So, as it turns out, the Empire top 100 list I dorked out about a while back was not the actual top 100 -- the magazine had just selected 100 movies from the top 500 to use as covers to promote the list as a whole (and conveniently forgot to clarify this with the readers). I am glad to have be incorrect on this turn of events, so, with the recent release of the whole Empire top 500 movies of all time list, I offer nothing but positive thoughts. Hooray!
First, once again, my list with the movies' placement on the Empire list for comparison:
1. Dr. Strangelove (#26)
2. The Empire Strikes Back (#3)
3. Psycho (#45)
4. Duck Soup (#135)
5. Dog Day Afternoon (#443)
6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (#73)
7. Grave of the Fireflies (n/a) :( :( :(
8. The Hustler (#102)
9. Paths of Glory (#185)
10. Mulholland Dr. (#391)
And now for something completely different random thoughts:
-- Sweeney Todd (#490) is maybe the biggest collection of weird in any musical: Johnny Depp, Tim Burton, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman and Sacha Baron Cohen. Try to top that.
-- The Wicker Man (1973) (#485): Good horror movie. Almost as good: The unintentional comedy of the remake with Nicolas Cage. "AHHHHHHHHHH NOT THE BEES NOT THE BEES AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!11111"
-- I was kind of glad to see The Fountain (#484) on here. It's an underrated movie -- maybe a bit pretentious and less epic than it would like to be, but good nonetheless.
-- Dog Day Afternoon has Al Pacino's best performance. I will go to the grave believing this.
-- Belle from Beauty and the Beast (#436) is my favorite Disney heroine.
-- Danger: Diabolik (#429) is the only movie riffed on MST3K to appear on the list. A crowning achievement.
-- Dawn of the Dead (1978) (#415): Dead Rising about 28 years before Dead Rising.
-- Heathers (#412) is the best teen movie ever. I will also argue this to the grave.
-- Zelig (#408) is one of the funniest comedies of the 1980s. No, really. VERY pleasantly surprised to see this on the list.
-- Reese Witherspoon is so bizarrely creepy in Election (#389). Plus, it has Matthew Broderick as a teacher. Irony of ironies.
-- The Long Goodbye (#357) is Philip Marlowe transported from the 1950s to the 1970s. It is as weird as it sounds but is still a great movie.
-- "And this is how we kiss in Germany" is still hilarious. Bravo, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (#306).
-- The Thing (#289) is the best non-Psycho horror movie. More arguments to take to the grave.
-- Pee-wee's Big Adventure (#271) is a really good movie. I miss Pee-wee Herman. Does anyone else miss Pee-wee?
-- Ghost World (#266): DEFINITELY the only movie where Steve Buscemi is the love interest.
-- The Exorcist (#206) has my favorite movie poster ever. Very simple, and very cool.
-- It killed me to leave There Will Be Blood (#144) off my list. People who say it is just Daniel Day-Lewis acting for two-and-a-half hours are dead wrong.
-- Before Sunrise (#200) and Before Sunset (#110) are the rarest of the rare -- intelligent romance movies.
-- I said it before, and I'll say it again: Man, I love being a turtle George C. Scott is REALLY evil in The Hustler. Like, if I saw him on the streets after watching this, I would want to punch him.
-- Along the same lines, Robert Mitchum is REALLY scary in The Night of the Hunter (#71). I would definitely not punch Mitchum after seeing this, although I would not punch him at any time unless I had a death wish.
-- You have not lived until you have seen Bruce Campbell battle a headless, chainsaw-wielding zombie whose head is cackling away while stuck in a vice. Evil Dead II (#49) is the best.
-- The original Star Wars trilogy should be required by law to be shown in theaters every 20 years. 2017, here we come!!
And, finally, just for fun, notable listed movies I have not seen:
-- The Apartment (#12)
-- Some Like it Hot (#27)
-- Gone with the Wind (#31)
-- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (#32)
-- Seven Samurai (#50)
-- 8 1/2 (#51)
-- La Dolce Vita (#55)
-- Casino Royale (#56)
-- Spartacus (#77)
-- The Great Escape (#82)
-- Carrie (#86)
-- When Harry Met Sally (#90)
-- Harvey (#129)
-- Dances with Wolves (#137)
-- Gladiator (#151)
-- True Romance (#157)
-- The Bridge on the River Kwai (#163)
-- The Searchers (#164)
-- Goldfinger (#166)
-- Tootsie (#168)
-- City of God (#177)
-- United 93 (#186)
-- Big (#190)
-- Brokeback Mountain (#191)
-- It's a Wonderful Life (#195)
-- JFK (#201)
-- The Bride of Frankenstein (#204)
-- Moulin Rouge! (#211)
-- Dazed and Confused (#244)
-- A.I. Artificial Intelligence (#265)
-- My Neighbor Totoro (#275)
-- Scarface (#284)
-- American History X (#311)
-- Braveheart (#320)
-- 300 (#337)
-- Wall-E (#373)
-- The Goonies (#378)
-- The Crow (#468)
-- Ocean's Eleven (#500)
Well, that ventured far into tl;dr territory. HOW UNEXPECTED.
