A Proud Roommate
Before providing my latest top 100 movie rankings, I spotlight my talented roommate Elina Street, who has two films that made their U.S. premiere this month. Also, some movies about dudes who rock.
It’s been two months since my last newsletter — sorry about that! — as my regular job at FanGraphs, as well as a long freelance piece I’ve been working on, have taken up a lot of my time. Such a long layoff won’t become the norm here, but I am going to change things up a bit for the remainder of baseball season, when work is busier and I spend more free nights at the ballpark instead of at the movies. So, my plan from now through the end of October is to update my top 100 rankings every month (though I can’t promise they’ll be ready for the first day of the month). I’ll also intermittently send out shorter editions covering some of the movies I’m watching that I think you should check out, too. Come November, I’ll get back to writing a bit more in depth on particular movies, genres and filmmakers.
Anyway, over the last two months I have watched 35 movies: 27 feature films, seven shorts and one documentary. I’m proud to say that the documentary, The Lesbian Bar Project: FLINTA, and one of the shorts, My Best Friend, were directed by my roommate, Elina Street. With the disclaimer that I cannot possibly review Elina’s work with complete objectivity, I would like to write a few words about each movie because they are worth seeing — and considering their continued selection at various international film festivals, and the praise they’ve received while there, I’m far from the only one who thinks so.
On Wednesday, June 5, three of my five roommates and I went to see the U.S. premiere of The Lesbian Bar Project: FLINTA at the Nitehawk Cinema in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. The place was packed with plenty of Elina’s friends and colleagues, but also many people who have followed Elina’s work for a while and have come to admire her for it. I assume that at least some of you reading this have never heard of LBP, but let me assure you, it’s a pretty big deal in the queer community. You can read more about LBP here. FLINTA, which is set in Germany, is the latest installment of LBP and like the others was directed by Elina and her close friend Erica Rose — who is also a fearless filmmaker and a friend of mine. Together, Elina and Erica bring you into the world of FLINTA bars in Germany, and in doing so, they tell the story of the country’s queer subcultures from the 1920s to today. They capture the vibrancy of a resilient community in motion as its members affirm and reaffirm their right to exist just as they are. (And if you don’t know what FLINTA means, you’ll find out when you watch the film!)
Then, on Tuesday night, I went with Elina to the second screening of the “It’s Complicated” shorts program at the Tribeca Film Festival, where My Best Friend, was the seventh and final movie on the night. (It’s a great sign that the Tribeca programmers made it the closing short.) I enjoyed all seven shorts, but my two favorites were Elina’s (obviously) and the one that preceded it: Some Kind of Paradise, a modern queer Western directed by Nicholas Finegan. (I won’t go into detail now about Finegan’s film, but when I find out how you can watch it, I’ll let you know because it’s amazing.) My Best Friend is the story of two best friends who spontaneously sleep with each other during a weekend getaway. It’s a a beautiful exploration of what happens when close friends cross the line between friends and lovers and discover the depths of intimacy. It is sincere and funny, wistful and hopeful, and real. It is a personal story to Elina, but it is also universal; almost everyone has at some point wondered whether they should pursue a romantic relationship with a close friend.
I feel a special connection to My Best Friend because it is the first film I’ve witnessed develop from ideation to completion, and I am grateful that Elina felt comfortable talking about it and sharing versions of the script with me. One of the scenes was shot in the hot tub at our Brooklyn brownstone, and one of the two stars of the movie is Elina’s real life best friend, Lana Boy. I’ve known Lana since I moved into the house two and a half years ago, but I had never seen her act before. She is exceptional.
In the Q&A portion of the shorts screening at Tribeca, the moderator noted the realism of My Best Friend and tied it back to Elina’s work as a documentary filmmaker. It was an apt observation, and stylistically, I love narrative films that feel like documentaries. But the real reason I’m bringing that up is because it’s the only way to segue to the latest Martell 100 rankings, in which I discuss a filmmaker who is best known for the gritty realism of his narrative features and who started as a documentary director, the late William Friedkin. (Smooth, I know.)
Last month, I watched four Friedkin movies in a week. That’s semi-sicko behavior, I realize, but it was a lot of fun. Two of those films I had seen before: To Live and Die in L.A., which has been one of my top 100 movies since I launched this newsletter back in December, and Sorcerer, which makes its Martell 100 debut this month. I’ll talk more about those two movies when I get to them on the actual list, but first, I want to mention the two other Friedkin films I watched that week: Cruising, starring Al Pacino as a police officer who goes undercover in the New York City S/M and leather scene in an attempt to draw out a serial killer whose been murdering gay men, and Jade, an erotic thriller that doesn’t really work but features an epic car chase through San Francisco’s Chinatown. I don’t think I’ll ever rewatch Jade, but Cruising is a gripping, surprising movie that I’ve only just begun to wrap my head around.
That’s enough of an introduction from me. As Cliff Booth would say, “And away we go…”
100. Witness (1985)
Director: Peter Weir
Cast: Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Lukas Haas
99. Ishtar (1987)
Director: Elaine May
Cast: Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Adjani
Here is probably a good place to remind everyone that this is not a list of the 100 greatest movies ever made, because I cannot in good conscience make the case that Ishtar is a better movie than, say, Lawrence of Arabia and Ben-Hur, two films that won Best Picture, were box-office hits and remain historically significant, but almost certainly won’t ever be included among The Martell 100 rankings. I like both of them, but nowhere near as much as I enjoy Elaine May’s misunderstood satire about the entertainment industry and the military industrial complex.
I’ve now seen Ishtar twice over the first five months of this year, so I’m no longer comparing it to its reputation as a colossal failure; rather, my admiration for it was enhanced by a second viewing. The comedy holds up even when you know what the bits are and when they’re coming. I laugh whenever Rogers and Clark try and write a song together, and everything involving the blind camel is comedic gold. The movie’s criticism of United States foreign policy is searing but never angry. May demonstrates the hypocrisy of America’s historical role in propping up autocratic regimes overseas — which frequently causes catastrophic consequences for the people who live there — without dwelling on it. She makes her point effectively because it never feels like she is lecturing us.
Playing against type, Warren Beatty (Rogers) and Dustin Hoffman (Clark) are delightful as the two mediocre lounge singers who believe they are destined for songwriting greatness and somehow end up at the center of a geopolitical power play in the Middle East. In the hands of a lesser director and worse actors, the characters would be portrayed as bitter or delusional, come across as unlikeable and make it impossible for us to root for them. But their sincerity is so heartening and infectious that we come to see them the way that Isabelle Adjani’s Shirra Assel does. They are lovable because they are genuine, because they dare to dream and hold out hope in a cruel, cynical world.
98. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Director: Charles Laughton
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish
97. Anatomy of a Fall (2023)
Director: Justine Triet
Cast: Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado Granerv
96. On the Waterfront (1954)
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Eva Marie Saint
95. No Country for Old Men (2007)
Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Cast: Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones
94. Little Women (2019)
Director: Greta Gerwig
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh
93. Sorcerer (1977)
Director: William Friedkin
Cast: Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Amidou
The bridge sequence might just be the best setpiece of the 70s. It’s shot with all the tension of an Indiana Jones stunt, except with the driving rain and the blaring Tangerine Dream score, it feels even more dangerous. On second viewing, the backstories of our three main characters — Roy Scheider’s Dominguez, Bruno Cremer’s Serrano and Amidou’s Martinez — plays much better. The first time I saw it, this three-part prologue was disorienting; now, I realize it enhances our relationship with the trio and we care about them much more than we otherwise would during their perilous journey.
92. Spirited Away (2001)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Cast (English Voices): Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Jason Marsden
91. Michael Clayton (2007)
Director: Tony Gilroy
Cast: George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson
90. Silence (2016)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson
89. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Director: Sergio Leone
Cast: Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern
88. Licorice Pizza (2021)
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast: Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Bradley Cooper
This is quite the precipitous fall for my favorite movie of 2021, but I recently reconsidered its standing on this list after thinking about 2021 as it relates to this year in movies. Both years came directly after a significant halt in production — 2021 followed the pandemic, and this year is the first after the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes halted Hollywood for several months in 2023 — and I think that’s reflected in the fewer amount of good movies that were released in each year. My two favorite films of 2024, thus far, are Challengers and Dune: Part II, but if they were released last year — as was the plan before their studios learned their stars would not participate in the movies’ promotional tours because of the strikes — I’m not sure either would’ve made my top five of 2023. I brought that same thinking to Licorice Pizza; if MGM decided to hold Paul Thomas Anderson’s movie until 2022, so that more people would feel comfortable returning to theaters to see it, would my estimation of it be different? I think so, yes, at least in comparison to my three favorite 2022 releases: Tár (no. 58), The Banshees of Inisherin (no. 75), and Babylon (no. 81). So, I’ve updated these rankings accordingly, after I’d previously had Licorice Pizza ahead of Banshees and Babylon.
87. The Conversation (1974)
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Cast: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield
86. Mikey and Nicky (1976)
Director: Elaine May
Cast: Peter Falk, John Cassavetes, Ned Beatty
85. Past Lives (2023)
Director: Celine Song
Cast: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro
84. Frances Ha (2012)
Director: Noah Baumbach
Cast: Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner, Adam Driver
83. Out of the Past (1947)
Director: Jacques Tourneur
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jane Freer, Kirk Douglas
82. The Big Short (2015)
Director: Adam McKay
Cast: Steve Carell, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling
For the second time in as many updates of my rankings, The Big Short is the biggest loser. I explained in my previous newsletter why I dropped Adam McKay’s film from 27th to 41st, so I won’t go into too many details about why my thinking of the movie has changed. But, quickly, I’ll say this: Earlier in this the newsletter, I praised Ishtar because its indictment of “U.S. foreign policy is searing but never angry.” For all its comedy, The Big Short is an angry movie, and while that is certainly by design, it becomes a bit exhausting after a handful of viewings. The movie is effective, but I no longer enjoy it as much.
81. Babylon (2022)
Director: Damien Chazelle
Cast: Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Brad Pitt
80. Seven Samurai (1954)
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima
79. Toy Story 3 (2010)
Director: Lee Unkrich
Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack
78. City of God (2002)
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Cast: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Douglas Silva
77. The Right Stuff (1983)
Director: Philip Kaufman
Cast: Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris
76. Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi
Director: Richard Marquand
Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
75. The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
Director: Martin McDonagh
Cast: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon
74. Road to Perdition (2002)
Director: Sam Mendes
Cast: Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Tyler Hoechlin
73. Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
Director: Carl Franklin
Cast: Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals
72. A Few Good Men (1992)
Director: Rob Reiner
Cast: Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore
71. North By Northwest (1959)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason
70. There’s Something About Mary (1998)
Director: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly
Cast: Cameron Diaz, Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon
69. Boogie Nights (1997)
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds
68. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore
67. High Noon (1952)
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Thomas Mitchell
66. 12 Angry Men (1957)
Director: Sidney Lumet
Cast: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam
65. JFK (1991)
Director: Oliver Stone
Cast: Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones
64. Moneyball (2011)
Director: Bennett Miller
Cast: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman
63. To Live and Die in L.A (1985)
Director: William Friedkin
Cast: William Petersen, Willem Dafoe, John Turturro
All the intricacies of the plot came together on this third viewing. It’s a complex web of setups and betrayals, a story about power and corruption that in the end reveals the entire system — our dreams, our desires and, ultimately, our damnation — depends upon fake paper to which we prescribe meaning.
62. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Cast: Vince Vaughn, Christine Taylor, Ben Stiller
61. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
Director: Peter Weir
Cast: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, James D’Arcy
60. Bull Durham (1988)
Director: Ron Shelton
Cast: Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins
59. The Irishman (2019)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci
58. Tár (2022)
Director: Todd Field
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Noémie Merlant, Nina Hoss
57. The Social Network (2010)
Director: David Fincher
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake
56. Thief (1981)
Director: Michael Mann
Cast: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Robert Prosky
55. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns
54. Back to the Future (1985)
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Cast: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson
53. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Director: Sidney Lumet
Cast: Al Pacino, John Cazale, Chris Sarandon
52. Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Director: Irvin Kershner
Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
51. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Director: Sergio Leone
Cast: Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Jason Robards
50. Phantom Thread (2017)
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps, Lesley Manville
49. Oppenheimer (2023)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr.
48. The Third Man (1949)
Director: Carol Reed
Cast: Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles
47. Good Will Hunting (1997)
Director: Gus Van Sant
Cast: Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck
46. After Hours (1985)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Griffin Dunne, Rosanna Arquette, Verna Bloom
45. There Will Be Blood (2007)
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Ciarán Hinds
44. That Thing You Do! (1996)
Director: Tom Hanks
Cast: Tom Everett Scott, Liv Tyler, Tom Hanks
43. Lincoln (2012)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones
42. Rear Window (1954)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey
41. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Director: George Roy Hill
Cast: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross
40. Do the Right Thing (1989)
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Spike Lee, Ossie Davis, Danny Aiello
39. When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Director: Rob Reiner
Cast: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher
38. Goodfellas (1990)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci
37. The Other Guys (2010)
Director: Adam McKay
Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes
36. Get Out (2017)
Director: Jordan Peele
Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford
35. Almost Famous (2000)
Director: Cameron Crowe
Cast: Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson
34. Malcolm X (1992)
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Albert Hall
33. Parasite (2019)
Director: Bong Joon Ho
Cast: Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong
32. Zodiac (2007)
Director: David Fincher
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo
31. Apocalypse Now (1979)
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Cast: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall
30. The Nice Guys (2016)
Director: Shane Black
Cast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice
29. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden
28. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Director: Jonathan Demme
Cast: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Ted Levine
27. The Insider (1999)
Director: Michael Mann
Cast: Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer
“What got broken here doesn’t go back together.”
I’m not quite ready to say The Insider is the best journalism movie or my favorite Michael Mann film; I have seen it twice, compared to the more than half-dozen times I’ve watched Heat and the journalism movies that are currently ahead of The Insider. However, Mann’s 1999 thriller just may be the most realistic journalism movie ever made. In The Insider, unlike in All the President’s Men and Spotlight, the people trying to silence the story are not only the corrupt, powerful forces outside the newsroom; they’re also the corporate, powerful forces that finance the newsroom.
26. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Alison Doody
25. The Hateful Eight (2015)
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh
24. Heat (1995)
Director: Michael Mann
Cast: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer
23. Spotlight (2015)
Director: Tom McCarthy
Cast: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams
22. Network (1976)
Director: Sidney Lumet
Cast: William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Peter Finch
21. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie
20. In a Lonely Place (1950)
Director: Nicholas Ray
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy
19. Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Robert De Niro
18. Magnolia (1999)
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast: Tom Cruise, Jason Robards, Julianne Moore
17. All the President’s Men (1976)
Director: Alan J. Pakula
Cast: Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Robards
16. Rio Bravo (1959)
Director: Howard Hawks
Cast: John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson
15. Taxi Driver (1976)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd
14. Casablanca (1942)
Director: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains
13. Chinatown (1974)
Director: Roman Polanski
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston
12. The Fugitive (1993)
Director: Andrew Davis
Stars: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward
11. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Mélanie Laurent
10. A League of Their Own (1992)
Director: Penny Marshall
Cast: Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Lori Petty
9. Reds (1981)
Director: Warren Beatty
Cast: Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson
8. The Godfather Part II (1974)
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Cast: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall
7. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie
6. Gangs of New York (2002)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz
5. L.A. Confidential (1997)
Director: Curtis Hanson
Cast: Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger
4. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman
3. The Godfather (1972)
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Cast: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan
2. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Director: Frank Darabont
Cast: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton
1. The Departed (2006)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson
Additions:
Ishtar (no. 99), Sorcerer (no. 93)
Subtractions:
Yojimbo (no. 97), Django Unchained (no. 95)
Highest Risers:
The Insider (+42), To Live and Die in L.A (+11), The Right Stuff (+8), Devil in a Blue Dress (+8), A Few Good Men (+6), Past Lives (+5)
Furthest Fallers:
The Big Short (-41), Licorice Pizza (-25), Once Upon a Time in America (-7), Babylon (-5), The Banshees of Inisherin (-5)
Honorable Mentions (Non-Cuts):
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, All That Jazz, Bridge of Spies, Citizen Kane, Inside Man, Jackie Brown, Lady Bird, The Age of Innocence, The Dark Knight