Baumer's ridiculous, uninformed, stupid list of MY BEST 105 FILMS EVER , FULL LIST PG 42

[baumer]

72) Instinct (1999)

Jon Turtletaub

 

This was an incredibly personal film to me as it dealt with animal rights and it was one of the first big budgeted, A-list films to do so.  Here si a condensed version of my original review for it.

 

Every once in a while a movie comes out that has something to say. It has something to offer that is more than just Hollywood. It believes in something. In recent years movies like Dances With Wolves, JFK, Falling Down, Malcolm X, Boyz and The Hood and Saving Private Ryan are recent ones that come to mind. They make us examine who we are and what we are doing here and why we do the things that we do. They make us question our actions and they show us that we are perhaps not as great as we thought we were. Movies like this don't come around too often and that's because they have things to say that not only people don't like to hear, but because they don't want to know. Dances With Wolves made me feel guilty to be a white man, Instinct made me ashamed to be a human being.

 

There is a line in one of Pearl Jams songs that says " I don't question our existence, I just question our modern needs. " You will not find more profound lyrics than those ones and this movie takes that same idea and explores it deeper. It shows us the greedy nature of man and how destructive we all are. But it also shows us how beautiful it all once was, and how it all changed.

The trailers show the story of how Anthony Hopkins goes to the jungle and lives among the gorillas and then ends up murdering people. But what we don't know is why he does it. How he gets to that fateful moment and what it is that makes him, a peaceful man, want to kill another human being.

The strengths in this movie are numerous but it starts with the performances. Hopkins is quietly brilliant as the emotionally traumatized and scarred former anthropologist. You can feel his pain even before he tells what it is that is eating away inside of him. Cuba Gooding is great as the doctor that goes on a journey with Ethan Powell. At first his interest in Powell is simply one of selfishness. But as he learns more about this complex man, the more he understands and empathizes with him. Also good in his role as the brutal prison guard is John Ashton ( remember him from Beverly Hills Cop? ). His character is very reminiscent of Clancy Brown's in Shawshank Redemption but he is very good here. But the real strength of the film is in the story and the screenplay.

The two writers for the film care about what it is that they have to say and they believe in it. You can feel what it is that they are trying to convey. And that is simply: why must we as human beings be so destructive? Why must we be so hateful and greedy and why do have to ruin everything that was once pure and serene? The scenes in this film that are meant to ask for your sympathy are not just gratuitous violence to sell tickets, they are there because things like this happen in real life and we never do anything to stop it. And that is a shame.

Denzel Washington's character in " The Siege " said, " You don't let any murderer go free. ANY MURDERER!!! " Well Hopkin's character was punished for his crime but what about the men that murdered those that weren't human? What crime have they committed? And what punishment do they receive for the act of murder against something that isn't human? There is no punishment. And that is what makes us sad individuals and that is what this movie is trying to tell us.

 I applaud everyone associated with this movie. I just wish more studios and directors and actors would have the guts to do this. I just hope some people can see this movie for what it is and not for what we critisize it for trying to be. And as melo-dramatic as this review may sound to some people and as melo-dramatic as this is also going to sound, it has to be said.

Thank you John Turtletaub for making this movie. You moved me and made me think about a great many things. I hope I'm not alone.

 

Trivia:  After takes with Cuba Gooding Jr., Anthony Hopkins would routinely say "Show me the money!" in reference to Cuba's character in Jerry Maguire (1996).

 

Sean Connery was originally offered the role of Ethan Powell.

Edited February 28, 2015 by baumer

[baumer]

71) Fight Club (1999)

David Fincher

 

 

David Fincher's best film.  It takes a cynical look at our obsessions and how susceptible we all are to advertising and celebrities and so on.  Tells us that we'll never reach that status and any attempt to do so is futile.  It's one of the most cynical films out there and it has a nice twist to it, which at the time, a lot of films were riding the twist gravy train.  It tanked at the box office but became a cult classic on HV.

 

 

Trivia:

 

Brad Pitt says he didn't want his parents to see the movie, but he couldn't convince them not to watch. They changed their minds after watching the chemical burn scene.

 

In the scene where The Narrator is sitting on a toilet, with his pants down while reading an Ikea catalog, Edward Norton is actually completely nude from the waist down. Norton talks about it on the DVD commentary to which David Fincher says "really?" Norton then says "Did you notice I never had to go to the bathroom that day?"

 

Although he refused to smoke in Rounders (1998) (his character played poker for cigarettes, but did not smoke), Edward Norton agreed to smoke for this film.

[Avatree]

73) Basic Instinct (1992)

Paul Verhoeven

This'd better not be the only Verhoeven movie on the list...

 

 

The Fugitive is absolutely fantastic. Imo it is the perfect action/chase thriller, one of Ford's best films.

[baumer]

What other Verhoeven film do you think should be here?

[Kalo]

Fight Club.. another movie I deathly need to see.. don't know why I keep putting it off. + Brad Pitt was like the face of beauty in the 90s

[Avatree]

What other Verhoeven film do you think should be here?

Total Recall and Starship Troopers (though I know Starship Troopers is pretty divisive)

[baumer]

Coming up tonight

A meuling quim

The greatest 4th movie in a series in the history of cinema

Edited February 28, 2015 by baumer

[Plain Old Tele]

Uh oh.

[James]

Well, you have Fight Club so your list is by definition a good one. Too low though.

[baumer]

Uh oh.

I dont think its what u think it is.

[baumer]

And meulling quim could be from any movie lol.

[Sam]

Coming up tonight

A meuling quim

The greatest 4th movie in a series in the history of cinema

I didn't know you're that passionate about The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

[baumer]

But isnt the Hobbit technically the first?

[baumer]

And coming up later....Tommy Jarvis and David Geffens lover make an appearance.

Also...to Johnny Favorite Mephistophelese is such a mouthful in Manhatten...especially when wisdom brings no profit to the wise.

[4815162342]

But isnt the Hobbit technically the first?

Chronologically yes. But 4th made.

[Avatree]

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? The Phantom Menace? Rocky 4? Ooh, the possibilities are endless!

Edited February 28, 2015 by treeroy

[Ethan Hunt]

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? The Phantom Menace? Rocky 4? Ooh, the possibilities are endless!

On Stranger Tides

[Avatree]

On Stranger Tides

Oh dear, it actually might be.

[Ethan Hunt]

Oh dear, it actually might be.

Or Age of Extinction

[Avatree]

Or Age of Extinction