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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 [...]
Entries filed in: 'The Lists'
THE LISTS: Top 10 Oscar nominee fields
Posted by Guy Lodge · 12:47 pm · January 26th, 2010
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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 kind [...]
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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 turn [...]
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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. But [...]
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THE LISTS: Top 10 first-half releases that deserved better
Posted by Guy Lodge · 10:58 am · July 7th, 2009
Around this time last year, we did a mid-year stocktake of sorts, wherein the site’s various contributors named the best (and worst) of what the cinematic year had presented thus far. You may have noticed that we haven’t offered up a similar piece for 2009. Time constraints may have had something to do with it, [...]
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THE LISTS: Top 10 performances from Michael Mann films
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:24 am · June 30th, 2009
With the forthcoming release of Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies” (review) dominating — quite impressively, I might add — the publicity circuit this week, all eyes are on Johnny Depp. An Ulmer Scale X factor for this character study posing as a summer blockbuster, Depp’s performance is sure to draw champions and detractors alike for its [...]
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THE LISTS: Top 10 directorial debuts of the decade
Posted by Chad Hartigan · 8:51 am · June 23rd, 2009
To me, “great cinema” means something I haven’t seen before or something I have seen before presented in a new way. With 110 years of motion pictures behind us, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to meet those standards, especially since filmmakers find it a lot easier to give in to preconceived notions of story structure, [...]
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THE LISTS: Top 10 movies I watched with Dad
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:23 am · June 16th, 2009
In case you’re like me and you happen to forget these things throughout the year, let today’s edition of The Lists serve as a reminder: Father’s Day is this weekend!
With that in mind, and as a personal tribute of sorts to my pops, who turns 56 today in addition to celebrating his 28th Father’s Day [...]
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Your ranked list of the 10 most influential films of all time
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:43 am · June 10th, 2009
And with that, our poll series comes to a screeching halt. I’ve already offered some thoughts on how all of this turned out. I hope readers unfamiliar with some of the films I’ve been harping on will take that to heart and at least seek them out. You owe it to yourself as a film [...]
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