Part 2, Films 80 - 61
60: Avatar
Sure, it’s a rip-off of Dances with Wolves, Pocahontas, The Last Samurai, Princess Mononoke, and perhaps a jillion other stories. But, you know, if I let this type of thing get in the way, my #2 favorite movie of all time would have to be ranked way further down. Where Avatar lacks in originality, it makes up for tremendously with its fantastic visuals, its epic action scenes, and its immersive world. With state-of-the-art CGI technology, the film brings the world of Pandora to vivid life, so full of color, variety, imagination, and depth. Even though the story comes off as formulaic, it does present a timeless story with a cast of likable characters. It carries some strong (if not somewhat pushy) themes concerning the environment. Ultimately, the film offers everything I enjoy: the seamless combination of spectacle and storytelling.
On disc, there is an extended version of the film available, which offers a very cool and insightful alternate opening sequence. It comes recommended.
Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Good | Film: Perfect | Resonance: Highest
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59: The Shining
Stanley Kubrick never did believe in the supernatural, so his adaptation of Stephen King’s novel is not quite perfect (they made a Shining miniseries that follows the book more closely, but it is rather cheesy). If its one thing Kubrick did right, it was in capturing the perfect atmosphere, tone, and visuals to make this film a creepy and intense experience. Even though the film focuses so much on Jack Torrance going nuts, it is still a solid and gripping story with strong characters. For its style and visual acuity, the film remains one of the creepiest I’ve seen, and still stands as one of my top favorite horror films.
On Blu-Ray, the film runs for about two-and-a-half hours long, seamlessly incorporating a number of new scenes and dialogue. It comes recommended.
Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Very Good | Film: Perfect | Resonance: Highest
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58: Planet of the Apes
The premise of this film may seem ridiculous, but it is a brilliantly-crafted piece of science fiction. It is a strange tale about a planet where everything is backwards: apes are the sentient species and people are dumb. It is a thrilling experience to watch the main character struggle against this simian captors, and ultimately fight for his freedom (in a manner that could parallel the civil rights issues of the 60s). Even though the apes’ makeup effects haven’t aged well (at least when compared to the (rather dull) 2001 remake, or the latest Rise of the Planet of the Apes), the film still shows impeccable craftsmanship and composition, and remains a classic in the genre.
Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Very Good | Film: Very Good | Resonance: Highest
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57: The Thing (1982)
John Carpenter retooled the classic sci-fi flick The Thing From Another World with extremely chilling results. In this rendition, the Thing is a shapeless, merciless, Lovecraftian monster that erupts out of flesh and bone and consumes everything around it in a crazy bloody rampage. There are quite a few sequences in this film where something insane and unnatural happens, and the results are as jarring as they are gruesome. In spite of this, the film maintains excellent tension, especially as characters start doubting and fighting among one another. With decent acting, solid cameramanship, and an interesting production value, John Carpenter’s remake is still one of the scariest sci-fi movies ever made.
Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Very Good | Film: Very Good | Resonance: Highest
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56: The Ring
A remake of the Japanese horror film Ringu, Gore Verbinski takes this simple tale and wraps an intriguing mystery around it. Filled with vivid imagery and strange supernatural phenomenon, the film is as gripping as it is stylish. With quality performances and a strong production value, this is one Americanized remake that I believe far surpasses its predecessor. And the results are pretty darn freaky.
Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Very Good | Film: Perfect | Resonance: Highest
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55: Sleeping Beauty
A classic and endearing fairy tale, filled with really funky imagery, impressive designs, and catchy tunes. Like most other Disney films, it is a simple story that’s well-told and populated by decent characters. Of course, it’s brought to life with quality craftsmanship. It’s also a nice touch that they’ve incorporated Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty waltz into the music.
Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Perfect | Film: Perfect | Resonance: Very High
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54: The Prestige
This interesting period drama pits magician against magician, and it proves to be a strange and interesting venture. The film is brilliantly-told and has a slick cinematic style. The production has top-notch craftsmanship and superb performances from the cast. The film overall is one fascinating magic trick.
Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Perfect | Film: Perfect | Resonance: Very High
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53: The Devil's Backbone (El Espinazo Del Diablo)
Before establishing himself with both Hellboy films and the universally acclaimed Pan’s Labyrinth, Guillermo Del Toro exercised his dark imagination and his storytelling prowess in this endearing ghost story. It shares much in common with Pan’s Labyrinth, as both stories revolve around children in orphanages confronting strange and dark forces. In the case of The Devil’s Backbone, the story’s set in an orphanage with an unexploded bomb in its courtyard, establishing a rather interesting dynamic for the story that unfolds. The film overall has a nice boyish charm to it. It’s got quality performances, it’s well-filmed, and overall it’s a film well worth watching.
Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Perfect | Film: Perfect | Resonance: Very High
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52: Memento
In a bizarre twist, this neo-noir thriller gives you the final scene first, and then works its way backwards to show you its genesis. The film does a brilliant job of drip-feeding the audience information in a way that’ll keep you guessing all the way to its revealing ending. With strong performances, quality writing, and an impressive visual style, Christopher Nolan’s thriller is an amazing trip down memory lane.
Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Perfect | Film: Perfect | Resonance: Very High
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51: The Matrix Reloaded
I remember the summer of 2003, I was enthralled to witness the coming of the Matrix sequels. With a rip-roaring, gravity-defying highway chase scene, and an epic brawl between Neo and one hundred Agent Smith clones, the action and special effects are extraordinary technical achievements. Not to mention, it makes for one hell of an amazing spectacle. As far as the story goes, it still has excellent focus on philosophical insight, it still explores the Matrix universe pretty deeply, and it still has quality characters. The one weakness that makes this sequel weak, ironically, is the scene that’s meant to put the whole series into perspective: the Architect’s speech, which is so bogged with big words and terminology that it comes off as convoluted. It took me a few viewings to understand what the man was saying, and once I understood it, it was like a revelation. With that insight, this film serves as the cohesive glue that binds the Matrix saga into one cohesive trilogy; it answers some questions that remained unanswered from the first film, while making way for the grand finale in The Matrix Revolutions.
Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Very Good | Film: Very Good | Resonance: Highest
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50: North By Northwest
Like many other Alfred Hitchcock films, this one starts off with a simple premise: a man is mistaken for another man, and people try to kill him. This kicks off a thrilling adventure, full of wit, romance, and peril, the likes of which can only be topped by a James Bond film. The story has enough mystery to keep it interesting, and enough twists to keep it fresh with every viewing. With quality acting and production value, North By Northwest remains my favorite Hitchcock feature.
Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Very Good| Film: Perfect | Resonance: Very High
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49: Inception
Christopher Nolan’s dreamscape epic comes off as a rather dull “slideshow” to some folks. But what keeps me enthralled about it will be the phenomenal action setpieces, the MC Escher style special effects, and the complex narrative structure; the latter of which does an excellent job of slowly revealing information that adds background to the characters. It is arguably a fantastic mixture of style and substance.
Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Very Good| Film: Perfect | Resonance: Very High
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48: The Ninja Scroll (Jûbê Ninpûchô)
This quintessential anime feature was (and likely still is) notorious for its abundance of sexuality and excessively graphic bloodshed. While this makes for a rather gnarly (and entertaining) experience, it wouldn’t mean much without a quality story; it’s not a terribly complex story, but it does have quality characters (I have a particular soft spot for Kangero, the woman with poison in her blood, who is tragically doomed to never love anyone intimately). The animation quality holds up extremely well, and the film overall does an excellent job of using strong visuals to accentuate the story.
Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Very Good| Film: Perfect | Resonance: Very High
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47: Finding Nemo
Pixar’s underwater adventure offers a highly entertaining and hilarious mix of comedy, peril, colorful visuals, and some educational insight on marine biology. For the most part, it’s very heartfelt and filled with endearing characters. Using superb animation quality and voice-acting, the film makes a big splash among CGI-animated features.
Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Very Good| Film: Perfect | Resonance: Very High
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46: Iron Man
With plentiful amounts of impressive action scenes, and a lot of witty attitude, Iron Man is one of the most popular and successful superhero films of the decade. This film chronicles the character’s genesis and evolution very effectively; the film has as much heart as it has action. With top-grade production value and a perfect performance by Robert Downey Jr, this is one of the best that Marvel has to offer.
Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Very Good| Film: Perfect | Resonance: Very High
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45: Minority Report
Stephen Spielberg’s sci-fi thriller explores the fascinating possibility where crimes are predicted and stopped before they happen. What follows is a fun and insightful exploration of the future, loaded with action, quality special effects, and amusing comedy. The film shows impeccable direction, surprisingly strong performances, and excellent craftsmanship.
Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Very Good| Film: Perfect | Resonance: Very High
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44: 300
A close adaptation to Frank Miller’s graphic novel, 300 is a stylish, fantastic telling of the historic battle of Thermopylae. While the film has been ridiculed for some of its artistic choices (such as having Spartans fight with hardly any armor on), the story and certain elements in it do have a solid basis in history. A combination of strong performances by the cast and fantastic CGI environments help present the story as a mythic spectacle.
Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Very Good | Film: Very Good | Resonance: Highest
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43: The Fifth Element
Luc Besson’s futuristic epic is weird at times, stylish throughout, action-packed, comedic, and all around a satisfying adventure. It presents a cast of quality (if not eccentric) characters going through an interesting original story. With strong production value, impressive special effects, and quirky music, the film is easily one of the most enjoyable sci-fi features ever made.
Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Very Good | Film: Very Good | Resonance: Highest
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42: Total Recall (1990)
This pulpy sci-fi film toys around with the novel concept of implanting memories into people’s heads, kicking off an adventure that eventually leads the main character to Mars. There are plenty of fun and memorable scenes (including, of course, the woman with triple mammary glands) and lots of action. It is still an interesting story, especially with the film’s last lines, which could put a new spin on the whole movie (even though it wasn’t the director’s intention).
Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Very Good | Film: Very Good | Resonance: Highest
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41: True Lies
James Cameron’s spy adventure has it all: explosive action, steamy sex appeal, hilarious comedy, inspiring special effects, and a quality story. It may come off as a little too insensitive in this day and age, but it’s hard not to enjoy in this adventurous thrill ride that pits an entire family against terrorists.
Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Very Good | Film: Very Good | Resonance: Highest
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To be continued...
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