All-time classic films of recent years

[Funt Solo]

The best part of The Hobbit Trilogy is the scene of the stone trolls in Fellowship.

[Jim_Campbell]

a re-edit down to about 2 hours max cutting out anything not in the book

I believe this thing exists in the murky corners of the internet. I haven’t seen it, but I remember reading an article about it… there’s definitely a fan edit, albeit around the three hour (?) mark, that cuts everything not in the novel… although I don’t object to the White Council stuff in principle, since it’s canon, albeit culled from the LotR appendices, and explains Gandalf’s otherwise slightly baffling disappearance from the book.

[DrRocka]

If I remember rightly, it’s called the Tolkien edit, if it’s still available. Been a couple of years since I saw it, the picture quality wasn’t too good, but its a really good movie. Definitely recommended if there’s a decent version out there somewhere....

[radiator]

The best part of The Hobbit Trilogy is the scene of the stone trolls in Fellowship.

Strong agree.

The first Hobbit movie has its moments, in a 'lifeless retread of LotR' sort of way, but by the end of movie 2 and all of 3 it becomes an outright travesty. The whole thing is so misconceived I still find it a little hard to process.

Fellowship of the Ring
Fury Road
Shaun of the Dead

Shaun would be a contender, but it's very much a cult film in the states where almost no one I've met outside of hardcore nerd circles has heard of it.

[Pyroxian]

I rewatched the first hobbit film last week and it's got all the good stuff in. The longer it went on, the more extraneous guff was added - I'd love to see a re-edit down to about 2 hours max cutting out anything not in the book, and trimming some of the stuff which was. He basically tried to make the same film about a very different book. A 9+ hour trilogy from an epic, sprawling 3 book series? Fine. The same from a children's novella? Not fine.

There are fan edits out there that trim out all the non-book stuff and reign back a bit more of the nonsense (i.e. the Dwarves escaping the goblins) and are a lot more watchable. The one I saw was still about 4 hours long though.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Post-2000, the one that stands out is the Lord of the Rings trilogy - that's going to be a classic for ever

Good point - I'd forgotten about that.  I have to say, more than any 21 century film I can think of, I think that will be an all-time classic in the Star Wars original trilogy vein.  Not necessarily the best film of the last 20 years but definitely one that will make cinema history.

I still love it though - I hadn't actually read the books till I heard the film was coming out; then I sped through them to get up to date (God, my pre-home-internet attention span was way better).   They absolutely nailed it with the casting, and didn't compromise - even small things like Gandalf developing a taste for Shire tobacco and Sam having the 'right' English accent for saying things like 'I'll warrant', could have been Hollywoodised out of existence, but not a bit of it.

Of course, the big eagles could have flown Frodo straight to Mordor, but well, maybe the airports were all closed like in The Cursed Earth.

[Dandontdare]

Of course, the big eagles could have flown Frodo straight to Mordor, but well, maybe the airports were all closed like in The Cursed Earth.

And a Death-belt arose in the East...

[radiator]

Post-2000, the one that stands out is the Lord of the Rings trilogy - that's going to be a classic for ever

Good point - I'd forgotten about that.  I have to say, more than any 21 century film I can think of, I think that will be an all-time classic in the Star Wars original trilogy vein.  Not necessarily the best film of the last 20 years but definitely one that will make cinema history.

I still love it though - I hadn't actually read the books till I heard the film was coming out; then I sped through them to get up to date (God, my pre-home-internet attention span was way better).   They absolutely nailed it with the casting, and didn't compromise - even small things like Gandalf developing a taste for Shire tobacco and Sam having the 'right' English accent for saying things like 'I'll warrant', could have been Hollywoodised out of existence, but not a bit of it.

Of course, the big eagles could have flown Frodo straight to Mordor, but well, maybe the airports were all closed like in The Cursed Earth.

I remember going to see the first Harry Potter movie at the cinema, and the LotR trailer than ran before it was so monumentally exciting it made Potter seem so dull by comparison. I don't think I'd ever wished to be seeing that movie instead more!

I think the trilogy as a whole was probably the last time I experienced a feeling of genuine childlike wonder at seeing a film.

As for the eagle 'plot hole' thing that everyone likes to point out, I always thought it was pretty clear going by the story's logic that the eagle would have just dumped Frodo and Sam mid-flight and taken the ring for itself at the first opportunity?

[Greg M.]

Surely eagles would have been immediately noticed by Sauron and torn out of the sky by Nazgul? The whole journey is reliant on Sauron not realising the danger till it's at his door - you can't get much more ostentatious than cruising up on eagles.

[radiator]

That too, yeah.

[Dandontdare]

I don't think I'd ever wished to be seeing that movie instead more!

The Germans have probably got a long word for "wanting to watch the movie in the trailer more than the one you've just paid to see" - happens to me often

[von Boom]

I don't think I'd ever wished to be seeing that movie instead more!

The Germans have probably got a long word for "wanting to watch the movie in the trailer more than the one you've just paid to see" - happens to me often

FilmTrailergeshenbesseraslFilmen

[von Boom]

I know nothing about the sport of baseball, but I've watched the film Moneyball/b] many times. It's absolutely fascinating, but I think that has more to do with the fact that I'm a maths geek.

[Rately]

I know nothing about the sport of baseball, but I've watched the film Moneyball/b] many times. It's absolutely fascinating, but I think that has more to do with the fact that I'm a maths geek.

Great film, and the Michael Lewis book is equally brilliant. As is Michael Lewis’ appearance on Desert Island Discs, and his many stories about being the uncooked person in any room he ever walks into.

[Tiplodocus]

Someone mentioned USUAL SUSPECTS.