Why
do we like the movies we do? Substitute for the word “movies” in
that last sentence with music, art, TV shows, books and it's still a
pretty good question. And I don't think there's really an imperical
answer. Oh, every discipline has its snobs, people who enjoy
detailing that they like this movie because of it's pacing or that
song because of it's intricate progressions, but the reality is: we
like what we like because we like it. It reached us on some visceral
level first, and then
we decided we liked those other elements of it.
We've
all seen a movie and told a friend about it, who went to see it and
hated it. We've had a friend gush about a great new movie and have
gone to see it ourselves and then wondered about our friend's taste
in movies ever-after. Blatant grossness aside, we just like different
things and—sometimes--we'll never
understand each others' tastes.
41. The Hobbit – An Unexpected
Journey
While all three of
the movies in this trilogy are improved in their extended editions,
the theatrical version of this one stands up the best. A travelogue
through Middle Earth, while getting the hobbit from here to there
(which isn't really anywhere, yet), a much larger story is
established and characters are introduced that will drive the
story forward in subsequent chapters. I briefly thought about listing
The Hobbit as one movie and
Lord of the Rings as
just one, but decided I do have a preference for them even while
enjoying all 6.
I want to go to
Hobbitton!!
42. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
A ground-breaking
movie that melded cartoons ('toons) and live action people in a way
never seen before on the big screen. What a lot of people forget,
though, is that amongst all the spectacle and jokes there's actually
a finely-crafted murder mystery.
“P-p-p-p-lease!!”
And I still
remember my niece Emily (probably 6 or 7 at the time) shouting out,
“Look out Eddie!” as the weasels snuck up on the hero.
43. High Noon
It's been rumored
that John Wayne turned down the lead in this movie because he didn't
like the way the townspeople are portrayed. Maybe the Duke would have
done a good job, but can you really picture anyone other than Gary
Cooper playing Will Kane? No less than Tom Hanks says this is one of
the greatest performances ever because in the last fifteen minutes of
the film Coop only utters 7 words yet conveys so much with just his
expressions. It's a silent film with sound.
I love the theme
song (sung by Tex Ritter) but the downside is that it's running
through my head for days after each viewing.
44. Muppet Christmas Carol
There have been
many cinematic tellings of Charles Dickens' classic novel about a man
who is shown “the true meaning of Christmas” but not only is this
one of the most faithful to the actual book, it's also the funniest.
OK, so they doubled the number of Marlys, still, it's a pretty close
adaptation. Another movie my family quotes from—and not just at
Christmas.
“It was the
frog's idea.”
45. Star Wars – Attack of the
Clones
Some of my fondest
memories are of seeing this movie in the theater on opening day with
my very young sons. (I have seen 7 of the 8 movies on opening day.)
We loved the spectacle and we still do. What really bugs most of the
haters of the prequels, I am convinced, is that George made the movie
he wanted to make and not the movie they wanted him to make. Fans
have taken such ownership of the franchise that they feel personally
afronted when things don't go their way.
The battle in the
arena is, for me, one of the seminal moments in Star Wars,
if not all of cinema.
46. Flash Gordon (1980)
I love that this
movie takes itself seriously while clearly being campy and giving the
audience a wink now and then. The sets are over the top, the acting
harkens back to the old serials, and—of course—there's that
music. This movie would be nothing without Queen's music.
“Do you, Ming,
take this woman to be your lawfully wedded queen until such time as
you grow tired of her?”
47. The Lone Ranger (2012)
Yes, I know a lot
of people didn't like this movie … but I also know I'm not alone in
liking it. The score is fantastic, the vistas are grand, the action
is superbly choreographed and the story is … exactly what the Lone
Ranger is supposed to be about. Go back and watch the earlier
iterations and see to what great lengths the Lone Ranger has always
gone to avoid firing his gun fatally. He has always ridden for
justice and not revenge.
And when I drive
my car through Cimarron Canyon, NM, I'm taken back to the scenes that
were filmed there.
48. Rear Window
My second-favorite
Alfred Hitchcock movie (wait for #35 to see my favorite) and a tour
de force for Jimmy Stewart. This movie is claustrophobic, voyeuristic
and almost action-free (except for a few moments at the end) but
Jimmy and Grace Kelly bask in a movie so taut it still makes me
sweat.
Kids today
(meaning anyone under 45) may be thoroughly confused as to why Jimmy
has to keep loading bulbs into his camera.
49. Monty Python and the Holy
Grail
It's silly, it was
produced on a shoe-string budget, and there are plot holes large
enough for a laden swallow to fly through, but it's one of the
funniest movies of all time. There's barely a line in it I haven't
quoted at some point in my life, and my family quotes it almost as
much as I do.
Strange women
lying in ponds and distributing swords didn't look like such a bad
way of picking a leader when we were looking at Trump vs. Hillary,
now did it?
50. Funny Farm
Most people don't
even remember this little Chevy Chase gem but it's still one of my
favorites. Maybe it's because I identify so closely with Chevy's
protrayal of a failed author. Or maybe it's the witty writing set
against some of the prettiest scenery on film. Whatever, I pull this
one out every couple years and watch it, usually while doing work
around the house for some reason.
