The 50 Greatest Movies of All Time, pt. 5 (#31-35)

Fifteen down:

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

Five more for today:

35. The Silence of the Lambs - It was hard to determine where to rank The Silence of the Lambs. On one hand, almost everything about the movie is brilliant. The story is fast-paced, engaging, and, while not particularly shocking, always keeps you on the edge of your seat. No matter how often you see it, the night-vision scene is still uncomfortably creepy and suspenseful. And I can't think of any better villain than Hannibal Lecter, who is equally repulsive and likeable, and delivers the best closing line ever captured on film ("I do wish we could chat longer, but I'm having an old friend for dinner."). On the other hand, the film's only real flaw is a biggie: Jodie Foster's "accent" is laughably bad, sounding constantly like someone using a fake voice. Put a better actress in the lead role and The Silence of the Lambs could easily, easily have risen into the top five; as it exists, I think this is the perfect placement for it.
The Moral of the Story: Never offer roadside assistance to anyone driving a van.

34. Office Space - Just about every minute of Office Space offers some new, compelling piece of evidence for its inclusion on this list, but none is finer than the following exchange, which perfectly captures, I think, man's near-universal attitude towards work:

Consultant - "It looks like you've been missing a lot of work lately."
Peter - "I wouldn't say I've been 'missing' it."

Need more? How about Lumbergh, the O-Face, the Jump to Conclusions Mat, "two chicks at the same time", and, of course, "... I realized that ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that's the worst day of my life." Office Space is realistic and relatable, always hilarious, and I'm hard-pressed to think of many better comedies.
The Moral of the Story: Work is the curse of the drinking classes. And everyone else, too.

33. Minority Report - You can't really go wrong with Philip K. Dick as your source material - Blade Runner, anyone? - and with Steven Spielberg directing; it should go without saying that the script and direction are second to none. In addition, the sets, costume design, and effects are plausibly futuristic - this is one of the few sci-fi movies that looks like it is set in a world that we might realistically inhabit one day. It's also refreshing to see a major Hollywood hit raise the question of free will vs. determinism and not be too heavy-handed in its attempts both to arrive at an answer and to assess the moral implications that the debate raises. The only potentially fatal flaw in Minority Report was the presence of Tom Cruise (the fourth worst actor, and sixth most annoying celebrity, of all time), but for once, he rose to the occasion and completely nailed it. Kudos.
The Moral of the Story: A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.

32. American Beauty - Like The Wrestler (#49), American Beauty is a poignant look at one man's attempts to reconnect with his youthful glory years. The reason that American Beauty ranks higher is that it is also a movie about the death of the modern family, changing gender roles, and the undercurrent of moral corruption in suburbia; in short, it's the story of the rise and fall of the American Dream. With a lesser cast, the ambition of the script could have gone unfulfilled or, even worse, become ridiculously overwrought; clearly, this was not the case here. Quite the opposite, in fact - the acting is subtly nuanced, almost understated, which not only creates an extraordinary sense of realism but also perfectly illustrates the larger messages about resignation and acceptance. In this and other ways, American Beauty is part comedy and part drama, but is always thought-provoking and emotionally involving.
The Moral of the Story: You can't go home again.

31. National Lampoon's Animal House - Innovation is (almost) always better than imitation, no matter how good. This movie is no exception: Animal House was the first comedy to really push the limits of so-called 'good taste' (the popping zit, the horse in the office, Otter with the Dean's wife and then impersonating a grieving boyfriend, "you mind if we dance with your dates?", and on and on) and now, more than 30 years later, it's still as fresh and entertaining as ever. Where it excels - and where the great majority of its followers failed - is that the crass humor is always used to serve the scene, not as the entire point of the scene itself. Plus, it's fun to see a movie in which there's no attempt whatsoever to subtly shade the characters - the good guys are the good guys, the bad guys are assholes, no exceptions. The best of both: Tim Matheson as Otter (though you can't help but love John Belushi as Bluto Blutarsky) and Mark Metcalf as Niedermayer (later, of course, reinvented in two fantastically silly Twisted Sister videos).
The Moral of the Story: When things seem hopeless? Toga party. When things are hopeless? Road trip.

Stay tuned - #26-30 tomorrow. [[justin]]