FILMFREAK087's Top 25 list

Okay, here I go. These are not in order from least to greatest, just my 25 faves.


25.

Falling Down, the only Joel Schumacher film I ever enjoyed. It takes a familiar concept by having the main protagonist be an everyman, or underdog as it would seem, but it doesn't take long to realize that he's on the verge of a mental breakdown. The movie kind of indites society as well, and Michael Douglas' performance was great.


24.

Gaslight, a 1944 thriller, starring Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman about an unscrupulous husband who slowly drives his wife mad, and question her own sanity. The film really makes you empathize with the main character, seeing as losing one's mind is the most horrifying circumstance to comprehend.

23.

The Odd Couple a 1968 comedy, starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthu as two disgruntled room mates. This movie never gets the old, the interactions between the slovenly Matthau, and neurotic Lemmon are hysterical.

22.

Tales From The Crypt the 1972 British horror anthology, starring Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, and directed by Freddie Francis is a much darker, macabre translation of the E.C. horror comics. One story in particular, about a magical wish-granting idol, I found to be very disturbing.

21.

Lucas the 1986 teen comedy/drama, starring Corey Haim as a nerdy outcast who is befriended by the most popular girl in school, and has to deal with bullies. I could really relate to this movie as a kid, being kind of a nerd.

20.

Reservoir dogs

The 1992 introductory film by Quentin Tarantino, I can't say anything new, except that I like the idea of a story being told in a non-linear fashion, and the actors and dialog are all top notch.

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...uh the post is up there...

Is this going to be in the MoFo Top 100, Part III?

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You're going to send this to WBadger to add to the MoFo List, right?

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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

Probably. Does it have to be 100?

Jinx! Owe me a beer!

No, supposed to be only 25, then points are totalled and a top 100 for the site is posted.

I think I'm drinking yours right now... actually...

19.

Beetlejuice the 1988 fantasy/comedy, starring Michael Keaton as a sleazy, perverted ghoul hired by a newly dead couple to rid their house of yuppies. I love the fact that the convention of ghost movies is reversed and it's the ghosts trying to get rid of the living, and coupled with the cartoonish gags and michael Keaton's presence, you get a classic.

18.

Hellraiser the 1987 film adaptation of Clive Barker's book, The Hellbound Heart, is proof that you don't have to have cheap scares in the form of loud noises or characters popping into frame to be terrifying. Mostly, the movie makes you feel uneasy as it seems that as a character says; "Pain and pleasure are indivisible." It introduces a new concept of Hell, being a dimension of strange disfigured beings who trap unwary mortals to a similar fate. In my mind, it's a horror classic.

17.

Mallrats

Yeah, that's right. The 1995 Kevin smith flop, about two twenty-somethings engaging in nonsensical hijinks in their local consumer den, whilst trying to win back the affections of their respective significant others. As Smith himself puts it, there's just a rewatchability to the movie.

16.

Donnie Darko

Where to start, most people who watch Donnie darko don't fully know what it's about. Okay, it's about a kid named Donnie, and after nearly being killed in a freak accident, is saved by a mysterious figure that is dressed in a rabbit suit, who then warns him that the end is near. Yeah, and it deals with wormholes and quantum mechanics, but it makes you want to watch it again just so you can fully grasp the story.

15.

Back To The Future Part II the 1989 sequel to the original, starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd as two time travelers, who while visiting the future, cause a disruption in the past, creating an alternate 1985, forcing them to travel back to 1955 as they try not to interfere with the events of the first film. I thought this movie was quite clever since they took advantage of the time travel device, and allowed the characters to witness the events of the first film from a different perspective.

14.

The Sandlot, the 1993 kid's baseball film about a group of kids who try to help their new friend retrieve his step-father's rare autographed baseball from a backyard wasteland guarded by a monstrous canine. This movie had a feel to it like an old Little Rascals episode.

13.

Batman Returns

Tim Burton's second time at bat, pun intended, this time Gotham is a cold, winter landscape inhabited by subterranean bird-men, and felonious female felines. I thought this Batman had a much darker tone, and more sympathetic villains. Even if the Batman mythos isn't entirely correct, Burton did manage to grasp the moods and psychology of the characters.

12.

The Day Of The Triffids the 1962 horror film about killer vegetation, radiated by cosmic energy. By today's standards it's laughably cheesy, but that's kind of the fun of watching it.

11.

High Fidelity the story of a record store owner counting down his top ten relationships, starring John Cusack, Jack Black, and Joan Cusack. I love how the main character is so wrapped up in music that essentially every aspect of his life he can boil down to a top ten list.


10.

Videodrome the 1983 David Cronenberg scifi film about a tv station employee who discovers a sadistic transmission meant to alter the perception of the watcher, causing nightmarish hallucinations. It's really an analogy for the affects that the media has on our concept of reality. Great premise, and visual effects.

This is the guy you want to send it to when you're finished.

9.

Ghostbusters II the 1989 sequel to the original starring Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, and Sigourney Weaver. It's five years after the events of the first film and the Ghostbusters are essentially defunct, until that is a strange pink slime begins to fuel paranormal activity in the big apple and they have to defeat a sixteenth century sorcerer trapped inside a painting in the museum where Dana Berret works. Okay, it's definately not as good as the original, and most complaints are that it is too similar. I can see why, the sequence of events mirrors the first film, but in my mind that's not entirely bad, the characters are still likable and there's some rather funny exchanges of dialog and the effects are well done for the time. Not perfect, but still enjoyable and certainly not the worst sequel.

8.

American Psycho the homicidal 1980's satire, starring Christian Bale as an apathetic businessman who decides to indulge his bloodlust. This movie is so perversely funny in the way it presents it's main character as bored yuppie who takes up murder as a hobby, up until the point that he quotes serial killers amongst his friends.

8.

Almost Famous Cameron Crowe's fictitious docu-comedy film about a teen who is hired to write a Rolling Stone piece on his favorite band, and experiences the humorous and turbulant rock star lifestyle.

7.

Ghostbusters the 1984 fantasy/comedy film, starring Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, and Sigourney Weaver about a group of paranormal researchers who after being fired from their research then start their own business as professional paranormal eliminators in New York. I still find so much value in this movie from the script, the characters, and the visual effects are all still just as enjoyable now.

6.

My Girl the 1991 film about a mortician's daughter dealing with the issues of mortality, loss, and friendship, starring Dan Aykroyd, Jamie lee Curtis, Anna Chlumsky, and Maculay Culkin. I think this movie really encapsulates that universal moment when we all have to deal with death.

5.

Raiders Of The Lost Ark, the 1981 adventure film about a globe-trotting, nazi-fighting, womanizing archeologist, Starring Harrison Ford. Classic.

4.

Back To The Future the story of a mad scientist and a teenage time traveler who accidentally prevents his parents from meeting, and has to set right the tides of fate or else be rendered non-existent. The premise, humor, and characters are priceless.

3.

A New Hope the 1977 introduction to George Lucas' Star wars franchise. It's a coming of age story, set in a galaxy far, far away where a young man must join a rebel alliance against a planet-destroying galactic empire. The mythology of the Star Wars films is awe inspiring, everything has weight and depth to it, even the vehicles look worn and used. The characters are obviously lifted from Samurai and Western films, but they compliment each other.

2.

The Empire Strikes Back

The 1980 sequel to A New Hope follows all of the main characters, now sought by the Empire going their separate ways. Luke training to become a Jedi with Yoda, and Han and Leia seek refuge in the Cloud City of Bespin. There's betrayal, revelations, and sacrifice.

1.

Return Of The Jedi, finally all of the major plot lines all come together toward a final conclusion. There's redemption, forgiveness, and understanding. To me, this was the most satisfying of the trilogy.

Can't say I have ever seen Return of the Jedi ahead of the previous Star Wars movies before, but an interesting list to read.

Nice to see another really personal list on the site. Good work, FF

One thing I'd like to ask though. Falling Down (wonderful film, btw) is the only Joel Schummacher film you've enjoyed?

The Lost Boys, Flatliners, A Time To Kill, Tigerland, Phone Booth. None of them are in the class of Falling Down, IMO, but there's some good films (as well as enjoyable films) there.

Cool list, FF. Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Raiders, Beetlejuice - some great eighties fun there!

If I ever make any additions to this list, I'll have to find placement for Bryan Singer's X-men movies. I watched both last night and was reminded why I admired them so much.

Interesting list, FF.

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I think you're forgetting the masterpiece.

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Not forgetting it, but this is the best part of that film.

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And a few seconds in this clip.

FilmFreak, you are officially good in my book

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