My Top 100... Part 3 (25-49)

25. Psycho

Another horror movie that doesn't rely on gore or cheap jump scares, but on psychological thrills and tension. Norman Bates will always remain one of the best villains ever. I haven't seen any of the sequels, because from what I've heard they are not very good and fall in the category of a slasher movie. I did see the needless remake, it's sad to watch telented people wasted in that movie. Doing a remake of such a classic is a battle that is impossible to win.

26. Seven

Maybe the one movie that you could say is on the same level of greatness as Silence of the Lambs. Everyone is great here: Freeman, Pitt, Fincher and even Kevin Spacey in the few minutes he has onscreen. The cinematography and art direction are so grimy and gritty. The story is also very scary without ever showing that much on camera. It's that old trick, that leaving stuff to the imagination is more powerful than putting everything out there.

27. A Bug's Life

It's incredible that even the lesser Pixar movies are so, so good. There is nothing wrong with a Bug's Life, it's just that the other Pixar movies are better. Blending the Seven Samurai, with The Three Amigos and classic fables, it's smart, funny and charming. The bugs are so caricaturized they aren't even gross.

28. Jaws

The movie that launched the modern era of blockbuster movies and Spielberg's career. It's great how an accident was responsible for all the tension and scares in the movie. It remains one of the best scary movies ever. I know there is this joke that the shark looks fake now, and that it looked fake back in 1975 when the movie came out... but real sharks look fake to me too!

29. La Vita è Bella

Back in 1998 WWII movies were the craze, and this was part of it. It won numerous awards, and for a while Roberto Benigni was a worldwide phenomenon. Despite the subject matter, this movie is hilarious and touching. I've read some people complain that it banalizes the holcaust, my guess it that those that say this, didn't get the point of the movie.

30. The Ring

Possibly the only J-horror remake that can be considered a good film. It's scary by atmosphere and unsettling set pieces and never by gore. Gore is not scary, it's only disgusting. Naomi Watts is great as per usual. The dreary, gloomy, almost monochromatic cinematography fits the movie perfectly, and the imagery chosen by Verbinski works just great. The sequel was a complete disaster though.

31. Hot Fuzz

Don't make the mistake to think this movie is a spoof or parody on action movies. This is a homage, a love-letter to action movies with lost of comedy in it. It has great direction, the action scenes are perfectly edited and staged, and the plot is intelligent while touching upon many established cliches in the genre. It's interesting to see Simon Pegg playing the ultra-serious Nick Angel, and not see a hint of Shaun or Tim in it.

32. The Terminator

When I first saw Terminator on tv, I must have been 6 or 7, I couldn't sleep that night from the nightmares it gave me. That scene where the endoskeleton (or simply a metallic skeleton to me back then) walked out of the flames, was the most horrific thing I had ever seen. I like this better than the second because it feels more intimate, and the whole danger is more believable than the more spectacular T2. Schwarzenneger has grown a bit as an actor since, but he was born to play the role of an unstoppable emotionless machine.

33. Predator

What starts as a Rambo rip-off suddenly turns into a sci-fi jungle adventure. If you miss those pre-titles seconds where some ship falls into the Earth's atmosphere, it would be hard to imagine with movie would end with a big, ugly alien hunting for Schwarzenegger and his team of elite soldiers. Some of the dialogue here is so cliché, in the worst macho way immaginable, that you can't help but wonder if it was intentionally made for laughs.

34. Aliens

How daring it is to make a sequel to a horror movie, but instead of making it yet another horror movie, you make an action movie? I can't think of other movie series that have jumped genres like the Alien series has. All 4 movies (even the vastly inferior parts 3 and 4) are very different from each other. The miniature work here is impressive. I remember being scared to death when Bishop is ripped apart, when I first saw this as a little kid.

35. E.T.: The Extraterrestrial

Steven Spielberg considers this to be the crowning achievement of his filmic carrier, and who am I to question that? This is the perfect movie for children. I wonder how come a movie that was so HUGE when it was released, is not as fondly remembered as some other movies of that time. I think that Star Wars or Jaws are more highly regarded these days than E.T. Maybe because it is a movie with low geek-appeal?

36. 12 Monkeys

Bruce Willis acts a little against type, in this oddball time-travel/post-apocaliptic sci-fi movie. When it first came out I didn't apreciate it much, I thought it was too depressing, but now I see the point it tried to make. Speaking of acting against type, Brad Pitt's character here was something unexpected, since then he has done several brave acting choices, but back then it was a big departure.

37. The Exorcist

Of course everyone remembers the climatic act inside Regan's room, with the 2 fathers fighting the demon Pazuzu, but few remember how good is all the build up throughout the movie to it. As scary today as it was the day it was first released.

38. Saving Private Ryan

The first 20-30 minutes are, hands down, the most intense war footage in a movie ever. Since then many directors have tried to replicate it, but it's just not the same. After that, the movie isn't quite as hard-hitting, but it didn't need to be. Another highlight is that scene where the mother looks out the window, and sees the black car coming down the road, and she is devastated, knowing what it is that they have come to tell her. Once again Tom Hanks was great in this, but not good enough for a third Oscar (his third Oscar should've come with Cast Away).

39. Citizen Kane

It might seem hipocritical to have a movie like Citizen Kane in a list that is dominated by dumb action movies and animated features, but the truth is I love this movie, and it couldn't not be here. As good and involving as the story is, the real treats here are all the technical aspects of the movie. Movies of today owe so much to this. Before Citizen Kane most movies felt like theather stages put on film.

40. Die Hard With a Vengeance

For the second Die Hard sequel they didn't try to replicate the first Die Hard's plot point for point, like they did with Die Hard II. In fact I believe the script was meant for a Lethal Wepon movie but re-written to make it into a Die Hard movie. The action is non-stop from the start, but what sets this movie apart is the interaction between Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. It's some of the more racist (both-ways) dialogue I've heard, but I can't stop laughing at it. Sadly, they didn't know how to end this movie. The ending in the film feels unconnected to the rest of the picture. There is an unused alternate ending that is even worse. One more thing, I'll never understand why Johm McClaine is a redhead here.

41. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

It looks like Spielberg and Lucas reacted to their darker Temple of Doom, by making a much sillier and light-hearted Last Crusade. Sure having Sean Connery here as Indy's dad is fun to watch, but the movie in general is too comedic. Raiders of the Lost ark had it's funny moments, but it was an action movie first. That said it was nice to have the Nazis back, you never can go wrong with having Nazis as your bad guys.

42. Terminator 2: Judgement Day

I'm always amazed that people think this movie is better than the original. It's not bad by any means, it's bigger, it meant a big leap for computer generated effects, it has a great villain in the T-1000, but it also has the cheesy John Connor that speaks like the early 90's Bart Simpson. Also, I've never been sold in the father-son relationship between little John and the good T-101. The third entry in the Terminator series is also good (Rise of the Machines), but I just didn't have enough space to include it in the list. There's a new movie coming out this year, and from what I've seen, it doesn't look that good.

43. The Royal Tenenbaums

Gene Hackman steals the show in this ensamble comedy with people like Ben Stiller, the Wilson Brothers, Gwyneth Paltrow, Bill Murray, Angelica Huston and Danny Glover. Hackman's Royal Tenenbaum is one despisable curmudgeon, and makes the rest of his eccentric family look almost normal. I will admit this type of comedy isn't for everyone, but even if you can't find it funny, you have to admit it is a beautifully shot movie.

44. Groundhog Day

It's hard to tell which is Bill Murray's best role. Opinions are divided. Some say it is him in Lost in Translation, others say he should've taken an Oscar nod for Rushmore, and then other say he was his funniest here. I have a different choice, but Groundhog Day is great nonetheless. The basic premise is that of a Twilight Zone episode, but they never really delve much into that aspect of the story, other than the anguish Murray goes through the first few times the day starts repeating itself. This is a comedy after all, and a very fun at that.

45. Big

When I was little I could watch this movie non-stop. What little kid has not wished to be a grown up for at least a day? Now that I'm approaching my thirties, all I can say is that kids are wrong! I believe this was the break-out role for Tom Hanks. He got his first Oscar nomination here, and a well deserved one.

46. Gremlins

Another childhood classic of the 80's. A horror movie you can let a child see, and not feel bad about it. Of course it also has so many laughs and silliness going on, that the horror is mostly downplayed. That intro with the old chinese store, where everything seems to have a coat of sut in it, and all the mystical mumbo-jumbo is typical 80's fare. The puppeteering here, as great as it is, is even better in the sequel, even Gizmo is cuter in Gremlins 2. The thing is that Gremlins 2 is just too wacky.

47. Die Hard II

Many people hate this movie. It's not bad. Sure it's basically the exact same plot as the first movie but with the double of everything. Two groups of bad guys, two nosy reporters, two sets of bureaucrats to deal with, two helpful sidekicks, an area twice as big to get rid of terrorists. What it lacks in originality and credibility (but who looks for credibility in a Die Hard movie) it makes up with action and more John McLaine. The british plane crash and the way McClaine kills all terrorist in the end are great moments.

48. The Lost World: Jurassic Park

I think a better movie was meant to be made with the Lost World, but silly choices (like the final act in San Diego, and how gymnastics can defeat a velociraptor) just ruined it. I think The Lost World should've tried to be a little scarier, without ever losing sight that it was a movie targeted to tweens. It just pulled way too many punches. Now, ten years later the special effects still hold up great, while more recent movies that tried to have too much CGI going on look dated.

49. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

I always thought there could never be a bad Indiana Jones movie, but in 2008 Lucas and Spielberg did their best to prove me wrong. But that's another story. Temple of Doom is not bad, but of the original trilogy is the least fun. The fact that it tries to be darker than the others is not the problem, I think that maybe it is because the Thugee ritual scenes go on for too long. Much has been said about how annoying Willie is, and it is true, but not all women can be like Marion. I think Shortround balanced things out, he was a riot.