100 MOVIES YOU NEED TO SEE BEFORE YOU DIE
Part 1 #100 - 91
Preface:
Alright, so this has a little bit of an introduction. This is not a "movie buff's top 100 countdown." You will see hardly any classics on this list. This list is not about known classics. If you're HUMAN you should know to see The Godfather, Scarface, and Apocalypse Now, at least once in your life. In fact, I think the government should be forced to .issue. these films to you upon birth. But i digress. This is a list of movies that slid under the radar, or came under more fire than they deserved, or that i saw some deeper meaning in than what they projected at face value. The will be no order to this. It's just a bit of a train of thought. And in case you're curious as to why i picked each film, i will explain each one as we go. Will you have seen some of these movies? I'm sure. But i'm not here to insult your intelligence and mock you with some pandering bullshit about psuedo-intellectualism. These are just movies i think everyone should digest at some point or another.
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100. Point Break (1991) - I know that already I'll get people raising eyebrows, throwing empty beer bottles and booing me for this one. It's a Keanu Reeves movie, after all. What could be so impressive about a film that's .infamously. known for it's shitty Spanish line at the end. Plus, you hear a blurb about the movie and go "extreme sports and cops? What the fuck!" But that's just it. For a movie chock full 'o' What-The Fuck, it's quite an impressive event. It's two hours in length, contains surfing, skydiving, midnight football, gunfights and bank robberies. It's really all any male could ask for in an action movie. Not to mention the fact that Lori Petty was fucking .beautiful. in the early 90s. That's really all there is to it. Some badass one liners, some great cameos, and a thrilling ride from start to finish. For a movie based around extreme sports and robbing banks, it lives up to the excitement. 100% underrated. And a great afternoon-killer.
99. Duel (1971) - So here's one that pretty much went under the radar. Would you believe me if i told you that not only was this screenplay written by Richard Matheson (the man behind the original novel of I Am Legend), but that it was the first film ever directed by one Steven Spielberg, who (it is rumoured) found it in a dumpster outside Universal Studios. This movie was so well received that Spielberg has referenced it in many of his later films, as his way of thanking it for giving him a career. So what is this movie about, you ask? Imagine a business man, making a long car-trip through the desert on business. Now imagine this man looks in the rear-view mirror to find a gigantic, menacing diesel truck bearing down on him, unrelenting. Lastly, imagine that this truck won't leave our hero alone for a pretty-much-real time hour and a half. Go watch this movie to see how it ends! To me, it is the most thrilling Spielberg movie ever created.
98. THX 1138 (1971) - This next entry on our list is yet another movie to start someone's career. This director is probably best known (if not solely known) For his Star Wars Trilogy (y'heard of that one?). Yes, that's right. A full six years before the greatest sci-fi epic of all time was ever presented to the public, we were given this obscure treat, about a futuristic utopia/dystopia about a city where people live underground, following what we assume can only be the end of the world as we know it. People are all shaved bald, wear the same white uniform and are referred to by serial number, instead of name. For instance, our two heroes are the eponymous THX 1138 (played magnificently by Robert Duvall and his roommate LUH 3417 (played by the little-known actress Maggie McOmie). Of course, like most futuristic societies, the people in this world are given drugs to temper emotions. And our plot revolves around our two principals deciding to stop taking the medication and fall in love. What still strikes me to this day are the graphics in this movie. The visuals are sharp, especially since most of the movie revolves around the colour white, the acting is top-notch, and the ending is wonderfully open-ended. Truly an artistic masterpiece, and in my opinion, on par with Star Wars, though it's the universal concepts of the latter that made it such a huge hit. But if you want to see where Lucas came from, this Is an incredible movie.
97. Mystery Science Theater 3000: Diabolik (1999) - Many of you are familiar with the concept of MST3K, a science-fiction comedy series which revolves around a man, Mike Nelson, who is kidnapped, sent into space by a mad-scientist and forced to watch terrible B-films. Of course, to keep himself sane, he builds a few robots who come and watch the movies with him. So while we, the audience watch the movie, the silhouettes of Mike and two of his robot pals, Crow and Servo are seen at the bottom of screen, mocking and commentating on the film as it progresses. Diabolik, a late-60s crime/James Bond-ripoff, is by far the funniest (stupidest) movie the MST3K crew are forced to watch, which is great because this ended up being MST3K's final episode. With some of the greatest jokes, and laugh-out-loud moments of the entire series, this is the best place to start if you want to get into the series, of if you just want a great sci-fi comedy.
96. Purple Rain (1984) - I'll be honest. There's a reason this Prince-starring film is considered a "cult" classic. The acting is miserable and the plot-line is minimal at best. But what makes this movie a necessity are the music sequences. Whether it's Prince's band, The Revolution, Morris Day and the Time, his arch nemesis' band, or Appolonia 6, the band Morris puts together to be the "next big thing," the performances are all top-notch. Prince, of course, shines above all the rest, with his sexuality, his blazing guitar solos, and his amazing sense of style. If you like the album Purple Rain, then there's no reason not to see the entire soundtrack in a "live" setting (I use quotes, cuz it's not really live, it's just made to look that way), or if, like me, you didn't like the album that much, this movie might just change your mind. It did mine. Now Purple Rain is one of my favourite albums of the 80s. And with visuals like these, it's really no surprise.
95. Brother (2000) - The first foreign film on the list. And it's for good reason that it made it. Beat Takeshi, who's one of the biggest names in japanese cinema and television history (and also known as that older guy in Spike TV's Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, originally Takeshi's Castle), has made his first English movie. If you're familiar with work you know he can be humorous, touching, and a complete badass, often at the same time. The movie revolves around a member of the Yakuza (Takeshi), who fucks up pretty bad, and has to run away to America, or else he's going to be killed. He ends up in L.A, where his nephew, a low-life drug dealer, lives. He rallies his nephew and his friends together to make a formidable gang, and starts taking over local territories around greater Los Angeles. The biggest surprise of the film, comes in the form of rapper-turned-actor Omar Epps. On any other day, I would have passed him off as another 50 cent, trying to cash in on his success as a musician, but .damn. If Epps isn't a killer and highly believable actor. Definitely one not to miss.
94. Dark City (1998) - Imagine a world created by aliens, where at midnight every night, they stop the world in its tracks, change things around, put people into new lives, build and destroy entire buildings, and start things up again, in hopes of discovery what makes humans human. Now imagine that, for some reason, you wake up in the middle of this change, and have no idea what's going on, and no memory of your past. Now drop Rufus Sewell, William Hurt, Kiefer Sutherland, and Jennifer Connelly into the mix, and you got Dark City, one of the greatest (non) super-hero films of all time. An incredibly dark presentation, beautiful score, great visuals and costumes. Certainly a mind-fuck you can't pass up.
93. The Deaths of Ian Stone (2007) - Ian Stone is a hockey player, a business man, a boyfriend, a single man, a drug addict, rich and poor. How can all of these things happen? Well, every day he dies and wakes up in a new life. And every day, he remembers a little more about the life he just came from. A completely unknown film, which received mediocre reviews, but is a hell of a ride. This movie really leaves you guessing for quite a while, and even when the mystery is solved, the movie only gets more badass then it just was. A killer horror/mystery/action flick. This is truly the best film to come out of the After Dark Horrorfest (also known as 8 Films to Die For).
92. Bully (2001) - Based on true events, this truly horrific story will stay with you long after you've finished watching. It's hard to believe these things actually occurred, but after seeing this movie, I read up on it and sure enough, Larry Clark's film follows it almost exactly. Basically, there's this group of friends around Fort Lauderdale, FL, in the early 90s. One of them is this asshole who beats on the weak ones, rapes the girls, and gets away with it cuz he's a tough guy. So the group gets together to figure a way out of his iron-fist, ass-backwards sense of friendship. The actors are all young 20-somethings, included Brad Renfro and Michael Pitt. A truly troubling movie. Not to be seen on a date, or during a meal. In fact, if you get a hard-on while watching this movie, you should be shot.
91. Saved! (2004) - This is truly one of the great teen comedy films, up there with the Breakfast Club and...that other one (fill in the blank). The problem was this movie was perpetually ignored by the general public (probably for its use of unknown teenage actors, has-been child stars, and teen pop idols). The story revolves around Mary's, a born-again Christian, in last year at at a Christian private high school. The kicker? The summer before senior year, she found out her boyfriend might be gay, so in order to "save" him, she willingly gives up her virginity, and he accidentally gets her pregnant. With Macaulay Culkin in his best role ever, Mandy Moore as the prissy bitch we all knew she was, and Jenna Malone (best known as that hottie from Donnie Darko) we get a kick-ass movie that totally mocks religion, but in an intelligent way. Also Patrick Fugit, a skateboarding Jesus lover bad-boy is amazing. You'll see him in another movie later on in this list.
Alright folks, so that's the first ten. It'll give you something to think about/look for/watch for the next couple of days, while I get #90-81 all sussed out for you. In fact i'm kinda winging this, going for the first movie that jumps into my head, and then thinking "do I want this further down the list." As I said, there really is no order.
Enjoy!
Krisa