Wade's Ultimate Top 100 Mega List!

I don't know what drove me to do this. I must've been thinking about the American Film Institute or something. But anyway, I decide to compile my top 100 favorite movies of all time. Mainly I was trying to stay busy and out of Kinsey's hair while she studies for her certification exam. I do have a few criteria for these films. I ranked them based on rewatchability, initial impressions, and also a general notion of film quality and originality. Now, I'm not a professional film critic or anything so I'm sure there are hundreds and hundreds of great films out there that I haven't seen. This list will probably change in a few years. But, for better or worse, here it is, with the occasional descriptive blurb.

1. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

The most quotable movie ever. I could watch this every day for a year and not get tired of the popping verbal gymnastics.

2. The Apartment (1960)

A great mixture of lighthearted comedy and serious emotional issues. Plus Jack Lemmon is a dynamo.

3. 12 Angry Men (1957)

Tension filled. And it all takes place in one room.

4. Modern Times (1936)

I never realized how great an entertainer and comedian Charlie Chaplin was until I saw this film.

5. It Happened One Night (1934)

A timeless romantic comedy featuring two stars with actual chemistry together, Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert.

6. Pollock (2000)

A biopic about my favorite artist. I want to paint every time I watch it.

7. Young Frankenstein (1974)

Mel Brook’s best film and, thusly, one of the best comedies of all time.

8. The Third Man (1949)

Watching this makes me wish movies were still filmed in black and white. Amazing use of light and shadow. Plus a scene-stealing supporting turn from Orson Welles.

9. Finding Nemo (2003)

I think this is the most aesthetically impressive work from Pixar and its already six years old. Great voice work.

10. The Big Lebowski (1998)

It took awhile for me to comprehend this Coen brothers classic, but once I did I couldn’t get enough.

11. The Lion King (1994)

I like Disney and I like Hamlet. It makes sense I would like the Lion King.

12. Wayne’s World (1992)

My go-to movie during high school. I almost wore out my VHS copy.

13. Die Hard (1988)

The greatest action movie of all time.

14. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)

Clint Eastwood figures prominently on my list.

15. Blazing Saddles (1974)

Not quite at the level of Young Frankenstein, but close.

16. Toy Story 2 (1999)

One of the rare instances where the sequel is better than the original.

17. North by Northwest (1959)

Suspense! Hitchcock! Cary Grant! The perfect grey suit! Killer crop-dusting airplanes!

18. In Bruges (2008)

A pleasingly profane and superb script makes this film one of the best and most memorable films of the last couple years.

19. The Sting (1973)

Newman and Redford and the Batman and Robin of mid-20th century cinema. They’re the dynamic duo.

20. Unforgiven (1992)

Eastwood, Eastwood, Eastwood.

21. Rio Bravo (1959)

I’ve always been a fan of John Wayne and the subtle nuances of his persona shine through in this Western.

22. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

The best of six Star Wars movies.

23. Some Like it Hot (1959)

Another great duo, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. Plus they’re in drag. And Marilyn Monroe!

24. Fargo (1996)

Gotta love the Coen brothers and their “true story” of murder and deceit in Minnesota.

25. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Indiana Jones is the penultimate man’s man for most youth, including me.

26. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

More Newman and Redford in a great revisionist Western.

27. No Country for Old Men (2007)

Is there any better use of silence in a modern film?

28. Amelie (2001)

Adorable French film.

29. Children of Men (2006)

One of the better sci-fi/dystopian/whatever-you-want-to-call-it films to come around in a while. Wonderful cinematography.

30. Rear Window (1954)

Hitchcock and Jimmy Stewart is a slightly better team than Hitchcock and Cary Grant but not by much.

31. The Blues Brothers (1980)

Great car chases/crashes.

32. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

I wish I had the extroverted qualities of this guy. But I can’t imagine myself singing Wayne Newton and The Beatles during a parade.

33. The Departed (2006)

The only Scorcese that makes it onto my list. I enjoy the guy but not to the point of exhaustion that some people do.

34. Cast Away (2000)

Only Tom Hanks could express true sorrow over the loss of a volleyball.

35. Brick (2005)

The best high school-set noir ever made. And probably the only one at that.

36. Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Classic banter between Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn.

37. The Great Escape (1963)

A great WWII movie with an all-star cast.

38. Star Wars IV: A New Hope (1977)

No list is complete without this one.

39. Raising Arizona (1987)

Another classic Coen brothers picture.

40. Rififi (1955)

The heist film to end all heist films.

41. Babe (1995)

Can't get enough of those singing mice.

42. For a Few Dollars More (1965)

The second film of the Man With No Name trilogy. Sergio Leone is a master.

43. Ratatouille (2007)

Even though the chef is a rat, this movie still makes me hungry.

44. Fitzcarraldo (1982)

The best on-site film production ever.

45. Wall-E (2008)

46. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

47. O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000)

Criminally underrated Coen brothers movie.

48. Toy Story (1995)

49. The Truman Show (1998)

50. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

51. Spiderman 2 (2004)

52. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)

Another Eastwood classic.

53. Man on Wire (2008)

54. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

55. Big (1988)

56. Little Children (2006)

57. There Will Be Blood (2007)

58. A History of Violence (2005)

59. 8 ½ (1963)

60. This is Spinal Tap (1984)

61. The Incredibles (2004)

62. American Splendor (2003)

63. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

This film literally crackles with James Cagney’s screen presence.

64. Groundhog Day (1993)

65. The Dark Knight (2008)

66. Romeo and Juliet (1968)

67. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

68. Moulin Rouge! (2001)

69. The French Connection (1971)

70. All the President’s Men (1976)

71. Le Samourai (1967)

Great French film noir with the quite handsome Alain Delon.

72. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

73. After the Wedding (2006)

74. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

75. The Princess Bride (1987)

76. Amadeus (1984)

77. Pride and Prejudice (2005)

78. A Night at the Opera (1935)

79. Batman Begins (2005)

80. Adaptation. (2002)

81. Ed Wood (1994)

82. A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

83. The 400 Blows (1959)

If Francois Truffuat’s childhood was really like this, then… yikes.

84. Sense and Sensibility (1995)

85. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

86. Monsters, Inc. (2001)

87. Fight Club (1999)

88. The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

89. The Return of the Jedi (1983)

90. Caddyshack (1980)

91. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

92. Up (2009)

93. Aladdin (1992)

94. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

95. Beauty and the Beast (1991)

96. Citizen Kane (1941)

97. Almost Famous (2000)

98. Elf (2003)

99. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

Never has someone done so much acting with just their eyes.

100. Abbot and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950)

Recasting the Matrix

The Matrix was first in theaters on March 31, 1999, a little over ten years ago. I'm a little late on this, as there were a bunch of tributes to the film around its anniversary three months ago.

Anywho, last year I entered this "recasting" contest on the website SpoutBlog. They had sponsored a bunch of these contests where readers would send in new cast lists for famous movies, like Caddyshack. I decided to enter and, lo and behold, I got second place, which netted me a T-shirt and a free DVD (it was Amelie). So, in reference to the tenth anniversary of The Matrix, I'm republishing my second-place entry.

Here's the original cast list just to jog your memory:

Keanu Reeves ... Neo
Laurence Fishburne ... Morpheus
Carrie-Anne Moss ... Trinity
Hugo Weaving ... Agent Smith
Gloria Foster ... Oracle
Joe Pantoliano ... Cypher
Marcus Chong ... Tank
Julian Arahanga ... Apoc
Matt Doran ... Mouse
Belinda McClory ... Switch
Anthony Ray Parker ... Dozer
Paul Goddard ... Agent Brown
Robert Taylor ... Agent Jones

And here's my winning entry with comments from the contest-runners at the beginning:

Second place: wadetown for his BBC production. My favorite part is Alan Rickman as Agent Smith--that guy always brings a campy danger to his villainous roles. And I'd love to see Paddy Considine (one of the two Andy's in Hot Fuzz) play Cypher. Considine has an uncouth charm, always greasy-looking and sporting bad facial hair.

The BBC presents The Matrix

Clive Owen ... Neo

When you think about it, this would be a lot like his role in Children of Men. A disillusioned character frustrated with his reality, except with a lot less baby-protecting and a lot more kung fu.

Sir Ben Kingsley ... Morpheus

Morpheus has to be bald.

Cate Blanchett ... Trinity

She can wear her wig from Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Alan Rickman ... Agent Smith

This pick hinges on the availability of using a time machine to go back and get the Hans Gruber Alan Rickman from Die Hard.

Dame Judi Dench ... Oracle

A small role for her, but since its Judi Dench she'd probably get nominated for an Oscar.

Paddy Considine ... Cypher

Something about Paddy Considine screams for a role as a double-crossing weasel.

Chiwetel Ejiofor ... Tank

Not much reasoning behind this pick other than the Zion-born humans should be healthy and attractive.

Steve Coogan ... Apoc

Bringing much needed comic relief to this movie.

Freddie Highmore ... Mouse

His first adult role. And I really want to see him whip out two huge machine guns right before his character gets killed.

Thandie Newton ... Switch

Colin Salmon ... Dozer

My only obscure selection. He was in a couple of the Pierce Brosnan Bond films I believe. Plus he kind of looks like Chiwetel Ejiofor's brother.

Jeremy Irons ... Agent Brown

Another Die Hard villiain as an agent.

Hugh Laurie ... Agent Jones

For some reason, all my agents ended up being the snide, sarcastic Brits.

Growing Up in the Midwest, Watching Westerns

Today happens to be my Grandpa's birthday. When I think of him, its hard not to remember watching our favorite movies together while I was growing up. There were two movie types that were overly prevalent in my youth: Disney cartoons and Westerns. The Disney cartoons are a given; what kid doesn't love Aladdin? But the Westerns, I think, have a lot to do with growing up on a farm in southwest Nebraska. Now to put this to rest at the beginning, this wasn't a stereotypical "farm." We didn't ride horses or raise pigs. I didn't wear a cowboy hat or boots (but my Dad and Grandpa did). But there was still a connection to the Old West, with the wide open spaces, working the land, and machismo, which is why I had an enjoyment for Westerns as a kid.

Recently, I've gained more appreciation for Westerns as true classic films. Unforgiven; Rio Bravo; The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly; all classic films. But as a kid, I just thought they were a good time. And I've also come to appreciate the occasional modern rediscovering of the Western. There was a mini-renaissance a couple years ago with The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, There Will Be Blood, and No Country for Old Men. But what hasn't been reinvented and what seems to have totally fallen out of the spotlight, is the light-hearted comedic Western. It is this brand of Western that I really remember enjoying.

The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968)

This was my favorite movie as a child for a long time. In my book, there's nothing funnier than Don Knotts, and this movie takes his meek bumbling persona out West as a fresh-faced (not literally, of course) dental school graduate, looking to spread oral hygiene. Along the way he gets into his fair share of scraps, but is constantly bailed out by his wife Penny, who is a pardoned outlaw helping to break up a gun smuggling ring. There is a ton of great physical comedy in this film. And physical comedy coming from Don Knotts is hilarious because the poor guy looks so terrified all the time. The following video clip has the unforgettable theme song and a hilarious dental examination scene.

Support Your Local Sheriff (1969)

Another Western comedy that I watched again and again with my Grandpa. Isn't James Garner a slick operator? In this movie, The Great Escape, The Rockford Files and Maverick TV shows, he's always the guy with the plan. Would it be sacrilege to say he rivals Steve McQueen for on-screen cool? Maybe. In this movie, Garner is a small town sheriff who uses wit and ingenuity to overcome the local baddies. It's a "fish out of water" story in that Garner is the one smart guy in a town full of idiots. There was a sequel or companion film made called Support Your Local Gunfighter that was decent but not nearly as clever as this one.

Maverick (1994)

This is what I remember as the most recent attempt at a comedic Western. And it's, of course, a TV adaptation. Be that as it may, this film has one of Mel Gibson's best comedic performances as the suave gambler and Jodie Foster playing against type as a conniving Southern belle, and, of course, James Garner. Fifteen years since the last decent Western comedy. This movie was very funny and did pretty well at the box office if I remember correctly. It makes you wonder why they don't make movies like these anymore. Oh, well.

I still have fond memories of watching all these movies on VHS with my Grandpa. We'd sit with our stash of candy recently acquired from cleaning out the candy aisle at the local grocery, he'd repeat the witty phrases right after they happened in the movie, and then, inevitably, fall asleep halfway through the movie (don't tell him that though; he was just "resting his eyes.") So, on my Grandpa's birthday, I'll dedicate this post about our favorite films to him.

Foodie Film Featured Moments

A couple weeks ago, Kinsey and I saw Julie & Julia, which focuses much of its time on the life of esteemed chef Julia Child. It made me realize something: I love food. And I love watching food in the movies and on TV. And, very recently, I've also developed a newfound enjoyment of cooking food. So that got me thinking about my favorite food moments in the movies:

Babette's Feast (1987)

I had to watch this movie three times (that's right, three) during my first semester of architecture graduate school. We were doing a project involving slow food and deconstructing a walnut... anyways, at the time I wasn't really able to appreciate the film. I still hadn't really become aware of the glories of foreign cinema. But what I do remember is the namesake feast. Its the type of extravagance that I know I've never seen. I don't know if I ever will have a meal that includes turtle soup, buckwheat cakes with caviar, quail in puff pastry shell with foie gras and truffle sauce, and rum infused yeast cake with dried figs, but at least I can watch people eating one.

Big Night (1996)

The Big Night is a delightful little romp starring Stanley Tucci and a post-Wings, pre-Monk Tony Shaloub. These two star as brothers who run an authentic, struggling Italian restaurant in New Jersey. There is one dish that is served in the final third of the film that just looks crazy good: the Timpano (see picture above). A crazy combination of pasta, meat, pastry, and eggs that makes me drool. Now, I'm pretty far away from having any Italian blood in me (I'm German and Czech), but there's something about Italian food that draws me in. Maybe I'm watching too much Lydia's Italy on PBS, but I can envision Kinsey whipping up a Timpano some Sunday afternoon, cutting that first delicious slice, me going back for seconds and thirds, then realizing I ate the whole thing, and spending the rest of the evening lying on the floor moaning in agony/ecstasy while Kinsey stands above me, shaking her head. Yeah, I could totally go for that.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

This one isn't nearly as delectable but still a clever scene. I'm talking about the scene in Temple of Doom where Harrison Ford and Kate Capshaw are served monkey brains, beetles, eyeball soup, and pregnant python. This scene is so over the top that it goes beyond insensitivity. I've never eaten anything that looked as gross as this meal, but the character reactions remind me of a bear stew that Kinsey and I whipped up once. We took one jar of preserved bear meat and assorted vegetables, let it cook all day, and were greeted with the worst smelling, worst tasting meal we had yet made together. Thank goodness for Papa Murphy's pizza.

Spanglish (2004)

I don't think this film got much acclaim when it came out, but Kinsey and I both really enjoyed it. It's nice to see Adam Sandler in a serious role, this time playing a chef. We enjoyed the movie so much that we bought the DVD (it was also really cheap). One of the special features is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a special sandwich featured in the film. Its really just a BLT with cheese and an egg on top, but it is so good. Kinsey and I have made it a couple of times, and I think the DVD gives it an appropriate title as the "world's best sandwich."

Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)

This is a movie that Kinsey appreciates a lot more than me. I don't know why, I just don't get into it that much. It does have a memorable food fight scene with flour and blackberries that reminds me of Kinsey's cooking style a bit. The optimal comparable word would be messy. I could go on and on about the messes Kinsey has made in the kitchen, but the piece de resistance is the infamous hoison sauce incident. This involved a pan of hoison sauce, a wooden spoon, and the propellor-like motion of that spoon as it sprayed wall, ceiling, and floor with the sticky Asian sauce. Like Fried Green Tomatoes, quite the mess indeed.

Ratatouille (2007)

This is probably my favorite film about cooking. I can't even pick out one moment to mention because the whole movie is just so delicious (I've been using that word a lot in this post). Actually, if I had to, I would mention an early scene in the film, where Remy (the rat) is cooking a mushroom along with a few paw-picked spices over a chimney. If I had seen this movie in my youth, there's no way I could've appreciated this scene. I was a very picky eater. I especially had an aversion to mushrooms. I didn't have dietary problems or was allergic, I was just picky. And stubborn. But know, when I see that fresh mushroom post-lightning strike, well, I just wish it was real and on my plate, not animated and on a screen.

REVIEW: District 9

Have you ever thought that you were well informed about something but then found out that you weren't? I always thought I was pretty knowledgeable about major world events of the last couple decades, but after seeing Distric 9, from first-time writer/director Neill Blomkamp, I found myself doing a little online research about apartheid, and I definitely did not know the entirety of the events.

District 9 is an allegory for apartheid in South Africa, swapping out Africans for aliens. These aliens, degradingly known as prawns, have stalled out over Johannesburg and are being forced to live in squalor. The main focus of the film is an attempt to move the aliens far away from the city.



I think Kinsey summed it up best when she said this film was unlike anything we've seen in quite a while. Most summer movies can be easily locked into a specific category. Let's take a look at the movies we've seen so far this summer:

Julie & Julia - biopic
The Hurt Locker - war movie
Public Enemies - biopic
Rudo y Cursi - buddy/sports movie
(500) Days of Summer - romantic comedy
Up - animated movie, but I guess it would fall into the original category


(Wow, we really haven't seen that many movies this summer)


So we've got one fairly original concept and five movie types that we've seen before. And we don't even go see your typical summer fare. Now, on the surface, District 9 seems to be just a sci-fi film. But once you see it, you realize its a sci-fi/deep character study/action/mockumentary/political statement/social parable/father-son film all rolled into one. And what's even more impressive is that it did all that on a $30 million dollar budget, miniscule compared to most big summer movies.


Originality is a tough cookie. Anymore, its seems like originality is more about the parts then the whole. No one is going to say that Neill Blomkamp came up with the idea of aliens landing on Earth. That would be ridiculous. But he is one of the first to take those earthbound aliens and make them the meek instead of the mighty. It reminds me a bit of architecture school. We (the students) would pour over the works of famous architects, Louis Kahn, Herzog and de Meuron, MVRDV, Frank Gehry,Peter Zumthor, looking for bits of inspiration, looking for precedent. And in the end, if you were lucky, you had a mostly original work. It wouldn't be Peter Zumthor; it would be Peter Zumthor-esque. I would love to hear Blomkamp talk about his inspiration or precedent for District 9.

There are other fields of science fiction (which I have limited knowledge of) besides film, so maybe the concept of refugee aliens isn't as original as it may seem. But when it comes to the world of movies, District 9 is a novel and very thought provoking film.


Wade: 4/5 stars
Kinsey: 4/5 stars

Hidden Gems of the Public Library

Ah, the public library. Purveyor of books and, uh . . . other media. And also a very nice resource for free movie rentals, if you live near a good library. The Minneapolis Central Library had a great collection of films. I was able to see Modern Times, The Public Enemy, The Cabinet of Dr. Caliguri, all for free. I was sad to leave it behind.

But, lo and behold, Rochester's library has an even better selection, complete with organization by category. Today I checked out Croupier, The Legend of Drunken Master, and the Criterion Collection of The Red Shoes. And today I watched...


I'm sure most people have seen a Jackie Chan movie or two. Probably one of the Rush Hour films or maybe Shanghai Noon. But if you really want to see Jackie Chan in all his kung fu glory, you need to rent one of his Hong Kong made movies, like Rumble in the Bronx, First Strike, or Who Am I. Sure the acting is unintentionally hilarious, the English dubbing is awful, and the plots don't make sense, but these movies have some crazy awesome action sequences. There are three particular ones that stood out:

Jackie Chan vs Lau Kar Leung under train fight scene

This fight scene happens early in the film and is instigated because Jackie Chan's character, Wong Fei-Hung, has something stolen from him. The best part of the this video is the first two minutes, where Jackie Chan and Lau Kar Leung fight crouched under a train with a sword and spear, respectively. Notice how the camera actually sits still and focuses on the fight choreography, rather than having all kind of crazy jump cuts like you see in the typical Hollywood action movie.

Jackie Chan and Lau Kar Leung vs. the Ax Gang

Nothing like two guys fighting a hundred guys. This fight mixes in some comic relief and the ever-enjoyable use of everyday objects as weapons, this time a shredded bamboo pole and a table.

The Final Fight

Three things mesmerize me about this climactic fight: (1) Jackie Chan's lucid, flowing "drunken boxing" fighting style, (2) the fact that Jackie Chan crawls across actual burning coals, and (3) apparently the guy he's fighting has no joints below his waist.

If you're looking to not think and have a good time with a movie, check out The Legend of Drunken Master.

Julie and Julia

Due to the fact that we could not for the life of us get a TV signal with our rabbitt ears, Kinsey and I had to break down and buy cable for our new apartment in Rochester. Just basic cable, mind you. Very basic. But the great thing is that we get six PBS stations. It might be a bit dorky, but we watch the crap out of these stations. Lydia's Italy, Barbecue University, Mexico One Plate at a Time, we eat these shows up (pun!).

So it goes without saying that we were definitely in the mood for a foodie movie when we went and saw Julie and Julia last night. Julie and Julia is a based on a book which is based on a blog written by Julie Powell. In said blog, Julie chronicles a year-long expedition of cooking all 524 recipes in Julia Child's landmark cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The movie spends half its time with Julie and her challenge and half its time with Julia Child coming into her desire to be a cook while in Paris in the 1950s.

The first thing that has to be said about this film is that Meryl Streep nails it once again as Julia Child. Not only does she nail the vocal tones and fluctuations and body movements, she takes it beyond mimicry and makes her "make-believe" Julia Child a full-fledged personality. Her interactions with Stanley Tucci (playing her husband) are subtle and fantastic. I was smiling every moment she was on-screen.

I wish I could say the same thing for the Julie part of the film. Not to take anything away from Amy Adams, who plays Julie, but her character is boring and self-absorbed. There's just no stakes, no conflict to really care about. With Julia, you have her attempt to break into a male-dominated profession, to break through a culture barrier, to rewrite the history of cooking. With Julie, you have burnt beef bourguignon and stupid fights with her husband. Frankly, I could have done without the Julie in Julie and Julia.

Wade: 3/5 stars
Kinsey: 4/5 stars