100 Incredible Films (Volume 2 ~ #s 90-81)

Welcome To My World.

A world where movies don't have to suck all the time.

A world where films could even be seen multiple times and you'd still get new things to enjoy about them.

My motivation is simple. To make you trust me and my tastes in films regardless of the genre. This is designed to show off not only my knowledge of incredible little-known films but to enhance YOUR queue at Netflix as well. Every movie on this list is a bona fide "knock you on your ass and make you call your friends about it" movie. HOWEVER, I'm not gonna waste any time telling you about stuff you already know like I did with our 100 Funniest Movies list.

If you don't already know about Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark or The Godfather then you need more help than I can provide. I also won't be profiling movies that millions of other people are already obsessing over like Taxi Driver or A Clockwork Orange. My job is to inform, not rehash.

Every installment of this series will feature different genres and visual styles so that no matter what, you'll always have something to look forward to.

2 Days in the Valley is a crazy movie that I watch every couple of years or so. It is just so different than the average crime comedy caper film. It is so many different films wrapped in one. Maybe that is a flaw but it never seems to bother me. It gives us a chance to see some different actors too. Charlize Theron was nobody when she did this femme-fatale role complete with nudity and blood. People took notice of her soon after. Teri Hatcher is also really hot is this movie too. It has a sick sense of humor and I like that.

For all you lovers of Dangerous Minds or The Freedom Writers comes the original version of those films, Lean On Me. Morgan Freeman will blow you away no matter how many times you watch it on cable. His "Crazy Joe' Clark of Eastside High is one if the finest performances in his distinguished career. Robert Guillaume a/k/a Benson also is suprisingly good as the man who reins in the principal when necessary because contrary to popular opinion around he's the H.N.I.C." If you know this film, you're smiling.

Do you like the movie Boogie Nights? How about Magnolia? Or There Will Be Blood? If you like any of those than you understand the awesome talent that is director Paul Thomas (P.T.) Anderson. His first feature film is called Hard Eight or Sydney depending on where you live. It went largely unnoticed here in the States which is too bad because it's a con man / casino heist movie that will keep you going from beginning to end. Isn't that all we ask of our kick-ass films? Like a lot of the films on this list, Sydney's even better the second time you see it.

This is the breakthrough performance by veteran actor / activist Don Cheadle who most of us know from Hotel Rwanda. Don Cheadle's execution of his role as "Mouse", the only guy Denzel can trust who has a tendency to cause death to most people he encounters. He also has all the comic releif lines, but this one folks is a mystery. Denzel Washington is gonna play detective just to clear his own name and this one is a juicy little tale people. It is shot in that old Califonia style of filmaking, too. An A+ film that never found an audience. Til now.

This movie is a revolutionary statement that could've only been set in England because in America these types of films are frowned upon / demonized by the mainstream media and establishment before they even come out. Do you remember all the protesting over the film Dogma before shooting even began? All you need is a script and the whistleblowers are ready to pounce immediately, a mobilized force of total losers. If only they had a life and a job they wouldn't care so much, same thing goes for me though.

God bless that girl. If you have never seen this film then you have never seen her most fearlesss work of all. Her topless scene is utterly magnificent as well. Love you Momma Witherspoon! Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention this creepy role that eats up Keifer Sutherland. He is just not up to the task of acting along side her. She out-classes him and you almost get embarassed for him because he does another of those voices of his. Reese is in every heart-pounding scene! Brittany Murphy is also here and perfectly typecast as the same nutjob she 'plays' in Girl, Interrupted.

This movie still amazes me because the rest of the world was so late in finding it. It's so filled with intrigue and real drama, we are stunned to be watching a Stallone movie. James Mangold made this fantastic cop movie right before Girl, Interrupted and right after his debut Heavy. Who knew this guy was capable of so much, so quickly. His most recent success was Walk the Line a rock biopic about Johnny Cash which he followed up with a remake of 3:10 to Yuma starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale.

WOLVERINES!!! Every child of the eighties fell head over heels in love with this cold-war teenage-adventure flick. The Russians have invaded the US with the aid of Cuba and now it's up to a band of teenagers to bring them down? LOL! That's the story and I'm sticking to it. Patrick Swayze, (every teens older brother) plays the mentor and veteran of the group, while C. Thomas Howell emerges as the cold-blooded killer. Betcha didn't see that coming?

The poster above is so perfect for this film because it's a live action movie that feels like a cartoon or a comic book. There is so much great stuff packed into it that I don't wanna spoil any of it. All you need to know is that if you haven't seen it yet, you are freakin lame and the only cure is to "come out and play." The gang of falsely accused thugs must try to get back to their home turf of Coney Island before being picked off by every gang in the city. A pitch-perfect 70s movie that we watch over and over again.

Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run is a human video game in every way possible. It has a fun soundtrack that keeps the pace of the game going, and of course like with all good video games, you get three lives. Three chances to get it right and win! Lola (Franka Potente) has just 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 Deutschmarks to save the life of her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu). Can she do it and if so at what cost? Her father's trust, her own life? A must-see 90s movie.

100) Romeo Is Bleeding (1993 - Gary Oldman, Lena Olin)

99) Victory (1981 - Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine)

98) Bad Boys (1983 - Sean Penn, Esai Morales)

97) Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993 - Ben Kingsley, Laurence Fishburne)

96) The Last House On The Left (1972 - Wes Craven's Debut)

95) Citizen Ruth (1996 - Laura Dern, Swoozie Kurtz)

94) This Boy's Life (1993 - Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro, Ellen Barkin)

93) Three Kings (1999 - George Clooney, Mark Walhberg, Ice Cube, Spike Jonze)

92) Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989 - James Spader, Andie MacDowell)

91) Kalifornia (1993 - Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis, David Duchovny)

90) 2 Days in the Valley (1996 - Charlize Theron, Eric Stoltz, Danny Aiello, Glenne Headley)

89) Lean On Me (1989 - Morgan Freeman, Robert Guillaume)

88) Hard Eight (1996 - Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow)

87) Devil in a Blue Dress (1995 - Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, Jennifer Beals)

86) V for Vendetta (2005 - Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving)

85) Freeway (1996 - Reese Witherspoon, Keifer Sutherland, Brittany Murphy)

84) Cop Land (1997 - Sylvester Stallone, Robert DeNiro, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta)

83) Red Dawn (1984 - Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Charlie Sheen)

82) The Warriors (1979 - New York Street Gang Clasic by Walter Hill)

81) Run Lola Run (1998 - Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu)

and we have only just begun.

there are plenty more classics still to come...