The head-to-head contests and commentary will come as a series of blog posts right here over the coming days. Today's post will introduce you to the teams and the first-round matchups.
The 64 movies have been chosen by me. I welcome your comments about the great movies that I've left out. Surely if everyone had a top 64 movie list they would all be different. Also, it's possible that I've simply forgotten to include some of my favorite movies, so feel free to remind me.
The bracket is set up with four "regions" of 16 teams apiece (just like the NCAA basketball tournament). The regions in this case are the genres Drama, Family, Comedy, and Action. These are general labels. Most of the movies do fall, at least somewhat, into the genre of the region they're in, but some would certainly work elsewhere. Within each genre the movies have been seeded based on their user rating at the Internet Movie Database (IMDB.com). The original plan was to seed the movies randomly, but seeding them based on user rating will allow us to see where I differ with the population at large on movie opinions. Also, it's more exciting when an upset happens if the seeds are actually based on something.
So that's what you need to know for today. Below are the first round matchups by genre. The parentheses indicate the seeding of each movie. You should let me know who YOU think should win each (or at least some) of the contests. You just might persuade me. Round 1 results will be coming in a few days.
(Note: In the Action region you'll find The Bourne Trilogy. This is the only place where my single selection is actually three different movies [If you don't know, the Bourne Trilogy consists of The Bourne Identiy, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum]. I like them all equally and couldn't pick just one to represent... and I didn't want to waste three spots when I could use just one. So there.)
Drama
(1) The Shawshank Redemption
(16) For Love of the Game
(8) The Truman Show
(9) The Breakfast Club
(4) The Prestige
(13) The Phantom of the Opera
(5) Good Will Hunting
(12) Apollo 13
(3) Se7en
(14) The Terminal
(6) Big Fish
(11) A Few Good Men
(7) Glory
(10) A Beautiful Mind
(2) Schindler's List
(15) A Time to Kill
Family
(1) The Lion King
(16) First Knight
(8) Remember the Titans
(9) Rudy
(4) Beauty and the Beast
(13) Anastasia
(5) Finding Neverland
(12) John Q
(3) Toy Story
(14) A Goofy Movie
(6) Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
(11) Simon Birch
(7) Miracle
(10) The Rookie
(2) Finding Nemo
(15) Newsies
Comedy
(1) Forrest Gump
(16) From the Hip
(8) Dumb & Dumber
(9) Marley & Me
(4) The Princess Bride
(13) My Big Fat Greek Wedding
(5) Ocean's 11
(12) 10 Things I Hate About You
(3) Singin' in the Rain
(14) Matilda
(6) Secondhand Lions
(11) Elf
(7) The Sandlot
(10) A League of Their Own
(2) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(15) Arthur
Action
(1) The Dark Knight
(16) The Saint
(8) Tombstone
(9) Man on Fire
(4) Gladiator
(13) Ransom
(5) V for Vendetta
(12) The Patriot
(3) Braveheart
(14) Tears of the Sun
(6) The Boondock Saints
(11) The Italian Job
(7) The Bourne Trilogy
(10) The Count of Monte Cristo
(2) Fight Club
(15) Armageddon
So there you have it. Stay tuned if you want to see who wins. You should also make upset predictions. Who do you THINK I'll have winning?
First, I am surprised that you didn't have The Count of Monte Cristo on there. That's one of my top 5. Did you forget it or do you really like Finding Nemo more?
ReplyDeleteSecond, I'm a little disappointed that you are spending your free time in this way. Make sure you go outside sometimes. (By disappointed I mean jealous)
Third, Enjoy my car.
Jase, Count of Monte Cristo IS there! It's seed #10 in the Action genre. Facing up first against the Bourne Trilogy. Tough match.
ReplyDeleteThis is hilarious and great! I can't wait until my free time starts. I am filling it with Starbucks (working there and probably hanging out there, too) and a summer pool pass. Also some baseball games. And hopefully some trips to Iowa.
ReplyDeleteAND FREE READING.
What exactly is free time again??? jk. I was surprised to see A Few Good Men ranked so low to be honest.
ReplyDeleteSo tell me, is there any science behind winning and losing or is it, I just like this one better? What I think you should do is make flyers and paste them all over your apartment complex telling them about Summer Movies Showing All Summer Long! Then people come to your apartment, watch whatever movies you show (two a night maybe) then they fill out questionairs not knowing that they are actually score cards. Tally up the scores then declair winners.
Joel, A Few Good Men ranked that low on its IMDB user rating, which was how I determined seeds. I'm sure that's what you meant... I just wanted to clarify that it wouldn't be ranked that low if I were choosing the seeds based on how much I like a movie.
ReplyDeleteI like your movie night idea... but I don't actually have THAT much free time. So yeah, I'm just choosing winners based on which one I like the most. Any other way and it wouldn't really (necessarily) be MY favorite movie that won.