Some
people say there are no good movies made anymore. This is hyperbole,
of course, but it rings true because there is so much made we don't
care for. Even some of the movies we enjoyed, we tell people about it
saying, “It wasn't necessarily great,
but it was good.”
For
me, though, I only have to go back to 2015 because there were four
movies that came out that year that make it onto my list: The
Peanuts Movie
[#19], Tomorrowland
[#31], McFarland,
USA
[#92], and Star
Wars: The Force Awakens
[#95]. Conversely, 2016 produced only one movie that made it onto
this list (you'll find out when I get to #15). Was 2016 a bad year
for movies? No. There were a lot of movies I enjoyed last year, but
only one I liked well enough to put on this list.
As
I mentioned in the last blog of this type: your opinion may be
different.
31. Tomorrowland
One
of the best and most
hopeful
movies I have seen in years, and I've watched it over and over. The
visuals are great, the score is catchy, and the denouement is a pretty
good pattern for evangelism (look for the people with the spark). If
you haven't seen this movie, go check it out.
I'd
love to know how this movie went over in Paris.
Brad Bird turned down Star Wars VII so he could direct this movie. I will always wonder how much better SW7 could have been.
32. Race for Your Life, Charlie
Brown
This
is my favorite of the “old school Peanuts” movies. Yes, you
wonder what sort of camp allows 8 years olds to raft by themselves
down dangerous rivers, but once past that this is just a fun
movie. As a kid, what bugged me about it is how everything gets
blamed on Charlie Brown when things go wrong. But Snoopy always comes
through.
This
movie has the catchiest soundtrack of the Peanuts movies, too.
33. The Chronicles of Narnia –
Prince Caspian
Yes,
it departs from the text of the book in a couple large ways (that
don't necessarily improve the movie [who thought they needed the
failed castle raid?]), overall it's a good adaptation and a beautiful
movie. As in the book, Reepicheep steals the show.
“This
is Home” by Switchfoot is one of the best songs to ever appear in a
movie, though I prefer the soundtrack CD version to the version that
actually plays during the credits. “The Call” by Regina Spektor
is another one of my favorite songs, making the soundtrack one of my
favorite CDs (do I sense another list coming on?!?!).
34. Indiana Jones and the Last
Crusade
In
spite of what's going to appear on this list in slot #23, this movie
was an excellent bookend to the original trilogy. I don't really care
for Temple of Doom
(don't even own it on DVD when I've got all the others and even The
Young Indiana Jones Chronicles),
so maybe I should view this as a great middle movie of the trilogy I
like. I have used Indy's leap of faith as a sermon illustration more
than once.
“He
chose … poorly.”
35. North By Northwest
My
favorite Hitchock movie. It's well known that both Cary Grant and
Alfred Hitchcock wanted to make a Bond movie, but ultimately turned
007 down because they didn't want to commit to more than one movie.
With that in mind, watch this movie and realize that they did
make a spy movie. It's a travelogue, it has a super villain, and a
beautiful but mysterious woman. But then, rather than being a British
spy, the hero is thoroughly American and the final battle takes place
on Mount Rushmore.
Still,
it makes you wonder what a Hitchcock/Grant Bond movie would have been
like, doesn't it?
36. The Spirit of St. Louis
Jimmy
Stewart, an avid and accomplished pilot himself, lobbied for this
part even though he was more than twenty years older that Linberg was
when he made his flight. Part of what makes this movie so great—and
so Jimmy—is that we all know how the story is going to come out but
we're on the edge of our seats with anticipation anyway.
“The
way you weld those sand-dabs, they're just awful!”
37. The Chronicles of Narnia –
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
This
movie really
departs from the text, but I still enjoy it. The visuals are great,
the acting is charming and, once again, a mouse named Reepicheep is
the best part. Another enjoyable score, too.
Supposedly,
the changes made in the movie—most especially the collection of the
7 swords—was added by the filmmakers because the original story was
just a travelogue and they felt the Narnians needed a better reason
to drive the story forward. IMHO it works OK, but it does make one
wonder if the movie would have been better (and better received) if
it had just stuck more closely to the book.
38. The Lord of the Rings – The
Two Towers
The
middle part of a trilogy is often the hardest to achieve. It has to
move the story forward, but it can't really wrap up the story. In
fact, to keep the audience from getting bored with the series, you
kind of need a cliff-hanger to keep people hooked. Yes, the battle at
Helm's Deep is way longer in the movie than warranted by the book,
but it's well done and great to watch.
“Those
are the stories that mean something.”
39. Star Trek IV – The Voyage
Home
The
second-best Star Trek
movie ever made, this one recaptured the spirit and feel of the
original series (known as The Original Series to us serious fans),
while also expanding on it. All of the main characters (except,
maybe, Uhura and Sulu) are utilized to their fullness in service to a
script with plot, humor and substance.
“He
did a little too much LDS back in the 60s.”
40. Support Your Local Sheriff
The
thing about a list like this is that every time I look at it, I move
things around. (Except for the top 10, those have been pretty static
since 2006 when the last movie to enter my top 10 was made [now
you're wondering what that movie is, huh?) This movie could easily
have been placed much higher on the list and I can't give you a good
reason why it's not there today. A spoof, this movie tackles many of
the old west tropes, but it's greatest asset is James Garner. With
anyone else, this movie would have been thrown away and forgotten
long ago, but he brings it to life as only he could.
Many
people think of this movie as an extension of Garner's Maverick
character, but it's not. The Bret Maverick of the TV show was, first
and foremost, a coward, where as Jason McCullough is fearless and
darn-near perfect. Garner's character of Latigo in Support
Your Local Gunfighter
is actually much closer to Maverick.
To see the movies that came in at 41-50, click here.
To see the whole list (so far) click here.
