Top 100 Movies of the 21st Century on the Torg Stories Podcast

First, a health update on our mom Sue. We’ve had some listeners email or text about that: 

• On Wed July 23 Mom had knee replacement surgery. She’s 84. 
• The doctor asked mom how long her knee has been bothering her. She answered, “Since high school.”
• The knee was getting worse and worse, and she’s hoping to be able to get in cars easier and go for a little longer walk.
• Everything went well. I think she’s doing maybe a little better than expected. She didn’t want any pain medication this morning. She is using a walker with help and making progress on her knee flexibility. 

The New York Times Top 100 of the 21st Century List: 

• To create the list, NYT said they polled, “more than 500 filmmakers, stars and influential film fans to vote for the 10 best movies (however they chose to define that) released since Jan. 1, 2000.” Anne, there are all kinds of ways that top anything lists can be compiled, what did you think of this one? Click here for the NYT article. 

Are you okay with how this list was compiled? 

• Torg thought: there will be problems with how any list is compiled. I like that it was over 500 people and a vote. For me, better than a critic I haven’t heard of. Sure, I would have been interested in Roger Ebert’s Top 100 when he was alive. 
• Think it’s tough to overcome recency bias. 
• Who cares?!!! It’s a fun late July topic!

Discussion Questions and Prompts for the Podcast Discussion 

1. What do you notice about the formatting of the article? 

• I’ve seen it, I want to see it, links to reviews
• What draws you to this article? 
• NYT said they collaborated with The Upshot: The Upshot is a website published by The New York Times which spreads articles combining data visualization with conventional journalistic analysis of news
• The list propelled me into watching more movies and into discussion. Jim Carrey Kate Winslet one, Zodiac, Happy Gilmore, 
• You could see who voted for some of them and see their ballot. 

2. Let’s go over the NYT Top 10: 

1. Parasite directed by Bong Joon Ho 
2. Mulholland Drive directed David Lynch 
3. There Will Be Blood by Paul Thomas Anderson 
4. In the Mood for Love Wong Kar-Wai 
5. Moonlight by Barry Jenkins 
6. No Country for Old Men by Coen brothers 
7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by Gondry 
8. Get Out by Jordan Peele 
9. Spirited Away Miyazaki 
10. The Social Network by David Fincher

3. Torg’s favorites from the NYT list: 

1. No Country for Old Men
2. Moneyball
3. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
4. Dark Knight by Christopher Nolan
5. Little Miss Sunshine
6. Spotlight
7. Arrival by Denis Villeneuve with Amy Adams
8. Minority Report
9. Get Out
10. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: I wish I’d stayed. I wish I would have done a lot of things.  

Anne Favorites from the NYT List: 

1. Bridesmaids
2. Best in Show
3. Moonlight
4. Kill Bill
5. The Dark Knight
6. Gladiator
7. Ladybird
8. Black Panther
9. Once Upon A Time in Hollywood 
10. No Country for Old Men

What movies on the list might you like to see? Torg’s answers: 

1. Zodiac by Fincher
2. The Royal Tennenbaums 
3. Punch Drunk Love 
4. The Departed
5. Before Sunset / Ethan Hawke 
6. Gone Girl 
7. Mulholland Drive 
8. Children of Men
9. Anatomy of a Fall
10. Adaptation by Spike Jonze with Nicholas Cage
11. A Serious Man by Coen Brothers

Movies Anne would like to see on the NYT list: 

1. Ratatouille
2. In the Mood for Love
3. The Wolf of Wall Street
4. The Royal Tenenbaums
5. The Grand Budapest Hotel
6. Adaptation 
7. Arrival
8. City of God
9. Call Me By Your Name
10. Mulholland Drive

If you could tell me one movie to watch that wasn’t on my list, what would it be? 

• Anne would have Bill watch Best in Show. Bill would have Anne watch Arrival. 

Which movies would you add to the list? Torg’s list: 

1. Don’t Look Up
2. Birdman 2014 with Michael Keaton on Tony Hale’s ballot. 
3. The Barbie Movie 
4. Top Gun Maverick 
5. The Martian 2015
6. The Adjustment Bureau, Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, based on a Phillip K Dick novel, 
7. Air / the Nike movie 
8. Stranger Than Fiction with Will Ferrell
9. Collateral with Tom Cruise and Jamie Fox 
10. Eurovision with Will Ferrell
11. Bourne movies? No Mission Impossible movies? 

Anne’s list to add to the NYT 100: 

1. Barbie
2. Dune Part 2
3. Spy
4. The Bourne Identity (or The Bourne Ultimatum )
5. Gosford Park
6. Top Gun Maverick
7. Mission Impossible Fallout

Movies Anne had already seen: 

• Parasite, There Will Be Blood, Moonlight, No Country for Old Men, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Get Out, Spirited Away, The Social Network, Mad Max Fury Road, The Zone of Interest, Children of Men, Inglorious Bastards, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain, Zodiac, Her, Phantom Threads, Anatomy of the Fall, The Dark Knight, Lost in Translation, The Departed, Bridesmaids, Wall-E, Portrait of  a Lady on Fire, Ladybird, Amelie, Old Boy, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Roma, Almost Famous, The Lives of Others, Up, 12 Years a Slave, The Favorite, Pan’s Labyrinth, Inception, Best in Show, Whiplash, Kill Bill Vol 1, Momento, Gone Girl, Oppenheimer, Tar, The Hurt Locker, Under the Skin, Oceans 11, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Tree of Life, Black Swan, Anchorman, Past Lives, Lord of the Rings, Interstellar, Gladiator, Minority Report, Black Panther, Gravity, Grizlly Man, Superbad

Other notes: 

• Nice job on commenting on the article for the NYT: @drenard

Thanks for checking out this episode of the Torg Stories Podcast!