Going home to get my shine box.
Added 2025-11-22 01:37:24 +0000 UTCShoeshine got off to a quick lead in last week's request poll but was ultimately overtaken by Landscape Suicide. This week, it handily beat Branagh's Henry V and the new Running Man, pulling in 51% of the vote. This seems to me like one of the most notable classics I still haven't seen, though when I checked They Shoot Movies' list I was surprised to find that it dropped out of the top 1,000* several years ago. It's digitally rentable.
Both of this month's random draws are ancient requests that spent the minimum four weeks as an option before being withdrawn. I know nothing at all about the Soviet silent Bed and Sofa or about its director, Abram Room. The Hairdresser's Husband I included on a list (sent to a friend at the time) of 1992's 10 most disappointing films, alongside Death Becomes Her and Hero and Toys and Night on Earth and current request Single White Female. (Also a film written by one of you, which shall remain nameless but duh.) Hopefully I'll like it better this time. Kanopy's got 'em both.
Only Timekeepers of Eternity and Suicide Club (which arrived in today's mail, thanks Daniel) remain among the auto-qualifiers. Though more loom!
As always, my heartfelt thanks to each of you for being here. I love you all! Yes, even you.
* 10 highest-ranked unseen-by-me feature-length films on the current They Shoot Pics list: (1) Earth (#181); (2) Spring in a Small Town (#195); (3) Black God, White Devil (#231); (4) Terra em Transe (#305); (5) The World of Apu (#310); (6) Pyaasa (#335—currently an active request!); (7) West of the Tracks (#339); (8) The Cloud-Capped Star (#349); (9) El (#355); (10) Tristana (#391). Been slackin' on Buñuel. Wonder how far I have to go for an English-language film I've not yet seen? A: Chelsea Girls at #422. How long for an English-language film that's not 3½ hours long? A: I guess it's Man of Aran at #548. Not counting documentaries? There it is, Jerry Lewis' The Ladies Man way down at #630. Anyway, some request ideas there.
Comments
It predates my use of x/100. Gave it a D-minus. Didn’t write anything as back then I only reviewed films I watched upon release; must have caught up with Way of the Gun as Skandies prep. Anyway, I despised it.
Mike D'Angelo
2025-11-23 02:49:02 +0000 UTCI can see you have "The Way of The Gun" (2000) on your "seen" list, but I can't find any writing on it, or a 100-point score. Have you ever written about it?
Rune Milling
2025-11-23 02:40:26 +0000 UTCI've picked They Shoot Pictures Don't They as the site I trust most when it comes to movie lists. It collates over 16,000 lists by critics and filmmakers. The Sight and Sound list features the opinion of only about 2,000 people, for comparison. I've been using TSPDT as my database when creating assignments for myself (like seeing the 100 most acclaimed films - I'm still one movie short).
Claude
2025-11-23 00:50:48 +0000 UTC
