane (1941)
25. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
26. North by Northwest (1959)
27. Memento (2000)
28. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
29. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
30. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
31. The Matrix (1999)
32. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
33. There Will Be Blood (2007)
34. Se7en (1995)
35. Apocalypse Now (1979)
36. Taxi Driver (1976)
37. American Beauty (1999)
38. Léon (1994)
39. Vertigo (1958)
40. Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain, Le (2001)
41. American History X (1998)
42. The Departed (2006)
43. No Country for Old Men (2007)
44. Paths of Glory (1957)
45. M (1931)
46. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
47. Chinatown (1974)
48. The Third Man (1949)
49. Leben der Anderen, Das (2006)
50. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
51. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
52. Alien (1979)
53. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
54. Laberinto del fauno, El (2006)
55. The Shining (1980)
56. Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001)
57. The Pianist (2002)
58. Double Indemnity (1944)
59. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
60. Forrest Gump (1994)
61. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
62. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
63. L.A. Confidential (1997)
64. Das Boot (1981)
65. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
66. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
67. Untergang, Der (2004)
68. Aliens (1986)
69. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
70. Raging Bull (1980)
71. Metropolis (1927)
72. Rashômon (1950)
73. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
74. Modern Times (1936)
75. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
76. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
77. Sin City (2005)
78. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
79. Rebecca (1940)
80. Sjunde inseglet, Det (1957)
81. All About Eve (1950)
82. Some Like It Hot (1959)
83. City Lights (1931)
84. Amadeus (1984)
85. On the Waterfront (1954)
86. Vita è bella, La (1997)
87. The Great Escape (1963)
88. Touch of Evil (1958)
89. The Prestige (2006)
90. The Elephant Man (1980)
91. Jaws (1975)
92. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
93. The Sting (1973)
94. Nuovo cinema Paradiso (1988)
95. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
96. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
97. The Apartment (1960)
98. Braveheart (1995)
99. The Great Dictator (1940)
100. Blade Runner (1982)

If I haven’t miscounted that makes 66 out of 100. But I noticed that most of the ones I haven’t seen were made long before I was even born, or were so new that they haven’t been shown on tv yet (since I don’t go to the cinema very often, tv or DVDs are my only chances to get to see most films eventually).

That just goes to show that I watch way too much tv. Especially when I should be doing other stuff that’s more important in the so-called “real world”. But then I always thought reality is overrated.

But now I am wondering if the percentage of movies I have seen would be the same for the whole Top 250 List, because scrolling down past #100 I noticed a lot more contemporary films…

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Just found the idea on a german blog (via another german blog):
A list of 10 things I really would like to do before I kick the bucket for good.

Funnily, first it was quite hard to think of anything at all - and the more I thought about it the harder it got to narrow it down to only 10 things…

1. Write a novel. A good one.

2. Publish it, see it topping the bestseller lists and become rich and famous. (Well, rich would be enough, I pass on the famous thing.)

3. Learn to speak spanish, italian and japanese fluently. (Pure fantasy, as I got my hands full with english.)

4. Build a house, or at least buy one and restore it completely. Preferably, it should be located on some beautiful coast, miles away from any other human habitation, and the only thing that’s really important interior-wise is a huge library. And an open fireplace.

5. Learn to play an instrument, preferably the piano, but guitar wouldn’t be bad either. (Not likely to happen, though, because I am musically challenged to put it mildly.)

6. Design and plant a garden - or even better yet, a park - with lots of trees that will look the way it’s intended to only in a hundred years or later.

7. Lose 40 pounds. (And again: not going to happen in reality.)

8. Have enough money to buy every book that takes my fancy - and enough time to actually read them all.

9. Live in a couple of countries other than Germany for at least a year each. Japan would be one, others are Australia, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Italy, Great Britain, Ireland, Brazil and definitely New Zealand again. (I think that one has the most potential to actually happen.)

10. Visit a couple more countries for prolonged holidays.

If I could manage all that I could look back on a life well spent and die happily. When I’m 120 at the earliest, because for now I’m still intending to live forever.

So, I’m curious: what are your 10 things? I’m not gonna tag anyone, but if you’d like to play along leave a comment.

Just found this while I was looking for Hugh Laurie clips on Youtube.
Hugh is in it only for a few seconds (wearing a very ugly wig), but the whole thing is hilarious.

Now this is a movie I would actually pay to watch.

Oh, and just as a favour, could you please let me know if this embedded video totally fucks up my page layout on your screen? Because I have just spent 10 minutes trying to make sure that it doesn’t, but I am not sure if it will still behave once I published the post…Thank you.

I don’t even know why I didn’t like StumbleUpon at first. I was probably just being antagonistic on principle, what with all this social media hype bullshit and all.
I have changed my mind meanwhile and have lots of fun stumbling through random websites nowadays. Of course it’s a huge time thief and much of what I find is totally useless, but some of the stuff just makes me literally laugh out loud.

Like this website selling bumper stickers, buttons and the like I found tonight. It’s called EvolveFISH. com.

Now, I have to admit I don’t have any bumper stickers on my car and you wouldn’t ever catch me running around with any kind of button on my shirt or jacket. (I do like t-shirts with catchy phrases, though.) Besides, many of these things are way too America-centric to be of any use to me personally, but the atheist ones were obviously right up my alley. Just for fun.

Especially their different variations of the christian fish symbol rock. My car might be small, but I think I would find room for both the Darwin one and the Flying Spaghetti Monster version.

My favorite, though, would be the Invisible Pink Unicorn (although it doesn’t look much like a unicorn and it’s not even pink), because nobody would know what it is supposed to be in the first place, making it a total insider joke.

I know, some of them are old, but they still make me smile.

(BTW, just in case you were wondering: the big, silver A up there is apparently the new logo for atheists.)

Some stories I read on the net just leave me shaking my head and wondering about people with strange ideas and apparently too much time on their hands. This one, though, also made me laugh. Where else but in New Zealand could this have happened?

I know that things are a little bit different down there sometimes, but this story really tops everything I heard while I lived there myself:

The makers of a chart-topping song only audible to dogs say they hope it can become a global hit.

A Very Silent Night - a Christmas number one in New Zealand - raised money for the country’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

How can a song that’s only audible to dogs become a hit? I suppose when they play it on the radio as a human all you hear is silence. Ok, some people would say, compared to the normal program of most radio stations nowadays, silence is actually preferable.

But lots pf people must have bought the CD, ending up listening to silence on their CD players. I reckon, that can only be explained by the fact that most Kiwis are essentially good people and wanted to raise money for the good cause. Which is just one more reason why I love this country and its people so much.

But honestly, I bet my dog would totally ignore the song, just like she does with the rest of the noise from the tv and radio.

Recently, my friend Nicholas over at A Gentleman’s Domain posted this strangely fascinating meme, and even though I still don’t get what the levels are supposed to signify, I decided to have a go at it myself.

Level 1
(x) Smoked a cigarette.
( ) Smoked a cigar.
(x) Kissed a member of the same sex.
(x) Drank alcohol.

Level 2
(x) Are/been in love.
(x) Been dumped.
(x) Shoplifted.
( ) Been fired.
(x) Been in a fist fight.

Level 3
(x) Had a crush on an older person.
(x) Skipped school. (Still do all the time.)
( ) Slept with a classmate.
(x) Seen someone/something die. (And helped it along. Does that count?)

Level 4
( ) Had/have a crush on one of your friends who is now on Facebook.
(x) Been to Paris.
(x) Been to Spain.
(x) Been on a plane.
(x) Thrown up from drinking. (Only once and I will never in my life get that drunk again.)

Level 5
( ) Eaten sushi.
( ) Been snowboarding.
( ) Met someone BECAUSE of Facebook.
(?) Been in a mosh pit. (I don’t even know what that is, so maybe that’s a yes?)

Level 6
( ) Been in an abusive relationship.
(x) Taken pain killers.
(x) Love/loved someone who you can’t have. (All the fucking time.)
( ) Laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by.
(x) Made a snow angel. (I must have, because all kids used to do that, back in the days when they still used to play outside, right?)

Level 7
( ) Had a tea party.
(x) Flown a kite.
(x) Built a sand castle.
(x) Gone mudding (offroading).
( ) Played dress up.

Level 8
(x) Jumped into a pile of leaves.
(x) Gone sledging.
(x) Cheated while playing a game. (Another one I do all the time.)
(x) Been lonely.
(x) Fallen asleep at work/school.

Level 9
(x) Watched the sun set.
( ) Felt an earthquake.
( ) Killed a snake.

Level 10
(x) Been tickled.
( ) Been robbed/vandalized.
(x) Been cheated on.
(x) Been misunderstood.

Level 11
( ) Won a contest.
( ) Been suspended from school. (I wish!)
( ) Had detention.
(x) Been in a car/motorcycle accident.

Level 12
( ) Had/have braces.
(x) Eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night. (Is that supposed to be something extraordinary?)
( ) Danced in the moonlight.

Level 13
(x) Hated the way you look.
(x) Witnessed a crime. (Do the ones I committed count?)
( ) Pole danced. (Now here’s an idea…)
( ) Questioned your heart.
( ) Been obsessed with post-it-notes.

Level 14
(x) Squished barefoot through the mud.
(x) Been lost.
(x) Been to the opposite side of the world.
(x) Swam in the ocean.
( ) Felt like you were dying. (Every time I sit in class and am bored to death, but I guess that doesn’t count.)

Level 15
(x) Cried yourself to sleep.
(x) Played cops and robbers.
(x) Recently colored with crayons/colored pencils/markers.
( ) Sang karaoke.
(x) Paid for a meal with only coins.

Level 16
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t.
(x) Made prank phone calls.
( ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose.
( ) Kissed in the rain.

Level 17
( ) Written a letter to Santa Claus.
(x) Watched the sun set/sun rise with someone you care/cared about.
(x) Blown bubbles.
(x) Made a bonfire on the beach or anywhere.

Level 18
( ) Crashed A Party.
(x) Have travelled more than 5 days with a car full of people. (Boy, was that a crappy idea!)
(x) Gone rollerskating/blading.
(x) Had a wish come true.
(x) Slept with a member of the same sex.

Level 19
( ) Worn pearls.
(x) Jumped off a bridge.
( ) Screamed “penis” or “vagina”.
( ) Swam with dolphins.

Level 20
( ) Got your tongue stuck to a pole/freezer/ice cube.
( ) Kissed a fish.
(x) Worn the opposite sex’s clothes. (Practically all my life.)
(x) Sat on a roof top.

Level 21
(x) Screamed at the top of your lungs.
( ) Done/attempted a one-handed cartwheel. (I can’t even do two-handed ones.)
( ) Talked on the phone for more than six hours (in one day).
(x) Recently stayed up for a while talking to someone you care about.

Level 22
(x) Picked and ate an apple right off the tree.
(x) Climbed a tree.
(x) Had/been in a tree house.
(x) Been scared to watch scary movies alone.

Level 23
(x) Believed in ghosts.
( ) Have had more than thirty pairs of shoes (not necessarily all at once).
( ) Gone streaking.
( ) Visited jail.

Level 24
( ) Played chicken.
( ) Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on.
( ) Been told you’re hot by a complete stranger.
( ) Broken a bone.
(x) Been easily amused.

Level 25
(x) Caught a fish then ate it later.
( ) Made a porn video.
( ) Caught a butterfly. (I’m terrified of butterflies, I wouldn’t think of catching one. Ever. *shudder*)
(x) Laughed so hard you cried.
( ) Cried so hard you laughed.

Level 26
( ) Mooned/flashed someone.
( ) Had someone moon/flash you.
(x) Cheated on a test.
(x) Forgotten someone’s name.
(x) French braided someone’s hair. (My own.)
(x) Gone skinny dipping.
( ) Been kicked out of your house.
(x) Tried to hurt yourself.

Level 27
( ) Rode a roller coaster. (That’s one of those things you couldn’t pay me enough to try.)
( ) Went scuba-diving/snorkelling.
(x) Had a cavity.
( ) Black-mailed someone.
( ) Been black mailed.

Level 28
(x) Been used.
( ) Fell going up the stairs.
( ) Licked a cat.
(x) Bitten someone.
(x) Licked someone - not in private places…

Level 29
( ) Been shot at/or at gunpoint.
( ) Had sex in the rain.
(x) Flattened someone’s tires.
(x) Rode your car/truck until the gas light came on.
(x) Got five dollars or less worth of gas.

Hm, now that I have read it again, I am still puzzled by some of the questions. But whatever. I don’t have to understand everything. I’m not going to tag anyone, but if you like to play along, feel free to do so.

Oh, and if you know anybody who can honestly say of himself that he ever licked a cat or kissed a fish: let me know, because people like that sound like fun.

Well, apparently not all that much. At least judging by the contents of this site, containing the 100 Greatest Quotes from fundamentalist christian chat rooms.

These are actual quotes of actual religious nutcases. If it wasn’t so damn funny, it would be tragic that people can actually be THAT stupid. I had tears streaming down my face from laughing so hard.
Funnily, just earlier today I read a blog post of a religious woman, who was asking why atheists don’t take people seriously who believe in Intelligent Design. I was tempted to write a comment with a lenghty explanation (along the lines of “because ID has got nothing to do with science and is just as much a fairytale as the rest of religion”), but in the end I decided it just wasn’t worth it. Now, if I could just find that blog again, I would post this link as my explanation. It says it all, really. How can you take anybody seriously who sprouts nonsense such as this:

There are a lot of things I have concluded to be wrong, without studying them in-depth. Evolution is one of them. The fact that I don’t know that much about it does not bother me in the least.

Although I have to say morons like this one make me a tiny bit angry:

[Talking about an eleven year old girl who was raped and then buried alive]
god was sacrificing this child as a way to show others the light. much as he did his own child. what a beautiful gift he has given us.

I’m really trying to be tolerant towards religious people, I try to respect the fact that they believe in fairytales with no basis in reality whatsoever. Everybody is entitled to their own private beliefes, right? But reading such utter foolishness doesn’t exactly make it any easier.

Here is another example that just leaves me shaking my head in disbelief:

Everyone knows scientists insist on using complex terminology to make it harder for True Christians to refute their claims.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid, for example… sounds impressive, right? But have you ever seen what happens if you put something in acid? It dissolves! If we had all this acid in our cells, we’d all dissolve! So much for the Theory of Evolution, Check MATE!

Is it any wonder I can’t take people like that seriously? Gahhh!!! My belief in humankind has taken quite a dive again. We are all doomed, I tell ya. DOOMED.