My 100 Favorite Movies with Reviews (5-1)

5. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

I love The Lord of the Rings. J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy about adventure, sacrifice, and heroism is one of the few truly great works of popular fiction. And Peter Jackson adapted it to the big screen with the visual flair and epic scope that it needed.

I am not going to explain all too much about the film, because that would require telling you non-LOTR fans about Hobbits and all the races and I do not wish to do that. Just know that it is filled with some great characters and some truly good performances, notably Ian McKellen as the wizard Gandalf.

The film is about three hours, so needless to say, some might be turned off by it. But inn terms of how it tells its story, it is truly engaging. The costumes, sets, visual effects, makeup, and musical score are all some of the best in the history of film. In addition to this, the action scenes are wonderful, notably the troll scene in Moria.

But this isn’t so much an action film as it is an adventure film. It’s about bringing you into the fantasy world that Tolkien created over a span of decades, and it is perfect in that sense.

4. The Good, the Bad & the Ugly (1966)

This has been (correctly) said by Quentin Tarantino to be the best directed movie ever made. I know what he means by that. Its combination of close-ups and wide shots of sweeping landscapes are able to tell you so much in the area of emotions, character, and a sense of adventure.

It introduces its three characters perfectly, and they’re all great characters played by excellent actors. Clint Eastwood is Blondie, the Good; Lee Van Cleef is Angel Eyes, the Bad; and Eli Wallach is Tuco, the Ugly. From the beginning of the film, you know these three characters are destined to collide in the most epic way possible.

Of course, the movie is not pointless before the final confrontation. There are a bunch of wonderful moments and lines of dialogue. The film even takes the time to create an anti-war message.

I argue that the film’s final forty-five minutes or so are the finest forty-five minutes ever put on film. There’s a wonderful battle on a bridge over a river, one of the more thematically strong moments in the film. And then Tuco makes his way to the cemetery and is met by the other two. The Mexican standoff in Sad Hill Cemetery is the greatest scene in the history of film. It’s so tense and it’s been built up to the entire film; it doesn’t disappoint one bit. Also the music, while being great the entire film, is absolutely outstanding here.

3. Field of Dreams (1989)

I argue that the best sports films extend beyond their sports and this one certainly does. This baseball film manages to be one of the most poignant film about father-son relationships I’ve ever seen. It’s sentimental and emotional but never overly so. And as all great baseball films do, it points out why I love the game so much.

Kevin Costner plays a typical Iowan farmer who hears a voice telling him “If you build it, he will come.” After seeing visions of Shoeless Joe Jackson, he decides to build a baseball field. Eventually he meets Jackson, played by Ray Liotta, in a wonderful scene. He then hears more orders from the voice.

Despite the building of the baseball field putting his family in significant financial troubles, he decides to set out to Boston and meet a JD Salinger-like author, Terrence Mann (James Earl Jones), one of the film’s many strong characters. Their journey also takes them to meet an elderly doctor who played baseball a long time ago, played by Burt Lancaster.

This movie is outstanding. The ending scene leaves me with tears in my eyes every time. No other film has portrayed the theme of following your dreams so well.

2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

If you know me well, you knew this would be up there. This movie never ceases to amaze me. The music and the visuals are so astounding, that since film is a visual art, one could easily make the case that this is the greatest movie ever made. Adding the fact that the film goes about finding an answer to the meaning of life, this argument is made all the more stronger.

It’s a movie primarily about evolution and man versus machine. The first twenty minutes or so, with no dialogue, shows a tribe of apes who are subject to the dangers of big cats and other tribes. Then they discover a strange black column and shortly after, one of the apes discovers that he can use a bone as a tool. The tribe is able to kill animals to hunt and fight off other tribes to maintain their home and in the most famous jump-cut in history, the bone becomes a spaceship after it is thrown into the air.

A column has been discovered on the Moon, and another one out by Jupiter. Men are sent to investigate without full knowledge of what their mission is, being controlled by a computer, HAL 9000. This is such a great thematic message, showing that man creates machine and that eventually machine controls man, only for man to barely overcome and become a god. It’s strange, sure, and it’s quite abstract, but the visuals and ideas are greater than any other film.

This is a film you need to see more than once. It’s slow-moving and quite strange. If it were to be released today, it would certainly be called an art film. But then again, so was Drive, and that was one of the most entertaining films of the year. I don’t want to say a whole lot more about the movie because it really needs to be seen.

1. Jurassic Park (1993)

I have always loved this movie. I grew up with it; it represents my childhood perhaps better than anything else. In addition to that, this is a relentlessly entertaining picture, with a strong story of man versus technology and special effects that make for some of the best action ever.

The opening scene draws you in, working much like the opening scene to Jaws. And after that, it’s some character introductions followed by a trip to Isla Nublar and Jurassic Park. I love the wonder this film is able to encapsulate with the first sight of living dinosaurs. And on top of that, this was the first time realistic dinosaurs were ever in a film, so it really makes sense.

The first half of the film relies mostly on wonder and slow-building tension. Once the dinosaurs are set free, it’s quite thrilling. The scenes with the t-rex and then the velociraptors in the kitchen are two of my favorite scenes of all time.

I love virtually every scene in this movie. The action scenes are all outstanding and even a lot of the expository dialogue scenes are quite good, thanks a lot to Jeff Goldblum’s performance as Ian Malcolm.

This movie is certainly worth watching. It’s been overshadowed by more recent blockbusters with more special effects and stuff, but I’d take this any day over Inception or Avatar because of the story.

 

My 100 Favorite Movies with Reviews (10-6)

10. Apocalypse Now (1979)

Apocalypse Now is a movie that I cannot watch very often, but it’s one of the most engaging films ever made. I can honestly say it’s the darkest movie I’ve ever seen; it’s the epitome of a “war is hell” movie.

This is director Francis Ford Coppola’s and supporting actor Marlon Brando’s final masterpiece, and probably the greatest war movie ever made. It’s about Martin Sheen being assigned a mission to go upriver to Cambodia and kill an American colonel (Brando) who seems to have gone crazy. All the memorable characters are perfect examples of what war can do to a man.

This is such a disturbing movie because it fills you with this feeling of uneasiness and depression. That’s why I can’t watch it all the time but no one can say it isn’t an effective film. Coppola once notably said: “My movie isn’t about Vietnam; it is Vietnam,” and I know what he means. The film combines harsh realism with surrealism to paint a frightening portrait of the war.

Of course, this is a film that is difficult to find in its original form. There is a Redux version which isn’t as good because it’s overlong and filled with some scenes that take away from the bleak tone of the film. I’d still recommend Apocalypse Now Redux, but try to find the original if you can.

9. Rear Window (1954)

I’d argue Rear Window as the most suspenseful film ever made. By now if you’ve been reading these reviews, you’ll know that I’m a huge Alfred Hitchcock fan, and this might be his best-directed film. It’s an excellent practice in minimalism, with one location for the entire time. Because of the directing, the acting, and the screenplay, it’s still ridiculously entertaining.

James Stewart plays a photographer who’s been put in a wheelchair and cannot leave his apartment. To pass the time, he spies on his neighbors, making keen observations on how they live, until he suspects one neighbor of his, Lars Thorwald, of murdering his wife.

The rest of the film, Stewart, his girlfriend Grace Kelly, and Thelma Ritter all work on finding evidence while staying in his apartment. They find some important clues but it’s not enough to get the police involved.

Like many of Hitchcock’s films, this is darkly comedic in tone, with Thelma Ritter being absolutely hilarious. It also is an interesting satire on film. The climax is actually a bit disappointing because it’s pretty cheesy, but the scene with Grace Kelly in the murderer’s apartment might be the most suspenseful scene ever filmed, so it’s all good in the end.

8. Titanic (1997)

This movie gets a lot of crap now and I don’t know why. When it came out, people were comparing it to movies like Casablanca, saying it might be the greatest movie ever made. That was probably an overreaction, but this is one of the great Hollywood love stories, comparable to Doctor Zhivago and Gone with the Wind in its epic scale.

We all know the story of the Titanic at least a little bit, and this tells the story of two lovers who meet on the ill-fated ship. Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a very poor man in steerage, only able to win his ticket in a lucky hand of cards. Rose DeWit Bukater (Kate Winslet) is a hapless young woman caught in a loveless engagement to rich and miserable Cal Hockley (Billy Zane). They meet under the strangest of circumstances and Dawson is immediately hated by all the rich people on the ship.

The love story is really engaging, mostly because of the acting by Leo and Winslet. They start out as just friends really, but eventually they come to love each other, and you believe every bit of it. In fact, this is the first movie love story that I actually found myself caring about, so it paved the way for me in seeing and enjoying movies like Eternal Sunshine and Annie Hall.

And on top of all that, James Cameron directs the disaster sequences phenomenally. The visual effects are great, of course, and every shot in the film is impressive.

7. Jaws (1975)

Jaws is a flat-out brilliant film, and I believe it’s the only film still in this list that at one point was my favorite movie. It’s an excellent film of man versus beast, filled with some great acting and characters, and the signature direction of Steven Spielberg. It’s easily one of his masterpieces.

The opening scene is one of the most legendary of all time, opening the movie up with a shark attack in which you don’t see the shark. You don’t see the shark until about halfway through the movie, actually, and while this was a result of the mechanical shark not working well, it ended up working remarkably well in terms of building suspense and gathering scares.

Now I’ve seen this movie so many damn times that I’ll never be scared of it but when I first saw it, it was quite frightening. It was also the goriest film I had seen at that point, but of course now I’ve seen Dawn of the Dead, Humanoids from the Deep, and Tokyo Gore Police.

Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) wants to close the beaches with news of the shark attack but the stubborn mayor (Murray Hamilton) refuses due to his town’s need for tourism. There are some more attacks but the beaches remain open for the 4^th of July, the biggest day of the year, when another man is killed.

That enables Brody, a shark hunter named Quint (Robert Shaw), and a scientist named Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) to go out on Quint’s boat and hunt down this shark. This is almost half the movie and while the first half works well in building suspense, this is where the movie really takes off. They are out in the ocean, completely helpless, with a killer great white shark hunting them down as much as they are hunting it.

My favorite scene is probably when Hooper goes in the shark cage. It’s such a terrifying and suspenseful scene and it’s shot so well. The underwater cinematography is great in this movie.

The climax is outstanding, of course. Easily one of the greatest movies ever made.

6. Psycho (1960)

Psycho is my favorite Alfred Hitchcock movie and maybe his greatest. It’s one of his few horror films, and just about every horror movie following can owe a great deal to it.

This is a movie I am not going to say a whole lot about the plot. If you are relatively unfamiliar with it, then see it, because it will sweep you away with some of its plot twists. If you are familiar with the plot and a few of its notable twists, then you can still enjoy it for the very suspenseful film that it is.

The acting is great. The best word to describe Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates is absorbing. And Janet Leigh was rightly nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Marion Crane. The direction is outstanding as in all Hitchcock films, filled with memorable images, great editing, and a dark, foreboding presence about the entire movie.

One scene I will talk about is the conversation scene in the parlor between Bates and Crane. I love this scene because it tells so much in the area of foreshadowing. The dialogue is so dark and interesting. I also love how it goes from an innocent conversation to a creepy one, much like the Indianapolis monologue in Jaws or the conversation between Jack Torrance and the former caretaker in The Shining. It’s flat-out brilliant.

To be perfectly fair, the entire movie is brilliant.

My 100 Favorite Movies with Reviews (15-11)

15. The Naked Gun (1988)

This film is comic gold. Leslie Nielsen has never been funnier.

This is one of the rare films that promotes nonstop laughter. From the opening scene to the hilarious end, it’s hilarious the entire way. There are so many great lines and moments.

14. Airplane! (1980)

Very much like Naked Gun, this is just a hilarious movie. It’s written and directed by the same people and Leslie Nielsen makes an appearance in a hilarious supporting role.

Unfortunately the two main characters are not all that funny, but that does not serve as a drawback because all the supporting characters and hilarious things happening.

13. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

This is easily one of the greatest action movies ever made. The plot once again features an Arnold Schwarzenegger-shaped terminator traveling back in time, only this time to protect the young John Connor from a more advanced machine sent back to kill him. It also features Linda Hamilton reprising her role of Sarah Connor, only this time much more badassly.

This has some great action scenes and special effects, from the semi/motorcycle chase to the suspenseful prison break to the final showdown in the industrial complex, it’s all great. James Cameron truly has a knack for directing action scenes, and that’s a big reason why he’s directed four films on my list (one is left to come).

Again what makes this movie so great, though, is the characters. They all have depth to them, even the non-human Terminator. While you can make the case that Edward Furlong is pretty annoying as John Connor, he is at least a competent and well-developed character, the likes that the series had not yet seen. There are actually some quite touching moments in this film, and that’s what makes it such a great movie. It’s fun but also strangely powerful.

12. Star Wars (1977)

The original and in my opinion, still the best. It works as an exciting adventure, enveloping the viewer in its fictional universe the way The Lord of the Rings and The Wizard of Oz do. The characters are all great, as is the dialogue and the story.

Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is a young man living on the planet Tatooine who becomes involved with the Galactic Rebellion when he meets Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) who receives a message from the captive Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher).

Along the way Luke and Kenobi meet Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his wookiee partner Chewbacca, both classic characters. They eventually get sucked into the Empire’s Death Star and embark on a mission to save the Princess and eventually the galaxy.

The narrow focus on one narrative helps develop the characters and build up to a fantastic climax the way the series was never able to duplicate. In addition to this, a great deal of the action is outstanding. Even if dated, the lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader is great because of what’s going on in context of the movie. And the space battles are fantastic.

This is maybe the epitomic good versus evil movie. It’s fun, relentlessly entertaining, and thought-provoking in a subtle way.

11. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

You cannot ask for an action movie to be better than this. It’s old-school in the best way possible, with impressive sets, great cinematography, and great on-location shooting. This film fills you with an exhilarating feeling of adventure and what more could you ask for?

It has a very interesting opening scene, of course, perfectly establishing the character of Indiana Jones and the overall tone of the movie. And what follows that is an engaging plot and great action scenes. This movie is so good, you hardly notice the disappointing ending.

My 100 Favorite Movies with Reviews (15-11)

15. The Naked Gun (1988)

This film is comic gold. Leslie Nielsen has never been funnier.

This is one of the rare films that promotes nonstop laughter. From the opening scene to the hilarious end, it’s hilarious the entire way. There are so many great lines and moments.

14. Airplane! (1980)

Very much like Naked Gun, this is just a hilarious movie. It’s written and directed by the same people and Leslie Nielsen makes an appearance in a hilarious supporting role.

Unfortunately the two main characters are not all that funny, but that does not serve as a drawback because all the supporting characters and hilarious things happening.

13. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

This is easily one of the greatest action movies ever made. The plot once again features an Arnold Schwarzenegger-shaped terminator traveling back in time, only this time to protect the young John Connor from a more advanced machine sent back to kill him. It also features Linda Hamilton reprising her role of Sarah Connor, only this time much more badassly.

This has some great action scenes and special effects, from the semi/motorcycle chase to the suspenseful prison break to the final showdown in the industrial complex, it’s all great. James Cameron truly has a knack for directing action scenes, and that’s a big reason why he’s directed four films on my list (one is left to come).

Again what makes this movie so great, though, is the characters. They all have depth to them, even the non-human Terminator. While you can make the case that Edward Furlong is pretty annoying as John Connor, he is at least a competent and well-developed character, the likes that the series had not yet seen. There are actually some quite touching moments in this film, and that’s what makes it such a great movie. It’s fun but also strangely powerful.

12. Star Wars (1977)

The original and in my opinion, still the best. It works as an exciting adventure, enveloping the viewer in its fictional universe the way The Lord of the Rings and The Wizard of Oz do. The characters are all great, as is the dialogue and the story.

Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is a young man living on the planet Tatooine who becomes involved with the Galactic Rebellion when he meets Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) who receives a message from the captive Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher).

Along the way Luke and Kenobi meet Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his wookiee partner Chewbacca, both classic characters. They eventually get sucked into the Empire’s Death Star and embark on a mission to save the Princess and eventually the galaxy.

The narrow focus on one narrative helps develop the characters and build up to a fantastic climax the way the series was never able to duplicate. In addition to this, a great deal of the action is outstanding. Even if dated, the lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader is great because of what’s going on in context of the movie. And the space battles are fantastic.

This is maybe the epitomic good versus evil movie. It’s fun, relentlessly entertaining, and thought-provoking in a subtle way.

11. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

You cannot ask for an action movie to be better than this. It’s old-school in the best way possible, with impressive sets, great cinematography, and great on-location shooting. This film fills you with an exhilarating feeling of adventure and what more could you ask for?

It has a very interesting opening scene, of course, perfectly establishing the character of Indiana Jones and the overall tone of the movie. And what follows that is an engaging plot and great action scenes. This movie is so good, you hardly notice the disappointing ending.