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This text, by Miles Mathis, published on August 29, 2022, critiques the IMDB Top 250 Movie List, arguing that Hollywood has been an enormous waste, producing few genuinely watchable films. The author finds that even searching for “best films of 1980” yields only one or two good options per year, with some years being entirely barren, despite the production of thousands of feature films annually. He expresses disappointment with the trailers for upcoming films in 2022 and 2023, with only Banshees of Inisherin appearing watchable, reuniting Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson from In Bruges.
Mathis questions the IMDB list’s integrity, citing Interstellar’s high ranking at #27 and its position above Star Wars at #28, suggesting the involvement of bots. He also lists Inception (#13), Coco (#76), Inglourious Basterds (#77), and Citizen Kane (#95) as potentially bot-inflated entries. Of the top-rated films, he could only recommend about 30, identifying many as obvious war or history propaganda. Even The Sound of Music is noted for its subtle, incidental propaganda. He claims The Shawshank Redemption (#1) is prison propaganda designed for compliance, and that all mob movies, including The Godfather, are fabricated history propaganda invented by J. Edgar Hoover to justify tax dollars. Mathis also states the LOTR films ruin the Tolkien books, which he considers far superior, and he refused to watch The Hobbit films.
He then provides his personal list of 34 keeper films, acknowledging that it also contains propaganda but that these films justify their budgets through their entertainment value. He notes that many films he deems worthy, such as Woody Allen films (currently downlisted), Room with a View, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Heaven Can Wait, Breaking Away, and Ghostbusters, are not on the IMDB top 250. He observes that only one film on his list was released after 2000, and mentions earlier liked films like RED, Jane Eyre (2011), and The Hangover.
Mathis further criticizes Se7en (#17) and The Silence of the Lambs (#22) for portraying serial killers as real. He expresses dismay that Anthony Hopkins, whom he calls “our best actor,” has stained his legacy with films like nixon, Alexander, Noah, and Thor, and suggests he and Daniel Day Lewis should have retired earlier, citing lincoln and Bobby as proof of their decline into propaganda, alongside Tom Hanks. He also points to The Green Mile (#26) as further prison propaganda, and American History X (#38) as promoting fake neo-Nazis and race wars, attributing its writing to David McKenna, whom he suspects is a “spook” connected to Terence McKenna. McKenna’s film Bully, based on the 1993 murder of Bobby Kent, is also dismissed as fabricated, comparing it to the 1989 Glen Ridge “Our Guys” rapes, suggesting the same writing team at Langley.
Memento (#54) is critiqued for its premise, and LA Confidential (#113) for promoting the “Men-are-Pigs” agenda and the fabricated story of Mickey Cohen’s criminal organization by FBI fiction writers who also created the Al Capone and Bugsy Siegel narratives. Johnny Stompanato is presented as an agent who faked his death, with a fabricated death scene involving Lana Turner’s daughter and a purported on-set incident with Sean Connery. Mathis also mentions Helene Stanley, Freymouth, Seigert, and Komnene, noting that Stanley’s biographical details are scrubbed.
Mathis extensively analyzes Mickey Cohen’s mugshot from Wikipedia, pointing out inconsistencies in the photo, such as the side view, closed eyes, and ill-fitting shirt, suggesting it was staged. He questions the prisoner number 1518 at Alcatraz, which had a limited capacity. He also critiques Cohen’s signature, comparing it unfavorably to Al Capone’s and Eliot Ness’s. Photos of Cohen from LIFE magazine are questioned, including one where he appears to be coming off a golf course after his 1958 murder trial, and another of him with his wife in prison in 1951, with Mathis noting the attire and the presence of a camera crew. He disputes Cohen’s height and claims Meyer Lansky was shorter.
The author expresses distrust of anyone named Rapoport, noting Lansky’s grandson has that name. He dismisses Lansky’s supposed protection from J. Edgar Hoover via blackmail photos as implausible. Mathis analyzes Lansky’s “fake mugshot,” highlighting disallowed elements like the hat and seated side view. He claims Lansky, Lucky Luciano, and others in a 1932 “mafia line-up” were short, including Lansky (4th) and Luciano (3rd). He asserts that Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Harry Truman in 1945 for their fabricated work in Operation Husky, arguing these awards were for their role in faking the mafia for the FBI’s benefit. He mentions Lansky’s story is still promoted in films like Lansky (starring Harvey Keitel) and the graphic novel Meyer by Jonathan Lang, whom he accuses of portraying Lansky as a hero despite him being a “Hollywood actor.”