Fantaverse Top 100 Movies of All Time (Thread #7): 40-31
Posted: January 10th, 2011, 2:57 am
Top 40 now, kiddies.
MOVIE #40
Shrykespeare
Toy Story 3 (2010) – Director: Lee Unkrich; starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles and Ned Beatty. I quite liked the first one, and only moderately liked the second one (which, to date, makes it my least favorite Pixar film thus far), but they couldn’t possibly have ended the trilogy any better than they did. A worthwhile story about what happens to toys when their owners grow up, and a true and magnificent study about the value of friendship. It actually had me in tears, it was so moving (and Buzz’s “Spanish mode” was a stroke of genius). I’m not at all surprised that both Toy Story and Toy Story 2 have appeared on numerous lists, but I am surprised that I’m the only one (so far, anyway) to have the trilogy’s final chapter on his.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNMpa5yBf5o
silversurfer
Beetlejuice (1988) - Director: Tim Burton; starring Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin and Winona Ryder. I can always remember this movie both freaking me out and wowing me simultaneously when I was little. The eerie opening with the bridge disaster would stick in my mind for days, but only to be outdone by the insanely bizarre and surreal images which followed as Burton and Keaton dazzled with their dark, macabre humour. It's essentially become the template of what everyone has come to expect from Burton nowadays, but at the time I remember having never seen anything like this before. It's so wickedly inventive both narratively and visually, with some outstanding makeup and effects still looking good today. And you've got to love the bureaucratic hell that is the waiting room, filled with all manner of bizarre and hilarious monstrosities. Burton again touches on his own experiences growing up in Burbank with the concept of the misunderstood monster, and while at first you would expect to be scared of Betlegeuse, instead you find yourself endeared to him. Indeed, like with Edward Scissorhands, it is the humans and not the ghosts who reveal themselves as the more ghastly characters. And to top it off you have the performance that introduced me to the delight that is Winona Ryder, shockingly beautiful, I was transfixed on her character and her unusual looks, but beyond the make up and wild hair, she posessed a dynamism and charm in her acting which I was totally in love with. And so my obsession began...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hovKm9oFiM
thegreenarrow
The Apartment (1960), Director Billy Wilder; starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Fred McMurray. (2nd appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4OXm9-E8OQ
transformers
Unforgiven (1992) - Director: Clint Eastwood; starring Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman and Richard Harris. About 30 years after Eastwood formed his legacy with legendary Westerns, he makes another classic. Unforgiven is just one of the best and most entertaining westerns I have ever seen. Eastwood and Morgan Freeman are both absolutely brilliant in their roles. Unforgiven is a dark, gritty western from the master himself, Clint Eastwood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SO5VO2ixWY
englishozzy
Into the Wild (2007) - Director: Sean Penn; starring Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt and Catherine Keener. Based on a true story of Christopher McCandless, who was a middle class student that decided to cash in his inheritance to charities and hit the open road with nothing to his name. The sort of road trip movie that deep down we all just want to do from time to time. Some gentle but strong performances from veterans like Keener, Vaughan and Hurt help this movie tenfold. Coming from a fan of the book Penn has done extremely well adapting this to the big screen, using the Alaskan scenery to full extent as Hirsch puts in an emotional and physical performance. (2nd appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LAuzT_x8Ek
Ron Burgundy
Buscemi
The Big Lebowski (1998) - Director: Joel Coen; starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi and John Turturro. A case of mistaken identity becomes one man's journey to find the people who ruined his rug (it tied the room together) in this hilarious neo-noir (done in the style of Raymond Chandler stories, such as The Big Sleep) from The Coen Brothers. Besides its neo-noir concept, it also doubles as a sports film (many scenes focus around a bowling league) and a very over-the-top dark comedy with lots of bizarre characters. From the eternally stoned, White Russian-drinking The Dude to the Nam-obsessed devout Jew Walter to the slow-witted Donny, the sex-starved artist Maude, the child molesting rivar bowler Jesus and the rest, every single character is a gem thanks to excellent writing and acting (it's probably not surprising that this film is the first thing people think of when they think of Bridges or Goodman). The directing is also masterful in the way that Coen does (folksy but modern, strange but with the feeling that you can relate to it). The film is a long, strange trip but one of the most fun long, strange trips you will ever see. (4th appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_GCRFRcWxA
Chienfantome
Twelve Monkeys (1995) – Director: Terry Gilliam; starring Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt and David Morse. There was a time when I did not go as much to cinema as I do now. And I missed a lot of films I was craving to see. Among those, one of the films I regretted not having seen in theater the most is Twelve Monkeys. So I bought it on VHS as soon as it was available. And later, on DVD. And I’ve watched it quite a few times since. And it soon became a favourite of mine. Not just because I love time traveling films. But also because Gilliam perfectly manages to insufflate his love for crazy dreamy universes into an amazingly well thought story. It’s as much high tech as it is dust. Dreams and reality collide with a strange sense of poetry and despair. Inspired by the unique French film “La jetée” by Chris Marker”, Twelve Monkeys is a fascinating story about how cynical time and life are. It’s a haunting film. (2nd appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0gEkxzOHho
numbersix
Blue Velvet (1986) - Director: David Lynch; starring Kyle Maclachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper and Laura Dern. I remember trying to watch this film as a young teen as I heard it had “erotic” elements, but man I wasn’t prepared for the introduction of Dennis Hopper’s terrifying Frank Booth. I didn’t like it as I didn’t get it, but having fallen in love with Lynch’s films I do think there’s much brilliance to this. Lynch makes a playful portrayal of the dark underbelly of idyllic society, in which a young man’s curiosity sees him explore the nastier side of life and sexuality. That Booth scene immediately conjures up ideas from Freud (the child interpreting parental sex as violence) in order to show this twisted tale of sexual maturity. And the brilliance is rather than show it as a sort of trial we overcome, this dark side will always co-exists: as shown by the brilliant opening sequence (shown in my clip below) in which beneath the surface of the garden the underground is a sea of consuming insects, and then at the film’s end where an image of “beauty” and “innocence” is shown to feed on those insects. Beneath the surface there’s an eternal and co-dependent conflict that we can’t cover up, no matter how hard we try. This is Lynch at his passionate, but also at his most ironic. (2nd appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM975_Ld9S0
Banks
Up in the Air (2009) - Director: Jason Reitman; starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick. This is easily one of the most touching films of the past few years, and it’s only one of two movies I’ve ever seen that after watching, the first thought that popped into my head was “Now, that’s what a perfect film looks like”. Everything is top-notch: the dialogue is a throwback to films of the 40s and 50s, Clooney and Farmiga have chemistry that crackles, and Kendrick plays her character with the right amount of young naivete and a determination to prove she belongs. I loved The Hurt Locker and Inglourious Basterds, but I hoped with all my heart that George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Jason Reitman (all three movies he’s directed have made my Top 100), and Up in the Air would win all the Oscars they rightly deserved. (3rd appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7k6FwXJhNk
BarcaRulz
Death at a Funeral (2007) - Director: Frank Oz; starring: Matthew Macfayden, Peter Dinklage, Ewen Bremmer, Alan Tudyk and Peter Dinklage. When I first saw the trailer for this, I was immediately interested, and so on opening day I went with a friend to see it. I can honestly say I have never laughed as hard and as often watching any other movie. The crowd loved it, and why not? The acting was fantastic, the writing was excellent, and the comedic situations were hilarious. I ended up watching it four times at the movies, all with different people, and every single time the crowd would eat it up, and it loses nothing when you watch it again, and again, and again... (2nd appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neCY4hh1wJg
Geezer
Stripes (1981) - Director: Ivan Reitman; starring: Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and John Candy. And now for a war movie of a COMPLETELY different type. Just a fantastic comedy with Bill Murray at his very best. Harold Ramis and John Candy couldn't be better either. No review would be complete without mentioning "Our Big Toe," William Oates as Sgt. Hulka. What a wonderful comedy filled with one-liners that will leave anyone with non-stop laughter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wr3imOyEZw
leestu
Jaws (1975) - Director: Steven Spielberg; starring Roy Sheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss. (3rd appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucMLFO6TsFM
W
I Love You, Man (2009) - Director: John Hamburg; starring Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones and Lou Ferrigno. I've become a big fan of both Segel and Rudd over the last couple of years and this may be my favorite film from either of them so far. Paul Rudd is getting married, but doesn't have any guy friends to be his best man, so his homosexual brother (Andy Samberg) sets him up on man dates. They don't work out, but he randomly meets Jason Segel's character, who hasn't completely grown up yet, and they hit it off. Hilariousness (and Rush) ensues.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exhANi6IwV8
NSpan
National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – Director: Harold Ramis; starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Randy Quaid, Imogene Coca, Anthony Michael Hall, Christie Brinkley and John Candy. Harold Ramis + John Hughes + Chevy Chase? In *1983*? Man, what a lineup. And what a payoff. Ramis and Chase were riding high on Caddyshack (amongst other great projects), while Hughes was a relative newcomer (...okay, I guess he had Mr. Mom under his belt). But this was a helluva career-jumpstart. There are too many memorable quotes to even begin. When you hear the phrase "they just don't make 'em like they used to"--I think this is what they're talking about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn6uqwSjDjY
undeadmonkey
Mean Girls (2004) - Director: Mark Waters; starring Lindsay Lohan, Jonathan Bennett and Rachel McAdams. I’m sure most of you will piss on this choice but it’s ok, I’ve had a few guilty pleasures so far, and I have about 2 or 3 more coming up (2 of them are actually in my top ten). This movie is hilarious; the mean girls are so much fun and Lindsey Lohan was perfect in it. Seeing her in this movie you were sure this girl was going places (who knew those places would be rehab). Anyway, that’s not the point. There a ton of great supporting characters, the jokes deliver and it’s always good for a rewatch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YjSIvmNjT8
JohnErle
Dead Ringers (1988) – Director: David Cronenberg; starring Jeremy Irons, Genevieve Bujold and Barbara Gordon. Cronenberg tones down the violence and rathcets up the suspense. Jeremy Irons was amazing as the twins.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5HrHcgnWRw
MOVIE #40
Shrykespeare
Toy Story 3 (2010) – Director: Lee Unkrich; starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles and Ned Beatty. I quite liked the first one, and only moderately liked the second one (which, to date, makes it my least favorite Pixar film thus far), but they couldn’t possibly have ended the trilogy any better than they did. A worthwhile story about what happens to toys when their owners grow up, and a true and magnificent study about the value of friendship. It actually had me in tears, it was so moving (and Buzz’s “Spanish mode” was a stroke of genius). I’m not at all surprised that both Toy Story and Toy Story 2 have appeared on numerous lists, but I am surprised that I’m the only one (so far, anyway) to have the trilogy’s final chapter on his.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNMpa5yBf5o
silversurfer
Beetlejuice (1988) - Director: Tim Burton; starring Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin and Winona Ryder. I can always remember this movie both freaking me out and wowing me simultaneously when I was little. The eerie opening with the bridge disaster would stick in my mind for days, but only to be outdone by the insanely bizarre and surreal images which followed as Burton and Keaton dazzled with their dark, macabre humour. It's essentially become the template of what everyone has come to expect from Burton nowadays, but at the time I remember having never seen anything like this before. It's so wickedly inventive both narratively and visually, with some outstanding makeup and effects still looking good today. And you've got to love the bureaucratic hell that is the waiting room, filled with all manner of bizarre and hilarious monstrosities. Burton again touches on his own experiences growing up in Burbank with the concept of the misunderstood monster, and while at first you would expect to be scared of Betlegeuse, instead you find yourself endeared to him. Indeed, like with Edward Scissorhands, it is the humans and not the ghosts who reveal themselves as the more ghastly characters. And to top it off you have the performance that introduced me to the delight that is Winona Ryder, shockingly beautiful, I was transfixed on her character and her unusual looks, but beyond the make up and wild hair, she posessed a dynamism and charm in her acting which I was totally in love with. And so my obsession began...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hovKm9oFiM
thegreenarrow
The Apartment (1960), Director Billy Wilder; starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Fred McMurray. (2nd appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4OXm9-E8OQ
transformers
Unforgiven (1992) - Director: Clint Eastwood; starring Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman and Richard Harris. About 30 years after Eastwood formed his legacy with legendary Westerns, he makes another classic. Unforgiven is just one of the best and most entertaining westerns I have ever seen. Eastwood and Morgan Freeman are both absolutely brilliant in their roles. Unforgiven is a dark, gritty western from the master himself, Clint Eastwood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SO5VO2ixWY
englishozzy
Into the Wild (2007) - Director: Sean Penn; starring Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt and Catherine Keener. Based on a true story of Christopher McCandless, who was a middle class student that decided to cash in his inheritance to charities and hit the open road with nothing to his name. The sort of road trip movie that deep down we all just want to do from time to time. Some gentle but strong performances from veterans like Keener, Vaughan and Hurt help this movie tenfold. Coming from a fan of the book Penn has done extremely well adapting this to the big screen, using the Alaskan scenery to full extent as Hirsch puts in an emotional and physical performance. (2nd appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LAuzT_x8Ek
Ron Burgundy
Buscemi
The Big Lebowski (1998) - Director: Joel Coen; starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi and John Turturro. A case of mistaken identity becomes one man's journey to find the people who ruined his rug (it tied the room together) in this hilarious neo-noir (done in the style of Raymond Chandler stories, such as The Big Sleep) from The Coen Brothers. Besides its neo-noir concept, it also doubles as a sports film (many scenes focus around a bowling league) and a very over-the-top dark comedy with lots of bizarre characters. From the eternally stoned, White Russian-drinking The Dude to the Nam-obsessed devout Jew Walter to the slow-witted Donny, the sex-starved artist Maude, the child molesting rivar bowler Jesus and the rest, every single character is a gem thanks to excellent writing and acting (it's probably not surprising that this film is the first thing people think of when they think of Bridges or Goodman). The directing is also masterful in the way that Coen does (folksy but modern, strange but with the feeling that you can relate to it). The film is a long, strange trip but one of the most fun long, strange trips you will ever see. (4th appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_GCRFRcWxA
Chienfantome
Twelve Monkeys (1995) – Director: Terry Gilliam; starring Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt and David Morse. There was a time when I did not go as much to cinema as I do now. And I missed a lot of films I was craving to see. Among those, one of the films I regretted not having seen in theater the most is Twelve Monkeys. So I bought it on VHS as soon as it was available. And later, on DVD. And I’ve watched it quite a few times since. And it soon became a favourite of mine. Not just because I love time traveling films. But also because Gilliam perfectly manages to insufflate his love for crazy dreamy universes into an amazingly well thought story. It’s as much high tech as it is dust. Dreams and reality collide with a strange sense of poetry and despair. Inspired by the unique French film “La jetée” by Chris Marker”, Twelve Monkeys is a fascinating story about how cynical time and life are. It’s a haunting film. (2nd appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0gEkxzOHho
numbersix
Blue Velvet (1986) - Director: David Lynch; starring Kyle Maclachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper and Laura Dern. I remember trying to watch this film as a young teen as I heard it had “erotic” elements, but man I wasn’t prepared for the introduction of Dennis Hopper’s terrifying Frank Booth. I didn’t like it as I didn’t get it, but having fallen in love with Lynch’s films I do think there’s much brilliance to this. Lynch makes a playful portrayal of the dark underbelly of idyllic society, in which a young man’s curiosity sees him explore the nastier side of life and sexuality. That Booth scene immediately conjures up ideas from Freud (the child interpreting parental sex as violence) in order to show this twisted tale of sexual maturity. And the brilliance is rather than show it as a sort of trial we overcome, this dark side will always co-exists: as shown by the brilliant opening sequence (shown in my clip below) in which beneath the surface of the garden the underground is a sea of consuming insects, and then at the film’s end where an image of “beauty” and “innocence” is shown to feed on those insects. Beneath the surface there’s an eternal and co-dependent conflict that we can’t cover up, no matter how hard we try. This is Lynch at his passionate, but also at his most ironic. (2nd appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM975_Ld9S0
Banks
Up in the Air (2009) - Director: Jason Reitman; starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick. This is easily one of the most touching films of the past few years, and it’s only one of two movies I’ve ever seen that after watching, the first thought that popped into my head was “Now, that’s what a perfect film looks like”. Everything is top-notch: the dialogue is a throwback to films of the 40s and 50s, Clooney and Farmiga have chemistry that crackles, and Kendrick plays her character with the right amount of young naivete and a determination to prove she belongs. I loved The Hurt Locker and Inglourious Basterds, but I hoped with all my heart that George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Jason Reitman (all three movies he’s directed have made my Top 100), and Up in the Air would win all the Oscars they rightly deserved. (3rd appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7k6FwXJhNk
BarcaRulz
Death at a Funeral (2007) - Director: Frank Oz; starring: Matthew Macfayden, Peter Dinklage, Ewen Bremmer, Alan Tudyk and Peter Dinklage. When I first saw the trailer for this, I was immediately interested, and so on opening day I went with a friend to see it. I can honestly say I have never laughed as hard and as often watching any other movie. The crowd loved it, and why not? The acting was fantastic, the writing was excellent, and the comedic situations were hilarious. I ended up watching it four times at the movies, all with different people, and every single time the crowd would eat it up, and it loses nothing when you watch it again, and again, and again... (2nd appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neCY4hh1wJg
Geezer
Stripes (1981) - Director: Ivan Reitman; starring: Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and John Candy. And now for a war movie of a COMPLETELY different type. Just a fantastic comedy with Bill Murray at his very best. Harold Ramis and John Candy couldn't be better either. No review would be complete without mentioning "Our Big Toe," William Oates as Sgt. Hulka. What a wonderful comedy filled with one-liners that will leave anyone with non-stop laughter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wr3imOyEZw
leestu
Jaws (1975) - Director: Steven Spielberg; starring Roy Sheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss. (3rd appearance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucMLFO6TsFM
W
I Love You, Man (2009) - Director: John Hamburg; starring Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones and Lou Ferrigno. I've become a big fan of both Segel and Rudd over the last couple of years and this may be my favorite film from either of them so far. Paul Rudd is getting married, but doesn't have any guy friends to be his best man, so his homosexual brother (Andy Samberg) sets him up on man dates. They don't work out, but he randomly meets Jason Segel's character, who hasn't completely grown up yet, and they hit it off. Hilariousness (and Rush) ensues.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exhANi6IwV8
NSpan
National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – Director: Harold Ramis; starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Randy Quaid, Imogene Coca, Anthony Michael Hall, Christie Brinkley and John Candy. Harold Ramis + John Hughes + Chevy Chase? In *1983*? Man, what a lineup. And what a payoff. Ramis and Chase were riding high on Caddyshack (amongst other great projects), while Hughes was a relative newcomer (...okay, I guess he had Mr. Mom under his belt). But this was a helluva career-jumpstart. There are too many memorable quotes to even begin. When you hear the phrase "they just don't make 'em like they used to"--I think this is what they're talking about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn6uqwSjDjY
undeadmonkey
Mean Girls (2004) - Director: Mark Waters; starring Lindsay Lohan, Jonathan Bennett and Rachel McAdams. I’m sure most of you will piss on this choice but it’s ok, I’ve had a few guilty pleasures so far, and I have about 2 or 3 more coming up (2 of them are actually in my top ten). This movie is hilarious; the mean girls are so much fun and Lindsey Lohan was perfect in it. Seeing her in this movie you were sure this girl was going places (who knew those places would be rehab). Anyway, that’s not the point. There a ton of great supporting characters, the jokes deliver and it’s always good for a rewatch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YjSIvmNjT8
JohnErle
Dead Ringers (1988) – Director: David Cronenberg; starring Jeremy Irons, Genevieve Bujold and Barbara Gordon. Cronenberg tones down the violence and rathcets up the suspense. Jeremy Irons was amazing as the twins.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5HrHcgnWRw