Board 8 > Presenting: The SephG Top 250 [movies]

(+) Yeah! (+)

#223. The Ten Commandments
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d1/10Command56.jpg
Dir: Cecil B. DeMille
Genre: Adventure, Biblical Epic
Year: 1956

3 hours, 40 minutes. 14,000 extras. 15,000 animals. 360,000 gallons of water. Now this is Hollywood Golden Age epic filmmaking. As much as people will call things like Endgame or Star Wars "epic" productions, they do not even come close to matching the scale of The Ten Commandments.

I used to watch this entire movie as a kid every time it was on TV for Passover. This was before one could binge watch a season of Game of Thrones or Lost or whatever equivalent we can think of, so for me, it was THE immersive grand adventure that can occupy an entire evening. I will always hold it up with the greatest big-budget motion pictures of all time for the sheer magnitude of it all--yet behind the scale is still an easy-to-digest and complete retelling of one of civilization's greatest legends. We'll never see anything like this ever again.
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#222. The Blair Witch Project
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/26/Blair_Witch_Project.jpg
Dir: Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Snchez
Genre: Horror
Year: 1999

I don't care what anyone says. The Blair Witch Project was the most terrifying movie experience of my life. In the nascent Internet days, there was still semi-serious speculation of whether the found footage was real or not, and even if we didn't really believe it, the added mystique just made it that much more exciting when you finally got to the movies to judge for yourself. Times were different.

It's almost impossible to objectively comment on the movie now without this context. Most of its legacy is the phenomenon it became--a low budget, faux found footage horror flick that turned into a box office sensation. I would argue, however, that it would have never become what it was if there wasn't a very solid foundation under it all. The scares are effective and memorable without being "cheap." The lore is interesting and the pacing is superb. And a movie like this really lives and dies by its ending, and I will make the argument that the final shot is the scariest thing ever put to film. Fight me.
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Who Framed Roger Rabbit
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/32/Movie_poster_who_framed_roger_rabbit.jpg
Dir: Robert Zemeckis
Genre: Animated, Comedy, Film Noir
Year: 1988

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a fun and superbly-made movie that strikes the perfect balance between not taking itself too seriously and taking itself seriously enough. It also somehow looks as great now as it did back then, which you absolutely cannot say for a lot of films that relied to heavily on digital editing to come together.

What more can really be said about it? It's a smart film noir. It's a funny meta-comedy in the vein of classic Warner Brothers cartoons. And it's a technical achievement that arguably pioneered the resurgence in animation in the late 80s/early 90s.
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#221. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/32/Movie_poster_who_framed_roger_rabbit.jpg
Dir: Robert Zemeckis
Genre: Animated, Comedy, Film Noir
Year: 1988

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a fun and superbly-made movie that strikes the perfect balance between not taking itself too seriously and taking itself seriously enough. It also somehow looks as great now as it did back then, which you absolutely cannot say for a lot of films that relied to heavily on digital editing to come together.

What more can really be said about it? It's a smart film noir. It's a funny meta-comedy in the vein of classic Warner Brothers cartoons. And it's a technical achievement that arguably pioneered the resurgence in animation in the late 80s/early 90s.
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I had never heard of Her - thanks for listing that one, as I really enjoyed it. Probably fitting that I watched it alone as my gf was overseas, too.
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#220. Ghostbusters
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2f/Ghostbusters_%281984%29_theatrical_poster.png
Dir: Ivan Reitman
Genre: Comedy, Science Fiction
Year: 1984

The 80s were about setting the standard for certain subgenres. Lethal Weapon invented the buddy-cop movie. Gremlins rekindled the art of the creature feature. Ghostbusters absolutely perfected the sci-fi comedy.

So much has been said about the original Ghostbusters recently due to the reboot (which apparently fails at understanding why the original worked so well). I'll therefore keep this short and give my quick take as to why it was such an enduring success: chemistry. Harold Ramis, Billy Murray, Dan Akroyd, and (to a lesser extent) Ernie Hudson work off of each other's personalities perfectly. It's not something you can just recreate purposely--it sort of just happens. Combine that chemistry with a tight script and some wonderful practical effects, and you have one of the most iconic films of the past 40 years.
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Bumpo
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#219. 12 Angry Men
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/91/12_angry_men.jpg
Dir: Sidney Lumet
Genre: Drama, Crime
Year: 1957

This is going to be another write-up that sounds like a criticism. Just keep in mind that I obviously really like this movie. It's my 219th favorite film, after all! But I just have to say that I am totally baffled as to why I keep seeing 12 Angry Men in the top 15 or 20 movies in the IMDB and Reddit lists. It's basically a perfectly written and directed film--but transcendent? I don't think so.

With that off my chest, I'll be a lot nicer to 12 Angry Men. This is about as slick a courtroom drama as it gets. There is an intense buildup, thrilling dialogue, and a great mystery--all without any kind of flashback or scenes of the crime itself. The focus is all on the speculation of the jurors. Anytime you can squeeze that much drama out of mere back-and-forth deliberation, you have yourself an all-time great.
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#218. Happy Gilmore
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/be/Happygilmoreposter.jpg
Dir: Dennis Dugan
Genre: Comedy, Sports
Year: 1996

Starting with Billy Madison in 1995, Adam Sandler made five movies (Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer, Big Daddy, and The Waterboy) that were so big with a certain audience that he has been able to ride a wave of shit for the next 20 years. I loved each of these movies when I was younger, as did most of us I'm sure, but hindsight hasn't been kind to Mr. Sandler. Out of those, I would argue that two are terrible (Big Daddy and The Waterboy), one is bad albeit with some funny absurdist moments (Billy Madison), one is good (The Wedding Singer), and one is excellent--our #218, Happy Gilmore.

Happy Gilmore is a perfect sports comedy. Buttressed by a great soundtrack, you have a simple arc of an outsider trying to fit in in a world he doesn't understand; but as he grows in skill, he matures emotionally as well. It's really straightforward--and that's perfectly okay. They weren't trying to make Raging Bull here. What you have is Adam Sandler's only comedy that truly stands the test of time and a great movie to come back to even nearly 25 years (!!) later.

It's also better than Caddyshack. I said it.
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#217. Incendies
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a0/Incendies.jpg
Dir: Denis Villeneuve
Genre: Drama
Year: 2010

Our first Canadian movie that somehow no one guessed! Incendies tells the story of a pair of twins who travel to the Middle East to uncover their family's past. What transpires is one of the most harrowing, intense, tragic stories ever put to film. It can be almost too dramatic at times, but I still think it works with the overall theme of the movie.

I won't get into spoilers here, but Incendies should absolutely be discussed with the Sixth Sense, Usual Suspects, etc. in terms of the greatest plot twists of all time. I can't really say more than that, but if you're looking for a true shock, do not read any summaries and just start watching this movie with a clear mind. You'll thank me for it (maybe).
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12 angry men is just a very well done movie.

overrated? probably. still think it's more deserving of being in the IMDb top 15 than the dark knight and inception, though (but we'll see if you disagree!).
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I'm neutral on Happy Gilmore, but also agree that it's better than Caddyshack. That one has not held up well IMO.
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#216. Training Day
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b3/Training_Day_Poster.jpg
Dir: Antoine Fuqua
Genre: Drama, Crime
Year: 2001

Denzel Washington elevates Training Day from serviceable police drama to one of the best films of the decade. His performance here is quite stunning and really goes to show how much an actor can make or break a film.

Training Day reminds me of a throwback to the grittiness of 1970s crime dramas. As you read through this list, you'll quickly realize that the 70s is one of my favorite eras for film, and this does a perfect job at capturing that energy without turning it into an homage. Immortalized in the Wayne Brady Chappelle's Show skit, you have a movie that's to the brim with character and atmosphere and makes for a timeless good guy/bad guy dynamic that's been missing from cinema for far too long.
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#215. Princess Mononoke
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8c/Princess_Mononoke_Japanese_poster.png
Dir: Hayao Miyazaki
Genre: Animated, Fantasy
Year: 1997

I have a confession to make that will probably upset a lot of people following this topic. I am not a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki. I think the animation of his projects with Studio Ghibli is beautiful and probably the best that Japan has to offer, but the narratives tend to lose me after awhile in almost every one. I by no means would call something like Spirited Away a bad movie per se, but it just doesn't pull me enough emotionally to be amongst the greatest.

Princess Mononoke is the exception. Here, Miyazaki combines outstanding and unique animation with a parable that's simple enough to understand but deep enough to be compelling. Maybe it's because of the folklore, but something about this film brings out the inner Japanophile in me. It's really the perfect kind of story to complement Miyazaki's bold and surreal anime style.
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Incendies is really good, especially the intro with its musical choice.
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CaptainOfCrush posted...

I had never heard of Her - thanks for listing that one, as I really enjoyed it. Probably fitting that I watched it alone as my gf was overseas, too.

Glad you enjoyed it!

I think you'd also really really like Incendies since you're an Arab transplant from childhood and that's basically the premise of the film.
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Overnight discussion
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Have you seen any other of Denis V's pre-Prisoners films?
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Clerks was a perfect movie for the time. Almost everyone could relate, at least in part. Everyone in HS had a job where they had to stock shelves or run a register or clean something. And we knew the people who were working at Staples as a lifetime plan.
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I tend to dislike addiction stories and themes, so I just didn't care for Requiem for a Dream. All my friends were nuts for it when it came out, though.

Happy Gilmore is a classic. I think I laughed more at Waterboy when it first came out, but damn that has not held up well at all. I agree, Billy Madison is bad but there are some highlights STOP LOOKING AT ME SWAN.
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Slanted_Silver posted...

Have you seen any other of Denis V's pre-Prisoners films?

Maybe ;)
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neonreaper posted...

Clerks was a perfect movie for the time. Almost everyone could relate, at least in part. Everyone in HS had a job where they had to stock shelves or run a register or clean something. And we knew the people who were working at Staples as a lifetime plan.

I always pictured you as a Kevin Smith character IRL. Not kidding!
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Billy Madison is pretty lousy overall but the one speech at the end saves it.
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#214. John Wick
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/98/John_Wick_TeaserPoster.jpg
Dir: Chad Stahelski
Genre: Action
Year: 2014

John Wick represents the culmination of the action genre's trajectory since the late 90s. After the Schwarzenegger era ended, there was a huge vacuum of power in the genre. Eventually, instead of big hulky heroes carrying machine guns, what began to emerge was a new kind of action movie: quick hand-to-hand combat and gunplay featuring ostensibly "regular" men who have a hidden skill. This new subgenre rose to prominence in the Bourne trilogy and later the Taken movies, but came to a natural apex in 2014's John Wick.

Having seen all three films in the series now, I can safely say that the original holds up as the best. The choreography and cleverness of the fight scenes may be better in its sequels, but the original movie has this wonderful simplicity that the others haven't been able to capture. John loves dog. Man kills dog. John kills everyone. As much as I enjoy the ridiculous world-building after this, the motivations can sometimes be hard to follow and the lore only adds a layer of complexity that the original John Wick doesn't have. Even now as studios are endlessly attempting to copy its formula, there's still nothing quite like it.
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haven't seen 3 yet but 2 > 1 imo. mainly because the action scenes are better and more creative, as you mentioned. in 1, i never cared for the story and the whole "THEY KILLED HIS DOOOOG" plot point everyone is crazy about so yeah.
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#213. Midnight Cowboy
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/87/Midnight_Cowboy.jpg
Dir: John Schlesinger
Genre: Drama
Year: 1969

It's hard to believe that this was rated X upon release. Watching it now and it's as tame as any show on FX (maybe even tamer), but I guess implying gay sex will do that to your movie in the 60s.

Midnight Cowboy is just a really cool-looking film. It incorporates the psychedelic aesthetic without being overwhelming, and it paints a picture of the beginning of my favorite era of New York City (grimy 60s/70s) better than most movies of the time. Dustin Hoffman and John Voight are totally brilliant here, and their great chemistry/dynamic really just makes the ending gut you even worse.
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Mr Lasastryke posted...

haven't seen 3 yet but 2 > 1 imo. mainly because the action scenes are better and more creative, as you mentioned. in 1, i never cared for the story and the whole "THEY KILLED HIS DOOOOG" plot point everyone is crazy about so yeah.

I didn't mention it in the write-up, but the first one had a better "look" to it too imo. I know they were going for a comic book vibe that was pretty hackneyed by 2014, but they captured the mood and pacing of one really damn well.
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#212. Animal House
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ea/Animalhouseposter.jpg
Dir: John Landis
Genre: Comedy
Year: 1978

This is the granddaddy of the modern American comedy. Just about every popular comedy movie released since can trace its roots back to Animal House. It invented the gross-out/shock humor. It basically set the standard for your basic blue collar comedy arc (group of funny rebels takes on their uptight elitist superiors). And, despite being the progenitor of a type of film we've all seen hundreds of times, it still absolutely holds up.

I'm sure there are thousands of term papers written on how Animal House represents the patriarchy or is misogynistic or inspired the "rape culture" of the time. But to those of us who can actually still relax and just enjoy a very human film, Animal House just makes me happy. It's a pleasure to watch.
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#211. Gladiator
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fb/Gladiator_%282000_film_poster%29.png
Dir: Ridley Scott
Genre: Action, Historical Epic
Year: 2000

From one decade-setting film to another, Gladiator was the movie that launched a thousand (mostly shitty) ancient epics that took all sorts of liberties with historical accuracy. But its negative legacy aside, Gladiator was simply a badass movie in its time and even through today.

I think what attracts me to Gladiator more than movies like Spartacus, Ben-Hur, or Troy is the fact that it wasn't just a vehicle to show off the skills of their set designer. The dream sequences of Gladiator are really trippy and cool, Joaquin Phoenix chews the scenery and turns an otherwise bland character into an all-time great role, and the soundtrack continues to be weird and inspired. I think we're now at the point where the movie is somehow underrated (despite being a Best Picture winner), but it's hard for me to name too many better than it from that time.
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Gladiator is a terrific movie - it's well done, has some incredible performances, but it's also a fairly easy-to-digest flick. I'd say Braveheart is the daddy of these types of films. I think BH and Gladiator performed well with the awards due to the subversion of catharsis and choreography. Gladiator's "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?" line is amazing and in my mind changes the movie.
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#210. Gravity
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f6/Gravity_Poster.jpg
Dir: Alfonso Cuarn
Genre: Science Fiction
Year: 2013

Gravity is the definitive 3D theater-going experience. For me, Avatar doesn't come close to matching how breath taking it was to see Gravity in a proper 3D format. It's one of the few films that is not only enhanced, but lives and dies by how you physically see it.

Gravity is the only movie on my list that I give bonus points to for my initial impression. Having watched it at home since its release, I can safely say that it does not hold up to that first viewing. But that still doesn't take away how wonderful it was when it first came out. Cuaron's dumbest movie by a mile is also his most spectacular, and sometimes it's okay when spectacle trumps substance.
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neonreaper posted...

Gladiator is a terrific movie - it's well done, has some incredible performances, but it's also a fairly easy-to-digest flick. I'd say Braveheart is the daddy of these types of films. I think BH and Gladiator performed well with the awards due to the subversion of catharsis and choreography. Gladiator's "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?" line is amazing and in my mind changes the movie.

I was so close to including Braveheart in the Top 250 and probably will regret not doing so. But I like Gladiator more almost solely for Joaquin's performance vs Mel's nonstop growling.
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#209. Gremlins
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3d/Gremlins1.jpg
Dir: Joe Dante
Genre: Comedy, Horror
Year: 1984

If I was teaching a screenwriting 101 course, I would probably lead with the script for Gremlins. It is the perfect example of a simple story that becomes elevated by having such a tight arc and flawless pacing. It follows all of the basic principles of storytelling: establishing relatable heroes, putting them in a mysterious situation, watching them figure out how to solve it exactly as we begin to figure it out with them, and ending in a fun climax that was set up earlier.

In addition to having a model story, Gremlins is just cool to look at even to this day. The puppetry effects look way better than 99% of similar films done in CGI and the action sequences don't disappoint. In fact, the movie was violent enough to inspire the creation of the PG-13 rating (along with an assist from Temple of Doom). And I can't think of a more quintessential PG-13 movie that has as broad appeal as this one.
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#208. Almost Famous
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/dd/Almost_famous_poster1.jpg
Dir: Cameron Crowe
Genre: Drama
Year: 2000

Ah, every millennial douchebag's favorite movie!

Its insufferable fanbase aside, Almost Famous is a fantastic film. It is steeped in obvious metaphor: William is Cameron Crowe (who was actually a journalist for Rolling Stone in the 70s) and Stillwater is an amalgamation of just about every band from that era that skyrocketed to fame and then collapsed in self-destruction shortly after.

I think the movie really resonates on an emotional level more because it's so apparent how personal the story is for Cameron Crowe. You get the feeling he knew someone like Kate Hudson's character and went through that same kind of heartbreak in his youth. But even if that story is too saccharine for you, Almost Famous is still very entertaining for the ridiculousness and idiosyncratic nature of Stillwater and other bands on the tour.
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There was a time BH was my #1 movie and then Gladiator overtook it.
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#207. JFK
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/84/JFK-poster.png
Dir: Oliver Stone
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Year: 1991

JFK is so historically inaccurate that it's insulting. It's so over-the-top that it's laughable. And it's so long (3+ hours) that you begin to wonder how it's still going on. And yet I love this movie to death.

JFK is basically Oliver Stone's cocaine-induced fever dream that offers a glimpse into how a crazy paranoid person views America. I am sure that he takes this movie very seriously, but if you dare to watch it, my suggestion is that you take it all with a grain of salt. When you view the film as an expression of a conspiratorial, delusional mind, the inaccuracies become moot, the extremism thematically appropriate--and you will wish that it never ended.
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#206. Bonnie and Clyde
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/74/Bonnie_and_Clyde.JPG
Dir: Arthur Penn
Genre: Adventure, Crime
Year: 1967

Even though it was set in the 30s, Bonnie and Clyde was emblematic of 60s counterculture. It's strikingly similar to another important (French) film on this list, and basically serves as its American counterpart.

The reason why I love this movie so much is the anachronistic take on the story. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway look like they're straight out of 1967. They don't try to alter the dialogue to match up more closely with the Great Depression. Everyone looks and speaks as if this was set in the year of its release. And that's what helps bring it to another level: Bonnie and Clyde isn't a period film, it is fully committed to being an allegory for the youth of the time.
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#205. Sin City
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9e/Sincitypostercast.jpg
Dir: Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller
Genre: Action, Crime, Film Noir
Year: 2005

Sin City came out at the beginning of the hyper-stylized movie boom of the mid 2000s. This boom created some genuinely cool movies (Kill Bill) while also inspiring a bunch more that do not hold up nearly as well (300). Sin City captures this essence, for better or worse, but catapults itself out of the fray and turns into a classic.

A lot of people seem to hate this movie. I get that it's obscenely stylized. But, you know what, they made it look fucking cool. The art direction alone negates any bad feeling about its campiness. The monochromatic black-and-white scenes and the addition of color in certain sequences are pulled off with more grace than anything coming after it. It's one of those movies that, if they held back a little bit, these scenes would look forced and pretentious. But because Rodriguez went balls-to-the-wall, the extremism actually feels consistent, and it remains the one single film I've ever watched that truly feels like it's a live action graphic novel.
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I lump a few movies (Almost Famous, Eternal Sunshine, Requiem for a Dream, Fight Club) into a quarter life crisis heap that a lot of my peers got a little too into, yet I never liked all that much. Fight Club is enjoyable but I wasn't upset at myself for buying Ikea furniture.
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#204. Inception
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2e/Inception_%282010%29_theatrical_poster.jpg
Dir: Christopher Nolan
Genre: Action, Mystery, Fantasy
Year: 2010

Speaking of hyper-stylized movies, Inception absolutely blew my mind when I first saw it. The dream sequences and (literal) world-building are among the most impressive feats in cinematic history and more than make up for a really convoluted and kind of messy story.

I really love Inception. It was amazing upon release and a fun watch to this day. But one thing I must bring up is the Internet's complete infatuation with it (and Nolan movies in general). No, it's not the best movie of the 2010s. No, it's not one of the five greatest movies ever made. It's a very fun concept and extremely well-executed action movie. Let's just be happy with that and not get ahead of ourselves.
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neonreaper posted...

I lump a few movies (Almost Famous, Eternal Sunshine, Requiem for a Dream, Fight Club) into a quarter life crisis heap that a lot of my peers got a little too into, yet I never liked all that much. Fight Club is enjoyable but I wasn't upset at myself for buying Ikea furniture.

Ha, that really is a great way to look at it. I was just beginning my adolescence when all of these came out, so my peers probably viewed them a bit differently (all beloved by my friends who were just starting to find their "unique" styles, incidentally).

Mild spoilers for The List: I hate Eternal Sunshine.
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#203. A Nightmare on Elm Street
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fa/A_Nightmare_on_Elm_Street_%281984%29_theatrical_poster.jpg
Dir: Wes Craven
Genre: Horror, Fantasy
Year: 1984

Fun SephG fact #2: when I was younger, my terrible parents let me watch whatever I wanted. My favorite movie soon became A Nightmare on Elm Street. I was in kindergarten.

A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of, if not THE, most clever premises for a horror movie ever. It's essentially both a metaphor for fear/anxiety (you'll only be harmed if you let your worries consume you) and a slasher film with a unique twist on its "rules." Sure, you could watch Halloween or Friday the 13th and say to yourself, "well, what if they just chop the bad guy into a million pieces or blow him up?" and ruin your suspension of disbelief. But what do you think when the villain is a supernatural creature that manifests in dreams? You'll spend the whole film wondering how it'll work out, as you sit back and enjoy some of the most inventive practical effects of the time.
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I've been drunk in the house that Craven first came up with Nightmare on Elm St. It's since been torn down (it was a frat house in Potsdam NY and someone was hazed to death and the house was abandoned) but yeah hope that was an exciting tidbit
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Animal House is still fantastic, I agree. That and Blazing Saddles are the 70s American comedies that hit me the hardest - they're uproariously funny.

Since you have Gremlins on here - did you ever get around to watching Matinee? Dante directed that one as well, and it's a blast.
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TheCodeisBosco posted...

Since you have Gremlins on here - did you ever get around to watching Matinee? Dante directed that one as well, and it's a blast.

Never even heard of it!
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#202. The Fast and the Furious
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/54/Fast_and_the_furious_poster.jpg
Dir: Rob Cohen
Genre: Action, Crime
Year: 2001

I assume I am going to catch a lot of flak for this. I am making a list of what I genuinely consider to be the greatest films ever made. Classics directed by Billy Wilder and Alfred Hitchcock. Groundbreaking artistic achievements from David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick. And The Fast and the Furious by the guy who directed xXx.

That's right: I fucking love this movie. The sequels may have turned into really fun summer blockbuster schlock, but the original F&F has a special place in my heart. I know it's a ripoff of Point Break, but this film is more to me. The first entrant in these series is the only one (besides Toyko Drift, seriously) that's more of an exploration of a subculture. The street racing scenes feel like they're really happening somewhere. Vin Diesel and his buddies feel like real people. My favorite parts of this movie is when Vin waxes poetic about the zen of car racing. It helps remind you that a subject this esoteric can actually mean a lot more to certain people. And to me, that's what makes The Fast and the Furious more than just a racing movie. It's a film about a small group of people living in a world different from mine. And that's fascinating.
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#201. The Goonies
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c6/The_Goonies.jpg
Dir: Richard Donner
Genre: Adventure, comedy
Year: 1985

How many other movies can make you feel like The Goonies makes you feel? Nothing else imbues such a wondrous sense of adventure and exploration for me. This is obviously due to a number of reasons: the adolescent cast who is still just young enough to not be cynical, the gorgeous setting that makes you believe a pirate's cove can live under a blue collar town in Oregon, and the hearkening of a time before helicopter moms, cell phones, and GPS.

The Goonies is pretty much what every kid wishes their summer adventure could be like. And watching it as an adult can still transport you there.
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Bottom 50
250. The Last Waltz (1978)
249. Freaks (1932)
248. Superbad (2007)
247. Good Time (2017)
246. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
245. Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)
244. The Fifth Element (1997)
243. The Thing (1982)
242. The Apartment (1960)
241. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
240. The Sandlot (1993)
239. O.J.: Made in America (2016)
238. Total Recall (1990)
237. Clerks (1994)
236. Logan (2017)
235. Sling Blade (1996)
234. 28 Days Later (2002)
233. Team America: World Police (2004)
232. 25th Hour (2002)
231. Let the Right One In (2008)
230. Her (2013)
229. Beetlejuice (1988)
228. Inglorious Basterds (2008)
227. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
226. Blue Velvet (1986)
225. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
224. Zodiac (2007)
223. The Ten Commandments (1956)
222. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
221. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
220. Ghostbusters (1984)
219. 12 Angry Men (1957)
218. Happy Gilmore (1996)
217. Incendies (2010)
216. Training Day (2001)
215. Princess Mononoke (1997)
214. John Wick (2014)
213. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
212. Animal House (1978)
211. Gladiator (2000)
210. Gravity (2013)
209. Gremlins (1984)
208. Almost Famous (2000)
207. JFK (1991)
206. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
205. Sin City (2005)
204. Inception (2010)
203. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
202. The Fast and the Furious (2001)
201. The Goonies (1985)
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

Reddit Top 250? Too basic.

The further this list progresses, the funnier this line becomes.
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TomNook posted...

Nelson_Mandela posted...

Reddit Top 250? Too basic.

The further this list progresses, the funnier this line becomes.

Saving some of the obscure gems for later ;)
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