Making
this list (and the similar list of my favorite TV shows), I started
wondering if I could do a similar list of favorite songs. The answer
is no.
Not
that I don't like music, but there's a tie for #1 between “Hotel
California” by the Eagles and “King of Hearts” by Randy
Stonehill. After that? Who knows. My “favorites” playlist
includes close to 200 songs—and I'm constantly changing it—so
there's no way I could number them. And as subject as this list is to
change, other than those top two, my favorite songs list would change
during the playing of each song.
Aren't-cha
glad I've decided not to write out that list? (I know I am.)
So
anyway, here's the penultimate section of my list of 101 favorite
movies.
11. Raiders of the Lost Ark
Up
until 2006, this movie was sitting in the top ten. According to
legend, George Lucas and Steven Speilberg were sitting on a beach in
Hawaii, trying to avoid the news and decompress, when George pitched
an idea he had: let's do a swashbuckling movie such as Hollywood used
to make, but with modern technology. So eventually, they teamed up
with Lawrence Kasdan (the writer) and Harrison Ford (the star), and
history was made. One of those movies where I practically have all
the words memorized but I can still watch it (and a smile will soon
appear on my face).
Harrison
Ford is and has been great as Indiana Jones, but as a fan of Tom
Selleck I hope some day in an alternate universe we get to see what
it would have been like with Selleck in the lead.
12. Casablanca
Casablanca
is one of those movies I had heard about for all my life but hadn't
actually sat down to watch until I was in my mid-thirties. From the
beginning, I was hooked! Perfect writing, excellent acting, and not a
wasted shot in the movie. And no, it does not contain the line I have
heard all my life: “Play it again, Sam.” But, man! There is a LOT
of cigarette smoke in this movie!!
One
of the things I love about this movie (and a lot of old movies) is
that they had to hold to the Harris code and there were just some
things they couldn't show. Watch this movie and tell me what Rick and
Ilsa did in his apartment? Did they go to to bed? Did they talk all
night? You can make a pretty good case either way, based on given
clues. But if this movie were made today, we would be subjected to a
graphic depiction of the two of them in bed. I
contend that the ambiguity makes for a better movie.
13. The Great Escape
The
Third Reich attempts to put all of their escape artists in one,
supposedly escape-proof, prison camp. The prisoners concoct an
ambitious and elaborate plan to break 200 of the inmates out of the
camp and cause havoc all over Germany while trying to get back to the
west and rejoin the fight. 76 of the Allied prisoners made it out, 3
eventually made it to freedom, 23 were returned to the camp … and
50 were re-captured then murdered in a mass war crime by the Nazis.
If this sounds too bleak, you haven't seen the movie! It's a
triumphant movie about man's indomitable spirit.
This
movie is based on (and follows pretty closely) the real events
detailed in the book of the same name by former prisoner Paul
Brickhill. Some characters are composites and the time-line is
condensed in places, but over-all it's one of Hollywood's more
faithful retellings of a real event. [With one notable exception.
There were no Americans in the real “great escape” because the
Americans had already been moved out of the camp after 4 American
POWs escaped through an audacious tunnel in the early days of the
camp.] Some of the actors in the movie were actual prisoners of war
and were said to have had nightmares over the realism of the sets.
14. Lord of the Rings – The
Return of the King
One
of the most beautiful and majestic films ever made, Return
of the King
is the real (and perfect) ending to the Tolkien saga. I watch this
movie (and, actually, the whole 6-movie saga) at least once a year,
and I love seeing it in the pristine format of HD, but if I could
travel back in time I would love to go back to that anticipation of
seeing it on the big screen for the first time. Fellowship
of the Ring
(#4) two years before, then waiting a year to see The
Two Towers
(#38), by the time this finally came to the theater, I was at a fever
pitch. And then I would see it four times in the theater (and if I
could do it again, I'd go see it on that big screen again). Another
soundtrack I listen to frequently, and I've already requested that
“Into the West” be played at my funeral.
I
don't have one quote or moment from this movie that sticks in my mind
(they all do!), so if I could, I would embed some of the music.
15. Star Wars – Rogue One
The
best Star Wars
movie since Empire
Strikes Back
(#7), this is my favorite movie of the last eleven years. The crazy
thing is, we knew going in that all of the characters in this movie
were going to die (otherwise wouldn't they have shown up somewhere
else in the saga?), yet we still wound up caring about them. Rogue
One
features numerous nods to the rest of the series (even The Ghost from
the Star Wars
Rebels
TV show shows up!), but it doesn't seem like a retread of old Star
Wars
stories (like some other movie I won't mention here [#95]). Felicity
Jones was a fantastic casting choice in the mold of Carrie Fisher and
Daisy Ridley: very pretty, but also real
women who you might actually meet in real life (not plastic
super-models). [See my note on the next movie.]
Jimmy
Smits doesn't have a big part in this movie (and rumor has it he was
a late addition), but his work alone moves this film from “great”
to “spectacular”.
I
only have two quibbles with this movie: 1] when Cassian “disguises”
himself as an imperial officer he should have shaved, because all
other un-helmeted Imperials are clean-shaven; and 2] like trying to
eat just one potato chip, I can't watch this movie and not
watch at least the opening of A
New Hope.
16. Star Wars – Revenge of
the Sith
The
best movie of the prequels (see #s 45 & 54), we finally got to
see how sweet little Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader. It wasn't
just one event. It was the war, his upbringing, his mentor, and even
some intransigence on the part of the Jedi. Two things that both
bookend this movie and bump it so high on my list are the incredible
space battle at the beginning and the lightsabre duel between Anakin
and Obi-Wan.
For
the record, I didn't list Natalie Portman in my note on the previous
movie because, while an excellent actress, I do
think she is one of the most beautiful women ever. (My apologies if
this reads in any way as insulting to any of these ladies.)
17. The Incredibles
The
2nd-highest rated animated movie on this list, The
Incredibles
story somewhat defies definition. Is it a super hero movie? Well,
yes, but it's also a spy movie. It's also got a pretty strong message
about family and telling your loved ones the truth. There's also the
idea that by trying to say that everyone is equally special, we run
the risk of forgetting what makes us all unique. Pixar's animation
continues to improve to mind-bending levels, but the animation here
still holds up well—owing much to the prescient decision to give
everything a “not of this time” look. It's futuristic and
nostalgic and will probably still look great 20 years from now!
“As
fast as I can?” “As fast as you can.”
18. Return to Mayberry
The
highest-rated made for TV movie on this list, it's here because (as
you've seen on my list of favorite TV shows) The
Andy Griffith Show
is my all-time favorite show. Andy Griffith had been pitching the
idea of a Mayberry reunion for years, but it wasn't until the mid
eighties that he finally got the powers-that-be go along with the
idea. In reality, this was probably the perfect time. Andy and
Barney/Don were still young enough to still be believable as the law
in Mayberry, but enough older to have a whole new set of issues to
deal with. Not only did they bring back most of the cast (Aunt Bee is
the notable exception), the movie was written by two of the old
writers (Harvey Bullock & Everett Greenbaum) and directed by one
of the old directors (Bob Sweeney)—all people who knew Mayberry
intimately.
“Sheriff
Andy's back in town! His hair's turned gray, your pants fall down.
Make that monster go away! It's me it's me it's Ernest T.”
19. The Peanuts Movie
I was
pretty dubious when I heard someone was making a Peanuts
movie without Charles M. Schulz. When I then heard that Schulz's son
and grandson were writing the script, I determined to give it as open
of a mind as I could … and wow!! I love that they didn't try to
make the animation look like Schulz's (or Mendelson' or Melendez's)
hand, but they kept it in his spirit with an impressive mix of black
pen lines and realistic 3D rendering. Some of the jokes are straight
from the strip, but even those that aren't, seem like they are in the
spirit of what Sparky would have done himself.
Is
it wrong that I still burst out laughing at the sight of a little
girl getting hit in the head with an old, metal typewriter?
20. Wall-E / Up
(tie)
OK,
so there are actually 102 movies on this list.
Two
great stories, fascinating and charming visuals, with lovable
characters and myriad quotable lines, I tried and tried but I cannot
rank one of these ahead of the other, but they both belong in my top
20. I even listen to the soundtracks of both movies about equally.
“Squirrel!”
“Eva!”
To
see what movies fill in #s 21-30, click here.
To
see the whole list (so far), click here.
