26 - "Primal Fear" (1996)

      This is one of those movies that I need to tread carefully when talking about it due to the many secrets it holds. For that, I won't give too much of a plot synopsis but the main gist is this: Richard Gere plays a hotshot defense attorney in Chicago who takes the case of a young altar boy who is accused of brutally murdering a local Archbishop. Gere doesn't care if the boy is actually guilty or not, he has a job to do as the defense attorney and that is to get his client off of the charges. He is opposed by the prosecution attorney, played by Laura Linney, whose character also happens to be an ex-lover. As the case unfolds, we learn that things are not as simple as they seem at first. That's about all I'm willing to give away of the plot. The altar boy is played by Edward Norton who is making his feature film debut here. He would go on to be one of the best young actors in Hollywood and we can easily see why here. He is brilliant as the young, confused altar boy who is claiming his innocence. Primal Fear unfolds slowly and takes several different twists in the story, but everything is pretty simple to follow. Gere is at his best in this role and should have gotten Oscar consideration. Norton did receive a Supporting Actor nomination for his part. If this is a movie that you have passed on before, don't make that mistake any longer. Give it a shot and I think you will be pleasantly surprised....literally.

27 - "Die Hard" (1988)

     I'm generally not a fan of your basic action flick...but Die Hard is just so flipping awesome!! I have mentioned before that one of my problems with so many action films is that the effects may be fine, but we don't care about the people involved so we have nothing to invest our emotions in. At that point it's just a light and sound show. Die Hard works because we care about our main hero, therefore, kudos to director John McTiernan for casting Bruce Willis as John McClane. Willis has that "everyman" quality that really works in a film like this. When we see an actor like Schwarzenegger, Stallone or Van Damme in a role like this there is no suspense about what is going to happen. We know they will conquer all in the end. With Willis, you wonder how the heck he is going to get out of this situation. The situation in Die Hard revolves around a group of terrorists who have taken control of the Nakatomi Corporation building in L.A. The group, led by Hans Gruber (played brilliantly by Alan Rickman), is holding a group of employees hostage on the 30th floor. They have made demands to the police, but all of these are a ruse to their main goal, which is to steal 600 million dollars from the buildings primary safe. Things start off well for the terrorists, but there is something they didn't count on, John McClane. McClane is at the party, visiting his wife who works with the company. He is a NY cop who has come out to visit for the holidays, and when the terrorists take over the party, he is able to escape to a different floor. When he realizes he is not going to get much help, or sympathy, from the local police, he realizes he must neutralize this threat by himself. John McClane wages a one-man war against the terrorists and provides us the audience with some of the best action ever put on the big screen. Die Hard is a must own in the home library of any action movie fan.
(While not as good as the original, parts 2 and 3 are worth a watch for sure)

28 - "A League Of Their Own" (1992)

     I think I just caused a few eyebrows to raise with this entry on my list. While probably a bit of a surprise to some of you, it is no surprise to me. I knew this movie would be high up on the list when I started and this feels like the perfect spot for it. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it and eventually caught in a theater four times when it was originally released. To me this movie works for one major reason...Tom Hanks. Hanks would go on in the next two years and win Best Actor Oscars for his work in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. It should have been three in a row, with this performance being his first. Hanks plays Jimmy Dugan, a former baseball star whose career was ruined due to bad knees and alcoholism. He is approached by Walter Harvey (Garry Marshall) with a managing job. Harvey has just created the first all women's baseball league to serve as a buffer while most of the major league baseball men are overseas fighting in World War II. He wants Dugan to coach the Rockford Peaches team. This team consists of characters portrayed by Geena Davis, Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell and Lori Petty, just to name a few. Geena Davis gives a wonderful performance as Dottie, who along with her sister Kitt (Petty), are the main focus of the story. But this is Hanks show from the get-go. He starts out as a drunk who could care less what happens to the girls, but over time he starts to respect them and ultimately becomes their leader. The movie almost consists of two different halves, each providing us with very different emotions. The first half is a pure comedy, with Hanks drunk or hungover most of the time, and provides some hilarious moments. The scene where Dugan flips out on one of his players ("THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL!!!") is pure gold. But about the halfway point of the film, something tragic happens and from this point on the tone of the film takes a different route. There are some scenes in the second half of the movie that I think are very moving and kudos must be given to director Penny Marshall for her work here.
     Several years back, I was at a toy convention of all things and one of the ladies who happened to play in this league (it was a real league that existed) had a booth set up and was signing a book she wrote. I sat down and talked with her for about 10 minutes and the passion she had while talking about her memories of playing was amazing. I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't buy her book and I don't even remember her name. That's unfortunate, and if I ever get the opportunity to speak with one of these ladies again, I will be more appreciative of their place in history.

29 - "Say Anything" (1989)

     My list isn't just full of dramas, thrillers and comedies. Here's a true romance movie for all of  you out there. When it comes to the genre of Romantic Comedies (RomCom's), I generally despise them for the most part. So many of them have brain dead characters in predictable story lines. But when a movie gets it right, it can really work. Director Cameron Crowe gets it right, and the result is a movie that I consider one of the best ever. John Cusack, arguably the best actor since 1980, stars as Lloyd Dobler, an underachiever who wants to do nothing more with his summer than date Diane Court. Court (Ione Skye) is the beautiful valedictorian of the school who has won a prestigious scholarship to a school in England. Her father James (John Mahoney) is very proud of his daughter and wants nothing but the best for her. For reasons unknown at first, Diane decides to go out with Lloyd one night and she ends up having a great time. She starts seeing more of him and their relationship progresses pretty rapidly but it's not done in bad taste. And that's why Say Anything succeeds, when other movies that are similar fail. Lloyd and Diane seem very real, like basic people you would have known in high school. They respect and care for each others wishes and desires. They have long simple talks. When they do end up making love, the scene is handled very tastefully and doesn't descend into Porky's territory. It is simply one of the most romantic relationships put on film and for that, it succeeds. This movie also happens to have what I would consider one of the best scenes in any motion picture. In the middle of the film, Diane splits with Lloyd because her father doesn't approve of him. He parks outside of her house, grabs a boombox, hoists it over his head, and plays "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel so loud that she can hear it. There is not a word spoken in this scene (other than the music), but the acting that John Cusack gives just in his facial expressions, is Oscar worthy. We know right then that Lloyd truly loves Diane. And we love the both of them.

30 - "The Untouchables" (1987)

     "What are you prepared to do?" That's a question that resonates throughout Brian De Palma's 1987 classic mob film. Kevin Costner stars as Eliot Ness, a federal agent who has come to 1920's Prohibition-era Chicago to hunt down one of the biggest crime bosses in the country, Al Capone. Due to heavy corruption in the police force, he assembles a small hand-picked team to help him out. Sean Connery is at his best as Jim Malone, the "good" cop who knows all the secrets and is willing to help Ness out as long as he is willing to fight dirty sometimes. Malone knows that's what is needed to take down Capone. He states, "If they pull a knife, you pull a gun. They put one of yours in the hospital, you put one of theirs in the morgue." They are joined by a young sharpshooter named George Stone (Andy Garcia) and an accountant who is forced to carry a gun, Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith). Capone is played brilliantly by Robert De Niro and is shown as a heartless villain who will beat an associate to death with a baseball bat in the middle of a dinner, just to prove a point. At first, Ness's group is not taken seriously by Capone, but after a few successes, they are termed the Untouchables and the war with Capone's gang hits a peak. The climax of this movie is one of the best scenes in movie history....period. It involves Ness and Stone tracking down Capone's accountant and some of his cronies to a train station stairway. Here a gunfight breaks out and is filmed in slow motion. The scene was De Palma's nod to the Odessa Steps sequence in the 1925 classic film, Battleship Potemkin. The Untouchables is a great film with acting that is superb up and down the roster. Connery even brought home a Supporting Actor Oscar for his part. If you have not given this movie a chance, do so. You will not be disappointed.

31 - "The Breakfast Club" (1985)

     It's amazing what we can learn about people when we take the time to talk and get to know each other. But we spend too much time placing people we see or meet in a certain stereotype. This is never more true than when we are teenagers trying to survive the doldrums of high school. The Breakfast Club focuses on five high school kids who are forced to spend a Saturday in detention together. From the get-go, they (and we as the audience) place each other according to their stereotypes: a jock, a princess, a criminal, a brain, and a basket case. By the end of the day, these five kids will have learned a lot about each other and about judging people based on first impressions. Directed by John Hughes, The Breakfast Club is probably the crown jewel in the 80's-teen genre. It helps when you have five young stars who bring so much talent to the screen at such a young age. Looking back, I can't imagine any one replacing Anthony Michael Hall, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald or Ally Sheedy in their respective roles. Each gives a standout performance and by the end of the film, we feel like we know so much about their characters. In fact, we may BE their characters. I definitely associate myself with the Anthony Michael Hall role, especially when I was in high school. A lot of people have described this movie as "teenagers giving the middle finger to adults". I don't agree. I think it's more "teenagers just wanting adults to listen to them".

32 - "Rear Window" (1954)

     I think people by now realize that older movies are not my cup of tea on a grand scale. There weren't many films prior to 1970 on my list. But 4 of the them have made my top 32 so the ones I love, I love. One directors work that stands for me is Alfred Hitchcock's. I love me some Hitchcock suspense. If my list was the top 200, films such as The Birds, North By Northwest, Vertigo and Notorious would be on it. But there are two that really stand out for me. One will be coming later (it's probably not a surprise which one at this point), but now we have Rear Window. The premise of the story is simple. Jimmy Stewart is L.B. "Jeff" Jeffries, a photojournalist who is confined to his apartment due to a broken leg suffered at an event he attended. He gets regular visits from a nurse (Thelma Ritter) and his girlfriend (the beautiful Grace Kelly), who come to help him out and provide company. Jeff spends his day spying on his neighbors with his camera. Almost all of them leave their windows open due to the heat. As the hours pass, Jeff assigns each of the people nicknames based on their actions and tries to figure out what is going on with their lives. Then something peculiar happens in one of the apartments. He sees a man who has a bed-ridden wife that constantly nags him. When the shades are drawn, everything seems to come to a stop and the next day their appears to be no sign of the wife. Had Jeff witnessed a murder? This will become the primary mystery of the story. Jeff recruits his two lady friends to help him investigate and the three of them get in over their heads as the classic Hitchcock suspense kicks in. Rear Window is a masterpiece of the slow-build tension. We see everything from Jeff's point-of-view throughout the picture, and when it gets to a point that he is in trouble...we can't help but feel caught as well.

33 - "Rocky" (1976)

     "His whole life was a million-to-one shot." I love taglines that are used for movies and out of all of them, this is the one I like the best for some reason. I think it just fits the movie perfectly. Also, what is it about boxing that produces so many great films. The Fighter and Million Dollar Baby have already made my list and there are others such as Raging Bull and The Hurricane, to name a couple, that are very good as well. I guess it's the fact that it's a single person sport and that can lead to lots of great character studies, such as Rocky. John G. Avildsen directed the film based on a script by star Sylvester Stallone. Rocky Balboa is a struggling boxer from Philadelphia who is just trying to get by in life and hang on to the dream of possibly hitting it big one day in the ring. He works a job in the local meat packing plant and on the side he collects money for local loan sharks. It's not a fascinating life but Rocky gets by the best he can. He is attracted to Adrian (Talia Shire), a shy lady who works at the pet store near the gym. After an awkward beginning, the two start to date and Rocky treats her with great respect. Rocky's trainer at the gym, Mickey (Burgess Meredith), believes Rocky doesn't put forth a big enough effort and he thinks he will never make it. Then one day the Heavyweight Champion of the world, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), needs to find an opponent for a fight. Apollo has been unbeatable as a champion and wants to do something different for his next fight that will fall on the 4th of July. He wants to give an unknown fighter who wouldn't normally get a shot at the title a chance to shock the world. He picks Rocky from a listing of fighters in the Philadelphia area. Rocky and Mickey don't understand why they have been given this chance but they decide to make the best of it. Rocky has no belief that he will win the fight, he just wants to make sure he puts on a good show so he can earn respect. Rocky is one of the most inspirational films I have seen. Sylvester Stallone proves that he does have some great acting abilities, he just unfortunately chooses not to display it all the time. In the character of Rocky Balboa, he is perfectly cast. Burgess Meredith also gives a stand out performance as Mickey, Rocky's trainer. Talia Shire is quiet in the film but she is great as the person who ends up being Rocky's primary motivation to do well. She believes in him and because of that, he believes in himself. The fight scenes with Rocky and Apollo are intense and very well shot. They may be a bit unrealistic, something that will become a staple of the series, but that's to be forgiven in a movie. Also, this is one of the movies where I think the soundtrack plays a big role in the success of the film and is worth mentioning. When Rocky runs up the steps of the museum with "Gonna Fly Now" blaring, you will feel like you can accomplish anything.
(Rocky has produced several sequels. Stick to parts 2, 3, and 4 which are all pretty decent and skip the rest. The original is best, but part 2 will always have a place on my list.)

34 - "Crimson Tide" (1995)

     Take two of the best actors at the time. Place them in a confined space where they can't get away from each other. Make each of them believe they are right regarding a difficult decision....And make it during the start of a potential nuclear war. That's the recipe for a great movie and Crimson Tide makes for a fine main course. Gene Hackman is Capt. Ramsey, the commanding officer of the U.S.S. Alabama, a nuclear submarine. He has been assigned a new second-in-command, Lt. Cmdr. Hunter, played by Denzel Washington. Capt. Ramsey is at the end of his career and Hunter is an up-and-coming officer who is being trained to run his own sub one day. While out to sea, Russian rebel forces have taken control of some missile silos and are threatening to launch nuclear missiles at the United States. The Alabama has been put on full alert. A message comes through just as the Alabama is being attacked by another sub and it is cut off. What the messages intent was is up for debate and this provides us with the central conflict in Crimson Tide. Capt. Ramsey believes since the message is incomplete, the previous message to attack should be followed. Hunter believes that the message could mean that the Russians have backed down and if they were to launch missiles from the Alabama, the Russians would surely strike back, igniting a nuclear war. The brilliance of this movie is that when you look at it closer, you can sort of see the point that both sides are making. What if the Russians are attacking and we are sitting there doing nothing in response?? But what if the Russians have backed down but we decided to attack anyways?? As the ships crew tries to decide for themselves what is right, they begin to take sides. It's here where the tension of this film really picks up. Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman are both on their A games here and it is director Tony Scott's one true gem of a film. Top Gun was very good, but it doesn't have the intensity of Crimson Tide. This is a true gem that should not be missed.

35 - "Se7en" (1995)

     Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) is a worn veteran who is one week from retirement. Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) is the young, hotshot detective primed to take his place. They are completely different and are put on a case together where an obese man has been forced to eat himself to death. Mills believes it's just a sick act by a weirdo, but Somerset senses something else is working here. When another case turns up about a lawyer who has been forced to cut a pound of flesh from his body and the word Greed is written nearby, Somerset goes back to the original crime scene and after looking around, he finds the word Gluttony written at the crime scene. Somerset knows that these two crimes are just a beginning of a series by a serial killer who is killing by the seven deadly sins. He feels the guy is "preaching" to the world. Somerset wants no part of a case like this since his retirement is so close. Mills is all over it, believing it's just a deranged cuckoo. This sets the story for Se7en, one of the darkest and creepiest films in a generation. It also happens to be one of the best. Director David Fincher sets a tone with a set that is almost always dark and rainy. The movie plays like film noir quite a bit. Freeman and Pitt give amazing performances, with Pitt's being perhaps the best of his career. As each murder is uncovered, the tension ratchets up and the ending of Se7en will be talked about for many, many years.

36 - "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981)

     Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 2-hour roller coaster of a motion picture. When it's over you take a deep breath...and can't wait to ride again. The team of producer George Lucas, director Steven Spielberg and star Harrison Ford, is a combination that is destined to succeed and they exceed all of our hopes. Raiders features Harrison Ford as archaeologist Indiana Jones in the year 1936. He has just returned to his teaching job in the states following an adventure to the jungles of Peru to find a golden statue. These scenes in Peru provide the opening for the film and let us know from the get go that lots of action and near-death experiences await Indy's future. After class one day, he is approached by old friend Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott), who has been sent by the US government. They have gotten wind that the Nazi regime has gotten some information that has them looking for the long-lost Ark of the Covenant, the chest which houses the Ten Commandments tablets. The government is requesting that Indiana go and beat the Nazi's to the Ark. Soon thereafter we find Indy traveling to such locations as Nepal, Egypt and others hoping to find clues to the location of the Ark. Along the way, Indy meets up with Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), a woman from his past who he has had some "history" with. She is swept up in Indy's adventures which includes encounters with backstabbers, Nazi's and the worst of all, snakes. "Why did it have to be snakes?" Raiders of the Lost Ark is a blast of a movie and one of the best action/adventure stories ever put on screen.
(The first two sequels are excellent as well and should not be missed. However, the most recent one, released just a couple of years ago should be avoided. It should never have been made in the first place. Just stick to the original three in the series.)

37 - "National Lampoon's Vacation" (1983)

     If you're ever having a down day and need a pick me up, it always helps to jump in the family truckster and take a trip down the holiday road with the Griswold family. Chevy Chase had decent success in films following his exit from Saturday Night Live, but his role as Clark W. Griswold really catapulted him to the top of the line of comedy stars in Hollywood at the time. All Clark wants to do is to have a nice family vacation with his wife and 2 children. He has everything planned out to the minute, but it isn't long before his schedule is shot and the trip across the country to Wally World is a disaster. Vacation is written by 80's icon John Hughes and directed by Harold Ramis, who also directed Caddyshack and Groundhog Day, two other films that have made my list. Chevy Chase is at his best in the role of the family patriarch, but kudos also to Beverly D'Angelo, Anthony Michael Hall and Dana Barron, as the rest of the family. No write-up of Vacation would be complete without mentioning Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie. I'm not sure there is a funnier minor supporting role in any comedy film. His turns as Eddie in this movie and the second sequel, Christmas Vacation, provide some of the most hilarious and highly quotable lines of each film.
(Speaking of sequels, Christmas Vacation deserves a spot right next to this one on the list. A must see and a Christmas time staple for me. Two other sequels, European Vacation and Vegas Vacation have their moments but aren't in the same league as the first two I mentioned.)

38 - "Miracle" (2004)

     In the 1980 Winter Olympic games held in Lake Placid, NY, the U.S. Men's Hockey team beat the Soviet Union in the semi-final game, and would later go on to win the gold medal...Typing it out like that, it just doesn't sound like that big of a deal. But boy was it ever a big deal. The game is known as the "Miracle on Ice" and in a 1999 article, Sports Illustrated called it the best moment in sports in the 20th century....Yes, a hockey game was THE biggest moment in 100 years of sports. How big of a miracle was it really though?? Well, the Soviet Union team had won every gold medal since 1964 in hockey and during that time they went 27-1-1 with a goal differential of 175-44. Prior to the Olympics, the Soviet team played the NHL All-Stars in an exhibition game and beat them 6-0. This was by far the best team on ice. In contrast, the U.S. team was a group of kids from different colleges who had never played together before. But coach Herb Brooks instilled a team first attitude in them and during training pushed the players so hard to improve their speed and conditioning. While they weren't the best players on the ice, they would be in the best shape. It was because of this, that on that night in 1980 the biggest upset in sports history occurred. Miracle is the story of that team and stars Kurt Russell as coach Brooks. While it will definitely help to have a little knowledge of hockey going into this movie, it is by no means a necessity. Miracle is very inspirational and after watching it you feel like you can accomplish anything. Every once in a while, David does beat Goliath.

39 - "The Karate Kid" (1984)

     I talked about The Karate Kid in detail in an earlier blog post where I compared the original to the 2010 remake. So I won't go into too many details here, but please feel free to go back and find that previous blog if you want a more complete rundown. The Karate Kid is one of the jewels of 80's cinema in my opinion. It has a simple story that has been done numerous times in movies, but this is one of the ones that stands above the rest. It succeeds because we believe in the relationship that Daniel develops with Mr. Miyagi. The story does not move along at breakneck pace, director John G. Avildsen takes his time and lets the characters develop. We learn about them and they learn from each other. The Karate Kid will always be remembered for its action, especially the tournament scene at the end, but this movie excels in its slower parts. For instance, when you watch the movie again, or for the first time, pay close attention to the scene where Mr. Miyagi gets drunk when he is mourning his wife. Watch Daniel's reactions to seeing this side of his teacher that he didn't know existed. Nothing is said, but we can see Daniel becoming even more appreciative of Miyagi and what he means to him. When he puts his teacher to bed and walks out the room, he turns and bows. This is a brilliant, touching scene which a lesser movie would not have thought of to do. It's the scenes like that which separates The Karate Kid from other films of its kind. Because of that, it will always be a classic in my book.....It doesn't hurt that the tournament montage, with "You're The Best Around" playing, is way cool!!

40 - "A Christmas Story" (1983)

     There's no better time of year for me than Christmas time. Families, decorations, presents, carols....and the 24 hours of A Christmas Story marathon on TBS!! Whoever was the first person that decided to do that should be given a medal. What a brilliant idea. A Christmas Story is a favorite among almost everyone I talk to. In fact, I can't remember ever having someone say they disliked it. A plot description is pretty pointless I would think. Unless you have been living under a rock you have probably seen this movie quite a bit. As I talked about my connection to my toys a couple of reviews ago (Toy Story), I have a similar attachment with Ralphie and Christmas in this movie. To this day I still get a little wide-eyed with delight when December rolls around. While I never had a bb gun, which was Ralphie's object of desire, I had my share of big Christmas gifts that made me feel for a short time like I was king of the world. I think perhaps my basketball hoop or my C.H.I.P.S. Patrol Big Wheel (I was Ponch!!) would be the equals to me of the Red Ryder gun. Great memories. A Christmas Story is simply a joy of a film to watch and if by any chance you haven't seen it, make it a priority this coming holiday season. A classic in every sense of the word.

41 - "WarGames" (1983)

     There are some people who believe that one day computers will destroy Earth. For those people, WarGames is either a dream come true of a movie...or a total nightmare. WarGames came out in 1983, when personal computers were starting to make their way into America's homes. Matthew Broderick plays David, a high school computer nerd, who hacks into the governments computer accidentally while looking for games to play. He finds one called Global Thermonuclear War and is determined to play it but he can't figure out the password to get into the system. He starts studying up on the creator of the program and eventually cracks the password. Along with his girlfriend, he starts simulating World War III, playing as the Russians. What he doesn't know at first is that his "game" is being seen by American defense forces as a true attack by the Soviet Union. When he hears on the news about what is happening he realizes that he caused that and starts to panic and cover up the information. The government eventually tracks David down, thinking he is a spy. He must free himself and prove his innocence, but there is an even bigger problem...the computer is still playing the "game". When it finishes, it will launch a real life counter attack against the Russians. Can David free himself and get the computer to stop playing the game in time to save the world? WarGames is a brilliant thriller of a movie and will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout. Matthew Broderick in the lead role has always been a very likable actor and he is at the top of his game here. He will always be remembered most for Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but I believe his acting here is superior. Dabney Coleman, John Wood, Barry Corbin and Ally Sheedy also give respectable supporting performances. If you want a great way to pass an hour and a half, WarGames would be a great choice.

42 - "Toy Story" (1995)

     I loved my toys growing up. Heck, I guess you can say that I never stopped loving them as I still buy lots of them. I could spend hours alone in my room with my Star Wars, GI Joe and He-Man action figures and I was perfectly happy. Of course I had my personal favorites that I liked just a little bit more than the others. For my Star Wars figures, I was always partial to the Stormtrooper figures that I had. For G.I. Joe it was Barbecue and Serpentor. I also had some wrestling figures and my Road Warriors figures always won. I can remember some of those times so vividly it's like they happened just yesterday, not 25 years ago. Because of this, I "got" Toy Story right away. I understood the affection towards Woody and Buzz Lightyear because I was the exact same way. This was a movie that I could watch and just sit back and smile. Pixar Studios is perhaps the best movie studio going these days, as they have had an impeccable run of brilliance. It started in 1995 with Toy Story and was book-ended last year by the equally impressive Toy Story 3. (As I write this, Cars 2 is being released). Toy Story is certainly aimed at kids, but adults will get just as much, if not more, satisfaction from the end result. If' you've ever had an emotional attachment to any toys you will find this movie very rich and exciting. It is a joy and a must-own for families.

43 - "Jurassic Park" (1993)

     I mentioned previously on my list that 1993 was the highlight year in movies, in my opinion. Nine films from that year have made my top 100 list. Some were under-the-radar sleepers and others were giant box office successes. Jurassic Park would definitely fall in the latter category. 1993 will always be known as the year dinosaurs came back to roam the Earth. Steven Spielberg directed this cinematic masterpiece which ushered in a new age of special effects. Prior to the movie opening, we heard previews on how realistic the dinosaurs appear to be, but until that first time they popped on screen you couldn't quite comprehend how "real" they were. Even as a huge Star Wars fan growing up, I realized I was watching the best special effects ever put on the big screen. With all the visual success of the film, the most surprising thing to me is the fact the acting is not only passable, but it's actually darn good. Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum lead the way as a trio of doctors who are bought to an island which has been made to be an amusement park for the dinosaurs. Richard Attenborough is the rich man who has developed the project after his team was able to extract dinosaur DNA from a mosquito that had been preserved in sap for billions of years. All 4 actors give very respectable performances, especially Goldblum as a mathematician/theorist who believes from the get go that this is a terrible idea. He ends up being right of course. It isn't long before some bad weather, and a sabotage by a greedy employee, has the dinosaurs roaming the same areas as our human guests. There are scenes in Jurassic Park that are scarier and more intense than anything you will see in a horror film. Being chased by a T-Rex would be right up there in the scariest moments of my life I would think. All that being said, Jurassic Park is appropriate for families and all but the youngest kids will have a great time with it. To this day Jurassic Park remains one of the biggest summer popcorn hits of all-time and its success is well-deserved.
(I also recommend both sequels. Neither are as good as the original, but both hold up well)

44 - "Apollo 13" (1995)

     "Houston, we have a problem." That was the catchphrase in summer 1995. These are words that were spoken by astronaut Jim Lovell on the real life space flight of Apollo 13 in 1970. On their way to the moon, a mechanical malfunction occurs on the space craft which threatens the lives of astronauts Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert. They are unable to land on the moon and must utilize every resource they have available to stay alive and somehow make it back to Earth. Back on the ground, members of NASA work round the clock to help out in anyway they can. While I was not around in 1970, I have talked to several people who were about this event and it was a major television event of the time. People watched and prayed, day and night, as updates came about the mission. We know that it ends successfully, so why see the movie. Yes, the outcome is not in doubt but this is still a must-see movie. Tom Hanks had won the previous two Best Acting Oscars for his turns in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. How he was not nominated for this film also is beyond me. He is the leader of the ill-fated voyage but Kevin Bacon (Swigert) and Bill Paxton (Haise) more than hold their own with Hanks. Ed Harris picked up a Supporting Actor nominee as Gene Kranz, the head of NASA's operation on the ground. The great Gary Sinise is Ken Mattingly, an astronaut who was supposed to be on the flight but was left off because he might possibly get the measles (he never did). Mattingly was instrumental to the success of the mission, working on the ground in a simulator to help out his friends in space. The acting in this movie is top of the line. Ron Howard, one of the best directors of the past 20 years, is at the top of his game here. Some of the special effects shots, especially those of the rocket lifting off, are the best to ever grace the big screen.  Apollo 13 is a triumphant example of film-making at its best.

45 - "My Girl" (1991)

     I think I just made a few people smile when they saw this film on the list. How can you not though? What a wonderful film. Is there a cuter character in cinema history than Vada Sultenfuss?? I can't think of one. The beautiful Anna Chlumsky plays Vada, an 11-year-old girl who feels responsible for her mother dying during child birth. She lives with her mortician father Harry (Dan Aykroyd), who is unable to see that Vada is shut off emotionally from the world. Her only friend is Thomas J Sennett, another social recluse who is allergic to everything. Thomas J is played by Macaulay Culkin, fresh off his success of Home Alone, a movie that just missed my top 100. While she is a bit sheltered, things seem to be going good for Vada until her dad hires a new beautician to work at the morgue. Shelly (Jamie Lee Curtis) gets off on the wrong foot with the job but eventually she wins over Harry, not just with her work but with her heart. Vada feels threatened by this because she feels she is no longer her fathers number one priority. She sees her father falling in love and for the first time she wonders what it feels like to be in love. This leads to a great little scene with Vada and Thomas J where they share their first kiss together. We are riding high at this point in the movie...only to have tragedy strike. If you haven't seen the movie, I won't spoil anything. If you have, you know what I'm talking about. To me, this might be one of the biggest tear-jerking films ever made. When Vada reads her poem at the end....Man, that's the good stuff. My Girl is a great film and one that is appropriate for all ages. If you want to experience a wide range of emotions, this movie is for you.

46 - "Rudy" (1993)

     While ladies have their romances they can get sappy over, uplifting sports movies can provide the same emotional outlet for guys. It doesn't get much better than an athelete(s) overcoming long odds to achieve their ultimate dreams. In a bit of a spoiler alert, there's about 5 movies other than this one in my top 50 that fit this criteria somewhat. I guess you can say I'm a sucker for these stories. When they are based on real life events, that makes it even better. Rudy is the story based on the real-life Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, a shorter guy with little natural athletic ability, whose only dream in life was to play football for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Rudy is constantly told by many people, including his own family, that he will never make it and needs to be working in the local factories instead of chasing false hopes. Rudy doesn't listen and after the death of the one person who did believe in him, his best friend Pete, he heads to South Bend, IN in pursuit of his dream. Rudy doesn't have the grades to get in school but is able to get in a nearby junior college where he works at his grades in hopes of applying at Notre Dame as a Junior. In the meantime, he is able to get a job on the grounds crew at Notre Dame's football stadium. We watch as Rudy receives denial letter after denial letter each semester. Only on the last opportunity does his dream come true and he becomes a student at Notre Dame. He uses that same tenacity to work himself on to the practice squad for the football team and pursue his ultimate dream of dressing for a game day with the Fighting Irish. Sean Astin stars as Rudy and gives perhaps his finest performance. Rudy is such an emotional film, perhaps a bit too sappy and convenient at times, but it is an uplifting movie and you can't help but feel inspired after seeing it.

47 - "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" (1982)

     I have a feeling I just made a lot of people happy....and upset at the same time. I imagine this movie is on a LOT of peoples top movies list and because of that, I imagine a few people might think I have this too low. You wouldn't be wrong necessarily, but ultimately this is where it fell. That being said I will always have an emotional attachment to E.T. and it is one of the greatest family films ever made. One of my earliest theater experiences is my mom taking my sister and I to see this film when it first came out. The thing I remember most about the movie though was that I was so heartbroken the first time when I thought E.T. had been captured and killed by the scientists. That traumatized me. I remember my mom taking me again and since I knew what was going to happen I was able to put all that behind and just enjoy the movie. I ended up seeing it years later in a theater when it was re-released and it was just as good then. The odd thing about this movie is that I do not recall ever watching it on the small screen. I'm sure I probably have a time or two, but this is a movie I associate with that theater experience. If it is ever re-released again, I will be the first in line. Steven Spielberg's E.T. has an innocence about it that few movies have ever come close to matching. It picked up 4 Oscars in the Music, Sound and Effects categories but missed out on Best Picture and Best Director (seriously Academy!!).

48 - "Caddyshack" (1980)

     It's the snobs versus the slobs in one of the great comedies of all time. Caddyshack is one of those movies that can be categorized as a "guys" movie. If you get a bunch of guys together and they start talking about movies, sports or golf, it's only a matter of time before someone quotes a line from Caddyshack. The movie focuses on a caddy name Danny (Michael O'Keefe) who aims to go to college so he doesn't have to work menial jobs in the local lumber yard. To do that, he tries to kiss up to some of the snobbish members of Bushwood Country Club, the course that he caddies at. The biggest of these snobs is Judge Smails, portrayed by the great Ted Knight. The club is full of other random characters such as Carl (Bill Murray), the greens keeper who is in a war with a pesky rodent. Ty Webb (Chevy Chase) is a rich businessman who has a zen-like philosophy on life and seems to take nothing seriously. There's Dr. Beeper and Bishop Bickering who often can be found playing a round with Judge Smails. And who can forget Al Czervik (Rodney Dangerfield), a slob who wants to buy Bushwood and turn it into a place to put condos. Caddyshack is simply one of the funniest films ever made and kicked off the wonderful decade of the 80's in style.

49 - "The Hurt Locker" (2008)

     In 2009, while James Cameron's Avatar was on it's way to becoming the highest-grossing film of all time, a small movie directed by his ex-wife, Kathryn Bigelow, was winning the affection of many critics and people who were taking the chance on this film. The Hurt Locker ended up slaying the Avatar competition at the Academy Awards, winning 6 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director for Bigelow. The Hurt Locker tells the story of Sergeant First Class William James, played exceptionally well by Jeremy Renner. James serves with Army in present-day Iraq and is a member of the Army Explosive Ordnance Detail, or you could just call it the bomb squad since basically that is what they are. James, and his two partners Sgt. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Eldridge (Brian Geraghty), are dispatched to areas where explosive devices are believed to be hidden and are targeted at coalition forces on the ground. Sanborn and Eldridge are soldiers who like to play by the book and are very careful about everything, but James is reckless and will go after a bomb without waiting for backup and sometimes without his gear on. This causes a lot of tension between he and his partners. The Hurt Locker hurls us from one harrowing scene after the other and only in brief spurts do we get a chance to catch our breath. The tension in this film just keeps ratcheting up all the way to the end. Renner received an Oscar nomination for his role (and should have won) and he is definitely the highlight of this movie from an acting standpoint. But this is a director's picture and Kathryn Bigelow was well deserving to be the first female Best Director recipient. If you missed this movie the first time around, be sure to catch it some time. One of the best movies of the new century and should remain that way for some time.

50 - "The Godfather" (1972)

     I love a good "family" movie. The Godfather is one of those films that grew on me over time. When I first saw it, I was too young to appreciate it. I didn't really understand what I was watching. In the late 90's I saw it again, this time with a more mature head on my shoulders, and the movie really worked for me. I enjoyed the story of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) especially and to this day I think he is one of the best characters in cinema history. He is the son of Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), the head of a mob family in New York in the 1940's. Unlike his brothers Sonny (James Caan) and Fredo (John Cazale), Michael has managed to stay away from the family business for many years but when an attempt is made on his fathers life, Michael cannot resist the temptation any longer. He plots a revenge strike and at this point we start to watch the moral downfall of this once good man. The Godfather received 11 Oscar nominations, eventually taking home 3 trophies for Best Picture, Best Actor (Brando), and Adapted Screenplay (the film is based on Mario Puzo's bestseller). Pacino, Caan and Robert Duvall, who played family adviser Tom Hagen, all received Best Supporting Actor nods and somehow none of the three were able to win. The Godfather is widely considered by critics to be one of the best films ever made. I won't quite put it on that pedestal but I definitely understand the praise and it is warranted.
     Like Alien previously on this list, the sequel is every bit the equal of the original. The Godfather II is considered by many to be the better of the two movies. Once again I may give a slight edge to the first one, but part two is worthy of a place on the list and needs to be mentioned here. You can skip part 3.

51 - "The Fighter" (2010)

     This is the newest film on the list, released very late in 2010, just 6 short months ago. For those who followed my movie reviews on Facebook, prior to me starting this blog, you might remember this was the movie that surprised me the most of the 10 films I saw that were nominated for Best Picture. It may surprise you that it surprised me THIS much. I loved this film, especially the acting. The story is based on real life boxer Micky Ward, who unexpectedly rose up the rankings, eventually becoming a champion. Micky's career was shaped by his half-brother Dicky Eklund, a once proud boxer who has turned to drugs and crime as his way of life. The movie focuses on their relationship and how it almost derails Micky's chance at greatness. Micky and Dicky are played respectively by Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, who both give their best performances in my opinion. Bale picked up a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal. Melissa Leo took home the Best Supporting Actress award for her part as the eccentric mother of the two boys. While Leo is good in the role, I felt Amy Adams was more deserving of the Oscar for her role as Micky's new love interest who tries to show him how his family is holding him back and she does all she can to get his mind straight. David O. Russell should get a lot of credit for directing this film but it truly is an actors movie and all four of the primary stars deserve due credit. The Fighter is one you should definitely put on your must see list if you missed it the first time around.

52 - "United 93" (2006)

    September 11, 2001 is a day that will always be remembered in the history of our country. It will not only be remembered for the destruction, and loss of life, that was caused by terrorist members but it will also be remembered as a time when Americans rallied around each other and our country. Something that should happen way more often, but unfortunately doesn't. One story from that day that gives us all hope is what happened to the passengers and crew members of United flight 93. Upon hearing that three other planes have crashed into national landmarks, the people aboard start to realize that their hijacked plane is heading towards a similar fate. Instead of sitting back and waiting to see what happens, they band together and come up with a plan to overtake the terrorists. We all know what happens as a result, the plane crashes killing all aboard, but a symbol of our freedom (likely the Capitol building) is spared from destruction. The Americans aboard that plane are heroes and should always be remembered in that way. Paul Greengrass directed this film which tries to piece together all the information we have about the flight and the passengers. It is told in real time which works very well for this story. United 93 is obviously not an easy movie to watch as it will stir up emotions of that day for many people. But I would recommend it to everyone for just that reason. We should not forget the events of that day and the feelings we had for our country, and each other. We need more of that. It also helps that from an actual film standpoint, this movie is very well made. I highly recommend it.

53 - "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" (1987)

     Planes, Trains & Automobiles is a breath of fresh air. If I'm ever having a down time and need something to laugh at, I can always throw this movie on and all will be well for a little bit. Steve Martin is Neal Page, a businessman who is at a meeting in New York City and wants nothing more than to get home to his family in Chicago for Thanksgiving. When the meeting runs long he ends up in a race to get to the airport. He arrives just in time, only to have the plane delayed due to weather. This will be the first in a long line of travel misadventures for Neal. At the airport, Neal meets Del Griffith (the wonderful John Candy), a traveling salesman who is also on his way to Chicago. Del is a friendly man but he's one of those people who tries a little to hard to be your friend and can annoy people like Neal, who like to keep to themselves. It isn't long before the two have to depend on each other to travel as bad weather has shut down all flights. Can they make it home before they drive each other crazy? Planes, Trains & Automobiles has some of the funniest scenes in cinema history and Martin and Candy are brilliant together. It doesn't hurt that the director is 80's icon, John Hughes. Even with many repeated viewings, it keeps getting better each time. A true classic.

54 - "Alien" (1979)

     On the way home from a mission, a spaceship called the Nostromo receives an SOS beacon from a nearby planet and the crew is awaken from hibernation. When they arrive, there are no signs of human life but a creature has attached itself to the mask of one of the crew members. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver in her most iconic role) does not want the crew member bought back onto the spaceship, but she is overruled as the others fear for his life. That ends up being a really bad mistake. I think that is about all I will give away of the plot for those who haven't seen Alien and want to. Alien is a brilliant sci-fi/horror movie and from a tension standpoint it may be one of the best ever. This movie builds very slowly. A lesser movie would jump right to the action scenes but director Ridley Scott is smarter than that and he utilizes the techniques that worked so well in Jaws. We do not see the creature in its whole form until the second half of the movie. Instead, there is a foreboding since of dread which builds, and builds, and builds until we are sitting on the edge of our seats. Then Scott turns the alien loose and we hang on for the ride. Alien is one of the best horror films ever made and inspired many movies and several sequels.
     Speaking of sequels, during my list I have been mentioning any sequels that I thought were worthwhile. This is a little different because in this case, the sequel is every bit as good (and perhaps better) than the original. Aliens is one of the best sequels ever made for any film. If you put a gun to my head, I would probably choose the original Alien, but Aliens is worthy of a spot on this list so I am mentioning it.

55 - "12 Angry Men" (1957)

     12 Angry Men is one of those movies that sort of happened upon me accidentally. I was laying in bed sick one day and caught this movie on when there was nothing else playing and decided to watch it. However, the version I caught was made in 1997. I thought the movie was pretty good and decided to read a little bit more about it as I am curious about how movies are made and stuff like that. I learned that it was a remake of a 1957 Henry Fonda film that had terrific reviews. I decided to watch the original and boy was I blown away and it has remained one of my favorite films ever since. 12 Angry Men is about a jury of 12 men who are deciding the fate of a young Hispanic kid who is accused of murdering his father. From the first scenes, it appears to be an open and shut case. This film is not a courtroom drama though by any means as we hear no evidence or testimony about the trial. Every fact about the case that we get is after the fact as the jurors talk about it. There is a very brief prologue and a very brief epilogue scene in this movie but 99% of it takes place in the jury room with these 12 individuals. Right away, 11 of the jurors vote for guilty with only Henry Fonda's character holding out. He doesn't necessarily think everyone else is wrong, but he doesn't feel like a boys life sentence should be decided in five minutes. So he slowly starts to question some of the evidence that was submitted in the case. As he continues to debate the "reasonable doubt" of the defendant, other jurors start to question things which leads to a lot of angst and frustration among the jurors. It's here where the movie really takes off and becomes a classic. All the while, we are never told if the kid is guilty or not, we must figure it out along with the rest of the jury. 12 Angry Men is such a simple formula for a movie and it is one that will leave you thinking about things long after. All of the actors have characters who are developed well and have their own personalities which come out in the jury room. This movie is simply a masterpiece.

56 - "Rounders" (1998)

     In the early 2000's, poker had a resurgence in popularity due to ESPN showing the World Series of Poker on it's networks. It seemed for a few years there, everyone and their grandmothers were playing poker. I even got involved in a few games here and there. But I wasn't new to the game as a lot of people were during that time. I had played for years with friends just for fun, or penny poker at the most. So in 1998, when I heard about this movie Rounders coming out, and it was about poker, I was all in (pun fully intended). Rounders stars arguably the two best young actors in Hollywood at that time, Matt Damon and Edward Norton. Damon is Mike McDermott, a law student who was a former poker player who lost everything to an underground crime boss named Teddy KGB (John Malkovich). He has backed away from the game with the help of his girlfriend and hopes to be a lawyer one day. When his best friend Worm (Norton) is released from prison, Mike finds himself being pulled back towards the game by Worm. At one time, these two were pros at working together to fix games in their favor. Mike is hesitant because he knows what happened in his past, but Worm owes a lot of money to some dangerous people and Mike knows he has the ability to help his friend out. The movie eventually becomes a race against time and will lead to Mike facing a lot of enemies from his past. Rounders is a superb little film that flew under the radar at first but picked up a cult following when the poker boom hit. Damon and Norton are nothing short of fantastic and the script is very well written providing great dialogue for the two. This is a movie you can enjoy even if you don't know a lot about poker. It certainly helps, but it's not a necessity. If you want to see two of Hollywood's finest at the top of their games, Rounders is your movie.

57 - "There's Something About Mary" (1998)

      There's just something about Mary. I can distinctly remember watching this movie when it was released in 98. I had seen the previews numerous times on tv with the dog biting Ben Stiller's crotch and I thought that was something that needed to be seen. With so many films, what you see in the previews are the only thing worth watching and I kind of feared that would be the case with this movie. But my fears ended up being unwarranted. I don't think I have ever laughed as hard as when I saw this movie for the first time. I literally had moments when I couldn't breathe due to my laughing so much. Ben Stiller is Ted, a high school geek, who ends up getting a date to the prom with Mary, the prettiest girl in school. Mary is played by Cameron Diaz in what I think is by far her best work on the big screen. The date goes horribly wrong before it even really starts due to a "zipper" accident which provides us one of the funniest scenes in the film (We got a bleeder!!!). Years later, Ted has moved on with life but he still thinks about Mary. He hires a private detective, played by Matt Dillon, to track down Mary. Upon finding her, Dillon falls in love with Mary also and this leads to both guys pursuing Mary along with a few other assorted characters. There's Something About Mary is directed by the Farrelly Brothers, who also gave us the great Kingpin and Dumb and Dumber. Their brand of humor is not for everyone and this is definitely not a movie for the kiddos to watch by any means. But if you want some mindless entertainment, and get some great laughs along the way, you can't do much better than this.

58 - "Munich" (2005)

     One of the more ridiculous Academy Award arguments of recent memory is the debate that rages on about Crash beating out Brokeback Mountain for the Best Picture Oscar in 2006. The reason that it's ridiculous is because NEITHER one of them was the best movie from that year. Yes, this is just my opinion, but I feel pretty strong about it. Both of those films were seen by a wider audience but the true star of 2005 is Steven Spielberg's Munich. During the Summer Olympics of 1972, 11 Israeli athletes were taken hostage and murdered at the hands of a Palestinian terrorist group called Black September. Israel's Prime Minister, Golda Meir, deploys a secret group of five men to hunt down and exact revenge on the terrorists. Munich tells the story of these five men and their quest for justice for the nation of Israel. Eric Bana and Daniel Craig are the big names attached to the film but all of the acting is top notch. The cinematography is stunning and some of the suspense scenes are ones that would make Hitchcock proud. Out of all the movies on my list, I'd be willing to bet this is one that is probably the least seen and that is unfortunate. If you get an opportunity to see this, make sure you do. It represents a true, but widely unknown, chapter of history and will leave you thinking.

59 - "The Fugitive" (1993)

     Ah, the wonderful year of 1993. It was the year I graduated from high school and also one of the best years in cinema history, in my humble opinion. 1993 was right in the prime of my movie love and I was seeing at least one new movie every week. Because of that it should come as no surprise that this year is the most represented on my list with 9 movies. Some have already showed up such as Philadelphia and Schindler's List, and others will come later. But when I think of that year, usually the first film that pops in my mind is The Fugitive. Harrison Ford plays Dr. Richard Kimble, who has been mistakenly found guilty of murdering his wife and sentenced to death. While being transferred to prison his bus is involved in accident with a train which gives us one of the best crash scenes in movie history. Sensing an opportunity to prove his innocence, Kimble escapes and goes on the run. US Marshals led by Sam Gerard, played brilliantly by Tommy Lee Jones, go on the search of Dr. Kimble and this provides us with the plot of the film. Jones picked up a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal as the relentless pursuer. The film earned a Best Picture nomination, losing out to the previously mentioned Schindler's List. Other than his iconic roles as Han Solo and Indiana Jones, I feel Harrison Ford is at his absolute best here. For action at its absolute best, The Fugitive is a must own in any video library.

Movie Review - "Super 8" (2011) ****

     The summer movie season used to be the best time of the year for me. You always had great action movies that even though they may not be the greatest movies in the world, they were just simply a heck of a lot of fun. I don't know what it is the last few years but I have just not been interested in the summer movies and find myself more drawn to the award season movies that tend to come out later in the year. I love both and wish I could bridge that gap but I just don't like the endless superhero, pirates, transformers type movies that have dominated the summer months in recent memory. Every once in awhile something surprises me, like The Dark Knight, but usually these movies are just headache inducing sound machines that have no character development to speak of. And it is this last fact that bothers me the most as I am seeing it more and more in cinema where almost zero attention is giving to writing good characters. How can I care about Transformers tearing up the world if I have no emotional attachment to the people running from these behemoths? Yeah, it may look cool, but who cares. I certainly don't. Which makes a movie like the just released Super 8 a breath of fresh air and gives me hope that the summer movie season still has a solid future.
     Super 8 takes place in 1979 and tells the story of a group of children who are making a monster movie utilizing a Super 8mm camera (hence the title of the film). One night while filming at an abandoned train station, they get their opportunity at a great shot when a train unexpectedly appears in the distance. They get everything set up and start shooting the scene when one of the kids sees a pickup truck get in the path of the train, causing a massive train wreck which destroys just about everything in the immediate area. After collecting themselves and realizing that everyone is safe, the kids find the driver of the truck still alive and he also happens to be a teacher at their school. He warns the kids to not speak of this incident and makes them leave as it appears a military convoy is coming towards the crash scene. The kids leave, narrowly escaping the military personnel, but before they do they realize that some of the cargo of the train is strange and one of them takes a cube object home. In the following days around town, weird things start to happen such as power outages, missing car engines and all of the towns dogs appear to go missing. There also seems to be a creature of some sort terrorizing the town, but we only get very brief and unclear images of it. What is creating havoc in this town and why is the military taking over the immediate area? I could tell you but of course I won't as the journey to these answers is a joy to take.
     If you have read or seen any reviews of Super 8 you almost certainly have seen mention of this film being an homage by the director JJ Abrams to his idol, Steven Spielberg, who is a producer on this film. I have seen this mentioned numerous times....and they are all absolutely right. This is definitely a Spielberg-type film and Abrams, creator of my favorite tv show of all time "LOST", does justice to the Spielberg name. There are many references and nods to Spielberg films, some are subtle but most are staring you right there in the face. I think the movies I picked up the most connection to while watching are definitely E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Jaws but one that I think really stands out that I don't see mentioned much is Jurassic Park. There are definitely a couple of scenes that stand out where I thought I was watching Park for a minute, and that's a good thing to me. Abrams is still fairly new to the directing world but he received a lot of praise for his Star Trek reboot (not seen by me for obvious reasons if you know me!!) and I thought Mission: Impossible 3 was a lot of fun. But with Super 8 on his resume now he has established himself as a director that is entering his prime and is hopefully ready to continue the Spielberg tradition of storytelling.
    Abrams is great and this movie would not be the same without him directing, but the highlight of this movie for me was the cast, most notably the kids. While most are given equal screen time, it's pretty evident from the beginning of the movie that newcomer Joel Courtney is the primary lead as Joe Lamb. As the movie opens, Joe has lost his mother in an accident and he is trying to get by in life with his father Jackson, played by the superb Kyle Chandler (his lead role in the show Friday Night Lights may be one of the best tv fathers of all-time). Jackson is a police deputy in the small Ohio town where the story takes place and is struggling to raise his son alone. The bond these two have as father and son plays a key role in the emotional elements of the movie. If they don't work well together, this movie would not work well. They obviously do. Riley Griffiths is Charles, the boy who is making the film that the kids are shooting. He is bossy like a typical director but he provides some good laughs in the movie and I really enjoyed seeing him work. Zach Mills, Gabriel Basso and Ryan Lee also have roles as Preston, Martin and Cary, respectively. Lee's Cary is especially great as the kid who provides special effects for the film. I think most of us growing up knew a kid in school who liked to play with fire and explosive things just a little too much. Cary is that kid here and that personality trait provides some great laughs in the film. All of these boys are great, but we can't forget the lone girl in the group, Alice, played by the beautiful and extremely talented Elle Fanning (sister of Dakota Fanning). Fanning is simply wonderful here as a balancing act to the boys in the film. The chemistry she displays with Joel Courtney early in the film gives me a lot of hope for the future of actors and actresses. All of these kids make this movie work because of what I mentioned at the start of the review.....we CARE about them. For the most part we get to know them individually and we are sympathetic to what they have witnessed and are experiencing in their small hometown. As is typical of a Spielberg film, the kids seem to know more than the adults in the film and that is perfectly fine. It worked in such great films like E.T. and The Goonies, just to name two.
     Super 8 is a brilliant kick-off to this years summer movie season. I hope there will be other films that have the same passion and heart. Yes, there is something out there, and it is loud and dark and scary. The action in this movie is definitely summer movie worthy and can be very intense at times. I would not recommend this for very young children. But families with kids in the 8-10 range and up can definitely find a movie here they will enjoy watching as a family. That is what summer movies are all about. I am refraining from giving this movie an extra star for a couple of different reasons. While I enjoyed the ending, I think it could have been a little bit better and there were also a couple of times in the middle when I found myself looking at my watch a couple of times but these were mainly during the military scenes. When the kids are on screen, the movie is solid, unfortunately there are times when they are not. But don't let these couple of negatives dissuade you, I give this movie a very high recommendation.