I fell way behind the list (dropped out at #13 I believe) and only just now catching up. Great job Nope.
Aliens I finally watched for the first time just prior to the countdown and wasn't massively impressed to be honest. I found it quite dull for a length period of time when they're just wandering around the place; and I hated the marines! Just such stereotypically loud, brash, macho characters. It's like James Cameron had just abducted the guys from Predator and transported them to space. The film did then pick up for me when it became more of a siege movie and they were trying to keep the horde of aliens out. However that goodwill started to erode as a result of the film just going on too long; I just felt it hung around way too long. Oh and I hated, absolutely
hated, the whole thing between Ripley and the little girl. It was so nauseatingly cheesy and maudlin; just awful. As a fan of Mad About You back in the day my favourite part of the whole film may well have been Paul Reiser as the slimy corporate schmo.
The Matrix was #4 on my list. Since my first mind-blowing viewing I've just loved it.To be fair I think the age at which I first saw it certainly helped in forging my love for it. I first saw it when I was 12 or 13 years old, which I think was just a perfect age to see it as being the coolest thing ever!!! And that sentiment has largely stuck. I kind of still do think it's the coolest thing ever!!!
Both
Terminator films made my list, with the first film certainly superior in my eyes.
T2 is an incredible blockbuster; one of the all-time greats. But the first film is just such a intense, direct, barebones experience without an ounce of flab to it. Excellent.
I'm amazed that neither
Star Wars or
Empire Strikes Back were able to break the top 5. I didn't think either had a chance at winning because there would be people that would prioritise one over the other but I thought at least one would make the top 5 and in all likeliehood finish about 3rd. As I didn't vote for either however I'm not particularly bothered. I've just never really 'got' Star Wars. Well that's not quite true, I thought I did a few years back. So much so that I even included Empire on my top 100 list. What happened on that viewing I don't know. Whether I was delusional or whether I just managed to convince myself to love it, I don't know. I rewatched the films around the same time as
The Force Awakens and based on those viewings I actually preferred TFA to the original films. And I know that will baffle pretty much everyone. The only reason I can come up with is my investment in the films. Even when I've enjoyed the original trilogy it was very much on a superficial level; I just found them fun. However I never cared about the story or characters. But with TFA I found that I really liked and engaged with the characters of both Rey and Finn, more so than I ever did with Luke or anyone
Back to the Future was my #1 and the only horse I felt I really had in the race to be at the very top of the list. Very disappointed to see it only made #5, especially on a personal level when I don't particularly care for any of the 4 films that finished above it. I think that BttF is just about the closest thing to perfect you can get when it comes to films. Smart, funny, exciting, great set-pieces, terrific performances, superb writing; just brilliant.
Every single film in the top 4 I had only seen once prior to this countdown being announced. I intended to give all of them another chance beforehand and was able to do so with 3 of them. Now I don't have a problem with
The Thing. I think it's a decent enough film but I do continue to be somewhat flummoxed by the forum's fascination with it. Storywise it's got a very basic and rather repetitive template. And to really keep me engaged I feel the film would need to do more to differentiate the characters and make them distinct individuals to care about; as it was it didn't really do so. However I would absolutely recommend the film to anyone for one reason - Rob Bottin. I gave him a shout-out back when
Men in Black appeared on the list and need to do so again. His f/x work on
The Thing is astonishing and makes him the undoubted star of the piece for me. While I'd give the film as a whole about a
, his personal contribution deserve a definite
.
As for
Blade Runner I think it looks terrific and that it does a fantastic job of world-building. However the characters and story just don't engage me in any way whatsoever, resulting in a frustrating watch. And
2001 was the film I wasn't able to give another chance to. The first time I watched it I have to admit to being one of those heretics who found it to be just about the dullest thing I'd ever seen.
Looking at the complete list of films and there were a few surprises. There were three films in particular that I'm surprised didn't make the list, and was absolutely astonished at how low they finished. I thought that
Repo Man had a fairly healthy cult following around here that would have seen it make the list so to see it at #211 with only points is a bit of a shock. However I'm staggered at how low the new Planet of the Apes films finished.
Rise at #321 (5 points) and
Dawn at #291 (8 pts)?!!!
Given both how popular they are and how recent they are in the minds of people I'm amazed at that. Also am I right in thinking that
The Man Who Fell to Earth didn't receive a single point? Rather surprising. I was under the impression that was quite well thought of by a number of poeple and that it had a chance of actually making the list, especially in tribute to David Bowie.
Seen - 86/100
My List - 20/25
1. Back to the Future (#5)
2. The Truman Show (#94)
3. Wall-e (#16)
4. The Matrix (#11)
5. The Terminator (#10)
6. Jurassic Park (#13)
7. The Faculty (#165)
8. Terminator 2 (#9)
9. Unbreakable (#106)
10. Back to the Future Part II (#42)
11. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (#21)
12. Men in Black (#61)
13. Twelve Monkeys (#14)
14. Demolition Man (#68)
15. Independence Day (#40)
16. They Live (#45)
17. Guardians of the Galaxy (#77)
18. Chilren of Men (#20)
19. Total Recall (#19)
20. Galaxy Quest (#88)
21. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (#321)
22. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (#58)
23. Star Trek: First Contact (#194)
24. Chronicle (#151)
25. Gattaca (#51)