The 50 Greatest Movies of All Time, pt. 2 (#46-50)

No need for a long intro here; let's just jump right in:

50. Total Recall - Let's get something straight: Arnold Schwarzenegger is not a bad actor (a claim that is, you understand, very different than saying that he is a good actor, which he is also not) but his success in a role is heavily dependent on his script. Give him something good, like Predator or The Running Man, and you'll get something good; give him something bad, like any of his "comedies," and it's the cinematic equivalent of swine flu. So what happens when you give him something great? Total Recall, that's what. Thought-provoking and intelligent, but still fast-paced and full of futuristic gadgets, cool effects, and cinematic action hero bon mots (ie., "Consider that a divorce."); this is a model of what all sci-fi should aspire to be.
The Moral of the Story: Everyone goes on vacation and hates to come home. Be careful what you wish for.

49. The Wrestler - Jessica will tell you, I couldn't stop talking about this one for a solid week after we saw it, and even now, writing this, I'm still fairly moved. Darren Aronofsky knows a thing or two about affecting his audience with multidimensional characters and gorgeous cinematography; this movie demonstrates that even more so than his others. The title character - outstandingly portrayed by Mickey Rourke in an unexpected but welcome late-career resurgence - is the epitome of a fuck-up who lives in the past, but he's so charismatically sincere and well-meaning that you can't help but root for him all the way. This film perfectly illustrates one of the most basic human experiences: we all have to grow up, move on, let go, and accept our pasts; The Wrestler is about one man's struggle to do just that. Bonus points for an ambiguous ending that lets the audience decide the outcome, followed by Springsteen's brooding, Nebraska-esque title song.
The Moral of the Story: Maybe it actually is better to have never loved at all than to have loved and lost.

48. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Jim Carrey started to get existential on us in The Truman Show and really, these two movies explore the same themes from different angles - The Truman Show about seeking out the present and future truth as it actually is, Eternal Sunshine about creating your own present and future truth by reinventing what came before. Really, both of these movies are excellent and it wasn't easy to pick one over the other, but ultimately, I chose Eternal Sunshine because Michel Gondry is an important and groundbreaking director, Charlie Kaufman's scripts never fail to make an emotional connection with the audience, and the last part ("Meet me in Montauk") is, without question, one of the most heartbreaking sequences ever put to film. I tear up every time, don't you?
The Moral of the Story: We'd all like to erase our memories of Ace Ventura, but maybe we shouldn't.

47. Ferris Bueller's Day Off - John Hughes was untouchable in the 80s and although there's also a pretty solid argument to be made in favor of Sixteen Candles, this one gets the nod as the best of the bunch for one reason: it's universal. Every one of us, at any age - school, work, retirement - has, at some point or another, fantasized about a day exactly like this. A day of total irresponsibility, of wild abandon, of getting one over on authority, of living life completely and absolutely in the current moment. Moreover, you can't deny the lasting impact that Ferris Bueller had on pop culture: "Bueller ... Bueller ... Bueller"; Save Ferris; "... something-d-o-o-economics ... voodoo economics"; Abe Froman, the Sausage King of Chicago; "If you had a car like this, would you take it back right away?" And if all that isn't enough to convince you of this film's genius, I have two words for you: Ed Rooney.
The Moral of the Story: Anything is possible with a good friend, a beautiful girl, a shit-hot car, and absolutely no plan.

46. The Game - Of all the films on the list, this is the one that most people probably haven't heard of, and that's a real shame. Michael Douglas and Sean Penn star - reason enough, I think, to go look it up, no? - as brothers who become involved with a company called Consumer Recreation Services that crafts real-life adventures for the bored and wealthy. In that sense, I guess, it's sort of loosely similar to the plot of Total Recall, but the similarities end there: this is a real-world thriller, full of unexpected (and, more importantly, unpredictable) plot twists, set in San Francisco in the late 1990s. Some critics compared it to "The Twilight Zone"; I'm more inclined to call it the logical heir to Alfred Hitchcock. High praise in either case (and damn fine company to keep!), and this one more than lives up to it. Fantastic.
The Moral of the Story: Trust no one.

Up next: #41-45. [[justin]]