Top Movies 83-85 in Brief

85. “Gojira” (1954) 
The first Godzilla is still the best. And it isn’t just a giant monster movie trying to still up scares. It has a social conscious and a message for its day that still rings relevant today.

85. “Pride and Prejudice (1995) 
85. “Sense and Sensibility” (1995) 
 These two ’95 films serve as a stand in for many stuffy British dramatic period pieces. Great stories about issues that speak to more than just British people in the days when manners were everything.

85. “Muppets Most Wanted” (2014) 
A lesser film than the reboot from 2011, but still great fun. This is what we want from the Muppets, silly adventures that feel like play-acting, from the characters we have grown to love.

84. “King Kong” (1933) 
A marvel of a film. One would expect that last sentence to end with “for its day.” But it is watchable nearly 100 years later. Even more rewatchable than the remakes that came decades later and with “greater” technology.

84. “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” (1988) 
A cruelly hilarious story of two despicable con-men who get their just desserts. And we laugh along with this story every step of the way.

84. “El Orfanato” (2007) 
A scary ghost story the likes of which we have come to expect out of Del Toro, only it isn’t him. Spanish filmmakers have really developed a knack for telling compelling stories that are about something while providing genuine scares along the way. The [Rec] movies almost made this list, but they are a little too much scare with less story. (But still amazing.)

83. “The Shakiest Gun in the West” (1968) 
This is my favorite Don Knotts movie. Eminently rewatchable.

83. “Frighteners” (1996) 
Before Lord of the Rings, and all of the really long movies in need of editing, Peter Jackson had some original, creative, disturbing stuff out there. This was the most mainstream, but it is still wildly crazy!

83. “Tucker and Dale vs. Evil” (2010) 
I love genre movies that go against convention or that turn expectations on their head. This one certainly does that. Check your preconceptions in at the door. (Except for the ones that say that fraternities are full of jerks.)

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