A Personal Journey with The Gunslinger45 through the Movies: A Top 50+

Living as an undead for eternity > Dying and not existing anymore.

Great picks, by the way, Gunslinger! I love your honorable mention posts!

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Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019

I was more going for living for as long as I can as a human and NOT a zombie. But Glad you are liking the picks!

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Fear and Loathing in MoFo... The Gunslinger 45's Top 50 Favorite Films

In the 10 Ring: Gunslinger45's reviews

But see -- that's the problem. Everyone expects to survive a zombie apocalypse. Everyone thinks they're badass and can use weapons right and will defeat every zombie that comes their way.

It would be a big zombified shock to suddenly find yourself in a zombie apocalypse and you find yourself surviving it for a total of five minutes -- AND THEN -- and then you have to spend eternity as a zombie, eating whoever you can grab, ALL THE TIME.

That is why a nice, simple little death in a nuclear holocaust would be much more practical, sane and enjoyable than dying and undying in a zombie apocalypse.

hmm, i'll go with alien invasion, where they destroy everyone and everything.. except- they read MoFo.com and decide we get to live, so they abduct us onto their a spaceship

That would depend on what the aliens do to you in their spaceship and what world they take you to next, if they do.

No aliens. I have seen what happens there. It is either chest bursters or anal probes. Both are no bueno!

What if they take you to something like Playboy World?

What like I get to bang things that look like every Playboy bunny ever? I will have to pass since one of those girls would end up looking like my aunt!

Ebony Playboy World then?

Throw in some Latinas and you have me sold.

Those aliens don't even need to come in a UFO.

I don't remember that top image from Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, although that's the ship from it.

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36.



Tropic Thunder: 2008 (R) -8
USA / Dreamworks Pictures
83% (CF)




2008 was a damn good year for me. Not only did I graduate college, I enrolled in grad school, and it gave me some of my favorite movies of all time. Regrettably though, I did not see this in the theater. I first saw this when it came out on DVD. About 10 minutes into the film I thought this was one of the funniest movies ever made, and started kicking myself for not seeing this on the big screen.
Now I love movies, and this is a movie about making a movie. In addition it is making a movie similar in tone to an old Vietnam War movie like Apocalypse Now or Platoon (which are referenced quite frequently). The movie within the movie also has Apocalypse Now levels of issues going on, and that leads to the big comedic payoff of having 5 pampered actors wandering through South East Asia alone without any link to the outside. The comedy stems from that premise but is also greatly aided by the comedic ensemble. Robert Downy Jr. as Kirk Lazarus is hilarious and very un PC in the Sgt Osiris get up, Jack Black is funny as hell as a fat “Chris Farley-esque” druggie, Jay Baruchel plays the smart nerdy one, and finally there is Brandon T Jackson who might actually play my favorite character of the film Alpa Chino. Alpa is the commercially prioritized and sometimes annoying hip hop artist. Doing the film to promote his energy drink and candy bar he argues a lot with Kirk, and he has one hell of a character twist at the end of the movie! This dude needs to be in more movies! Also Ben Stiller is actually pretty funny in this role which is thankfully far removed from some of his other work. Add in Tom Cruise in heavy prosthetics, plus Nick Nolte and Danny McBride and you have one of the best comedic casts I have ever seen. And the fact that they are essentially spoofing the movie making process and Apocalypse Now is pretty f**ken brilliant! Now I do prefer the Director’s Cut to the theatrical cut. The only thing I wished they kept from the theatrical cut was Run through the Jungle by Creedence in one of the scenes. This is simply a really funny movie with an excellent cast which also sports one of my favorite DVD commentaries. True to his word, Kirk does not drop character until the DVD commentary was over.

I dig The Road Warrior but I've always preferred Mad Max.

I haven't seen Serenity but it seems to have quite a few fans. I'll put it on my to see list.

I love Vertigo, Tropic Thunder, Night of the Living Dead, and especially Die Hard.

By the way, I believe the first picture from your Evil Dead 2 post, is actually from The Evil Dead.

I think you might be right. How embarrassing. lol

I haven't seen part 2 in a while, but I seem to remember some flashbacks in it from the first movie, so I wasn't certain if the picture maybe wasn't in both. Doesn't matter either way; your list is awesome.

35.



Ben-Hur: 1959 (G) -12
USA / MGM
87%




I already touched on The Ten Commandments and why I liked that movie. And I like this movie for much of the same reasons. An epic big budget studio piece with massive sets and stars that once again features a film steeped in religion. While The Ten Commandments was an adaptation of scripture, Ben-Hur is an adaptation of a novel influenced and set in Biblical times. And just like The Ten Commandments this movie not only stars Charlton Heston, but features some of the most iconic movie imagery as well. From the chariot scene to the many intersections this film has with the life of Christ, you get some very powerful scenes. I particularly liked how you never get to see Jesus’ face or hear him speak. You see everything else but his face. The true power of these scenes comes not from seeing Jesus himself, but the other character’s reactions. Theirs is a face that says “I have just stared in to the face of God himself.” The movie itself is an inspirational tale dealing with one man whose life gets turned upside down via persecution and false imprisonment, but by the grace of God he is free, and eventually his soul is saved by the end of the film. Epic drama and epic set makes this an easy all time favorite film.

34.



The Book of Eli: 2010 (R) -25
USA / Warner Brothers
48%




Okay I am going to have to explain this one a bit. Do anyone else have one film they felt was made specifically for their own tastes? Well this is the film that I feel was made just for me. It is a post apocalyptic movie with an excellent setting and production design, has religious themes, a BIG twist at the end, and stars one of my all time favorite actors Denzel Washington. Plus it is also an action movie! Holy crap do I think this movie is awesome! And while it has taken the biggest drop on my list, it does not take away from how much I love it.
Now I know this movie will not show up on many other people’s Top 50’s or 100’s, but that suits me fine. This movie just appeals to a wide range of my tastes. And I admit a lot of people can be put off by the end twist, (which I go into much deeper review of in my last top 50) but thanks to the fact I saw this on iTunes, it did allow me to rewatch it again with my brother so I could watch it again with the ending in mind. And the twist is pretty well foreshadowed. Probably a bit too subtly foreshadowed, but better too subtle then too obvious. Either way, Denzel messing up wasteland raiders and bad guys with religious symbolism makes for a rocking good time for me!

33.



The Road: 2009 (R) -14
USA / Dimension Films
75% (CF)



There was a time during my college years where I sought out post apocalyptic and zombie movies regardless of the quality that they may have had. This lead to encountering some very bad movies like Automaton Transfusion to the strange like The New Barbarians: Warriors of the Wasteland; but I also found some excellent movies as well. Of all the movies I have seen that deal with the post apocalypse; this one is probably my favorite. While The Road Warrior has the most iconic production design for a post apocalyptic world, this movie’s design is probably the most accurate. The heroes are not cruising the high ways in muscle cars, they are moving along on foot. They do not dress in crazy leather outfits or have crazy haircuts; they opt for practical cloths for protection from the elements. Every day is a struggle, the setting is extremely bleak and they even consider ending it all multiple times. Needless to say the setting is extremely depressing, but the end result of the movie is hope. That small unlikely chance of coming through the trial and making it through the day fueled by that hope is in a strange way beautiful. Here is a man who knows the easy way out will bring comfort and sweet relief. But they still drive on, for years in fact. Why is that? Despite their horrible circumstances, they choose to try and live and survive because life and especially the life of his son is precise. Viggo does cannot bring himself to kill his boy, and so they struggle on. Even in the face of almost certain death and untold misery… they struggle on.

It has its own religious symbolism, but in a far less ham fisted way as The Book of Eli. And that hope that shines from even the bleakest of circumstances is really beautiful. And the performances by Kodi Smit-McPhee, Viggo Mortensen, Chalize Theron, and a brief appearance by Robert Duvall really stand out. Making for an outstanding movie.