The Ever-Evolving Genre Standard

Poni_Boy

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One of the first questions that comes to mind before reviewing a new release is: How does it live up to my current top standard for its genre?

My standards of quality for each genre change over time the more movies I watch, without necessarily changing my "favorites" list. For example, Die Hard is my favorite action movie of all time but Jack Reacher is my new top standard for action movies due to updated filming techniques, effects, better stunts/acting, etc.

So my question is, what are yours? I'll lead off with a few:

Horror: The Cabin in the Woods

Sports: Warrior

Superhero: The Dark Knight

Comic Book/Graphic Novel: Road to Perdition

Action: Jack Reacher

Sci-Fi: District 9
 
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this is a fantastic thread.

thank you for having D9 for scifi and not ST 2009. because D9 is really unique for a scifi movie.

i rewatched Cabin in the Woods and it still holds up 100%.
 
I just rewatched D9 two days ago with the intention of tearing into its flaws, but I was amazing at how seamless it is. With that budget, an unknown director, unknown actors and an original story.. it's unequivocally the sci-fi standard for me. Hoping Elysium is up to the challenge of topping it :)

Star Trek is great. I was never a ST fan even thought I watched a lot of the older movies and series, but it made me one. But it's not original enough in any of its aspects to be the best of its ilk.

And, yeah, Cabin is phenomenal. Lots of comedy but never forgets it's a horror movie. Before that I had the Dawn of the Dead remake as my horror standard.
 
Sports: Remember the Titans

Superhero: The Dark Knight

Comedy: Wedding Crashers (combining off the cuff with clever writing)

Horror: Cabin in the Woods, but it's almost a genre onto itself. I'd go with Insidious/Conjuring for straight horror. James Wan has a really nice formula going. Great story telling is key now, no longer will sorely jump scares and torture porn be tolerated dammit.

Drama: Argo/Zero Dark Thirty. The suspense and story building in those films is amazing.

Action: Mission Impossible 4.

Sci-Fi: Yep, District 9.
 
A few more:

Drama: Shame (recently beat out The Shawshank Redemption)

Military: Black Hawk Down (modern), Saving Private Ryan (historical)

And to get really specific (Netflix standards):

Sex comedy: Friends with Benefits

Coming-of-age: The Perks of Being a Wallflower
 

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