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Post by JangoB on Mar 3, 2019 5:05:03 GMT
So I was thinking about how some directors release several films in just one year and the idea of creating a poll immediately came up. Let's remember the prolific filmmakers and pick which of their offerings in a year was the best!
I'll start with Steven Spielberg for whom this isn't a rare situation even though the films are quite big in scope.
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Post by JangoB on Mar 3, 2019 5:11:48 GMT
For me:
1989: A pretty easy choice. I think Always is perhaps Spielberg's weakest (albeit still good) film while Last Crusade is an example of the best that cinematic entertainment has to offer.
1993: This was the year of Spielberg without a doubt. Two astonishing achievements and my childhood heart will always consider Jurassic Park to be the greatest thing ever created on this planet but the grumpy grown-up me thinks that Schindler's List is a better film.
1997: I think The Lost World is good B-movie fun but Amistad is better and quite underrated actually. It's a pretty great film.
2002: Two incredible achievements that got savagely overlooked during awards season of that year. I like Catch Me If You Can a little bit more but both are amazing.
2005: Yet again two fantastic movies but I'm more on Munich's side. Still can't get over how dark that film is for Spielberg, although a bit of the same can be said about War of the Worlds too. Interesting year for him.
2011: I'm one of those people who think that War Horse is an incredible film that greatly honors Ford and Lean. That is my choice, although I love Tintin too.
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Post by mikediastavrone96 on Mar 3, 2019 5:54:44 GMT
1989: I think Always is an alright film that has sweet moments, but Last Crusade is about as perfect a piece of entertainment as any I can think of.
1993: These are legit my two favorite films of that year. Jurassic Park is such a remarkably fun melding of genres with a strong thematic core and some metacinematic moments that always make me giddy, but Schindler's List is on another level in terms of how film can really impact your core being.
1997: The Lost World is my least favorite Spielberg feature, so Amistad wins by default but the latter is a very good if kinda middle-of-the-road by Spielberg standards.
2002: These aren't my two favorite films of that year, but they are both in my top five. Minority Report has proven a key player in establishing a lot of the tones and themes of post-9/11 film (given the production timeline that obviously wasn't intentional, but still) and pulls it off better than most have since, but Catch Me If You Can feels like the sleekest, breeziest direction of Spielberg's career and it's in service of one of the sharpest scripts he's ever worked with (bonus points for the metaphorically autobiographical elements).
2005: If you were to ask me about the top 10 most thrilling, heart-pounding film sequences of the century, War of the Worlds might have three of them. If it weren't for some structural problems and a bit too tidy of a third act (I know it's in the book, but Spielberg's never shied away from deviating from the source), it'd be a near-perfect film. Even with that, though, it'd be hard to go against Munich, as politically astute and compelling a film as anything you'll ever find in Hollywood.
2011: I'm kinder towards War Horse than most on here; I think it has a number of standout sequences and think its biggest issue is its length rather than its old melodramatic tone (though I'd have preferred more Curtiz and less Fleming in the directorial style). All that said, Tintin is the more interesting work to me for being an Indiana Jones-esque animated romp that I wish was actually a little longer just to serve some downtime between the great set pieces.
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Post by jimmalone on Mar 3, 2019 12:58:08 GMT
Good idea.
1989 - Spielberg's best against one of his weakest. Easily Crusade. 1993 - Both are great, but slightly Schindler's List. 1997 - Amistad easily as well. Agree, that it's very underrated. 2002 - Two more great films, which I actually like both about the same. I'd maybe give the edge to Catch me if you can, but as Minority Report trails it's opponent clearly here I'll give it my vote. 2011 - I don't think War Horse is bad, especially technically (I give it my cinematography win that year), but storywise it's rather poor and I don't like the forced dramatic tone here. Tintin is pure fun for me and clearly gets my vote. I'm really waiting for the next film. Though I think it won't be as good withouth Spielberg as director.
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Post by TerryMontana on Mar 3, 2019 14:28:05 GMT
In every year there are easy choices except 1993 and 2002. Yet, I believe Catch me is a better movie than Minority report while, in 1993, Jurassic park was a very enjoyable film with groundbreaking special effects but Schindler's list... One of the greatest movies ever made imo.
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