The 2006 Xixax DEKAPENTICON

[hedwig]

just a peek at the 1/2 switcharound is a hint at what a MASSIVE upgrade this is from the 04 deka. i'm quite pleased with these results, with the usual minor quibbles but i'm in a good mood right now so the mistakes don't even bother me that much.

all i'm gonna say is ANNIE HALL AND THE SHINING MADE THE LIST!  

thanks, voters.

[Brazoliange]

Adaptation should be replacing ESotSM
Casino is a bit better than Goodfellas, but they're pretty close
I still think that Boogie Nights is much better than Magnolia but that's just personal taste
Taxi Driver and EWS definitely deserve their spots
and it's nice to see The Shining made it.

too bad It's A Wonderful Life and The 400 Blows didn't make it (and The Life Aquatic and The Dreamers, but those are personal faves more than great films.)

[SHAFTR]

Some quick thoughts.

*Sad that 400 Blows didn't make the list
 > same goes for the lack of Bergman and Leone
*I wish Citizen Kane would be higher.
*Too much PTA & Kubrick (not that there is anything wrong with either of them)
*Eternal Sunshine is strange to have that high.
*Happy to see Annie Hall & Vertigo on there.

[polkablues]

I'm a little surprised "Dancer in the Dark" and "Amelie" didn't make it on.  They both seemed to have the momentum.

But it looks like we've gotten better at this list thing, all in all.

[Gamblour.]

Am I the only who's happy with Eternal Sunshine on the list? I think it's one of the best modern films, in terms of all of our modern elements, special effects, post modern storytelling, amazing acting, seriously....there are a million and a half reasons why this movie is great, despite the fact it's so popular.

I can't believe how pleased I am with this list, nothing is wrong with it. It reflects the zeitgeist of the board in so many ways. I'm just happy there's no Fight Club. Maybe it's just the way Mod presented it, the list seems so palatable. (absolutely fantastic images, btw Mod)

i'm very proud of the board right now.

[JG]

great presenation, weak list.  i'll write more after 24. 

one thought:  where is It's a wonderful life and 400 blows?

EDIT: 

My first thoughts:  thank god there's no fight club.   i guess i have to revisit vertigo, cause it seems to get so much acclaim, i don't remember thinking it was that great (a four star movie, for sure).  the only kubrick choice i'm unsure about is the shining.  i prefer strangelove.  but then again, i haven't seen any kubrick since my favorite director was tarantino.   speaking of which, pulp fiction is WAYYY too high.  i mean i know we all love it, but that much?  the more and more i think about it, the more and more i almost like jackie brown just as much.    Magnolia should be that high.  Annie Hall -- yay!  The more and more i think about this movie the more and more i appreciate it.  earlier this month even i wouldn't have said it deserved a spot on the list, but what the hell.   just seeing the presentation for it makes me appreciate it so much more.  maybe i'm fickle, i just think my tastes are constantly evolving and maturing.   as for eternal -- come on.  citizen kane -- about right.   thank god there was none of the overrated godard crap.  but damn, no 400 blows?  how can you not love that movie?  wait, i just realized something, no wes anderson, right?  that's a relief.   another thing, is raging bull not on the list!?   i suppose the scorsese selections are good enough, but raging bull is still his best movie.    Stiill not sure if 8 1/2 is better than la dolce vita (la strada is still the best), but i'm still happy we have a fellini on there. 

oh yeah, and i've never seen mullholand drive   

in conclusion:  although i'm not too happy with the top 15, i've realized that i need to revisit kubrick's life works and see more david lynch. 

Postscript -- way to overuse italics, JimmyGator

[GoneSavage]

It's a fine list.  Sure it's weird to have Eternal Sunshine on there but I guess something had to represent the current decade.  Maybe it got a lesser quantity of votes but the votes it did get were weighted more. 

Nice work on the images, modage.


and

I'm just happy there's no Fight Club.

[SHAFTR]

It's a fine list.  Sure it's weird to have Eternal Sunshine on there but I guess something had to represent the current decade. 

Mulholland Dr was 2001.

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

I'm sad about the lack of Schizopolis... but it didn't even go past the original voting...

I'm also very surprised that Amelie wasn't even 15 (let alone much higher on the list)

thank god there was none of the overrated godard crap.

I'm sorry, but what are you doing here?

[hedwig]

thank god there was none of the overrated godard crap.

I'm sorry, but what are you doing here?

uh sure, walrus. you know, he's the ONLY one who thinks godard is overrated 

the only kubrick choice i'm unsure about is the shining.

yeah, i'm unsure about "The Shining," too... unsure why it's not placed in the TOP FIVE. 

but then again, i haven't seen any kubrick since my favorite director was tarantino.

quasi-invalidation.

speaking of which, pulp fiction is WAYYY too high. i mean i know we all love it, but that much? the more and more i think about it, the more and more i almost like jackie brown just as much.

yes. in fact, i think Jackie Brown is far superior, and Pulp shouldn't appear on the dekapenticon at all.

in conclusion: although i'm not too happy with the top 15, i've realized that i need to revisit kubrick's life works and see more david lynch.

if the dekapenticon results led you to this realization you should be eternally grateful for them. 


oh yeah, and excellent graphics, mod. 

[bonanzataz]

uhhh... what's up with all the hating on fight club? it was one of the best movies to come out in the last decade, and you all USED to love it, as i recall. far better than eternal sunshine (which, don't get me wrong, i really enjoyed).

Am I the only who's happy with Eternal Sunshine on the list? I think it's one of the best modern films, in terms of all of our modern elements, special effects, post modern storytelling, amazing acting, seriously....there are a million and a half reasons why this movie is great, despite the fact it's so popular.

ok, good point. then you go and invalidate it with...

I'm just happy there's no Fight Club.

all the shit you liked about in eternal is all there in fight club - especially the popularity part. yes, fight club is super popular, but that's because it sums up all of post-modern culture and our generation. of course it's popular. so many can relate to it.

i didn't vote for fight club. i just rewatched it the other day though and forgot how brilliant it really is. even if it is a movie that assholes like.

[JG]

thank god there was none of the overrated godard crap.

I'm sorry, but what are you doing here?

I do like some Godard, but certainly not enough to put it on a top 15 list.  If we were just trying to compose a list of some of the most influential movies on there, then sure, godard could be on there. 

but then again, i haven't seen any kubrick since my favorite director was tarantino.

quasi-invalidation.

Hey man, I agree.  It's kind of exciting to think that I'm (probably) about to fall in love with some of the best movies of all time.    And hey, I still got a lot of christmas certificates so I'll probably be buying some Kubricks.   

in conclusion: although i'm not too happy with the top 15, i've realized that i need to revisit kubrick's life works and see more david lynch.

if the dekapenticon results led you to this realization you should be eternally grateful for them. 

It wasn't so much the dekapenticon as the xixax boards in general.  When I see people who have similar tastes to me (or should it be mine) raving about a director I really don't know too much about (while I have seen his most essential works), it kind of makes me think I need to get my shit into gear. 

[Gamblour.]

all the shit you liked about in eternal is all there in fight club - especially the popularity part. yes, fight club is super popular, but that's because it sums up all of post-modern culture and our generation. of course it's popular. so many can relate to it.

i didn't vote for fight club. i just rewatched it the other day though and forgot how brilliant it really is. even if it is a movie that assholes like.

here's the thing. eternal sunshine is this beautiful movie full of hope and it ends very bittersweet. you can feel every little push and pull in this relationship of theirs, you learn about it all in reverse, secondhand, and it's still incredibly moving. Fight Club feels bratty and immature and hopeless for no reason. when you back up and say that a man with a mental disorder couldn't stop what he didn't mean to start, it lacks a humanity that eternal sunshine offers. if it boils down to the fact that fight club doesn't make me feel or think like ES, then that's ok, and if you like it that's fine.

anyhow, i'm glad fight club's not here because to me it definitely wouldn't fit. I have massive respect for ES, but not Fight Club. However, if perhaps Seven or The Game were here, that would be a very interesting choice. I just don't think Fincher has made one of the best movies of all time, whereas Gondry and Kauffman definitely have. It's the culmination of all this great talent.

[SoNowThen]

All of Haneke's post 2000 work is far better and more important to cinema than anything that was in the running to make this list (from this decade). Too bad I didn't watch him sooner to make a push -- not that it would have made any difference.

So you who haven't yet: there's a year ahead of us, watch more Haneke and Godard and Tarkovsky and Bergman and Bresson and Bunuel. And if you don't like it... watch it again. You missed something.

[w/o horse]

And for what I would like to say, Magnolia dropping a spot is good.  I think it's going to be the La Dolce Vita of his catalogue, I think that in time and with viewings some of us aren't going to be able to help but find it overly melodramatic.  I think the lightness of Boogie Nights will carry it through, and I think that the beauty and imagination of Punch-Drunk will carry it through.  But, hell, La Dolce Vita sits the top of many lists, as will Magnolia I am sure.

Eyes Wide Shut at number three surprises me, but not in a matter of disdain, just a 'what the fuck, really that high' kind of way.  I share the regret in not having Dr. Strangelove crack the list.

Did anyone say Pulp Fiction deserves to be at number four?  It does, probably.  Or one or six or eleven or fifteen.  It deserves to be on the list somewhere, and the number may be negotiable by the year.

Annie Hall isn't my favorite Woody Allen drama or my favorite Woody Allen comedy.  But I guess that it's a bith of both will suffice.  I think perhaps maybe people have that nostalgic attachment to it, as it was probably their first Allen, or maybe they buy the hype, or maybe they just plain fucking love the movie.  Looking at his catalogue objectively I can't possibly consider it his best.

I'm pretty sure I voted for Taxi Driver to be at number one.  I think it's the ultimate seventies movies myself - it's Scorsese, Schrader, and De Niro coming together at a time in which they were all in their peak.  I don't know any other film that quite captures what it is to be anomic, faceless, and malcontent; certainly not with the beauty of cinema behind it as well.  Fucking Bernard Herrmann too, goddamn.  It's a bit 'poster in the frat house' but what's that got to do with me got to do with the film.

Honestly from the list I have the least experience with Mulholland Drive.  I'm going to watch it again soon.

I don't like Eternal Sunshine hardly at all.  I do think that Gamblour is making a fine case for the film.



Maybe some of these comments conflict each other and then the wizard reveals that it is indeed all taste.

Let me say it one more time:  next year Peckinpah please.