
PopGap: The Potluck Film Festival is Over
Written by dorrk | 18 January 2018 |
Who watches the watchlist?
One hundred and thirty-one feature films, plus three short films, totalling almost 240 hours. During 11 months of 2017, The Potluck Film Fest covered movies spanning 92 years of film history and... a bunch of different countries. I don't know how many. I just watched 240 hours of movies, I'm not going go back through them and figure out where they came from. A lot. There were a lot of countries involved. Like Japan and Sweden and... who knows?
This was a (perhaps stupidly) ambitious project made possible by the 25 participants who each recommended between three and eleven movies for me to watch during the course of the year. I watched whatever they told me to watch, even when it involved disgusting sights like teenagers eating feces, a man emitting fire from his urethra, or Rory Culkin making a wig out of spaghetti. I'm never going to shake that last one. I discovered so many new favorites, kicked a few stubborn hang-ups, learned to find more positives where I least expect them, and developed a sharper sense of what I dislike and why. There were surprising hits and misses and a whole lot of provocation and beauty, as well as doorways opened to an exponentially wider universe of movies that were previously off of my radar.
Every movie entered into the Potluck Film Fest was reviewed here on Medialifecrisis.com and ranked on my Flickchart. Below is the "Hall of Fame:" the 35 movies worthy of 4-star* ratings or higher, followed by a ranked list of every single film watched as part of this project. Clicking the titles will take you to the review.
Thanks to everyone involved, even if it consisted of looking at just one of my tweets, Facebook posts, Instagrams, or a single visit to this website.
After three years of PopGap movie challenges in different formats, and close to 700 movie reviews during that time, I'll be taking a break from formal projects in 2018. I still plan to post the occasional review here and on social media, and maybe some other fun stuff about both the movies that I've been watching and the movies that I love.
(* A couple of marginal 3.5-star movies slipped in there, too.)
2017 Potluck Film Fest Trailers Mega Reel
ALL 134 MOVIES FROM 2017'S POTLUCK FILM FESTIVAL
-
The Fall (2006)
Dir.: Tarsem Singh
Ranking: #200 (95.05%)
From: Josh Haysom, PopGap #25 -
Smiles of a Summer Night (1955)
Dir.: Ingmar Bergman
Ranking: #218 (94.60%)
From: Josh Haysom, PopGap #25 -
Westward the Women (1951)
Dir.: William A. Wellman
Ranking: #235 (94.18%)
From: Jandy Hardesty, PopGap #34 -
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (1945)
Dir.: Elia Kazan
Ranking: #364 (90.98%)
From: Bas Van Stratum, PopGap #31 -
A Man for All Seasons (1966)
Dir.: Fred Zinnemann
Ranking: #425 (89.47%)
From: Andrew Kendall, PopGap #25 -
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
Dir.: Mervyn LeRoy
Ranking: #475 (88.23%)
From: Dan Kocher, PopGap #24 -
Early Summer (1951)
Dir.: Yasujirô Ozu
Ranking: #512 (87.32%)
From: Bas Van Stratum, PopGap #31 -
Underground (1995)
Dir.: Emir Kusturica
Ranking: #516 (87.22%)
From: Nick Dallas, PopGap #32 -
Winter Sleep (2014)
Dir.: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Ranking: #530 (86.87%)
From: Wade McCormick, PopGap #35 -
The Man Who Loved Women (1977)
Dir.: François Truffaut
Ranking: #549 (86.40%)
From: Grant Douglas Bromley, PopGap #27 -
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)
Dir.: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Ranking: #551 (86.35%)
From: Grant Douglas Bromley, PopGap #27 -
Osama (2003)
Dir.: Siddiq Barmak
Ranking: #553 (86.30%)
From: Mike Seaman, PopGap #28 -
Santa Sangre (1989)
Dir.: Alejandro Jodorowsky
Ranking: #554 (86.28%)
From: Alan Ryman, PopGap #30 -
Le Cercle Rouge (1970)
Dir.: Jean-Pierre Melville
Ranking: #556 (86.23%)
From: Josh Haysom, PopGap #25 -
Lone Star (1996)
Dir.: John Sayles
Ranking: #562 (86.08%)
From: Josh Haysom, PopGap #25 -
Come Drink With Me (1966)
Dir.: King Hu
Ranking: #578 (85.68%)
From: Rick Winters, PopGap #26 -
Much Ado About Nothing (2012)
Dir.: Joss Whedon
Ranking: #607 (84.96%)
From: Rachel Gilbert, PopGap #28 -
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)
Dir.: Ronald Neame
Ranking: #616 (84.74%)
From: David Conrad, PopGap #29 -
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Dir.: Michael Curtiz
Ranking: #629 (84.42%)
From: Alex Christian Lovendahl, PopGap #32 -
Le Million (1931)
Dir.: René Clair
Ranking: #711 (82.39%)
From: Ben Shoemaker, PopGap #27 -
A Heart in Winter (1992)
Dir.: Claude Sautet
Ranking: #712 (82.36%)
From: Bas Van Stratum, PopGap #31 -
Murmur of the Heart (1971)
Dir.: Louis Malle
Ranking: #740 (81.67%)
From: Mike Seaman, PopGap #28 -
Night of the Juggler (1980)
Dir.: Robert Butler
Ranking: #751 (81.40%)
From: Mike Russell, PopGap #30 -
In the Line of Duty 4 (1989)
Dir.: Woo-ping Yuen
Ranking: #758 (81.22%)
From: Tory Kluender, PopGap #26 -
Branded to Kill (1967)
Dir.: Seijun Suzuki
Ranking: #767 (81.00%)
From: Dan Kocher, PopGap #24 -
Artists and Models (1955)
Dir.: Frank Tashlin
Ranking: #774 (80.83%)
From: Dan Kocher, PopGap #24 -
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Dir.: Steven Spielberg
Ranking: #775 (80.80%)
From: Nathan Chase, PopGap #31 -
Irreversible (2002)
Dir.: Gaspar Noé
Ranking: #778 (80.73%)
From: Wade McCormick, PopGap #35 -
Heroes of the East (1978)
Dir.: Chia-Liang Liu
Ranking: #795 (80.31%)
From: Rick Winters, PopGap #26 -
Good Bye Lenin! (2003)
Dir.: Wolfgang Becker
Ranking: #808 (79.99%)
From: Ben Shoemaker, PopGap #27 -
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982)
Dir.: Colin Higgins
Ranking: #809 (79.96%)
From: David Conrad, PopGap #29 -
Breaker Morant (1980)
Dir.: Bruce Beresford
Ranking: #815 (79.81%)
From: David Conrad, PopGap #29 -
Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)
Dir.: Maya Deren, Alexander Hammid
Ranking: #843 (79.12%)
From: Mike Seaman, PopGap #28 -
Spellbound (2002)
Dir.: Jeffrey Blitz
Ranking: #875 (78.33%)
From: Hannah Keefer, PopGap #24 -
Pontypool (2008)
Dir.: Bruce McDonald
Ranking: #917 (77.29%)
From: Nathan Chase, PopGap #31 -
Love Affair; or the Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator (1967)
Dir.: Dusan Makavejev
Ranking: #939 (76.74%)
From: Dan Kocher, PopGap #24 -
The Only Son (1936)
Dir.: Yasujirô Ozu
Ranking: #948 (76.52%)
From: Alex Christian Lovendahl, PopGap #32 -
From Russia With Love (1963)
Dir.: Terence Young
Ranking: #950 (76.47%)
From: Nigel Druitt, PopGap #25 -
Rosetta (1999)
Dir.: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Ranking: #959 (76.24%)
From: Mike Seaman, PopGap #28 -
One-Eyed Jacks (1961)
Dir.: Marlon Brando
Ranking: #965 (76.10%)
From: David Conrad, PopGap #29 -
Tomboy (2011)
Dir.: Céline Sciamma
Ranking: #972 (75.92%)
From: Rachel Gilbert, PopGap #28 -
Autumn Sonata (1978)
Dir.: Ingmar Bergman
Ranking: #982 (75.68%)
From: Wade McCormick, PopGap #35 -
Jailhouse Rock (1957)
Dir.: Richard Thorpe
Ranking: #994 (75.38%)
From: Connor Ryan Adamson, PopGap #35 -
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
Dir.: Vincente Minnelli
Ranking: #997 (75.30%)
From: Grant Douglas Bromley, PopGap #27 -
The Odd Couple (1968)
Dir.: Gene Saks
Ranking: #1003 (75.15%)
From: Ty Tag, PopGap #25 -
This is Not a Film (2011)
Dir.: Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, Jafar Panahi
Ranking: #1004 (75.13%)
From: Jandy Hardesty, PopGap #34 -
The Seven Year Itch (1955)
Dir.: Billy Wilder
Ranking: #1008 (75.03%)
From: Connor Ryan Adamson, PopGap #35 -
Lady for a Day (1933)
Dir.: Frank Capra
Ranking: #1011 (74.96%)
From: Jandy Hardesty, PopGap #34 -
All is Lost (2013)
Dir.: J.C. Chandor
Ranking: #1019 (74.76%)
From: Nigel Druitt, PopGap #34 -
Detour (1945)
Dir.: Edgar G. Ulmer
Ranking: #1032 (74.44%)
From: Ben Shoemaker, PopGap #27 -
The Proposition (2005)
Dir.: John Hillcoat
Ranking: #1047 (74.06%)
From: Alan Ryman, PopGap #30 -
Un chien andalou (1929)
Dir.: Luis Buñuel
Ranking: #1057 (73.82%)
From: Mike Seaman, PopGap #28 -
Safety Last! (1923)
Dir.: Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor
Ranking: #1058 (73.79%)
From: Josh Haysom, PopGap #25 -
Fish Story (2009)
Dir.: Yoshihiro Nakamura
Ranking: #1062 (73.69%)
From: Nick Dallas, PopGap #32 -
Rescue Dawn (2006)
Dir.: Werner Herzog
Ranking: #1063 (73.67%)
From: Nigel Druitt, PopGap #26 -
The Merry Widow (1925)
Dir.: Erich von Stroheim
Ranking: #1064 (73.64%)
From: Dan Kocher, PopGap #24 -
Bad Santa (2003)
Dir.: Terry Zwigoff
Ranking: #1078 (73.30%)
From: Nigel Druitt, PopGap #35 -
The Mission (1999)
Dir.: Johnnie To
Ranking: #1079 (73.27%)
From: Tory Kluender, PopGap #26 -
Matewan (1987)
Dir.: John Sayles
Ranking: #1101 (72.73%)
From: Ben Shoemaker, PopGap #27 -
Bad Boys (1983)
Dir.: Rick Rosenthal
Ranking: #1105 (72.63%)
From: Ty Tag, PopGap #34 -
Samurai Rebellion (1967)
Dir.: Masaki Kobayashi
Ranking: #1108 (72.55%)
From: Rick Winters, PopGap #26 -
Sleuth (1972)
Dir.: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Ranking: #1156 (71.36%)
From: Hannah Keefer, PopGap #24 -
Behind the Candelabra (2013)
Dir.: Steven Soderbergh
Ranking: #1167 (71.09%)
From: Alex Christian Lovendahl, PopGap #32 -
F for Fake (1973)
Dir.: Orson Welles
Ranking: #1295 (67.92%)
From: Alex Christian Lovendahl, PopGap #32 -
World's Greatest Dad (2009)
Dir.: Bobcat Goldthwait
Ranking: #1316 (67.40%)
From: Nigel Druitt, PopGap #32 -
Martyrs (2008)
Dir.: Pascal Laugier
Ranking: #1326 (67.15%)
From: Ryan Swinimer, PopGap #29 -
The Big Clock (1948)
Dir.: John Farrow
Ranking: #1335 (66.93%)
From: Bas Van Stratum, PopGap #31 -
Detroit Rock City (1999)
Dir.: Adam Rifkin
Ranking: #1342 (66.76%)
From: Ryan Swinimer, PopGap #29 -
Pariah (2011)
Dir.: Dee Rees
Ranking: #1346 (66.66%)
From: Rachel Gilbert, PopGap #28 -
The Trial (1962)
Dir.: Orson Welles
Ranking: #1366 (66.16%)
From: Rachel Gilbert, PopGap #28 -
Marwencol (2010)
Dir.: Jeff Malmberg
Ranking: #1412 (65.02%)
From: Nick Dallas, PopGap #32 -
Who Wants to Kill Jessie? (1966)
Dir.: Václav Vorlícek
Ranking: #1414 (64.97%)
From: Rachel Gilbert, PopGap #28 -
Outer Space (1999)
Dir.: Peter Tscherkassky
Ranking: #1416 (64.92%)
From: Mike Seaman, PopGap #28 -
The Woman (2011)
Dir.: Lucky McKee
Ranking: #1420 (64.83%)
From: Ryan Swinimer, PopGap #29 -
Ordet (1955)
Dir.: Carl Theodor Dreyer
Ranking: #1442 (64.28%)
From: Hannah Keefer, PopGap #24 -
Dick Tracy (1990)
Dir.: Warren Beatty
Ranking: #1472 (63.54%)
From: Ryan Hope, PopGap #34 -
Au Hasard Balthazar (1966)
Dir.: Robert Bresson
Ranking: #1526 (62.20%)
From: Wade McCormick, PopGap #35 -
Alfie (1966)
Dir.: Lewis Gilbert
Ranking: #1533 (62.03%)
From: Ryan Hope, PopGap #34 -
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)
Dir.: Scott Glosserman
Ranking: #1547 (61.68%)
From: Ryan Swinimer, PopGap #29 -
Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man (1976)
Dir.: Ruggero Deodato
Ranking: #1579 (60.89%)
From: Mike Russell, PopGap #30 -
Dead Man's Shoes (2004)
Dir.: Shane Meadows
Ranking: #1580 (60.86%)
From: Nick Dallas, PopGap #32 -
Taxidermia (2006)
Dir.: György Pálfi
Ranking: #1599 (60.39%)
From: Wade McCormick, PopGap #35 -
Footlight Parade (1933)
Dir.: Lloyd Bacon
Ranking: #1692 (58.09%)
From: Nathan Chase, PopGap #31 -
Timecrimes (2007)
Dir.: Nacho Vigalondo
Ranking: #1696 (57.99%)
From: Nathan Chase, PopGap #31 -
Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
Dir.: Charles Crichton
Ranking: #1790 (55.66%)
From: Ryan Hope, PopGap #34 -
Odd Thomas (2013)
Dir.: Stephen Sommers
Ranking: #1792 (55.61%)
From: Nick Dallas, PopGap #32 -
Dark of the Sun (1968)
Dir.: Jack Cardiff
Ranking: #1827 (54.74%)
From: Mike Russell, PopGap #30 -
Goldfinger (1964)
Dir.: Guy Hamilton
Ranking: #1836 (54.52%)
From: Connor Ryan Adamson, PopGap #35 -
Rush Hour (1998)
Dir.: Brett Ratner
Ranking: #1858 (53.98%)
From: Andrew Kendall, PopGap #25 -
Tetsuo, the Iron Man (1989)
Dir.: Shinya Tsukamoto
Ranking: #1868 (53.73%)
From: Alan Ryman, PopGap #30 -
The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)
Dir.: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Ranking: #1874 (53.58%)
From: Grant Douglas Bromley, PopGap #27 -
Whale Rider (2002)
Dir.: Niki Caro
Ranking: #1884 (53.33%)
From: Bas Van Stratum, PopGap #31 -
Kung Fu Jungle (2014)
Dir.: Teddy Chan
Ranking: #1891 (53.16%)
From: Rick Winters, PopGap #26 -
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990)
Dir.: Tom Stoppard
Ranking: #1921 (52.42%)
From: Ben Shoemaker, PopGap #27 -
City on Fire (1987)
Dir.: Ringo Lam
Ranking: #1932 (52.14%)
From: Tory Kluender, PopGap #26 -
Girl Shy (1924)
Dir.: Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor
Ranking: #1994 (50.61%)
From: Jandy Hardesty, PopGap #34 -
Upside Down (2012)
Dir.: Juan Diego Solanas
Ranking: #2009 (50.24%)
From: Andrew Kendall, PopGap #25 -
The Rocketeer (1991)
Dir.: Joe Johnston
Ranking: #2020 (49.96%)
From: Nigel Druitt, PopGap #30 -
ABBA: The Movie (1977)
Dir.: Lasse Hallström
Ranking: #2028 (49.76%)
From: Pat Nachtigall, PopGap #30 -
Wild Things (1998)
Dir.: John McNaughton
Ranking: #2030 (49.72%)
From: Nigel Druitt, PopGap #27 -
Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
Dir.: Leo McCarey
Ranking: #2040 (49.47%)
From: Ryan Hope, PopGap #34 -
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
Dir.: Tom Tykwer
Ranking: #2042 (49.42%)
From: Nathan Chase, PopGap #31 -
The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete (2013)
Dir.: George Tillman Jr.
Ranking: #2063 (48.90%)
From: Ty Tag, PopGap #31 -
Following (1998)
Dir.: Christopher Nolan
Ranking: #2065 (48.85%)
From: Connor Ryan Adamson, PopGap #35 -
The Court Jester (1956)
Dir.: Melvin Frank, Norman Panama
Ranking: #2069 (48.75%)
From: Hannah Keefer, PopGap #24 -
Mary and Max (2009)
Dir.: Adam Elliot
Ranking: #2084 (48.38%)
From: Ryan Swinimer, PopGap #29 -
The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009)
Dir.: J Blakeson
Ranking: #2098 (48.03%)
From: Nigel Druitt, PopGap #28 -
Miracles (1989)
Dir.: Jackie Chan
Ranking: #2105 (47.86%)
From: Tory Kluender, PopGap #26 -
The Beaver (2011)
Dir.: Jodie Foster
Ranking: #2106 (47.83%)
From: Nigel Druitt, PopGap #24 -
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Dir.: Charles Barton
Ranking: #2131 (47.21%)
From: Ty Tag, PopGap #24 -
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
Dir.: Jim Jarmusch
Ranking: #2146 (46.84%)
From: Alex Christian Lovendahl, PopGap #32 -
Speed Racer (2008)
Dir.: The Wachowskis
Ranking: #2149 (46.77%)
From: Andrew Kendall, PopGap #25 -
Visible Secret (2001)
Dir.: Ann Hui
Ranking: #2174 (46.15%)
From: Rick Winters, PopGap #26 -
Diary of a Shinjuku Thief (1969)
Dir.: Nagisa Ôshima
Ranking: #2277 (43.60%)
From: Grant Douglas Bromley, PopGap #27 -
About Time (2013)
Dir.: Richard Curtis
Ranking: #2298 (43.08%)
From: Ty Tag, PopGap #30 -
Radioland Murders (1994)
Dir.: Mel Smith
Ranking: #2384 (40.95%)
From: Mike Seaman, PopGap #28 -
Black Mountain Poets (2015)
Dir.: Jamie Adams
Ranking: #2438 (39.61%)
From: David Conrad, PopGap #29 -
Exiled (2006)
Dir.: Johnnie To
Ranking: #2507 (37.90%)
From: Mike Russell, PopGap #30 -
The Imitation Game (2014)
Dir.: Morten Tyldum
Ranking: #2510 (37.83%)
From: Pat Nachtigall, PopGap #30 -
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Dir.: Garth Jennings
Ranking: #2521 (37.55%)
From: Ty Tag, PopGap #28 -
Angels in America (2003)
Dir.: Mike Nichols
Ranking: #2566 (36.44%)
From: Hannah Keefer, PopGap #24 -
Flight (2012)
Dir.: Robert Zemeckis
Ranking: #2616 (35.20%)
From: Nigel Druitt, PopGap #31 -
Mr. Nobody (2009)
Dir.: Jaco van Dormael
Ranking: #2749 (31.90%)
From: Jandy Hardesty, PopGap #34 -
The Flowers of War (2011)
Dir.: Yimou Zhang
Ranking: #2784 (31.04%)
From: Ty Tag, PopGap #26 -
The Great Gatsby (2013)
Dir.: Baz Luhrmann
Ranking: #2846 (29.50%)
From: Andrew Kendall, PopGap #25 -
Sergeant York (1941)
Dir.: Howard Hawks
Ranking: #2847 (29.48%)
From: Ryan Hope, PopGap #34 -
Finder's Fee (2001)
Dir.: Jeff Probst
Ranking: #2954 (26.83%)
From: Ty Tag, PopGap #27 -
Savages (2012)
Dir.: Oliver Stone
Ranking: #3072 (23.90%)
From: Pat Nachtigall, PopGap #30 -
Time and Tide (2000)
Dir.: Hark Tsui
Ranking: #3098 (23.26%)
From: Tory Kluender, PopGap #26 -
Road to Perdition (2002)
Dir.: Sam Mendes
Ranking: #3138 (22.27%)
From: Ty Tag, PopGap #32 -
The Voices (2014)
Dir.: Marjane Satrapi
Ranking: #3176 (21.33%)
From: Nigel Druitt, PopGap #29 -
The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
Dir.: Mark Pellington
Ranking: #3453 (14.47%)
From: Connor Ryan Adamson, PopGap #35 -
A Simple Plan (1998)
Dir.: Sam Raimi
Ranking: #3511 (13.03%)
From: Ty Tag, PopGap #29 -
The Mighty (1998)
Dir.: Peter Chelsom
Ranking: #3695 (8.47%)
From: Ty Tag, PopGap #35

The PopGap Potluck Film Fest Year in Review
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