Featuring Matt Anderson and Ben De Bono
In this episode, we discuss a list of movies that got votes towards our Countdown, but didn’t crack the Top 100.
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Episode 415: Top 100 Sci-Fi Movies Countdown: Runners Up: Part 2
November 24, 2015- Categories: Countdowns,
- Podcast
I didn’t want my ballot filled with too many superhero movies, so I intentionally left a few out, thinking surely they’d get voted on by enough others. I now kind of regret doing that, because it’s a shame to see several of them not getting enough points for the Top 100.
Under a different voting method I could possibly have voted for X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Spider-Man 2, and The Amazing Spider-Man *1* (*not 2*). I don’t think I would have voted for Thor, Batman, or Spider-Man 1, but they’re still respectable. I don’t dislike any of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, so even with Thor near the bottom of my MCU ranking, I still like it. Spider-Man 1 is in the middle of the pack for me, not as good as Sam Raimi’s 2nd or Amazing Spider-Man 1 but still better than Sam Raimi’s 3rd or Amazing Spider-Man 2. Batman from 1989 feels dated now but is still the only good Batman movie of the pre-Nolan era.
I’m not a huge Harry Potter fan, but Prisoner of Azkaban is very respectable, probably one of the best two or three movies of the series. If any of them had made it into the Top 100, it should have been this one or The Order of the Phoenix.
I guess I was the only other one to give a half point to The Adjustment Bureau. On top of the intriguing story, I was also very impressed by the instant and believable chemistry between the lead roles played by Matt Damon and Emily Blunt.
I also had Ender’s Game among my Honorable Mentions. It was not as good as the novel overall, but it was still great to see Battle School brought to life.
And, I know this may horrify some people, but Back to the Future 3 was actually #5 on my ballot. It’s my favorite of the trilogy and is one of the most addictive and rewatchable movies I know. Any time I find it by accident on cable, no matter how far into the movie it is, my productivity is pretty much shot. Whatever else I was planning to do just then…never mind; I’m watching Back to the Future 3 instead.
Hi, Todd! I agree with you about “Azkaban” – I think it’s the best of the Potter films by far, because Alfonso Cuaron, the director, was given some room to put his own stamp on the material and didn’t stick as slavishly to it as most of the other movies did.
I’d love to hear you say more about your fondness for BTTF 3. I’m not horrified to hear you say it’s your favorite, but I am surprised! What do you find so compelling about it?
Matt, I agree that “Signs” is a great film. I’m not sure it would get my nod for Shyamalan’s best – I’d probably give that to “Unbreakable” (“Ben is right!”) – but I sure liked it at the time. I need to rewatch it it to see if it still holds up.
I think you are both right about “Ender’s Game.” It wasn’t very engaging, the characters felt flat; the special effects were good, but it was overall pretty forgettable. Stick with the book.
A little unnecessarily violent imagery to describe your reaction to “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” there, Ben….! Yikes. It’s going to drive people to suicide? Really? Really?!?
You *must* watch “Time After Time!” It’s fantastic! Dated, but fantastic. Not only is McDowell good as Wells, but David Warner is way creepy as the Ripper.