Top Movies 71-73 in Brief

73. “Duck Soup” (1933) 
Today, more than ever, this film is a welcome reminder of how silly politics, power, and demagogues can be. If we’ve lost the ability to responsibly handle the republic, we might as well laugh and be entertained by the silliness.

73. “My Neighbor Totoro” (1988) 
The animation from Miyazaki is so original and beautiful and, even bizarre, I have to have a couple of his films on my lists. That said, I don’t like all of his stuff. This one is my favorite plot of his. It is cool to see a kids’ story deal with heavy life issues.

73. “Monster House” (2006) 
This little story is one of those stories aimed at children that is scary and doesn’t pull too many punches. I love stories that deal with characters knowing a truth that the confirmation bias around them can’t see. I also love stories where we discover a person’s perspective and motivation we’re misinterpreted all along. This one delivers both.

72. “It Happened One Night” (1934) 
If you are going to watch a romantic comedy, you can’t do much better than to go back to this early one from one of the truly great American directors.

72. “Beetlejuice” (1988) 
Once again, a story arguably aimed at kids (and kids at heart) that is creepy, dark, and deals with heavy issues. Tim Burton’s early work is amongst the best on film.

72. “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (2008) 
72. “Hellboy” (2004) 
The world building and artistic design of these stories is exhibit one for why I have tended to seek out Del Toro’s work. And why I am sad when he drops out of projects. His Hobbit would have been fun to see. This isn’t the extent—or even the best—of his fantasy storytelling, but it is great.

71. “Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948) 
Classic Universal Monsters were just about played out when they were thrown into the embarrassment of comedic parody. But, in this case that is the fresh take that the material needed.

71. “Silverado” (1985) 
This is the film that convinced me that, yes, the western is a genre worth exploring.

71. “Shadow of the Vampire” (2000) 
This somewhat unknown independent film is an alternate take on the “history” of another great film, “Nosferatu.” The exploration of filmmaking is fascinating, but the fantasy speculation is even more intriguing.

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