10. FIGHT CLUB (1999-DAVID FINCHER)1999 was a groundbreaking year for cinema. Ask me on any given day of the week and you'll get a different answer as to what I felt the best film of that year was. Some days it's American Beauty. On others it's Magnolia. Today it's Fight Club and therefore it's in the tenth position on this list. It was a tough decision made a lot easier by the fact that my connection to this film runs the deepest of the three. The last paper I wrote for psychology class in college was a 10-page analysis of the film and it was one of the toughest things I had to do. Not because of the content, but because I was forced to limit it to 10 pages. There was just too much discuss and analyze.
Many critics have written off the film as just a "guy movie" or a call to violence, but they're missing the point entirely. Perhaps no movie has more directly spoken to the mass-commercialized world we live in now, for better or worse, than Fight Club. Norton and Pitt own like they never have before and while I don't think this is Fincher's best film it is an unqualified masterpiece and one of the few times I felt compelled to pick up the book when it was through.
Often, when a best-selling novel like Chuck Palahniuk's is adapted into a feature film a personal voice is lost, but this movie finds a way to translate that voice perfectly. And like another Fincher film appearing on this list, it also features a twist ending that elevates the material to a deeper, more meaningful level and the use of the Pixies' "Where is My Mind" over the closing credits is just pure genius. Fight Club is a lot like A Clockwork Orange before it in that it was widely detested upon its initial release. Now we know why. This movie hits so close to home that it hurts.
9. DONNIE DARKO-ORIGINAL THEATRICAL VERSION (2001-RICHARD KELLY)I'm making it clear that this refers to the original theatrical version because I've actually never seen the director's cut of the film and I'm not anxious to given what I've heard. For me, it's perfect as it is and knowing too much could hurt the experience. Like many, I didn't see this movie when it was first released in 2001 and only checked it out when word of mouth started to build in the years that followed, cementing its cult status. It's one of the many films on this list where I wasn't exactly blown away on an initial viewing. When it ended I just kind of sat there and scratched my head.
As a huge fan of time travel films I almost felt let down because it was the first time since 12 Monkeys where I really could honestly say I didn't understand everything, or more accurately, anything. All I knew was that I needed to see it again. And again. And again. And on each viewing a couple of more pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place and by the time I had it all figured out (or thought I did) I kind of didn't want to know anymore. The mystery and unanswered questions are part of the appeal. After all, there were so many other memorable aspects to it that were worth getting caught up in instead. Like Donnie's relationship with Gretchen, Patrick Swayze's creepy supporting performance (who knew he had that in him?), Smurfs, Sparkle Motion.
It's all done masterfully and almost poetic in its brilliance, tied up with an incredibly moving finale. This isn't just a time travel movie. I always viewed it as one of the most memorable depictions of teen angst put on film, all anchored by an awesome Jake Gyllenhaal. I always kind of wondered what it would be like to see this at a midnight screening with a bunch of fans dressed as Frank The Bunny.
8. THE ICE STORM (1997-ANG LEE)The film with which this is most often compared is American Beauty, which I also loved and don't have a single negative thing to say about. I just love this more. What's funny is that of all the films on this list I think I may have watched The Ice Storm the most times. And it wasn't intentional. In the past decade it just always seemed to be playing on cable and I'd accidentally catch it. Sometimes it would be at the middle, the end, or the beginning. It didn't matter because whenever I tuned in I just couldn't stop watching.
On my initial viewing I thought it was merely okay, but it seemed on each subsequent watch I'd take a little more with me and see something else…and then another thing. Whether it be in the performances or the little emotional details Ang Lee and his top tier cast nailed down so perfectly. It's more subtle and subdued than American Beauty, letting us bask in those quite, real moments. It's so depressing yet it goes down easy without resorting to cheap melodrama like so many other suburban dramas.
On one hand it's cold but Lee manages to somehow invest the film with this warm, inviting feeling that makes me want to keep returning to it. I've never seen the 70's but this movie (and one other on here) sure makes me feel like I have. You can just sense that Lee got it right and each time I watch I'm hanging on every characters' words and even though I know what will happen next I forget that I do and just lose myself in their world.
It also features one of the most underrated casts ever assembled for a film: Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Toby Maguire, Christina Ricci, Elijah Wood and Katie Holmes (in her first big screen role and playing one of the greatest named characters ever). That's remarkable enough but what's more remarkable is that nearly all of them give their career best performance in this one movie. As unbelievable as it seems, two EVEN BETTER movies were released that year.
7. BOOGIE NIGHTS (1997-PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON)This is one of them. It's also a film that time has been generous to, as is the case with all of P.T. Anderson's efforts. Many critics and audiences have said it that he's channeling Martin Scorsese with this, which I find to be an interesting comparison. Interesting for me especially because as much as I respect and admire Scorsese's work none of his films even came close to making my list. I think part of the problem for me is that he never really explores topics I'm interested in.
I exactly can't claim to have a huge interest in the late 1970's-early 1980's porn industry either which is why it's unusual that this movie speaks to me this much. It could be because this film isn't about the porn industry at all. That's just the setting. It's actually about family and is similar to Magnolia in focusing on lost souls looking for love, forgiveness and redemption.
I'm always blown away by how well it all holds up. Mark Wahlberg never gave a better performance than he does here and neither did the Oscar nominated Julianne Moore, which is saying a lot since both have gone on to do some great work since then. The also nominated Burt Reynolds may have since squandered his big chance at a comeback but he shines here. So does Heather Graham, who will always, no matter what she does, be forever known to me as "Rollergirl." And that soundtrack kicks ass. One of my favorite all-time movie moments is when Night Ranger's "Sister Christian" cues up during that drug deal gone bad near the film's climax (no pun intended). Between this, Magnolia and last year's There Will Be Blood, Anderson is starting to occupy a space reserved for only the most talented American filmmakers.
6. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971-STANLEY KUBRICK)I've seen A Clockwork Orange exactly once. That was all I could take and all that was necessary considering it's been playing in my mind ever since. I love it when people say certain movies are brave or take huge risks. No they don't. Not like this. From the unforgettable opening shot of Alex (a frightening Malcolm McDowell) and his "droogs" sitting in the Korova Milk Bar I knew that whether I ended up hating or loving this movie, I'd never see anything like it and wouldn't again.
Kubrick is the rare kind of director whose films exist in this timeless vacuum where not only do they never age, it's almost impossible to tell when they were made. This movie could have been released today and critics and audiences everywhere would herald it as being ahead of its time. Besides being downright scary, it's repulsive and tells us things about ourselves we'd probably rather not know. Banned to this day in England, the infamous "Singin' in the Rain" rape scene shocks just as much now as it did then. But all this would mean nothing if it didn't make you think, which was always Kubrick's specialty.
5. THE SWIMMER (1968-FRANK PERRY)Imagine the most frightening episode of The Twilight Zone you've ever seen, magnify it times a hundred and add on top of it the best (and undeniably most daring) performance of Burt Lancaster's career, and you have The Swimmer, based on John Cheever's short story of the same name. I accidentally came across this film earlier in the decade and if the most important qualification for a great film is discovering something new on each viewing then this is the greatest film on my list. All those American suburban nightmares like Ordinary People, The Ice Storm, American Beauty and Little Children had the trail blazed for them by this.
To say this isn't the most audience friendly film would be an understatement as the viewer is left to do all the heavy lifting in unraveling the mystery of a man's life as he decides to "swim home" on a hot summer day in August. What unfolds is beyond disturbing and has haunted me ever since. Some say that the film looks and sounds terribly dated, like a bygone relic from another era. But for me that just increases the horror and effectiveness of the entire picture. Forget about Jaws. This is the movie that keeps me far away from the water.
I think it's one the most underrated, criminally overlooked films ever made and my one wish is that more people knew just how perfect it really is. Every time I watch it my appreciation and awe magnifies from the viewing before and everyone I know is already sick of hearing me babble about it constantly. I'll continue to do so until it's regarded as the masterpiece it is.
4. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968- STANLEY KUBRICK)Many have accused Stanley Kubrick's films of being cold, sterile and lacking emotion. I can kind of see where they're coming from because the emotion he offers up isn't what we're used to. It isn't the kind that's warm, fuzzy, or will have you skipping out of the theater when the final credits roll. Kubrick refuses to sentimentalize anything. His movies are an acquired taste, so much so that it wasn't until I graduated high school that I thought I was ready to see this one, his greatest achievement.
There's really no way to fully prepare for 2001 and it's impossible to absorb not just everything, but anything, at first glance. You just sit back and let in engulf you, come to terms with the fact that it's the strangest trip you'll ever take and then watch it again. It's probably the most beautifully shot film ever made and a great argument against CGI. The movie came out in 1968 and doesn't look like it's more than two weeks old and the visual effects look far superior to any of the computer generated nonsense used now. I've never gotten the opportunity to see it on the big screen, which saddens me, but that final Star Gate sequence continues to blow my mind every time I watch it, and I don't even have to be under the influence of anything. As far as it not containing any emotion, just watch the scene where Bowman (Keir Dullea) disconnects HAL 9000. All those film snobs you can't stand are actually right this time. 2001 is the greatest science fiction film ever made and nothing comes close to touching it.
3. BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985-ROBERT ZEMECKIS)The story goes that when Back To The Future producer and co-writer Bob Gale was looking at his dad's old high school yearbook he started to wonder whether he would have been friends with his father since they seemed so different. Who knew that germ of an idea would turn into one of cinema's most beloved trilogies? Its ranking on this list is actually more representative of the three films strung together since it's impossible for me to separate them in my mind. Each movie brings something entirely different and important to the table while at the same time contributing to the entire saga. No three films hold together as well or flow as seamlessly. I think because all of them go down so easily and are so entertaining Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd often don't get the credit they deserve for their performances. I can't recall two actors having better chemistry onscreen than these two.
Very few films from my youth hold a special place for me but this is one of them. I wouldn't be watching movies now if not for this and one of my favorite moments as a kid was when I actually got to ride in a DeLorean. I always found it funny that a car manufactured in the early 80's looks more futuristic than anything that could ever actually be produced in the future. I'm sure that irony wasn't lost on Gale and Zemeckis when they made that perfect choice of vehicle. It's a lot of fun to re-watch the film now because it works on so many different levels. The present in which the movie was filmed is now the past so it adds another interesting layer to an already interesting film.
Crispin Glover and Lea Thompson are amazing and Thomas F. Wilson's Biff Tannen deserves to be placed in the pantheon of the greatest movie villains. How many other actors have played multiple versions of themselves and their ancestors over different time periods throughout the course of three films? It's pretty much a national treasure to me and I'm one of the few who absolutely love the third installment, which besides featuring Lloyd's best performance as Doc, wrapped up the series on the highest note possible.
2. THE GAME (1997-DAVID FINCHER)Yet another film from 1997 and this one is the most underappreciated, overlooked of decade. It's almost like the forgotten stepchild in David Fincher's portfolio, although as the years have passed and Fincher's reputation has increased it's very slowly started to get the credit it deserves. It's also ahead of its time, foretelling the popularity of role-playing games and reality television. I don't think any of Fincher's other work even comes close to this, which isn't faint praise considering this is the guy who directed Se7en, Fight Club and Zodiac. One of the biggest criticisms I hear is that John Brancato and Michael Ferris' brilliant screenplay doesn't play fair with the audience and stretches credibility. Not true. It's completely air tight but for me to explain how would require going into too many details that would spoil the film's many shocking surprises.
It goes without saying this is Michael Douglas' greatest performance, but watch Sean Penn's supporting work as he subtly gives clues as to where this whole Rubik's cube of a conspiracy is heading. Most screenwriters paint themselves into a corner when they offer up a premise this intriguing, but the payoff here far exceeds even the wildest expectations and makes repeated viewings a real treat.
But all of it would have collapsed without Fincher's direction. The guy is so talented he can make a hamburger look menacing and as the film spirals toward its unforgettable conclusion we're given one of my favorite scenes in movie history when Douglas' character comes face to face with everyone involved in this sadistic plot. We, along with him, realize just how far it's gone and can't wait to see how it ends. It's the greatest of twist endings because it takes what was already an incredible suspense thriller and lifts it to another level as an emotionally moving morality play.
1. ALMOST FAMOUS-UNTITLED DIRECTORS CUT (2000-CAMERON CROWE)I realize that by ranking this film #1 I've unintentionally implied that it's somehow better than the rest of the films on this list. I can't reasonably argue that Almost Famous is technically superior to something like 2001: A Space Odyssey but I do know when someone asks me what my favorite movie is I answer this one with very little hesitation. I know that there's no other movie I feel closer to, get more joy watching, am more moved by, or featured a protagonist I relate to more. It may not do anything groundbreaking cinematically and could be considered a "writer's movie," but from where I sit that counts for a hell of a lot.
For me Crowe's autobiographical love letter to rock was a movie made for anyone who was told that they shouldn't write about themselves because no one will care. And he responded by writing this and reminding us that movies are first and foremost about good storytelling. It all starts on the page and without that we have nothing. When Kate Hudson lost the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Penny Lane I think it was the first time I was legitimately furious with the Academy. I may not be crazy about the film choices Hudson has made since, there's nothing she can do in my mind to diminish the impact of her work here. About the only thing worse is that Parick Fugit, Billy Crudup and the picture itself weren't nominated at all.
I'm always wary of director's cuts but I think this is one of those rare cases where the director's cut really enhances the film and fleshes it out more in a way that makes the story resonate deeper. When I first saw the theatrical version on DVD I liked it a lot. When I saw it the second time I loved it. But when I saw the director's cut I thought it was the greatest thing I ever saw. It makes perfect sense I would favor the version with the longer running time though since I loved the characters so much I didn't want my time with them to end. It could have gone on forever and I wouldn't have complained. Almost Famous is my favorite movie of all-time and it's a pretty clear-cut victory.
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