Must List: Movies

[ShadowDog]

Top Ten movies you must see before you die:

 

Honorable mention) The Sixth Sense: obviously this was a fluke and M. Night Shamwhatev is a shitty writer and filmmaker. I get that. But forget legacy, this movie still holds up. It's scary and creepy, it has great comedy beats, and it's superbly acted. Credit where credit is due.

 

10) Time After Time: I mean, come on, H. G. Wells chasing Jack the Ripper through time? It doesn't get any better than that. I'd love to see an update of this, but even the original still holds up. Jack's rant about how the 80s were a time designed for him is some scathing social commentary that is still relevant today. Plus there is great tension and suspense.

 

9) First Blood: before the series got ****ing stupid, we had a simple story of a broken man with PTSD who got pushed too far by douchebag rednecks with badges. And his retribution was MIGHTY. Still a great movie.

 

8) A Few Good Men: if you like long angry monologues delivered flawlessly but some of the world's best actors (seriously, when Keifer Sutherland is like the 6th banana in a movie, you're watching a great movie), this is the movie for you.

 

7) Raiders Of The Lost Ark: this is pure, raw fun. It would be ranked higher but for the fact that nothing the protagonist does ends up mattering. Had Indy never gotten involved, all the Nazis would have been smited anyway and the Ark would have never gotten to Hitler. Thanks for the fun but inconsequential ride, Indy!

 

6) Inception: thought provoking, funny, deep, even scary when the bitter ex shows up. This is an excellent twist on the "one last job" trope. The whole "declared sane" thing is a big joke and the ending is a cheat since the kids would be a lot older, but otherwise about as good as movies get.

 

5) Pale Rider: Spooky, actiony, well drawn characters, and classic Clint Eastwood western at its best. I put Unforgiven only slightly behind this one, and for me the difference is that they used horror tropes with Clint's character. He's not ****ing around in this movie.

 

4) Superman 2: It hasn't exactly aged well, the big fight sequences especially. But all the character beats still entrance and the humor still works. And, much as I like Kevin Spacey, man was Hagman charmingly good as Luthor.

 

3) Star Wars: I don't have to give the "official" title, we know which the fuck movie I mean! Pure, sheer, fun! Stands the test of time.

 

2) The Avengers: partial credit goes to the movies that came before it so this doesn't completely stand on its own. But even taken on it's own this is a really fun movie. (You see the word fun a lot in this post but, really, isn't that what movies are supposed to be? They can and should be other things. Sometimes they should provoke or call for change, but for the most part they should be fun.)

 

1) Memento: for me, it doesn't get any better than this. Just sheer perfection, from the casting, the acting, the editing, but most importantly, the writing. Oh my god the writing. This movie just ... WORKS.