The 50 Greatest Movies of All Time, pt. 7 (#21-25)

So far:

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

We're halfway through the list now, and moving right along into the Top 25!

25. Caddyshack - This is the only movie in which Bill Murray and Chevy Chase are onscreen together. The hilarity of that scene alone is enough to put this in the running for the Top 50; what pushes it squarely into the middle of the rankings is the fact that every scene in the movie is equally funny. I could probably make an entire Top 50 list of just the best Caddyshack quotes, but how about these for now: "Don't sell yourself short, Judge, you're a tremendous slouch"; "This is the worst looking hat I ever saw. I bet when you buy a hat like this you get a free bowl of soup! Uh ... it looks good on you, though"; "I got a lot of stuff on order. Credit troubles"; "Remember, two wrongs don't make a right but three rights make a left." One of the best comedies, and my second-favorite sports movie, of all time.
The Moral of the Story: Be the ball.

24. Seven - There are a couple of bleak movies on this list, but none even come close to matching the darkness of Seven. And when I say that this movie is dark, I mean that on every level. The city sets are strewn with trash, claustrophobic with people, grey with rain. Every character is, at best, empty and unfulfilled on some level or, at worst, downright sociopathic; on that note, it's also the third film on this list that could qualify solely on the strength of Kevin Spacey's performance, although Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt are also fantastic and deserve high praise. The crimes are truly horrific ("lust" is especially disturbing). Nowhere, in fact, in Seven, is there any sense of hope whatsoever - it's just scene after scene of human filth, moral decay, urban rot. It would be laughable to suggest that Seven makes you feel good, but if nothing else, you gotta give it credit for making you feel.
The Moral of the Story: There's no such thing as a happy ending.

23. Die Hard - Action is a tough genre in its purest form. You tend to get "plots" that serve as little more than filler in between car chases, gunfights, over-choreographed martial arts, and so on. You also tend to get "stars" who couldn't act their way out of a wet paper bag and are sorely lacking in charisma (Jason Statham being the major exception; Vin Diesel certainly has the latter but has yet to impress me on the former). Die Hard, on the other hand, is a fast-paced, clever, and fun (if not entirely original or thought-provoking) story and it's made even better with the presence of a good actor: the charming, likeable, and (most importantly) totally badass Bruce Willis as Det. John McClane. Seriously, when he jumps off the exploding roof of Nakatomi Plaza, strapped to a fire hose, machine guns blazing ... so awesome. Action stars don't get any better, and neither do action movies.
The Moral of the Story: The next time you have the chance to kill someone, don't hesitate.

22. Goldfinger - Sure, Goldfinger is a little dated and thanks to Austin Powers, we all chuckle now at some scenes and characters that are meant to be serious. Even after admitting that, though, I just can't overstate how great this movie is. The dialogue is clever without being unbelievably jokey and ridiculous (a flaw that killed nearly every 007 movie with Roger Moore). The plot is relatively plausible, especially by the standards of the Bond series, and it actually makes sense from start to finish, unlike some later entries (ie., Quantum of Solace - I still don't understand what the hell that movie is supposed to be about). This was the first Bond movie to use a lot of gadgets and feature the heavily-modded Aston Martin; even more importantly, Goldfinger was the one that first gave us the line, "Shaken, not stirred." Goldfinger is likely the most well-known Bond movie and, although all of the first five films are amazing, is probably the one that I'd recommend to a franchise newbie.
The Moral of the Story: All that glitters is not gold.

21. Dawn of the Dead - Like The Hills Have Eyes (#43), this is another horror film that got a surprisingly solid remake recently but it's the original that deserves a spot on this list. It couldn't have been easy to follow a classic like Night of the Living Dead, but ten years later (1978), George Romero did exactly that; moreover, not only did he follow it, he surpassed it. As a zombie movie, it's untouchable - perhaps less gruesome than many of its peers (though in no way is it lacking in carnage) but the relative lack of gore doesn't make it any less enjoyable. I'd probably argue, in fact, that it's even more impressive because it relies less on splatter and more on plot. In any case, what really sets Dawn of the Dead apart is the suburban shopping mall setting (Monroeville, PA! Road trip, anyone??) that allows the film to make subtle, subtextual comments on social class and consumerism, themes that were prominent in the 1970s and are still every bit as fresh and relevant today.
The Moral of the Story: In case of a zombie apocalypse, always choose the survival spot with an Orange Julius.

Tomorrow: #16-20. Stay tuned. [[justin]]