Once again, a recap:
50. Total Recall
49. The Wrestler
48. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
47. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
46. The Game
45. Saw
44. Shrek
43. The Hills Have Eyes
42. Fletch
41. The Fifth Element
40. True Romance
39. The Usual Suspects
38. The Dark Knight
37. Evil Dead II
36. Sin City
35. The Silence of the Lambs
34. Office Space
33. Minority Report
32. American Beauty
31. National Lampoon's Animal House
30. Saturday Night Fever
29. Pulp Fiction
28. Iron Man
27. Return of the Jedi
26. V for Vendetta
25. Caddyshack
24. Seven
23. Die Hard
22. Goldfinger
21. Dawn of the Dead
20. 28 Days Later
19. Boogie Nights
18. From Russia With Love
17. 12 Monkeys
16. The Godfather Part II
15. Shaun of the Dead
14. Reservoir Dogs
13. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
12. Star Wars
11. The Muppet Movie
We're getting close to the top!
10. The Matrix - If The Matrix had nothing else going for it besides its effects, it still would have landed on this list. The "bullet time" sequences are an elegant update of action, Hong Kong style. The first fight - Trinity vs. the police - is one of the most jaw-droppingly awesome battles ever seen and just when you thought it couldn't get better, it does: the training programs; Morpheus' rescue; the climactic showdown between Neo and Agent Smith. On top of that, it's impossible to say enough about the set design - the real-world looks like, well, the real world, and the matrix itself looks just as cold, bleak, and lifeless as one would imagine it to be - and the costumes, especially the 1950s suits on the Agents. Simply superb, but The Matrix is more than just stunning visuals. It's also a well-crafted, brainy piece of modern existentialist philosophy; much like V for Vendetta (#26), I'd be stunned if this wasn't part of someone's film studies or philosophy course somewhere. Given how terrible the two sequels are, I might have to rate the collective trilogy as the tenth worst of all time, but The Matrix, on its own, is unquestionably the tenth best.
The Moral of the Story: It is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.
09. The Manchurian Candidate - Frank Sinatra didn't have a great voice like Dean Martin or a charming personality like Sammy Davis, Jr. - of all the members of the Rat Pack, he just always seemed to me to be the least useful. So when I first found out that he also was an actor, I expected more of the same. Boy, was I wrong. Where his singing was average, his acting was exceptional; where his musical charisma was lacking, his onscreen presence was absolutely commanding. Nowhere is this more evident than in The Manchurian Candidate, one of the only Cold War-era political thrillers that didn't lose its edge during detente and/or become wholly antiquated post-1989. Credit for this is partly due to Sinatra, sure, but the real scene-stealer here is Angela Lansbury, who is believably chilling as a manipulative, cold-hearted political wife - it's miles away from the Angela Lansbury we know from Bedknobs and Broomsticks or Murder, She Wrote, that's for sure! I also have to give special recognition to the fantastic script (adapted from Richard Condon's novel of the same name): Sen. Johnny Iselin is a (very) thinly-veiled analogue to Sen. Joseph McCarthy, and the entire film is infused with the paranoia and tension of the 1950s anti-Communist witch hunts. The brainwashing/garden party scene is flawless, and as far as plot twists go, it's hard to beat the revelation of the identity of Raymond Shaw's handler. The 2004 remake was a total snoozer (sorry, Denzel), but if you stick with the original, The Manchurian Candidate is guaranteed not to disappoint.
The Moral of the Story: There's nothing quite like a nice game of solitaire to take your mind off things.
08. The Shawshank Redemption - Most of Stephen King's work shouldn't be removed from the printed page. Even when the movie versions are good (The Shining, The Green Mile, Misery) they don't live up to the books, and when they're bad ... wow. Fewer things provide a more painful viewing experience than a bad Stephen King adaptation: Pet Sematary, Cujo, Christine, Secret Window, Thinner, and on and on and on. So how did The Shawshank Redemption turn out to be such an absolute winner, a fantastic movie on its own merits and one that is a marked improvement on the short story? Well, it helps to have Frank Darabont involved - he doesn't do much, but everything he touches turns to "classic." It can't hurt to have Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman starring, either (not to mention Freeman's narration. There's a good reason why he was cast as the voice of God in the otherwise-terrible Bruce Almighty). Plus, their characters - Andy and Red - are both believable and likable, and theirs is the best cinematic representation of friendship that I've ever seen. Speaking of realism, it's also good to see a plausible escape plot portrayed; about two years ago in New Jersey, in fact, a Shawshank-inspired jailbreak actually did occur! I could say a million more good things about The Shawshank Redemption, but I don't think I need to. This one really sells itself and no one who has seen it should be questioning its placement on this list.
The Moral of the Story: A true friend is worth more than all the money in the world.
07. Fast Times at Ridgemont High - This movie makes the list because it's not just the smartest, funniest, most realistic high school movie of all time, it's also the single greatest comedy of all time. I mean, really, there is no logical argument to be made against a film in which the entirety of the American founding is summarized as, "What Jefferson was saying was, 'Hey! You know, we left this England place because it was bogus and if we don't get some cool rules pronto, we'll just be bogus, too!'" Classic stuff, as, I might add, is most of the rest of the dialogue. But Fast Times at Ridgemont High has much more to offer than just great lines, which is what propels it into the top ten. This movie was most people's introduction to a trio of talented actors who would go on to make many more good movies between them: Sean Penn, Forest Whitaker, Jennifer Jason Leigh (then again, it also unfortunately gave us Nicholas Cage, the second-worst actor of all time). It was Cameron Crowe's first (and best) screenplay. It turned the world outside of southern California on to slip-on checkerboard Vans. And it was one of the first teen comedies to deal with a serious issue - Stacy's abortion - in a serious way, without sacrificing the humor of the rest of the movie. In writing this, I'm reminded of just how perfect Fast Times at Ridgemont High is, and how every comedy that came after it really just pales in comparison.
The Moral of the Story: Serve no fries before their time.
06. Rocky - I'm having a hard time thinking of another movie that is as tightly bound to a city as Rocky is to Philadelphia. People here talk about Rocky like he's a real person - I confess, sometimes I'm also guilty of this - and still shower Sylvester Stallone with adoration, despite the fact that he's only made three good films in the thirty-three years since Rocky premiered in 1976 (Rocky II, Rocky III, and First Blood). That said, there's a good reason that Rocky is so revered: it's a flawless character study that captures the viewer's attention and sympathy in a way that few other movies ever have. Everybody loves to root for the underdog, and that's exactly what Rocky Balboa is - a local yokel boxer, living in a crappy studio apartment, earning an apparently meager living collecting debts for a small-time loan shark. You're sympathetic to this guy from the beginning, but when he gets chosen to fight the world heavyweight champion as part of a publicity stunt, I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't immediately, fervently root for Rocky to win. It's also worth noting that only three movies make me cry with every single viewing; this is one of them. Rocky is the best sports movie of all time (by a very comfortable margin) and overall, I would say that few characters are as likable, few stories are more moving, and few movies are better.
The Moral of the Story: Make the most out of every opportunity you're given.
Top Five tomorrow! [[justin]]
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