#59
Batman Begins
This would normally rank much higher on my list. I love this movie, it is fantastic. But it is getting to the point where I have seen it too many times now and it has lost its excitement for me. I think I have seen it at least ten times now. I need to put it away until 2025 and not watch it again, and maybe it will be like seeing it again for the first time.
#58
Scream 4
I tried watching all of the Scream movies in 2013, but I didn't have time to get around to this one until the next year. So this will be the only Scream to appear on this ranking. It's not my favorite of the series, but it is actually pretty good. I like how they were able to keep the formula alive, keeping the old characters in the story, while introducing a batch of new ones as well. This had the potential to be a disaster (see the Star Wars prequels, or that Crystal Skull Indiana Jones movie) but I liked it.
#57
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
My wife and I started rewatching all the movies in the Harry Potter series back in 2013. But for some reason, we stalled at Order of the Phoenix and only watched the first half of the movie. When I brought up the subject of finishing the second half of this movie to her in 2014, she balked at the idea. She hates Dolores Umbridge. So I watched it by myself, and had a good time. The second half of the movie is my favorite part anyway. I rank it this low because I couldn't in good conscience rank half of a movie above some of the films to come. We never did get around to finishing the series. Maybe we will have to do it this year.
#56
Odd Thomas
Im a fan of the Odd Thomas book series. I actually saw this in 2013 and thought it was hokey and generic. I wasn't a fan at all. Something prompted me to pick it up again in 2014 and I gave it another shot. Knowing what to expect from the movie, I had fun. Sure it will never be a classic film, or even a cult classic probably. But it is fun and enjoyable, and I enjoyed it for what it was. Still pissed they didn't include Elvis though.
#55
Star Trek III: The Search For Spock
People like to say this movie sucked, but I enjoyed it more than most of the other Star Trek films I watched last year. This picks up right where the second left off. There is a lot more action and I was never bored at any point during the movie. There are some great scenes like Kirk's son dying, as well as Spock's return. Sure, it isn't perfect, but I had a lot of fun
#54
Rocky IV
As I mentioned in an earlier update, the Rocky movies for the most part follow a pretty predictable formula. And Rocky IV is no exception. That said, it is still a lot of fun. The Russian dude killing Apollo Creed in the ring is something I didn't see coming, and added a new dimension to the story line. I also thought it was cool how the Russian audience kind of got behind Rocky over their own guy at the end of the movie.
#53
The Hole
This has been on my Netflix queue for ages and it was always something I would pass over when looking for something to watch. I don't know what prompted me to finally watch it, but when I did - I was glad I did. This was better than I expected. The mystery of the hole, along with some of the scares that happen as a result of it were pretty cool to me. I had fun with this one.
#52
Manhunter
Red Dragon appeared earlier on the list, and I had some harsh things to say about it. When I think of the case of the Tooth Fairy and Will Graham, Manhunter is the definitive version that comes to mind. It is an older movie, and some of the music and atmospheric effects are bizarre. Also, there is some really corny dialogue coming from Will Graham, especially when he is by himself analyzing crime scene clues. "Didn't you, you son of a bitch!!!" is a favorite of mine.
But if you can get past the 80's cheese, this is a really good movie that I enjoyed a lot.
#51
Carnival Of Souls
I watched this first several years back, and didn't like it much. I thought it was kind of boring and stupid. Watching it now, though - I liked it. The spooky atmosphere of the movie is palpable, and for it being an old movie, there are some decent scares. I had a good time trying to wrap my mind around what was happening. While I generally tend to dislike movies where the ending is open to interpretation, I didn't mind it here.
#50
Trick 'r Treat
This movie is a throwback to the old Creepshow films of the 80's. It takes place on Halloween, and tells the story of all these bizarre/haunted happenings taking place in a small town during the night. The stories all tie in together, and are very clever and interesting when looked at from an individual basis as well. I thought this was fun, and there were some nice twists. I enjoyed a lot of people in the cast too.
#49
Hostel
I had forgotten how little of this movie actually deals with death and torture. It seems like the majority of the film focuses on these party going youngsters traveling Europe and getting drunk and having sex. When one of them goes missing, it kicks off the whole torture porn section of the movie. But that doesn't happen until over halfway through the film. I like boobs and stuff, but I would rather seen more people getting mutilated instead. Does that make me morbid? I think probably so. I still liked it though.
#48
Goldfinger
This is the first Sean Connery Bond movie that I actually liked. I watched Dr No in 2013 and was bored. You saw how low From Russia With Love ranked on this year's list. After that movie, I actually was kind of thinking about passing on the rest of the Bond films.
I am glad I didn't. I really enjoyed this. This is a fun movie, with a very interesting plot. Auric Goldfinger is a great villain, but his hat throwing little Chinaman Oddjob is even more awesome. Does saying Chinaman make me racist? I don't care. I liked this movie a lot.
#47
Snowpiercer
This movie is kind of a tale of two halves for me. At the beginning of the movie when they were introducing the characters and kind of setting up the mythology of the train, I was really into it. The arm out the window torture scene was awesome. As the rebels advanced through the train car by car and we got to learn more about what was really happening, I thought that was neat too. And that villain... yikes. I don't know who she is but she is ugly as hell and totally awesome in her role.
The second half of the movie though, with all the endless fight scenes and Ed Harris and the train crashing and all of that didn't interest me as much. So if the outside is cold enough to turn someone's arm into solid ice, why would it be okay for the train to crash and for everyone who survived to be okay? That bugged me. And I love Ed Harris but his scenes were the most boring in the film for me.
#46
Cloverfield
This movie is good for a rewatch every few years or so. I think watching Blair Witch Project (which you will see appear later) made me think of firing this up.
I actually liked the beginning of the movie as we got to know all of the characters. It made the "event" when it finally happened seem much more believable and real. It is very easy to put yourself in their shoes when the shit starts hitting the fan. It is in New York, and I am sure the first thought to come to mind is terrorists. The whole early part of the movie is very believable.
My problem with the movie mainly is the decisions some of the characters make. And some of the scenarios were pretty far fetched, like climbing the building and jumping over to the next one, and the whole helicpoter part. I know I shouldn't say farfetched when the whole movie revolves around a giant monster attacking the city, but hopefully you know what I mean.
#45
Braveheart
If I were to rank my favorite movies of all time, Braveheart would be right up near the top of my list. I watched this movie to death when I was in high school and it made me weep like no other.
It is still a fantastic movie, but having seen it so many times takes a lot of the emotional impact away. There was no weeping watching it this time around. But I was still very interested, and noticed a lot of things I hadn't noticed before. I was also particularly interested in some of the political goings on with the king and his son and his wife and the nobles, which always used to be the most boring part of the movie to me. The fights are epic, the speeches are inspired. This is really a great film. But I can't let my past thoughts effect the ranking. It just didn't feel the same to me without that emotional impact.
#44
Banshee Chapter
Thanks Brett Johnson for suggesting this on Facebook, because I liked it a lot. So many so called scary movies out there do a lot of things right, but when it comes to actually being scary - they fall flat.
This movie is kind of the opposite. It is not a great film, and the production values are kind of crappy. But the story is really good, and I was able to get into it a lot. The thing that sets it apart for me is that it is actually scary. There are so many "jump" scares in this movie, it is crazy. Every single time you start to feel comfortable, something happens and scares you out of your skin. You would think after the first couple of times that you would catch on, but for some reason it works. I haven't been as on edge watching a horror movie in recent years than I have with Banshee Chapter.
#43
Grumpier Old Men
If there are only two movies in a series, is it still considered a series? I don't know. But I loved the first Grumpy movie a lot and watched it repeatedly as a kid. The second movie doesn't hold as much sentimental valule for me, but it is still good. A lot of the gags are recycled, and the ones that aren't are not as funny as in the first film. But I like the story, and of course Jack Lemmon's dad is amazing. His scenes are always terrific, and the part where he dies really hits hard. I could care less about the love story aspect to this movie - Lemmon and Mathau are at their best when they are butting heads and while this isn't as good as the first film it is still pretty funny.
#42
The Jeffrey Dahmer Files
I kind of just threw this on in the background while I played Candy Crush on my phone, but in a rare turn of events, something on the TV actually distracted me from playing the game, and not the other way around.
Being from Milwaukee, I have an interest in the Dahmer case and find it all morbidly fascinating. Seeing some of the places and hearing interviews from people who knew Dahmer or were involved in the case was really interesting to me, much more so than reading about it in a book. I actually put aside the game and focused on the movie, which held my attention the whole way through.
#41
My Week With Marilyn
I have never seen a Marilyn Monroe movie, nor have I ever had much of an interest in her before. But to me this looked good, and it was good.
Watching this, I can see why people were so fascinated by her. Having never seen a Monroe movie, I can't say if Michelle Williams did a good job portraying her, but I hope she did. Despite her eccentricity, apparent airheadedness, and her obvious flaws, she was still a commanding presence and almost a mythical shining figure to the "regular" people she encountered in life. I really felt for the poor sap in this movie that thought he had a chance with her, and how just this small week long encounter could have changed his life forever. Props to this movie for taking a subject I didn't have much interest in and completely getting me to invest in it.
#40
Grumpy Old Men
As mentioned in my write up of the sequel, I watched this a lot as a kid. A lot lot. So it holds sentimental value for me. It is just a really good movie. It is funny, has great characters, good gags, and some emotional moments. Having seen it after having not seen it in years and years was a treat.
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