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If you didn’t see our Top 10s on our previous podcasts, you can find them after the jump.

[podcast]http://lockstockandtwofilmgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/LSATFG-ep12.mp3[/podcast]

If you’ve been following me on Twitter (or Facebook) recently, you may have noticed that I’ve been posting a lot of updates about my “list of shame.”  Basically I’ve been trying to watch a lot of important movies lately, ones that, as a film major and a hopeful filmmaker, it’s ridiculous that I have not already seen.  So as I watch these films, I announce that I have “knocked them off the list of shame,” so to speak.  I’ve gotten a lot of ridicule for admitting to not having seen these movies, and I was certainly prepared for that.  After a few of these, I’ve gotten requests to see this list of shame.  Until this point it was not really a physical list, just a mental list of important movies that I see hovering around the tops of lists like the IMDB Top 250, the AFI 100 Films, 100 Years, etc.  But since people have been asking I thought it might be fun to make this list less imagined and more physical.  To start us off I’m going to list some of the films I’ve recently watched from this list.  If you’ve been following my posts, you’ll have noticed these already, if not, you’ll begin to understand the caliber of film that I have somehow neglected.  Please do not badger me for not having watched these, I have already completed these items.

Top 5 Movies I’ve Recently Struck From the List of Shame

1. Godfather part II
2. Schindler’s List
3. Reservoir Dogs
4. Taxi Driver
5. Apocalypse Now

Okay those items are huge, I know.  But at least they’re done with now, right?  Now that I’ve lost all my credibility as a film “critic,” let’s do a quick explanation.  A lot of the things on the list are on there for one or more of the following three reasons: violence, drugs, or other disturbing shit.  In terms of movies I saw as a child, I definitely leaned more to the “overprotected” side than the see any R rated film as a 5 year old side.  Because of this, I didn’t have quite the desensitization that many film viewers do.  For a while I was easily upset or unnerved by this type of content, and have therefore specifically chosen not to see them until this point.  But in the last few years I’ve built up somewhat of an immunity to these things, and so I’m trying to tackle them as quickly as possible.  Keep in mind, I write a review for Film Duel every week and try and keep up to date on what comes out in theaters each weekend, so there’s not as much time for these items as you’d think there would be.  Another note, I try to keep these items out of the Film Duel column, they’re really just too big and legendary to tackle these days.  On the other hand, I’ve removed The Dirty Dozen from the following list because we will be tackling it in Film Duel.

Top 10 Remaining List of Shame Items

1. Goodfellas

Martin Scorcese is a director that I really wasn’t exposed to at all until film school, and even then we weren’t shown any of his films in my classes.  I knew of him of course, seen him in commercials and very aware of the importance of his greater films, but I’d never seen any of them due most likely primarily to the level of violence he’s known for.  But I was so intrigued by the concept and cast of The Departed, that I had to give it a try.  Since then I’ve slowly been catching up on his important movies, but haven’t made it to this one, which is considered by some to be his best.

2. Saving Private Ryan

I traditionally have not liked war movies.  I was told by some that they couldn’t make it through the beginning of this movie because it was so violent.  When this movie came out I was still avoiding this type of movie, and I never really took the time to catch back up.  I’m a huge fan of Steven Spielberg though, and having just recently trekked through Schindler’s List it’s time to do his other big war film.  By the way I’ve seen bits and pieces of this one, including the beach scene, but never front to back.

3. Braveheart

Same thing, I heard rumors of people vomitting in the theater due to how violent this movie is.  I didn’t want to put myself through that at the time.  But so many people have this in their favorite movies lists that I really shouldn’t ignore it.  I still don’t care that much either way, but it’s a reputable movie that everyone gawks at when I say I don’t see it.  Once again, I’ve seen the first battle scene, but nothing else.

4. The Shining

I never really liked horror movies in the past.  It wasn’t my thing.  And though I wasn’t usually horrified while watching them, I was very scared of the idea of watching them.  When I picked movies horror movies weren’t really even in consideration, so why would I choose to watch this?  Lately I’ve exhausted a lot of the classics in other genres, so I’ve started to delve into horror and found that I actually like quite a few of the classic horror films.  This is one that I still haven’t gotten to, and considering the film and Kubrick’s legendary status, I really should.  I’m not in love with everything I’ve seen of Kubrick’s work, but I’ve at least found some appreciation for it, so I’m looking forward to this one.

5. No Country for Old Men

I love the Coen Brothers.  I love every movie they’ve ever made.  Some a little more than others, but I’ve even found things to like in Intolerable Cruelty.  I’ve seen every movie they’ve made except for two.  The first is The Ladykillers because I’ve heard it’s so bad and it looked bad in trailers.  If need be I’d probably watch it to complete their filmography.  The other is No Country for Old Men.  I didn’t see this because, once again, I was told it was very violent and unrelenting.  I’m told though that it’s very good and I can’t bear to miss a good Coen brothers movie anymore.  This one is particularly embarassing because it was best picture during a year I was in film school.  (I may or may not have the blu-ray rented as of this morning, *cough*)

6. A Clockwork Orange

Kubrick again.  There’s two big factors here.  For most of my life this film just hasn’t really interested me.  I’m not that into the whole rebel against society thing, and I’m also not in to the paranioa of the government thing either, and my impression is that these two things are at least part of what drives this movie.  Secondarily, I’ve heard great things about the book and would kind of like to read it first now that I’ve gained some interest.  But recently I think I gave up on the idea of reading it any time soon, so I might as well knock this off the list since it tends to sit so high on AFI and IMDB lists.

7. Seven

Here we see creepy violence and grotesqueness keeping me from seeing a movie again.  The plot though has always interested me, since I like a good murder mystery, and one that involves the seven deadly sins as a calling card seems particularly intriguing.  I’ve even had friends tell me quite a bit about it, and I Love the 90′s ruined the ending for me.  Still, I hear it’s good and would like to knock this off the list now that I’ve become a little more desensitized to violence.

8. The 400 Blows

This is on here because, being one of the most important films in the French New wave movement, it’s kind of important to my knowledge as a film maker and as a “film critic.”  I don’t know why we didn’t watch this in European Cinema class, maybe we did and I didn’t show up.  I don’t have an objection to subtitles or black and white like a lot of viewers do, it’s just something I haven’t gotten to.

9. Last of the Mohicans

I really have no reason to have not seen this film other than neglect.  There was nothing stopping me.  Apparently it’s a better film than I realized because a lot of people have recently pointed out that it’s a glaring gap in my film watching experience.  Now I know, and it’s pretty high on my blockbuster queue, but then again my blockbuster queue is huge, which is why a lot of these things are on here.  Love Michael Mann and Daniel Day Lewis though, so it should be real enjoyable when I get around to it.

10. Midnight Cowboy

I don’t really like movies about drugs, and this is about them, right?  I actually don’t know that much about it, but I know it originally had an X rating, which felt like a big deal to me when I was a kid.  I haven’t been actively avoiding this film, just haven’t cared enough either way.  It seems like kind of a downer too, which is something I’m usually not in the mood for.  Anyways as with all of these, it’s well regarded and should probably be knocked off the list at some point.

Another note, there are three items in this article that don’t really fit with the three “causes” I mentioned above.  Last of the Mohicans and The 400 Blows haven’t been seen strictly due to neglect, while Schindler’s List used to be on the list simply because I was never in the mood to get depressed.  This is not every list of shame item; I figured beginning with the ten most important was a good place to start and I can probably show you guys a new one at a later point.  So I will be trying to watch all these items in the next few months.  I am undecided as to whether I will be doing any commentary on these as I see them, my inclination is not to write about them, but if I see some interest in my opinion I may reconsider.  Finally there’s one more little list of films I can share with you.  These are films I considered putting on the List of Shame, but eventually decided not to because I have specifically targeted them as films I simply do not want to see.  I could change my mind on these at some point, of course (right now, the most flexible would be Trainspotting).  Also, there are a lot of other films that I’ve intentionally decided not to see because of their content, but these seem the most important.

Top 5 Films I Refuse to See

1. Requiem for a Dream
2. American History X
3. The Exorcist
4. Trainspotting
5. The Deer Hunter

So there you have it.  As you can see from this and my last feature article, I have a propensity for lists.  You will likely see more of these as I simply love making and reading them.   Let me know what you think.  And… let the berating begin.

The purpose of this article is simply to point out the ten best movies of the year so far.  I started with January and went through the end of August and looked at every movie I’d seen so far, and let me tell you, I have seen a lot of movies this year.  In fact the only movie I truly regret missing so far is The Hurt Locker, so don’t expect to see it on this list.  I’m going to categorize this top ten as being defined by being my “favorites”.   A lot of things can contribute to this, and I’ll do my best to briefly explain each choice, but I think you’ll find that it’s a combination of pure enjoyment, relatability, and undoubtable quality.  But, in my humble opinion these are the 10 best movies of 2009 so far, if not in the order I have them placed. You may remember Benn’s tirade against the current state of the summer blockbuster, and you might be able to think of this as a counter to that, because while not all of the movies that are about to be mentioned were “blockbusters,” most of them were part of this summers’ film slate, and were completely enjoyable.  Some even pushed the envelope of filmmaking just a little.  Anyway without further ado, I present to you in approximate and completely subjective order descending from tenth to first favorite film, my top ten favorite films of the first “half” of 2009.

10. Watchmen

I realize that to truly appreciate this movie, you have to have seen the book, but what a companion piece it is.  The original is such an excellently told story, and it’s such a marvel to see it up there on the silver screen.  Zack Snider took a lot of risks in maintaining the purity of the book, and it seems as if they may not have paid off for him, but for the Watchmen fan, this is just about as good as we could possibly hope for.  Basically this is appreciation for seeing a favorite story be brought to screen in a respectable way.

9. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

As with all the Harry Potter films, it has to cut out a lot, including a climactic battle, to fit it all in.  Still, there’s a lot to like here.  The cinematography is gorgeous, and has a unique look that the other films don’t have. Also, I can’t believe how lucky they got with what were once child actors.  They have really grown up into their roles and give some great performances, as do their adult counterparts.  The big surprise here though is the excellent comedy and relationship moments, it’s almost like watching a really good high school movie.

8. Moon

This is one of those movies that’s best not to talk about too much.  Just go see it and be surprised.  But I can tell you this, it has an amazing one man show performance by Sam Rockwell, and it does incredible things with its $5 million dollar budget.  The script is incredibly compelling as well, considering it’s enclosed nature.

7. Drag Me to Hell

If you’ve ever seen any of the Evil Dead (or Army of Darkness) films, you’ll understand this movie perfectly.  It comes from the same writer/director, Sam Raimi, and instills the same sort of manic horror that doesn’t take itself too seriously.  It’s almost more comedy than horror, and plays with the tropes of the genre while still finding fresh ways to really creep you out.  This is just a ton of fun.

6. Up

What can I say, I’m a sucker for Pixar.  I’m almost always teary by the end of a Pixar film, (and jealousy of their accomplishment usually has something to do with it) but rarely am I teary in the first five minutes.  Up grabs you and pulls you in, and doesn’t let go.  It has many emotionally touching moments, and some great comedy as well.  Pixar is just unstoppable for me.

5. District 9

It’s so refreshing to see a completely original concept, particularly within the sci-fi genre.  This film accomplishes so many different things.  It’s a great video-game style action movie, really unlike any that has been accomplished before.  And it’s simultaneously a great allegory for racial relations in South Africa (or anywhere).  It’s great to see that a summer blockbuster can mean something.  Also, considering the budgets of some of the other blockbusters out there, the fact that this movie was made for $30 million is simply unbelievable.

4. The Brothers Bloom

I love me a good con movie, I love me a good comedy, and I love me some good genre bending.  This accomplishes all three, and it does it with flourish and style.  Not only does Rian Johnson take a little from some of his (and my) favorite films, but he adds some brilliant flairs of his own and brings it together in a surprisingly unified palette.  This is a ton of fun to watch, it’s clever, it’s a little meta-fictional (which I’m also a sucker for), and it even brings it home with some touching emotional beats.  This also my favorite musical score of the year.  Highly recommended on all accounts.  Benn and I reviewed it in depth in our Film Duel column.

3. (500) Days of Summer

This movie is so relatable it’s not even funny.  I may not have lived exactly this, but it’s so universal that it strikes home anyway.  And yet it feels specific and genuine at the same time.  It’s a really witty and fresh script as well.  Both actors are great, and have good chemistry.  And there’s Zooey Deschanel, who I’ve had an unabashed crush on ever since I saw Mumford and Eulogy, two of her earliest films.  Sadly she just got married to one of my favorite musicians, Ben Gibbard, so I’ll have to begin to mentally let her go.  There’s a great mix of indie music too, and some wonderful directorial stylistic flairs.  Benn and I reviewed it in depth in our Film Duel column.

2. Inglourious Basterds

This is simply magnificent.  Never have I seen such a great experiment in tension.  Hitchcock used to say that surprise is having two people talking at a table about the weather, and then a bomb under the table blows up, tension is showing the audience the bomb under the table, and then having two people talk about the weather.  Quentin Tarantino clearly knows this, and experiments with both concepts.  He knows how to pull back the rubber band until its ready to snap and then let all hell break loose.  This movie shows off Tarantino’s mastery of dialogue and style, and is certainly one of his best.  By the way, there’s a lot of cool posters for this movie, but my favorite is the one that appears to the left, apparently it was a European poster.  How come they got the good one?

1. Star Trek

This was simply the most fun I had all summer.  Films can be big summer popcorn flicks and still be great films at the same time.  This script is near perfect for me, there’s conflict at every turn, while simultaneously building up character.  The acting is dead on, and I would die to have a television show with these actors as these characters.  The cinematography is fresh and appealing, and the directing is exciting and thoughtful at once.  I can’t wait to have this on blu-ray so I can watch it for my third and fourth time.

Honorable Metions:

The Hangover, I Love You, Man, and Coraline

Please feel free to come up with your own top 10 and post it in the comments of this page, I’d love to hear your opinions.

Update: If you’d like to be thorough with a list of your own, Wikipedia has a list of all of the 2009 releases, make sure to limit yourself to January through August.

As usual the podcast is available for download on iTunes and Podcast Alley. Please leave a review there if you haven’t yet, we need more listeners. And you can always listen to it right here on our web page.

Once again, for a full listing of our top 10s, click after the jump.

[podcast]http://lockstockandtwofilmgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/LSATFG-ep7.mp3[/podcast]

As always the easiest way to get the podcast is through our iTunes page, but feel free to listen to it straight from the web page below.

In the podcast we go over our top tens rather quickly so we’re posting them here for your reading pleasure.  You’ll find them after the jump.

[podcast]http://lockstockandtwofilmgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/LSATFG-ep4.mp3[/podcast]