What I didn't fully realize is that Fox, historically, might be my favorite studio. I made a list of my top 100 movies of all time back in 2016 (I didn't post it anywhere. I probably should've). 12 of the top 100 were from Fox. I haven't run the exact numbers, but I'm almost certain that's the most of any studio. Considering that they are only 3rd or 4th in total movies seen among the studios, that's a good hit rate. Granted, there's a lot of Star Wars movies in there, so maybe it's not so impressive.
By my count, I've seen 289 movies released by Fox, which is by far the largest base I've started with for one of these top 10 lists. That means there wasn't a lot of room for surprise picks. I'll try to be a little more interesting next month. Also, to clarify, this is only Fox movies. This doesn't include Fox Searchlight. That's a list all its own.
The same rules apply as usual. I have the 100 movie minimum required to make a top 10 list, which this easily surpasses. I'll include every movie I've seen at some point in the post. That way, you'll be able to tell whether a movie you love didn't make the top 10 because I didn't like it or because I haven't seen it. If I'm missing anything, let me know.
1st Cut
I'm not messing around with the picks this month. The first cut is 109 films. There really were any tough cuts here. I was surprised by how few of the movies I completely haterd. Still, these cuts were quite easy.27 Dresses
A Good Day to Die Hard
A Walk in the Clouds
Alien 3
Alien Nation
Alien Vs. Predator
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Anywhere but Here
Bedazzled (2000)
Big Momma's House 2
Black Knight
Black Widow
Borat
Broken Arrow (1996)
Bulworth
Cheaper by the Dozen 2
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Digimon: The Movie
Down with Love
Dr. Dolittle 2
Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!
Dying Young
Epic Movie
Eragon
Ever After: A Cinderella Story
Exodus: Gods and Kings
Fantastic Four (2015)
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Ferngully: The Last Rainforest
Fever Pitch
French Kiss
Garfield: The Movie
Gentleman's Agreement
Grandma's Boy
Home (2015)
Home Alone 3
Hot Shots!
Hot Shots! Part Deux
Ice Age: Collision Course
Ice Age: Continental Drift
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Ice Age: The Meltdown
In Time
Independence Day: Resurgence
Jennifer's Body
Jumper
Just My Luck
License to Drive
Life, or Something Like It
Like Mike
Mannequin
Marked for Death
Maze Runner: The Death Cure
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
Me Myself and Irene
My Super Ex-Girlfriend
Nell
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Pacific Heights
Parental Guidance
Penguins of Madagascar
Planet of the Apes (2001)
Predator 2
Rebound
Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise
Rio
Rising Sun
Robots
Romeo + Juliet
Rookie of the Year
Rules Don't Apply
Snatched
Space Camp
Speed 2: Cruise Control
Stuck on You
Taken 2
Taken 3
The A-Team
The Boss Baby
The Counselor
The Croods
The Day After Tomorrow
The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
The Exorcist III
The Family Stone
The First $20 Million...
The Happening
The Internship
The Longest Ride
The Scout
The Siege
The Transporter
The Wolverine
The X-Files
Turbo
Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie
Unlawful Entry
Unstoppable
Waiting to Exhale
Welcome to Mooseport
What Happens in Vegas
Where the Heart Is
Why Him?
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
X-Men: The Last Stand
Young Guns II
Zardoz
2nd Cut
Another quick 90 movies down. There were some good ones in here. I was surprised to see Mrs. Doubtfire and Cast Away go this early. They were certainly closer to the 50-60 range than 130-140. I'm more concerned with the very top right than getting the order here correct. Alien Resurrection
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Avatar
Behind Enemy Lines
Big Momma's House
Big Trouble in Little China
Bride Wars
Cast Away
Cheaper by the Dozen
Chronicle (2012)
Daredevil
Die Hard 2: Die Harder
Doctor Dolittle
DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story
Don't Say a Word
Down Periscope
Dragonball Evolution
Drive Me Crazy
Dude, Where's My Car?
Edward Scissorhands
Entrapment
Epic
Fantastic Four (2005)
From Hell
Grand Canyon
Hide and Seek
Hope Floats
I Love You Beth Cooper
Ice Age
Jingle All the Way
John Tucker Must Die
Joy
Joy Ride
Just Married
Kingdom of Heaven
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
Kung Fu Panda 3
Laura
Let's Be Cops
Life of Pi
Love and Other Drugs
M*A*S*H
Marley and Me
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
Miracle on 34th Street
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
Mrs. Doubtfire
Murder on the Orient Express
Never Been Kissed
Night at the Museum
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
One Fine Day
Paper Towns
Patton
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Point Break
Post Grad
Revenge of the Nerds
Rio 2
Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Runaway Jury
Say It Isn't So
Shallow Hal
Sleeping with the Enemy
Solaris
Spy
SwimFan
The Abyss
The Beach
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Good Son
The Greatest Showman
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The Maze Runner
The Peanuts Movie
The Sandlot
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
The Seven Year Itch
The Thin Red Line
Trolls
Unfaithful
Volcano
We Bought a Zoo
Weekend at Bernie's
White Men Can't Jump
Wrong Turn
X-Men: Apocalypse
Young Guns
3rd Cut
The last big cut. I've gotta get this list down from 50 to 20. Only a handful of these really hurt. I mean, Die Hard didn't even make the cut. What's up with that? There's just a lot of really great movies Fox has released of the years.Barton Fink
Breaking Away
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Commando
Date Night
Die Hard
Die Hard: With A Vengeance
Drumline
Hidden Figures
History of the World, Part I
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Idiocracy
Independence Day
Joe Somebody
Love, Simon
Minority Report
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Phone Booth
Say Anything
Taken
The Fault in our Stars
The Omen
The Simpsons Movie
The Sound of Music
True Lies
War for the Planet of the Apes
X2: X-Men United
X-Men
X-Men: First Class
Young Frankenstein
Next 10
I'm down to 20 and now it gets brutal. Remember, when I made my top 100 list a couple years ago, more then 10 came from Fox. That means that many of these are among my favorite movies ever.
Alien -I'm still getting over that John Hurt scene.
All About Eve - A stone-cold classic for good reason.
Big - Tom Hanks has been better in other movies, but has he ever been more likable?
Broadcast News - The three-headed monster of Holly Hunter, William Hurt, and Albert Brooks is perfect.
Fight Club - I was a white male in college at one point. I think legally, I have to have a soft spot for this movie.
Gone Girl - Damn, I love the dark comedy of this.
Nine Months - The sequence of driving to the hospital is comedy gold.
Office Space - Mike Judge is a genius. I'm pretty sure people don't even realize how often they quote this movie.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith - As you'll see, I have the softest of soft spots for this franchise.
Suspiria - One of my favorite horror movies. It's a feast for the eyes.
Top 10
10. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - The high point of this latest Planet of the Apes franchise. Andy Serkis and Tony Kebbell's motion capture work is tremendous.
9. The Rocky Horror Picture Show - Just because it's a cult movie doesn't mean it's a bad movie. The music is awesome. The script is surprisingly coherent. The performances are big and iconic.
8. The Devil Wears Prada - Meryl Streep is the best, right? Sure, it's nice that she can be good in a Sophie's Choice. The fact that she's this good in a comedy about fashion is why she's a legend. This movie also introduced me to Emily Blunt, so thank you. And, it's a nice pivot point for Anne Hathaway for how her post-Princess Diaries career could look.
7. Return of the Jedi - I can't really separate any of the movies in the trilogy, but this one is a little weaker than the first two. It's still so much fun though.
6. The Princess Bride - This movie is magic. There's no better word for it.
5. The Martian - Perhaps the most crowd-pleasing and rewatchable movie on this list. This is peak Matt Damon.
4. My Cousin Vinny - This movie is both smart and silly. What impresses me the most is how much of the comedy holds up. Anyone who wants to complain about the Marisa Tomei Oscar win can bring that noise somewhere else. I don't want to hear it.
3. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace - Eventually, I'll make a post defending this movie. What it comes down to though, is this. I don't carry any of the baggage of older fans. This movie hit me at the right time and I loved it, warts and all. That lightsaber fight alone is enough for me: duel of the fates, Darth Maul, double-sided lightsaber. What's not to love?
2. Star Wars - This is how you know I'm being honest about this list. I'm not picking things because "I should". If I did that, I would've put a cap on the number of Star Wars movies in the top 10. I sure loves these movies. There's nothing left to say about this that hasn't been said before.
1. The Empire Strikes Back - It has all the imagination of the first movie but with even better film-making. The script and execution are the best in the franchise. It's on the shortlist of best sequels of all time.
No comments:
Post a Comment