Napoleon Dynamite is comic genius. Im pretty sure that the film is faintly hypnotic. The pacing and the humour are blissfully off-beat and its characters are fascinating. I cant think of many films that will so seriously scrutinize the lives of such total geeks while neither mocking them nor overly celebrating them, just exploring their humanity. In 'normal' films geeks either have to have some 'uber talent' (like bing the worlds best computer hacker) or are secretly deeply attractive and charismatic people just waiting to be discovered and illuminated by their true love. Even in this film the geeks do ultimately triumph but not by ceasing to be geeks but rather embracing it. Its hard not to like this film.
163. THE NAKED GUN:
This film was made before the word 'spoof' was given such a bad name and while being 'just silly' was still enough to be funny. Not all of the gags here still stand up to modern scrutiny (many didnt even stand up then!) but they come thick enough and fast enough that if something doesnt make you laugh you only have to wait a couple of seconds before something comes along that might. Leslie Nielsen will be sadly missed for his comedy talents but it is O.J. Simpson that casts a little bit of a shadow over this film. Regardless of what you think of the man his presence here comes with a lot of baggage that may take a while to fade.
164. COOL HAND LUKE:
One of Paul Newman's finest roles. Cool Hand Luke is a convict who wont buckle under to authority. He is a relentlessly free spirit and inspiration to his fellow prisoners but much like the McMurphy character in One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, the same personality traits that earn the admiration of his peers brings the ire of his captors. The film has been around for longer than I have but it still feels incredibly fresh - which has to be a sign of a classic.
165. FISH STORY:
Four separate moments in time are linked by a song recorded by a Japanese punk band that formed and split before The Sex Pistols opened the eyes of the world to punk. There is almost a 'butterfly effect' demonstrated as the recording of the song influences various events climaxing with the Earth facing imminent destruction by meteorite collision. The story follows four key moments in time and intercuts between them only revealing at the very end how they are all linked and what role the song ultimately played. This, like many of the best Japanese films Ive seen is highly unusual and well worth a look.
166. SCHINDLER'S LIST:
It may seem hard to believe now but not so long ago the credibility of Steven Spielberg was in question. That he could turn his hand to crowd pleasing thrillers (like Jaws) and cosy sci-fi blockbusters (like ET) was obvious, but a serious drama with a serious real-world setting? Not everyone was convinced. When I heard that he was due to make a film about the holocaust I shuddered. In the back of my mind I was imagining a film where somewhere in a nazi death camp a young Jewish boy finds a cute alien... but it turns out the doubters were wrong. Spielberg proved that he could not only direct a serious film about the most serious subject imaginable but that he could do it well. The film holds drama and tension like few others I know (because the stakes were both very high and very real) but is also beautifully and memorably shot. Its based on a book that is based on real life events. Spielberg knew the gravity of what he was undertaking and he didnt let anybody down. Nearly 20 years have passed but I would be very surprised to learn that this isnt the film that he would be most proud of.
Source: http://moviebuffs.livejournal.com/3241888.html
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