Things are getting exciting as we get closer to number one. Here's a brief look at what's already made the list:
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
And now, into the top twenty!
20. 28 Days Later - For some reason, 28 Days Later was, and continues to be, completely mismarketed. People call it a zombie horror movie, but it's not. If anything, it's an apocalyptic military suspense movie, although I suppose that doesn't really have quite the same ring to it. Whatever. The point is this: no matter how you define this movie, it's the perfect blend of action, violence, thrills, scares, and thought-provoking believability. The cinematography is gorgeous - the pan shots of a deserted London are absolutely chilling - and with a cast of unknowns (to American audiences, at least) not distracting you with star power, it's very easy to get lost in the willing suspension of disbelief. Bonus points for the most perfectly exhilarating and thrilling chase sequence - the tire change in the tunnel out of London - I've ever seen; it's also hard to think of a bigger "oh shit" moment than the castle sequence with the soldiers and the female survivors. The sequel was a bit of a disappointment, but there's nothing bad to be said about 28 Days Later.
The Moral of the Story: Radical thoughts, good; radical tactics, bad.
19. Boogie Nights - Song placement can take an OK movie and make it good or, in the case of Boogie Nights, push an already-great movie into legendary status. The opening scene (the long shot at the club that introduces all the characters) set to "Best Of My Love" is, hands down, my favorite example of this; the "Sister Christian" and "God Only Knows" scenes would also rank near the top of my top ten of all-time. The music plays an integral role in this movie, drawing the viewer into the story of the rise, fall, and renaissance of Dirk Diggler (the unexpectedly excellent breakthrough performance by "Marky" Mark Wahlberg). But it also frames the larger sociological story happening in the background - the self-indulgence of the post-Watergate 1970s falling victim to the career-oriented conservatism of Reagan's 1980s, the death of free love thanks to the reality of AIDS, the feel-good disco generation losing its identity to the nihilism of punk rock and corporate-manufactured rebellion of heavy metal. Boogie Nights is a great character study, but even more importantly, it's a portrait of an era.
The Moral of the Story: Bigger isn't always better.
18. From Russia With Love - Goldfinger might be the best-known (and perhaps most well-liked) Bond film, but for my money, From Russia With Love is the clear high point of the franchise. Even without 007, this would be a great spy movie; the presence of Sean Connery as Bond only makes it that much better. It's got the most realistic plot of all the films in the series, the attache case is plausibly cool without being "gadgety," and the fight scene on the train is still completely exciting to watch. Plus, it's the first Bond movie to have Desmond Llewelyn as "Q." No disrespect to John Cleese, but there will only ever be one "Q," and it's not him. It's also worth pointing out that this movie has the most beautiful Bond girl ever - Daniela Bianchi as Tatiana Romanova. There are other great 007 movies, and even the worst of them have some redeeming qualities, but everything comes into perfect alignment in From Russia With Love.
The Moral of the Story: In the end, the good guy always gets the girl.
17. 12 Monkeys - From what you've seen on this list so far, it's probably not too hard to identify a few things that basically guarantee that I will enjoy a movie, and 12 Monkeys has them all: global human annihilation; time travel; post-societal survivalism; totalitarian governments; Bruce Willis. This was the first movie in which I ever suspected that Brad Pitt was a seriously good actor and not just some pretty boy (a suspicion confirmed by subsequent viewings of Seven (#24) and True Romance (#40) later that year). Terry Gilliam is one of the best directors out there (see also: Brazil, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas); he doesn't do much, but when he does, it's never a letdown - reportedly, he was J.K. Rowling's first choice to do the Harry Potter movies and one can only imagine how much more excellent those would have been with his involvement. But we're not talking about "what if" here. 12 Monkeys is "what is" and what it is, is remarkable on all fronts.
The Moral of the Story: Pre- or post-apocalypse, don't go to Baltimore.
16. The Godfather Part II - This was the first major movie to use "Part 2" in the title; apparently, filmmakers were previously afraid that naming a film in such a way would imply that it was merely an afterthought to an existing movie. That's hardly the case here - yes, The Godfather Part II is a sequel, extending the Michael Corleone story begun in The Godfather, but it's also a prequel, telling the story of young Vito Corleone and the genesis of the family in America. Francis Ford Coppola actually managed to improve the casting from the original, adding Robert DeNiro for the prequel segments and bringing back most of the the original cast for the sequel segments. The fine acting brings the story to life in an immediately compelling way, which keeps the film from dragging despite of its three-and-a-half hour runtime. Really, it's hard to think of anything about this movie that is criticizable - The Godfather Part II is an amazing movie on its own merits and is also one of the few sequels that lives up to and, arguably, might even outshine the original.
The Moral of the Story: Never turn your back on your family.
Tough competition! #11-15 tomorrow. [[justin]]
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