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Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Top 100 Movies: Part 8

My Top 100 Movies list continues with several more picks for my list.



40: Seven Samurai
Seven Samurai was the first subtitled foreign language film that I had watched and my first Japanese film, so the movie took me by complete surprise by how engrossing the film turned out to be. Akira Kurosawa is a truly amazing director that has influenced many films and filmmakers in the west, including George Lucas. The story of Seven Samurai has been remade and homaged far too many times to count in various forms of media like the aforementioned Magnificent Seven, but you can never top the original.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is by a fan, for the fans, as it perfectly captures the mixture of lighthearted humor and dark drama that is the hallmark of the Spider-Man comics. Some of you might be surprised by how high the film is on my list, and I am even surprising myself a bit as well, but it truly delivers almost everything that I wanted to see in a Spider-Man film.
Andrew Garfield demonstrates yet again why he is the definitive Spider-Man, as he finally gets to be the wisecracking hero that we all know and love from the comics.
Honestly, the hate and negative reviews for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is mostly mind boggling to me. Although, the film certainly has some shortcomings, and, in a way, it is a guilty pleasure to a certain degree, because I admit that it might be overrated on my list.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Review

One of Clint Eastwood’s early directorial efforts, The Outlaw Josey Wales is my favorite western of all-time. The film is different type of western than what has come before or since. If you are a western fan and have not seen The Outlaw Josey Wales, do yourself a favor and go watch it, you will not regret it.


After two disappointing X-Men films, Matthew Vaughn revitalized the X-Men franchise with First Class. While continuity issues can cause confusion, X-Men: First Class worked so well on so many levels. Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy owned the roles of Magneto and Xavier, excellently, plus a little Jennifer Lawrence never hurts.
X-Men: First Class Review.


36: Spider-Man
Spider-Man is the film that turned me into a comic book fan. While the first X-Men movie and Burton’s Batman movies gave me an interest in the superhero genre as a kid, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man turned that interest into the obsession that it is today. Today, however, a lot of people dislike Tobey Maguire’s portrayal on the character. Aside from a few corny and dated parts, the movie holds up just as well today as it did more than a decade ago. Despite the critical praise, I honestly cannot understand the hate the movie receives from the general public.



Alfred Hitchcock’s virtually invented the action thriller genre with North by Northwest. The film was so far ahead of its time in 1959 that its influence can be seen in many of today’s films. However, few, if any, have done it better than this masterpiece of cinematic brilliance.
North by Northwest Review.

34: Die Hard
Die Hard is one of the most influential action movies of all-time, and it remains one of the best. While some modern viewers might view Die Hard as clichéd, it invented many of what are now considered clichés. At the time, only Indiana Jones was a better pure action hero than John McClane, and Bruce Willis brought an everyman quality to the role that made the character relatable compared to most action heroes from the era. 


Daniel Craig's reboot of the classic franchise with a dark and damaged James Bond could have easily been disastrous; fortunately however, it turned out to be one of the best Bond movies yet. While I did not even like the movie the first time I watched it, having re-watched it several times, Casino Royale is undoubtedly one of my favorites. It revitalized the Bond franchise and made it relevant for the modern era. 
Casino Royale (21st Bond movie) Review.

32: Kara no Kyōkai: A Study in Murder – Part 2
My favorite and final film in the Kara no Kyōkai series, A Study in Murder – Part 2, gives the viewers the answers we wanted. Everything about the film is brilliantly suspenseful, intense, and mysterious, and the animation is simply the best ever as far as I am concerned. There could not have been a better conclusion to one of the best film series ever made.

Rear Window is, hand down, the most suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat film I have ever seen! In fact, it is the film that expanded my view of what suspense is and how it can be used to brilliant effect, so it should be no surprise that it was made by none other than the Master of Suspense himself, Alfred Hitchcock. In terms of pure direction and filmmaking quality, few films rival Hitchcock’s Rear Window.


Please check back tomorrow for my review of Seven Samurai, and let me know what you think of my picks in the comments below.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

16 comments:

  1. 'Rear Window' is something special! I think it's the production design of the apartment complex. It's like a tiny, secluded community back there and it's totally believable, I flat out love it! I think it's my favorite Hitchcock movie as well (with Psycho a close second).

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    1. It is special indeed. Hitchcock's direction is truly masterful. Glad to see another fan of his masterpiece.

      -James

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  2. Wow Seven Samurai is high on your list! It was a really good movie, glad you liked it! :)

    The Amazing Spider-Man 2 DOES NOT deserve the hate it gets. What is wrong with people. :D

    Haven't seen Outlaw...

    I've only seen X-Men First Class and I don't remember it that well but I liked Jennifer Lawrence. :)

    Spider-Man! I really really liked that movie, I simply rewatched it too many times too close together, lol! I didn't realize the general public gave it hate. :( I can't wait for my brother to see this movie when he's a little older!

    North By Northwest isn't one of my favorites but it was a good watch and it had some great, memorable moments!

    DIE HARD. EEEEEEEEEEKKKKK. <3

    Haven't seen Casino Royale...

    Haven't seen a Study in Murder either but the title is intriguing because I like murder... in movies of course. XD

    Rear Window was good! At first it felt a little slow but my gosh the ending had me SO on edge, totally making it a good experience!

    Great list so far! :)

    ~Jamie

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    1. *I've only seen X-Men First Class *once*--I should say. :)

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  3. I think the problem with The Amazing Spiderman 2 is that it looks more like a big advertisement-teaser for what is to come from Sony, instead of persevering as a movie itself. The other problems, like story structure, etc, come from that. I think the original Spiderman movies (I mean by Toby) are made with more heart, because at least they're trying to make genuine movies instead of ones whose sole purpose is to desperately expand the Spiderman movie franchise. I guess that's why many people hate The Amazing Spiderman 2.

    Also, I really want to check out Kara no Kyokai, and many more other anime particularly from this and last season. Hopefully I could watch some during the Christmas days off.

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    1. True. You have an excellent point, and it makes a lot of sense. Thank you for opinion of the film.

      As for Kara no Kyokai, I obviously recommend it highly. Also, I still recommend Parasyte above just about any anime from 2014. It is not quite perfect, but in my opinion is one of the best and most intense anime in a long time.

      -James

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  4. By the way, have you seen Rashomon? That one is also by Akira Kurosawa. Seen it once in a required viewing at film class.

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    1. Yes, I have seen Rashomon. It was not my favorite of his Kurosawa's work, but it was very good.

      -James

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  5. Glad to see TASM2 rank so high on the list; I don't understand the hate it recieves, and while there are some particular things I don't care too much about the film-particularly the flashing lights in the first Goblin scene. That scene alone deserved an elipsey warning-I do love it, and consider it one of my favorite films. And, until today, I honestly didn't know there was hate toward the original Spider-Man movie. What? Why! It's a brilliant film, and yeah they can edge on corny at somepoints I suppose, but they're amazing! *pun kinda/sorta/not really intended*. X-Men: First Class....probably one of the better X-Men movies, admittedly. I mainly just love Xavier and Raven's friendship; it really added something that would play a major part in the next film. Rear Window is indeed a classic; while I've never seen it, I've seen television episodes paraody it a little (the show in particular would be Castle). I'll probably eventually watch it one day. Excellent list, James!
    -Tegan

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    1. Glad to see another fan of the film. :)

      Agreed, Xavier and Raven's friendship was one of the best parts of the film. I am looking forward to what they do next with the franchise.

      Thank you Tegan!

      -James

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  6. Great choices! :) I like the ones I've seen and the ones I haven't seen look good!: )
    I agree, I don't get why people dislike the original Spider-Man films- I really liked them. :)

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  7. Clint Eastwood, Bruce Willis, Cary Grant, and Jimmy Stewart. I have a hard time putting Bruce in this group but really he belongs there.

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    1. Yeah, I suppose he does belong, although the other actors are better.

      -James

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  8. Here's a first: I've seen 8 of these! And I like all 8, and love 3 of them enough to own copies (XFC, NBN, and CR). I wouldn't mind having Rear Window too, though. Good choices!

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    1. That's good! Glad you liked some of these as well. :) And thank you.

      -James

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One rule: No strong profanity. If you want to link to one of your posts, please do; I am always interested in other reviews and such.

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