Lists like these are all the rage on "Facebook", but since this one is relevant to this website, I thought I would share it here:
1.
Jaws: The first summer blockbuster and the movie that changed the industry. This is the movie that made me a movie lover. I will never forget seeing it a dozen times the summer it came out.
2.
The Godfather: The mafia movie of all mafia movies. Love “The Sopranos”, “Goodfellas” and similar? NONE of them would exist without “The Godfather”. The perfect storm of cast, story and script, movies like this come along once in a lifetime. I could quote this film for hours. (Feel free to add “The Godfather II” to make this a complete film).
3.
Die Hard: A movie that created a whole new level of action movies. Often imitated (SO many movies are referred to as “Die Hard on a...”), but never equaled. Bruce Willis became a major star in front of your eyes as “guy in the wrong place” John McLain. Yipee-ki-yay, motherf---er, indeed!!
4.
Dumb and Dumber: This is one of those movies that I just can not turn off whenever I stumble across it. This is absolutely the best “stupid funny” movie of all time. As funny as Jim Carrey may be, Jeff Daniels meets him beat for beat and is hilarious in this movie. Another movie I could quote all day. Love this Jeff Daniels line, when discussing a former girlfriend dumping him: “She said I didn't listen to her. Well, I think that's what she said, I wasn't paying attention.”
5.
Requiem for a Dream: Hands down the most powerful movie I have ever seen. A dark, horrific study of drug addiction and what it can do to you. On a side note, it also unintentionally illustrates Hollywood “racism”: To portray the female lead hitting bottom, she is shown, um, giving pleasure to an African-American man. A story-telling technique that would later be used in “Traffic”.
6.
The Devils Rejects: Although this did not invent the “slasher” genre, this movie re-invented it. It also is a great new take on the “psycho family” genre with the Firefly family on the run from a sheriff that is just as twisted as they are. Vicious, horrifying and yes, flat-out funny, this movie shows how twisted I may be because I loved it. Two great pieces of dialogue:
Adam Banjo: Please, mister. This is insane.
Otis B. Driftwood: Boy, the next word that comes out of your mouth better be some brilliant f---in' Mark Twain shit. 'Cause it's definitely getting chiseled on your tombstone.
After taking a car and finding a littly boy in it (Spaulding is in clown makeup):
Captain J.T. Spaulding: What's the matter, kid? Don't ya like clowns?
Jamie: [shakes head crying] Captain
J.T. Spaulding: Why? Don't we make ya laugh? Aren't we f--in' funny? You best come up with an answer, cos I'm gonna come back here and check on you and your momma and if you ain't got a reason why you hate clowns, I'm gonna kill your whole f---ng family.
7.
Toy Story: Ok, have to get back down to earth after that last one. Most Pixar films could make this list, but this is the one that started the computer animation genre. If this movie didn't work, animation would not be as we know it today. Despite how amazing it looked and the attention to detail, it is really the story that make this a great movie. It is fun, an interesting concept and entertaining for all.
8.
The Pope of Greenwich Village: This may not make many people's lists, but this movie hit all of the marks. You had two great young stars on the rise in Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts who had great chemistry as cousins involved in an ill-fated heist. It is actually interesting that neither one of them really fulfilled their potential as major stars and both were never better than in this film. “They took my thumb, Charlie!!!!!”
9.
Reservoir Dogs: “Are you gonna bark all day,....little doggie, or are you gonna bite?” Quentin Tarantino explodes onto to the scene in another heist-gone-bad movie. It is supposed to be “the perfect crime” as a group of strangers are brought together to pull a heist, but when they learn one of them may be an undercover cop, all hell breaks loose. No one writes dialogue like Tarantino and the addition of great action, mystery and a killer soundtrack and Tarantino lays down the elements that will become his trademarks.
10.
Pulp Fiction: Well, I might as well stay on the Tarantino bandwagon with probably his best film. Tarantino resurrects the career of John Travolta and adds the element of non-linear storytelling to his repertoire. I love that when Tarantino approached Travolta to be in this movie, Travolta was overweight and said “Ok, let me get in shape” and Tarantino said, “No, THIS is the Travolta I want in this movie.” When Travolta accidentally shoots their prisoner in the head, I will never forget how hard I laughed. SO many great moments in this movie.
11.
E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial: Steven Spielberg gives a new wrinkle to the classic “boy and his dog” story when Elliot finds an interesting little creature in the woods, who turns out to be an alien who was left behind by his traveling party. This is Spielberg at his best, although I wish he did not tinker with it when the days of DVD came around.
12.
Star Wars: Much as “Jaws” hit me in 1975, “Star Wars” did the same in 1977. A great, classic storyline with cutting edge effects to show you can do just about anything on film. The remainder of the original trilogy helped flesh out what became an amazing family story. Harrison Ford establishes himself as the “go-to” guy for Spielberg with this movie.
13.
Blazing Saddles: Maybe the funniest movie ever made. Mel Brooks at his finest.
14.
There's Something About Mary: While this Farrelly Brothers film may be funnier than “Dumb and Dumber”, I think “Dumb and Dumber” edges it out slightly as far as re-watchability. This movie, however, is out and out funny. Everybody in this cast is at the top of their game and have never been funnier. The hair gel scene merely scratches the surface of the lewd and crude humor displayed in this movie. My personal favorite is probably the scene when Ben Stiller is arrested in a “rest stop sting”.
15.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: So many great performances led by the always great Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher as the single biggest bitch in movie history. The power struggle between these two is legendary. This movie also launched careers, including Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd. The movie was funny, dark and powerful and succeeded on every level.
16.
Seven: A slow build of a mystery and thriller which stars Brad Pitt as a hot-shot young detective being shown the ropes by seasoned veteran Morgan Freeman (who, by the way, manages to play Morgan Freeman in every movie!). The two are put on the case of a murder spree based on the “seven deadly sins”. Pitt's arrogance and brash personality puts him straight into a showdown with serial killer Kevin Spacey, who pulls off the ultimate mind-f--- in the back of a cop car as Pitt is taught a horrible lesson. “What's in the box???” proves you do not need a happy ending for a great movie. This, in my opinion, was the best movie ending ever.
17.
Clerks: Kevin Smith dropped out of film school and put together a group of friends to make this no-budget, black and white comedy about two slacker friends who work at a neighboring convenience store/video store. This movie established Kevin Smith as a brilliant writer of comedic dialogue and is flat-out funny.
18.
Silence of the Lambs: Anthony Hopkins gets all of the attention as the brilliantly evil Hannibal Lecter, and rightfully so, but this movie had much more than that going for it. Jodie Foster is also terrific as the young FBI investigator who gets the “privilege” of interviewing Dr. Lecter and finds herself in a strange relationship with the killer. Finally, Ted Levine as “Buffalo Bill” is amazing in this role and should certainly get a lot more credit. Great movie in so many ways.
19.
Saturday Night Fever: John Travolta transforms from TV's Vinnie Barbarino into a similar, but much darker, Tony Manero. Manero is sort of a lovable loser who has dead end jobs by day, but is a “superstar” on the dance floor on Saturday nights. This movie portends to capture a disco scene that really didn't exist at the time, but managed to create it. Travolta catapulted from an ensemble TV actor to a major movie star with this role. “My hayr, don't touch my hayr”
20.
The Exorcist: Although I love horror movies, I rarely refer to them as “scary” movies as they just don't scare me. Well, except for “The Exorcist”, which is probably the scariest movie ever to be put on film. Perhaps it is the juxtaposition of the angelic little girl being possessed by a demon, but this movie is just chilling. If you did not see the DVD edition, it is a must see for the “spider walk” scene alone. “The power of Christ compels you, the power of Christ compels you!” Excuse me, I have to go turn on all the lights now!
21.
Raiders of the Lost Ark: Steven Spielberg of “Jaws” and “E.T.” and George Lucas of “Star Wars” combine forces to create a throwback character reminiscent of old-time Saturday morning serials. They turn to their favorite go-to guy in Harrison Ford and the result is movie magic and one of the great adventures of all time. I love the story that the greatest scene in the movie is the result of Fords having, uh, loose bowels on the day of shooting. When the script called for Ford to get into a long battle with a machete-wielding villain, Ford was unable to get this done in his ill state, so they improvised, having him just shoot the guy which was movie gold.
22.
Caddyshack: One of the “All-star cast” comedies that were popular at the time and none were better than this one. The writing and the performances were all at the top of their game and no one was able to get this kind of performance from Rodney Dangerfield in a film ever again.
23.
The Sixth Sense: One of the greatest twist-ending movies ever. Even though my wife figured this out early on (She turned to me and said “You know, they never showed him recovering from that gunshot wound” about a third of the way in), it is still a masterful job of telling this story without really letting you in on the secret that was coming, but when you watch it again, you see that all the evidence was right there in front of you.
24.
Pure Luck: No, this is not a great movie. It is hardly even a great comedy. I mean, it was funny and all, but nothing to write home about. So, why am I writing about it? Well, because it was the first movie my wife and I saw together on a date, so of all of the movies on this list, this is the one that literally changed my life.
25.
Ghost Rider: When my son, Michael went into the hospital for high-dose chemotherapy, he was upset because he had wanted to go see this. We were able to get a bootleg copy and he and I watched it one night in his hospital room. There was no way to know this was the last movie we would ever watch together. Obviously, this movie will forever hold a special place in my heart.
Well, that's it. I probably could have gone to 30 movies or so as there are movies I definitely wanted to include but ran out of room (Spiderman and Batman Begins to name but a couple). Hope you enjoyed it and looking forward to the comments!!
After seeing "Pan's Labyrinth", my mind was opened to foreign language films. Seeing Benicio Del Toro, the writer/director of "Pan's Labyrinth" attached to this film, it was a slam dunk I had to see it. This is the story of a woman (Belen Rudea) who was in an orphanage as a child and returns to re-open that orphanage as a home for special needs children. Not long after she arrives, her son (Roger Princep) begins to play with his new imaginary friends. Believing this is his normal childhood imagination, she is not concerned until the day he runs down the beach with his new "friend" and never comes back. She is determined to find him and is convinced he is still alive, even as all around her, including her husband, has given up. While it is a somewhat interesting story, it is very reminiscent of "Poltergeist", especially when she brings in a paranormal research team to "read" the house. Although the "creepy house of mystery" angle makes this a horror film, it is not really scary at all. It is a somewhat interesting story and very well done, the plot borrowed too heavily from "Poltergeist" and "1408" for me to give it a strong recommendation. Either of those films are actually a better pick. I was sort of hoping for a different, imaginative film and this did not quite hit the mark.
