100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 2 ~ Raiders of the Lost Ark

If the theme from Raiders is playing in your head...

I can't blame you.

If you would argue that this movie, is truly the greatest movie ever made, I wouldn't argue very hard with you either.

Raiders and Jaws have battled for years as to which is my favorite movie of all time.  Pick a day, I would change my mind.

Ultimately, just like in the opening of Raiders, Indy came up 2nd again.

Otherwise, Spielberg's direction, John Williams score... they combine to make for some great movies over the years.

The plot, if you've never seen Raiders...

Archaeologist and professor Indiana Jones is on a mission in Egypt to find the lost Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can locate it.

That's right, Nazis!

The movie spawned two successful sequels.  The 2nd, following most trilogy lore, was not as good as the first.  It did, however, usher in the era of PG-13 as it was so dark and spooky for kids in the 80s!  The 3rd, if not for the rule of sequels, would have easily made this list on its own merits.  Sean Connery as Indy's dad was a stroke of casting genius.

This is the movie for Harrison Ford.  Sure, Han Solo was great, but nothing even remotely compares to Dr. Jones.  Even the abysmally bad 4th movie was almost worth enduring just to see Ford back in the fedora once more.

And for the record, it's Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Not Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Suck it, George Lucas!

: )

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 3 ~ The Avengers

Welcome to the Greatest Comic Book Movie...Ever Made.

Yep, I'm still on a euphoric high from seeing it in theaters with my kids earlier this summer.

In fact, while it sits in my house since Avengers Day courtesy of Netflix... I have yet to watch it!

I know... terrible!

But I plan to.  Just been a little busy.  However, the kids have all watched it, at least once, and said it's still as good as they remember.

So that leaves me to wonder will this movie remain in the Top 5 of all time?

Or will time allow some of the other classics to slide back in front and push the Avengers back down somewhere else in the Top 25?

We'll see. : )

So for the few that haven't seen the film, here goes:

All of the heroes from the Marvel movies finally get together under Nick Fury's Avengers Inititiative to stop Loki from taking over the world.

Perhaps my most concise summary, ever!

Really, it's a chance for all of the Avengers we've seen in each of their own films to step up and branch out just a little bit more.  There is still character growth for some of them, and a chance to further hone their place in the Marvel Universe.  And then, it's a slobberknocker of a fight at the end of the film to save the day.

Robert Downey Jr. once again owns his role as Tony Stark.  Hemsworth and Evans both continue to grow their pieces as Thor and Captain America.  Hawkeye and the Black Widow each get more screen time this go round.  And then there is Mark Ruffalo playing the final, and best, version of Bruce Banner yet to grace the screen.

As for Agent Coulson...

In a world of Life Model Decoys, where the Vision still would need brainwaves, where unless you bury a body then they probably aren't dead...

I'm holding out hope.

: )

And then there were 2...

As everyone probably already knows my # 1... it will be tomorrow's reveal that will bring closure to this epic adventure.

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 4 ~ Back to the Future

Great Scott!

To me, this is often a movie (or franchise) that gets overlooked a lot when I see/hear people/critics discussing and debating the greatest movies ever made, ever seen, etc.

Then when it's brought up, everyone goes... oh yeah, love Back to the Future!

Luckily for me, I remembered early, and didn't have to come back and knock another movie off the countdown to make it fit.

The story, for those that have never seen this one...

It's 1985.  A young teenager, Marty McFly, meets with his friend, Doc Brown, and the two test a time machine that Doc has built.  Terrorists arrive, and young Marty jumps into the time machine...and vanishes back to 1955!  However, young Marty has made a terrible mistake by meeting his parents when they are teens, and has set off a chain reaction that will change the future, and make poor Marty cease to exist.  He must seek the help of the 1955 Doc Brown to help him fix the time machine and send Marty back...

To the Future!

And so begins one of the greatest time travel stories ever created.

Michael J. Fox plays Marty, and watching the test footage of Eric Stoltz, you realize early just how much Fox made Marty come to life and not be just another teenager.  His sense of comedic timing and reactionary acting are essential to the role of the time traveling teen.

Then there is Christopher Lloyd who gave Doc Brown every quirk and mannerism that just make it a joy to watch him onscreen.

Of course, Lea Thompson who does double duty as the mom and Thomas Wilson who steals every scene as the loudmouthed punk Biff round out the cast nicely.

As for the rest of the franchise, it seems that the consensus is Part 2 suffers like most of the sequels to great movies, while 3 brings back a lot of what made the first great.  I'd agree with those sentiments, but I still enjoy watching Part 2. 

This was the big hit that cemented Robert Zemeckis as a top tier Hollywood director, and began a career of collaborations with Steven Spielberg who was the Executive Producer of this film.

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 5 ~ Die Hard

Yep.

The greatest Christmas movie of all time...  : )

Okay, that honor probably goes to It's A Wonderful Life.  Die Hard just happens to take place during Christmas...

But still...

It's awesome!

The story:  A New York cop flies to L.A. to see his estranged wife.  While heading to her office Christmas party, a gang of terrorists take over the tower... and it's up to John McClane to save the day.

Yippee Ki Yay!

This is the movie that made Bruce Willis a star.  Sure, he was already great on Moonlighting, but this gave him that Silver Screen movie star stamp of approval.  We've been reaping the benefits for nearly 25 years since then.

Alan Rickman gave the ultimate slithery performance of a terrorist that all bad guys since have been forced to be compared to.  Most people cannot give that type of performance, so we live with the memory of Hans Gruber as the ultimate bad guy.

The movie, of course, seems simple in execution.  And has spawned, like Jaws, countless imitations.  If ever a hero is trapped somewhere by bad guys, the movie was likely pitched, it's like Die Hard...on a Blank!

Under Siege: Die Hard on a boat.
Speed: Die Hard on a bus.

See?  But the formula works, as both of those made the Top 100 list. ; )

As for the rest of the franchise, it's almost as awesome as the original.  Like most franchises, the second one is a bit weaker, but the third comes back strong.  Really love the pairing of Willis and Samuel L. Jackson in that one.  The fourth one, unfortunately they decided to pc John McClane for a different time.  It still works, but McClane's got to be free to be violent AND potty-mouthed as the situation fits.  Otherwise, it just feels wrong.

And yes, I'm looking forward to Die Hard 5.

: )

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 6 ~ The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption.

Easily, one of the greatest movies ever made.  That's why it's way up here at # 6, even though, like many dramas, it doesn't get the required multiple viewings a year that many of the other movies on this list enjoy.

It's still that good and powerful a movie that it deserves a spot on the top 10 just for being.

How do you sum up Shawshank?

Let's try...

A successful banker, Andy, is accused of murdering his wife and her lover and is sent to Shawshank.  He maintains his innocence, which as he finds out soon enough, so does every convict on the inside.  There he meets Red, a fellow inmate.  They strike up a friendship, that like the movie, follows them for the remainder of their life together in prison.

That should just scratch the surface, but sometimes a surface scratching is all you need.

The power in this film, based on a story by Stephen King, and written and directed by Frank Darabont lies in what Darabont provided: A great script with great actors.

Tim Robbins greatest role as the sullen Andy.  He maintains his innocence throughout, and even the audience is left wondering could he really be innocent or did he really do it?  Then of course there is Morgan Freeman.  There is a mathematical Hollywood equation that basically makes the greatness of your film exponentially better with the inclusion of Morgan Freeman.  In a career full of memorable parts, Red may well be his finest.

To say any more about this film will spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it...

And I know my oldest 3 have not, but someday soon they shall.

Of course my choice of images may not have helped in the spoiler department. : )

And with that... 95 movies down... the Final 5 to go.  Thanks to everyone who has popped in to read these ramblings or just the Facebook blurbs over the last 95 days.  I hope I didn't waste too much of your time.  It's almost over, and then it's back to looking at the film that are coming in by way of Netflix.

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 7 ~ The Princess Bride

Ah...The Princess Bride.  Couple this with the Goonies, and you have a perfect one-two punch of great family entertainment that will remain timeless for generations.

The story...for the seventeen people who have never seen this movie...let me explain...

No, there isn't the time...let me sum up..

Princess Buttercup is kidnapped by a band of mercenaries to incite war between two neighboring kingdoms.  Strangely enough, a pirate interferes to rescue the princess from the kidnappers... but for what dire piratey purpose?

Oh come on, everyone has seen this film.  You know it by heart.  You can quote it... "mostly dead"  "you killed my father..."  "inconceivable"  "wuv, twue wuv"  "As...you...wish...".

The movie, is quite possibly, the greatest love-story/action adventure film/kids book narrated by a grandfather movie ever created.

The story is enchanting.  The characters are impeccably cast.  Tell me that you don't see Cary Elwes as the second coming of Robin Hood when you first saw this movie.

Mel Brooks did...

: )

It's Rob Reiner's best film that he's ever done, and I'm a big Rob Reiner fan.

The swordfight alone between Inigo and the Dread Pirate Roberts is worth the price of admission to this film.

This is the hard part about the Top 10 movies.  I've tried to keep the reviews brief, as nearly every movie on this list, aside from some of my out in left field choices are so well known, they serve more as a "yeah, love that one" moment.

So I could gush about how awesome it is, or just by the fact that it's in the Top 10, that should be considered gushing enough.

If you haven't seen this movie in some time, give it a spin again.  You'll be enchanted all over again.

And if you've got kids... you're in for a treat when they are old enough and can appreciate the magic of this movie while watching with you.  And they'll pass it down to their kids...and so on and so on...

And someday, when Hollywood decides to redo this film, generations of moviegoers will shriek in horror at the very idea.

Shriek like eels!

; )

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 8 ~ The Goonies

Welcome back, Richard Donner.

I told you, he's my favorite director of all time.

And this time, he's back, with probably the quintessential movie for kids that were growing up in the 80s:

The Goonies.

The story:

A group of kids (The Goonies!) face eviction from their homes in lovely Astoria, Oregon.  The evil banker is buying up all the property and plans on leveling the area and developing.  On their last night together, they find the pirate map of One-Eyed Willie, and decide to see if they can find the treasure and maybe save their parents from having to move.  If the task of finding Willie's treasure isn't daunting enough, they will have to contend with getting past the Fratelli's...a no-good family of thieves who just so happen to be hiding out exactly where the Goonies need to go to find the treasure.

Talk about a fun movie!

: )

The cool thing about the Goonies, while it is set in the 80s, it is another one of those that has a timeless feel to it.  Ignore any minor topical reference, and the film could be taking place...now.

Which might be why it still resonates with each generation that has sat down to view it, usually with their parents.

Especially if their parents grew up in the 80s and watched it when it first came out.

Yes, every kid likely has known a Mikey, Chunk, Data or Mouth in their time growing up.  Some of you may have even been that kid.

What we didn't get to do was find One-Eyed Willie's treasure or be chased down by a crazed family of Italians.

But I bet we would have wanted to. : )

Or in our own way growing up, we probably embarked on a "Goonie-Enough" mission with our friends.

Unfortunatly, the world is much darker now than it was in the 80s, and we can't let our children roam like the Goonies were able to in the 80s.

Thankfully, they can escape for a bit through the movie, and hopefully that will be good enough.

:: cue Cyndi Lauper soundtrack ::

: )