It wasn't the Flexoril that was leaving me in the dust earlier this week. Apparently I responded abnormally to Meloxicam, an anti-inflammatory, and had extreme dizziness, lack of focus etc. So I've switched off of it and also finally processed the correctly marked forms to receive Federal Worker's Compensation Benefits. Yay.
To celebrate, I slept in.
However, I'm still on Flexoril so if you see someone stumbling around a small apartment in his pajamas it might be me. I also could not come up with something to write about to save my neck, so here's a power ranking of motion pictures I am fond of with some notes.
Let it be know, this is the greatest movies of all-time list, prepared by and contributed to by one me.
1. Gladiator
Yeah, I know, I'm a guy. This is Russell Crowe's great moment. He is good to very good in several other movies, they might even make the list. But as Maximus he is immortal. His voice and the physical disdain for his surroundings coupled with the awesome, fluid fight scenes make this film a lock for top 10, and as you see I say greatest ever. Most times however I won't answer with "Gladiator" when asked what my favorite movie is. For the same reason I'd say my favorite bball player was Bryon Russell while Michael Jordan was obviously the greatest player. But don't get me wrong, I love this film. I also think it has less of the corniness which is often present in a film set in Ancient Rome. The other primary characters are fantastic along with excellent side roles. Joaquin Phoenix would steal the movie if Crowe wasn't so transcendent.
2. Signs
This is my favorite movie. The only way Gladiator ranks above it is simply that Signs has very little fighting. I'm a guy. But, this film is absolutely incredible. For the weak souled its actually a little scary, especially at the beginning. The children are unbelievable, best child performances in any film ever. Phoenix is again outstanding, easily his best role. Mel Gibson is also incredible. Despite the star-studded cast and their show-stopping bits, the Story is what makes this movie. M Night sets the bar so high he has yet to come close. Both a perfectly communicated message but also something I feel people need to hear. A wonderful combination of story telling and a great story. If you were disappointed by the alien or perhaps the multi-climax ending you're missing the point. Somebody is out there watching over us and Everything has its purpose. A story which has never been told better on the screen.
3. The Matrix
Only the first film. The second and third are decent, I enjoyed them, but the first film is so ground-breaking, so dreamy, that it created not just a genre but a sub-culture all to its own. Keanu Reeves needed a role to separate himself from Ted and this is it. He will forever be Neo and then Ted. Hugo Weaving is show-stealing and the rest of the cast deliver their best. The fighting is awesome, not too fast and in most cases not too weird. A great, cult-hit for a cult I'm all in for.
4. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
It's very hard to separate this trilogy, they're all outstanding, I believe the first one is best and here's why. Gandalf is at his best as Gandalf the Grey, he has some awesome moments post-death, but his early character is much more playfully ultra-powerful. He loses some playfulness and becomes more weary and dark later on. The interaction between Legolas and Gimli slowly becomes more and more silly. In the first film there's a tension which I enjoy. Finally, the later films develop a massiveness which the first is only beginning to manifest. The first one is more intimate, more connected to the viewer. And while all 3 have some of the greatest "war" scenes and equally as great individual fighting scenes, nothing beats the Mines of Moria.
5. Inception
Nice top 5 I'd say. DiCaprio has slowly but surely becomes one of my favorite actors. He's great in Shutter Island, Blood Diamond and The Departed. He's not bad in Body of Lies either. He's very good in Inception. This is another great combination of "new" ideas, excellent acting, and cool scenes. It's also quite the thinker, which I have always enjoyed. Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy all became superstars because they're so good in this film. Its hard to make a stand alone single film which aspires to "epic" standing but this film does it.
6. Jurassic Park
I love this movie. Best Jeff Goldblum, best Sam Neil and excellent supporting cast. The sequels are so far below the original I hardly even consider them connected.
7. Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back
Really? The 2nd one? Yes. Han Solo is at his best (Harrison Ford's best character, take that Indiana) and Luke finally fights Vader. This is the greatest piece of the greatest trilogy ever made. The "first" 3 stand as a separate trilogy as far as I'm considered. The only reason it falls this far is because despite its epic-ness it is still vulnerable to its era. An era marked by corny lines and horrible special effects.
8. The Hunt for Red October
Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, James Earl Jones, Sam Neil - Baldwin's greatest character, O how the mighty have fallen! Great book made into a better movie, doesn't happen often.
9. Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail
No comment.
10. Men In Black 1
Haven't seen 3 yet but if its even half what its namesake was it'll be good. A fresh take on an old idea. Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith are both incredible, hilarious yet super cool. The movie doesn't take itself too seriously while still trying to stay true to its story. Also hard to beat Rip Torn's Zed, he was born to be Zed. II is ok, not close to the same level.
So that's my top 10 movies, some runners up include: Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Bourn Identity, I Am Legend, Toy Story, Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows Part II, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, A Beautiful Mind and Zombieland
Braves are unbeaten since installing a Waffle House at the Ted.
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