6 July 2017

If I could save ten more movies

OK, so the aliens came and chose me at random to select ten movies to save for their archives before they wipe us out. The aliens have now seen the ten movies, and they liked them a lot, so they have come back, and now they have asked for ten more. I see a glimpse of hope for humanity, if they keep liking the movies (will they ask for some other kind of art?) I feed them we may postpone or even cancel our doomsday by alien's rays of death. So here I go with what would be my next ten movies.


Bakemono no ko (2015, Mamoru Hosoda)

IMDB 7.7, Rotten Tomatoes 90%

First of all, probably you have not seen this one, and that's OK, but you should, because if you have seen it and you don't like it, you are a unequivocally a bad person and you should know and should not have offspring. That's it. This movie is beautiful, from the animation, to the style, the story and the soundtrack. I guess you could replace this one with some Miyazaki movie like Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away (which I love), but the forgiveness message of this movie is so beautiful that this one made it here for me over Miyazaki's works.

Use the sword in your heart.

Aliens (1986, James Cameron)

IMDB 8.4, Rotten Tomatoes 98%

The first Alien movie is also great, and very different from this one (horror vs action, both in the science-fiction frame), but this one has so many epic lines, so much good stuff, and the aesthetics or visual effects have not aged one bit in three decades, that for me, this one is over the first one. This movie is the essence and the spirit of the fight for survival at the core of human beings. Bring on the Xenomorphs!

Private Hudson: Hey Vasquez, have you ever been mistaken for a man?
Private Vasquez: No. Have you?
The Dark Knight (2008, Christopher Nolan)

IMDB 9.0, Rotten Tomatoes 94%

Superheroes are a thing, have been for a long time. And I am a Marvel person, but I need to admit that the best superhero movie ever made is from DC universe, but they got it all wrong when naming the movie: the title should be "The Joker". This movie is about him, and leaving the performance of an actor like Christian Bale in the shadows is no small feat additionally. Only that scene of the joker coming out of the hospital with the nurse dress and the blowing it up... masterful.

Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It's fair!

Return of the Jedi (1983, Richard Marquand)

IMDB 8.4, Rotten Tomatoes 80%

And I mean Star Wars in general. Although for me the best one is not The Empire Strikes Back but this one, but can I say, I am a sucker for grand finales. If you have not seen Star Wars, you really don't understand the XX century pop culture. So do yourself a favor and go see it.

Luke: I'll not leave you here. I've got to save you.
Anakin: You already have, Luke.
Avatar (2009, James Cameron)

IMDB 7.8, Rotten Tomatoes 83%

Put together Pocahontas, Dancing with Wolves and Aliens, add the most stunning visual effects in the history of cinema and you have Avatar. James Cameron is creating one of the most engaging universes of the XXI century with this saga, and additionally the background message of what we are doing with our planet is so necessary... that this movie had to be on this list.

I see you.

Zootopia (2016, Jared Bush, Byron Howard and Rich Moore)

IMDB 8.1, Rotten Tomatoes 98%

The characters in this movie are incredibly well defined, depicted and complex. The animation work is beautiful. And the story is the best cry out that we have for the world of racism, sexism and egoism that we live in. It is emotional, funny and clever. It touches a part of us that we all should care about. Plus the sloths. THE SLOTHS.

Life isn't some cartoon musical where you sing a little song and all your insipid dreams magically come true. So let it go.
Avengers (2012, Joss Whedon)

IMDB 8.1, Rotten Tomatoes 92%

The Joker... I mean, The Dark Knight could not be in this list with MCU absent. So here are The Avengers to represent the MCU, the biggest cinematographic universe ever made, with a story so rich and fun and characters so complex and fleshed out than it rivals to the comics from were they draw inspiration. What Marvel is doing with all this has no precedent in the history of cinema.

Steve Rogers: Big man in a suit of armour. Take that off, what are you?
Tony Stark: Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.




Cloud Atlas (2012, Tom Tykwer, Lana and Lilly Wachowski)

IMDB 7.5, Rotten Tomatoes 66%

This movie will give you several of the biggest brain fucks you have ever had in your life in just one evening, in the best possible way. I am not one of those Lars Von Trier/Terrence Malick morons that go about saying things like "if you didn't like it, it's because you did not understand it", but in this case, if you didn't like it, it's because you did not understand it. I guess that makes me a Wachowski moron, which I am happy to be.

Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others. Past and present. And by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.
Terminator 2 (1991, James Cameron)

IMDB 8.5, Rotten Tomatoes 93%

One of the best movies ever, one of the best science-fiction plots wrapped in the best possible action container, the best Schwarzenegger movie, and the best Cameron movie. Also the best depiction so far (and it is from 1991) of the Asimov's concept of 'travel back in time to save the future'. Anything to add? I thought so.

Watching John with the machine, it was suddenly so clear. The terminator, would never stop. It would never leave him, and it would never hurt him, never shout at him, or get drunk and hit him, or say it was too busy to spend time with him. It would always be there. And it would die, to protect him. Of all the would-be fathers who came and went over the years, this thing, this machine, was the only one who measured up.

The Crow (1994, Alex Proyas)

IMDB 7.6, Rotten Tomatoes 82%

The devil is in the detail, and there are so many great details in this one. One of the best examples that the best best love stories don't need to be told in a cheesy way, and can even make for an amazing action movie with a great dark atmosphere.

People once believed that when someone dies, a crow carries their soul to the land of the dead. But sometimes, something so bad happens that a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul can't rest. Then sometimes, just sometimes, the crow can bring that soul back to put the wrong things right.