Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Top 100 Movies of All-Time (49-40)

100 - 90 - http://bamxmike.blogspot.com/2011/10/top-100-movies-of-all-time-100-90.html
89 - 80 - http://bamxmike.blogspot.com/2011/10/top-100-movies-of-all-time-89-80.html
79 - 70 - http://bamxmike.blogspot.com/2011/10/top-100-movies-of-all-time-79-70.html
69 - 60 - http://bamxmike.blogspot.com/2011/10/top-100-movies-of-all-time-69-60.html
59 - 50 - http://bamxmike.blogspot.com/2011/10/top-100-movies-of-all-time-59-50.html
49 - 40 - ...

49 - Easy A (2010)
 
This is the most "chick flicky" movie on my list and it's pretty fantastic if I do say so myself.  This movie has one hell of a combination with the hilariously cute & endearing Emma Stone playing the lead character, Olive Penderghast & the insanely hot Aly Michalka playing Olive's best friend Rhiannon.  Easy A is the story of an ordinary, run of the mill, plain Jane high school girl who struggles with the fact that she is unknown.  She agrees to help out her gay friend by pretending to have sex with him so he'll gain acceptance from his peers.  Pretty soon wind of what she did hits some of the lesser popular kids as she agrees to pretend to have sex with more and more guys so as to provide them acceptance, while she is compensated with gifts.  Eventually Olive becomes ridiculed by fellow classmates and religious nuts like Marianne (played by Amanda Bynes) and her friends & boyfriend Micah (played by Cam Gigandet) In the end, Olive feels shunned & ashamed she let it get this far, but finds support in a guy she's been into since she was a kid, Todd (played by Penn Badgley) I have to say, I thoroughly enjoy this movie and absolutely must mention the jobs Patricia Clarkson & Stanley Tucci did as Olive's parents, just absolutely hilarious.

48 - Funny People (2009)
I like to look at this movie as Adam Sandler's last stand.  Growing up, Sandler was my favorite actor, by far.  With some less than stellar movies in recent years (looking at you You Don't Mess with the Zohan) Sandler's career has kind of become stagnant in a string of cliched and just plain and simple unfunny movies.  Funny People, I think is going to be Sandler's last good movie.  He has some flick coming out where he plays two characters and it just looks awful, so this is becoming more and more likely.  Funny People is a very long movie, especially for a comedy, but it holds up for me.  It's a funny movie with serious moments that intertwine seamlessly as one moment you're feeling sad, next moment you're laughing your ass off.  It's almost a passing of the torch type of movie, as Adam Sandler, who has been a top comedic actor for the past 2 decades plays an older stand-up comedian (George Simmons) who begins to mentor a younger stand-up comedian, played by Seth Rogen (Ira Wright) It's as if Sandler is letting the world know, yes he is winding down his career, but need not worry, for we now have Seth Rogen.

47 - Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008)
 
I have such a wonderful back-story as to how I went about seeing this movie for the first time, I'm not going to bore anyone with the details, but it always makes me smile when I think back on it.  Seriously one of the best days of my life.  Anyway, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is a movie based off the original book written by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan, a simple story of two teenagers out on a night of the town whose paths intersect.  Norah (played by Kat Dennings) propositions Nick (Michael Cera) to pretend to be her boyfriend for a moment so she can make a point to her catty & annoying friend Tris (played by Alexis Dziena) The rest of the story tells the tale of their adventure through the streets of New York late at night as their joined by their hilarious friends Caroline (played by Ari Graynor), Thom (played by Aaron Yoo), Dev (Rafi Gavron), & Lethario (Jonathan B. Wright) It's not an overly complicated story, it's just a showing of one night involving two people with an insane amount of chemistry.  It's simple, yet beautiful at the same time.  Also, the fact that "you fist full of assholes" hasn't become an every day used insult for me makes me sad.  I need to rectify that.

46 - Saw (2004)
Some people love the Saw franchise, some people hate it.  Count me in as someone who loves it.  There's something about watching somebody just get sliced the fuck up and maimed that entertains me, I guess.  People who like to label it as "torture porn" and ridicule people who enjoy it are idiotic.  It's not real life, some people seem to fail to realize this is a movie.  Ah well, no need to waste any time on lost causes, Saw was the introduction to one of cinema's most brutal and gory horror franchises ever.  This movie is filled with so much curiosity and suspense, it's done brilliantly.  The whole time you're sitting there wondering what's happening next, what's happening at that very moment, trying to figure out how it's all going to turn out.  The first Saw introduced us to the now legendary knack the Saw creators have for twists endings, finales that make you sit there saying to yourself "No fucking way" & "So that's what that shit meant!"

45 - House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
House of 1000 Corpses was the directorial debut of Rob Zombie & if you ask me, he showed up with a bang.  He tells the story of a group of friends writing a book about the best road side attractions across America and they come face to face with Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) and his gas station that also houses a museum of strange things.  The group, Jerry (Chris Hardwick), Bill (Rainn Wilson), Mary, (Jennifer Jostyn), & Denise (Erin Daniels) become infatuated with everything around them and learn of the urban legend of Dr. Satan and decide to try and find more of the lore of him.  They pick up a hitchhiker, Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie) who leads them to her house and family, Rufus (Robert Allen Mukes), Mother Firefly (Karen Black), Otis (Bill Moseley), Hugo (Dennis Fimple), & Tiny (Matthew McGrory)  What comes next is a tale of the weird and disturbing that will leave you feeling very terrified of ever trusting a hitchhiker or random roadside attractions in the middle of nowhere.  Dr. Satan in this movie is one of the most badass and frightening characters I have ever seen in a movie.

44 - Saw II (2005)
The follow up to Saw was yet another example of a sequel to a great movie doesn't have to suck.  What I enjoyed more about Saw II as opposed to every other Saw were the traps.  This movie introduced us to the now legendary and infamous list of traps used in the Saw movies and they're downright gruesome.  From being burned alive to having your arm slashed by razor sharp knives, this movie is not for the faint of heart.  Another reason this ended up being my favorite Saw movie was the story itself.  In my opinion, it has the best twist of any of the Saw movies and the story itself of what the kidnapped people have to go through to survive is fantastic.  There's plenty of twists to go around at the end of this movie.

43 - Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
Yep, I'm a Paranormal Activity fanboy and absolutely not ashamed to admit it.  I realize a lot of people hate the franchise and chastise it, but I love it.  I'm incredibly fascinated by ghosts & the paranormal, so it's really like these movies were made for me.  As much as I enjoy watching these movies in theaters, I really more so enjoy owning them on DVD and watching them in my own house.  I thoroughly enjoy sitting back alone and getting into the plot & occurrences throughout the movie without the annoying crowd that is sure to inevitably join you at any movie theater or people making fun of it.  I fully understand and agree these movies are suspect to ridicule and jokes, which is fine, but I will always enjoy sitting alone and just plain enjoying what I see and being thoroughly entertained.  These movies captivate me, more so than any other movie.

42 - Up (2009)
Fucking Up.  This movie makes you want to cry within 20 minutes of the movie starting!  It's an emotional and cute little tale of Carl Fredricksen as he tries to fulfill his and his late wife's wish of moving to Paradise Falls, South America by taking his house (trying to be seized by the city) and lifting it off the ground with a whole lot of balloons.  Just one problem...a little Wilderness Explorer named Russell has tagged along accidentally.  What follows is a heartwarming tale of adventure and companionship that is sure to leave you emotional.  This movie just further establishes the fact that Pixar owns all of our emotions and can do with them whatever they please.  My words cannot do this movie justice, it truly is a masterpiece and one of the best animated movies I have ever seen in my life.  It's stunning to look at, the animation & colors are immaculate, breath taking at times.

41 - Orphan (2009)
This was a VERY unexpected movie for me.  I remember when I initially went to the movie theaters to view this, I had decided to tag along with my family to check it out, I went in with the expectation that it was going to suck ass and being a terrible 21st century thriller that I regret wasting my time watching.  I left that theater amazed and floored by the movie I had just seen, truly a fantastic thriller for my money.  A young married couple, Kate & John Coleman (Vera Farmiga & Peter Sarsgaard) with two children already, Daniel (Jimmy Bennett) & the adorable deaf girl Max (Aryana Engineer) decide to adopt a little girl.  They meet Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman) and fall in love with her instantly, she is intriguing and talented and polite, they take her home to become part of the family.  What follows is an uncomfortable series of events that leave you wary and confused, ultimately leading to one of the BEST twists I have ever seen.  The tag line for this movie is "There's something wrong with Esther" Yeah, you're damn fucking right there's something wrong with her...

40 - The Hangover (2009)
When The Hangover initially came out, everybody and their mother went Lady Gaga over this movie.  I didn't get sucked into the hype, never really had any real interest in seeing it.  I don't honestly recall ever seeing any trailers/commercials for it, just never really connected with me.  Once it came out on DVD and it became evident to those around me that I had never seen it, it was only a matter of time before I was forced to watch it.  I was wary as hell before viewing this movie.  I figured it would be one of those movies that everyone talks about how hilarious it was that I would just end up feeling disappointed because people put it on such a pedestal.  That definitely was not the case, this movie definitely lived up to the hype for me.  I laughed hysterically throughout and Alan played by Zach Galifianakis is one of the funniest movie characters I've ever watched.  Definitely up there for me.  The cast is rounded out by Bradley Cooper (one of my favorite actors) who plays Phil, Ed Helms who plays Stu, & Justin Bartha who plays Doug.  The recapping of events the trio does as they search for their missing friend and eventual groom, Doug is outrageous and hilarious.  This is definitely one of the best comedies I have ever seen.

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