Roger's Roundup
Before I came to Snyder, I was a reporter at the Big Spring Herald. One of my duties there was to write a weekly movie review.
There is little that I love more than sitting in a theater, watching the previews of upcoming films and then that moment when the lights go just a little bit darker as the feature presentation begins.
I’ve looked back over my favorite movies, and compiled a Top 10 list of my favorite films in order.
A couple of caveats: Obviously there are movies I haven’t seen that, if I were to see them, might eclipse some of the placeholders on my list. Can’t help that one ‘til I see them.
Also, there are noticeable genre omissions in my list. I’m not big on the romance genre or splatter horror. There are no animated movies in my Top 10, though Into the Spider-Verse comes close.
Speaking of, I love me some superhero movies as well, but none of them rose quite into the top 10.
So without further ado, what movies did make the list?
10. Diehard. This is the epitome of a tense, witty thriller. What are the terrorists up to? How will Bruce Willis foil their plans, rescue the hostages, and save Christmas? And yes, it’s all about “how’ and not “if,” but that’s okay.
9. Saving Private Ryan. Steven Spielberg’s war epic shows the horror of war in a way that few, if any, movies ever did before it, and if that were the limit of its brilliance, it would still be a great movie. But it reaches beyond that mark, highlighting the humanity, fear and bravery of both sides in the battle.
8. Raiders of the Lost Ark. Until I saw this movie (I was about 12) I didn’t know about this genre of “adventure” films. Although my brain understands that archeology and ancient tombs don’t work this way, Raiders makes me wish they did.
7. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Fantasy is probably my favorite genre of fiction. When I first learned that LOTR was coming out on the big screen, I was a little skeptical. But the films came through with excellent casting, great action and a good telling of a remarkable story. We can ignore the Hobbit series, right?
6. Rear Window. This is the only horror film in the top 10, and it’s really more of a mystery than horror. A helpless hero with a broken leg, with a front-row seat to...well, let’s just say something fishy in the nearby buildings. I feel like Rear Window brings more to the table than the other obvious Hitchcockian choice.
5. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. What’s not to like here? A treasure hunt. A three-way scramble for money being played out against the backdrop of the Civil War. The famous stand-off in the graveyard. And don’t forget the weird and yet perfect music of Ennio Morricone. It adds up to a brew that makes it my favorite western film. There are others that almost made it on the list.
4. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. This movie may not be on a lot of people’s radar; and, to be honest, I haven’t seen it in years. The attraction for me is David’s Pinocchio-esque quest, the questions of what it means to be real and the weird, weird ending. I know many people decry the split between Stanley Kubrick’s vision of the film and Spielberg’s realization of it, but that might just be the part I love best about it — the tension between those two elements.
3. Blade Runner 2049. What’s this? The sequel is on the list, but not the original? Yep. This movie is crazy, crazy good. Once you’ve seen the other two choices on my list, you’ll realize that, in my opinion, this is the best movie to come out in the past 43 years. The original from 1982 didn’t crack this list. I doubt it’s in the top 20.
2. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Many people prefer the next film, The Empire Strikes Back to this one. Not me. As an eight-year-old, I didn’t want to see Star Wars. I wanted to see The Rescuers. The two hours and five minutes I spent in the Village Theater in Port Arthur opened my eyes to a whole new movie universe. I was hooked.
1. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. I didn’t see this movie until I was in college, but I immediately fell in love with it. The genius of Stanley Kubrick once again. Peter Sellers in three leading roles. The insane paranoia of George C. Scott. The insane patriotism of Slim Pickens. The great James Earl Jones in a bit part. Keenan Wynn ranting about “preverts.” A rogue American Air Force general orders his bombers to nuke Russia. It’s a comedy. What more do you need than that?