Top Ten Preparation, Part V: Final Winnowing

~ Lincoln Spector

In our last chapter, I managed to get the number of candidates down to 13, despite adding three additional films to the candidates list. Now I must add another, I Am Legend, bringing the number up to 14.

So what can I remove?

In Part III, I considered the possibility of eliminating La Vie En Rose and/or Atonement, on the grounds that the list includes a better historical drama, Golden Door (not to mention Lust, Caution, which also qualifies). Now I’m ready to remove both of them. That brings the list to 12.

I also just realized that, although I decided to eliminate Knocked Up in Part IV, I didn’t actually remove it. That brings the count down to 11. (Isn’t it comforting to know I’m only human?)

But what an 11! There’s not a film here I want to eliminate. (Kind of makes me wish humans had one more finger.)

And then I have to figure out the order. Can I really say that Ten Canoes was better at exploring Australian aboriginal culture than Death at a Funeral was funny?

I’m cutting off, now. You’ll have to wait for the actual list to see my decisions.

Here’s the almost-final Top Ten list, still just in the approximate order I saw the films:

  1. Golden Door
  2. The Lives of Others
  3. Ratatouille
  4. Ten Canoes
  5. No End in Sight
  6. The Savages
  7. Death at a Funeral
  8. Lust, Caution
  9. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
  10. Juno
  11. I Am Legend

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Published by Lincoln Spector

Lincoln Spector writes about cinema, technology, and cinema technology. From 1986 through 2008, he wrote Gigglebytes, the first technology-oriented humor column. From 1977 through 2016, he wrote PC World's Answer Line column and blog.