A Bone to Pick

AFI has been both good and bad for the film community. Tonight they did a Top 10 of Top 10 genres of sorts. Here is what we got for Gangsters:

The Godfather (1972)
Goodfellas (1990)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
White Heat (1949)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Scarface (1932)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
The Public Enemy (1931)
Little Caesar (1930)
Scarface (1983)

Commentary by slashfilm: Godfather II is considered by everyone to be a better film than the original film, so why does it always place second to the first film on all of AFI’s lists?

Whose lists are you referring to? I definitely consider The Godfather to be better than the sequel. IMDb's user ranking (both registered and official-whatever registered) consider the original better. The sequel is great, I know, but I honestly find it rare for someone to call the sequel the better film. WTF, mate?

This is also probably the best list:

Mystery

Vertigo (1958)
Chinatown (1974)
Rear Window (1954)
Laura (1944)
The Third Man (1949)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
North By Northwest (1959)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Dial M for Murder (1954)
The Usual Suspects (1995)

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Until tonight I had a good deal of respect for AFI (American Film Institute, not the band). As usual, they announced the movies they think were the best 10 of the year. There's a jury or 13 people who debate about it and whatnot. Anyway, here's the list:

BABEL
BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
DREAMGIRLS
HALF NELSON
HAPPY FEET
INSIDE MAN
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
UNITED 93

This is clearly some kind of joke. I have no desire to see Borat, but I don't even have a problem with that being on the list. I'm also glad Devil Wears Prada is on there, but does anyone else notice a significant gap? Obviously 'The Departed' should be on there, regardless of taste in movies and personal opinions. That movie was amazing in every aspect, and to be written off like this must be some kind of joke. I guess AFI plans on releasing their real list tomorrow, which replaces any of these movies, particularly Inside Man (...), with The Departed.

Oh, and I think 'The Queen' wasn't on there because it's not an American movie. If it was eligable and not on that list, I'd be even more upset, but...

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