Yes, that’s a weird title.
The point is that even though I’ve seen probably around or little more than 5000 movies, there are still genres I like, but haven’t been able to see enough movies of to make a top 10 list, even though I would like to. I don’t really know how many of those movies you need to see to make a top 10 list, but to me it feels like enough that I could make interesting choices on the list, whatever that means. Does it mean 30 movies? 40? That would probably be the lower end and that can sometimes be difficult.
On the other hand, now that I have introduced this list to the world, my subconscious is probably working overtime to come up with the actual lists for these, so you never know, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
So, here’s a metalist in some order.
1. Top 10 German Expressionist Movies
Obvious choices: Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, Metropolis, Nosferatu
I have books on the subject, but being an extremely old genre that has inspired and influenced numerous movies since then, those movies are not always readily available. On the other hand, some of them are easy to find on YouTube or similar sources, as they are no longer protected by IP laws. Also, some have been lost to time. Nosferatu was ordered to be destroyed and only survived through luck, for example.
2. Top 10 British Feelgood Movies
Obvious choices: Full Monty, Paddington 1 & 2, Pride
I tried to do this, but the problem was that what actually constitutes a feelgood movie? Paddington movies sure feel like that, but I’m still iffy on them. Feelgood movies generally need to be more realistic then those two are. (And I hear another sequel is on the way.)
3. Top 10 Docufiction Movies
Obvious choices: Close-Up, City of God
This runs into the same problems as the previous two. On one hand I haven’t seen enough of these movies, on the other, I’m not sure what counts. I didn’t even know City of God was considered docufiction. Also, there aren’t even that many of these.
4. Top 10 Movies I Found From Sight & Sounds 2022 Critics’ Poll
Obvious choices: none. While there are easy choices for me personally, the problem is subjectivity
I mean, you, the reader, can’t know what I was already aware of and what I saw only because it was on this list. Also, I’ve just talked about the list quite a bit on this blog.
5. Top 10 Best Bad Movies
Obvious choices: none
The problem is that I’m just not that big a fan of bad movies. I do find them fascinating, but I also just forget about them immediately.
6. Top 10 Best Video Game Movies
Obvious choices: none
This was inspired by Borderlands coming out next year, as I am looking forward to it, but as anyone familiar with these knows, there just aren’t good ones. Maybe some day. There is a Portal movie in works, which I have high hopes for.
7. Top 10 Directorial Debuts
Obvious choices: VVitch, Hereditary, Reservoir Dogs, The Babadook, Ex Machina, In Bruges…
Okay, dropping this was just pure laziness and also some amount of inability to decide what counts. Shorts and TV series are easy, but what about TV movies, documentaries, segments and other collaborations? Also, if someone has an extensive background in TV, like Chris Morris or Armando Iannucci, it just doesn’t feel like a debut, when they finally make that movie which follows the same philosophies, or in Iannucci’s case, just continues with their TV work.
8. Top 10 Australian Horror Movies
Obvious choices: Talk to Me, Babadook
This is a topic that actually kind of fascinates me, but I also know that I just haven’t seen enough of these movies. Loved Ones, Lake Mungo and Relic are all great and there are some other movies I like, but at the same time I just haven’t seen enough of them. There’s quite a few folk horror movies from Australia in a collection called All the Haunts Be Ours (I think about 4 out of 20), but that would be very specific point of view to a list like this, even though I liked those movies. Maybe I should expand this list somehow instead of discarding the idea.
9. Top 10 Lost Movies I Would Like to See
Obvious choices: Kiss of the Spider-Woman
There is a lot here. It has been estimated that half of all movies ever made can be considered lost for one reason or another. Also, sometimes they just pop up somewhere. My obvious choice there is considered lost, but just a few weeks after I learned that, I walked into a bookstore that also sells DVDs and BluRays and they had it on sale. So, one person’s lost media might not be that for everyone else. However, that’s a minor thing. The fact that there’s so many of these, is much worse. I couldn’t rely on any personal knowledge either, because I – obviously – haven’t seen any of these movies.
10. Top 10 Banned Movies from Behind the Iron Curtain
Obvious choices: Daisies, The Ascent
Those choices are obvious for me, but not necessarily for anyone else. This is a list I might very well do some day, but maybe I’ll change the approach somewhat. Daisies was shadowbanned in Czechoslovakia, so perhaps best banned films, but that might include some relatively boring choices, such as Star Wars, which was banned in the USSR, as the leadership felt Empire hit a little too close to home (even though the Empire was supposed to be USA).