For a long, long time now, I've been talking about how I was pulling my top 100 movie list back together. I had always intended to do that, and then talk about my choices here on the blog. But there was always "just one more movie" I wanted to watch again, just to be sure I'd placed it just right in the order.
I've now realized that I'll really never be done with this project. Well, obviously... even if I watched every one of the "check it out again" movies on my list, the top 100 list would still be open to changing any time I saw something new that was worthy.
So, I've decided to stop waiting, and go ahead and roll out the list. I figure I'll do five a day -- not consecutively, I suspect, but occupying 20 days' worth of blog posts over the next couple months. It'll be a snapshot of what my 100 favorite movies are now, and we'll leave it at that.
Of course, if you're linked with me on Flickchart, you could jump right to the "last page" and see my whole list. But here on the blog, I intend to say a few words about my choices. Comments welcome, of course.
Enough fanfare. Let's get on with it!
100. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This is the first of the Harry Potter movies to truly venture into darker territory. It also was the first not to be directed by Chris Columbus, and Alfonso Cuarón definitely brought a more adult, sinister slant to the proceedings. In the original books, I'd say that Harry Potter didn't quite make the turn to "less kiddie books" until book 4, but movie 3 marks that turning point. The three central children all step up their acting game, and new cast members Gary Oldman and David Thewlis add great work to the mix as well. It's also John Williams' last work as composer on the series. The time-turner sequence at the end is just great fun, and the climax when Harry conjures his performance is dramatic and moving. Great film.
99. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. It was not my plan to have two Harry Potter films end up back to back here at the bottom of my list, but that's how it worked out. Rather than go on again about the movie, I'll point you to my original review.
98. Chicken Run. Aardman Animations is awesome. And while this film wasn't quite as hilarious as the Wallace and Gromit shorts I saw first, I still loved it. I laughed at the jokes, I gawked at the painstaking animation in the elaborate finale. The voice talent, including Miranda Richardson, Timothy Spall, Imelda Staunton, and yes, Mel Gibson, all work to make the characters come to life, and the talented animators complete the wonderful performances. A great movie.
97. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Though I loved The Hobbit when I read it as a child, I never had much of a connection to the trilogy that followed it. I'd tried to read it several times over the years, getting a few chapters farther each time, but ultimately abandoning it for boredom. In short, I wasn't waiting on pins and needles for this film. But the adaptation for this film was excellent, cutting off so much of the unneeded chaff. Peter Jackson spearheaded the most amazing designers ever assembled and created a fully fleshed out and credible world, and the cast is simply perfect. Composer Howard Shore does the best work of his career. Really, the only things that undermine this film in any way is the knowledge of where the story goes afterward -- Gandalf's death would mean more here if it were indeed final, for example. Still, a wonderful film.
96. Shakespeare in Love. It's become fashionable to complain that this film was not the most deserving of its year, to say that Saving Private Ryan should have won Best Picture. (And yes, it should have.) But say that in praise of the other film, not in dismissal of this one. Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes are a compelling romantic couple, and the supporting cast of Geoffrey Rush, Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton, and Ben Affleck are all wonderful too. A touchingly sweet and clever story.
That's it until next time...
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