MCU Rankings, Post-Black Panther Edition

So, it's been nearly a year since I did this. The last time I just updated an old post, but I figured I'd rewrite it altogether this time. I've been re-watching all the movies with my son, and watching the movie through his eyes has been an amazing experience. Tonight I went to see "Black Panther," though not with him. He's not quuiiite caught up yet. In any case, through the exercise with him, I've finally seen "Ant-Man" and "Dr. Strange," which were the only two I hadn't yet seen.

As always, I put the movies into tiers along with ranking them, because it's easier to separate them out that way. Also, as always, these rankings are just for movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU. "Logan," "Deadpool," any other Wolverine, X-Men or Spider-Man movies, those are not included here as they aren't MCU movies.

Tier Four
These are the bad MCU movies. Well, "bad" in terms of MCU movies, as these are still better than a lot of other superhero movies.

18. Iron Man 2: Every time I watch it, I like it less.
17. The Incredible Hulk: That General Ross behaves the way he does throughout this movie and then ascends to Secretary of State by "Civil War" feels very Trump-ian.
16. Thor: The Dark World: Bumps up a little because the Thor-Loki banter is just so good.

Tier Three
Tier 3 is for movies that are fine. Not great, not bad, just fine.

15. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2: Just totally outclassed by the last few Marvel movies.
14. Dr. Strange: There's nothing wrong with this movie, and Dr. Strange is an important Marvel character, but I just don't really think he's a character that needed his own movie. I would have been much happier if this was the slot that had gone to the Black Widow movie.
13. Iron Man 3: It's still enjoyable.
12. Thor: I still have a soft spot for Thor, but it's sliding like many of the rest.
11. Avengers: Age of Ultron: It's growing on me, but I think this is as far as it can go.

Tier Two
Here, we have the movies that I really enjoyed, but at the end of the movie, I didn't say, "wow, that was the best one yet."

10. Ant-Man: I saw this one just recently, and was blown away by the attention to detail. This movie must have been a bear to edit.
9. Guardians of the Galaxy: It's here where you realize that the quality of these movies has really gone up a notch. This movie was really fun when it came out, a marked turn for the MCU. But it doesn't feel as special now, and Ronan was a pretty non-descript villain.
8. Captain America: Civil War: This movie is outstanding, and it did so much heavy lifting. But all of those disparate plots make it feel like longer than it is. It's the longest Marvel movie at 147 minutes. That's only four more minutes than "The Avengers," but that movie's plot was a lot more focused. Still, I do love this movie. Ranking these is like splitting hairs.
7. Thor: Ragnarok: Most people weren't clamoring for this movie, and it proved all the doubters wrong. I can't wait to watch it again.

Tier One
These are movies that I have, at one time or another, either considered the best in the MCU, or I could make the case for them as the best ever. The proverbial cream of the crop.

6. Captain America: The First Avenger: I can't believe it's been pushed down so far.
5. Iron Man: The movie that kicked it all off really doesn't deserve to be this low either, but a five-way tie for second place seems like it'd be a cop out.
4. Spider-Man: Homecoming: It really was the perfect Spider-Man movie, and Tom Holland really is the perfect Spider-Man. Equal parts cocky and vulnerable, but in a way that doesn't seem as hang-doggy as Tobey Maguire's Spidey.
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier: I definitely have ranked this one No. 1 at certain points in my mind. I may yet again!
2. Black Panther: Just...wow. Ryan Coogler forever. This movie has such a great cast, and Coogler put together such a tight movie that also has a smoldering and complex moral dilemma. I can't wait to watch this a million times.
1. The Avengers: Still the best, but just barely. These movies are getting so good now. The Phase One movies almost seem old-fashioned by comparison, but this one still wins out. For now.

MCU Rankings, Ver. 4080

So, pretty much after I see a Marvel MCU movie (ie, not the first five Spider-Man's, or the Fantastic Four's or X-Men's) I end up ranking them. It's what we do, we like ranking things. Sometimes, I do it even in between movies. But usually I forget my order because I have a terrible memory, among other things. So, I figured I'd put it down on the blog. That's what a blog is for, yes?

These are both ranked and organized into three tiers. Think of the tiers like this - I would be willing to re-organize the rankings of these movies within their tiers, but not outside of them.

May 18, 2017 update: Slotting in GoTG 2 & Dr. Strange.

Tier 3
Not Ranked. Ant Man - Still haven't seen it yet. I have a hard time believing it would escape the third tier.
Not Ranked. Dr. Strange - Maybe was good, but the trailer looked just like Inception, and I didn't care for the whitewashing. Also, I don't really like Dr. Strange as a character. Pass.
13. Thor: The Dark World - Marvel has a rep for bad villains, and none was worse than the dude in this one. I don't even remember his name, and don't feel compelled to look it up.
12. Iron Man 2 - Another sequel that landed with a thud, and while I'm finally getting used to Don Cheadle as Iron Patriot, I still hated the decision in this movie.
11. The Incredible Hulk - This movie was pretty good until the final third, which got a little cartoonish, and not in a good way.

Tier 2
10. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 - It was good, but it was very slow to develop, had way too much Drax, and I didn't care for the gimmick of Baby Groot for an entire movie. We get it, he's cute. He also grew back limbs way too quickly in the original for me to believe he was a baby for so long in the second one. Furthermore, I wasn't a big fan of the sexual tension plotline, but I especially was not a fan of the way it ended. Will leave it at that for now since saying why not is still spoiler-ish. Also, the main reason for antagonism between the two leads is identical to Civil War. Marvel being a cohesive unit is supposed to prevent these sorts of things.
9. Iron Man 3 - Definitely better than Iron Man 2, but the villain was uninspired, and the after the fact revelation that they wouldn't let Rebecca Hall be the villain will forever color this one, as Rebecca Hall was nails in this (and every) movie.
8. Avengers: Age of Ultron - It's fine, but the end scene where they're like, "hey let's train new Avengers!" rubbed me the wrong way. I thought it was a pretty blatant sign that "hey sucker, this movie was a placeholder, thanks for burning $20 on seeing it." That feeling is the main reason why I didn't bother with Ant-Man later last summer.
7. Thor - I liked the plot of this one a great deal, and Natalie Portman is one of my favorite actresses. It's a shame they can't get her back for the smaller roles in the Avengers movies, but I get her not wanting to do them.
6. Guardians of the Galaxy - The team sparkles in this one, but again, they get demerits for the lack of inspired villain. Ronan was a stiff. You could again make the case for a lead female villain, as Nebula was way cooler, and had a legit beef with one of the heroes in Gamora. I suppose it's the same beef that Loki has with Thor, but that's OK.

Tier 1
5. Captain America: Civil War - I'm looking forward to watching this one a million times, but the revelation that Zemo had only been a villain for a year rang a little hollow. I feel like it takes villains more than a year to build up such a vast network of knowledge of evil. Which was a shame, because I loved him as the villain up to that point. And Black Panther and Spider-Man were awesome.
4. Captain America: The First Avenger - It's a war movie, and there is no shortage of those in the movie, but they just do such a great job with it, and Red Skull is the real deal. Also, if there is one movie that you need to understand the larger MCU at this point, it's this one, since the relationship between Cap and Bucky is arguably the most important relationship in the MCU right now.
3. Iron Man - I just watched this again last night, and it's amazing how good this movie is compared to the two that came after it. Also, Tony Stark's facial hair is jarring compared to what it is now.
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier - So, so awesome. The Falcon is great, and Black Widow gets perhaps her most screen time in this one, which is great. Get her her own movie already! It has a legit case for number one, but I mark it down just because it isn't as fun.
1. The Avengers - The Avengers vs. Loki was the perfect match up, and this one is a fun thrill ride throughout. It's the gold standard for what a comic book movie can and should be.

The Oscar's

My wife and I went over to a friend's house Sunday night to watch the 82nd Academy Awards. It was the first time we had planned an evening around watching the Oscar's, or any other awards show for that matter. I guess that means we're getting old. As is custom with these sorts of things, we all filled out ballots to see how many of the categories we could predict correctly. But I'll get to that later. Here are some notes I took down during the telecast:

- I felt particularly prepared for this Oscar telecast. Not only had we seen all 10 movies nominated for Best Picture (see my brief thoughts on them here), but we had seen many of the other movies that were nominated for Academy Awards, including Julie & Julia, Coraline (which we actually watched just a couple of hours before leaving for my friends house), Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince, Star Trek & Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. But there were still a few we missed that I was putting in my mental queue throughout the night: The Messenger, Crazy Heart, In The Loop, A Single Man, The Secret of the Kells and The Princess & The Frog.

- Speaking of those last two animated movies, I want to see them chiefly to see how it is possible that those two movies were nominated over Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, which I thought was phenomenal. The other real big snub to me was Sam Rockwell being left off Best Actor in favor of Morgan Freeman. I didn't see Invictus, but by all accounts it was a) not a good movie and b) Freeman's role wasn't a dominant one. Certainly, it had to have been less dominant than Rockwell's in Moon.

- Carey Mulligan: shoulder-length brown hair > short blond hair, but she's still a stunner either way. And in a bit of an upset, she was at least as attractive, if not more, than Zoe Saldana. Although I think a lot of that had to due with Saldana's dress, which was sort of strange.

- When I first saw Neil Patrick Harris come out on stage, I was thinking, 'Really? Him again?' But he actually did a marvelous job.

- I didn't get the Meryl Streep Hitler memorabilia joke, but I'd like to. Someone help me out with that.

- I thought it was funny how they made deliberate attempts to keep young people invested in the show, both with the jokes in the opening comedy routine from Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, and then later with the horror montage and by having Taylor Lautner present an award. The funnies Lautner moment though was when they showed him during the touching John Hughes tribute, and he had that "Who the hell is John Hughes?" look on his face. Ah, youth.

- I loved the fact that the guys from Up were wearing the grape soda pins. It's the little things like that that keep Pixar on top year after year.

- I still don't understand why Joe Montana is endorsing Skechers.

- For all the talk of shortening the program, the night was an epic fail from ABC in terms of keeping it in the allotted time. 57 minutes into the telecast only four awards had been handed out. At that point, they rattled off a number of the less popular awards, but it really shouldn't have taken 57 minutes to do four awards. And while steps like adding a backstage cam for extra thank yous and eliminating the best original song performances were a nice idea, they seemed to make up for it with the extra musical number by NPH, the interpretative dance, the extra opening joke time for Martin & Baldwin (I can't call it a monologue because there was two of them. What do you call that?), the Paranormal Activity skit and the horror montage. Some of that was fun to watch, particularly the opening bits, but, I mean don't they have rehearsals for these things? It's unfathomable to me that you could run 32 minutes over by accident. And while maybe that wouldn't have been a big deal a few years back, we now live in the DVR world. At my friend's house, we had to stop watching on two separate occasions in order to go live and tape the next program so that we didn't miss anything that was happening. Not only was that annoying but we also messed up and had one of the awards spoiled for us. Thanks, ABC.

- I can't tell what delighted me more, that women interrupting during the Music From Prudence acceptance speech, or the fact that "Kanye'd" is now part of our lexicon. I think the latter, mainly because I feel bad for the director after reading a little about why that happened, but I still like saying "Kanye'd."

- Charlize Theron could have easily played the "huge b*tch" role in Deuce Bigalow. She's just so tall. And the massive bulls eyes on her boobies weren't helping the matter. (And yes, in case you're wondering, I did just work in a Deuce Bigalow reference into my Oscar post. Boo yah!)

- My friend was very impressed with Demi Moore's outfit until they panned to her feet, and she decried Moore's "stripper shoes." I felt like that had to be mentioned.

- Can we stop pretending that Kristen Stewart is attractive? Because she's definitely not.

- There is a little known rule that whenever dancers are present at an awards show Jennifer Lopez has to be there to either present them or be shown in the crowd during their performance.

- I thought it was interesting that they had Gerard Butler and Bradley Cooper present the award for Best Visual Effects. The Academy knew they had to find a way to keep women invested during the geeky Best Visual Effects award, and they scored big time with that presenting duo. Both my wife and our friend (who's a girl) thoroughly approved. As did I (wink)!

- It was kind of cool that they had people related to the director or lead actor in some way presenting the clips for Best Picture. Right up until they had Jason Bateman present for Up In The Air. Then it was no longer clever, since he was actually in that movie. They couldn't find Jennifer Garner, Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Katie Holmes, J.K. Simmons, Aaron Eckhart or one of Jason Reitman's other previous stars do that clip? Or someone tangential to Clooney, like Brad Pitt or Matt Damon? That just seemed weird that they would go to all that trouble with the other nine movies, and then not with Up In The Air.

- The funniest line of the night outside of the opening comedy routine had to be when Juan Jose Campanella, the director of El Secreto de Sus Ojos quipped, "I'm just glad they didn't consider Na'vi a foreign language."

- Julianne Moore is underrated. Morgan Freeman looked drunk.

- What a ride for Gabourey Sidibe, nominated for Best Actress in her first-ever role, and at the Oscar's she was introduced by Oprah Winfrey, who also was nominated for an Oscar in her first-ever role (though it was for Best Supporting Actress).

- The Best Speech of the night came down to three people - Mo'Nique, Michael Giacchino (who won for Best Original Score in Up) and Sandra Bullock. It was almost a tie between the latter two, and only because they chose different directions with their speech. Both were very touching, but for different reasons. Bullock went the traditional route, thanking those close to her, including her mom. Meanwhile, Giacchino's message to young people that they pursue their dreams no matter what anyone says was very uplifting as well. But Bullock's speech also had lesbian jokes, so she wins.

- You knew that Kathryn Bigelow had won Best Director the moment Barbara Streisand's name was announced. There was literally no other reason for her to be there. She hasn't appeared in a movie since Meet The Fockers in 2004.

- I think that I have a hard time getting worked up over the incredibly political decisions that the Academy makes these days. They're pretty predictable. On the one hand, you have a movie that literally made a billion dollars, and has already been so influential that at least two movies that were slated to be released less than six months after it were converted to 3D in post-production (Alice in Wonderland and Clash of the Titans). Avatar is literally a movie that may wind up saving the movie business and boosting television sales as well. On the other hand, you have a movie that does a very nice job of attacking the war on Iraq and how terrifying it is to be a soldier in today's military, and to boot the movie was directed by a woman. The Hurt Locker was going to get picked ten times out of ten. The sad thing is that this is exactly what the Academy claimed they were trying to avoid when they bumped to ten Best Picture nominees. All I know is that in 30 years - hell, in 15 years - no one is going to remember 2009 as the year of The Hurt Locker, they will remember it as the year of Avatar. And all other things being equal, that should count for something. In years where there isn't a standout either critically or at the box office, all bets are off. But that's not what we had here. But is it worth getting worked up over? No, not really.

- Finally, let's take a look at my predictions. There are 24 categories in all, and I correctly picked the winner in 13 of the 24 categories. But five of them are not dedicated to American, full-length theatrical releases - Best Foreign Film, Best Documentary Feature, Best Documentary (short subject), Best Short Film (Animated) and Best Short Film (Live Action). There were two others categories where I hadn't seen any of the nominated films - Best Costume Design and Best Original Song. And while I certainly offered a prediction on those seven categories (I even nailed Best Documentary Feature, as I had heard of The Cove), it was in the other 17 that I felt qualified to offer an opinion. And I correctly predicted 12 of these 17. On my Twitter feed, I correctly nailed six of the seven biggies before the telecast - Picture, Director, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress and Animated feature. The only one I missed was Best Actor, and perhaps my opinion would be different had I seen Crazy Heart. In the other 10 categories, I suppose you'll have to take my word for it, but I nailed six. However, my strategy with these 10 categories was fairly simple - vote for Avatar. I voted for Avatar in six of these 10 categories. In fact, three of the four that I predicted incorrectly were categories in which I voted for Avatar, but in which The Hurt Locker took home the statue. In the fourth, Best Original Screenplay, I had voted for Inglorious Basterds. Nevertheless, I feel pretty good about my showing, not a bad job by me. I'll try to do better next year.

Best Picture 2009

Last night, the Mrs. and myself took in Precious. Today, we took in A Serious Man, The Hurt Locker and An Education. With these four movies, we have seen all 10 Best Picture nominees for 2009. As promised, here is my ranking of them, in order of enjoyment:

1. Avatar
2. Up
3. Up In The Air
4. Inglorious Basterds
5. An Education
6t. District 9
6t. Precious
8. A Serious Man
9. The Hurt Locker
10. The Blind Side

For the record, my wife's top three were Up, Inglorious Basterds and An Education.

I suppose the surprise here is that my enjoyment of The Hurt Locker doesn't seem to match up with critics. To me, the movie could have been much shorter. To me, the lessons we learned in the end, that Sanborn wanted a child and that James just wanted to keep diffusing bombs, could have been dropped on us much sooner, and we would have enjoyed the movie just the same. And the third main character, Eldridge, is the same character the entire movie. We never learn anything about him other than that he doesn't want to die, which is such an unique character in a military movie. I can't imagine how they thought that up! Also, for a movie where the objectives are to diffuse bombs, I wasn't really on the edge of my seat for any of it. James may have appeared psychotic to his two subordinates, but he also always seemed to know what he was doing. When he tells the superior officer that he had successfully diffused 873 bombs, it seemed that from that point on there was little to no danger of him dying. Odds are if you were going to die from a bomb going off, it would have happened before the 873rd time. Crazy, I know. In any case, it's a good movie, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the others.

This weekend we also took in Precious. On the surface, Precious and District 9 are incredibly different movies, but for me they share a couple of similarities. Like District 9, Precious is likely a movie that will continually be on the cusp of my favorite 100 movies of all-time. Like District 9, it will likely always be on the outside of that list due to it's lack of rewatchability. Precious was a thoroughly moving piece of cinema, and I think that people that focus on the fact that pictures move or that the dream sequences weren't believable - side note, duh, that's why they're called "dreams" - are missing the point. The movie's central strength was its heart, and no amount of camera tricks or flashiness should be able to confuse that point.

A cautionary tale where things turn out mostly all right in the end, An Education struck just the right chord. As a viewer, you are initially hesitant of David, but as time goes by he becomes more and more convincing, and when he asks Jenny to marry him, you think to yourself, 'Well, this is it. He's going to do right by her now.' And when he still turns out to be a bad guy, it's a bit of a punch in the stomach. The blow is dulled only by the fact that she is so young and that she still has her future in front of her if he she wants to fight for it. I initially had this one ranked seventh, but the more I think about it the more I like it. It moved briskly, and it was a rare romantic movie that you wouldn't call a "chick flick."

A Serious Man was in the Coen Brothers signature to be sure. And while it was slow in parts, that agonizing for Larry is what makes the film great. You have to simmer and stew along with him as he slowly loses his mind, house and family, and I think many of us can relate to feeling more decisive in our dreams or in our imagination than we are in real life. In the end though, I can't shake the feeling that Larry was a little too helpless. I mean, no one can be a door mat like that at home and be an almost-tenured professor at the same time, right? I don't know, maybe they can. In any case, I think I'll enjoy A Serious Man more upon repeated viewings, and I feel like The Hurt Locker and The Blind Side will annoy me more on repeated viewings, so that's why I ranked A Serious Man where I did.

Now, please don't mistake my preferences for what I think will happen tomorrow. It seems as though there are only two movies with a chance of winning - Avatar and The Hurt Locker - and as much as I enjoyed Avatar, I really don't see it winning Best Picture. Which leaves The Hurt Locker. It certainly wouldn't be the worst Best Picture winner ever, but I don't think it would get my vote if I voted for such things. In the end though, the real winner is the Academy. I can say without a doubt that I would not have bothered to see all ten of these movies if they weren't nominated, and I think that probably is true, if not more true, for a lot of people. The question then becomes, will diluting the prestige of being a Best Picture nominee be balanced by the potential for greater box office receipts be worth it? I don't think it's a question that can be answered this year, but it's certainly something to ponder.

Avatar

Tonight, I went to the midnight showing of Avatar with a friend, sparing my wife, who I have dragged to many midnight showings, none of which she ever wanted to attend, but did because she's the best. But I digress. In the first sentence.

I was blown away by Avatar. The world of Pandora, its inhabitants and their modes of communication, are stunning. I say "modes of communication" rather than "language" because the Na'vi people communicate with the planet and its animals as well as they do with each other.

But I was more blown away when I got home. I generally don't like to read movie reviews of a movie I am highly anticipating before I head to the multiplex, and this case was no different. However, I did happen to read the title of David Chen's review on SlashFilm - "Epic Filmmaking, Epically Bad Dialogue" - inadvertently as I was scrolling through the site last week. So I took that observation with me into the film. Upon my return tonight, or this morning, whichever you prefer, I revisited and read that review, along with Russ Fischer's, Owen Gleiberman's and Peter Travers'. They all reference the same thing as Chen - bad dialogue. And this is why movie critics are generally ignored by the public.

The problem with complaining about dialogue is that these - and most other reviewers - fail to see the elemental issue. This is how normal people talk. These reviews complain about dialogue such as "fight terror with terror," and call it "stilted." Stephen Lang, who plays Colonel Miles Quartich, is described as having "bitter intensity," as a "vicious military roughneck," and possibly the "most intense villain of the year." Forgive me if I think a character described as such isn't about to deliver a Shakespearean soliloquy. "Fight terror with terror" is exactly how this man would talk.

Which leads us back to the critics, who for the most part have two fundamental problems. First, they spend so much time watching "films" that are so disconnected from reality that they have a hard time appreciating it. Now, I have never met any of these reviewers, nor the people I grew up reading in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, or read later in the Boston Globe and Denver Post. But I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that their jobs preclude them from interacting too much with military personnel. Now, that's not to say that I have a wealth of first-hand experience myself, but from the little I have seen, Avatar's "stilted" dialogue actually rang very true. The second problem is that critics are paid to be critical. No one wants to be the critic who says a movie is perfect, and so when presented with a visual masterwork like Avatar, the easy money is to rip apart the story and its dialogue. Was the story of Avatar perfect? No, but it also didn't spend a lot of time holding your hand either. You learn that the military presence is not actually the US military, but rather contracted forces, in one line. If you missed that line, tough. I love that. But two of the reviews I read complain that the story was rushed. You simply can't win with critics.

In the end, Avatar isn't perfect. It could have easily been longer, but I read somewhere that IMAX movies set a time limit, necessitating the two hours, forty minute total run time. I hope that a Director's Cut does emerge, a longer cut of the movie that does build on the story more. But to say it was rushed, or that the dialogue is awful, is taking things too far, and is one of the reasons why average moviegoers have, and will likely continue, to ignore movie critics.

My Top 100 Movies, Ver. 3.0

My top 100 movies is an idea I like to have fun with more than anything. It's completely unscientific, and it's certainly not an AFI ranking of the "best" movies ever. It's just the movies that I enjoy the most. This is my third go round, I do one per year. Usually I do it in the summer, but this summer I never really got around to it. For the first two runs, check here and here. This year, not as many films broke through to the top 100, though the ones that did I think were well deserved, and I think I cut out some good fat from the previous year's list. Let's start there.

Movies That Fell Out of My Top 100 (Previous Year's Rank)
- i Robot (54)
- Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones (58)
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (66)
- National Treasure (74)
- XXX (the one with Vin Diesel) (78)
- Ocean's Eleven (new) (83)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (92)
- The Burbs (93)
- Knocked Up (98)

Looking back, the first three on this list were just not well acted. I had forgiven this point because the action is really first rate, and I enjoyed the plots, even if they are a bit far fetched. But there was no longer room for them, enjoy them though I do. National Treasure and XXX suffer from the same problem, with National Treasure losing points also for plot ridiculousness and for its putrid sequel. Is it fair to tie movies to their sequels? No, not really, but only in rare exceptions (like say taking 20+ years to make three prequels) do you get to separate them in my opinion. The final four on this list simply got bumped for better movies.

Movies That Jumped Into My Top 100
93. Se7en - For some reason, this movie had always evaded me. I finally saw it this year after my boss' fervent and frequent recommendation, and it didn't disappoint. It kept me on my toes the entire time, and if anything, I wish it had been a little longer, that we had more time to flesh out the back and forth between Kevin Spacey and Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt.

92. Inglourious Basterds - Quentin Tarantino at his seat squirmingly finest. As it so often does in a Tarantino film, everything came together beautifully at the end. I was sort of hoping that the three daughters of the Frenchman in the opening scene would be some sort of expert killing team and would murder all of the Germans out in the car while Col. Landa was inside, chatting and drinking milk with the father. Brad Pitt was great in his role, and the only thing likely to keep from an Oscar win is the fact that he really wasn't on screen all that much throughout the movie.

91. Fletch - Another movie that had slipped through the cracks. I feel like if I have a hard time grasping how funny Chevy Chase really was in the '80's, and I at least have seen (and own) Caddyshack and Spies Like Us, then how will today's kids know? It's not going to be from his role in Community, as he is sort of one-dimensional on that show. But Fletch was teriffic, the way he always was flying by the seat of his pants yet seemed perfectly in control at the same time. If only he had been a Clippers fan instead of a Lakers fan. Oh well.

84. Zombieland - This movie is just too much fun. It may not have the most original plot (zombies want to eat us, kill them first) but it does have some great acting - in addition to the always solid Jesse Eisenberg and Woddy Harrelson, I am a big Emma Stone fan. With Superbad, The House Bunny, The Rocker and now Zombieland, she has put together a pretty solid comedy resume, and is pretty easy on the eyes to boot. Paired with the great acting was some great action, and a narrative plot device that was forgivable for its humor. And it had a great Bill Murray cameo. This is a movie I can easily see myself watching over and over.

81. Lethal Weapon - The first of the four part saga had somehow evaded my rankings. While I don't enjoy it as much as I enjoyed Part II, this is a fantastic action movie and I had to get it into the ranking, bumping it just ahead of Lethal Weapon IV.

64. Star Trek (new) - You couldn't ask for a better reboot to the once proud franchise, unless of course you are a hardcore Trekkie, and then nothing was going to satisfy you. But I think hardcore Trekkies had sort of lost the right to complain about the direction of their favorite franchise. Prior movies like Insurrection and Nemesis had been completely forgettable footnotes in the Star Trek catalogue, and it was time for some new blood. And while I have heard that some things were changed - for better or worse is debatable I suppose - I have been going back and rewatching the original movies, and I have found that some things weren't changed. For instance, the scene in the reboot where Kirk defeats/cheats the Kobayashi Maru test is just the same as Kirk describes how he beat it in The Wrath of Khan. In all, for someone like me who remembers the existence of the glory days of the shows/movies if not the details, it was a job well done by J.J. Abrams and Co.

42. Slumdog Millionaire - I am happy to say that I was in on the greatness of this movie early. I read a lot about it before it was released, and scored tickets to see a screening of it before it was released as well. Unfortunately my wife was unable to attend that screening with me, so I ended up seeing it twice in the theatre. I enjoyed it so much that I even bought the soundtrack. It is just a fantastic romantic adventure, the likes of which are rarely seen in today's Hollywood. If you don't melt when Jamal kisses Latika's scar at the end of the movie, then you must be a cyborg, because you clearly have no heart.

34. Up - This wasn't a romantic adventure the same way Slumdog was, but it was a true adventure of fulfilling one's dreams, even if it came 40-50 years later than planned. It's the kind of movie that makes you cling to hope, and as we all know, hope is a good thing. I furiously debated whether or not to bump this ahead of Wall-E and crown it my favorite Pixar movie ever, but I just couldn't do it, slotting it in just one behind the lovable robot. Maybe next year after I have had a chance to watch Up over and over on DVD, but for right now, no.

28. The Hangover - This one loses points for sheer ridiculousness - as Bill Simmons points out in the Book of Basketball, it takes a pretty big leap of faith to think they did all those things during 10 hours. And it takes a smaller leap of faith to believe they could keep a tiger concealed in their room and then their car without anyone finding out about it. I'm also getting a tiny bit tired of Ken Jeong's shtick, but it was still pretty funny. But other than that, this movie was absolutely hilarious. The Rain Man parody, the scenes with the baby, getting the wrong Doug, talking the cops out of being arrested, having the tux guy throw tuxes to them while driving, the re-tard, the wolf pack, Mike Tyson. Classic.

Biggest Movers (movies that were already in the Top 100, but moved around in it)
88 to 63 - Forgetting Sarah Marshall - This movie is permanently house on my DVR. You can pretty much pick it up at any point in the movie and get a good laugh. It keeps moving up the list (and may very well move up more next year) because even the sad, depressing parts are still a little funny. It doesn't bring you way down the way Knocked Up does.

35 to 65 - Transformers: The Movie - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was so bad that it knocked this movie down significantly. While the original is still pretty fun and still has Megan Fox leaning over a hood, the sequel was so god-awful that I can't imagine wanting to pop in the original as frequently anymore.

67 to 100 - Spider-Man 2 - The same thing has happened with Spidey. I just don't pop this one in anymore, and it's at least partially due to how bad part three was. I'm starting to see all kinds of stories about part four, but they are going to have to do a damn good job to take the bad taste of three out of my mouth. Spider-Man was one of my favorite comics as a kid, so that stayed the execution of part two from the list for one more year, but it may be a slow death in the end.

So that's it. A solid but unspectacular year at the movies. Nothing changed in my top 25, and only nine movies pushed their way in, as opposed to 11 the year before. Below is the full list, with the previous two year's rank in parentheses. Movies that I'm looking forward to seeing that may end up on the list next year include upcoming releases like Avatar, The Men Who Stare At Goats, Up In The Air, A Couple of Dicks, The Losers, Kick-Ass, Iron Man 2, The Expendables, as well as movies in my Netflix queue that I haven't seen, such as Sugar, Gran Torino, the Alien(s) trilogy, Hoosiers and Spirited Away.

Top 100 Movies (Ver 2.0 rank, Ver 1.0 rank)
100. Spider-Man 2 (67, 67)
99. Miracle (100, 95)
98. Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle (94, 73)
97. Superbad (99, -)
96. The Girl Next Door (97, 74)
95. Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark (96, -)
94. Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels (95, 93)
93. Se7en (-, -)
92. Inglourious Basterds (-, -)
91. Fletch (-, -)
90. Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (86, 81)
89. Mallrats (89, -)
88. Slap Shot (91, 84)
87. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (89, -)
86. The Bourne Supremacy (85, 88)
85. The Silence of the Lambs (84, 80)
84. Zombieland (-, -)
83. Blue Brothers (87, 97)
82. Lethal Weapon IV (82, 76)
81. Lethal Weapon (-, -)
80. 48 Hours (81, 75)
79. Saving Silverman (80, 68)
78. Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade (79, 72)
77. Running Scared (75, 56)
76. Die Hard With a Vengeance (76, 69)
75. Back To The Future 2 (62, 65)
74. Mean Girls (77, 70)
73. Monsters, Inc. (73, -)
72. Ratatouille (72, -)
71. Rounders (71, 64)
70. Thank You For Smoking (70, -)
69. Wedding Crashers (69, 58)
68. Godfather II (65, -)
67. Rocky II (64, 63)
66. Rocky (63, 62)
65. Transformers: The Movie (35, 22)
64. Star Trek (new) (-, -)
63. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (88, -)
62. Aladdin (68, 98)
61. Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black (61, 60)
60. Bad Boys (60, 59)
59. Lethal Weapon II (59, 57)
58. The Bourne Identity (57, 53)
57. Menace II Society (56, 52)
56. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (55, 48)
55. Super Troopers (53, -)
54. The Departed (52, 51)
53. Back To The Future (51, 50)
52. Total Recall (50, 49)
51. The Fugitive (49, 47
50. Coming To America (48, 46)
49. Independence Day (47, 44)
48. Toy Story (46, -)
47. Goldeneye (44, 42)
46. The Rock (43, 23)
45. Beverly Hills Cop (45, 43)
44. Stripes (42, 40)
43. Enemy of the State (41, 38)
42. Slumdog Millionaire (-, -)
41. Batman Begins (31, 14)
40. The Program (40, 37)
39. True Lies (39, 36)
38. Spaceballs (38, 35)
37. Happy Gilmore (33, 33)
36. The Incredibles (37, 41)
35. Live Free or Die Hard (32, 27)
34. Up (-, -)
33. Wall-E (34, -)
32. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (26, 25)
31. Ghostbusters (30, 31)
30. The Godfather (36, 34)
29. The Terminator (28, 29)
28. The Hangover (-, -)
27. Trading Places (29, 30)
26. Top Gun (27, 26)
25. Ironman (25, -)
24. Goodfellas (24, 24)
23. The Princess Bride (23, 28)
22. Billy Madison (22, 45)
21. Casino (21, 18)
20. V for Vendetta (20, 21)
19. Die Hard (19, 20)
18. Animal House (18, 19)
17. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Extended Version (17, 16)
16. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Extended Version (16, 15)
15. Office Space (15, 13)
14. The Simpsons Movie (14, 6)
13. Scarface (13, 11)
12. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (12, 17)
11. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (11, 12)
10. Major League (10, 10)
9. Friday (9, 9)
8. The Dark Knight (8, -)
7. Gladiator (7, 8)
6. Old School (6, 7)
5. The Shawshank Redemption (5, 5)
4. Braveheart (4, 4)
3. Star Wars, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (3, 3)
2. Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (2, 2)
1. Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope (1, 1)

Notes:
Nine Best Picture winners in Top 100:
- Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
- The Departed (2006)
- LOTR: Return of the King (2003)
- Gladiator (2000)
- Braveheart (1995)
- The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
- Rocky (1976)
- The Godfather, Part II (1974)
- The Godfather (1972)

22 Movies in the Top 100 of All-Time World Box Office in Top 100:
- LOTR: Return of the King (#2)
- The Dark Knight (4)
- LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring (18)
- Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (19)
- Independence Day (21)
- Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope (23)
- Spider-Man 2 (26)
- Transformers: The Movie (33)
- Up (36)
- The Incredibles (40)
- Ratatouille (43)
- Star Wars, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (52)
- Iron Man (53)
- Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (60)
- Wall-E (61)
- Monsters, Inc. (62)
- The Simpsons Movie (64)
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day (66)
- Aladdin (67)
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (68)
- The Hangover (77)
- Gladiator (81)

My Top 100 Movies, Ver. 2.0

About a year ago, I put together my first top 100 movies list. If you'd like to take a look, here's the link. As I said then, and will say now, these aren't what I think are the best 100 movies of all-time, but rather the movies that I enjoy the most.

Here are some of the movies that I was considering for Ver. 2.0 that ultimately didn't make the cut. In alphabetical order: 300, Air Force One, Armageddon, Baby Mama, Beverly Hills Cop 2, Big Daddy, Chinatown, Cloverfield, The Devil Wears Prada, Finding Nemo, The French Connection, Hellboy, Jurassic Park, Lethal Weapon, My Cousin Vinny, No Country For Old Men, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Shooter, Shrek, Speed, Taxi Driver, The Mummy, Traffic and Training Day.

Movies like Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder, Eagle Eye and the Clone Wars movie may make the cut next year, but I have yet to see them!

Here are the movies that dropped out of my Top 100:
- Sin City (100)
- The Boondock Saints (99)
- The Chronicles of Riddick (94)
- Van Wilder (92)
- A Few Good Men (91)
- Road Trip (90)
- Mystery, Alaska (89)
- Swordfish (87)
- Backdraft (86)
- The 40-Year Old Virgin (83)
- Superman Returns (82)
- Con Air (79)
- Indiana Jones: Temple of Doom (77)
- Family Guy, Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (61)
- Spider-Man (32)

A couple of notes. First, my system isn't perfect, which is why the movies counting back from 100 weren't the only ones eliminated. I took the Family Guy movie out because it wasn't a theatrical release, and it just felt wrong being there. Spider-Man suffered from its comparison to contemporary peers. Watching it again now, it just doesn't stack up.

Here are their replacements:
99. Superbad - Just a hilarious coming of age comedy with two guys who are a riot. Plus a McLovin.
96. Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark - My generation grew up more with Temple of Doom as their first Indiana, but when you go back and watch this one it blows Temple of Doom away. Sorry, Short-Round!
93. The Burbs - An oversight. There are a few movies in this new list that I watched a ton on VHS or cable, and as a result now don't own on DVD. The Burbs is one of them.
90. Mallrats - This is another. My favorite Kevin Smith movie.
89. Ferris Bueller's Day Off - This is yet another. My sister and I taped this off of Showtime or Cinemax during a free preview weekend when we were kids, and at the time it was our only non-Disney movie in the house. As such, we must have watched it 100 times. Easily.
88. Forgetting Sarah Marshall - Never before has a man's penis been so funny. This movie was a riot.
73. Monsters, Inc. - Though we own this one on DVD, it somehow missed my radar the first time around.
72. Ratatouille - I do not believe I had watched this one when I first made my rankings, but it broke the record for "most times watching a Netflix movie before sending it back." I think I watched it eight or nine times.
70. Thank You For Smoking - This movie gets funnier every time I watch it. A lot of people are now beginning to know who Aaron Eckhart is, thanks to his incredible performance in The Dark Knight. But I was hooked on him after his performance in this movie. "That's not an argument, it's a negotiation."
65. Godfather II - Sometimes I get carried away. Most people like Godfather II better than the original. I do not, and have the original at 36th on my list. But that doesn't mean it wasn't pure genius. For some reason, I talked myself into leaving it off my original list. As Bill Simmons would say, the lesson, as always, is that I'm an idiot.
53. Super Troopers - The Broken Lizard guys will likely never come close to topping this movie. Club Dread was decent, as was Beerfest. But Super Troopers will be their gold standard. I don't know if you would necessarily call it a "stoner" comedy, but it comes close. Either way, it's hilarious. Who wants a mustache ride?
46. Toy Story - For me, the defining "watched too much on VHS, don't own on DVD, so it slipped my mind" movie. This was the movie that started it all for Pixar at the box office, and it remains a classic. I didn't remember how much I enjoyed the movie until we went on the new Toy Story ride at DisneyWorld this summer.
34. Wall-E - It may be a bit presumptious of me to have this ranked ahead of Toy Story. But, like many movies this year, Wall-E had a ton of hype, and delivered on that hype big-time. I find it amusing that some people want to make it out to have a political bent. When I hear stuff like that, all I can do is sigh and shake my head. Sometimes people make too much out of things, and I think this is one of those cases. Even if the message in the movie was done so intentionally with the purpose of fanning the political flames, it doesn't matter. It's an awesome movie either way.
26. Iron Man - This movie was everything a comic book movie can and should be. I was sure that nothing could beat it as a comic book movie (V for Vendetta doesn't count to me, since I didn't know it was a comic book/graphic novel when I saw it) until...
8. The Dark Knight - This movie changed a lot for me. It's easily the best comic book movie ever made, and I can't ever see anything topping it. It's also the best, or second best sequel ever made, depending on whether or not you view The Empire Strikes Back as a sequel. It forced me to drastically change my rankings. I had to bump movies out of the top ten. The Dark Knight illuminated a lot of what was missing in Batman Begins, and as a result I bumped that movie further down the list. Heath Ledger didn't just play The Joker, he WAS The Joker. Everyone in the cast was fantastic. Even when they screwed with basic Batman doctrine, like when they reinvented how Harvey Dent became Two-Face, they pulled it off brilliantly. We've already seen it in the theater twice, and if it still is in theaters come September (after we watch some other summer movies) then we'll probably see it a third time. That a comic book movie - one that had seen its star dwindle with the proliferation of comic books in the late '90's and 2000's - has the chance to knock off Titanic for biggest box office gross ever, a movie which was centered around one of the biggest historical moments of the 20th century, is absolutely astonishing.

Here is the list in full. Be advised that most movies that remained from Ver 1.0 to Ver. 2.0 - outside of my top five - have been switched around in order. This will likely be a running theme, as I don't think my top 100 will ever reach a point when it is set in stone forever. Not only are there thousands of movies in my future, but there are plenty in my past as well. Whenever our new releases on Netflix dry up, I have taken to queuing up older movies. Recently, I've watched movies like Chinatown, Taxi Driver, The French Connection, Once Upon A Time in America and The Apartment. There are several older movies like that in the queue now.

Here they are, with the Version 1.0 ranking in parentheses.

100. Miracle (95)
99. Superbad (-)
98. Knocked Up (96)
97. The Girl Next Door (74)
96. Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark (-)
95. Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels (93)
94. Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle (73)
93. The Burbs (-)
92. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Extended Version (85)
91. Slap Shot (84)
90. Mallrats (-)
89. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (-)
88. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (-)
87. Blues Brothers (97)
86. Star Wars, Episode III: Return of the Sith (81)
85. The Bourne Supremacy (88)
84. The Silence of the Lambs (80)
83. Ocean's Eleven (new) (78)
82. Lethal Weapon IV (76)
81. 48 Hours (75)
80. Saving Silverman (68)
79. Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade (72)
78. XXX (71)
77. Mean Girls (70)
76. Die Hard With a Vengeance (69)
75. Running Scared (old) (56)
74. National Treasure (55)
73. Monsters, Inc. (-)
72. Ratatouille (-)
71. Rounders (64)
70. Thank You For Smoking (-)
69. Wedding Crashers (58)
68. Aladdin (98)
67. Spider-Man 2 (67)
66. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (66)
65. Godfather II (-)
64. Rocky II (63)
63. Rocky (62)
62. Back to the Future 2 (65)
61. Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black (60)
60. Bad Boys (59)
59. Lethal Weapon II (57)
58. Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones (54)
57. The Bourne Identity (53)
56. Menace II Society (52)
55. Dodgeball: A TRUE Underdog Story (48)
54. i Robot (39)
53. Super Troopers (-)
52. The Departed (51)
51. Back to the Future (50)
50. Total Recall (49)
49. The Fugitive (47)
48. Coming To America (46)
47. Independence Day (44)
46. Toy Story (-)
45. Beverly Hills Cop (43)
44. Goldeneye (42)
43. The Rock (23)
42. Stripes (40)
41. Enemy of the State (38)
40. The Program (37)
39. True Lies (36)
38. Spaceballs (35)
37. The Incredibles (41)
36. The Godfather (34)
35. Transformers: The Movie (22)
34. Wall-E (-)
33. Happy Gilmore (33)
32. Live Free or Die Hard (27)
31. Batman Begins (14)
30. Ghostbusters (31)
29. Trading Places (30)
28. The Terminator (29)
27. Top Gun (26)
26. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (25)
25. Iron Man (-)
24. Goodfellas (24)
23. The Princess Bride (28)
22. Billy Madison (45)
21. Casino (18)
20. V for Vendetta (21)
19. Die Hard (20)
18. Animal House (19)
17. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Extended Version (16)
16. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, Extended Version (15)
15. Office Space (13)
14. The Simpsons Movie (6)
13. Scarface (11)
12. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (17)
11. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (12)
10. Major League (10)
9. Friday (9)
8. The Dark Knight (-)
7. Gladiator (8)
6. Old School (7)
5. The Shawshank Redemption (5)
4. Braveheart (4)
3. Star Wars, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (3)
2. Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (2)
1. Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope (1)

Come back next year for Version 3.0!

Summer Movies 2008: One Month Later

Just over a month in, and I have to tell you, it's going to be hard to top Iron Man this summer. That movie was everything a blockbuster is supposed to be. It would definitely crack my Top 30 were I to re-do that post (I probably will at some point). I still think Dark Knight can be 1B to its 1A, but it will be hard to top.

Indiana Jones & The Crystal Skull certainly will not, however. Maybe I tried to analyze it too much and couldn't enjoy it like Sarah said, but the story just didn't suck me in at all. Opinions of others seem to be mixed, but Summer said she liked it enough to get the DVD.

Harold and Kumar 2 was incredibly disappointing, and looks to have suffered from Hollywood-ization. The jokes were the same as they were in the original, and that was the good news. The plot was terrible, as well as far fetched. In the original, the plot of two guys driving around in New Jersey on one night is completely reasonable, but in this one they go to Cuba, Florida, the "Deep South," Texas and then Amsterdam. I'm sorry, just a little bit too ridiculous for me. And Kumar got fat. Nothing says "I phoned in this movie" like gaining 20 or 30 pounds.

Baby Mama was absolutely hilarious, but it got pretty serious towards the end. There wasn't anything wrong with that per se, I just felt a little tricked by that in the sense that the trailers were all comedy, no drama. But I liked it a lot, and would probably buy it on DVD.

We didn't see Narnia and don't plan too, and we don't seem to be in the minority there. Speed Racer seems like it fell by the wayside, but maybe I'll still see it.

Summer Movies 2008

This is going to be a hell of a summer for movies. There are at least 24 movies that my wife and I are excited about seeing from now until the end of August. All the genres are on the docket: comic book adventures, comedies, animation and mysteries/thrillers. First, we'll run my wife's list. She didn't rank them all in number order, but of the 24 choices I gave her, here are the seven she's most excited about:

1. Hancock
2. Wanted
3. Get Smart
4. X-Files: I Want To Believe
5. Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay
6. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
7. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I'm pretty sure she wants to see Wanted just because I told her I think it will suck, but that's mainly because I can't stand Angelina "Mother Theresa" Jolie. I'm surprised she didn't have Narnia on her list. She claims she doesn't need to see it in the theater, but I'm not buying it for a second. And while I'm disappointed she didn't have more comic book movies on her list, I am very excited about four of her movies, and am not opposed to any of her picks other than Wanted.

Here's my top 25, with release dates:
1. Iron Man (05/02)
2. The Dark Knight (07/18)
3. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (05/22)
4. The Incredible Hulk (06/13)
5. Wall-E (06/27)
6. Hancock (07/02)
7. Star Wars: The Clone Wars (08/15)
8. Pineapple Express (08/08)
9. Tropic Thunder (08/15)
10. Get Smart (06/20)
11. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (07/11)
12. Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay (04/25)
13. Baby Mama (04/25)
14. Speed Racer (05/09)
15. The Wackness (07/03)
16. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (08/01)
17. X-Files: I Want To Believe (07/25)
18. The Happening (06/13)
19. The Foot Fist Way (05/30)
20. Space Chimps (07/18)
21. Wanted (06/27)
22. Step Brothers (07/25)
23. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (05/16)
24. Towelhead (08/15)

I was going to have The Dark Knight at number one, but with the producers considering changing the movie because people are squeamish about the late Heath Ledger's more violent scenes, I am being cautious and bumping it down to number two. However, I'm diving right in on The Incredible Hulk, which despite rumored in-fighting on the production promises to deliver the goods that the first Hulk movie did not. I'm surprised the Star Wars animated film isn't getting more buzz, but I suppose it will after George Lucas' Indy 4 hype dies down. Or maybe Lucas doesn't want it to get hype...who knows. And while this is a big summer for comic book movies there are a ton of good comedies on the docket as well. You might notice that the Sex and the City movie wasn't listed. That's because it's going to be one of the crappiest movies ever released in a theater.

And it doesn't stop at the end of the summer. With Righteous Kill (09/12), Zack and Miri Make a Porno (10/31), RocknRolla (10/31), James Bond 22 (11/07), Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince (11/21) and The Day The Earth Stood Still (12/12), it's going to be a good year at the movies.

My Top 100 Movies

When you think about great movies, what do you think of? Do you think of the classics, or the guilty pleasures? Do you think of your childhood, or your adulthood? Do you want movies that make you think, or movies that make you cry? Do you want an epic film that you watch once or twice, or do you want something you will watch 100 times? It's questions like these that make it virtually impossible to create an unanimous opinion on what the greatest movies of all-time are. So when you read the list below, understand that it is MY list, and not THE list.

What kinds of movies do I like? Generally speaking, I like action, comedy, thrillers, mob movies and sci-fi. Not really hardcore sci-fi, I guess you could call it popular sci-fi. I like sports movies like anyone else, but unlike most people I hold them to higher standards, and frankly most sports movies just aren't that good. I'll watch almost anything once, but I have never acquired the taste for the horror or foreign film genres, and romance and drama aren't really prevalent in my collection, though they are certainly there.

Below is the list of my favorite 100 movies of all-time, with comments for each. I would say that the Top 15-20 on this list would be very tough to crack in the future, but I never say never. 21-100 is actually kind of fluid, and I've already rearranged it a few times. In addition, it's safe to say I've forgotten a few movies here, most likely because I do not own them, and had a harder time remembering them. There are also some movies, like "300", which I want to see and anticipate cracking this list but as of yet have not seen. Without further adieu, here we go, in reverse order:

100. Sin City - A graphic novel brought to life, this makes the list for all it does right, but much of the story is anti-climactic and tied together poorly. But anything with Jessica Alba dancing on a table gets bonus points.
99. The Boondock Saints - Note - Movies taking place in Boston or involving people from Boston get a big boost, and this one certainly qualifies. Big-time cult movie that isn't high on acting, but has a great story.
98. Aladdin - My Arab nature comes through. I've seen this movie roughly 100 times.
97. Blues Brothers - I too was once on a mission from God. Mission accomplished!
96. Knocked Up - This one has the best chance of rising drastically on this list in the coming years. Superbad could debut very high as well, I'm excited for that one.
95. Miracle - Great performance by Kurt Russell, and so much BU Terrier pride on hand, how can you go wrong?
94. The Chronicles of Riddick - I like the first one better, but this one still kicked ass. Vin Diesel is underrated.
93. Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels - Most people will probably say Snatch is better, but this story strikes more of a chord with me.
92. Van Wilder - Write that down.
91. A Few Good Men - Tom Cruise at his finest, and the always underrated Kevin Pollak checks in for the second time.
90. Road Trip - You know, 'cause it's your dog.
89. Mystery, Alaska - Ridiculous premise, but great movie, one of the few sports movies that had the balls to let the protagonists lose the big game.
88. The Bourne Supremacy - Ultimatum was good but ultimately didn't live up to the hype. Supremacy certainly did though. This one had more action but I liked the story of Identity better.
87. Swordfish - Halle Berry sunbathing, John Travolta body doubles, Hugh Jackman playing golf in his bath towel, Don Cheadle screaming at everyone and an ex-wife turned porn star. What's not in this movie?
86. Backdraft - If you don't tear up a little when Kurt Russell dies, well then you probably don't have a soul. Sorry, that sucks for you.
85. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Easily my least favorite of the three, and it's not close. I always thought they made Treebeard WAY too short.
84. Slap Shot - This will do it for hockey movies on the list, though you could make the case that this was really a comedy. I was just trying to capture the spirit of the thing, Reg.
83. The 40-Year Old Virgin - French toast, anyone?
82. Superman Returns - Way underrated, one of the saddest moments of 2006 was watching everyone flock to the Pirates sequel and ignore Superman Returns.
81. Star Wars Episode III: Return of the Sith - It was awesome, and it's not fair to George Lucas that everyone had their own idea of how it should end. Realistically, he did very well, but in the end I think some of the pieces didn't fit, and it didn't end the way I imagined it would. This one could be ranked too low though.
80. The Silence of the Lambs - Quid pro quo, Clarice. They really have bastardized this classic by turning it into a series.
79. Con Air - Great popcorn movie, and a truly incredible cast, including a "just-before-his-big-break" appearance by Dave Chappelle.
78. Ocean's Eleven (new) - Unless we're in Reno, we're in Barney.
77. Indiana Jones: The Temple of Doom - Kali-maaaaaaaaa!! Shorty!
76. Lethal Weapon IV - Why can't we be friends? It's fried rice, you plick!
75. 48 Hours - Eddie Murphy's first movie was an instant classic.
74. The Girl Next Door - Elisha Cuthbert melts the screen in this "redemption of a loser" tale. The juice was definitely worth the squeeze.
73. Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle - Ever hang glide to a White Castle? Ya, me either, but I wanted to after watching this movie.
72. Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade - We named the dog Indiana!
71. XXX - No, not some weird porno. The spy flick with Vin Diesel, Samuel L. and Asia Argento. File under Pleasures, Guilty.
70. Mean Girls - My girl Lindsay might smell like coke, but her sexy Santa dance with Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert and Amanda Seyfried is SO fetch.
69. Die Hard with a Vengeance - Do I believe 1/8 of the stuff that happens in this movie could really happen in real life? Hell no. That doesn't mean I don't love this movie. Is your brother an a***ole?
68. Saving Silverman - Why would that happen, in a world? I only know the Navy Seals signals! Is it possible for this movie to be more underrated?
67. Spider-Man 2 - Another great sequel that some get carried away with and say was better than the first one. Sorry, no. Still a very good movie though!
66. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines - Now here was a series that ended well. Even without James Cameron at the helm, this one didn't disappoint.
65. Back to the Future, Part 2 - I said I wish I could go back to the beginning of the season, and put some money on the Cubbies!
64. Rounders - The movie that started the poker revolution, and Damon and Norton are a dynamite duo. Oh yeah, and there's that Malkovich guy, and his Oreos.
63. Rocky II - Follow up to a classic was just as good. Hard to choose which sequel I liked better between II, III and IV (and the well done Rocky Balboa), but ultimately III and IV are a little too gimmicky.
62. Rocky - You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow.
61. Family Guy Presents: Stewie Griffin, The Untold Story - You know, feel free to say no to this, but...would you shave my coin purse?
60. Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black - The first one in the series of three, if you count the animated middle movie. Which I obviously do.
59. Bad Boys - The perfect buddy cop movie? Maybe, maybe not, but it certainly gets into the argument. Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?
58. Wedding Crashers - This one probably seems a little low given the nature of my list, but I just didn't like it as much as everyone else did. But it's still awesome, you old sailor you!
57. Lethal Weapon II - My favorite of the four Lethal Weapons. Diplomatic immunity!
56. Running Scared (old) - The most underrated movie of all-time? It could be - Billy Crystal, Gregory Hines, Dan Hedaya, Joe Pantoliano, Jimmy Smits. Good times. I stumbled onto this one on TNT once, and have seen it approximately 300 times since.
55. National Treasure - My wife's favorite, and one fun ride. Nic Cage rocks this movie out. Does anyone play the crotchety old man better than Jon Voight?
54. Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones - Yoda fights? Yoda fights!!!! And the clones are the Storm Troopers? Cool.
53. The Bourne Identity - Do you get the headaches? Not from watching this movie I don't!
52. Menace II Society - Most will say Boyz N Da Hood was the better flick, but not for me. I don't know about no Kansas!
51. The Departed - Mark Wahlberg may have given the finest Bostonian performance of all-time in this one. I'm the guy who does his job, you must be the other guy!
50. Back to the Future - Run for it Marty!
49. Total Recall - See you at the pahty Richter!
48. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story - I feel shocked! This one could definitely be a little low...
47. The Fugitive - One of the best thrillers of them all, it kept me guessing until the end.
46. Coming to America - Who can resist the charm of Cleo McDowell? I know I can't.
45. Billy Madison - That's quack-tastic!
44. Independence Day - Sorry Jill.
43. Beverly Hills Cop - Another Eddie classic. 'We're not gonna fall for the banana in the tail pipe?' Try to sound more masculine. 'Look man, I ain't gonna fall for no banana in my tailpipe!' Thanks for teaching me how to talk Eddie!
42. Goldeneye - My favorite Bond movie featuring one of the all-time bad guys in Sean Bean. Boys with toys!
41. The Incredibles - Knowing that even Mr. Incredible can get fat makes me feel less guilty about my own weight.
40. Stripes - The army has never been this much fun. You're a lean, mean, fighting machine!
39. i Robot - Another Will Smith sci-fi popcorn movie. And this one has the ultimate "that guy", James Cromwell, plus Bridget Moynahan in leather. Boo-yah!
38. Enemy of the State - Did somebody say Will Smith? This thriller is like a high tech version of The Fugitive, and is a scary reminder of why there needs to people watching the watchers. And that you should hide Christmas gifts from your kids very, very carefully.
37. The Program - Easily my favorite football movie. We all know that Kane is Able.
36. True Lies - Jamie Lee's striptease scene is one of the all-time greats. Good enough story, and a great cast including Tia Carrere and Eliza Dushku before she grew up and got super hot.
35. Spaceballs - One of the greatest spoof movies of all-time. Crap like Scary Movie can't hold a candle to Spaceballs.
34. The Godfather - Part II takes forever, Part III I still haven't watched, but Part I is one of the classics. Canoli's are good.
33. Happy Gilmore - It's all in the hips, hey!
32. Spider-Man - With great power comes great responsibility. And Macho Man Randy Savage!
31. Ghostbusters - Where do those stairs go? They go up.
30. Trading Places - Oh Dan Akroyd, where have you gone?
29. The Terminator - One of the rare first movies that wasn't as good as the sequel, but this movie still kicked major tail.
28. The Princess Bride - To not love it is inconceivable!
27. Live Free or Die Hard - 2007 really has been the summer of movies, has it not?
26. Top Gun - When isn't it time to bust the tower?
25. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy - I don't know if you know it, but this movie is kind of a big deal.
24. Goodfellas - I can't believe Henry Hill is still alive. Ray Liotta puts down one of the all-time great performances in this one. I wish I got $100 just for keeping the ice cold. 'Cause let me tell you, I keep my ice really, really cold.
23. The Rock - Great cast, great story, great explosions. And I even used a scene from it for a presentation in AP World History during high school.
22. Transformers: The Movie - Not the cartoon version, the 2007 version. The one that took everyone's name, and kicked absolutely everyone's a$$. PRRRRRIMMMMEEEEEEE!!!!!! MEGA-TRON!!!!!!!
21. V for Vendetta - For the record, Natalie Portman is still hot with her head shaved.
20. Die Hard - This original holds up very well in my opinion. Staying in a hotel on the same block as Nakatomi Towers was one of the great thrills of my life. Is that sad? Wait, don't answer that...
19. Animal House - Hard to believe that this one wasn't green lighted until Donald Sutherland signed on to give it "star power." This movie really does have it all. Toga, toga, TOGA!
18. Casino - My friend and I weren't really old enough to see this, and were warned before going in about how bloody it was. Like we cared!
17. Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Cool, my own Terminator! Little known fact - this movie features a soon-to-be-smoking hot Nikki Cox as a kid. Also, lots of stuff blows up, and Linda Hamilton learns to trust Ahnold.
16. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Extended Version) - The last one cuts off a lot of the story, not that you could possibly fit it all in - even in the Extended Version - but it still did it justice in my opinion.
15. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Version) - My favorite of the three because I tend to like the origination angles better, but it's a close call between these two. That Peter Jackson isn't being allowed to direct The Hobbit is a disgrace.
14. Batman Begins - This is so much better than the Michael Keaton/Jack Nicholson version it's like night and day. Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes and Michael Caine are all severely underrated.
13. Office Space - So many quotes, so little time. Almost makes you wonder why King of the Hill sucks so much. Oh wait, King of the Hill doesn't have Jennifer Aniston in her prime. Never mind.
12. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? - The first live action plus cartoon/CGI is still a masterpiece all these years later. To this day, I still get goosebumps when Roger finally reads ole Marvin Acme's will. Disappearing, re-appearing ink. Boy that Acme, what a genius!
11. Scarface - This movie has influenced everyone from the hip hop community all the way to Saddam Hussein, who actually named his money laundering outfit "Montana Management." As Kramer would say, a story like that's GOTTA BE TRUE! It's easily my favorite gangster/mob movie.
10. Major League - Followed by easily my favorite baseball/sports movie. This is the standard against how all sports movies should be judged. Underdog story? Check. Great cast? Check. Believable love story? Check. Real teams used? Check. Dramatic finish? Check. Also, the Spring Training location, Hi Corbett Field, is where the Rockies hold their Spring Training.
9. Friday - 'Cause it's Friday, you ain't got no job, and you ain't got sh** to do! Ice Cube's coming out party more as a writer than an actor, but after Friday he managed to land roles in big budget flicks Anaconda and Three Kings.
8. Gladiator - Is it possible that I could ranked this movie too low? I almost feel like it is, but there's only so many spots left!
7. Old School - In the wake of "Frat Pack" comedy that this movie spawned, I almost feel like it's now underrated. To me though, it's the best of the bunch and always will be.
6. The Simpsons Movie - Wow. I have heard some complaints (too much Homer, not enough side characters, wacky story), but they all flat to me. This movie rocked, plain and simple. Spider pig, Spider pig, does whatever a Spider pig does! I only wish it could go higher, but I'm not going to cop out and combine trilogy movies into one ranking (see below).
5. The Shawshank Redemption - One of my favorite things about this movie is that some people never like to give Stephen King credit for it. That man is a genius, and it's really too bad so many of his other books/short stories have been absolutely butchered on the big and small screen alike.
4. Braveheart - SLAVES are made in such ways! Mel Gibson gives the performance of three lifetimes (like you didn't know that).
3. Star Wars, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi - Finally, we've reached the top three. George Lucas holds exclusive province here. I can honestly say I have purchased these three movies in at least three different formats - the original edition on VHS, the Special Edition on VHS and the Special Edition on DVD. There is no doubt that when I upgrade to BluRay or HD DVD that I will buy all three again.
2. Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - Back in the days, I used to like "Jedi" more than Empire Strikes Back, but over the years several people, most notably my cousin and noted film grouch Danny, have sold me on the merits of this one over "Jedi".
1. Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope - Did I mention I like origination stories the most? You would think then, why don't I have Episode I on this list? Well, truth be told, it was originally, but it ended up getting bumped off when I remembered some other movies I really liked. But this one takes the cake, because even though it's Episode IV, the others will always feel like prequels, a feeling that was only enhanced when I thought Lucas didn't do a fantastic job tying Episode III's details to dovetail with Episode IV's.

So there it is, 100 movies. I don't know why I bothered to rank them, and like I said before, I could probably switch a lot of these around. I could also probably find another 25-50 to add to this list, but I don't really think it would be worth the effort. Heck, this might not have been worth the effort. But I did it anyways!

Your Love is like a Shadow

I came back from my honeymoon (more on that later) to hear my friend Adam comparing Wedding Crashers to Old School. I wanted to see Wedding Crashers already, but this merely upped the ante. The result: Wedding Crashers does not in any way, shape, or form compare to Old School.

Don't get me wrong, Wedding Crashers is funny, but it can't hold a candle to Old School. The major difference is that Wedding Crashers features legitimately sad moments, something that Old School simply does not have. Was it funny when we see a despondent Owen Wilson reading the "Don't Jump" book? No. That's very much sad-making. Possibly the saddest moment in Old School, when they are all expelled, is hilarious, because Weensie details how his mother will kill him. When Blue dies, there's Will Ferrell singing, and Vince Vaughn telling Luke Wilson that "hey that's what old people do, they die".

Another black mark on Wedding Crashers is that the scene with and cameo by Will Ferrell was not even remotely essential to the plot. It was like they were sitting around at the last minute and said, "hey wait this isn't funny enough, maybe we should actually have a scene with Chaz, get Will Ferrell on the phone".

Wedding Crashers does have Christopher Walken, but Old School has a whole movie worth of Will Ferrell, plus Snoop Dogg, Sean William Scott, Craig Kilborn, Andy Dick, Elisha Cuthbert, more nudity, more explosions, and more KY wrestling. Not to mention Jeremy Piven, one of the more underrated actors of my generation.

Also, the plot of Old School is only going to lead to more frat-related shenanigans. Wedding Crashers could have some serious societal ramifications. How many assholes that think they're smooth are going to try to crash weddings and funerals trying to get laid now?

Another point against Wedding Crashers is that they utilized the deceptive trailer pitch. The trailer makes it seem like the whole thing is about crashing weddings, when it really only focuses on one wedding, and then becomes a love story, with a cheesy, very predictable ending. Old School employed no misleading advertising.

Wedding Crashers had no bloopers in the credits. What the &^*)_ ? Sorry, I need to see some Vince Vaughn out-takes. And a lot of the comedy was physical comedy, like when hothead kept decking Vaughn in the football game, or beating up Owen Wilson, or Vaughn decking him at the wedding. Little comedic value there in contrast to say, Will Ferrell kicking a stranger's shopping cart at the grocery store and yelling "I am BACK!".

Overall, there really is no comparison. Wedding Crashers comes off more as a Wedding Singer or a 50 First Dates. You know it's funny, but the jokes are a little less funny each time. It's kind of a guy's chick flick. Whereas Old School is right up there with Animal House, Spaceballs, Stripes, etc. as one of the funniest movies of all time, one that loses no comedic value each time it is viewed. Wedding Crashers just doesn't have lines like "Hey you think KFC is still open?" or "Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond. I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time".

Old School is a 10. Wedding Crashers is an 8. That's not to diss Wedding Crashers, as far as movies go, an 8 is damn good. It's just not a 10.