Number 10. – The Abyss
The Abyss is one of Jim Cameron’s lesser known efforts and one can see why. Its rather long, most of it is underwater(probably 90%) and the subject just might not be of interest to most people. The film itself is more known for its behind the scene shenanigans. The plot takes a bunch of civilian divers who go down to the trenches of the Ocean to recover a lost submarine. What they don’t realize is that there are far more powerful forces at play here. The original version of the film was derided on release but a director’s cut with additional footage sets most of the detractors straight. The last few minutes of this director’s cut are rather good so watch this version of the film. Still, the film is just alright and nowhere on the level of say The Terminator or Titanic. After finally getting round to watching it I had allot of mixed feelings mostly to how over long it was and the fact that not a great deal happened but I must admit it kept me gripped from start to finish and the last hour was very good, So if you haven’t seen it yet and plan to, Don’t expect Avatar in the sea because you will be disappointing, But overall not a bad movie.
Number 9. – Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
If you weren’t around in ’89, when this became a surprise cultural phenomenon, well, you kinda had to be there. Looking back with critical eyes, it’s a rather thin, desperately low-budget production that doesn’t probe beyond the superficial layer and constantly winks and nudges the audience to ensure they know when to laugh. Yet, recognizing all that, I found myself wrapped up in its oddly naive warmth and charismatic magnetism. The jokes and gags are hammy and contrived, but I still snickered. The most memorable lines are clumsy and blunt, but I gladly recited them (surprising myself, as I hadn’t seen the film in twenty-plus years). Bill and Ted themselves are the narrowest of stereotypes, basically the male equivalent of Frank Zappa’s valley girls, yet I felt a rich tingle of satisfaction when they saved their academic careers. It’s one of those films that defies logic, succeeding in spite of itself, and there’s something of value in that. I have to mention the driving force behind the movie is its heroes. Alex Winter as Bill and Keanu Reeves as Ted are not master thespians, but genuine airheads that are instantly relatable and lovable. You cannot help these two bumbling, yet harmless fools are they run around breaking the rules of time and space. You will root for these dudes as they are so casually hilarious. Winter and Reeves’ awkward performances are so sincere in their mindlessness, that they transform into charming roles.
Number 8. – Kickboxer
To my real surprise, I actually enjoyed this a great deal. Sure, it’s really just a vehicle to show off JCVD’s versatility and star power, the narrative is formulaic and derivative to the extreme, and the screenplay is comically dumb-but in a way, all that feeds into the campy fun once the movie really gets underway and JCVD begins his kung-fu training. Take, for instance, the scene (straight out of a Jackie Chan flick) where JCVD drunkenly dances and gets into a sloppy bar fight with a bunch of baddies: In scenes like that, where the movie knows exactly what sort of screwball antics really underlie the fighting genre, it’s hard not to be swept up in the fun. Brother of American kickboxing champion who is paralyzed in ring by cheap shot from Thai fighter Tong Po trains to avenge the loss in what wrestling fans know as a Taipei Death Match. Some great training clips in this one. I forgot that I had seen this many years ago. Bears a fair bit in common with Van Damme’s breakthrough a year earlier in Bloodsport. Good action flick that helped an ascending Van Damme.
Number 7. – All Dogs Go To Heaven
After the collaboration with Spielberg, Don Bluth directed and wrote with Gary Goldman one of their best works, “all dogs go to heaven”. Despite the fact its a animated movie, we can’t say its a movie for children… or maybe, not only for them: full of good emations, enviroments often raw (gangsterism and betting), sensitive issues , but still well treated like the death and excellent teachings also aimed at a more mature audience ( for whom the love of Charlie Anne Marie for which eventually sacrifices his own life , the friendship between the protagonist and Itchy and how to fill the life,choosing between selfish gain or dedicating oneself to others ). As always, the animation is excellent , the characters constructed with accuracy without stereotypes and songs , although not destined to become classics , will always remain in the hearts of those who loved this film since childhood, like me. A child could be scared in front of some infernal scenes or violence , but still moved by the final and have fun at the same time. All dogs go to heaven is a little and powerfull movie for every body.
Number 6. – Dead Poet’s Society
Passionately written as it is beautifully performed, Peter Weir’s romantic drama delivers an extremely inspirational teenager environmental-perspective, full of thought-provoking dialogues, great direction and dedication towards its premise and story-development, Dead Poets Society is a small humble instant classic, that finds the best out of modern romanticism, as well as the tragic pursuit of our dreams and true happiness, with the blessing of Robin Williams’s presence to complement the show. While watching this movie, I thought it was similar to the society of South Korea. They make a great effort to get higher scores because the college where we can go with really small scores changes. In this situation, what John Keating told me about Carpe Diem made me think about what I want to do now. I think the key point of this movie is ‘Oh, captain my captain’ This is because children who were oppressed by their parents were the first ones to express their thoughts. John Keating, who is called Captain to them, plays a role of pushing them from behind so that they can say what they want. I think the real teacher is the one behind the scenes who pushes the children along their way, rather than the one who shouts and writes in front. It was a little boring in the beginning, but as the children spoke their own voice, they became more absorbed in the movie. The scene that the children shouted that “Oh captain my captain” ,when Keating left school, made me move.
Number 5. – When Harry Meets Sally
It’s an accurate stereotype that that the male audience loves science fiction & action, but when asking what’s the best romantic movie for guys to watch, so often they pick this movie. When Harry Met Sally redefined (or defined, depending on to whom you talk) the romantic comedy. The dialogue, memorable quotes, flawless acting and directing, as well as the sparkling chemistry between two unlikely actors, When Harry Met Sally is a near-perfect story of two opposites who, over time, grow to realize just how compatible they really are. It’s a hopeful friends-to-lovers progression that never seems forced. Rob Reiner adapts Nora Ephron’s script and edits it to flawless execution. At no point does the connection seem unnatural. The audience is carried end-to-end and experiences the same maturity through Harry and Sally’s relationship, recognizing the imperfections of each character and recognizing elements of each’s life in their own lives. When Harry Met Sally set the standard and has been copied poorly by many wanna-bes, but it is the original and worth the time if you have never seen it.
Number 4. – Batman
It seems as the movie gets older with age, Tim Burton’s breakthrough got more and more hatred. Perhaps we had better Batman movies in the later years and there’s a serious lack of story involved. But honestly, Batman still has a unique, gothic atmosphere that hardly any other superhero movie has. This stands as an important film for the superhero genre, possibly the most important (apart from Donner’s first Superman film), and reigns as one of the greatest. With superb performances, a delightful tone and wonderful direction, it delivers as a great noir film, and while the plot isn’t overly-complex, it doesn’t need to be. This is the type of film that shines without the need for a deep plot – it is simple yet captivating. Elfman’s score is unbeatable as one of the top superhero scores (okay, maybe if you take away the Prince songs). This is the epic film that started the modern Batman movie series! It is the one comic book movie that seemed to get everything right. It had the perfect cast, perfect story, great effects (for the time) and a fantastic soundtrack! This is the first Batman film I watched! It will always be the Batman movie that all Batman movies will be compared to! If you are a Batman fan or a comic book fan this is the movie for you!
Number 3. – Lean On Me
Too many times have anti-drug movies been exposing what mental and physical health affects those who subject themselves to drugs. But rarely does a story does a good job showing how much it affects the environment and those around them in a clear and negative way. Lean on Me focuses on why schools needs to be drug free in order to operate a healthy and safe education system. This movie reveals not only a small part of what has been going on & continues to go on inside some of our public schools not just in our surrounding areas but across the nation. It also shows a small part, a small beginning, of what needs to be done to save our children of today & to ensure their proper & successful education! I have personally observed that teachers are not allowed to give out a grade lower than a 70 under any circumstances, it did not matter if they did not answer a single question on a quiz or any exam “leaving it completely blank” as long as the student wrote their name & date on it they were given a 70! It’s all political bs, “To turn a blind eye to be ensured a paycheck.” Now its one of the main problems w/our society today, increased violence, & crimes of horrible nature because they were not given or recieving the education that’s needed to sustain gainful, respectable employment! My question is, what are we to do now?
Number 2. – Back To The Future Part II
Excellent part two to the triology. Doc takes Marty into the future to save Marty’s kids, but they end up in a different parallel life due to Biff changing history back in 1950s. So they have to go back in time. Exciting ride, full of adventure. For a long time I adamantly defended this film as the best of the trilogy but having now seen them all one-after-the-other, it’s clear that you just can’t beat the original. Back to the Future Part II doesn’t quite live up to the first one, but it comes close. It has a little too much going on, some of the logic doesn’t make as much sense, and some of the prosthetic used for aging don’t look quite as good as the original. That being said, it features one of the most iconic settings in cinema history when they travel to the “future”, and obviously the acting and sense of adventure is just as strong as the first, and the movie ends with an even stronger cliffhanger than the first. I also liked how they included several hints throughout this movie at what’s to come in part iii. When I was younger this was always my favorite of the series, and it’s clear why that is. There’s so much time travel and craziness, and it doesn’t let up, but unfortunately the story gets a little too cluttered because of it. Still, it’s a great movie regardless. Again, the attention to detail was incredible, with fantastic call-backs to the first film and the little details that connect the alternate timelines timelines together, and also some foreshadowing for what is to come in Part 3, Robert Zemeckis’ love for this world and these characters is on show. In the end, this film goes bigger, it goes to more places and it retains everything you love about the first film. It does lose some of that magic that you feel when watching the first film but it is still a masterpiece and a classic that even helped to elevate how good the first film was upon return viewings.
Number 1. – Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade
Spielberg and Lucas find their stride again with The Last Crusade. The third installment of the Indiana Jones story sees Dr. Jones in search of his father who disappeared while searching for the Holy Grail. Spielberg obviously learned from his mistakes of the previous film, and recaptures the spirit of the original. The film opens with a fun comic strip origin story featuring River Phoenix and once again religious myth, which is so ingrained in the popular consciousness it rarely fails to engage the necessary sense of wonder, forms the premise of the story. He replaces the irritating sidekicks with affable buffoons Marcus Brody and Sallah who return from the first film and Alison Doody spends her 15 minutes of fame as a kind of glamorous 30s Bond girl. But most importantly of all we get to meet Henry Jones Sr. Sean Connery was an inspired casting choice and Ford and Connery’s brilliant father-son bickering is hilarious, especially during the best section of the film as Indiana rescues his dad from the clutches of the evil Nazis, the natural enemies of our heroes. The chemistry between Harrison Ford and Sean Connery is hard to match. There are heartfelt moments, but there are more moments of hilarious interaction. The scene where the Order of the Cruciformed Sword attack the Nazis and Indy’s father exclaims, ‘Now who are all these people!?’ will always make me laugh. I loved how funny and light-hearted this one was compared to the two others. The writing, storyline, and plot were just as amazing as they were in the first one. The costumes were great looking and I loved the Venice scenery/sets. All of the action and fight scenes are great. The visual effects and sound effects were the best in this one. The acting performances were just as spectacular as they were in the first two especially Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Alison Doody, Denholm Elliot, and John Rhys-Davies. I loved the musical score as well. liked this one better than the second one but the first one is still my favorite. The equal of the original film and one of the best sequels ever made, The Last Crusade proves once again that Steven Spielberg is a master when it comes to popular entertainment.
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