Top Movie List 21-30

Trevor’s Top Movies 21-30

30. Superman II (Richard Lester with a little Richard Donner) – I love Superman on film, big screen or small screen, that character was made for film more than the comics. In comics the character doesn’t quite work, he is too god-like and too hard for the reader to like or identify with. On film he comes off more personable plus the grand battles work because film is less frequent then four comics a month. Superman II is surely grand, the superhero/villain battle is what makes me really enjoy this movie. I am very much looking forward to the Richard Donner cut of this movie, aside from the super battle the theatrical release actually isn’t very good. Trivia for the day, Gene Hackman actually didn’t film any scenes for Superman II directed by Richard Lester.

29. The Godfather: Part 2 (1974, Francis Ford Coppola) – I’ve seen quite a few lists that have this as the best movie ever made, better than the original. I think the original is actually better but this is an incredible film. I enjoy crime dramas and mob movies and this is the Godfather so of course I enjoy it.

28. Ghostbusters (1984, Ivan Reitman) – “Where do those stairs go?”, “They go up, Ray”. How can you not like this movie, it is so funny. It is still something I need to watch every six months or so.

27. Dazed and Confused (1993, Richard Linkletter) – “That’s what I love about high school girls, you get older and they stay the same age”. I’ve never been into the pot lifestyle, I’ve actually never done any drugs not prescribed or alcohol based, but I’ve had plenty of friends who were. Mix that with great acting, a fun script, and a funny movie in general, you’ve got a classic.

26. The Wizard of Oz (1939, Victor Fleming) – How much does it suck for this movie and winning best picture, you come out the same year as Gone With the Wind. Talk about a movie that helps define a generation, there are so many women my parents age, children of people who were kids when this came out, with the name Dorothy and even Glenda. Plus everyone knows someone who has had a dog named Toto. Also very timeless, I loved it when I was a kid, some 45 years after it was released and my daughter loves it.

25. Jurassic Park (1993, Steven Spielberg) – Unlike Batman I was able to stand in line for the midnight showing of this one, me and a buddy when to see it. My word, when you first see the dinosaurs you’re tempted to pass out along with Dr. Grant. Movie making and special effects had truly changed with this one, mostly for the better, some for the worse. Also this is the only good novel by Michael Crichton, although it isn’t much like the movie.

24. The Silence of the Lambs (1991, Jonathan Demme) – If you talk about a movie being made as close to perfection as possible this is probably the movie you’re talking about. This movie is so good, disturbing, yet so good.

23. Schindler’s List (1993, Steven Spielberg) – Like I said I sorted movies but different criteria and one of those was how re-watchable a movie is and that put this move in the 50’s. I’ve seen this movie four times, it is so emotionally draining it is hard to watch very often. Taking away how much I like a movie or how many times I can watch it, this is probably the best movie I’ve ever seen.

22. The Truman Show (1997, Peter Weir) – Having just suffered through the worst period in US TV history, the reality TV age, this movie is even better. I think Ed Harris and Jim Carrey just nail their parts and help this dramatically underrated movie. Pretty Bird and I were working at a movie theater when this was released, it amazed me how polar this movie was. People either got it and loved it or people didn’t get it and hated it. Well that and the people who say the photo mosaic of Jim Carrey on the poster and thought it was going to be a comedy.

21. Back To The Future (1985, Robert Zemeckis) – My buddies and I just couldn’t believe it ended on a cliffhanger, we didn’t understand how you could do that. Everyone also had the idiot buddy who tried to tag along on his skateboard behind a car. We all also wanted to own DeLoreans and be rock stars when we grew up, well it’s not like we didn’t want to do that before.