This Top 100 Movies of All Time represents the movies that mean the most to me. I didn’t base a movie on how many Oscars it won, how technically proficient it is, or how much someone else likes it. This list is purely based off enjoyment factor. I find a great way to judge how much you like a movie is when it comes on TV, how likely are you to watch it? Movies to me are entertainment before the message. The great ones have strong elements of both. Some movies evoke memories of childhood, some challenge me to be a better person, some terrify the shit out of me and make me feel alive, while others make me bawl like a baby.
What I’m getting at is that there is no right answer to the question “What’s the best movie ever made?” because art and entertainment is subjective. This Top 100 took me over 4 years to make, so I hope this list can make you remember, laugh and hopefully illuminate some great movies for you to enjoy!
Also, beware - this list is exploding with spoilers. If you haven’t seen a movie here and plan on watching it, I recommend scrolling right past it.
I hadn’t seen this movie till my girlfriend at the time, Maria, forced me to watch it during the Christmas holidays. She said it’s amazing and trusted that I’d love it. I looked at the title, the actors, the idea of the movie, and I was like “Meh, I dunno”. But since she watched 10 of my movies in a row, I owed her one. ‘Love Actually’ completely caught me off guard. First of all, it’s rated R. A romantic holiday comedy is rated R? That’s how offbeat and unexpected this movie is. There’s a wonderful mosaic of sex, political debate, nudity, cheating, love, lust, comedy, pain, and intrigue to make this one of the more unique ensemble movies I’ve ever seen.
With this being one of my wife’s favourite movies, I decided to get romantically creative and use it as my proposal! (Her other favourite movie is ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ but that didn’t feel like the romantic option out of the two). I secretly edited myself into the scene where Andrew Lincoln shows Keira Knightley the cards outside in the snow, and then we went to our friend Ann and Nikko’s place and watched my edited version while I had the ring hidden, waiting for the scene. Panic struck as she started to fall asleep about 20 minutes before the big scene, so all of us were making her drinks and pushing her to stay awake and alert. Finally the doorbell rang, Keira Knightley went to open it, and there I was. She watched the scene in complete shock, and my last cue card said “Will you marry me?” - I got down on one knee and she said yes. Phew!
Whatever you’ve experienced in love, there’s a good chance this movie has a story that you can relate to. It doesn’t hold back any punches, and doesn’t glamourize love in it’s most Disney form. It’s a bunch of short stories that are beautifully acted and feel more real than any other romance I’ve watched. My favourite story is Colin Firth with Aurelia, the Portuguese helper. It’s a beautiful little story.
Usually, sequels are pretty garbage; especially sequels to a horror movie spinoff, and even more especially when the first movie of that spinoff was a complete dumpster fire. So, I gotta say, I had pretty low expectations for this movie. When my wife and I went to see this, we made a decision about a year earlier that we can only see movies VIP now because we can’t handle the seat kicking, people talking, phones in our faces, and overall distractions throughout the film, but I really wanted to watch a horror movie and ‘Annabelle: Creation’ was the only horror out at the time, and it wasn’t classy enough to get the VIP treatment in Toronto, so we sucked it up, DBOX tickets, and made our way into the cavernous movie theatre jungle. Holy shit, the movie was sold out packed, and I’m pretty sure we were the oldest people there, clocking in at a solid 30 and 33 years old. We tried to turn off the people laughing and talking and just enjoy the movie. Holy shit, about 20 minutes into the movie, everyone shut the fuck up and was trying not to shit their pants. Maria and I were terrified. But you know what happens when people get really scared? They either look away and ignore it, or they start talking and making jokes to pretend they’re not scared. So the movie then became this blend of people screaming their heads off, and busting out some of the funniest things I’ve ever heard in a movie theater. There was a girl behind us, about 18 years old, and she at first was super annoying, saying things like “Oh my God, do NOT go in there!”, or “Uhhh uh! No girl, you gonna DIE!” it eventually started to add a bit to the creepy ambience of the movie, and between me wanting to punch her in the head, and laughing at her stupid ass comments. It ended up being one of the best movie experiences of my life. I’ll also mention there were people shouting at others to turn their phones off, turning around and saying “I’ll beat the shit out of you”, a fight broke out in the first couple rows of the theater and people were screaming and all trying to get a look. Aside from all that, this movie was legit and one of the most terrifying movies I’ve ever seen. In fact, it was so scary, I thought about grabbing Maria and leaving because I couldn’t handle the stress of the scares coming at me.
This movie is done by David F. Sandberg who also did the surprise 2016 horror flick ‘Lights Out’ and I gotta say, he really upped his hollywood worth with this one. ‘The Conjuring’ universe is already becoming one of the most successful horror productions in the business, and ‘Annabelle: Creation’ is the creepiest installation to it yet. This movie has it’s obvious jump scares (Which I usually dislike), but its compounded with genuinely scary moments. After watching it a second time at home, I realized that this movie isn’t as scary as I remember it, but sometimes it depends on the mood your in and who you’re watching it with. I watched it originally with my scaredy cat wife and a 100 shit scared teens - well actually, you can make it 100 shit scared teens and 2 shit scared adults as well.
My brother-in-law Phi told me about this movie in 2018 and said it was his favourite movie of the year and that it brings him to tears of happiness and sadness with every viewing. He was obsessed with the soundtrack and played it every time we were around each other. He kept asking me to watch it with him, and I just refused to. All the characters were weird, I’m not big into musicals, the songs weren’t heavy metal, and the fact he loved it so much made me want to be different and not watch it. Then I went to the cottage for a weekend and when I got back, my wife came up to me and said “Allan, you have to watch ‘The Greatest Showman!” So I finally swallowed my pride and decided to watch this shitty musical. I cried like a bitch. I fell in love with every character, every dance move, and every song to the point where even I started to listen to the soundtrack on Spotify in my spare time. Maria and I drove back from the cottage later that year and we played the soundtrack over and over again for the entire 3.5 hour drive home. The danger of it is, is that my favourite song “From Now On” is super catchy, and I can’t get it out of my head so it ends up fucking up sleeps really badly. The songs in this movie aren’t your typical musical numbers, they sound and feel like legit songs you’re hear on the radio. There are 11 songs in the movie and I am in love with 10 of them. I don’t even like that many songs on a Dragonforce album, so we’re talking about an absolute killer soundtrack here. They’re all sung with such a voracious passion. It’s so powerful and beautiful.
We became so obsessed with the movie that we jumped online and tried to find any behind the scenes/making of to delve even deeper into this movie and we found a wicked bit where Hugh Jackman is rehearsing “From Now On” with everyone while recovering from a nose cancer procedure. He isn’t supposed to sing, but he belts out the song with such passion that it sent shivers through my whole body. It’s been a while since I felt something as powerful as that.
‘The Greatest Showman’ is about the life of P.T. Barnum, who specialized in showing the odd and spectacular to his fans. I can relate, because my whole life I’ve always tried to entertain people. When I was a kid, my Mom said I would make a list of 10 things that my friends can choose to do when they came over to play - from tag, hide and seek, puzzles, video games, making a movie, playing hockey, or baseball, I would always try and entertain. This need to entertain would carry on with house parties and New Years Eve parties, which became legendary at the Hughes house and went on for 12 years straight. Now that I’m older, I can relate to P.T. Barnum in realizing that entertaining people isn’t the only thing that matters in life. There comes a time when you need to focus your family and take pride in entertaining them, rather than the masses. I mean, my career as a video editor in television will probably ensure that I continue to entertain the masses, so I’ll hopefully find a nice balance with work, friends and family.
My buddy Peter told me to watch a movie called 'Arrival' back in 2016. Peter doesn't watch too many movies, so when he tells me that I have to go see this movie, I take it seriously. I ended up going to see it with my wife at a little theatre on College St. in Toronto called 'The Royal' after it had left the big theatres. I gotta tell ya, seeing it in an old fashioned movie theatre with only 6 or 7 other people there with you is quite the treat. I had no idea what to expect when I saw it - I had yet to see a trailer or read a review. I knew there were aliens in it, so I was prepared for some solid action. To my surprise, I was blown away by its unpredicted theme: Language. Through language we can understand and unite. There's a line off the top of the movie where Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is quoted in her book saying: "Language is the foundation of civilization. It's the glue that holds the people together. It's the first weapon drawn in a conflict." to which Ian (Jeremy Renner) replies: "That's great, even if it's wrong ... the cornerstone of civilization isn't language, it's science." Trying to find the answer to questions like these are all a matter of opinion and expertise, and what ties everyone together, is that we are all in this thing together. All of us. We are stronger united, rather than as one.
I have hope for the future when watching this movie. Partnered with Johan Johansson's beautifully haunting string score, it manages to enlighten my soul. I feel like things are going to be OK after I watch it. With 'Arrival' every shot seems to ease me. Canadian director Denis Villeneuve manages to bring deep detail and care into such simple shots. There's a wealth of depth with everything he does. He has absolutely nailed the 'epic' feel of his movies (With “Blade Runner 2049” also having that style). It's a fascinating movie.
It's better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.
Even though I hate Jesse Eisenberg, I still love this movie. But… I will say that Eisenberg is absolutely perfect for the role of Mark Zuckerberg. So now that I’ve got that out of the way, I can move on with how amazing this movie is. ‘The Social Network’ makes some bold creative choices, from Eisenberg talking with his girlfriend in the bar and you can barely hear what’s going on, and it feels like you’ve downloaded a terrible MPEG4 of the movie, only to find out later that it’s a stylistic approach by director David Fincher to make you feel more involved in the movie. He makes you feel like you’re in the bar with them. That’s really frustrating at first, but then incredibly genius afterwards. Then after he leaves and he’s running back to his dorm room to the somber beautiful melody of Trent Reznor’s sparse ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ feeling score, I was hooked.
I think what makes me love this movie so much is that when Facebook first became a thing, I was right in the middle of it. I was going to school at Graceland University in Iowa, and I was accepting friend requests, writing on people’s walls, finding out if they were in a relationship or not, and it was honestly the coolest thing ever. I didn’t have to worry about going up to someone and chatting with them, or getting to know their name and make small talk - I just went online and added them as a friend. It wasn’t considered weird or creepy (as my wife now tells me it is) when I would just add someone as a friend and chat with them. It was, without knowing, the beginning of a whole new era in social media.
While the personal feelings of Facebook are prevalent in my liking of this movie, it’s also just purely entertaining. There’s something fantastic about watching a genius go through the highs and lows of success, and knowing it’s based on a true story that I felt involved with somehow. It’s got my boy Justin Timberlake from N*SYNC in it who does an fabulous job manipulating Zuckerberg as Sean Parker. Brenda Song was so fantastic and psycho that she became an instant favourite of mine (In more ways than one, huh huh), and Andrew Garfield plays the role of his life as the tortured and beat-up friend. Combine all these killer acting roles with the writing styles of Aaron Sorkin and it’s no reason why this movie is so highly acclaimed.
Thank God David Fincher (Who also did ‘Fight Club’ and ‘Seven’) directed this movie, because it could so easily have gone awry and just been this awful, weird documentary style movie. It turns out that you get tantalized by just about every aspect of this movie - music, directing, acting, writing, editing and sound. As Quentin Tarantino says in response to what film was the best in the 2010-20 decade: “It’s ‘The Social Network’ hands down… it’s number one because it’s the best, that’s all! It crushes all the competition”. Well, it’s good enough for 98 on ol’ Allan Hughes’ top 100 anyways.
I wasn’t really prepared for what I was about to watch when I first saw ‘Children of Men’. This is about as gritty as a film can get. The whole world has become infertile, and a newborn child hasn’t graced the Earth in over 18 years. Then, when a woman miraculously becomes pregnant in England, it’s up to a small group of activists to bring her to a safe haven. From the opening scene of a bomb exploding in a coffee shop, it’s a real depressing yet provocative thriller that kinda just gets crazier and crazier as it goes along.
Alfonso Cuaron is a dark themed filmmaker from Mexico who just came off of making ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’, and really ups his shock value with this one. It’s got a lovely cast with Michael Caine stealing the show every time he’s on camera by portraying the hippy journalist with a great “Pull my finger” sense of humour, and thank god he’s in this movie because without it, it would just be unrelentingly intense. After watching it for a 3rd time in 2020, I noticed new themes emerged, camera and directing styles adding to story, and the way music and sound was used in this movie. The scene when the war stops and they make their way through the rubble is one of my all-time favourite scenes ever. Sometimes, the more you watch a movie, the more you get bored of it, and start to notice imperfections with it, but with ‘Children of Men’ it just keeps getting better and better the more I watch and think about it. Even during a 3rd viewing, I was still holding my breath, and cringing my teeth during some scenes. It’s wildly unpredictable, and brutally entertaining.
‘Children of Men’ also offers up a great in-depth study into dystopian future. While I don’t feel like writing an essay on the message Cuaron is trying to relate with a story of no more children, or a black woman being the only pregnant woman alive, or how centralized government controls its people, or an uprising against the government, or the other 50 ways you could dive deep into this movie, it’s definitely worth discussing with a friend, because there is a ton to unpack. But it’s a not a movie to be fearful to watch either. It doesn’t require a ton of unpacking or questioning if you don’t feel like thinking too hard to watch a movie. It’s a perfect balance of entertainment, education, and brilliance.
I have a thing for time travel movies. So when I saw 'Looper' in theaters back in 2012, I blew my load. The idea of criminals from the future, sending their victims back in time for people called Loopers to kill and dispose of them, thus erasing them from the future, is so friggin cool. Trying to explain time travel in movies is always complicated, and sometimes it gets a little lost in itself, but 'Looper' manages to take a complex idea, and really narrow it down to it's core to keep it focused, but still incredibly thought provoking. During a breakfast scene with Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Old Joe (Bruce Willis), Old Joe actually says to his younger self, "I don't wanna talk about time travel shit, because if we start talkin' about it, we're gonna be here all day ... making diagrams with straws." While this could be seen as just a lazy excuse to not fully explain the complexity of what's going on, it serves an important function to me: shut up and enjoy the movie. I can look at the flaws of any movie, and let that ruin it for me, so this is writer/director, Rian Johnson's way of saying not to over think this. I mean, what Old Joe is saying really is true. What the hell do any of us know about time travel? It doesn't exist, so the entire concept is theoretical, and I'm sure the majority of the population's knowledge on the subject is based off of 'Hot Tub Time Machine' and 'The Terminator'. So really, there's no point getting too in depth with a movie that's meant to entertain you.
In typical Johnson fashion, there's a brutal violence to 'Looper' but he sneaks in a good amount of comedy to keep it from dragging you through the blood in this dystopian thriller; and to help bring this thriller to life, is a fucking outstanding performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt. I was new to Blunt when I saw this, but she really puts herself on the map with this one. There's a fierceness, yet terrifying fragility to her character that she manages to act perfectly together - when you watch it, you’ll know what I mean. Bruce Willis just always kinda does his thing, so I'm used to it. Gordon-Levitt nails a younger version of Willis and carries the movie to a whole new echelon of greatness. He was on a serious hot streak after making 'Inception', and 'The Dark Knight Rises', and then 'Looper' to finish off a fantastic run. Although I still can’t shake the image of that long haired kid from ‘3rd Rock From the Sun’.
I've always wondered what I would say to myself if I could go back 10 or 15 years, and as this movie alludes to, it wouldn't be related to money, work, or pride, it would be to focus on love, family and happiness - or to better develop my change up so I could be a pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays.
I watched this movie when I was in University in Iowa, around 2005, and that’s when poker exploded into the mainstream. Everyone was watching the World Series of Poker and Doyle Brunson facing off against Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, and Daniel Negranau, and everyone realized how amazing Texas Hold’em really is. I had been playing poker my whole life. I learned off a NES game called Casino Kid, and my Dad and I would always play poker together at the cottage. From there I would play with some of my friends, but they all really sucked, so it wasn’t the best experience. In high school, I started playing with my brother and his friends Keith, Ben and Pasic, who were on par with my skills, so it made for some fun poker - and always a great pizza night. So by the time I watched this movie in University, I already had a very strong base, and passion for the game.
‘Rounders’ has an incredibly strong cast from Matt Damon, Edward Norton to John Malkovich and John Turturro. But it’s not the acting that makes this movie great, what makes this movie is that it plays the game the proper way – it’s not Hollywoodized – and has a great story behind it as well. This movie fuelled my passion for a great game, and helped me get through University by winning quite a bit of money, and having the best weekends ever. Seriously, we played a crazy amount of poker at Graceland University in Iowa. At least every weekend we would head over to the ‘American House’ where all my baseball buddies would be there ready to win. All of us were shit fuck broke, so the $10-$20 buy in was more than just a fun time - we really needed to win! We took this shit so seriously that our starting CF Cali, made a geocities website at the time to keep track of how much we’ve all won. There were always at least 10 of us, but most of the time we had so many players we needed two tables and had to turn some people away. We usually had about 15-18 every weekend. We played for fame, money, and it was a great excuse to get drunk with all our buddies at University.
Then, that’s also when the online poker started. Holy shit, did we get into that. Some of my buddies were on Pokerstars and they were doing actual money bets. When someone raised $50, it was actually $50! Some pots were at $500 pre-flop and ended up going to pretty crazy numbers. Let me remind you - we were broke students! Shit got pretty serious with a bunch of us. Online poker was a huge wakeup call for me and my anger issues as well. I remember junior year, I was playing in my room at ‘The Embassy’ and I lost a bad hand. I was so pissed off, that I grabbed the nearest thing I could find and launched it at my wall. It turned out to be a handful of DVD’s and CD’s. A bunch of them shattered and broke, and some of them were actually pretty important or expensive. From that point on, I made a vow, and have never played online poker again. Poker is so infuriating! Which is why I’ll never be a pro player (Not that I ever was going to be or planned to) You need to have patience, and understanding to play a game where you lose more often than you win.
But all that aside, God I love poker and God I love this movie.
To me, this is the movie that started the new wave of ‘classic’ horror movies – ‘Halloween’, ‘Friday the 13th’ , ‘Child’s Play’, villains that are now synonymous with the best and most memorable of the horror genre. I know ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ isn’t the trend setter of these horror movies, but it was the first one I saw as a kid, so it’s my original horror movie. Watching through all seven ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’s, it’s pretty obvious that the first one is the scariest, and the best - by far. They get pretty ridiculous as the series goes on, and even start to turn into horror/comedies, but the 1984 Nightmare holds up as one of the best ever made. But, It’s not about holding up, because when I watched this as a kid, it freaked the shit out of me. I didn’t understand that he attacked you in your sleep as a kid, all I was scared of was a dude with a fried melting face and freaky ass daggers for a hand. There was blood exploding from a bed, screeching claws dragged over metal surfaces, and stupid adults that refused to believe the truth! But what makes Freddy Krueger so scary is the obvious - he attacks you in your dreams. What a brilliant idea for a horror movie. We all sleep, we all dream, and we’re all completely and utterly helpless when we doze off into lala land.
I used the music composed by Charles Berstein in “Nightmare on Elm Street” for just about every single horror movie I made growing up. I would film a shitty horror on my little digital VHS camcorder and then find a scene in ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ with freaky music and overdub that in my movies. It has quite a chilling soundtrack that if you want to hear, just head over to my old movies and watch any of the
This movie is just so much fun and the more I watch it as an adult, the more I appreciate it – especially Captain Hook’s motives and performance. As a kid, I saw this movie as kids having fun, flying and living in a magical place and Captain Hook was the evil villain who Peter Pan has to slay. In University, I watched this movie and thought how gorgeous the set designs were, the popping colours, the character development of Robin Williams from angry father to joyful Neverland kid, and how hot Julia Roberts was. Now as I watch it, I think of what an absent father Robin Williams is, and how Hook only wants the war he was promised; a chance for glory. I understand his distaste for clocks, and the crocodile at the end, how Wendy was in love with Peter from the beginning, and he left to see about a girl. There are so many nuisances in this movie that I always overlook each decade I watch it. The one thing I can agree on throughout the years, is that this movie is pure joy. Something about always puts me in a good mood.
I was in grade 9, going to school at Turner Fenton in Brampton, Ontario when this movie came out. I was always a pretty responsible student, I'd never skip class or anything, but when 'Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery' came out I just had to see it. I was with some friends in my drama class (Lianne is the only one I remember because I was trying to impress her and make her my girlfriend) and we decided to all skip 5th period drama class and go watch it at 'The Grande'. It was definitely one of the best decisions I made in my high school life. We laughed our asses off. Maybe it was the danger of skipping class and seeing a movie where the hero’s middle name is “Danger” that made it even better, because our adrenaline was pumping. The comedy of 'Austin Powers' just really jammed with me. Not to mention, I developed a huge crush on Elizabeth Hurley after the movie. But when we left the theatre with tears streaming down our faces from laughing so hard, there was the one person I didn't want to see. It was our Drama teacher, Ms. Ross, whose class we just skipped 2 hours ago. What were the odds?! There were 6 of us there but of course she singles me out and asks why I wasn't in class. I was bumbling around like an idiot trying to think of something to say. Ugh. Just the worst.
All the comedy in this movie was genius for its time. Sharks with laser beams, getting a gun upstairs and just killing him now, getting the car stuck in the hallway, Allotta Vagina, the long peeing in the beginning, the big cock and balls in the shape of Big Boy, it's just all so good. Making a parody out of James Bond was easy pickings and long overdue. The silliness of it actually encouraged me to make a bunch of little parodies myself, which have become a staple of my filming hobby. I'd also become the star of the family that year in Chicago for Thanksgiving by constantly doing Austin Power jumps and impressions. I have a ton of great memories with this movie.
My good buddy Haris had a poster of this movie in his dorm room at UofT and absolutely adored it. It was Haris' love for 'Reservoir Dogs' that really helped push this into my top 100. I was super impressionable during high school and found pleasure in the simplest of things. When I saw a cast of badass characters who all had cool colour coded names, I thought this movie was just so cool. It has a wonderful cast of characters including Chris Penn, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Harvey Keitel, and Steve Buscemi who all masterfully deliver what would become signature Quentin Tarantino dialogue - plentiful, conversational, and character developing. Technically, it's a great movie, but that's not really why I like it. This movie has style. The music, mixed with the dialogue in such a static environment manages to open up possibilities of how easy it could be to make a movie. All you need are some friends, good music, and something to argue over. This is obviously pretty insulting to say because this movie is masterful in every aspect, but watching it gave me this feeling of potential.
There's a torture scene in it with "Stuck in the Middle With You" playing while Madsen is dancing and doing pretty fucked up shit to a prisoner, and it debunked everything I thought I knew about scary scenes. I grew up expecting scary music to scary scenes, but this flipped everything on it's head and it made me realize that films can be artistic. There's no formula to making a great movie. The only restriction to greatness is imagination. I'm sure there are other examples of juxtapositions in film, but this one was the first that really opened my eyes, and it was through music! ‘Reservoir Dogs’ inspired me to shoot short films and listen to my voice.
Every Christmas I watch 'A Christmas Story', every Halloween I watch 'A Nightmare on Elm Street', and every February 2nd, I watch 'Groundhog Day' on whatever of the 50 channels that are playing it that day. 'Groundhog Day' is a chance for the great Bill Murray to really let himself loose. I feel like it's based on his true life story and 'Groundhog Day' is his biography. That's either how amazing his acting is or how honest his character Phil Conners feels. He starts off as a self loathing weatherman who is reliving the same day over and over, and the only way he can move forward with his life is to find love and betterment in himself. I've had a couple conversations with friends about how long Phil is stuck in the same day. He masters ice sculpting, the piano, throwing cards, wooing Rita (Andy McDowell) and seems to have a grasp on the French language. Which would make one think that he's reliving Feb 2nd for probably between 7-10 years. That's both terrifying and the coolest thing ever. To be immortal and not have time affect your age, health or anything, is a dream. But what's the point of being immortal and omniscient if there's never anyone to share it with? Director Harold Ramis (Who co-starred with Bill Murray in 'Ghostbusters') reminds us that the most beautiful thing on this planet is the connection we can have with others. The scene with Phil and the homeless man gets me every time. Sharing in people's lives, making friends and being with loved ones is what fills me with purpose.
As a kid watching this, I always thought the plot was so cool. Reliving the same day over and over is like something out of an X-Men comic. It had a ton of funny scenes and all the stuff he mastered was wicked. But watching it now as an adult, I can sympathize with how much he hates doing crappy jobs, being surrounded by idiots, and bothered when he just wants to be left alone. Then I realize that life is a state of mind, and everything can change with a simple reframing of positive energy and courtesy. But man, it'd be tough to get by Ned Ryerson everyday trying to sell me insurance. What a God damned beaut.
'Groundhog Day' is Bill Murray's best movie (Sorry 'Ghostbusters' fans). It's got romance, comedy, heartfelt drama and some good life lessons. I always think of his wise words when some asshole cuts me off as I'm driving, "Don't drive angry! Don't drive angry!".
This is a weird story. The first time I saw this movie, I was at my friend Kevin Pacheco's house for lunch back in Grade 6, and we only had about 45 minutes to eat lunch and then head back to school at Sir Winston Churchill. For some reason, he decided to throw on the VHS version of Evil Dead 2 (What other version I guess?) and he fast forwarded to halfway through the movie when Bobby Joe and the hick enter the movie, and there is Kevin, laughing his ass off. I had no idea what this movie was about but there was blood, beheading, killing, corpses, and some pretty fucked up and scary shit going on; but watching it with Kevin, it was without a doubt, a comedy. We didn't come close to finishing the movie because we only had 40 minutes for lunch time so I was left completely and utterly confused by what we watched. I thought we'd watch 'Pinky and the Brain', 'Fresh Prince of Bel Air' or 'The Simpsons', so getting thrown into this insane blood bath of a movie, I was just floored - in the best way possible. It wasn't for another 10 years or so when I would watch the Evil Dead trilogy and realize what Kevin had exposed me to as a child. 'Evil Dead 2' is right up my alley. Horror comedy done to perfection. The fact that a kid in grade 6 could watch it and laugh more than be scared is proof that this movie finds a nice balance of genres. I mean, we probably shouldn't have been watching it in grade 6, but still.
What I love most about 'Evil Dead 2' is that it doesn't take itself to seriously and it's made on a shoestring budget. This movie gave hope to so many would-be filmmakers out there that success can be achieved no matter your budget or talent. The special effects and the acting in this movie are not Oscar worthy, but because it embraces that fact, it's allowed to succeed by just being wildly entertaining. Since watching this movie, I've gone on to love the iPad app game of 'Evil Dead', I've watched the television show of it called 'Ash vs Evil Dead' and I've even gone to see a live musical play of it twice, at the Randolph Theater in Toronto called ‘Evil Dead: The Musical’ (Which is absolutely fan-fucking-tastic by the way) 'Evil Dead 2' has brought me tons of happiness and motivation that I even made my own short film called 'The Dead Body' which was a horror/comedy. I can faithfully say, it's not as easy as it looks and I give full props to director Sam Raimi, and actor Bruce Campbell for their kick ass movie.
(Side note: Bruce Campbell has an autobiography called 'If Chins Could Kill: Confession of a B-Rated Actor', and it is a fantastic read. I highly recommend it)
The thing I remember most about this true story movie is the trailer. It’s hands down the best trailer I’ve ever seen for a movie. For some reason, the music (Done by Band of Horses), the quick cuts to the music and the shots of James Franco fighting to stay alive elicited an emotion in me I didn’t know I could feel for a 2 minute trailer. I just knew I had to see this movie; not to mention it’s directed by my favourite director, Danny Boyle. The problem was, the trailer was so beyond incredible and powerful that the actual film didn’t quite hold up to a 2 minute short version of it. Boyle makes a dude stuck in a crevice for 5 days somehow still seem really exciting, of course most of that is because of a fucking brilliant performance by James Franco. I was a little pissed off that he didn’t get an Oscar nod for his performance.
Aside from the genius of Boyle and Franco, the sheer determination of the human spirits resolve to survive is a constant well of influence in my life. How far is one willing to go to continue living? How much can the human spirit endure before giving up? There’s a general theme throughout my favourite movies and they usually involve someone overcoming incredible odds. Aron Ralston’s determination is truly inspiring. It reminds me to live life and let the people I love most in the world know how much they mean to me. Powerful and beautiful.
Ah Ticklehead; which is what this movie should have been called. ‘The Grand Seduction’ is a love letter to the East coast. It shows what life is like in a tiny little town (Ticklehead) where everyone knows each other and where their own rules and laws feel made up. ‘The Grand Seduction’ stars arguably my favourite actor in the world, Brendan Gleeson, and he carries this movie from the beginning till end. I mean, he really is fantastic in it. There’s charm to this movie unlike many I’ve seen before. ‘The Grand Seduction’ delves into what lengths a person will go to keep their family afloat and happy. There’s nothing flashy about this flick, much like the East Coast vibe to it. It’s a good honest tale of simple folk trying to make their way and save their little town.
When I first saw this, I was living in Toronto and was starting to get fed up with the constant construction of roads, new buildings, and fucking condos everywhere. I just wanted life to be calm, peaceful and happy. This movie came along and boom, there was the life I wanted to live. So simple. Ironically enough, we went to a screening on the Lakeshore of this movie and sat outside on a beautiful summer day and watched it on an outdoor projector with 30 other Torontonians. Something as cool and unique as that experience probably wouldn’t have happened anywhere else, but I still wanted out of the city!
So to have my favourite actor in it, and me in my early 30s wanting a change of pace, this movie was a round hole going into a round peg. It really is a cute movie that I highly recommend. Not to mention it’s done by a local Toronto boy, Don McKellar. So it’s always nice to support your local scene.
John Candy is a Canadian legend and no movie he has ever done is more perfectly suited for me than 'The Great Outdoors'. This is purely because my family owns a cottage up in Algonquin Park and we have spent the majority of our summers there my entire life. John Candy even wears the same blue cardigan sweater my Dad wears throughout the movie! 'The Great Outdoors' is a very wholesome, family flick with a bunch of laughs. I mean, Dan Aykroyd and John Candy? Fuck off. You know there's going to be a shit ton of laughs in it. The source of my good humour is completely through my parents; my Dad's unrelenting chest of jokes which capture an audience and my Mom's unintentionally confusing belly-bursting jokes. I will say though, that John Candy's bald headed killer bear story makes me want to spin a yarn no matter what story I tell. That scene kills me. My Dad would tell similar stories to Erik and I to try and freak us out all the time. I just hope I can still have fun like that when I'm older and a father. I also wonder if this movie is what gave me my crippling fear of bears? The bald headed bear in this flick is terrifying.
Every time I make a fire at my cottage, I always think of Dan Aykroyd telling John Candy how to make a fire: "You don't crumple a newspaper up, ya twist it! Twist it! Length wise to simulate kindling." Of course, over 30 years of making fires and I still suck at it. Maybe I should take Uncle Roman's advice. I also tried water skiing for the first and only time up in Algonquin when I was a kid. They banned it several years later because it's too loud and obnoxious. I would watch my brother and cousins rip around the lake with my Dad driving a 40 horsepower boat he named 'THOR', until finally it was my turn. I couldn't have fucked it up any worse. I skied on the water for about 0.4 seconds and fell. But I mean, I was about 7 at the time and the ski boots were 5 sizes too big for me. So when I watch the Candy scene of him ripping around the lake and then picking splinters out his ass from now till the day he dies, it always gives me a little smile.
There's also a random music fact in my life that this movie produced. Every time the older son goes out to meet the girl, there's a tune playing that I can recall without fail at any moment. It was the first time I understood that movies have musical themes for certain characters. You think it would be something a little more inspiring like the “Imperial March” from ‘Star Wars’ or something, but hey, 'The Great Outdoors' has offered me plenty to be inspired about. I mean, the ‘96er (96 ounce) steak that John Candy eats! I have a friend, Mike Comrie who is convinced he could eat it without fail no problem. Right. If John Candy can barely pull it off, no chance buddy.
This movie came out when I was going through a pretty big transition in my life. I was in grade 10 and had just stated dating girls, for real – not like ‘Saved By the Bell’. Sex became an important thing in my life, but I always managed to split my time equally between relationships, sports and film. Overall, I started to become a man. When I saw ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’, I was dating my first real girlfriend, Arijana at the time, and because she was a few years older than me, she appreciated art in film more than the testosterone, Arnold Schwarzenegger infused mind that I bluntly brought to every screening. This movie changed me. I had never seen a foreign film that was so beautiful and high budget in my life. I grew up on Hollywood and movies from the 70s and 80s that my Dad recorded on channel 52 with his VHS player and kept in an armoire. It was almost like I was seeing the world in black and white, and then ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ happened and awoke all my dormant senses. Actors Chow Yung Fat and Michelle Yeoh would be seen dancing around like a dream, when in fact it was all practical effects of using wires. But even with the cool special effects overloading my senses, the romantic epicness of ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ still overloads my heart with happiness.
The elegance of a sword and dancing replaced the forcefulness of a gun and car. The subtly of space and sound opened up a closed door. The delicate use of ambience and music replaced the booming scores of John Williams and James Horner. I wasn’t ready for what this movie was going to do to me, and after seeing it, I now keep an open mind to every culture of cinema, no matter who makes it or where it’s from. I would also go on to say, that after watching this movie, I didn’t date another white girl for the rest of my life. So maybe this movie had an even bigger reach of influence than I realized?
The first time I saw 'Oldboy' I was just finishing high school and my brother's buddy, Bryan Pasic, brought over a couple movies on DVD. At the time in early 2000, I was obsessed with watching shock and gore movies. It seemed as though non-Hollywood productions gave me the greatest thrill, with movies like 'Ichi the Killer', 'Battle Royale', and 'High Tension' providing the most fucked up things I could watch and actually appreciate. So with that, Pasic told me that 'Oldboy' is nuts. I gave it a shot and it didn't disappoint. 'Oldboy' is a fucked up movie, no question about it, but it feels like none of it is done just for shock value like some of the other gore-porn stuff I was watching. There's a ton of substance here that lends it to be being one of my favourite foreign films of all time. Director Park Chan-Wook put Korean film on the international stage and 'Oldboy' is his crowning achievement (Spike Lee remade this in 2013 for some stupid reason. Stay away from that version of it). It's about a dude who gets locked up in a tiny room for 15 years and then is let out and tries to figure out who and why he was put in there. From there, it seamlessly blends between mystery, comedy, gore, revenge and drama. I thought the premise was fascinating and was chomping at the bit to give it a watch.
After seeing 'Oldboy' I got out of the gore-porn genre. 'Hostel' came out, and watching it just made me sick. I realized that there was a way to explode your senses with fear and disgust and still produce something that's worthwhile to watch. I believe it was ‘Oldboy’ that pushed me over the edge from shock entertainment to film appreciation.
I wouldn’t say I’m a huge James Bond fan. My favourite Bond film was “Goldeneye”, and that’s more probably because of the N64 video game that I was obsessed with. They’re still fun movies though - super campy, full of action and sex, albeit wildly ridiculous. So ridiculous that ‘Austin Powers’ devoted an entire film to parodying it. Then ‘Casino Royale’ rolls out with Daniel Craig as the replacement to the beautiful Pierce Brosnan. Who the fuck is Daniel Craig? All I knew about him was that he had blue eyes and was pretty scrawny. Well, kiss my ass and call me Thelma, he is now the true James Bond! Craig completely reinvents the 00 agent. He went from being a satirical gun shooting spy, to a legit deadly weapon. All the ridiculousness of the previous James Bonds got thrown out the window in favour of realism. Normally I’d say I’m not a huge fan of that, because James Bond action movies are meant to be larger than life and not take itself too seriously, but director Martin Campbell (who I couldn’t name one other movie he’s done without looking it up on imdb) and whoever was responsible for this 21st century Bond, manages to still keep the charm and essence of the canon while keeping up with audiences hyper craving of realistic action movies. Movies around this time finally needed to be scientifically accurate. Gunshots had to wound, fights needed to look real, and villain’s motives needed to be practical. So seeing James Bond getting the shit kicked out of him and literally dying in this movie made me feel nervous that the greatest 00 agent of all time could actually fail or die during his mission. That’s pretty rad.
As far as action and story go, it’s right up my alley. There’s a crazy parkour action scene to kick off the movie, it’s filled with Texas Hold’em poker, which in 2006 I was playing every weekend in college and still love playing today, and the rest of the movie takes us to beautiful places like Venice, Uganda, and Prague. It’s one of my favourite action movies and definitely my favourite Bond film. It set a new standard for these kinds of movies.
When I watched this movie I was just a kid, and of course I related to Tom Hank's character. I always wanted to be a big kid so I wouldn't be bullied, so I could play sports better, and so I could be an adult and get letters in the mailbox addressed to me. This is a great tale of two movies for me - remembering how I felt as a kid and now watching it as an adult. The kid version of me watched this and saw a guy who had a wicked job with lots of money, buying everything he wanted - a trampoline in a house! A basketball net?! Toys everywhere, a race car bed, it was just so cool. I didn't understand that the whole point of this movie is that being a kid is the best part of life. I had it backwards!
Watching ‘Big’ now, I get reminded of the most important thing in my life, and that's now matter how old I get I always want to be a kid. I want to come up with goofy ideas, laugh, smile, and not take life so damn seriously. It's just not worth it and we don't have the time for it. I'm terrified the older I get the more I become the dreaded boring, lame, disciplining adult. This movie will always keep the child in me at the forefront of everything I do.
Believe it or not, not every movie on this list is from the 80s or stars Arnold Schwarzenegger! Brett Ratner's, 'The Family Man' managed to capture my heart the first time I watched it, and continually blooms my love for it with each sequential viewing. I have always been fascinated with alternate realities, going back to 1990s 'Mr. Destiny' with Jim Belushi, but it was 'The Family Man' that actually managed to make more of a lasting impression on me. The alternate timeline explored in this film is love; or to some degree, love vs money. The love you share with your wife, your kids, your family versus a life of solidarity, freedom, wealth, and loneliness. I always knew I'd choose happiness over money from a very young age, so it’s really exciting to get some insight to the life I'd be missing out on. Nothing tickles my excitement or imagination like the question "What if...?" What if I didn't download Tinder that day and meet my beautiful wife. What if my Dad actually took that job in the Caymen Islands. Would I still have the best friends of my life right now? You can go crazy thinking this... unless an angel offers you a glimpse into what your life would be like for these unanswerable questions.
Nicolas Cage is phenomenal on camera with his co-star, Tea Leoni, (Who I developed a massive crush on after this movie) and watching him transform his idea of happiness and value in life is truly inspiring. Life is better when it's shared with the ones you love and this movie really punctuates that. 'The Family Man' just puts things in perspective for me. It keeps me aligned and happily offers me some waterworks when I give her a watch. Every time I go outside to walk my dog at night in the dead of winter, I pause, and remember that iconic scene of Nicolas Cage outside walking his dog and just try to take in a moment. I try to not take for granted the things and people I have in my life. I look down at my dog, Dexter, and smile. It's like taking an hour long yoga class in 10 seconds. I owe it all to this movie.
I saw this movie in theatres years ago with my now wife, Maria, and usually after we watch a movie, we chat for about 10 minutes on the drive home from the Yorkdale theatre about what we liked, didn’t understand, and it’s usually kinda shallow; but after watching ‘Ex Machina’, oh man, we had a heavy, intense, wicked talk. Writer and director Alex Garland is one of my favourites. It’s no coincidence that he and Danny Boyle work together often; with Boyle being my favourite director. There’s a certain style to Garland’s writing and the best way I can describe it is dark and practical. He writes about futuristic and seemingly inevitable things (End of the world in ‘28 Days Later’, or the sun dying in ‘Sunshine’) and ‘Ex Machina’ delivers what I believe to be his most inevitable outcome - Robots having consciousness. We’ve seen it before in ‘Terminator 2’ and fuck, about a million others, but what makes ‘Ex Machina’ unique is that it’s so intimate. It’s pretty much a three-person play divided into acts (Or sessions in this case). Just when you think you start understanding people’s motives, something comes up and flips your perspective on it’s head. To be honest, after watching it for the 2nd time I’m left even more confused by what truth is left for us.
Boy genius Nathan (Oscar Isaac, who is fantastic in this role) creates robots with supposive consciousness. Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) is brought in to determine if the robot indeed does have consciousness. Where the difficulty lies, is whether what Nathan is doing is appropriate, or more importantly, necessary. He says in the movie that this stage of advancement is and was inevitable, so there was no question as to whether or not he should do it. It’s just the steady progression of life. This sentiment is already clouded with doubt. Bringing life into this world at will and without consequence is what they say in the movie as “playing God”. But the ethics of creating life at will isn’t even the strongest point of contention in this movie, it’s the fact that in order to make them as real as possible, Nathan gives them sensitive nerves in their vaginal area to get a pleasure sensation during sex. So not only are they stuck in an underground facility with no escape, they also are hinted at as being used as sex toys. I was positive Nathan was using them as sex toys when I first watched it, but upon a second viewing, it’s only alluded to and never truthfully revealed. So I watched it again knowing that Nathan is a villain, but then I started to sympathize and understand what he was trying to do. He’s a lonely guy who is way too smart for his own good and is trying to create something amazing for this planet. But then, I think about whether or not these things he has created truly do feel, understand and emote. Is it an advanced A.I. who can manipulate feelings? Are my feelings being manipulated along with Caleb’s throughout the movie? These questions are what Garland wanted you to experience.
This movie gives you so much and yet so little to try and understand the ethics of creating robots with consciousness. You’re left wondering who is crazy, who is right, who is wrong, and everything in between. It’s a great mind fuck thriller with some of my favourite dialogue ever, and these are all questions we are going to be asking ourselves in the near future.
The first thing I think of when someone mentions ‘Commando’ is Arnold Schwarzenegger at his most jacked fucking up bad guys from South America. I mean, there’s not much more to it than that; other than one of the most iconic sound tracks in a movie by the famous James Horner. Those steel drums banging away brings me right into this ‘Commando’ world. I don’t know if the music is horribly mismatched for the action we’re seeing, or if it’s the work of a God damned genius. Either way, steel drums and Commando go together like Austin Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sexy. I digress; because what makes ‘Commando’ so good is that you know the writers are thinking “Ok, how can we make the most insanely aggressive, killing machine, hero script possible that we can sell to Arnold Schwarzenegger?” This movie is complete dog shit if Schwarzenegger isn’t in it, I mean, ‘Commando’ was without a doubt written with him in mind and exploits his greatest traits – muscles and killing. But not only that, it exploits his acting skills giving birth to his famous one-liners! “Let off some steam Bennett”. Or “Don’t disturb my friend here, he’s dead tired.” Every line that John Matrix (Schwarzenegger) has in the movie is pure gold.
‘Commando’ takes me back to a time with my brother Erik and cousin Chris, when we just threw on a movie and got so pumped and excited watching it. I didn’t care about plot or character, I just wanted to throw on a movie and be thoroughly entertained. In my mind, ‘Commando’ marks the turning point of Schwarzenegger’s career. There’s a defining scene in ‘Commando’ where a villain named Diaz is sitting down and gives a cordial, relaxed long ass speech saying how Arnold needs to chill and work out a deal with him so he can see his daughter again, and Arnold simply replies “Wrong” and fucking blasts the guy with a shotgun point blank. ‘Commando’ offers a chance to delve a little deeper into things, but Schwarzenegger just doesn’t give a shit and gives the audience what it wants. Action.
I’d be remiss for not mentioning the opening credits in this movie. Arnold is with a young Alyssa Milano and they provide us with pretty much the definition of 80s parody. Fantastic and awful.
Watching this as a kid, I kinda thought, ‘Meh it’s alright. Kinda boring’. Then I watched it again in my early 30s and wow, this movie is insane. The trip these Americans go on through the Do Lung river in Vietnam to try and find Colonel Kurtz is epic. If you want some insight into how fucked up the Vietnam war was, just watch this. The whole thing just feels uncomfortable to watch. It just feels like these troops are taking the river Styx into hell. It’s so cool.
Also, after watching ‘Apocalypse Now’, I watched the making of it, ‘Hearts of Darkness’ filmed by Coppola’s wife Sofia and holy shit, it’s even more intense than the bloody movie. It’s one of those times when you peel back the curtain on how the movie was made and it makes the experience just so much more grand. The shooting of this film got so intense that Francis Ford Coppola thought about committing suicide. The funding was barely there for the movie and he had to fund it almost all himself. It went way over budget and shooting time. All the actors were fucked on acid and shrooms to cope with the crazy ass location and shooting demands. The story and film of ‘Apocalypse Now’ is one that I’ll never forget and come back to every 5 or 6 years; because that’s how long it takes the recover from this friggin thing.
“Way to go Frankie!” This movie came out before Mixed Martial Arts and the UFC was a thing; and that’s all this movie is. It’s a movie long version of a UFC fight. There’s a boxer, sumo wrestler, kung fu master, a monkey man, and a whole lot of other martial artist fighting for the championship in the Philippines. So ya, already this movie is pretty wicked, but then put the absolute genius of Jean Claude Van Damme in there, and it becomes one of my most memorable fighting movies ever made.
But lets be serious, the acting is atrocious, the story is as simple as it gets, and it reeks of a 80s action film. But because I watched it during grade school, I just thought it was the coolest thing ever. When JCVD does the splits and punches his opponent in the dick, or when Chong Lee kills (puts out of commission) the big stupid American during the Kumate (The death match tournament) or when the big dumb American and Van Damme play ‘Karate Master’ on an arcade machine when they first meet? It’s all so cheesy and awesome! It’s pretty much like a kid wrote this movie, which is why it holds such a wonderful spot in my heart. Upon watching it again, it’s actually quite awful. The flashback scene when the kid breaks in and tries to steal the sword might just be the worst acting in the history of cinema. If you’re trying to watch this movie for good acting and story, you’re barking up the wrong tree. It’s fun and entertainment above everything. Also the music by Paul Hertzog is killer. The final battle is an amazing 8 minute song that I listen to at work about once a week.
Director Mel Brooks has done some pretty funny parody movies throughout his career, such as 'Spaceballs', 'Blazing Saddles', or 'Robin Hood: Men in Tights', but without a doubt his 1974 movie 'Young Frankenstein' is his claim to fame. The first thing I noticed about 'Young Frankenstein' was that it was shot in black and white. When I saw this as a 12 year old, I immediately scoffed at it. Black and white? That's for old people and shitty movies. My Dad reminded me that this movie wasn't that old and coloured films had obviously been invented, and that it was a creative choice to shoot that way. I was flabbergasted. Nevertheless, I sat down and watched it with my parents. They were howling in laughter at all these scenes that just didn't seem that funny to me. "Walk this way." The hump changing sides. Frau Blucher - queue the horses. "What knockers!" None of these things made any impact on me at all, but the movie still held me with Marty Feldman's brilliant acting as the servant, Igor. A few years later I watched it again, really trying to understand the comedy and everything clicked for me. From that moment on, my idea of comedy elevated to a whole new level. I also felt like such an adult by liking this movie. Everyone my age was rocking 'Space Jam'. 'Happy Gilmore' and here I was, laughing at this black and white, 1970s movie. I certainly didn't like it because it made me unique to my peers, I liked it because it's a funny fucking movie. Even Gene Hackman was so desperate to get a role in this movie and venture into the comedy world that he took the role of the blind man for free! Four days of work for four minutes in the film.
While 'Young Frankenstein' helped shape my idea of comedy, it also shaped my idea of creative choices in art. Why on Earth would Brooks shoot this as a black and white movie? When I finally realized that some movies aren't making sacrifices, but instead making it a specific way to get a vision across, it helped me immensely in my creative endeavours. I suddenly didn't feel limited by not having the best camera, a fist full of dollars, or the exact set piece I needed to make a scene come to life. I realized I can be creative and in turn end up putting a signature 'Allan Hughes' stamp on my shitty little films. Trying to create something perfect when you don't have the means to make your vision come to life is when you need to dig deep down and find alternatives that end up giving your piece of art more heart.
You know it’s Christmas time when ‘Home Alone’ comes on. It’s become an absolute staple with my wife and I when December rolls around; although she prefers the sequel ‘Lost in New York’, so we get to watch both back to back every time and enjoy the zany shenanigans. It’s weird, because when I think of ‘Home Alone’ it’s just kind of a part of my culture growing up. I don’t treat it as a feature film. It’s just a way of life for me. Macaulay Culkin was the most famous child alive when I was in grade 2, and I did everything I could to try and be like him; my parents must have hated me that year.
I love the legendary John William’s enchanting score to go along with Harry and Marv being some of the goofiest villains on screen. A lot of people now talk about how unrealistic this movie is. That Harry and Marv should have died 4 or 5 times over from the trauma they endure. But I mean, seriously, it’s a fucking kids movie! Why are people analyzing the seriousness of a kid defending his home from the ‘Wet Bandits’? When I turn my brain off, I get to laugh my ass off unapologetically at how fun and stupid, yet incredibly witty and smart this movie is; it is written by one of my favourite writers, John Hughes, after all.
When I was at my cottage as a kid, my cousin bought this book about how to spy, lay traps, build forts, and it was the coolest book in the world to me. I wanted to be a secret agent spy and lay booby traps and stuff. I did try and build some traps out of wood, dig holes and then cover them hoping things would fall in and get trapped. No doubt Kevin McCallister taught me out to get creative, draw out cool maps, and trap the bad guys. Thankfully I didn’t trap my Mom and break her leg. Yeesh!
Certainly not my favourite of the ‘Rocky’ franchise, but ‘Rocky III’ provides us with some of the most emotional, and memorable moments from all six films. While the first two Rocky’s leaned more towards drama and romance, the third installation really zeroed in on the boxing and competitive element. There’s an opening charity fight between Thunderlips (Hulk Hogan) and Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) that is terrifying entertainment at its finest; and it has one of the most bone crunching, cringe worthy moments in a wrestling match that I’ve ever seen. Rocky’s first fight against Clubber Land (Mr. T) is loaded with emotion and shock, and the final fight is pure elation after everything Rocky goes through. It has a bitchin’ training montage with Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) to Survivor’s, ‘Eye of the Tiger’ that felt like it was the birthplace of memes, and a super intense performance by Adrian (Talia Shire) and Rocky on the beach. All in all, there are a ton of scenes that really inspire me to try and stay focused, and beat the odds – which is at it’s heart, what ‘Rocky’ is all about.
There’s a lot of hate and anger in this movie. It feels as though it’s personified by the brute strength and frustrations of Clubber Lang. He has busted his ass to become the number one ranked contender and still won’t be given a shot at the title. Shit, I’d be pissed off too. This anger is then spilled over throughout the entire film. Mickey is screaming at people and angrily popping bubbles, Paulie is throwing whiskey bottles at pinball machines, Adrian is screaming on the beach, Apollo Creed is yelling at Rocky during the training, and the opening wrestling scene is a fucking shit show. There’s a lot of angry emotion in this movie, which bleeds over to fear. To hear my boy Rocky Balboa, the Italian Stallion, say he’s afraid, and then have his wife say that’s OK, I mean, wow. There has always been a vulnerability to Rocky, but to articulate so bluntly a feeling that all of us have felt at some point, and to push forward and still deal with it anyways is inspiring to me.
Also, I’ll never forgive the costume designer for the blue clown outfit Adrian wears during the first fight with Clubber Lang. My god that’s awful, and unfortunately, very memorable to me.
I always know it's officially Christmas season when 'A Christmas Story' pops up on my parents DVD player (Or when I was younger, on TBS - Channel 47). Without a doubt, 'A Christmas Story' is the defining holiday movie of my life. If I really think about it, it might be my most viewed movie ever. I watch it at least twice during the holidays, and I'm 35 while I'm writing this. That's a lot of 'A Christmas Story'! The movie is packed full of family charm. It pulls me right into the story and most important, into the Christmas spirit. Christmas is without a doubt my favourite day of the year because I get to spend it with my family, and all of us just have huge beaming smiles on our faces. My parents are delighted with Erik and I freaking out over our presents, and our anticipation of what's under the tree consumes us completely. Couple that with 'A Christmas Story' playing on a loop in the background, it triggers a Pavlov's Dog effect in me that refuses to let me be anything other than joyous.
Life transforms back to a simpler time, and reminds me to really enjoy what I have. How many times have I bundled up to go play outside, and my Mom would joke about "I can't put my arms down!", or my brother mentioning every gift at Christmas as "A major award!", or the lamp of the leg in our families den at 1/4 of the size as a gag. Hell, I even got my wife saying "Fra-gi-le. It must be Italian" when we open up our gifts. So while the movie itself is fantastic, it's really it's effect on me and my family, that launches this into my favourite Christmas movie ever.
I heard about this movie from my buddy Guybrush, and he said "You have to watch this movie. Trust me" I asked him what it was about, and he said "Just watch it." Well, I watched it at my wife's parents house, in her basement with my brother in law, Phi, and holy shit, it was not at all what we were expecting. The spectrum of emotions this movie takes you on is impressive. I fully expected it to be a movie about getting infected, and a pandemic breaking out or something, but this fucking movie turns into a terrifying dark comedy, which is the last genre I expected it to be. From the opening scene, I tried to pay a little extra attention to it, and from the very beginning, everything pays off so satisfyingly; it all makes sense. The way 'Parasite' stacks it's drama is so phenomenal. The drama isn't just static either, it's constantly evolving and warping into weird, fantastical fucked up scenarios that generally leave you wondering "Where the hell is this going?". I've shamelessly only watched this once, and am dying to watch it again, but after the first viewing, I immediately told my wife and brother in law "This is totally in my top 100 of all time".
I'm already a fan of Korean films like 'Oldboy', 'Joint Security', and 'Train to Busan', and had seen Bong Joon Ho's 'Okja', ‘Snowpiercer’ and 'The Host' and thought all three were outstanding. There's a certain shock and brutalness to Korean films that I find really refreshing. After checking out 'Parasite', it followed much of the same trajectory. It is just fucking nuts on such a subtle and aggressive level, which is insanely hard to do. Ho can build tension through any medium - writing, camera shots, music, acting, and editing. Bong Joon Ho has some serious skill, and I can't wait to watch his next flick.
When I saw this movie in theatres, I was 20 years old. Right smack in the middle of University in Iowa, and my sense of humour was probably at it raunchiest. So when I saw 'Anchorman' I was really let down. The jokes were all dad jokes and half of them barely made any sense. There was no swearing, no blood, no funny moments at all for me. The movie sucked balls. Then I watched it again about 5 years later, and it left me wondering if I was in a coma the entire time I watched it, or on a bad trip of mushrooms, because 'Anchorman' is fucking hilarious.
The comedy in 'Anchorman' is in it's delivery. All in all, the jokes really aren't that funny, because more often than not they're just stupid observations, but when Will Ferrel is delivering them with his channel 4 newscast team, it takes comedy to a whole new level. He takes lines like "My place smells of rich mahogany" and "I have many leather bound books" and somehow manages to make it a funny line. It's become one of the most quoted movies I've ever heard when I'm with my friends. It's almost on a weekly occurrence that I hear some sort of reference to this movie. Unfortunately, it's been quoted so much, that I don't really find it that funny anymore, but then when I watch the movie, it's a hidden gem line that ends up making me bust a gut. Like Brick (Steve Carrell) saying "I ate fiberglass insulation. It wasn't cotton candy like the guy said... my stomach's itchy". The cast of comedians is really what pulls the whole movie together. Will Ferrell is no doubt the star, but everyone has their chance to shine, and they really grab hold of it. Not surprisingly, a lot of the movies lines are improvised. They would do one scene a bunch of times, and just throw out random shit and see what stuck. You get to see a snippet of it during the credits.
This was director Adam McKay's first real movie, and I don't think the world was ready for this kind of comedy. In the early 2000's, there were a lot of parody movies like 'Scary Movie 2 & 3', or 'Austin Powers 3', and really dumb fucking comedies like 'The White Chick' or 'Joe Dirt'. Will Ferrell's breakout role came 2 years earlier in 'Old School' which paved the way for him to play the starring role in 'Anchorman'. 'Anchorman' took everything that was funny in 'Old School' and just cranked it up a notch. McKay then followed 'Anchorman' up with another one of my personal favourite comedies in "Step Brothers". This stupid style of comedy just works with me. I know it's not for everyone because my Dad hates Will Ferrell with a burning passion, but when comedy can become basic, it has a chance to flourish with the everyday person. There are comedies like 'Stir Crazy' or 'The Big Lebowski' which have many layers to it. It's intelligent comedy. Comedy is hitting on subtexts in the film, promoting a theme in the movie, or developing a character to fall in love with, but 'Anchorman' is just dumb shit they're saying. Brick literally just says shit in a room, and people laugh their ass off. That's not to say that the comedy isn't genius in this movie, it's just a different type that doesn't require much analyzing to understand. You just sit back, and laugh. I'm OK with that.
John Candy and Steve Martin are so damn good together. Steve Martin plays Neal Page, the straight laced, uptight family man, and John Candy plays Del Griffith, the annoying, lovable oaf, and both of them act their character like Michael Jordan burying a fade away jumper. Their chemistry on camera is so awkward, and hilarious; it's one of my favourite acting duos of all time - right up there with 'Rainman'. It's a John Hughes script, which is probably why this doesn't feel like a movie, and it more feels like we're watching a snippet into their actual lives; he shows that human beings are fallible, full of flaws, and capable of beautiful things. Hughes has the ability to bring out the charm and realism in people, which is what gives this goofy comedy so much heart. I've always thought that Steve Martin was my Uncle Gary, and John Candy was like my Dad. One super serious, the other constantly joking around. So to me, the writing feels even more authentic. Watching Neal Page's brutal struggle to get home for Thanksgiving to be with his family gave birth to the buddy-travel comedy in my opinion. It's been attempted many times after this, and none even come close to the magic of this flick. The first time I saw 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' I was with my family, and my parents would cover my ears during Steve Martin's scene at the car rental desk asking for his "fucking car" when I later found out what that scene was about, I died laughing. I usually find there is a scene or two in movies that I just can't stand, and would want to fast forward, but 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' has zero of those scenes. I love every word, facial expression, and music cue in this movie. I was watching 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' one afternoon in my early 20s, and my buddy Bryan Pasic walks in the room and says "Oh, this is my favourite part!", It's the scene where John Candy steals Steve Martin's cab, and I'm thinking "This is a good scene, but what? Huh? Your favourite moment?" there's this brief moment, where John Candy looks up at Steve Martin in shock, and for some reason, Pasic bursts out in laughter and says "That look! That look right there. It's the best!". There are tiny little moments in this movie that manage to stick with you. Fuck it's so perfect.
'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' helped me realize a lot of things when I was younger. It taught me that even though things may not go as expected, it doesn't mean you still can't enjoy the experience. You can meet new people, battle adversity, and more than anything, you have to try and find the good in things. If I had to live with Neal Page on the road, I'd fucking kill myself. But then again, the beauty of this movie, is that if I had to live with Del Griffith, I'd probably kill myself too.
'Misery' is a novel by Stephen King, which was adapted for the screen by William Goldman, and directed by Rob Reiner. Holy shit did they nail this adaptation. The movie is pretty much completely dependent on two actors - James Caan and Kathy Bates; since it's a kidnapping story, and the relationship the two have is so strained and forced that you really do believe the actors hate each other in real life. While, I can't say if they didn't like each other, they did actually quarrel on set. James Caan apparently wanted to rehearse as little as possible, and Kathy Bates, who has a theater background, wanted to rehearse all the time. Director Rob Reiner told her to use that frustration towards him in her character.
Every once in a while, there's a villain in a movie that just sticks with you in the worst way possible. 'Misery' has that villain in Annie Wilkes, played by Kathy Bates. I mean, talk about one evil son of a bitch. So evil and good that she won an Oscar for it in 1990. Also, to win an Oscar in a horror/thriller genre is pretty much impossible to do in Hollywood; that's how good she was in this movie. I part of what makes Annie Wilkes so disturbing is that she's incapable of swearing, and has this small town jargon that sends shivers up your spine. Stephen King later revealed that her character was a metaphor for his drug addiction, and also all the rabid Stephen King fans who freaked him the fuck out.
Watching Paul Sheldon (James Caan) trying to manipulate his way out of her hold is captivating. You're with him every move he makes. It feels like you're in there with him, and praying to God that he can get out of there alive. There are so many scenes where I'm just holding my breath and reluctantly awaiting what's about to happen next. It's a page turner! Stephen King went on to say that his favourite written character is Annie Wilkes because she was always surprising to write, with unexpected depth and sympathy.
What made this movie even more special to me, is that my Dad is a huge Stephen King fan, and has read about every single book he's written. So I naturally have a fond affinity for anything Stephen King has written. Also, my Mom watched this movie, and she's a nurse (As is Annie Wilkes) and this movie freaks the shit out of her. The last time I watched it, my wife Maria asked to put on a good thriller movie, and I found this in our old VHS collection. My Mom and I watched it vicariously through Maria's eyes, and shuttered at the pain and agony this movie puts your through. Movies are always better when you watch them with a fan, and my Mom is this movies "... number one fan."
Janet Leigh screaming in the shower as a knife tears into her body is a scene I’ll have tattooed in my memory for the rest of my life. When I was at the cottage with my family as a kid, my Mom and Auntie Ann, without question, would always act out ‘Psycho’. What made it even more comical, was the fact that they broke the rules of charades every time and would imitate someone stabbing over and over while screaming out the terrifyingly fantastic music of that scene. “REEE! REEE! REEE!” We would all yell out “PSYCHO!” and my Auntie Ann or Mom would smile, jump around and say “Yes!”. Funny enough, that’s actually probably why I like ‘Psycho’ so much. When I think about it, I think of family, and laughing - kinda fucked up eh?
‘Psycho’ is obviously not a comedy, and shouldn’t be making people laugh. It’s a terrifying movie, with a terrifyingly genius twist. While it’s the only legit black and white movie on this list (Young Frankenstein gets some credit) it’s by far the best one ever made, and with that, Alfred Hitchcock’s best film. I considered ‘Rear Window’ to be the best Hitchcock film ever made, but upon another watch, I realized it was just a little too slow for me. ‘Psycho’ is a non-stop investigating thriller of a movie, with a deep dive into the human psyche. Watching it again, it still holds up as a wicked thriller of a movie, and a landmark of slasher/horror films in the world of film. It’s an absolute must watch to lovers of film, and of thrillers.
This movie came out at a time where the world was just craving something other than shitty superhero movies. I mean, between 2015-2020, the market was so saturated with superheros that just about every month there was another fucking movie or TV show thrown in our face. That's why when 'Knives Out' came out in 2019, it was a breath of fresh air. I was craving something to make me think, something to challenge other parts of my brain, like when I was a kid reading 'Choose Your Own Adventures', 'Flash Fry Private Eye', Hardy Boys', and to some degree, 'Goosebumps'. 'Knives Out' is directed by Rian Johnson, who just finished making 'Star Wars Episode 8' which was subject to insane critical backlash from fans (I actually loved it), so a lot of people were quick to dismiss this movie because they were still butt hurt over a fucking Star Wars movie. To all those people who grudgingly passed on this movie, you are stupid. This flick was like watching 'Clue' (1985) updated in 2019 with more realism, and cheeky editing. Daniel Craig moves on from his James Bond roles into the cunning detective, Benoit Blanc, and steals the show with his Southern passive charismatic charm. He just oozes Agatha Christie detective. Craig has a fantastic cast of characters to investigate, who provide an entertaining spectrum of personalities and quirks to keep you wondering "Who killed Harlan Thrombey?" right to the very end.
I was so inspired by this movie, that I decided to write a murder mystery for one of my best friends, Guybrush Taylor's birthday. After 2 weeks of writing, making props, building fake websites, connecting dots, dealing with motives, and character flaws, it made me realize how hard it is to build a murder mystery that challenges intelligent people, but also leaves it easy enough to solve. So then looking back on 'Knives Out', it really did a fantastic job of planting red herrings, and challenging my mind to figure this crime out with Benoit Blanc.
I'm bold enough to say, this is the best martial arts action film of all time. Move over Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Lee, Donny Yen, Tony Jaa, because Iko Uwais is a god damned legend when it comes to hand to hand combat. Part of the reason why it looks so damn good is that everything from kicks to punches are real in this movie. The movie uses are martial art called Pencak Silat, which is the native fighting style of Indonesia (The origin of the film). All the actors needed to learn how to control their speed and timing to make sure it looked legit, and didn't kill each other on camera. The fighters and protagonist, Uwais, even trained together for 6 months prior to the film to build chemistry and trust with each other. I mean, the amount of choreographing in this flick is mind boggling. There's a fight scene in a courtyard jail that rolls on one take for what seems like forever; and during that scene, there are tons of intense high impact fighting going on. The amount of effort that went into this movie is staggering, with the final fight being the ultimate climax. I must have watched that fight scene about 50 times. It made my wife sick how often I would keep putting it on. Everything about it is incredible though. The climatic build through the music, the fast editing, the martial arts, the gore, the pain - it's just the absolute peak of martial arts. There is literally nothing better.
Apparently, the director Gareth Evans spent 6 weeks designing that final fight, and it was well worth it. Unfortunately, there is a massive flaw with this movie that prevents it from probably being in my top 10, and that's the inclusion of Baseball Man. Holy shit what a stupid fucking idea. I've been playing baseball my whole life, even went to Iowa on a scholarship to pursue my dream as a catcher in the MLB, so I know how hard it is to play baseball. But this fucking character, throws up a ball, and hits it at someone running away from him. The guy falls to the floor withering in pain, and then gets smashed in by the melee baseball bat. Um, I've been hit by a baseball before, it barely leaves a bruise, let alone falling to the floor, crumpled in pain. Secondly, Derek fucking Jeter could even self hit a ball directly into a moving targets spine a 100 feet away with one chance. It's just so far fetched and so fucking dumb, and worst, completely unnecessary. Remove that element from the movie though, and it’s perfection.
The classic cop vs crook story has never been done so well as in 'The Departed'. It takes such a simple concept, and turns it into such a wicked psychological cat and mouse chase by just swapping the roles. Leonardo DiCaprio is a cop who gains the trust of the city's drug lord, Jack Nicholson, and Matt Damon is a loyal subject to Nicholson who infiltrates the police; and both are looking for the other. It's a typical Martin Scorcese movie with swearing, blood, abuse, and the Boston gangster vibe, but there's something that feels more real about this one for some reason. He really digs in deep to these characters, and you sometimes lose yourself with them, and wonder who is right or wrong. Watching them try to balance love, work, ethics, and loyalty has never been more enticing to follow. It's a fascinating in-depth look into both the criminal and defenders psyche.
I'm not usually a huge fan of Scorcese films or gangster movies in general. For some reason they just don't excite me that much. But 'The Departed' felt different. Maybe it's because it takes actors who clearly aren't mob types in Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio, or that it's just jam packed with my favourite actors. Alec Baldwin has a scene when he's talking to Damon about health and smoking that just kills me. It gives the movie a +1 to it's final score just because of those 5 seconds. I was surprised to learn 13 years after this movie came out that it's a remake of a Chinese film called 'Internal Affairs' which came out 3 years earlier. After seeing the Chinese version, it made me appreciate the US version even more. It's kinda cool that Scorsese purposely chose not to watch 'Internal Affairs' until after shooting to try and maintain some of his own integrity to the movie - good call. It won best picture at the 2005 Oscars. 'The Departed' is so perfectly crafted to keep you guessing at every second. There are so many times during this movie that I say to myself "Holy shit!". Always a good reaction to have.
This movie came out in 1999, and I was in grade 10 at the time. I was in journalism class, and I had a crush on this girl named named Yagoda, and she said she saw 'American Beauty' over the weekend. I remember seeing the posters for it, and it looked so stupid. Like a dumb romance movie with flowers and girls in it. I instead went and saw 'For Love of the Game', with Kevin Costner playing baseball. Now we're talking. Boy was I wrong. Turns out that 'For Love of the Game' wasn't so much about baseball as it was a sappy romance, and 'American Beauty' is one of the craziest pot smoking, killing, spying, life changing, sexiest movies ever made.
'American Beauty' is the first movie I've ever seen, where I read the movie script before I saw the movie. I was really big into script writing, and trying to learn how to be a script writer, so I had a whole bunch of Tarantino scripts, and I bought Alan Ball's 'American Beauty' randomly at the Cole's bookstore. It was such a wicked experience, and surely why I like this film so much. Reading the entire movie first gave me my own impression of how to do it. How to act it, shoot it, edit it, do music for it. It humbled me big time, because it made me realize 1, how fucking hard it is to make a movie, and 2, it turned out completely different from my minds idea of it. The mood and pace the movie sets was so soothing, yet uncomfortable at the same time. The script is so simple, yet I think about their words over and over again. This movie made me think about life, love, and filmmaking in an entirely different way. Also, when I saw it at 16 years old, I wasn't prepared for the impact it was going to have on me. I thought it was going to just be a silly romance movie, but it still has a massive impact on me today - "It's just a couch! And honey, it's become more important to you than living, and that's just crazy".
I'm a big fan of anything John Hughes writes (As evidence by having 4 of his movies in my top 100) but it's 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' that is his defining movie. This movie captures the time and essence of an 80s rebellious teenager in love to perfection. Everything Ferris does on his day off is so whacky and over the top, but yet there's this sense of truism to it for some reason. Matthew Broderick's actions are fantastic, but yet his acting is believably simplistic, and that makes all the difference in this movie. It takes realistic characters, and throws them into ridiculous situations, like Rooney trying to break into Ferris' house but has to deal with the dog, or Ferris on a float singing a Beatles song, or catching a baseball at a Cub's game. Maybe the float scene is a little farfetched, but Ferris represents everything I was and wanted to be as a teenager. To go out and do crazy shit, to fuck around with snooty people at restaurants, and suck the marrow out of life while I can. Hughes finds ways to make teenage life complicated, simple, and relatable all at once.
It's cool how Hughes uses music in this film as well. Everything is very over the top. There's straight up horror themed music as Ferris' mom heads up to the bedroom to check on Ferris, there's 'Star Wars' music from John Williams when the garage attendant is flying the Porsche, there are haunting lullaby's when Ferris is with his girlfriend, or thoughtful masterpieces like 'Please, Please, Please (Let Me Get What I Want)' by the Dream Academy while at the museum. I can pretty much make a full mix tape of all the music in this movie, and listen to it over and over. My Dad actually did make a movie mix tape when I was a kid, and the last song in this movie 'Oh Yeah' by Yello ended one of his tapes, and because he pulled it directly from the movie, I always hear the bus driver yell out "Hey Mr. Rooney. Did you get in a fight? Want a lift?", and then the girl inside the bus asking him if he wants a warm and soft gummy bear - man, I can't wipe the smile off my face when I think of this scene with the music playing. Funny enough, John Hughes actually chose obscure music for the entire movie, because he wanted everything to feel new - I guess they're not obscure anymore. Such brave and bold music choices juxtapose so well with the calm realism of the three teenage actors to bring out a masterful feeling. When I first watched this as a kid, it seemed like such a realistic, adult movie. Almost too heavy for me to watch, which, in retrospect, is actually true, because the subtext of the movie is one final blowout before we lose our childhood. We all have to get jobs, start paying bills, and be responsible adults at some point in our lives, and 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' gives us a little reminder of how much fun was, or could be again.
I was surprised to learn that a lot of great scenes in this movie were improved as well. Ben Stein's only scripted line was him doing roll-call. Matthew Broderick playing the flute scene was improved as well as the coughing keyboard. Grace ad-libbed imitating Rooney on the phone, and her saying "He's a righteous dude" and a ton more. I guess when you write a script in six days (!) there are probably going to be a bunch of lines changed.
When ‘The Ring’ came out in 2002, I had just seen movies like ‘The Others’, ‘Thirteen Ghosts’, ‘Final Destination’, and more ‘Scream’ movies. ‘Scream’ reignited the horror genre in the late 90’s, but again, it was becoming a little stale. Japanese horror was just on the cusp of becoming huge in the Western hemisphere by releasing movies like ‘The Ring’, ‘Ju-on: The Curse’, and ‘Black Water’. I watched Japan’s ‘The Ring’ (1998) and was absolutely terrified. The creepiness and solemn tone throughout the flick just left me feeling hollow and vulnerable. Then, I remember watching ‘Ju-on: The Curse’ in the same year, 2002, and I was literally screaming with my buddy Haris in my room when I was 18 years old. It was then I decided: I love Japanese horror films. So when Naomi Watts was starring in a US remake (What else is new?) of a beloved Japanese horror flick, I scoffed at it. But, as a teenager, I usually had nothing else to do on Friday night except go to the movies, so I did, and I watched ‘The Ring’. Wow. I mean, nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see. The opening scene of the movie was already better than the entire Japanese film. It was absolutely fucking terrifying. They took the original movie, and bolstered it in every way. The acting, the directing, the sound, the scares, the intensity, and the colour. It has a unique bluish colour tone that is very off putting. While I usually find the originals to be much better than the remakes, I’m happy to say, that this one was an absolute home run, and helped bring some light from the J-Horror scene to North America. I can’t say the same for the US remakes of ‘Dark Water’ or ‘The Grudge’; which were both pieces of shit. ‘The Ring’ will always be one of the best horror movies ever made in my mind. It’s brutally unpredictable, and has some of the creepiest sound effects I’ve ever heard.
I still remember the first time I heard about this movie. I was at my cousin’s cottage at Inverhuron, and he was telling me about this movie that’s supposed to be the scariest movie ever made. It was 1999, and I was 15 years old in grade 10, and just dying for something to scare the living shit out of me, so we decided to head into the nearest town, and check it out. The movie started at 5:00pm and we left at 4:45pm. It was a 20 minute drive to get there, and I have never seen my cousin drive so fucking fast in my life. We burned some rubber and only missed a couple minutes of the movie. The town we were in had a population of about 100 people, and the theatre was the super old school one, with crappy seating, and boxed popcorn - kinda awesome. No joke, there was no one else there. It was just my cousin Chris and I, and we sat anxiously, and watched. When the last scene happened, which was kinda freaky, we saw the credits roll, and we looked at each other and said “What the fuck was that garbage?” It wasn’t scary at all! I fully went in expecting blood, gore, jump scares, demons and all sorts of cool shit, but not only did we not get any of that, I was also given no name actors, shit quality, and this handheld movie. I was so confused.
We drove home and talked about how it was nothing like we were expecting. We were told it was the scariest movie ever made! We must have missed something. We must have. We decided that we were going to go back tomorrow, and watch it again. Our second time watching it through, was much better. Paying attention to the interviews they do at the beginning of the movie was pretty critical to understanding the lore of the Blair Witch; we missed that our first time through. Not only is it a creepy movie, with good scares near the end, it also gives me hope that I can make a successful movie on a budget. It made $250,000,000 and only cost $60,000 to make. That’s unbelievable. It also opened the door to an entire new genre of horror movie. First person perspective, Cam movies are now made all over the place.
“Are you the one from next door?” I can’t count how many times my cousin Chris and I would joke about this movie up north at the cottage during the summer. Ol’ fucking Rube next door with the sardines (Which to this day I still have never tried because of that scene with Tom Hanks) to the zoom in and outs with Walter’s femur bone in the backyard, to Tom Hanks shuffling down the stairs after the explosion, there are just so many memorable scenes that fill me with happiness. It’s funny, I had no idea ‘The ‘Burbs’ meant the suburbs! I always thought it was a last name or something, but growing up in the suburbs in Brampton, Ontario, I can see an entire new layer of comedy to this movie now. They were so bored that they started doing stupid shit to occupy their time in the summer. The movie is so funny that it doesn’t even need another layer to it, but it’s certainly one of those movies that I can watch over and over again and not get bored of. That’s pretty rad. A movie like this just wouldn’t get made anymore. It’s such a basic premise that relies on the strength of its actors. Although, the music in it by the master, Jerry Goldsmith is such good quirky fun too. It gives the movie its feel.
In 2020, I moved to the suburbs in Milton, Ontario with my wife Maria, and I told her, “The first movie we are going to watch when we get settled in is ‘The ‘Burbs!” We stayed true to our word, and threw it on the first night we had everything set up. Unfortunately, she fell asleep 1/4 through, then 1/2 way the next night, and maybe we finished it the 3rd night? Maybe this movie isn’t for everyone, but to me, it’s just such a fun little movie to throw on. It has incredible subtle nuanced comedic genius instilled throughout the entire thing, and a little something from each actor.
“God I love this neighbourhood”
I definitely have a soft spot for coming of age movies, especially set in schools, and especially starring Robin Williams. The first time I saw this, I thought it was so boring, and complicated. That's because I couldn't comprehend the thesis of the movie - “Carpe Diem". A simple phrase, that means so much. Unfortunately, I saw this in English class in highschool, and seizing the day seemed like an after thought to me. I was doing it everyday anyways! I lived my high school life fast, hard, and without regret. Anything I wanted to do, I put my mind to it, and I achieved it (with the exception of getting good grades). I thought poetry was lame; the only reading I would encourage myself to do would be to read Stephen King. So all in all, this movie just didn't vibe with me. Now, having watched it as a married man in my 30's, I can now put this in my top 100 movies of all time. It's so much more than just kids growing up in school and starting a club (my caveman analysis of the movie in my teens), it's about breaking conformity, living each day to its fullest, teenage repression, suicide, parenting, teaching, remembering to smile, seeing things in a different way, breaking the mold, following your heart, trusting and loving your friends, and most of all, don't be ordinary. I need to make sure I watch this movie once a year to remind myself to be brave and daring, no matter the consequences.
The teaching from Mr. Keating (Robin Williams) remind us how influencial and important the teachers we have in our lives are. As Robert Frost said - "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference". It's a quote I have put up next to my computer while I'm working to push myself to edit and write in new, fascinating ways. I can vividly recall the three teachers who pushed me to try and be better than I was, and to reach my potential: Mr. Leetch, who was my grade 6 teacher and forced me ‘Treasure Island’ which was twice as long, and more difficult than anything anyone else read. Mr. Casey, my film professor in Iowa who saw me wasting my film potential and pushed me to try and do things out of my comfort zone. And Mr. White, who pushed me the hardest. He said “Don’t bother coming to my classes if you’re just going to waste our time” I had never pushed myself to hard to try and impress a teacher before. My point is, you remember the people who went out of their way to push you in your academic life.
"I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, I wished to live deep and suck out all of the marrow of life! To put to rout, all that was not life... And not, when I had come to die... Discover that I had not lived..."
Steven Spielberg was still relatively new to Hollywood, having directed 'Jaws' and '1941' in the 70s, but he came into the 80s with a smash adventure hit that put him on track to become the most successful director of all time with 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'. A fantastic adventure of an archeology professor racing to find the Ark before the Nazi's can get their hands on it and rule the world. Harrison Ford takes his first leading role with 'Raiders' after playing Han Solo for a while in the Star Wars series, and ‘Raiders’ propels him to acting superstardom. 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' is pretty cheesy, but everything about it is so cookie cutter perfect. It is a demonstration on how to shoot a film. The entire opening scene builds up the legend of Indiana Jones by not showing his face until he's about to enter the cave. There's a ton of shadow play giving the imagination a lot of room for creativity. When Indy first arrives in Nepal, he casts a huge shadow behind Marion giving the impression of being larger than life. The colour and contrast levels act as their own character throughout this movie as well. There's depth to every shot. Harsh yellows and browns in the Cairo sun, dark shadows in Nepal, deep fire-lit reds in the Well of Souls, corrosive shadows over every Nazi scene. Without even being aware of it, the shadows and colours are telling us a story. It's a pornography of colour mixing. Then there's the music. John Williams. I mean, is there a more iconic song in all of Hollywood than 'The Raiders March'? There isn't for me. The character Indiana Jones, and the tune are synonymous. That’s not an easy thing to accomplish, but it’s the staple for character music. It's not just ‘The Raiders March’ either, the entire soundtrack is first class. All performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra; who unfortunately didn't perform another Indiana Jones movie.
All technical marvels aside, 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' is an adventure movie. To me, it defined the adventure genre. There's a sense of realism with the Ark hunt, but it's also a Hollywood movie. There are unbelievable, or laughable moments in the movie, but it's forgivable. Spielberg actually filmed this as though he was shooting a B film, and even though it's done so picture perfect, I can see where that's coming from. We go to movies to be entertained, right? This has larger than life stakes, sound effects, fights, chases, and hand burns, and it's the almost comic/cartoon feel of Indiana swinging off a branch, punching someone in the gut, or swimming onto a German boat that gives the movie it's charm. The rest of the Indiana Jones series gets a little more cartoonish as it goes, but the birth of Hollywood's greatest adventure is born with 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'.
'Back to the Future' represents one of the most iconic movies of the 80’s, and therefore, my childhood. I mean, I'd argue it's the defining movie of the 80’s. Fire up that Alan Silvestri music score, and I'll just sit back and let myself drift into a nostalgic dream of Marty McFly, Biff Tannen and the Doc running around causing chaos. The older this movie gets, the better it ages. Which is insane to think, but because they go back to the 50’s, it will always represent a frozen moment in time from a simpler era. I obviously wasn't alive in the 50’s, so there's a romanticism offered up in this movie that tickles a question that will burn inside me for the rest of my life - "I wonder what life was like back in the day". I get overloaded with excitement when I see Marty in the 50’s. Nothing has been invented yet, people are so ignorant and clueless. I just want to show people the future! I get so giddy when Marty McFly gives the kid his crappy ass skateboard back, and the kid looks at it and goes "Wow!". I've always been fascinated with science, and time travel and 'Back to the Future' shows us a science that's albeit ridiculous and fantastical, but seemingly realistic. Writer Bob Gale manages to capture your imagination with the most complex theory, delivered in the simplest way. The time travelling machine is a DeLorian for Christ sakes. But what makes this movie so special isn't the wacky science behind Doc Brown's time machine, it's a charm in the overly dramatic character archetypes. There's the bully, the damsel in distress, the nerd, the gang, the crazy scientist, the cool kid, and a buoyant role for what seems like every character in this movie. The characters feel like a paint by number, but there's a charm to them. Because we get to see them young and old, we forgive this repetitive character archetype. We see growth, and can cheer for characters to redeem themselves, knowing exactly how things will play out. It's a bizarre feeling to have towards characters in a movie.
Aside from the genius of Robert Zemeckis and the world created by everyone involved, there's a mystery quality to 'Back to the Future' that I can't put my finger on. I had the luxury of watching 'Back to the Future' with my wife, who had never seen it before, and got to almost experience it for the first time again through her eyes. What a blast that was. I realized during that screening, that even though the movie as a whole is fantastic, it holds such a dear place in my heart because it just represents a time in all our lives. Also, I forgot how intense the last scene of the movie is at the clock tower. Holy shit. After screening with Maria, I realized the mystery quality to 'Back to the Future' is nostalgia, cued by the 'Back to the Future' Overture. Fuck I love that score.
If you were a kid or teenager growing up in the 80's, 'The Goonies' is just going to be one of those movies you can't help but acknowledge as one of the best family/adventure movies ever made. When I think about what I wanted to do as a kid, it was to go out on an adventure, find hidden treasures, or to solve puzzles. I loved making my own mazes, and rewarding myself with some fake sword or mystical amulet that would give me powers. In 'The Goonies', the best of friends and an older brother go out in search of the greatest treasure in the world, One-Eyed Willy's treasure. There are booby traps, hidden maps, scary villains, skeletons, waterfalls, and all this other cool shit that just kinda gets you into a fun adventurous feeling. Look at a movie like 'National Treasure', I actually really like that movie, but when you're done watching it, you don't feel motivated to go out and steal the declaration of independence. Or when I watch 'Ocean's 11' I don't feel like making a crazy ass bank heist with my friends. But with 'The Goonies', I do feel like going into my backyard, or finding a cave, and as Bilbo Baggins' says best "I'm going on an adventure!".
This movie epitomizes the genre. It's directed by Richard Donner, who was coming off of directing massive hits like 'Superman', and the terrifying, 'The Omen', and was written by family specialist Chris Columbus, who I think is most famous for making 'Home Alone'. You can tell there's fantastic chemistry between the director and the actors, and the genuine fear they have for the Fratelli family - who terrified the shit outta me as a kid. When Robert Davi (One of the Fratelli sons) started singing opera to Chunk, it turned me off opera music, well, probably my whole life. When the kids make Chunk do the truffle shuffle, one, I always felt bad for Chunk because I was a chunkier kid in grade school, and super embarrassed of my body, and two, it was fucking hilarious. I loved how Data had all these cool gadgets, and absolutely made me want to go downstairs to my Dad's workshop and try and create some cool contraptions. Unfortunately, I'm a dumb ass, and probably just ended up breaking his tools. 'The Goonies' is good old fashioned family fun, and I can't wait to show it to my kid one day and go on adventures of our own.
My brother and I watched this movie to death when we were kids, but because we were so young, we didn't realize that this is a comedy/horror. We just thought it was the freakiest movie ever, and had one of the most bone chilling violin soundtracks we'd ever heard. 'House' actually does have a brilliant blend of horror and comedy throughout which was actually never intended. The story writer, Fred Dekker, originally wrote the script to have no comedy in it at all, but then Ethan Wiley rewrote the script, and added a ton of comedy into it - god bless that man. This horror/comedy 80's genre has now really become a cult favourite to fans, and 'House' is right up there with 'An American Werewolf in London' as having just the right amount of both genres to make it something special.
But it wasn't the blending of genre's that makes this movie stick in my top 100, it's hearing how important Harry Manfredini's score was to this movie. It just kinda opened both, mine, and my brother's eyes to another level of movie making. He realized that he wanted to be involved with music, and I wanted to make movies to put his music into. It surprisingly all stemmed from this crappy little 80's flick. It's still a high set bar for horror music, and always gives me the chills when I hear it. One of my favourite scores ever.
My brother and I keep trying to convince our friends, wives and family to watch this movie during Halloween, but no one ever wants to watch it because it's so cheesy. But this cheese, is damn good. Also, how cool is the poster for this movie? This is the cover of a movie you’d rent at Jumbo Video based off looks alone.
The first time I saw this movie, I was 8 years old. I realize, there’s a terrible trend in this top 100 of my Dad letting me watch traumatizing movies when I was a kid. My family has a cottage in Algonquin Park, Ontario, and we go swimming for hours laughing and swimming til our skin turned wrinkly. Of course, that all changed when I turned 8. ‘Jaws’ fucking traumatized the shit out of me. Every time I jumped in the lake, I would immediately jump right back out thinking a shark was going to bite my legs and kill me. My parents kept reassuring me that this is a lake, and sharks are only in the ocean, but I didn’t care. I refused to believe that I would be safe in Smoke Lake. This refusal of safety lasted for 5 years. I mean, over and over, I kept thinking a shark is going to eat me. It’s unreal how ‘Jaws’ effected my summers at the cottage. To have a fear last so long, and be so strong is a testament of how incredible this film is. But what elicits fear, even more than an open body of water and a man eating shark, is the score by John Williams. We all know the 2 notes that changed film scores forever. It’s a haunting tune that reminds me of the power of music in a movie. Steven Spielberg even said “the score was clearly responsible for half of the success of that movie”. It’s a special movie that reveals a little something new to you every time you watch it.
‘Jaws’ went through it’s share of obstacles to be so special though, from re-working the script, bringing the reveal of the shark much later because of animatronic problems, to on set drama with Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw. Dreyfuss was quoted saying “Shaw was a perfect gentleman whenever he was sober. All he needed was one drink and then he turned into a competitive son-of-a-bitch.” There were concerns about the feud from Spielberg, but it ended up having the unintended consequence of them being edgy towards each other on camera as well - which added the proper amount of realism for their scenes together.
'Superbad' was exactly what I needed when I was 23 years old. The movie came out in 2007, and I was just finishing up a drunken, baseball, party filled University education down in Iowa. I wasn't prepared for how funny this movie was going to be. The previous year, 'Borat' came out, and kinda flipped the comedy film on its head. Comedy started becoming really crude again, like the Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder days, and I couldn't have been more excited. 'Superbad' was surprisingly rated R, and I could relate to the good raunchy, drunken, dumbass, sex fuelled late teen comedy. This movie pretty much let me know that everything that was happening in University was normal - seeing fights, period blood on people (no personal experience in that) and filling laundry detergent with beer seemed like watching my life on a big screen. It felt real. I'm sure that also has to do with it being a Seth Rogan movie with Jonah Hill in it. For people to think it's just a way to relive being a stupid teenager heading to college, it's also injected with life after school. They walk into adult parties, get guns pulled on them, deal with cops, cocaine and weed, it's all in there to keep everyone excited. It was also an introduction to one of my favourite comedians now, in Bill Hader.
The entire fake ID with McLovin, Jonah Hill boinking Michael Cera’s nose with with finger, getting period blood on his pants, getting hit by a car, punched in the face, shooting the car, fuck this movie is so funny. Actually, the word 'fuck' is used 186 times in the movie. Impressive. One of my favourite comedies of all time. There are so many funny moments in this movie, that I reference on a regular basis -
"Hey Greg, why don't you go piss your pants again?"
"That was like 8 years ago asshole"
"People don't forget!”
