Also, bonus points for
a. Not just going with the "conventional wisdom" choice and
b. Making a solid argument as to why
1. The Star Wars saga
Most people go with The Empire Strikes Back. I'd pick the original, because it was kind of nice when the story and characters were simpler, before the weight of all the saga's mythology began to accumulate. Han Solo was more fun before he started to become a nice guy. Maybe it is nostalgia, but I have fonder memories of Star Wars when it was new and the possibilities as to where it could go were yet to be explored.
2. The James Bond films
Well, most people say Goldfinger. But let's face it, our hero spends a lot of the middle portion locked up and not able to do much in the way of action. Plus, it is such a product of its time. I'd say Casino Royale is now the new golden boy for the Bond franchise. It makes Bond contemporary, compelling, gritty and REAL. Plus we have a real actor in the role.
3. Indiana Jones
The consensus is usually Raiders, but I like Temple of Doom, which is often viewed as the black sheep of this franchise. Because it had the balls to be different. It's dark, creepy, even gory at times, but it delivers just as much action as its predecessor if not more, and the thrills are sustained over a longer period -- most of the second half, in fact. I could even tolerate the little kid, and that's something that often sinks a movie for me (Phantom Menace, anyone?)
4. Star Trek
Just about everyone says Wrath of Khan is the best Trek film. In my opinion, right director but wrong movie. I prefer No. 6, also known as The Undiscovered Country. It's much darker than your average Trek, which makes it more interesting, and I think the climactic battle in space here is way more exciting than that in Wrath of Khan. There's also some nostalgia at play, since this is the last call for most of the original crew.
5. Batman
I guess we're really dealing with two franchises here, the four original films and the new Chris Nolan series. But out of them all, the one I think just never gets its due is Batman Returns. I love dark and disturbing, and this one has those qualities much more than the Nicholson/Prince-saturated original. I think Keaton's Batman seems more sinister here -- look at his expression when he first rolls into town to deal with the Penguin's goons, or when he plants the bomb on the unwitting strongman. He's smiling as if he's really enjoying meting out justice to these lowlifes. There are no bad performances. Christopher Walken makes the film better just by being in it, and Michelle Pfeiffer steals the show. Ironically, the best scene is when she and Keaton are not in costume but simply enjoying a dance at the masquerade ball. It's well written and suspenseful, and only serves to emphasize how much better the series could have been if Keaton and Burton had stayed on.
6. Alien
Now, let's stir things up a bit. Most people are torn between the first two. My vote goes for Alien 3, which has more guts than any other film in the series. The film's attitude seems to be that life does not always turn out the way we would like. It was very bold to kill off most of the characters we cared about in the first five minutes. It was even bolder to kill off our heroine at the end. You may not like it, but you've got to respect it on a certain level. I also think the production design here is the best of the entire series, and it was brilliant to make this a prison movie at the same time.
7. Die Hard
Instead of the original, what's wrong with Die Harder, the second film in the series? The fun was in reversing the premise of Bruce Willis trapped in an enclosed environment by instead having him run ragged all over a large airport. The stakes were clearly higher -- think about that scene where the plane full of people crashed, killing everyone. That injected a very somber note into an otherwise popcorn summer thriller, and makes Willis' victory at the end that more satisfying.
8. Superman
Can someone tell me: What was so wrong about Superman Returns? Everywhere I turn, it seemed like everyone was bashing it. Why? Because it wasn't wall to wall action? Doesn't that get boring after a while? In an age of nonstop explosions and gunfire, or other forms of violence that bludgeon moviegoers, what's wrong with a summer movie that is actually about values? I like that this film was a throwback to the more family-friendly movies that Richard Donner had made. If anything, this film did a better job of showing the isolation of Superman, like the scene where he flies up into space and spends a few minutes listening to the cacophony of sounds coming from the earth below. It would have been easy to make the little kid annoying and the James Marsden character an obnoxious jerk. Singer did not do that -- which makes the Superman-Lois relationship more complex because it's not as easy to say that they should be together. And Kevin Spacey honored what Gene Hackman had done while giving Luthor even more of an evil, unstable edge. Say what you will about the movie, I loved it and hope they do more.
9. Romero's zombies
Most people will go with Night or Dawn, but the one that has really grown on me is Day of the Dead. There are a lot of reasons, but I can sum it up in two words: Joe Pilato. People usually cite Duane Jones or Ken Foree as the standout actor of this series, but Pilato's Capt. Rhodes, a paranoid, controlling, violent, vulgar tyrant of a soldier, is as valid a comment on the military-industrial complex as the social parallels from the other Romero films. Each of these films deals with people in the pressures of a confined environment but the underground bunker presented here makes for the most compelling drama, I think. The film is talky but never dull and often brilliant, and there is plenty of payoff for gorehounds. Funny how Romero's actors are often unknowns, yet they can act circles around big-name stars from bigger-budget movies.
10. Dirty Harry
Usually people say the original is the best. I think it has to be Sudden Impact, which has perhaps the most iconic Harry moment ("Go ahead, make my day") and was directed by Eastwood himself. It's also interesting that the "killer" turns out to be more than a bit sympathetic, and that whole relationship is handled in an interesting way by Eastwood.
a. Not just going with the "conventional wisdom" choice and
b. Making a solid argument as to why
1. The Star Wars saga
Most people go with The Empire Strikes Back. I'd pick the original, because it was kind of nice when the story and characters were simpler, before the weight of all the saga's mythology began to accumulate. Han Solo was more fun before he started to become a nice guy. Maybe it is nostalgia, but I have fonder memories of Star Wars when it was new and the possibilities as to where it could go were yet to be explored.
2. The James Bond films
Well, most people say Goldfinger. But let's face it, our hero spends a lot of the middle portion locked up and not able to do much in the way of action. Plus, it is such a product of its time. I'd say Casino Royale is now the new golden boy for the Bond franchise. It makes Bond contemporary, compelling, gritty and REAL. Plus we have a real actor in the role.
3. Indiana Jones
The consensus is usually Raiders, but I like Temple of Doom, which is often viewed as the black sheep of this franchise. Because it had the balls to be different. It's dark, creepy, even gory at times, but it delivers just as much action as its predecessor if not more, and the thrills are sustained over a longer period -- most of the second half, in fact. I could even tolerate the little kid, and that's something that often sinks a movie for me (Phantom Menace, anyone?)
4. Star Trek
Just about everyone says Wrath of Khan is the best Trek film. In my opinion, right director but wrong movie. I prefer No. 6, also known as The Undiscovered Country. It's much darker than your average Trek, which makes it more interesting, and I think the climactic battle in space here is way more exciting than that in Wrath of Khan. There's also some nostalgia at play, since this is the last call for most of the original crew.
5. Batman
I guess we're really dealing with two franchises here, the four original films and the new Chris Nolan series. But out of them all, the one I think just never gets its due is Batman Returns. I love dark and disturbing, and this one has those qualities much more than the Nicholson/Prince-saturated original. I think Keaton's Batman seems more sinister here -- look at his expression when he first rolls into town to deal with the Penguin's goons, or when he plants the bomb on the unwitting strongman. He's smiling as if he's really enjoying meting out justice to these lowlifes. There are no bad performances. Christopher Walken makes the film better just by being in it, and Michelle Pfeiffer steals the show. Ironically, the best scene is when she and Keaton are not in costume but simply enjoying a dance at the masquerade ball. It's well written and suspenseful, and only serves to emphasize how much better the series could have been if Keaton and Burton had stayed on.
6. Alien
Now, let's stir things up a bit. Most people are torn between the first two. My vote goes for Alien 3, which has more guts than any other film in the series. The film's attitude seems to be that life does not always turn out the way we would like. It was very bold to kill off most of the characters we cared about in the first five minutes. It was even bolder to kill off our heroine at the end. You may not like it, but you've got to respect it on a certain level. I also think the production design here is the best of the entire series, and it was brilliant to make this a prison movie at the same time.
7. Die Hard
Instead of the original, what's wrong with Die Harder, the second film in the series? The fun was in reversing the premise of Bruce Willis trapped in an enclosed environment by instead having him run ragged all over a large airport. The stakes were clearly higher -- think about that scene where the plane full of people crashed, killing everyone. That injected a very somber note into an otherwise popcorn summer thriller, and makes Willis' victory at the end that more satisfying.
8. Superman
Can someone tell me: What was so wrong about Superman Returns? Everywhere I turn, it seemed like everyone was bashing it. Why? Because it wasn't wall to wall action? Doesn't that get boring after a while? In an age of nonstop explosions and gunfire, or other forms of violence that bludgeon moviegoers, what's wrong with a summer movie that is actually about values? I like that this film was a throwback to the more family-friendly movies that Richard Donner had made. If anything, this film did a better job of showing the isolation of Superman, like the scene where he flies up into space and spends a few minutes listening to the cacophony of sounds coming from the earth below. It would have been easy to make the little kid annoying and the James Marsden character an obnoxious jerk. Singer did not do that -- which makes the Superman-Lois relationship more complex because it's not as easy to say that they should be together. And Kevin Spacey honored what Gene Hackman had done while giving Luthor even more of an evil, unstable edge. Say what you will about the movie, I loved it and hope they do more.
9. Romero's zombies
Most people will go with Night or Dawn, but the one that has really grown on me is Day of the Dead. There are a lot of reasons, but I can sum it up in two words: Joe Pilato. People usually cite Duane Jones or Ken Foree as the standout actor of this series, but Pilato's Capt. Rhodes, a paranoid, controlling, violent, vulgar tyrant of a soldier, is as valid a comment on the military-industrial complex as the social parallels from the other Romero films. Each of these films deals with people in the pressures of a confined environment but the underground bunker presented here makes for the most compelling drama, I think. The film is talky but never dull and often brilliant, and there is plenty of payoff for gorehounds. Funny how Romero's actors are often unknowns, yet they can act circles around big-name stars from bigger-budget movies.
10. Dirty Harry
Usually people say the original is the best. I think it has to be Sudden Impact, which has perhaps the most iconic Harry moment ("Go ahead, make my day") and was directed by Eastwood himself. It's also interesting that the "killer" turns out to be more than a bit sympathetic, and that whole relationship is handled in an interesting way by Eastwood.
