30. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
I fail to acknowledge that this had any sequels because it is basically the perfect action/adventure movie to begin with. It never should have had sequels. It has great action, an interesting fantasy premise, memorable characters and performances, excellent stuntwork, and it fills you with a wonderful sense of adventure for the high seas.
While the sword fights and the pirate ship battles are certainly great, what makes this better than just a good action movie is the characters, particularly Jack Sparrow. Johnny Depp does such a great job playing him, making him humorous and mysterious; you’re never certain if he’s good or bad because the second you’re convinced one way, he does something that contradicts your thoughts. Because of Depp and Sparrow, the film doesn’t feel nearly as long as it is, at almost two and a half hours.
29. Strangers on a Train (1951)
Alfred Hitchcock’s simultaneously completely believable and ridiculous thriller/noir also happens to be one of the greatest black comedies ever made.
The film starts off right away with two strangers meeting on a train. It turns out they both have someone in their lives that would make it easier if they were to be dead. Bruno Antony (Robert Walker) proposes the idea that they swap murders, which they have a nice laugh at. However, Antony was completely serious.
Guy Haines (Farley Granger) finds out that his wife is dead and he is the prime suspect, though there is no physical evidence against him, preventing an arrest. The rest of the film is Antony intimidating him and trying to convince him to kill Antony’s father, or else threatening to frame him for his wife’s murder.
It’s a fascinating premise, one that is so darkly humorous and ridiculous yet somehow extremely believable. I remember my father telling me the premise of this movie years before I ever saw it and I thought it sounded like a great movie. However, my father failed to express just how entertaining it is.
It’s highlighted by a great and underrated villain in Bruno Antony, and accentuated by a great sense of humor. There are some great set pieces and Hitchcock’s signature suspense I’d argue is better in this than in any other film except maybe Rear Window and Psycho.
28. Miracle (2004)
The Miracle on Ice is probably the greatest moment in sports history and this is the film that the game deserved. My favorite of the Disney sports movies—which are all pretty damn good—is great because of the great story it’s based on, and because of the way it’s filmed, making the hockey scenes some of the best ever filmed.
The cast is led by veteran actor Kurt Russell and a bunch of amateur hockey players who look a great deal like their roles. It works surprisingly well for the dialogue scenes, though clearly the hockey scenes are what makes this a great movie.
It’s of course an inspirational film but it’s not so much schmaltzy. It’s a character study on legendary coach Herb Brooks and how his being cut from the 1960 Olympic team influenced just how bad he wanted to win in ’80. Russell makes every emotion feel genuine, even if his Minnesota accent is exaggerated a bit.
27. The Sixth Sense (1999)
Twist ending aside, this is still a great movie. M Night Shyamalan’s script and directing made this both a unique and powerful horror film, leaning more towards chills than actual scares. In that sense, it’s an old-fashioned horror film that has a very modern look.
Haley Joel Osment plays a young boy with a secret that I’m sure you all know. He is quiet and introverted until he opens up to his psychiatrist, played by Bruce Willis. Both these performances are fantastic and it helps that both characters have a great deal of depth to them. Horror movies can make you feel emotions if the characters are well-developed. That’s what makes The Exorcist as good as it is.
This film is very understated and relies on slow-building suspense and chills…until the ending. The ending might be the only shock moment of the movie which is part of what makes it such an effective twist.
26. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Saving Private Ryan has been considered by many to be the greatest war movie ever made, and one of Spielberg’s many masterpieces. It’s about the invasion of Normandy and a group of soldiers assigned to go deep into France to find a certain Private Ryan.
The characters are all interesting and help make the movie just as much about humanity as it is about war. The main question the film asks is if one man’s life is worth risking so many more, and the film does a great job with this.
And then the battle scenes are fantastic, easily the greatest I’ve seen. They’re horribly violent and so well shot that they perfectly capture the horrors of war.
No comments:
Post a Comment