14. Serenity (2005)
From start to finish there are no wasted moments. The first ten minutes present such a wealth of information and excitement that, if you blink, you’ll have to rewatch what you just missed. All your emotions will be engaged. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll gasp in shock. What you won’t be is bored. There’s plenty here for everybody: Good writing, witty dialogue, memorable lines, excellent acting, plot, action (not just gratuitous – I’m talking about action that actually makes sense in terms of the plot) and excellent effects.
Note to future sci-fi film-makers: Hero kicking ass while rescuing a heroine from disaster = cute. Having that heroine kick ass right along side the hero = awesome.
Why not rate this one higher? Like the Star Trek series, this motion picture is no where near as exciting if you haven’t first seen the television series on which it was based (Firefly).
13. Amadeus (1984)
Here is a stunning, captivating tale of a competent, talented, first-class musician who had the misfortune of being a contemporary of the greatest musician who ever lived. Loved the story, loved the acting, loved the set decoration and costume design. It’s an emotionally charged story of jealousy with quite possibly the greatest soundtrack of any motion picture ever. And anyone who declares war on the heavens is okay in my book.
Why not rate this one higher? Okay, here’s the deal – from here on out, these movies have no serious flaws. I can’t think of one thing I disliked about Amadeus. Sure it’s a long movie, but since it’s so engaging, it’s not toooo long. I think Tim Hulce is a bit over the top at times, but that’s how Mozart was (I guess), so his acting is appropriate for the part. From here on out, the only reason why I’m not rating a movie any higher is because the movies higher on the list were ever so slightly more thrilling for me. (One exception = the Princess Bride. I can tell you in a heartbeat why I don’t rank it higher. But I’ll get to that one soon.)
12. Airplane! (1980)
If the idea of a comedy is to laugh, than surely (shirley) this is one has the right idea. In fact, it has the best idea: dead-panned dialogue delivered in humourous situations with clever antics happening rapid-fire in the back ground. So many jokes (both visual & in dialogue) are packed into Airplane! that it takes several viewing to catch them all. Unlike so many comedies since then, the actors here don’t need to act over-the-top or divulge in gross-out humor to get easy laughs. I have watched this movie at least twenty times, and everytime I find myself laughing until I am crying. This movie has consistently been on my “All time favorites” list for twenty years now. Of movies that are purely comedic, there is none finer than Airplane!