Mister Roberts
Another WWII film. This time a drama-dey set on a Naval supply ship. The deck officer (played by Henry Fonda reprising the role from his run on Broadway) dreams of serving on an actual fighting ship and not just a supply ship that never goes anywhere. The captain is an ass and the crew a bunch of miscreants. Jack Lemmon offers an awesome performance as the young ensign in charge of Laundry and Morale.
46.
Mitchell: The MST3k version
Original film was Joe Don Bakers response to Shaft. And boy is it a stinker of a film. Fitting that the crew of the Sattelite of Love chose it to be the last film seen by Joel before he left the show. Some of my favorite ever quips from the bots come from this film.
47. 48. 49
An old tried and true cornerstone of Hollywood, the underdog sports story. You take yourself a team that has no chance of getting anywhere and by the end they have won the championship, or at least the hearts and minds of their fans. I offer to my list, three of the best examples of the genre.
Major League
The film that restarted the genre. Sure it's just baseball but manages to actually be funny (you can even see Wesley Snipes before he became too full of himself) and some great lines.
Mystery, Alaska
One of the few sports I actually enjoy watching; Hockey. We have here a small town in BFE Alaska who has their own team and plays a nice game of pond hockey. For a ratings pull, the sports network decides to get the NY Rangers to come play the team. An actual touching film looking at small town life. The coldness of the Alaskan winter shown in the film makes it a great movie to watch on a hot summer day.
Men With Brooms
Curling. The sport of Kings. Candian film about a ragtag group of Curlers trying to honor their dead coach (whose ashes are implanted in the teams curling rock) by winning the tournament. A noble effort from our neighbors to the north to give us a underdog sports story. Plus, it's got Leslie Nielsen high on mushrooms for the entire film. You can't go wrong with that.
50. 51. 52.
Anime. Some people love it. Some don't get it. If after introducing someone to the world of anime through the film Laputa (see # 39 on my list) they feel they want to experience more, I offer them the following three films. Each film offers a wider variety to the art styles used and more examples of the different approaches to story telling the Japanese use.
Neo Tokyo
A movie in three parts where each part is really just it's own mini film.
Part 1 is an adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. I actually don't care for this sequence much. Visually it is beautiful but the story doesn't do much.
Part 2 is something many people might have seen before. In the early 90s, MTV had a little show called Liquid Television One short they showed was this same segment called "The Running Man" the story deals with a reporter investigating a race car driver who has outlived every other driver in the league. A very dark but finely crafted tale.
Part 3 is my favorite. "The Order to Stop Construction" Out in the jungle of some unnamed south american country, a Japanese company has been given permission of the locals to create an industrial city to harvest the natural resources. The entire construction site is run by robots with one human director. A military coup occurs and the company is asked to leave the country. Having lost contact with the original director, a new man is sent in to shut the place down. Unfortunately, the robot in charge can only follow his initial orders to continue building no matter the cost.
Robot Carnival
Think of the Japanese version of Fantasia. Except every short focuses on robots. Some scenes are funny, some are strange and some are emotionally moving. To get the broadest sense of animation styles, this is the film to watch.
Plastic Little
This one gives us a look into the world of "Fan Service" A loose scifi plot gives us a fun little popcorn adventure with one dimensional bad guys, wicked cool explosions and boobies.
53.
Office Space
What can be said about this that hasnt already been said. It main inclusion to the list is for its truthfulness.
54. 55.
Sergio Leone and his magnificent westerns. The man has made some awesome films and these two are his best westerns.
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
Three men, all looking for buried treasure. An awesome soundtrack as well.
Once Upon A Time In The West
Much better in plot to GBU. A deep complicated story that actually took me a couple viewings to get everything that goes on. Plus, its got Henry Fonda as the best bad guy ever.
56. 57. 58.
Ok, I will admit it, I love a good musical. Too many to admit actually. However, there are three out there that should be seen by everyone. Even if you don't like musicals.
Paint Your Wagon
A treat from the late 60s. Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood star in a musical set in the gold rush days of California. They manage to form a poly relationship with a woman and sing alot. Yes, Lee Marvin sings. It's awesome.
Little Shop of Horrors
A remake of a crappy roger corman scifi film. This manages to be quite entertaining. It's got a singing plant.
Reefer Madness - The Movie Musical
Making a musical out of the original Reefer Madness seemed like a terrible idea to me at first. However, after viewing the film I have come to believe it is the greatest musical ever made. In the end it appears to be very pro-pot but at its core it is a strong case against fear-mongering and propaganda.
59.
POTC: Black pearl
One would never think that a movie based off of a ride at Disneyland would be any good. Johnny Depp manages to elevate this film from ok to great. Never taking itself too seriously (it's a pirate film...with cursed pirate zombies) this swashbuckling adventure never fails to please me. However, I do recommend avoiding the sequels.
60.
Predator
If it bleeds...we can kill it. Schwarzenegger leads a military rescue team through a south american jungle who are then hunted by a intergalactic big game hunter. Once again John McTiernan delivers a taunt action thriller with a perfect blend of scifi.
61.
The Prestige
All you need to know is this film stars Batman (Christian Bale) against Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) as magicians. Thats it. Just see it.
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