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If you haven’t noticed, this week has pretty much launched our 2011-2012 Oscar season coverage in earnest. Since it has been ages since we dusted of our lists feature here at In Contention, it seemed a good way to peek into the season was offering up a personal list of anticipations. I’ve seen a few [...]
Entries filed in: 'The Lists'
THE LISTS: Top 10 most anticipated films of the 2011-2012 Oscar season
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:11 am · August 30th, 2011
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THE LISTS: Top 10 performances in Terrence Malick films
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:40 am · May 24th, 2011
If you can believe it, it’s been since Halloween that we kicked the dust off this feature at In Contention. We made it all the way through the Oscar season without feeling compelled to go there. Odd. So, with Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” opening in New York and Los Angeles this weekend, before [...]
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THE LISTS: Top 10 horror films of all time
Posted by Chad Hartigan · 4:34 pm · October 26th, 2010
It’s Halloween week and since we are a movie site, we are under some kind of unspoken obligation to provide our dear readers with a list to fit the festivities. You may remember a similar list popping up two years ago, in which all current contributors voiced an opinion and the final results represented a [...]
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THE LISTS: Top 10 NC-17 rated films
Posted by Guy Lodge · 6:10 pm · October 12th, 2010
Amid the recent kerfuffle over the Motion Picture Association of America’s curious decision to slap Derek Cianfrance’s sensitive marital drama (and Oscar hopeful) “Blue Valentine” with a commercially inhibiting NC-17 certificate, I failed to note that the MPAA’s most drastic rating celebrated rather a significant anniversary last week. October 5 made it 20 years since [...]
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THE LISTS: Top 10 below-the-line elements of Fincher films
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:05 pm · October 5th, 2010
With “The Social Network” hitting theaters this weekend, audiences are reminded once again of director David Fincher’s skill and vision as a craftsman. The eight films he has assembled throughout an 18-year career in feature filmmaking have been dazzling showcases for below-the-line talent. As you know, we make an effort to keep the spotlight on [...]
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THE LISTS: Top 10 performances in Christopher Nolan films
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:25 am · July 13th, 2010
The word of the day Friday will most certainly be “Inception,” as casually interested movie-goers and anxious fanboys alike line up to take in Christopher Nolan’s latest effort. Now, I have suggested in this space that the film’s ensemble is an organic one, alive and driven. And that the performances are separately less than their [...]
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The top 10 shots of 2009: part two
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:46 pm · February 17th, 2010
In case you missed the first part of our look at the best shots of 2009, go ahead and catch up here. Before getting into the top five, however, I’d like to spotlight a few examples that almost made the cut but just missed. First and foremost, “Inglourious Basterds” is obviously a favorite around these [...]
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The top 10 shots of 2009: part one
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:49 pm · February 16th, 2010
Assembling the assets for my annual take on the best single shots of the year was more of a chore this time around than ever. Perhaps one need only look to a lackluster list of Oscar nominees in the Best Cinematography category to gauge just how underwhelming much of the work behind the camera was [...]
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THE LISTS: Top 10 Oscar nominee fields
Posted by Guy Lodge · 12:47 pm · January 26th, 2010
In exactly one week’s time, we’ll have a brand new list of Oscar nominations to pore over, pick apart and eventually file away in our subconscious with the other 81 editions of this annual collective. For Oscar geeks, nomination day is in many ways more exciting than the ceremony itself, celebrating a broader spectrum of [...]
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THE LISTS: Top 10 movie-related moments of 2009
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:38 pm · December 29th, 2009
As the year (and decade) slowly winds down, I thought it would be a pretty good time to revive our long-slumbering Lists feature here at In Contention. And what better way to do so and salute the year at hand than to lay out the most significant movie-related moments of 2009? The American Film Institute [...]
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THE LISTS: Top 10 actors under 30
Posted by Guy Lodge · 10:39 am · October 6th, 2009
I wrote recently about how this year’s Best Actress race seems to ushering in a striking new wave of young talent, from the elfin throwback charm of Carey Mulligan to the rawer screen presence of Gabourey Sidibe, while a range of youthful names, from the long-hyped Abbie Cornish to the out-of-nowhere Katie Jarvis, have been [...]
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THE LISTS: Top 10 Robert Duvall performances
Posted by John Foote · 8:06 am · September 29th, 2009
With “Get Low” bringing actor Robert Duvall back to the spotlight, and Sony’s purchase of the film no doubt landing him in the Oscar race for Best Actor (whether released this year or next), I thought perhaps a look back at the legend’s substantial carer and best performances might be fun. Since his first brilliant [...]
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THE LISTS: The top 10 Best Picture winners of all time
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:30 am · September 22nd, 2009
With the Oscar season officially here it seemed only logical to dedicate an installment of The Lists to the little golden guy. And as we push forward past the fests and into the thick of it, I figured the best idea would be a broad assessment of the Academy’s chosen best through the years, a [...]
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THE LISTS: Top 10 Steven Soderbergh films
Posted by Guy Lodge · 11:08 am · September 15th, 2009
This Friday sees the release in American theaters of “The Informant!,” the nimble Matt Damon-starring corporate caper which, depending on the format in which you saw last year’s “Che,” is either the 20th or the 21st feature from one Mr. Steven Soderbergh. (I say 21st, given that “Che” clearly comprises two films utterly distinct in [...]
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THE LISTS: Top 10 memories from TIFF
Posted by John Foote · 8:01 am · September 8th, 2009
One of the joys of my life is the 10 days in September I spend at the Toronto International Film Festival, bringing the film world to our city, the world press, and enough stars to take over Hollywood. The little festival that could, as it was known in the 1970s and early-1980s, The Festival of [...]
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THE LISTS: Top 10 highest grossing films of the decade derived from original material
Posted by Chad Hartigan · 11:45 am · September 1st, 2009
Behold! I give to you the very first edition of The Lists to be based on fact and not opinion — unless you count box office data as the ultimate opinion of the masses. The decade is drawing to a close and unless something miraculous happens, the top 10 highest grossing films of the aughts [...]
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THE LISTS: Top 10 “Greatest” lists ‘The Wizard of Oz’ deserves to be on
Posted by Guy Lodge · 10:33 am · August 25th, 2009
As you have probably heard by now, today marks a rather special anniversary in cinema. (And it’s not Sean Connery’s 79th birthday, though we do wish him well.) It is, of course, 70 years ago to the day since a little film called “The Wizard of Oz” opened nationally in the United States. Perhaps you’ve [...]
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THE LISTS: Top 10 Tarantino characters
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:31 pm · August 18th, 2009
It’s been over a month since we cranked out an installment of The Lists, but with Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” set for release on Friday, it seemed a good time to cook up a new collective. When most people praise Tarantino’s skill as a screenwriter, they tend to focus on his well-honed ear for dialogue. [...]
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