Top 100 Films: 40-31

First, I have to say, I apologize for taking so long to update this list. Alright, now that all three of you out there who were actually waiting have been allayed, here is the next installment.

40. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008, dir. David Fincher)
I know this will seem like a controversial pick. Many people don't like this film, and a part of me understands why. It's not a conventional film, and I don't mean that condescendingly. David Fincher's epic follows the life of the backward aging Benjamin Button (played by Brad Pitt, who is magnificent in this performance) from birth to death. We see Benjamin experience his life in a profoundly unique way, and I personally found his struggle to live and love to be wonderfully moving. In addition, I think this film is one of the most superbly expressed and artful films of the last decade. David Fincher's direction is astounding.

39. Raging Bull (1980, dir. Martin Scorcese)
With all due respect to Robert Redford, his 1980 film Ordinary People, a sincere and emotionally affecting drama in its own right, should not have won best picture, and the reason is simple: Raging Bull was nominated. Martin Scorcese's film stands as one of the most powerful, complex, and gut-wrenching portraits of a flawed human being in cinema history.

38. Groundhog Day (1993, dir. Harold Ramis)
Is #38 too high for a mid-nineties comedy starring Bill Murray? If we're talking about Larger Than Life (1996), than the answer is yes; however, if we're talking Harold Ramis's ingeniusly hilarious Groundhog Day, then no. In this maniacally original film, Bill Murrary gives one of the most poignant-and perfect-performances of his career.

37. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989, dir. Woody Allen)
Put simply, before there was Matchpoint, which was lauded by critics, there was Crimes and Misdemeanors, Woody Allen's more incisive precursor. This is a truly unique film that progresses along two radically different story lines: in one, an optometrist played by Martin Landau (in one of the best performances of his career) struggles to protect his reputation when his mistress threatens to reveal their relationship; in the other, a struggling documentary filmmaker (Woody Allen) languishing in a failing marriage must compromise his creative ethics when he's forced to take a job from his brother. Both stories are immensely compelling but that Woody Allen is weave them together as seamlessly and potently as he does is remarkable. This is one of Woody Allen's best films.

36. Apocalypse Now (1979, dir. Francis Ford Coppola)
When I said that Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987) was possibly the most acute portrait of men in combat in film, I wasn't lying, but Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now may be the most searingly vivid and surreal vision of war ever presented.

35. Star Wars: A New Hope (1977, dir. George Lucas)
Whenever I come across Episode 1, 2, 3 (and trust me, I try to come across as seldomly as possible) I ask myself, "How did George Lucas get so much right in a New Hope and so much wrong in the newer films. One thing that comes to mind is actors. Overall, there are simply better actors in Episode 4 (Alec Guiness, Harrison Ford, and, yes, even Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, who perform admirably). But that doesn't stand up. No one can argue that Liam Neeson, Ewen McGregor, Natalie Portman, Samuel Jackson, and even a focused Hayden Christianson (his performance in Shattered Glass is very good) can give good performances. More and more, it seems that the answer is George Lucas himself. I think it's fairly obvious that when it came to certain aspects of the newer films, namely the writing, acting, and direction, George Lucas just did not try. But A New Hope was a different story. He actually tried, and in doing so crafted one of the most brilliant and enduring fantasy films of all time. I don't think I'm alone when I say I love this movie.

34. Pulp Fiction (1994, dir. Quentin Tarantino)
Seeing Inglorious Basterds this summer helped crystalize for me that I am not a perpetual fan of Quentin Tarantino. To put it mildly, I strongly disliked Inglorious Basterds, and truthfully I've found Tarantino's work since Pulp Fiction to be inconsistent. But Quentin Tarantino's first films are purely amazing. Pulp Fiction, in particular, is as bold, innovative, and stunningly realized as anything ever made.

33. Alien (1979, dir. Ridley Scott)
Ridley Scott is another filmmaker I'm not perenially fond of. I think he has made two great films (Blade Runner, Alien), some undeniably good films (American Gangster, Kingdom of Heaven, Blackhawk Down, Gladiator), and some bad films (Someone to Watch Over Me, Black Rain, White Squall, G.I. Jane, Hannibal, A Good Year). I think his most compelling feature is Alien (Blade Runner is spectacular but at times pulled down by the weight of its own abstractions). This 1979 film is one of the most visceral and brilliantly stylized horror films of all time and stands as a benchmark in the genre.

32. The Constant Gardener (2005, dir. Fernando Meirelles)
It must surprise some to see The Constant Gardener ranked above the wildly acclaimed City of God (2003), but I truthfully think it's better. In fact, I think Fernando Meirelles is one of the most important filmmakers working today. I've been moved by everything he's done (including the unfairly overlooked Blindness), but none moreso than The Constant Gardener, a gritty, vibrantly real, and emotionally powerful examination of human exploitation in Africa. In my opinion, Ralph Fiennes performance as Justin Quayle, a British diplomat seeking to unravel the mystery of wife's murder, is one of the five best film performances of all time. Period.

31. Goodfellas (1990, dir. Martin Scorcese)
I'll keep on my comments on Martin Scorese's remarkable mafia epic brief, and simply say this: Goodfellas is the definitive mob film in cinema, and I say this with full knowledge of the films it is competing with (Godfather 1 and 2, anyone?).