I. am. being. provocative and why not ?? it seems like your criteria for something to be good or 'classic' be only that said thing is dealing with 'serious' issues in a deadly 'serious' way, other forms of expression can stand up to historical scrutiny, Wall-E for example tackles perhaps even more 'serious' social and cultural issues than The Wire, a show which you are always so laudatory about, except only in a tonally different way, plus it's a landmark in its genre
Lost In Translation is superb!!! Charlotte: 25 years. That's uh, well it's impressive. Bob Harris: Well you figure, you sleep one-third of your life, that knocks out eight years of marriage right there. So you're, y'know, down to 16 in change. You know you're just a teenager, at marriage, you can drive it but there's still the occasional accident.
The Wire is amazing on so many levels. It's almost a social experiment recorded in a typical USA city (in this case Baltimore). Things like 'Breaking Bad', 'The Walking Dead' etc. might be as entertaining for some as The Wire, but they're leagues apart in the sense of thought and script. Wall E I thought was good, and they did a good job. I don't personally think it'll be remembered as a 'Modern Classic'. I admit my idea of a 'classic' does tend to sway towards serious stuff, probably because I'm not a comedy or sci-fi fan. So yes it's definitely subjective for us to make these choices, it'll be interesting to see in years to come which films/TV shows stand the test of time
I honestly didn't like Lost in Translation. Admittedly I watched it on a plane with a belly full of diazepam - maybe I should revisit it as you both mention it.
On the weekend I watched... Hunt for the Wilderpeople 7.5/10 Imperium 6.5/10 Secret life of pets 6/10
Hmmm...my definition of a classic.. It doesn't need of be serious but has to be clever in some aspect. I've noticed that a lot of classic classics pre this century can be as much about capturing the era they were made in either through social commentary or basic nostalgia.. The difficulty big effects films largely sci-fi have is they date to the point of distraction. Others like Bladerunner etc through accident or design have been clever enough with effects that they don't date so much they destroy a good script or fine acting.. Anyway...my predictions: There Will be Blood Pans Labyrinth No Country for Old Men Lost in Translation The Dark Knight The Hurt Locker Crouching Tiger Inside Out. Skyfall All for very different reasons.
