#50
This is simply a very well made series. Visually, it is top notch. The story is great - much deeper than you would expect from your average animated flick. It is funny, has a great cast, good characters. I like it a lot.
I feel that the world of the movie isn't as interesting now that humans and dragons are living together. The fear of the unknown and the conflict between the two really drove the first movie for me. Sure this movie did a lot of great things with the battle against the bad guys - and Hiccup's mom being alive. But it just didn't quite have the magic of the original for me.
Kudos for this movie having the cajones to kill off a major character though. Definitely a big, memorable moment that made an already really good movie even better.
#49
I'd had this on my Netflix queue for a really long time, but had never gotten around to watching it until last year. I knew it sounded like something I would like, but at the same time it sounded like it could be depressing too.
It turned out to be really informative. It definitely made me change the way I look at aquatic parks like Sea World. It also made me change my perspective on killer whales, who I hadn't really given much thought to before. I guess I always considered them as big dumb animals like cows or something - but that is definitely not the case.
In fact, I became so interested by them thanks to this documentary that I immediately turned around and watched The Whale when I finished with this. Blackfish is definitely an eye opener and something everyone needs to see.
#48
I watched this movie religiously when I was a kid, although I have never seen it once as an adult. I didn't watch this so many times because of Anna Nicole Smith's boobs. No, no. no. Not at all. I watched it for the entertaining story, the Jurassic Park references, and the unique style of humor that the Naked Gun series brings to the table. Well yeah, and Anna Nicole Smith's boobs. But I most definitely did NOT rewind the VHS over and over again to look at them. Definitely not.
I always used to consider this my favorite Naked Gun movie. Now, I would be hard pressed to choose among them. They are all pretty darn good. This one does have its own unique charm, especially because of the scene at the end with the bomb threat at the Oscars. Sure the whole movie is funny, but that part with all the celeb cameos and Frank's outrageous behavior steals the show.
They don't make funny movies like this anymore.
#47
I was a little worried when I started watching this that I wasn't going to like it. That it was going to be one of those movies I've seen too many times to enjoy anymore. But I still powered through it, wanting to see the series one last time before diving in to Ash vs the Evil Dead. Not only did I like it, but I liked it as the best movie in the series. Even more than Army of Darkness, which I always considered to be the series' crowning achievement.
This movie walks a fine line between being funny and being legitimately scary at the same time. There is a lot of slapstick humor here - obviously. But the cabin is creepy, the Deadites are creepy, and that fucking bitch in the cellar is very, very creepy.
This is a great movie with a ton of iconic moments. My favorite scene has to be the one in the kitchen where Ash is battling his own hand. I had a great time watching this, although I probably won't watch it again for a long time. I don't want this movie to lose its magic - and if that means not watching it for another 5 years or so that is a sacrifice I am willing to make.
#46
I always wondered how George Takei became so big on Facebook. I only knew him as Mr Sulu from Star Trek. So I figured I'd watch this documentary and see if it offered any insight into his rise in popularity.
It was definitely very interesting. He seems like a good fellow who has been through a lot in his time, yet has managed to come out of everything with his positivity and enthusiasm for life intact. I didn't know he was as interesting as he was, being in internment camps when he was younger. His acting career, his time on Star Trek. His activism. This documentary had humor and heart, and I came out of it with a new appreciation for Mr Takei, his life, and all the positive work he has been doing in the community.
And of course, he always finds the funniest memes and articles to post on Facebook.
#45
Back to back movies with George Takei. What are the chances of that?
I had just started re-watching Star Trek: The Next Generation when I realized that I didn't really remember much of what had happened in Star Trek 6. How the Klingons and Federation became allies instead of mortal enemies.
So I came back and watched this movie again. I know I watched it in 2014, but I can recall not being too thrilled about the movie. That just goes to show how much opinions can change in such a short time - and why I do the ranking each year. I definitely liked it much better the second time around. I thought the story was really interesting, the tension was palpable and you could feel it in the air. And for a Kirk-era Star Trek movie the effects are pretty good here. And of course, I got to see all about how the Klingons and the Federation finally buried the hatchet and became allies.
Definitely in my top 5 Star Trek movies of all time, which is a big step up from where it would have ranked previously.
#44
This movie came very close to not even making the ranking at all. I originally attempted to watch it in a drive in theater back in July when it first came out, but I ended up falling asleep barely a half hour into it and missing almost the entire movie. I definitely didn't see enough to include it on this list.
When it came out on DVD, I put it on hold at the library and waited for it to come in for me. Unfortunately, there was a huge wait for it. The movie didn't come in until December 28 or 29 - and it ended up being one of the last movies I watched all year. It was THAT close to missing the cut off.
I liked what I saw in the drive in, and I liked it even more at home. Ant Man isn't a superhero you hear much about, but he is definitely one of the more interesting ones, at least in my opinion. I was pretty engrossed from beginning to end. The plot of the movie isn't too overly complex or amazing or anything, but the characters are what makes it go. That, and the really cool special effects. Going back to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids I have always enjoyed films where people shrink down to tiny size and see things from this new small perspective. And this movie definitely delivers that.
This movie is just pure fun, and I can't wait to see what they decide to do with this character going forward.
#43
Mortal Kombat has always been a guilty pleasure of mine. It had been a while since I had watched this movie, so I decided to give it another go around in 2015.
On the surface it would seem like this movie would be terrible. It is based on a video game - which is never a good thing for movies. There are a bunch of no name actors. The music, action, dialogue, the characters.... everything is borderline over the top and corny. But it is corny in a charming way.
I like the atmosphere of the movie. Even with all the action being as outlandish as it is, the film still manages to retain an aura of authenticity about it. I know it is not a great movie, but I still have fun every time I watch it. The sequel, however, is everything I expected this movie to be. It is just flat out awful.
#42
I watched this in 2015 in preparation for seeing the final Hobbit movie in the theater. I had seen this in 2014 as well, and just like Star Trek 6 - I didn't like it much. I definitely find that it has improved greatly upon rewatch.
I think my problem with watching it the first time was how far it strayed from the source material. I kept expecting one thing to happen, and it didn't. I kept wondering who some of these new characters were and why they were adding silly subplots to the movie.
Watching it again, I didn't mind any of these things. I was able to just appreciate it for what it was. I sat back and enjoyed the ride. And it is a very entertaining ride. I like how this movie jumps right into the action - there is no lengthy introduction at the beginning, no set up of the story. We just get right down to it. The movie is one big thrill ride that I was really able to get in to.
Smaug himself is awesome, and I love how the movie sets up the third installment. It could have been shorter, but I am not going to complain too much.
#41
Close call, but I have this a slight edge over the Desolation of Smaug.
I have read the Hobbit before, and I had absolutely NO idea how they were going to stretch it out to three movies. I had no clue what was going to happen in this film since I basically remember all that they did was go home after defeating Smaug in the book. Turns out there was more to it than that.
I thought the first two Hobbit movies were pretty good, but I never really liked them much until I watched them a second time. This movie I actually enjoyed right away. I saw it in the theater with my wife, who begrudgingly came (she's not a huge fan of this series or LOTR). Turns out she actually liked it too.
There is a lot of action and fighting in this film. Not a lot of backstory. And the film feels a lot shorter than the other Hobbit movies. Perhaps that's the reason I had such a good time. It is just a really FUN movie. Great effects, fast paced action, and a lot of humor thrown in the mix as well. I know people liked to knock this movie, and maybe if I watch it again I will be able to see its flaws. But I really enjoyed it. It opened up with a bang (the big Smaug fight at the beginning is AWESOME) and never really let up.
#40
I wasn't really sure if I would like this or not, but I was bored one day and noticed how short the movie was. So I figured why not give it a try. I enjoyed it actually. I thought that Joseph Gordon-Levitt's player character would be a sleaze bag but I kind of liked him and related to some of his problems about porn being more fun than actual sex.
Scarlett Johansen is great in this movie, and although at first the accent irritated me, I quickly forgot about it and found myself majorly swooning for her. The dry hump scene in the hall was quite hot. Then of course her bitch colors came out and I hated her.
The story for the movie is nothing special. There are no big twists or turns. Nothing really too exciting happens. It is just more of a "let's look in on this person's life for a few months" kind of movie. And you know what? It didn't bore me at all. Even though nothing super exciting happens, I still had a good time. And that says a lot about this film. I love it when movies can do that, and this one does it quite well.
#39
I watched this documentary immediately after watching the movie The Theory of Everything. I thought that movie was really good (as evidenced by its not appearing yet on the list) and I had Stephen Hawking on the brain, so I immediately set out to learn more about him. Lucky for me, this documentary was readily available on Netflix.
This movie focuses a lot about Stephen's accomplishments in the scientific field, as well as his battle with ALS. It is a very heartfelt documentary. You learn a lot about him and his life, you pick up things that weren't addressed in the Theory of Everything. Stephen's story is a sad one, but the documentary doesn't linger on the negative. You come out of it feeling happy for him and proud of all of his accomplishments.
I'm not going to lie, it brought a tear to my eye, especially when they brought him up in that zero G environment toward the end of the film. If you are at all interested in Stephen Hawking's life, you need to check this out. If you don't care about him, you will probably be bored.
#38
My wife and I started watching all the Harry Potter movies two years ago, but stalled out after the Order of the Phoenix. I am OCD about finishing things that I start, so it was beginning to nag at me that we never finished the last few movies. I suggested we watch this at the conclusion of a date night, and she was all for it.
This really is one of the better Harry Potter movies. Most of the movie is pretty relaxed, and mainly deals with school stuff. There is some talk about Voldemort and what everyone is going to do about him. It isn't until the end when Harry and Dumbledore go to the cave to get the Horcrux that the movie really gets good. This whole scene is fucking awesome to me.
And then after that when Dumbledore dies - I just found it to be a really well done part of the movie. It totally does the books justice. The sense of betrayal, defeat, and anger is so heavy in the air you can feel it.
It sets up the last two movies perfectly. There are quite a few HP movies I didn't care for, plus I have always said that the movies don't really compare favorably to the books. But this is one of the few exceptions. I really like this movie.
#37
I really underestimated how much I would like this movie. I thought I'd come in, tolerate the movie. Maybe chuckle a couple of times. And then forget it when all was said and done. As you should know by now through reading this blog, comedies are not my favorite genre out there.
But to my surprise, I ended up really enjoying this movie. City Slickers is a film with a lot of heart. It has great characters, and even though these characters are all adult men - it is in a way a coming of age story. The story line here is something that I feel a lot of people who just need to get away can relate to. And it is funny as well.
I was a big fan of this movie. It is a shame its sequel didn't come anywhere close to living up to this movie's legacy, however.
#36
I thought this movie was going to be really terrible. Rocky is past his prime. The last movie he was in (Rocky V) wasn't very good in my opinion. This movie could have been a trainwreck.
Turns out, I had nothing to worry about. This film puts a modern spin on the Rocky legend, while also being a really great throwback to the original film at the same time. This is a movie with heart and soul, at a time when I thought the Rocky series well had pretty much run dry. I liked it a lot.
And now I am excited to see Creed, which I have heard nothing but good things about. If I liked this movie so much - despite not having heard much about it - then I am sure I will love Creed.
Here is the top 35 in random order. Anyone have predictions?
Star Trek Generations
The Lego Movie
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Catching Fire
Unbroken
Mad Max: Fury Road
These Final Hours
Avatar
Jurassic Park 3
Independence Day
1408
Frozen
How to Train Your Dragon
Mockingjay Part One
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Theory of Everything
Friday the 13th
Whiplash
Wild
The Imposter
Life of Pi
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Boyhood
Jurassic World
Video Games: The Movie
Grandma's Boy
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Her
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
You're Next
TMNT 2: The Secret of the Ooze
Gone Girl
Chappie
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