100 Favorite Movies, Part 8

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• 30. SIGNS (2002) - I know The Sixth Sense is supposedly the classic, but my response to Signs is much more visceral. This film so effectively builds tension is reminds me of Hitchcock, right down to the Bernard Herrmann-reminiscent score. By not truly revealing the aliens until almost the end of the film, M. Night Shyamalan meditates on an eerie mood, where baby monitors are complicit and pictures in books have ominous connotations. I still don't like to look in the reflection of a black TV screen for fear of what may be behind me. By the time the action commences, the film is no longer really about aliens, but about faith. Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix are just brilliant, creating believable, credible characters that convey humor and deep emotion, and they are aided by two of the best child actors around in Rory Culkin and adorable moppet Abigail Breslin.
• 29. KILL BILL (2003 & 2004) - Quentin Tarantino expertly interweaves qualities and textures of several genres into a unique, vibrant, and engaging saga of revenge. He also assembles a great ensemble cast with vivid characterizations of Bill, Gogo, Pai Mei, Elle Driver and Oh-Ren Ishi. Uma Thurman really digs her heels into this character, and the Bride becomes an endearing mixture of raw emotion and ferocious tenacity. Tarantino is also the king of musical cues, taking a wide variety of styles and matching them to the exact right cue in the story - his soundtracks are so eclectic, they rock! Volume One is buzzing with energy, and films it's stylistic violence in creative angles, punctuating many moments with humor. Volume Two takes it's time, allowing the emotion behind the story to build and resonate, making that last conversation with Bill crackle with tension and provide a properly sad ending.
• 28. SHE'S THE MAN (2005) - I have no excuse for ranking a movie of this quality so high on my list other than it is my number one guilty pleasure. The plot is ludicrous, stretching the confines of believability, and yet I happily buy it every step of the way. Amanda Bynes's comedic style isn't for everyone, but watching her preposterous attempts to act like a boy are full-on hilarious to me. She commits to every act with such manic intensity that regardless of whether it works realistically, it's still damn funny! I have probably watched this movie more times than some of the films in my top 20 and I laugh every time. It's just plain fun for me, and features a shirtless Channing Tatum to boot. I'm not infallible, people! I'm just a girl!
• 27. BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005) - I won't deny that the politics of this particular story hit me where it hurts. But this film is so much more than that. The story focuses so intently on these two men; in it's quiet, simple way it makes me care deeply and grieve for their inability to find happiness. Ang Lee manages to make a film with a message, but it's not broadcast, and it's not an agenda. This is just a story of these two, sad boys and the lives they lived. It's acted to perfection, and I love love love the score - a lot of simple guitar twangs that seem to echo mournfully across the empty countryside. The landscapes are filled with a beauty and grandeur really served best on the big screen.
• 26. A HARD DAY'S NIGHT (1964) - An entire film where the Beatles pretty much act just like themselves: witty, charming, self-deprecating, smart and full of joy. The music is, of course, superb, and the musical performances are brimming with enthusiasm. The sharp script takes advantage of each Beatles' specific personality: Paul is mostly responsible for his twisted grandfather, but able to affably talk circles around reporters; Ringo is picked on and wanders off, but knows how to throw a zinger; George is the master of facial expressions and in one of my favorite scenes, slyly tells an advertising exec the brutal truth about his star girl; and John tackles everything with a childlike exuberance, from his ongoing snarks at the manager to an irreverent bathtub session playing with toy ships, adorned in captain's hat.
• 25. DAZED AND CONFUSED (1993) - This is the way I always imagined high school would be, and even if I was wrong, this is the way I look back and remember it anyway. Nothing particularly special happens, but there are so many interesting characters and fun situations and harsh truths learned and great moments had within this film's specific attention to detail. Watching these characters is comforting; I feel like I know them. The cast delivers the closely observed dialogue with truth and humor, and a kick-ass soundtrack punches up every moment. We've all had nights like this, where nothing actually happened, and yet, everything happened. God! This movie is just so great I don't even know how to accurately sing it's praises!
• 24. SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959) - Quite simply one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. It starts off looking like a '30's gangster picture, but it's a perfectly structured comedy through and through. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in drag are some of the ugliest women in the world, but they make it work. Lemmon gets to have the most fun, surrounded by the all-female band, cackling deviously and ultimately beginning to believe he actually is a girl. Curtis dons a ridiculously funny Cary Grant impersonation to woo Marilyn Monroe's sexy Sugar Kane, brimming with seductive appeal and a wispy singing voice. The movie never lets up it's break-neck pacing and every scene is peppered with fresh double entendres delivered with sublime comic timing.

• 23. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) - The movie does come in at 4 hours, but every inch of this Civil War epic is saucy melodrama - the greatest soap opera ever told! At it's heart are two characters full of flaws, but Vivian Leigh and Clark Gable inhabit them so completely, every line and action is alive with presence and force. Yes, Scarlett is a vain, whiny brat, but she's also the strongest person in the story. Whether you hate her or not, her determination to survive gets everyone close to her through the destruction of the South. And once you strip away Rhett's southern charm, there is a wounded, faithful man desperately in love with the one woman who will never let him love her. It's a tragedy told on a sumptuous Technicolor scale and I love every minute of it!

• 22. WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE? (1993) - This film has three outstanding performances: most obviously, Leonardo DiCaprio blows our socks off as the mentally challenged Arnie, who is both exasperating and endearing, and never feels like a cliche; Johnny Depp is unusually understated as Gilbert, hitting all the rights notes, divided between feelings of love and shame for his family; Juliette Lewis is spunky and lovable, that quirky girl who blows into town and changes things just by being herself. The small town is odd, but it never feels like the film is making fun of it; there's just a sad emptiness pervading life there, causing characters to search out bizarre forms of solace. The story ends on a note of acceptance and hope, recognizing that sometimes it is ourselves and not life that gets in the way of our happiness.

• 21. THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987) - This film has it all. A deeply romantic love story, dueling swords, a battle of wits, an engineered war, chases, weddings, people coming back from the dead, and a perverse sense of humor. Carey Elwes has a dazzling comic timing as Westley, combining a suave demeanor, rugged athleticism, and biting wit into a fallible and entertaining hero. His scenes with Inigo (Mandy Patinkin) and Fezzik (Andre the Giant) are a highlight for the comedic chemistry, superb physical comedy, and strange kinship. The script is so wonderful, mixing elements of an epic romance with slapstick and spoof so that the film transcends genre; it is part of them all. (And of course, I can't fail to mention Billy Crystal's hilarious cameo as Miracle Max, Vezzini's continuous refrain "Inconceivable," or "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." AWESOME!!!)

100 Favorite Movies Part 9