10. Terminator
Definitely Schwarzeneggerger’s best movie and not simply for the lack of dialogue, this film really makes you sit on the edge of your seat the whole way. While lacking the special effects of the sequels, this movie packed a punch which was sadly lacking in the later releases. I don’t have much time for horror flicks personally, but the scare tactics employed in this crossover genre keeps the adrenaline pumping and the heart racing. The cold hard steel of the cyborg is perfectly projected by Arnie and who can forget the self surgery scene when the Terminator removes it own eyeball? Classic stuff.
9. Predator
A gritty retake on the Human becomes the hunted story line, with excellent effects and enough blood and guts to sicken a slasher movie fanatic. I am smiling as I write this realizing that I have added yet another Schwarzeneggerger movie to the list without a William Shatner in sight! (props to Shatner for his recent cameo in Fanboys by the way, in which he conspires with a bunch of Starwars heads to break into the Lucas Ranch and sneak a preview of Episode 1 good sport!). Again, the atmosphere of this first film in the series was never recovered in any of the Sequels, which proves that milking a single good idea for all it’s worth just doesn’t work. I cannot even begin to write about the Alien vs. Predator debacle, don’t get me started on that, it could get nasty! While cheesy in places the last battle turns the movie into a classic with Arnie using his special forces skills to level the playing field against his technologically and physically superior foe, yes I did just say that Schwarzeneggerger actually outthinks the enemy!
8. Alien
I love this movie because it exactly portrays what I believe deep space transportation to be like, boring as hell! The mundane nature of the crews daily lives and tasks is broken forever when they chance upon an alien ship containing the cocoons of a species which gestates by growing its offspring inside other species that the face sucking larva attaches itself too, the now legendary ‘Alien appears from the chest of John Hurt’ scene begins the race for survival of the crew, the unwilling hero Ripley, excellently portrayed by Sigourney Weaver wins through in the end, though more by luck than judgment. The film also aggressively addresses the issue of artificial intelligence and logic over humanity.
7. I am legend
A new film in the mix but truly the best ever of its genre with the palpable eeriness you feel looking at the deserted streets of New York, Will Smith quipped at an award ceremony that he couldn’t believe people would pay and sit through a couple of hours of him talking to himself. This proves that you can turn a movie about zombie flesh eaters into a contemporary peace of art, as Smith’s character relies on a daily regime to keep him sane, the unraveling of the routine in turn causes his character itself to unravel, beautifully mirroring lonely life in a city. The moral… metaphors work!
6. The Empire Strikes Back
No surprises here I am guessing, in my view the best of all the Starwars movies, it gets a bad rap because the big obligatory battle scene occurs not in space, GASP! but on an icy planet and happens at the beginning GASP! not at the end of the film. This is by far the darkest of all the movies and I will just get this out there, Yoda Rocks! After the happy go lucky good vs. evil of A New Hope this far deeper film explores many darker avenues and our no longer so perfect hero fights inside himself as he develops his Jedi skills, the ending kind of feels like an Anti Climax, but having found out your Arch Enemy is also your father and losing his hand to him in a light saber battle this is the way the film should finish, just to rewind for a second IMHO the light saber battle is iconic and outshines everything before and since, especially the much lauded Darth Maul fight scene in Episode 1, sorry Mr. Lucas but when you make something perfect it’s hard to find the force again!
5. 2001
Atmospheric, beautifully shot and harrowing. The sleek black monoliths menacingly representing how little we know about the universe. Even if you never watch the whole thing you must see the shuttle docking at the space station and the depiction of artificial gravity on the ship, these shots are actually based on real plans and data got directly from NASA. Again the subjects of this classic are first contact with Aliens and the realities of artificial intelligence.
4. Tron
Back in the 80’s when Video games just started and Pac man became the first electronic superstar. Disney, looked at their aging animations and took a leap of faith. This film looks CGI heavy but in actual fact uses many older techniques (like animation) to create a visually stunning masterpiece. While it looks dated now, few who saw the light bike scene on the big screen back in the 80’s can forget it. In some ways the visual spectacular dwarfs what is actually a very well written film. This film explores the possibility of universes within universes, virtual reality becoming reality and artificial intelligence. Heady Stuff!
3. The Matrix
Take the red pill! I went to see this having no idea about the plot or having seen any trailers, ok so it’s a VERY cool film but after you get passed the leather, PVC and sun glasses the depth of the story is incredible, sure it borrows from the Cyberpunk genres and ideas from Terminator and other movies, but it does it so well you don’t even realize until after you have come down from the adrenaline high. Some films are worth watching on the big screen, this is one of them. The vision fest just captures you and simply drags you in. See how far the Rabbit hole goes for yourself!
2. The Dark Knight
Dark dark dark, any fans of the graphic novels will know what I am talking about, I loved the darker novels like the Arkam Asylum , and for me, even the darker, but not yet cooked, Batman Begins was not yet dark enough! Finally a Joker to be truly scared of, Heath Ledgers unforgettable performance as the disfigured, dysfunctional and psychopathic ultra baddie sets the bar in my view. The movie has already attained cult status despite it being relatively new, this is sadly because of Mr. Ledgers untimely demise, but what a way to go out! Like Bruce Lee and other greats before him, this haunting performance will be his epitaph and a totally worthy one at that.
1. Blade Runner
What can you say. A masterpiece. If you have ever read Neuromancer by William Gibson then this is what the sprawl looks like. The movie was way before it’s time, the sheer attention to detail and the atmosphere it creates by layers, like the mixed up street language and the plastic neon fashions intricately combining to create a totally believable jaded world of the future. The dark flawed characters listlessly seek meaning in their lives while trying to kill the emotionally immature genetically engineered beings who crave longevity, meaning and ultimately the same answers. Do robots dream of electronic sheep? is the the question posed by the book that the film is loosely based on. The real question? Is Harrison Fords character a replicant just like the replicants he is tasked to retire? I have watched this a 100 times and I still find something new, certainly Ridley Scotts finest hour.
I think this is probably the hardest list I have ever had to make! Some of the choices are at best controversial and I am sure there will be Trekkie death squads out for my blood by the time I am finished, where is a Klingon cloaking device when you need one eh?
Some Which Missed the list (Just) but Deserve Mention:
Star Trek The Wrath of Khan
Iron man
Enemy mine
Starwars Return of the Jedi
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