MOVIE MADNESS BRACKET: From 64 to 32 Part II

Last Sunday, we started a Tournament to determine the Best Film of 2000-Now.
We took votes, argued among ourselves and stopped being friends for a few hours.
Well the dust has settled and Round 1 is officially over.

64 Films have been cut to 32.
The above photo (click to enlarge) has all the Round 1 winners.
Vote on Round 2 in the Comments Section.

We have recapped all the Round 1 games for you.
You can read Part I of the Recap here.

Dan (The North) is writing in italics.

Chris (The South) is writing in normal.

Recap Part II:

Nolan/Fincher Region:

#1. THE DARK KNIGHT over #16. WALL-E. This was over before it began. KNIGHT was one of the first four in the Tournament. WALL-E was one of the last four in the Tournament. #1 moves on.

Lots of people love #9. Cast Away, I just do not get it. On the other hand, not many like, or have even seen #8. Zodiac, but I love it. So I was glad to see Fincher's moody, serial killer mystery-drama advance over Tom Hanks on the beach for two hours talking to volleyball.

It was a Cruise vs. Gosling battle for the ages. And the younger man got it done.
#5. DRIVE defeats #12. COLLATERAL in a vote that was basically a split decision.
I like Michael Mann, but I like 1980s/90s Mann over 2000 and beyond. DRIVE was such a breathe of fresh air. It had all the pieces to the puzzle and was strong enough to pass one of Mann's lesser flicks.

#4. ALMOST FAMOUS easily defeated #13. ZOMBIELAND. Both movies are about young men on their first road trips. This adventure will determine much of the rest of their lives and we get to watch it happen. Respect to the Bill Murray cameo, but FAMOUS keeps on truckin.

Everybody liked #6. THE SOCIAL NETWORK more than #11. ATONEMENT. 
The vote wasn't close and David Fincher gets both of his films through to Round 2.
Also, Justin Timberlake was great in SOCIAL NETWORK. It's not a debate. It's a fact.

#3. GLADIATOR got the thumbs up from the crowd and beat #14. THANK YOU FOR SMOKING, convincingly. Good to see that GLADIATOR is not completely forgotten. When that movie came out on DVD I probably watched it 15 times. Ridley Scott at his best.

In one of the closest matches of the tourney so far, #10. Memento just edged #7. Snatch. Christopher Nolan's breakout film versus Guy Ritchie's breakout film. Memento's twisty, unique structure and gritty noir atmosphere tops Ritchie's fast-paced, Tarantino-lite crime flick in a close and heated vote.

Christopher Nolan sees all three of his films go through: #2 INCEPTION over #15. HIGH FIDELITY. HI-FI may be my favorite Romantic Comedy ever, but INCEPTION was one of the best in-theater experiences of recent memory. This win, sets up an Epic Nolan Battle of INCEPTION and MEMENTO in Round 2.



Anderson/Coppola Region:

#16. Little Miss Sunshine snuck its way into the tournament as one of the final seeds. But did it ever really stand a chance against #1. The Royal Tenenbaums, in the bracket named for Wes Anderson? In a battle of dysfunctional families, the Tenenbaums easily overtake the Hoovers (I admit, I had to look up the Sunshine's family name too).

I absolutely love #8. Winter's Bone, and I do not care what of you say (Dan's Note: I care!). So it advances over #9. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Don't get me wrong, Pirates is a fun flick, but it doesn't match Bone. Are you really going to question the movie the launched the career of the lovely Jennifer Lawrence? (Dan's Note: J-Law is amazing. And yes, start calling her J-Law)

Upset Alert: #5. LOST IN TRANSLATION goes down versus #12. SIDEWAYS. Sofia Coppola's smart, haunting film was trounced by the wine-guzzlers from Santa Ynez Valley. Alexander Payne works his way into Round 2, in a vote that was not even close.

Wes Anderson saw his second entry advance when #4. THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU defeated #13. JUNO. Jason Reitman was 1 of 9 directors with more than one entry in the contest. Sadly, neither of his entries made it out of Round 1. JUNO has the same comedy and heart formula as LIFE AQUATIC , but the setting and epic direction of AQUATIC take it to another level. Remember, it's the Steve Zissou show, not the Ellen Page show.

In the Michael Cera Showdown, #6. SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD bested #11. SUPERBAD.
The vote was basically split and in the end Edgar Wright's PILGRIM won the battle of the bands.
McLovin cannot be forgotten, but PILGRIM just has more of everything we like in film.

Wes Anderson had three films in this section of the bracket - two advanced, one didn't. Tenenbaums and Zissou moved on easily, but #14. The Fantastic Mr. Fox couldn't overcome Steven Soderbergh's Oscar-winning ensemble #3. Traffic, about the war on drugs. (Dan's Note: Like GLADIATOR, I feel some people have forgotten the hyperbolic, crazy-positive reaction when TRAFFIC came out. It won 4 Oscars for a reason.)

Another director we are big fans of here at North/South is Spielberg (I mean, who isn't?), but we both agree the great Spielbergo is more hit-and-miss these days. But one of his last unquestioned great films is #10. Catch Me if You Can, but #7. Pan' Labyrinth clearly has a lot of fans. As one of the few foreign films to make the cut of 64, it is great to see Guillermo Del Toro's epic fantasy survive.

Sofia Coppola was completely eliminated from her own Region, when #15. MARIE ANTOINETTE was cut down by #2. THERE WILL BE BLOOD. The Region is co-named for Wes Anderson, but Paul Thomas Anderson's oil epic is looming large in this part of the bracket.


We are now down to 32 Films.

Here is the full bracket with the Round 1 winners and Round 2 Match-Ups:

Round 2 Voting is Open!

The Comment Section of the Part I or Part II posts are the best places to make your picks.

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