#42: THE TERMINATOR (1984)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

9

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, once, a long time ago, I think in high school

BEST SEQUENCE

The whole climax is pretty awesome. I have no issues with Arnold's performance, but when his flesh burns off and the robot skeleton rises from the flames, that's when you know shit's getting real and everything that happens after that is great

BEST LINE

"Come with me if you want to live"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

100%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"With its impressive action sequences, taut economic direction, and relentlessly fast pace, it's clear why The Terminator continues to be an influence on sci-fi and action flicks."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"A cyborg assassin from the future attempts to find and kill a young woman who is destined to give birth to a warrior that will lead a resistance to save humankind from extinction."

DIRECTOR

James Cameron

MAIN CAST

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Paul Winfield, Lance Henriksen

THOUGHTS

• I didn't mention this when I reviewed it, possibly because I didn't realize it, but Terminator 2: Judgment Day is the only sequel on the AFI list (unless you count Goldfinger, and I don't, really; that's more of a franchise entry and less of a direct sequel to anything that came before it). That also means that T1 and T2 are the only example of multiple movies from the same franchise being on the AFI list without me adding them myself
• I don't want to spend the whole review comparing the two movies, so I'll get it out of the way early. I prefer T2, which I gave a 10/10. They are different flavours of movie, though. T2 is more rip-roaring action while The Terminator is more of a sci-fi horror/slasher so, depending on what you're in the mood for or what genre of movie is more likely to thrill you, your mileage may vary for which one you prefer
• When it comes to sequels and franchises I tend to give the edge to the first in a series - usually more novel and original and often more likely to have a lot of the filmmaker's best ideas. In this case, though, part of my enjoyment in watching this movie came from seeing how it enhances the sequel. Linda Hamilton is very good in this as the person being pursued by the Terminator, but it's even better when we know what a total badass she'll later become. Schwarzenegger is fantastic as an unfeeling killing machine in this movie so it's a great subversion when he becomes a good guy. Even my pick for the best line, "Come with me if you want to live" - it's a great line when Kyle Reese says it to Sarah so it's also great when the Terminator says it to Sarah in the sequel to show her that he's there to protect her, not to kill her this time
• Speaking of best lines, runner-up was "You're terminated, fucker." It might seem odd that I'm not choosing probably the best-known line from the movie, "I'll be back," but I also found it kind of odd that that became the iconic line. It comes immediately before Arnold rams a car into a police station, but aside from that it's kind of unimportant as far as lines of dialogue go
• And speaking of cars, loved the car stunts in this movie. You know me, I like a good car stunt
• I liked the special effects a lot, even if they were a little janky at times, let's be honest. The fake Arnold head that was used for the eye surgery scene, for example. In no way was it convincing, but the whole thing was filmed with such sincerity that it still worked for me. Same goes for the robotic Terminator that was used in the climax
• Lots of great action sequences aside from the climax. Also worth mentioning, the shootout in the club and the Terminator's assault on the police station. It was also a very chilling moment when Sarah realizes that only people named Sarah Connor are being targeted by the Terminator's killing spree
• And believe it or not, with that we have seen the last of Arnold Schwarzenegger on the AFI list (although Predator will be coming up in the Readers' Poll movies). I was fully planning on just leaving it at that until I looked up Arnold's filmography while watching The Terminator and realized how early it was in his body of work. Then I saw that The Terminator came right after another movie I'd never seen and I made the call to add one more Schwarzenegger movie before moving on. So...

Up next: Conan the Barbarian from 1982 (but I probably won't bother with its sequel, Conan the Destroyer, even though that one came out only 4 months before The Terminator)

#43: THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

1

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, but not as an adult, so probably about 30 years ago

BEST SEQUENCE

The moment when Dorothy exits the house is still pretty wonderful, when everything changes from black and white to colour

BEST LINE

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

98%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"An absolute masterpiece whose groundbreaking visuals and deft storytelling are still every bit as resonant, The Wizard of Oz is a must-see film for young and old."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"Young Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others' wishes."

DIRECTOR

Victor Fleming

MAIN CAST

Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Margaret Hamilton, Frank Morgan

THOUGHTS

• Well, to the surprise of nobody, an MGM musical from 1939, primarily aimed at kids, is the least thrilling movie that I've reviewed so far, and I will be shocked if anything else challenges it for the title
• I am purposefully giving it 1/10 instead of 0, though, because there are still some thrills to be found, even if they're on the milder side. I thought the tornado effect was really quite convincing, Margaret Hamilton is delightfully evil as the Wicked Witch of the West, and there are other spooky little parts like the trees that throw apples at Dorothy and the Scarecrow, or the attack of the flying monkeys
• And of course, it's only fair to say that a kid might find this way more thrilling and scary, and I might even have found it more heart-pounding if I were watching it for the first time
• I watched a lot of old musicals growing up, and I never really considered The Wizard of Oz to be in the same category, even though it definitely is a musical. Rewatching it this time, I think this is because a lot of the singing and dancing in The Wizard of Oz is based around character and comedy, not so much on sounding nice or looking good. Bert Lahr sounds funny when he's singing as the Cowardly Lion, but he's not really pleasant to listen to. Same goes for the whole Munchkinland sequence. And for the Tin Man's dance sequence, sure, that's how a man made out of tin would probably dance, but it doesn't have the same appeal as a Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire performance
• No issues whatsoever with "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," of course, still a beautiful song. And I loved Ray Bolger's physicality as the Scarecrow. Bolger and Judy Garland reunited 7 years later on a movie called The Harvey Girls, and if you want to see more of him dancing, check out this video
• Loved the costuming and makeup, especially for the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. And I also loved the backdrops which give the whole movie a very storybook feel
• And that's The Wizard of Oz! I had fun rewatching it, but to be honest I've never really had a soft spot in my heart for it, and I'd definitely be open to arguments for why it might deserve a higher score on the ol' Thrill Scale

Up next: After a couple of more family-friendly movies, we're back to one that definitely wasn't intended for kids. And it's a movie with a sequel that I've already reviewed (glowingly). The Terminator, from 1984. I have seen it before, but I don't remember much about it, and we'll see how it compares to T2: Judgment Day

#44: E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

2.5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, a number of times as a kid, and I believe once as an adult, but even that one time was over ten years ago

BEST SEQUENCE

The first time E.T. makes Elliott's bike fly. It's a truly iconic piece of movie magic, especially the shot of them flying past the full moon. It's no wonder that it was used as the logo for Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment company

BEST LINE

"E.T. phone home" (obviously)

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

99%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Playing as both an exciting sci-fi adventure and a remarkable portrait of childhood, Steven Spielberg's touching tale of a homesick alien remains a piece of movie magic for young and old."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"A troubled child summons the courage to help a friendly alien escape from Earth and return to his home planet."

DIRECTOR

Steven Spielberg

MAIN CAST

Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, Dee Wallace, Peter Coyote

THOUGHTS

• When I first decided to review the American Film Institute's list of the 100 most thrilling movies ever made, looking through the list there were a few movies that gave me pause, and E.T. was certainly one of them. Just from my memories of watching E.T. in the past, "thrilling" definitely wasn't an adjective that I would have used. I went into this with a pretty open mind, hoping there might be some exciting stuff that I had forgotten, or that the emotional impact of the movie would thrill in a different way. However, while it's a perfectly nice little movie, thrilling it ain't (but for the record, the actual scariest/most thrilling part is probably when all the people in space suits enter the house)
• I do wonder if it might have had a bigger effect on me if I was watching it for the first time. A few parts I didn't even really remember, like the moment when E.T. seemingly dies, but I knew how the movie ended so there wasn't much suspense to be found there. The shot of the flowers rejuvenating was a really nice touch and hit me right in the feels
• I've developed a reputation as a bit of a curmudgeon while writing these reviews, mostly because a lot of the child actors in these movies have bugged the hell out of me. Fortunately Steven Spielberg is known as a great director of children, and that is absolutely the case here. The main trio of child actors are all great, including teensy little Drew Barrymore as Gertie and Robert MacNaughton as the older brother Michael, and Henry Thomas is fantastic as Elliott, anchoring the whole movie and playing a kid who we immediately care about and relate to. It's also good to see Henry Thomas still popping up in movies and shows, especially his work with Mike Flanagan in things like The Haunting of Hill House and Gerald's Game. And by the way, the runner-up for best line of the movie is when Elliott calls his brother "penis breath," especially because of Dee Wallace's genuine and hilarious reaction to it as their mother
• Also, if you haven't seen Henry Thomas's audition for this movie, you definitely should
• A movie like E.T. really demonstrates how important John Williams' music is for Spielberg's movies. It's hard to imagine E.T. without the music, and the score influences your emotions in all the right ways. We'll be talking about the Spielberg/Williams connection several more times considering Williams scored all but five of Spielberg's movies (and retroactively, yes, his work on Saving Private Ryan was also excellent)
• Especially watching it 40 years later, I do find it fascinating to think about how absolutely enormous this movie was, and this may even be shocking to some of you. Upon its release, E.T. set the record for the highest-grossing film of all time, a record that Steven Spielberg achieved with three different movies - aside from E.T., also Jaws in 1976 and Jurassic Park in 1993, both of which we'll be talking about eventually, and E.T. held the record for the whole decade until Jurassic Park was released. As well, E.T. won the title of highest-grossing movie after making more money than another movie we'll be talking about eventually, Star Wars, which is additionally interesting because Star Wars and its sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, are referenced several times in E.T. itself, including a kid in a Yoda costume and Elliott showing E.T. his Star Wars action figures
• Finally, I typically enjoy snacks and a drink or two while watching these movies, and it's always nice when I can have something on theme. Much like how I made myself a dry gin martini while watching all the James Bond movies, while watching E.T. I assembled a meal fit for an alien: Reese's Pieces and Coors Banquet (known as Coors Original in Canada)

Up next: I mentioned that there were some movies that gave me pause when I saw that they were considered thrilling, and this is the case for the next movie even more so than E.T. Again, a very important movie, but thrilling? We shall see. It's The Wizard of Oz from 1939

#45: SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

8.5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, but just once, more than 20 years ago in high school

BEST SEQUENCE

It probably wouldn't surprise you to hear that I expected the opening D-Day sequence to be the most effective part of the movie, but the final battle of the bridge is also extremely gripping, more so than I even remembered, so it's a tie between the first part of the movie and the last part

BEST LINE

"I just know that every man I kill the farther away from home I feel"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

94%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Anchored by another winning performance from Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg's unflinchingly realistic war film virtually redefines the genre."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action."

DIRECTOR

Steven Spielberg

MAIN CAST

Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore, Jeremy Davies, Vin Diesel, Adam Goldberg, Barry Pepper, Giovanni Ribisi, Matt Damon

THOUGHTS

• Revolutionary in the war film genre for the level of unflinching realism Spielberg achieved, and the intense feeling of being placed right in the midst of the horrors of war. As per usual with war movies, it feels a little odd to describe it as thrilling, but it certainly is visceral, gripping and harrowing
• Tom Hanks is excellent as Captain Miller, but the whole cast is really great. Giovanni Ribisi is probably my favourite of the main group, and his death hit me the hardest. It's also interesting to see the actors who were cast in smaller roles, only showing up for a scene or two. Some of these actors were already fairly well established, people like Ted Danson and Dennis Farina, but some of these actors were not even close to the level of fame they would eventually achieve, people like Paul Giamatti and Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle didn't even debut until two years later)
• And of course, you've got Private Ryan himself, Matt Damon. Funnily enough, Spielberg cast Damon because he wanted a complete unknown in the part, but in between the filming of Saving Private Ryan and its release, Good Will Hunting came out, ultimately winning Damon an Oscar alongside Ben Affleck and completely ruining Spielberg's intentions to have a nondescript, all-American James Ryan
• Speaking of the Oscars, Saving Private Ryan won Spielberg his second Best Director trophy after Schindler's List, and also his most recent one to date. However this was also one of the most controversial Best Picture decisions when Private Ryan lost to Shakespeare in Love (and I would say that Tom Hanks losing to Roberto Benigni for Life is Beautiful was also fairly controversial). I have also seen Shakespeare in Love, but also a very long time ago, probably around the same time I saw Private Ryan, in fact. Maybe I'll give Shakespeare in Love a rewatch to decide which movie I prefer of the two, but I certainly think Saving Private Ryan had loftier ambitions with the story it told

Up next: Coincidentally we're sticking with Spielberg, but with a very different flavour. From 1982, it's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

#46: CARRIE (1976)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

10

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, many times. I couldn't even tell you when the first time was but it was probably one of my earliest horror movies (I also couldn't tell you if I saw the movie before I read the book as it was also one of my earliest horror novels)

BEST SEQUENCE

OK, so the obvious answer is the prom night massacre. If that's your pick, I have absolutely no problem with that. It's terrifying and it's impeccably filmed and performed. However, for me, the part that chills me to my core is when Carrie returns home afterwards to find the entire house lit up with candles. Full-body shivers, and the shot of Carrie's mother standing and waiting behind the bathroom door had me checking behind doors for a good long while.

BEST LINE

"I can see your dirty pillows. Everyone will."

"Breasts, Mama. They're called breasts. And every woman has them."

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

94%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Carrie is a horrifying look at supernatural powers, high school cruelty, and teen angst -- and it brings us one of the most memorable and disturbing prom scenes in history."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"Carrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom."

DIRECTOR

Brian De Palma

MAIN CAST

Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, William Katt, Nancy Allen, John Travolta, Betty Buckley, P. J. Soles

THOUGHTS

• There may be some who are surprised by the perfect 10/10 score I'm giving Carrie, but I stand behind it wholeheartedly. It's true that there are some calmer stretches of the movie, but I see this as patient instead of slow. There aren't many scares in the lead-up to prom night, and once Carrie and Tommy arrive at prom it's played very sincerely as we watch Carrie have the most magical night of her life, experiencing feelings she had never even come close to feeling before. The movie instills a tremendous false sense of security in us (and in Carrie), and it shows us how much Carrie's life would have been changed permanently if only things had gone a little differently that night
• But tragically, and inevitably for the punching bags of the world like Carrie White, it was not to be. When the rug is pulled out from under her, when the world reverts back to the miserable experience that she's had for her whole life, we can't help but sympathize with her, to understand the horrors she inflicts upon the world as a whole, not just those who had an active part in tormenting her that night. Because it wasn't just individuals who broke Carrie, it was society. It was existence. And when the lights switch to a violent red, or when the gym goes up in a hellish blaze directly behind her (two incredible shots from this sequence), I think we might be scared of what Carrie's doing, but we're not scared of her. Maybe just for her
• As effective as the prom night sequence is, though, it's true, the part that really sticks with me is when she returns home and finds no solace from even her mother. I also love the floaty physicality that Piper Laurie has in this scene, especially when she makes the sign of the cross with her knife. Incidentally, the way this plays out in the movie differs from the novel, in which Carrie telekinetically stops her mother's heart from beating
• Speaking of the book, it's been previously established that Stephen King is my favourite author, and without the success of this movie he might have had a very different career. Carrie was his first book published, in 1974, and the movie came just two years later. By that point King had published his second book, 'Salem's Lot, and The Shining would come out the year after. King was a big fan of Carrie the movie, at one point even saying that it was much better than his novel
• Carrie was also a rarity in horror cinema, getting some attention at the Oscars that year. Sissy Spacek was nominated for Best Actress and Piper Laurie for Best Supporting Actress. Both nominations were well deserved, especially Spacek, I think she's incredible in this. Apparently Laurie thought her character was so over the top that the movie had to be a black comedy, and De Palma even had to correct her of this notion, but I don't think this comes across in the movie. She's terrifying
• Also terrifying, the White household as a setting, especially Carrie's prayer closet and that incredibly creepy statue. I always assumed it was meant to depict Jesus, as I'm sure many people did, but it's actually a statue of Saint Sebastian, an early Christian saint and martyr who was shot with arrows (depicted in the aforementioned statue)
• 
  
  
  

• Finally, I rewatched Carrie with my wife, we had both seen it many times before, and she said something about the prom that really resonated with me: it's remarkable that even though we were watching a movie that we had seen before, even though we both knew exactly what was about to happen, and why, and how, there was still a part of us that hoped this time things would be different, the blood wouldn't spill, and Carrie would just go on to have the wonderful night that she so deeply deserved
• HAND REACHING OUT OF THE RUBBLE. Sorry. Had to hit you with one more jump scare before ending the review (one of the best jump scares ever, by the way)

Up next: Jumping from Stephen to Steven now, King to Spielberg. Spielberg is the second-most represented director on this list behind just Hitchcock but, surprisingly, this is the first of his movies we've talked about aside from his involvement on Poltergeist. From 1998, we'll be Saving Private Ryan