My Favorite Movies

Entertaining, stylish, poetic, and profound (even if only at the Philosophy 101 level). And possibly the only time-travel movie that ever made any sense. While the ending goes a long way toward making this movie what it is, there's also plenty of things along the way to make it worth watching.

I can't claim Robocop is a great movie, but I love it nonetheless. The satire, especially of corporatism and commercialism, can seem a little dated (because it probably is, I suspect). And of course, we have the classic problem of condemning violence by depicting it in an entertaining way, something Paul Verhoeven (and screenwriter Ed Neumeier who also worked on Starship Troopers) seems to specialize in. But it's still good, on the whole. I might be missing the point on this one, but I also like the character and story of RoboCop - at least as read as in a straightforward, non-ironic way.

George Lucas combines primal epic mythology, American revolutionary ideology, the cinematic traditions of westerns and other action movies, an excellent visual style, the greatest (for its time) special effects ever put in a movie (with the possible exception of 2001), and the greatest film score ever. The end result, of course, could not fail to be a master piece. I think most of us are still trying to figure out how Lucas and masterpiece could ever go together, but there you have it.

This movie is great for all the reasons the first one was. It's missing a climactic epic battle but it makes up for it by adding a somber tone missing from Star Wars, and thus holds our attention. Otherwise, this could have been the second half of a four hour Star Wars movie.

I'm not a fan of Disney's non-Pixar animated output, but this one is definitely from a different mold. It's novel and entertaining from the first - aliens, in a Disney movie - and it gets better from there (it has one of the funniest lines of dialogue, involving chainsaws, in a movie ever). And the animation is for the most part superb - better than anything in years. But what really sets it apart is (don't laugh) it's message. On the down side, some of it is a little ridiculous - which admittedly comes with the territory. It's too bad Disney dismantled their main 2d units after this movie. It's also too bad Chris Sanders has gotten the boot from Disney. I would have loved to see more from him.

This is my pick for the best movie ever made (not that there needs to be ONE since there are so many great films). Hitchcock was on the top of his game with this film, especially in the area of cinematography. The underlying story also provides much of the power to this film, so points for all the writers involved as well. (By the way, if you like this movie, see 12 Monkeys as well.)

I love this movie. So, first, what's right with it: It's one of the best action movies ever, and it's certainly the best sci-fi action movie ever. Except for the overdone ending, this movie should be the textbook example for directing action, largely because of the pacing - the tension builds relentlessly. It's veritably poetic. Oh, and the premise is interesting, even if it is slightly ridiculous.

The downside is that this movie is not really a deep thesis on anything (which for an action movie, is hardly surprising). Interestingly, several of James Cameron's other action films are much deeper thematically - including the sequel to this film. Other downsides: The ending is, as I said, overdone, and the premise is, as I said, a little silly - at least the time travel part.