Movie Death Match 2007 tuh 2008

7. Seven Samurai v 19. Top Gun

I put Seven Samurai on my Netflix queue in case I had to determine it's fate during this tournament. I have tried to watch it. Three times. I may regret this if it turns out that Seven Samurai really picks up sometime during the third hour, but Top Gun gets the go ahead. Also, Top Gun rocks. IceMan.



4. Office Space v 22. Jaws

So, Megan decided she wanted to see Office Space because I had to pick it last round, and many of our friends talk about it. So, I watched it sober for the first time the other night. So, it turns out that Office Space is a really mediocre movie. Jaws, on the other hand, rocks.

Dead Alive over Dog Day Afternoon

I feel kind of bad about this choice since I have seen neither of these, but since poor LOTR is out, and I feel bad for all you Peter Jackson fans...
By the way, did anyone include Heavenly Creatures on his list? That is a kick-ass movie. Maybe it will surprise us all and win.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon over Goodfellas

Suprisingly easy call for me to make. Yeah, Goodfellas was good. So what? You see it a couple of times and that's enough. I can watch CTHD over and over. I never get tired of the fight scenes. I'd like to see Joe Pesci climb up a friggin bamboo tree and kick ass while doing it. Close your eyes and just try to imagine it. There. Now you know why Crouching Tiger did a flying backwards kick to Goodfellas head.

Bottle Rocket (1) over Better Off Dead (16)

Having seen Bottle Rocket round about eight times, and never having seen Better Off Dead (yeah, I know, whatever), this is an easy pick. There is something sad about watching Bottle Rocket today, however. The Wilson brothers are ubiquitous, but whatever happened to Bob Mapplethorpe? And is he related to Robert Mapplethorpe, the homoerotic photographer?

Life Aquatic (18) over City of God (8)

I have already voted for City of God once, but it won't be so lucky again. Although the Life Aquatic may be my least favorite Wes Anderson movie, it is still Wes Anderson, and I just cannot resist his whimsy and his way with the Murray. And for God's sake, who cannot identify with Willem Dafoe's Klaus, one of the great characters in modern film? He might not survive the streets of Rio, but you know that he would be sensitive to the plight of the Brazilian youth.

2. The Royal Tennenbaums v 9. All the Real Girls
I am not at all happy about this. I think that Tennenbaums is wildly overrated, and I would have loved to bounce it from this tourny. However, I haven't seen All the Real Girls, and since it looks like a bad movie, I have to go with RT.
6. The Usual Suspects v 20. La Femme Nikita
The thing about Nikita that everyone seems to forget about, myself included, is that there's no reason to root for the herione in the movie. She murdered a cop in cold blood, for God's sake. When I remembered that, I kinda started to hope that she would die. Sadly, no such luck. Anyway, gimmick ending aside, The Usual Suspects is a very entertaining movie.

Again, this deserves a defense, because I don't want you to think I'm just glibly and thoughtlessly eliminating an excellent movie. But no time.

Number 2 seed gets beaten by a 24. Surprise victory. In short, here's why. Delicatessen: I had never seen anything like it. LOTR: Go read the books.

This deserves more of an explanation than I have time to give, but suffice it to say: PTA and Christopher Guest both deserve massive props for these films. I think "This is Spinal Tap" is more historically significant than "Punch Drunk Love," but I'm picking PDL simply because I enjoyed it more. Even though the Tap was the ground-breaking film, I think Best in Show and Guffman are both better realizations of the form.

I'm sorry, Tap. I should have freed you to run. Run like a little boy through a field.