Whether you're trapped on a plane, trapped in space, trapped by dinosaurs, trapped by robots, or trapped in an avatar, chances are you're in one of the greatest movies ever made! This is "Movie Night"!
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Hello, and welcome to "Movie Night", YouTube's only weekly interactive movie review show. I'm your host, Jonathan Paula, and on today's special episode, we'll be looking at 10 movies that scored a "10" on my personal Rate-o-Matic.
They're not necessarily my 10 favorites- just 10 movies that scored a "10." In my life, I've probably seen about 1000 movies. I would say about 25 of them have scored a "10."
We've already talked about "Die Hard" and "Back to the Future" and why I think they deserve that score. But I want to make sure you understand that a "10" does not equal a "perfect" or "flawless" film.
To me, it just represents my favorite films, the movies I could watch over and over again, the top 1% of all of the movies I've seen. We've already talked about a couple. We're going to talk about 10 more, in alphabetical order.
Let's start off with this off with this one- "Air Force One", a movie about terrorists that stars Harrison Ford on a plane, came out in 1997.
I was only 12 years old at the time, but this movie absolutely floored me to the edge of my seat for the entire 2 1/2 hours. This movie is intense and fast-paced. I loved the concept of terrorists on board the most secure aircraft in the world.
I mean, today, it doesn't seem that original, but it was just one of those exciting, engaging movies that I absolutely love to watch over and over and over again.
Yeah, it's not perfect, but I love watching Harrison Ford shoot terrorists and kick them off the back of airplanes! This movie HAS to get a "10" from me. Anyway, so the next movie we're going to look at is "Apollo 13."
As far as "true story movies" go, this is my absolute favorite. Ron Howard has done an absolutely amazing job of, one, re-creating the facts as accurately as possible, and two, doing so in a way...
...That is just incredibly engrossing and captivating for the entire movie. "Apollo 13"- all-star effects, all-star cast, and a real-life story. You really can't go wrong with this film, and growing up, as a kid, I was an absolute space nerd.
I loved everything about the Apollo program, I watched all of the Space Shuttle launches and stuff. So, for me, this movie is one of the finest I've ever seen.
The next movie on my "10 for 10" list is the brand-new and very recently released "Avatar." You've all been waiting for me to review this movie. The fact is that this movie deserves every accolade that it receives.
I saw this movie in the theater, with the 3D goggles, and it is absolutely stunning and breathtaking. This movie combines the greatest special effects ever achieved in filmmaking, with a decent-enough plot that everything works together.
I was blown away by "Avatar", and I absolutely loved every minute of it. Anything less than a "10"? I just can't really feel it. That movie deserves the highest score I can give it. THAT was a "10"!
Next movie on my list is "Braveheart", the 1995 Best Picture starring Mel Gibson and written by Mel Gibson. It's about the story of William Wallace, the Scotsman who took on the English army.
This is also based on a true story, like "Apollo 13", but this is an absolutely fantastic film, with some of the greatest battle scenes and filmmaking, overall. The cinematography in "Braveheart" is absolutely beautiful.
Mel Gibson does a great job. This is a LONG movie, over 3 hours, and when I first saw it, I thought I was only sitting on the couch for about 20 minutes! This is the kind of movie that pulls you in. You really get invested in this film.
It is just entertaining, top to bottom, for 3 hours. I can't say that about too many films. I have to give "Braveheart" a "10." The next movie on the list is one I'm sure you're familiar with, "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark."
Now, I like all of the "Indiana Jones" movies, but I and III, especially, are my favorites, for reasons that are obvious. These movies packed everything you'd ever love about an adventure movie.
You've got planes, trains, tanks, bullwhips, guns, stabbings, explosions- all sorts of cool stuff, all mixed in with these religious undertones and cool special effects. Harrison Ford IS Indiana Jones in these movies.
It's like the role he was born to play. When I say "Indiana Jones", you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. There's not many other characters in movie history you really get that iconic image in your head the second I pronounce the name.
It's a perfect, feel-good, fun popcorn movie. It's really an amazing film, and I don't think many of you would actually argue with that. Our next film is "Jurassic Park." This movie takes you to a place you didn't even think was possible
In 1994, this movie created dinosaurs, and who as a kid didn't love dinosaurs? Drawing dinosaurs on construction paper, learning about them in elementary school- this movie brought them to life.
And, of course, then, they started eating people, which is the coolest part! But it's not just about the special effects and the fact that they have dinosaurs on the screen for the first time in a realistic way.
It IS about the people in this movie and the storyline. It just brings you in. It's one of those that, when you grow up watching it at, like, 5, 6, or 7 years old, you just want to watch it again and again and again.
And every time, it's just an amazing film that you just can't get enough of. "Jurassic Park" has to get a "10" for me. My next movie for "10 for 10" is "Shawshank Redemption", the 1994 movie starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.
It's about the Stephen King novel about escaping from prison. It has absolutely incredible writing. The cinematography and everything about this film is absolutely flawless. There is not a single thing about this movie I do not like.
It's one of the greatest masterpieces in film history. There's really not a single thing I can say about "Shawshank Redemption" that isn't positive. Fantastic film! It has to get a "10" from me.
And the 8th movie we're going to talk about today is really 6 movies. I'm talking about "Star Wars." My personal favorites are "Empire" and "Return of the Jedi", but I love all 6 of them, even "The Phantom Menace."
These movies are similar to "Jurassic Park"- they take you to a place in your imagination that you didn't even know existed. George Lucas really just illustrates a world and a universe where anything is imaginable.
And yet, if it weren't for George Lucas, we would not have imagined such an amazingly lush landscape of creatures, characters, worlds, the Sith lords, the Jedis. This is the kind of movie that really gets you interested in the mythos behind the characters.
Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Darth Vader- I mean, you know ALL of them by name. The characters, not the actors, are household names in this instance, which is why it works so well.
All of the films, I through VI, they work so great together. I have to give the "Star Wars" saga an "amazing" on the Rate-o-Matic. That's really a no-brainer. It's "Star Wars"!
It's basically the reason I'm involved in video production right now. "Star Wars" is that movie that inspired me to do this for a living. I LOVE "Star Wars"! The next movie on the list, though, is "Terminator II."
"Terminator" I, II, and IV are okay movies, but "Terminator II" really takes the cake here. James Cameron is an expert director and filmmaker. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Terminator, the special effects, the action...
...The non-stop thrill ride that this 2 1/2-hour movie is- absolutely, balls to the wall, one of the greatest action movies ever made, up there with "Die Hard." It's just some of the most interesting and engaging stuff I have ever seen on screen.
And T-1000 is one of the best villains I think has ever been committed to celluloid. He is just the guy who you love to hate. And Arnold Schwarzenegger? He doesn't have to do much here, but he does just enough to make himself...
...One of the most iconic characters in sci-fi movie history, really. "Terminator II"? I have to give it a "10." And our final film on my "10 for 10" list- "The Dark Knight."
This movie came out 2 years ago, and it's already easily one of my top favorites of all-time. "The Dark Knight" is this grandiose film that piles on plot after plot, character after character.
This is the kind of movie that, after I had finished watching it in theaters, I thought to myself, "Wow! Could they have done ANYMORE there?!" This movie climaxes 7 times. I thought the movie was over an hour-and-a-half in.
But no! The movie doesn't pull any punches. It just keeps going and going and going. It's Batman, it's the Joker, it's Two-Face. So much of this movie is so well-woven, well-written, and well-acted.
The special effects, the music- an epic masterpiece of action, drama, and comic books. It's the movie we all deserve from the Batman franchise, and it definitely deserves a "10." Again, I don't think many of you would disagree with me.
But for those who did disagree with my opinions, and for what you thought was the best, now, let's take a look at what you guys voted as your top-10 movies of all-time.
Now, here's your actual top 10. We'll go from the bottom up. Spot #10: "Die Hard." The whole series got 74 votes. "Forrest Gump", ninth spot, wtih 79 votes. In 8th place was last year's "The Hangover", with 83 votes.
With 87 votes and the 7th spot is "Fight Club." Tied for 5th place was "Terminator", the whole series, with 103 votes, and "Shawshank Redemption", also with 103 votes. In 4th place was "Back to the Future", with 129 votes.
In 3rd place was "The Dark Knight", with 154 votes. 2nd place- the "Star Wars" saga, with 172 votes. And in 1st place was "Avatar", with 227 votes out of the 1500 votes that were cast.
Well, you can't argue with it. There it is, the top-10 movies of all-time, as voted on by the "Movie Night" audience. So, thank you again to everybody who voted and contributed to the list.
Moving forward now, let's take a look at some of Hollywood's latest releases, as we read some Tweet Critiques. andapaige Tweeted... (reads andapaige's Tweet)
Jon: KiwiBananaFruit Tweeted... (reads KiwiBananaFruit's Tweet)
Again, if you're going to the movies this weekend, make sure to Tweet your review with the #JPMN hashtag, to have it possibly featured on an upcoming episode of "Movie Night."
That does it for this week's episode, and thank you again to everybody who voted in the "10 for 10." Now, let's take a look at the movies we'll be reviewing for next week's episode.
"Law-Abiding Citizen" is a 2009 thriller starring Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx. It earned over $100 million at the box office when it came out last year, and it's new on DVD this month.
Our second film next week is "The Informant!", a dark comedy by director Steven Soderburgh and starring Matt Damon. It came out with some mixed reviews last fall, but I've heard it's good, so I'm looking forward to seeing it.
I hope you get a chance to buy, rent, or download these movies before next week's episode, as I'm looking forward to reading what you have to say about them.
Until then, once again, my name is Jonathan Paula. Thanks for joining me on "Movie Night"!
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