Wall-E was my #6. Nothing will ever top my sentimental attachment to
Toy Story, but if asked to name the greatest animated film of all-time,
Wall-E is the answer. (The leap in technology between those two films, despite only a 13-year-difference, is staggering.) Pixar put a lot of faith in the ever-dwindling attention span of kids and adults, going 40-plus minutes with barely any dialogue, instead relying on the rhythms of silent cinema to maintain interest -- the ghost of Chaplin resurrected in a rusted, roving metal box with binoculars for eyes. It's a difficult feat in modern times, but words aren't needed to make audiences laugh or fall in love if the visual storytelling is strong enough, and
Wall-E flexes Schwarzenegger biceps in that regard. I care more about these two robots than 99% of human characters in other films. Their romance is more charming than 99% of other romances as well. The oft-criticized shift toward satire in the second half is more faceted than credited. Heavy-handed, sure, but subtlety is overrated, and I commend the effort to drill environmentally-friendly, anti-consumerist messages into the technologically-raddled brains of children. As every grandparent screams, "Stop staring at that screen and go outside!" For a heart-warming, crowd-pleasing family film, the glimpse of humanity's future is shockingly grim. Gelatinous blobs of laziness and wastefulness, ignorant of their ruinous past, no agency of their own, oblivious of their physical surroundings, their entire existence contained in a screen inches from their face. That's not the future. That's the present.
Before Sunset was my #10. The best entry in the best trilogy, and one of the most romantic movies ever made. I find some of the dialogue in
Sunrise too smugly written in a faux philosophical fashion, whereas the writing in
Sunset feels completely natural, the characters more believable, the chemistry between Hawke and Delpy even stronger than before thanks to the real-life friendship they had forged. The characters have experienced enough in life to realize how annoyingly idealistic and hopelessly naive they were nine years ago. Their emotions now carry more weight. They've already missed out on so much time together and the hourglass is draining yet again (and in real-time, no less), as Jesse has a flight to catch, fueling that fleeting feeling -- the sense of desperation escalating as we yearn for these two kindred spirits to finally come together and stay together. "Baby, you're gonna miss that plane." The most believable on-screen romance.
Inglourious Basterds was my #14. To save time, I'll just copy/paste an old write-up with a few tweaks:
Flawed, incohesive, frustrating, yet also intermittently brilliant. I've seen several members say that they would've preferred if QT had turned the story into a miniseries rather than condensing the six-hour script into one feature. IB already feels like two different films with contrasting tones and goals awkwardly mashed together, so I would've preferred if he had split them into companion pieces similar to Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima, one focusing on the Basterds, the other on Shosanna. The most entertaining scenes involve the Basterds, with Pitt's mugging and ridiculous accent and the gleeful violence and humor that are QT trademarks. However, those scenes basically amount to Tarantino playing in the kitchen with The Dirty Dozen. I find the sections with Shosanna most compelling, and they demonstrate a level of maturity and sophistication QT has rarely shown. Despite my criticisms, I still adore the film. Waltz was perfect casting. Much like Samuel L. Jackson, Waltz accentuates the poetry in QT's dialogue. Multiple scenes are laced with sphincter-clenching suspense, with the brilliant opening a prime example. To me, the film is ultimately about the power of cinema. QT rewrites history, provides everyone violent catharsis by pumping lead into one of the most evil individuals to ever walk the earth, so it makes sense that so many scenes -- the climax, in particular -- revolve around a movie theater.
Spider-Man 2 was my #16. For me it stands alongside
Logan and
Batman (1989) on the superhero podium. It's been over a decade since I last watched it, so I can't go into many details. I'm sure the FX are showing their pixels by now, and nostalgia probably helps me overlook some of its flaws (e.g. Franco's limp performance). Superhero films weren't particularly common back then, and the few we got mostly sucked.
Spider-Man 2 elevated the comic-book blockbuster to new heights. I've enjoyed several MCU movies, but most of them are plagued by focus-group sterility and corporate formula, where it feels as if the true director isn't the person behind the camera, but rather some suit-and-tie at a mahogany desk. Not the case with
Spider-Man 2, where Raimi maintains his voice and sincerity despite softening it for mass consumption (the hospital scene certainly shows Raimi's horror roots), and every emotional beat feels earned. I can't think of another superhero film that possess a more sympathetic villain. The runaway train sequence is one of the most invigorating moments in any blockbuster. Tobey Maguire will always be my Peter Parker no matter how many others play the part.
Shaun of the Dead was my #17. Nimbly walks the tonal tightrope while juggling severed limbs with expert precision. Most horror-comedies fail to successfully balance the disparate genres, but
Shaun is consistently hilarious without undermining the horror, establishing genuine stakes and suspense alongside well-earned pathos. Edgar Wright parodies Romero with love and respect, teleporting zombie-loving geeks like myself from the couch to the apocalypse with aplomb. So many clever gags and Easter eggs served with a side of brains and glistening intestines. Despite dozens of imitators,
Shaun holds up nearly 20 years later. My favorite horror-comedy.
The Prestige was my #21. Fond memories of catching this in the theater before Nolan was a household name. My friends and I went into this movie mostly blind. We just knew that it starred Wolverine and the new Batman, and had something to do with magic. The intricate plot had us mesmerized and I particularly admired the script's moral complexity. No heroes, no villains. Just two magicians obsessed with one-upmanship; a tragedy of hubris as everyone in their milieu suffers as a result of their rivalry. It was unclear to me on that first viewing which character would triumph, which led to an unusually high degree of unpredictability beyond the clever misdirection that Nolan utilized so effectively. Repeat viewings have brought diminishing returns, which is often the case for me with densely-plotted movies that rely heavily on the element of surprise, but I still consider this a great movie and the apex of Nolan's oeuvre.
My List So Far:
#1) The Devil's Rejects
#2) Kill Bill Vol. II
#3) Kill Bill Vol. I
#5) 28 Days Later
#6) Wall-E
#7) Requiem for a Dream
#9) The Wrestler
#10) Before Sunset
#14) Inglourious Basterds
#16) Spider-Man 2
#17) Shaun of the Dead
#21) The Prestige
Seen: 82/91