Director: Tom Shankland

Writer: Tom Shankland

Starring: Eva Birthistle, Stephen Campbell Moore, Jeremy Sheffield

Rating: 4.5/5

Admittedly, I rented The Children with the intent of having a terrible horror movie to make fun of with some friends. The night was instead spent in relative silence, save for some jokes about how we could barely stand to look at the screen in several instances. For fans of the site, you’ll know that this movie made my Top Five list of the scariest movies. It’s a perfect blend of horror and science fiction married with excellent acting and beautiful cinematography to create an unforgettable experience. You gotta rent this one.

Looking for a good scary movie? The Spotless Mind reviewers were asked to list their Top Five Scariest Movies, in order, and I’ve compiled the list below. So get to watching, but don’t blame us for your lack of sleep!

1. THE SHINING (1980)

Jen -  Taking your eyes off of this film is virtually impossible. I remember sneaking out of bed, around the age of 10, while my parents were watching this movie one evening. It was the scene when Danny sees the apparition of the dead twins that I started wailing and ran back to bed in a frenzy. It was probably another week or so that I was able to sleep without my light on. If I ever catch The Shining playing on TV I almost feel bad not watching it because it is so extraordinary.

Adam – Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece is one of the few effective Stephen King adaptations to film (the other notable exceptions being Misery and The Mist, both which make honorable mention on my list). An exercise in cinematic tension, the story is captured through the eyes of the hotel as its three winter inhabitants fight its imperial forces. I can’t say enough for how iconic and worthwhile this movie is…every moment is brilliant.

Greg – Now anybody who knows me at all is well aware of the love affair that I wish I had with Stanley Kubrick. I love every one of his films and this one is no exception. I could have easily put A Clockwork Orange or Full Metal Jacket in this list, because they’re both equally terrifying, but in different ways. If someone is searching for a brilliant gothic horror then look no further cause they don’t get better, or more beautifully constructed, than this. Also I must mention Jack Nicholson’s extraordinarily psychotic performance. The man was born to play a nut-job.

James – Easily my favourite horror movie. Like the best psychological horror films the mood is created slowly and carefully, a pervasive horror hanging over every scene, slowly growing to the inevitable fever pitch of Jack Torrence attempting to murder his family. Kubrick’s long takes in huge halls, mixed with carefully selected sudden cuts to the scariest images gives me huge, enjoyable shivers every time. The ambiguity of this film also plays into the pervasive dread.

Here’s how it works!

Our staff and our readers were asked to send me a list of their 25 favorite Films of the 2000s (2000-2009). 38 ballots were received, and the movies were ranked on a point system allowing 25 points for a #1 choice, 24 for a #2, and all the way down to 1 point for #25. The points were added up, and what follows are the selections.

Tiebreakers work like such: If two movies have equal pointage (and neither got a number 1 vote), the movie that appeared on the most lists ranks higher. If those characters appeared on the same amount of lists, I went with whatever ranked highest on the individual list. A character that was someone’s #4 beats another person’s #6, for example. And then if they still were tied I just picked one so shut up.

We will be posting 10 films a day for the entire week, culminating in the top 10 being revealed on Friday.

The countdown begins now!

“Maybe I’ll just sit here and bleed at you.”

50. Brick – (2006) - 74 points
(7 of 38 lists. Highest ranking #4 – Greg W)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brick_(film)

It really pleased me to see this little movie make the top 50. A brilliant detective yarn using characters and dialogue so hard-boiled you could bounce them off a sidewalk. The unique idea of setting a film noir in a high school works so well. I feel this is essential viewing for film noir buffs and anyone who is a fan of innovative and original cinema.

-Greg

NEXT: #49 —>

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“I got all five senses and I slept last night, that puts me six up on the lot of you!”

Directed By: Rian Johnson

Written By: Rian Johnson

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Nora Zehetner, Emilie De Ravin, Lukas Haas, Richard Roundtree

Rating: 5/5

Yes! It’s finally happened! I cannot find anything to complain about in this film. Nothing! So rather than my usual string of sarcasm, slander and word bile, I will instead be writing less a review and more of a blatantly one-sided essay on why this film is practically perfect, and I might even get so carried away as to write a love song to the movie at the end…Maybe.

The reasons for my unconditional love towards this movie are simple: it has a unique vision, a good script, great characters and a strong central performance. Now if only every movie could have those qualities…actually no, scratch that, that would make life very boring. Bad movies exist to let the great ones rise above the steaming pile of excrement that is the modern day film industry.

A Serious Man

Director: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Writer: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen

Starring: Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Sari Wagner Lennick, Fred Melamed, Aaron Wolff

Rating: 5/5

I watched this movie at an interesting time in my life. I just wrapped a very personal and meaningful project of mine at my University, a play by Canadian playwright Jason Sherman titled Patience. It told the story of a Jewish man’s fall from grace and his attempt to put his life together again. There were many monologues dealing with life, fate, circumstances, uncertainty, need, and had so many layers to it I still don’t think I’ve gotten to the core. Once it was done, I felt the need to catch up on some films that I missed from 2009. I got my hands on numerous films and spent the last few days watching them. When I started watching Joel and Ethan Coen’s most recent film, A Serious Man, I didn’t realize I’d be revisiting so many themes from that play. But enough about that. This is a review of this film, and while there are many similarities (most notably, both the film and the play mirror the biblical story of Job) I will focus on reviewing the film on its own. I just felt this needed to be said, because I feel it was important to understand my reaction to the film.

“We were in the jungle, there were too many of us, we had access to too much money, too much equipment, and little by little we went insane.” - Francis Ford Coppola

Directed By: Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper, Eleanor Coppola

Written By: Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper

Starring: Francis Ford Coppola, Eleanor Coppola, Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Lawrence Fishburne, Dennis Hopper, George Lucas

Rating: 4/5

The above comment by the legendary director was delivered during a speech about the film “Apocalypse Now” when it first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1979 and it perfectly describes the next ninety minutes of this excellent documentary.

The story behind the filming of  ”Apocalypse Now” has become a legend. A shoot that went through the firing of its original lead and subsequent heart attack of his replacement and a big name actor who appeared on set with no preparation and 100 pounds overweight. A director who slowly went insane while suffering through this massive undertaking while typhoons and a civil war  also the plagued the set. Director Francis Ford Coppola sank millions of his own dollars into the film and virtually sentenced himself to being a director for hire making subpar movies such as “The Outsiders” and “Jack”. But despite all that “Apocalypse Now” is considered a masterpiece and by many (including myself) the best vietnam film ever produced.

The Invention of Lying

Director: Ricky Gervais, Matthew Robinson

Writer: Ricky Gervais, Matthew Robinson

Starring: Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, Louis C.K., Tina Fey

Rating: 2/5

I have to admit I had high hopes for this film. I adore Ricky Gervais, and the cast is pretty stacked. The plot, which is essentially the inverse of Liar Liar sounded like it could be a really funny premise. I never got around to seeing it in theatres, but with it now on DVD I was able to see it already knowing that it got very mixed reviews. I really wanted to like it but in the end I had to side with the critics who said it just wasn’t that good. There’s some funny moments and some AWESOME cameos, but overall the movie just doesn’t do much for me.

Up in the Air

Director: Jason Reitman

Writer: Sheldon Turner, Jason Reitman (screenplay), Walter Kirn (book)

Starring: George Clooney, Vera Farminga, Anna Kendrick

Rating: 5/5

Never before has a film snuck up on me like Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air. I had heard about it, but didn’t know much about it, aside from the usual ‘who’s in it’ and ‘who made it.’ It wasn’t until the year end lists started rolling out and a surprising amount naming this movie the BEST FILM OF THE YEAR that I realized I should get my butt down to the theatre for the first time since August and see what it was all about. I do love Jason Reitman, and I’m still convinced the only reason I didn’t like Juno had nothing to do with direction and everything to do with writing. But I digress. Like Thank You For Smoking, Reitman helped adapt this story from a book (this time by Walter Kirn) and if I had my way, he’d continue to adapt and direct books that mean something to him for the rest of his career. Along with incredible performances by George Clooney and Anna Kendrick, this film pleasantly surprised me in being, indeed, one of the best of the year.

Here at The Spotless Minds we are not only your most trusted source of the most pro-style criticismz on the net, but we also like to champion (read: shamelessly promote) original works by not only Charlie Kaufman, but our friends as well.

Bryn Hewko, trusted friend of The Spotless Minds, recently made a short film and we are so proud of him! So today I will use my very limited critical power in telling you what to like and dislike to say “Like this. This is good.” Oh, and keep your eyes on the end credits for a special mention of a specific Spotless Mind. (Me! It’s me!)

The Spotless Minds recently celebrated their one year anniversary. We have some exciting new posts coming your way soon, but for now, enjoy the ‘greatest hits’ of the past year:

Review: Monsters vs. Aliens

Review: Coraline

The Top 10 Moments That Made Me Love Film

Oscar Recap 2009

This Year in Film

10 Worst Best Picture Oscar Winners

Review: Watchmen

Review: Synecdoche New York