NIMROD'S OFFICIAL TOP 100 COOLEST MOVIES EVER IN THE HISTORY OF FILMS: EPISODE II - THE NEXT 25 Posted by: Ric Nimrod 1-2-02 12:01am Hello my loyal minions, the Mighty Nimrod is back with the next installment of my top 100 Coolest Movies Ever in the History of Film. REMEMBER that these are not necessarily important films or ground-breaking films, just COOL films. Last week we counted 76-100, so, as logic would dictate the next 25 films discussed will be 51-75. Lets first look at the whole list and then go in for a closer look at this weeks 25 selections. Here are the 100 100- Star Wars: Episode One: The Phantom Menace 99- The Last Boy Scout 98- Shaft (1970) 97- King Creole 96- Batman Forever 95- Bonnie and Clyde 94- Lolita 93- Titanic 92- Friday the 13th 91- X-Men 90- They Call Me Trinity 89- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 88- Blade 87- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 86- Time Bandits 85- Rock-n-Roll High School 84- O' Brother Where Art Tho? 83- Predator 82- Harvey 81- M 80- The Lavender Hill Gang 79- Big Trouble in Little China 78- Pee Wees Big Adventure 77- The Warriors 76- Lethal Weapon 75- Halloween 74- Trinity is Still My Name 73- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 72- Requiem For a Dream 71- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 70- Reservoir Dogs 69- Close Encounters of the Third Kind 68- The Exorcist 67- African Queen 66- A Nightmare on Elm Street 65- The Muppet Movie 64- 48 Hours 63- Braveheart 62- Do the Right Thing 61- Patton 60- Payback 59- Boyz in the Hood 58- Goodfellas 57- Saturday Night Fever 56- Dirty Harry 55- Desperado 54- The Fifth Element 53- Planet of the Apes (1965) 52- Zentropa 51- Star Wars: Episode Six: Return of the Jedi 50- RoboCop 49- Silence of the Lambs 48- Army of Darkness 47- Unbreakable 46- Back to the Future 45- E.T. 44- BeetleJuice 43- The Terminator 42- Starship Troopers 41- Major League 40- Platoon 39- Raging Bull 38- Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Love the Bomb 37- Fight Club 36- Memento 35- Breakfast Club 34- Shawshank Redemption 33- Urban Cowboy 32- Iron Giant 31- Smokey and the Bandit 30- Schindlers List 29- Godfather II 28- Batman 27- Citizen Kane 26- Star Wars: Episode Four: A New Hope 25- Dusk 'Til Dawn 24- 12 Monkeys 23- Toy Story 2 22- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 21- The Sixth Sense 20- Natural Born Killers 19- Scream 18- Better Off Dead 17- Gladiator 16- Stalag 17 15- Fast Times at Ridgemont High 14- Superman 13- Fargo 12- Rocky 11- Leon: The Professional 10- Jaws 9- Boogie Nights 8- Casablanca 7- Godfather 6- Die Hard 5- Rear Window 4- Raiders of the Lost Ark 3- Pulp Fiction 2- King Kong (1933) 1- Star Wars: Episode Five: The Empire Strikes Back OK, now to look at films 51-75, if you missed my comments on 76-100 and feel as if you want to read them perhaps the ol’ webmaster, Billy Cable (the new daddy of a beautiful little girl), will put the link right HERE! On with the ramblings... 75- Halloween - I told you I have a soft spot for John Carpenter in my Big Trouble in Little China write up, I told you I love P.J. Soles in my Rock-n-Roll High School write up SO it is only logical that I would love this film.. This really is the break through horror film of all time and it is still very, very cool. Made with next to no money at all (like most of John Carpenters flicks) this one still manages to get a few scares out of the crowd. 74- Trinity is Still My Name- A sequel to They Call Me Trinity, this western is full of laffs and action. Terrence Hill and Bud Spencer reprise their roles as the mis-matched brothers in this excellent film. I can't recommend it strongly enough. Low budget film making that hits the cool nerve ever time I see it. 73- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Well, if Terry Gilliam directing it was not enough, this film has Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Gary Busey, Toby Maguire, Camron Diaz and a slew of others in this adaptation of the Hunter S. Thompson book. It is a drug addled thrill ride. It is so good that you actually feel stoned and hung-over when you are done watching it 72- Requiem For a Dream- I love drug movies, but this is far more than that. This film is just plain COOL! It is directed to perfection, edited for genuine geek-gasims and has a cool story with a cool cast. This film will stay with you for a long time after you see it. 71- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade- For the last installment (so far) King George and Sir Steven brought Sean Connery on board as Henry Jones Sr. and of course... hi-jinx ensue. Its Indiana, it is cool. 70- Reservoir Dogs - Not many directors debut with a film like RD. MAN, this film has it all. Low budget cool, familiar cast and a bloody story of deception and people cracking under the pressure. Plus... a cop gets his ear cut off. OOHHHH YEAHHHHHH!!! Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right HERE I AM... Stuck in the middle with YOU! 69- Close Encounters of the Third Kind- Sir Steven couldn’t make this movie today. He just could not do it... this film is a metaphor for an obsessed artist. The main character leaves his family, and ultimately Earth to fulfill his obsession. Defiantly a statement about the young filmmaker obsessed with making his film. He is not this man anymore, now he is serious and a dad. But this is a classic film and far more than a sci-fi movie. Plus it is a cool flick to have at #69. 68- The Exorcist - I saw this when I was 10 years old and it scared the shit out of me so bad I had to sleep on the floor of my sisters room so somebody else would be in the same room as me... thus allowing the demons to choose between us rather than just possessing me. It is still this darn scary. BELIEVE IT! 67- African Queen - Bogart is just always friggin COOL! Hepburn is the perfect adversary to his gin swilling, boat driving tuff guy in this 1951 WWII story that is and always will be on my list of favorites. 66- A Nightmare on Elm Street - More than my soft spot for John Carpenter, I have a soft spot for Wes Craven. Wes puts every damn dime of his budgets on the screen and this film is no exception. While it does look dated at times... it is still a bloody scream. The first (and best) of the Freddy Krueger movies, Wes created a legend of the silver screen in this flick. Plus Johnny Depp dies by getting sucked into a waterbed... KEWL! 65- The Muppet Movie - The greatest buddy-road picture ever filmed. It has Bob Hope, Orson Welles, Elliot Gould, Uncle Miltie, James Coburn, Steve Martin and a slew of others NOT TO MENTION, Kermit the Frog and our very own Frank Oz as the voice of Fozzie, Piggie and Animal. This cool ass film is a joy to watch OVER AND OVER AGAIN! 64- 48 Hours - Eddie Murphy at his gritty best. Nick Nolte at his tuff guy worst. I love this flick, the first time I saw it was at the theater with my dad... I was fairly young and I remember it was a big deal cuz it was rated R and had a lot of killing, fighting and cursing... but I will always remember the naked dancer in the red neck bar. AHHH memories. 63- Braveheart - Mel directs. Mel acts. Mel wins Oscar. Mel ROCKS! 62- Do the Right Thing - This movie is very powerful for me. I have always liked the way Spike Lee directs but I feel as if most of the time he is so preachy about racism that he comes off as racist. This is not the case in this film. In DTRT every stereotype is examined under the same microscope. It looks cool, sounds cool and smells cool. This movie says something while being cool. A rarity, especially for Spike. 61- Patton - This film is awesome. Well, I guess they all are, I mean it is my list of favorites. But Scott is as perfect as could be in this film about the greatest general in American history. Plus the pedigree on this film damn near ensures perfection. Directed by Planet of the Apes director Frank Schaffner and boasting a killer cast with George C. Scott in the title role and Karl Malden as Bradly this film is a fantastic war epic about an American original. Also had some script doctoring by Oliver Stone. All this = KEWLNESS!!!! 60- Payback - Mel has you rooting for the bad guy in this crime story about revenge. And isn’t revenge always cool in movies? Check this one out. 59- Boyz in the Hood - In 1991 a young John Singleton directed and young cast of soon to be stars including Ice Cube, Morris Cheastnut and Cuba Goding Jr. in a brutal and honest look at urban life at the time. The world was on the cusp of exploding into a serious spree of violence that seemingly gets worst every year. This film represents the end of innocence 58- Goodfellas - Without this flick, there is no Sopranos. The best crime film Scorsese ever made, this epic takes the Godfather formula a step further and the result is genius. 57- Saturday Night Fever - Get past the disco and the pop-culture crap. This is a damn fine coming of age film. Also one of the earliest known sex scenes to grace the eyes of young Nimrod. Get past the clothes and dancing and drink in one of the great moments in cool film history. 56- Dirty Harry - Where would a cool flick list be without the coolest movie cop of all time? Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya PUNK! 55- Desperado - He came back to settle the score with someone. Anyone. EVERYONE. Before Spy Kids, Robert Rodriguez actually made bloody gun movies and this one is a classic. The sole reason I like Antonio Banderas. Plus, it has Steve Buscemi, always a cool ingredient. 54- The Fifth Element - Well, it has the Bruce factor and that is always great for a little two fisted, cool ass gun toting and it is directed by Luc Besson... another cool factor and it has Gary Oldmen, again... cool. I guess this film is simply cool. I loved it so much I saw it twice at the theater in the same day. 53- Planet of the Apes (1965) - This commentary about the cold war and racism disguised as a sci-fi film is legendary. If you ask this Nimrod, it did not need to be remade... it deserved to be re-released. 52- Zentropa - Directed by Lars von Trier (later known for Dancer in the Dark) this flick is set just after WWII in Germany and captures the once proud people in their politically sensitive state. It is an editing joy to watch and a fantastic, obscure film that really makes you look like you know something about films when you pull this out of your collection. The great story combined with various film stocks and editing techniques make this movie 100% cool. 51- Star Wars: Episode Six: Return of the Jedi - Before we all had TPM to bash, we had the Ewoks to hate. It is my opinion that this is by far the best of the SW scripts, unfortunately the poor direction, lazy acting and cute Muppets drag down this otherwise super story about redemption. Interesting fact is that Lucas wanted David Lynch to direct this flick instead of Richard Marquand. Can you imagine what that Star Wars movie would look like. Anyhoo... it starts with A LONG TIME AGO, IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY so it is cool. Well there it is, this weeks 25 films in Nimrods series of nonsense. Remember that the list is always changing and the order is manipulated so that a SW film is represented in every 25 films (thus allowing me to discuss at least one SW movie in every segment). I hope you enjoyed it and if you have not seen some of these movies I hope you will give them a try... I will be back next week with the next 25 films. Happy Holidays, Nimrod is OUT!