50. The Prestige (2006)

Two stage magicians engage in competitive one-upmanship in an attempt to create the ultimate stage illusion.

Director:

 Christopher Nolan

Writers:

 Jonathan Nolan (screenplay), Christopher Nolan(screenplay)

Cast:

Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine etc.

Story:

Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) begin their illusionist careers as shills for "Milton the Magician". John Cutter (Michael Caine) works as Milton's ingénieur (stage engineer) and Angier's wife Julia (Piper Perabo) as Milton's assistant. Milton's most famous trick is to have Julia escaping from a water tank. In one performance, with Julia's consent, Borden ties her hand with a more difficult knot; she fails to undo it in time and drowns in the tank. Angier blames Borden for his wife's death and holds a grudge from then onwards.

The two go on to launch separate careers. Borden becomes "The Professor", hires a mute and mysterious man named Bernard Fallon as his ingénieur and starts a relationship with Sarah (Rebecca Hall), a woman he meets when performing, eventually marrying her. Angier becomes "The Great Danton", assisted by Olivia Wenscombe (Scarlett Johansson) and Cutter. Angier attempts to kill Borden in his bullet catch trick, shooting off two of his fingers. Borden retaliates by sabotaging Angier's bird cage act, killing the bird and maiming an audience member in front of the theater. This move severely damages Angier's reputation.

Sarah becomes pregnant and gives birth to a daughter, Jess. However, she becomes increasingly disturbed because of Borden's apparently fickle and contradictory nature. Sometimes, he is the man who truly loves her; at other times, he is emotionally distant. Borden's refusal to explain this duality leads her to depression, alcoholism and eventually suicide.

Borden begins performing the wildly successful The Transported Man trick. He enters one cabinet and exits another across the stage, seemingly having been transported across the entire length of the stage in just one second. Cutter insists that Borden uses a double to perform the trick, but Angier and Olivia disagree, pointing out that "both men" miss two fingers on one hand. Unable to figure out the trick, Angier reluctantly uses a double to perform The New Transported Man, but becomes frustrated when he has to hear the audience's applause from below the stage. He sends Olivia to discover his rival’s secret but, while she does give Angier Borden's encrypted diary, she falls for Borden. Borden then sabotages Angier's show, publicly humiliating him and also crippling his leg. Afterwards, with Olivia as his assistant, Borden's performances become more elaborate and successful.

Angered and desperate for answers, Angier kidnaps Fallon and forces Borden to give up the keyword to the diary to get Fallon back. Conceding to him that the keyword is "Tesla", Borden leads Angier to believe that he uses an invention of scientist Nikola Tesla (David Bowie) for his trick, an invention that actually teleports Borden across the stage. Angier travels to America and convinces Tesla to create a teleporter for him also. Whilst in America, Angier finally deciphers Borden's diary, only discovering it to be a fraud that Borden had Olivia dupe him with; in it Borden reveals that Tesla has nothing to do with how he accomplishes his act and is simply the keyword. Tesla admits to having built no such device for Borden, but has managed to build a transporting machine for Angier. The machine, however, has one unexpected and shocking side effect: it also creates an exact duplicate of whatever is placed inside it. Tesla departs but advises Angier to destroy the machine.

Angier electrifies audiences with The Real Transported Man, seemingly vanishing within the machine but then reappearing at the back of the hall. Baffled by the fact that the man appearing across the hall is indeed Angier, one night Borden sneaks backstage to find his secret, only to witness Angier drowning in a water tank below the machine, and no other Angier in sight. Cutter becomes convinced that Borden is responsible for Angier's drowning and the trick going wrong. Cutter testifies against Borden in court, and Borden is sentenced to death. On death row, Borden is visited by the agent of a Lord Caldlow, who offers to care for Jess in exchange for the secrets of his tricks. Borden reluctantly agrees. When Lord Caldlow shows up with Jess, Borden recognizes him as Angier. Baffled by the returned duplicate, Borden begs for his life, but Angier ignores Borden's pleas and leaves him to his demise. Borden is hanged and dies.

After learning that Caldlow has bought the machine, Cutter visits him to plead for its destruction only to find to his disgust that Caldlow is Angier, and he is still alive. Along with Angier, he delivers the machine to Caldlow's private theater. There he discovers numerous water tanks containing the duplicates of Angier that drowned each night of the performance before Borden intervened. Disgusted by Angier's elaborate plan to destroy and kill Borden, Cutter leaves, inviting another man to enter. The man fatally shoots Angier, and reveals himself as Borden.

Angier realises that "Alfred Borden" was actually an identity assumed by twin brothers, Albert and Frederick. They took turns being Borden and Fallon, each living half of Alfred's life to prepare for their "Transported Man" trick (with one twin cutting off the fingers the other lost to preserve the illusion). Albert, the calm and soft-spoken one, loved Sarah while Frederick, the hot-headed and loudmouthed one, had a relationship with Olivia. Frederick, going against Albert's wishes, went to investigate Angier's trick, thus leading him into Angier's trap. Although dying, Angier justifies his actions to Albert as having been worthwhile, since he feels that getting the audiences to suspend their disbelief during his act, even if only for moments, was the ultimate goal. Finally, he collapses backwards, toppling his lamp and setting light to the theater. Albert goes to pick up Jess at Cutter's workshop, exchanges a silent goodbye with Cutter and leaves.

A final flashback scene shows Albert looking around hesitantly at Angier's water tanks as he leaves the theater, while Cutter narrates that we, the audience, never want to confront the truth to magic, instead we want to be fooled. The final shot is of one of Angier's drowned clones in a tank of water.

Read more »

IMDB TOP 100,

49. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

An insane general triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically try to stop.

Director:

 Stanley Kubrick

Writers:

 Stanley Kubrick (screenplay), Terry Southern(screenplay)

Screenplay by

Stanley Kubrick
Terry Southern
Peter George

Review:

United States Air Force Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) is commander of Burpelson Air Force Base, which houses the Strategic Air Command 843rd Bomb Wing, equipped with B-52 bombers. The 843rd is currently in-flight on airborne alert, a few hours from the Soviet border.

General Ripper orders his executive officer, Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (Peter Sellers) of the UK Royal Air Force, to put the base on alert. Ripper also issues "Wing Attack Plan R" to the patrolling aircraft, one of which is commanded by Major T. J. "King" Kong (Slim Pickens). All of the aircraft commence an attack flight on Russia and set their radios to allow communications only through the CRM 114discriminator, which is programmed to accept only communications preceded by a secret three-letter code known only to General Ripper.

Mandrake discovers that no war order has been issued by the Pentagon and tries to stop Ripper, who locks them both in his office. Ripper tells Mandrake that he believes the Soviets have been using fluoridation of United States water supplies to pollute the "precious bodily fluids" of Americans; Mandrake now realizes that Ripper is insane.

At the Pentagon, General Buck Turgidson (George C. Scott) briefs President Merkin Muffley (also Peter Sellers) and other officers and aides about the attack in the "War Room". President Muffley is shocked to learn that such orders could be given without his authorization, but Turgidson reminds him that Plan R, enabling a senior officer to launch a strike against the Soviets if all superiors have been killed in a first strike on Washington, DC, allows such an action.


Turgidson reports that his men are trying every possible three-letter CRM code to issue the stand-down order, but that could take over two days and the planes are due to reach their targets in about an hour. Muffley orders the Army chief to storm the base and arrest General Ripper.

Turgidson attempts to convince Muffley to let the attack continue and use the element of surprise to annihilate the Soviet military altogether before they can strike back; Muffley, however, refuses to be party to a nuclear first strike. Instead, he brings Soviet ambassador Alexei de Sadeski (Peter Bull) into the War Room, to telephone Soviet premier Dimitri Kissov on the "hot line". Muffley warns the Premier of the impending attack and offers to reveal the planes' positions and targets so the Russians can protect themselves.

After a heated discussion in Russian with the Premier, the ambassador informs President Muffley that the Soviet Union has created a doomsday device, which consists of many buried bombs jacketed with "Cobalt-Thorium G" connected to a computer network set to detonate them automatically should any nuclear attack strike the country. Within two months after detonation, the Cobalt-Thorium G would encircle the earth in a radioactive cloud, wiping out all human and animal life, rendering the surface of the earth uninhabitable for 93 years. The device cannot be dismantled or "untriggered", as it is programmed to explode if any such attempt is made.

When the President's wheelchair-bound scientific advisor, former Nazi Dr. Strangelove (again, Peter Sellers), points out that such a doomsday device would only be an effective deterrent if everyone knew about it, de Sadeski replies that the Russian Premier had planned to reveal its existence to the world the following week (on the leader's birthday).

Meanwhile, United States Army forces arrive at Burpelson, which is still sealed by General Ripper's order. A bloody battle ensues, and the Army forces eventually take over the base. Ripper kills himself, fearing he will be tortured into revealing the recall code. A soldier named Colonel "Bat" Guano (Keenan Wynn) forces his way into Ripper's office, where Mandrake identifies Ripper's CRM code from his desk blotter ("OPE," a variant of both Peace on Earth and Purity of Essence).

Mandrake relays this code to the Pentagon with difficulty via payphone, the only working method of communication. Using the recall code, SAC successfully recalls most of the aircraft; however, Muffley learns that a surface-to-air missile has ruptured the fuel tank of Major Kong's plane and destroyed its communications device, making it impossible to recall this particular plane even with the correct recall code.

Muffley tells the Soviets the plane's target to help them find it but does not realize that because of the shortened range of the crippled aircraft, Major Kong has selected a closer target. As the plane approaches the new target, the crew is unable to open the damaged bomb bay doors. Major Kong crimps broken electric wiring, whereupon the doors open. With Kong straddling it, the nuclear bomb falls and detonates, triggering the doomsday machine.

Dr. Strangelove recommends that the President gather several hundred thousand people to live in deep mineshafts where the radiation will not penetrate. He suggests a 10:1 female-to-male ratio for a breeding program to repopulate the Earth when the radiation has subsided. Turgidson, worried that the Soviets will do the same, warns about a "mineshaft gap" when the wheelchair-bound Strangelove suddenly stands and says, "Mein Führer, I can walk!" The film then cuts to a montage of nuclear detonations, accompanied by Vera Lynn's recording of "We'll Meet Again".

Read more »

IMDB TOP 100,

48. Apocalypse Now (1979)

During the Vietnam War, Captain Willard is sent on a dangerous mission into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade colonel who has set himself up as a god among a local tribe.

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola (as Francis Coppola)

Writers:

John Milius, Francis Ford Coppola

Stars:

Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall 

Review:

In 1969, during the Vietnam War, Army Special Forces Colonel Walter E. Kurtz (Marlon Brando) has gone insane and now commands his own Montagnard troops inside neutral Cambodia as a demi-god. Colonel Lucas (Harrison Ford) and General Corman (G.D. Spradlin), who are growing increasingly concerned with Kurtz's renegade operations assign U.S. Army Captain and special operations veteran Benjamin L. Willard (Martin Sheen) to terminate the Colonel's command with extreme prejudice.

Ambivalent about the mission, Willard joins a Navy Patrol boat, riverine (PBR) commanded by "Chief" (Albert Hall) and crewmen Lance (Sam Bottoms), "Chef" (Frederic Forrest) and "Mr. Clean" (Laurence Fishburne) to head upriver. They rendezvous with surfing enthusiast Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore (Robert Duvall), a commander of a cavalry squadron, to discuss going up the Nung river. Kilgore initially scoffs at them, but befriends Lance when he discovers he is an expert surfer and agrees to escort them through theViet Cong-held coastal mouth of the river where surfing conditions are particularly good. At dawn the helicopter raid commences. Amid the attack, Kilgore calls in a napalm sortie on the local cadres and the rivermouth is taken. Willard gathers his men to the PBR, which has been transported via helicopter, and begins the journey up river.

Tension arises between Chief and Willard as Willard believes himself to be in command of the PBR while Chief prioritizes other objectives over Willard's secret mission. Slowly making their way upriver, Willard reveals part of his mission to the Chief to assuage the Chief's concerns about why his mission should take precedence. As night falls, the PBR reaches the chaotic last US outpost on the Nùng river, the Do Long bridge. Willard and Lance enter the base seeking information on what is upriver. Unable to find anyone in command of the base, Willard orders the Chief to continue upriver as an unseen enemy launches a strike on the bridge.

The next day, Willard learns from a dispatch that another Studies and Observation Group (SOG) operative, Captain Colby (Scott Glenn), who was sent on an earlier mission identical to Willard's, had joined Kurtz. (A few days before Willard received this dispatch, Chief had told him that about six months prior to Willard's mission Chief had taken another man north of the Do Long Bridge. Chief had heard this man shot himself in the head.) Meanwhile, as the rest of the crew read letters from home, Lance pops open a purple smoke grenade for fun. It attracts the attention of an unseen enemy in the trees, and Mr. Clean is killed during the firefight. Later, in a separate attack, Chief is killed.

The PBR arrives at Kurtz's outpost, and the surviving crew members are met by an American freelance photographer (Dennis Hopper), who manically praises Kurtz's genius. As they wander through the compound they come across Colby, who stands nearly catatonic along with other US servicemen, now serving in Kurtz's renegade army. After returning to the PBR, Willard later takes Lance with him, leaving Chef behind with orders to call an airstrike on the Kurtz's compound if they do not return.

In the camp, Willard is subdued, bound and brought before Kurtz in a darkened temple. Tortured and imprisoned, Willard screams as Kurtz drops Chef's severed head into his lap. After several days, Willard is released and given the freedom of the compound. Kurtz lectures him on his theories of war, humanity and civilization while praising the ruthlessness and dedication of the Viet Cong. Kurtz discusses his family and asks that Willard tell his son about him in the event of his death.

That night, as the Montagnards ceremonially slaughter a water buffalo, Willard stealthily enters Kurtz's chamber as Kurtz is making a tape recording and attacks him with amachete. Lying mortally wounded on the ground, Kurtz, with his dying breath, whispers "...The horror... the horror...". The compound is now abuzz about something amiss in Kurtz's quarters, and seeing Willard departing the rooms with bloody machete in hand, they bow down and allow Willard to take Lance by the hand and lead him to the boat. The two of them ride away as Kurtz's final words echo eerily as the world fades to black.

 

Read more »

IMDB TOP 100,

47. Gladiator (2000)

When a Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered by an emperor's corrupt son, he comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge.

Director: Ridley Scott

Writers: David Franzoni (story), David Franzoni (screenplay) |2 more credits »

Stars: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen

Story:
In AD 180, Hispano-Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius leads the Roman army to a decisive victory against the Germanictribes near Vindobona, ending a long war on the Roman frontier and winning the favor of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Maximus, weary of battle, desires to retire to his Spanish farm estate, but the Emperor tells him that his own son and heir to the throne,Commodus, is unfit to rule and so appoints Maximus as regent to help save Rome from corruption. Before Maximus makes his decision, Commodus is confronted by his father who tells him that he will not be emperor. Burdened by grief and believing he was never valued by his father, Commodus murders him.

After mourning Marcus Aurelius' death, the new Emperor asks Maximus for his loyalty, but the general suspects foul play and refuses. Soon after, Maximus is arrested and is scheduled to be executed at dawn. Maximus manages to escape and makes the long journey to his farm on horseback, but arrives to find it burnt and his family dead, under orders of Commodus. He buries them and collapses in despair. He is then captured by slavers who take him to Zucchabar, a North African province. He is sold to a man named Proximo, who trains him as a gladiator. There he befriends two of Proximo's gladiators, a Numidian named Juba and aGerman named Hagen.

Reluctant at first, Maximus is forced to fight in local tournaments. He wins every match because of his superior military skills and traumatized indifference to death. His newfound fame and recognition is brought to Proximo's attention. Proximo reveals to Maximus that he himself was once a gladiator, and had fought well enough to have gained his freedom. He encourages Maximus to go to Rome and fight in the Colosseum, where the Emperor has organized 150 days of games to commemorate his late father. Proximo advises him to "win the crowd" to earn their respect and eventually his freedom. He could then use this leverage to possibly overthrow or kill the Emperor as part of his plan for revenge.

Maximus' first taste of gladiatorial combat in the Colosseum is depicted as a re-enactment of the Battle of Zama. With his team portrayed as Carthaginian infantry, they defy all expectations and are able (solely due to Maximus' commands) to defeat "Scipio's legionaries" who were supposed to obliterate them. A surprised and delighted Commodus comes into the arena to personally congratulate them. Maximus braces himself to kill the Emperor, but at the last moment decides against it because of the presence of Commodus' young nephew Lucius Verus. He then reveals himself to the startled Commodus and vows to have his vengeance. As the Praetorian Guard prepares to kill him, the crowd chants "Live!" repeatedly, earning their favor and showing their support. Commodus relents and leaves angrily.

Next, Maximus is pitted against the formidable Tigris of Gaul, an undefeated gladiator. After a fierce and lengthy duel which Commodus attempted to fix, Maximus is able to gain the upper hand, but spares his opponent's life despite the crowd's urging that he kill him. Angered by this action, Commodus berates him, even taunting him with harrowing details of his family's death. Undaunted, Maximus turns around and walks away. This act of defiance, along with his victory over Tigris, makes him more popular than the Emperor himself.

As Maximus is being escorted back to the gladiators' quarters, his former orderly Cicero approaches him and says that he still has the loyalty of the legions, encamped near Rome. Commodus' sister Lucilla and the chief senator Gracchus secure a meeting with Maximus, and he obtains their promise to help him escape Rome, rejoin his soldiers, topple Commodus by force, and hand power over back to the Senate. Suspicious, Commodus learns of this plot from Lucilla by threatening young Lucius, then dispatches his men to arrest and/or kill the conspirators. Gracchus is quickly apprehended, while a contingent of Praetorians is sent to Maximus' quarters. Proximo lets Maximus escape and sacrifices himself and his men (including Hagen) to gain him more time. Maximus reaches the rendezvous point but falls into a trap; Cicero is killed and Maximus is captured.

Commodus, desperate and jealous of Maximus' growing popularity, challenges him to a duel in the Colosseum. Before the fight, and unknown to the crowd, he stabs him in the side to put him at a disadvantage. During the fight, Maximus manages to evade Commodus' blows and disarm him. Commodus asks the Praetorians to give him a sword, but his request is denied. He produces a hidden stiletto, but Maximus instinctively turns the blade back into his throat, killing him.

However, Maximus succumbs to the stab wound, asking with his last words that reforms be made, his gladiator allies freed, and that Senator Gracchus be reinstated. He is then carried away for an honorable funeral as a "soldier of Rome". Later, Juba revisits the Colosseum at night, and he buries Maximus' figurines of his wife and son at the spot where he died. He promises that he will see Maximus again, "but not yet".

Read more »

IMDB TOP 100,

46. Memento (2000)

A man creates a strange system to help him remember things; so he can hunt for the murderer of his wife without his short-term memory loss being an obstacle.

Director: Christopher Nolan

Writers: Christopher Nolan (screenplay), Jonathan Nolan (short story "Memento Mori")

Stars: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano

Story:
The film starts with the Polaroid photograph of a dead man. As the sequence plays backwards the photo reverts to its undeveloped state, entering the camera before the man is shot in the head. This is followed by interspersed black-and-white and color sequences, with the black-and-white sequences taking place chronologically before the color sequences.

The black-and-white sequences begin with Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) in a motel room speaking to an unnamed telephone caller who is not shown on-screen. Leonard hasanterograde amnesia and is unable to store recent memories, the result of an attack by two men. Leonard explains that he killed the attacker who raped and strangled his wife (Jorja Fox), but a second clubbed him and escaped. The police did not accept that there was a second attacker, but Leonard believes the attacker's name is John (or possibly James), with a last name starting with G. Leonard conducts his own investigation using a system of notes, Polaroid photos, and tattoos. As an insurance investigator, Leonard recalls one Sammy Jankis (Stephen Tobolowsky), also diagnosed with the same condition. Sammy's diabetic wife (Harriet Sansom Harris), who was not sure if his condition was genuine, repeatedly requested insulin injections to try to get him to break his act. He did not and as a result she fell into a coma and died.

The color sequences are shown in reverse chronological order. In the story's chronology, Leonard gets a tattoo, based on instructions to himself, of John G's license plate. Finding a note in his clothes, he meets Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss), a bartender who resents Leonard as he wears the clothes and drives the car of her boyfriend, Jimmy. After understanding his condition, she uses it to get Leonard to drive a man named Dodd (Callum Keith Rennie) out of town and offers to run the license plate to help his investigation. Meanwhile, Leonard meets with a contact, Teddy (Joe Pantoliano). Teddy helps with Dodd, but warns him about Natalie; however, Leonard has already written on a photo of Teddy to not trust him. Natalie provides Leonard the driver's license, which shows a John Edward Gammell, Teddy's full name. Confirming Leonard's information on "John G" and his warnings, Leonard meets Teddy and drives him to an abandoned building, killing him as shown in the opening.

In the final black-and-white sequence, prompted by the caller, Leonard meets Teddy in the motel lobby. Teddy is an undercover officer and has found Leonard's "John G", Natalie’s boyfriend Jimmy Grantz (Larry Holden), and directs Leonard to the same abandoned building outside of town. When Jimmy arrives, Leonard strangles him and takes a photo of the body. As it develops the black-and-white transitions to color, thus beginning the color sequences. Leonard swaps clothes with Jimmy, hearing Jimmy whisper "Sammy". As Leonard has only told the story of Sammy to those he has met, he doubts Jimmy is the attacker. Teddy arrives and asserts that Jimmy was John G but when Leonard is not convinced, Teddy reveals that Leonard had killed the real attacker over a year ago, having helped Leonard find him. Teddy claims that since "John G" is a common name, he will continually forget, beginning his search again and that even Teddy himself has a "John G" name. Further, Teddy explains to Leonard that it was his own wife that fell into the coma from the insulin overdose as Sammy had been single. After hearing Teddy's exposition, Leonard consciously burns the photograph of Jimmy's body, drives off in Jimmy's car and has Teddy's license plate number tattooed on himself as the one of the second attacker, which will lead to the events of Teddy's death.

Read more »

IMDB TOP 100,

45. Back to the Future (1985)

A young man is accidentally sent thirty years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his friend, Dr. Emmett Brown, and must make sure his high-school-age parents unite in order to save his own existence.

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Writers: Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale

Stars: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson

Story:
Teenager Marty McFly is an aspiring musician dating girlfriend Jennifer Parker in Hill Valley, California. His father George is bullied by his supervisor, Biff Tannen, while his motherLorraine is an overweight, depressed alcoholic. While dissatisfied with Marty's relationship with Jennifer, Lorraine recalls how she met George when her father hit him with a car.

On October 26, 1985, Marty meets his scientist friend, Dr. Emmett Brown, at a shopping mall parking lot. Doc unveils a time machine built from a modified DeLorean and powered by plutonium stolen from Libyan terrorists. Doc demonstrates the navigation system with the example date of November 5, 1955: the day he conceived the machine. A moment later, the Libyans arrive and kill him. Marty escapes in the DeLorean, but inadvertently activates the time machine, and arrives in 1955 without the required plutonium.

There, Marty encounters the teenage George, who is bullied by classmate Biff. After Marty saves George from an oncoming car and is knocked unconscious, he awakens to find himself tended by an infatuated Lorraine. Marty leaves and tracks down Doc's younger self to help him return to 1985. With no plutonium, Doc explains that the only power source capable of generating the necessary 1.21 gigawatts of electricity to power the time machine is a bolt of lightning. Marty shows Doc a flyer from the future that recounts a lightning strike at the town's courthouse the coming Saturday night. Doc instructs Marty to not leave his house or interact with anyone, as he could inadvertently change the course of history and alter the future; because of this, Doc refuses to heed warnings from Marty about his death in 1985. Marty realizes that he has prevented his parents from meeting and Doc warns Marty that he will be erased from existence if he doesn't find a way to introduce George to Lorraine. Doc formulates a plan to harness the power of the lightning while Marty sets about introducing his parents, but he antagonizes Biff and his gang in the process.

When Lorraine asks Marty to the upcoming school dance, Marty plans to have George "rescue" Lorraine from Marty's inappropriate advances. The plan goes awry when a drunken Biff attempts to force himself on Lorraine. George arrives to rescue her from Marty, but finds Biff instead. George knocks out Biff and Lorraine follows George to the dance floor, where they kiss and fall in love while Marty plays music with the band. Satisfied that he has secured his future existence, Marty leaves to meet Doc.

As the storm arrives, Marty returns to the clock tower and the lightning strikes on cue, sending Marty back to October 1985. He finds that Doc is not dead, as he had listened to Marty's warnings and worn a bullet-proof vest. Doc takes Marty home and departs to 2015.

Marty awakens the next morning to find his family changed: George is a self-confident, successful author, Lorraine is physically fit and happy and Biff is now an obsequious auto valet. As Marty reunites with Jennifer, the DeLorean appears with Doc, dressed in a futuristic outfit, insisting they accompany him to 2015 to fix a problem with their future children. The trio get inside the DeLorean and disappear into the future.

Read more »

IMDB TOP 100,

44. Whiplash (2014)

A promising young drummer enrolls at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student's potential.

Director: Damien Chazelle

Writer: Damien Chazelle

Stars: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist

Story:
Andrew Neiman is a first-year jazz student at the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory in New York. He has been playing drums from a young age and aspires to become one of the greats like Buddy Rich. Famed conductor Terence Fletcher discovers Andrew practicing in the music room late one night and eventually invites him into his studio band as the alternative for core drummer Carl Tanner. Fletcher is abusive toward his students, mocking and insulting them; when the band rehearses the Hank Levy piece "Whiplash" and Andrew struggles to keep the tempo, Fletcher hurls a chair at him, slaps him, swears and shouts at him, and berates him in front of the class.

At a jazz competition, Andrew accidentally misplaces Carl's sheet music; as Carl cannot play without it, Andrew steps in, telling Fletcher that he can perform "Whiplash" from memory. After a successful performance, Fletcher promotes him to core drummer. Soon after, Fletcher recruits Ryan Connolly, the core drummer from Andrew's former lower-level class. Andrew believes Connolly is the less talented drummer, and is infuriated when Fletcher promotes him to core. Determined to impress Fletcher, Andrew practices until his hands bleed and breaks up with his girlfriend Nicole, believing she will hold him back.

Fletcher tearfully reveals in class that a talented former student of his, Sean Casey, has died in a car accident. The band rehearses "Caravan", but Ryan struggles with the tempo. Fletcher auditions Andrew, Ryan and Carl for hours while the class waits outside, and finally gives the position to Andrew.

On the way to the competition, Andrew's bus breaks down. He rents a car but arrives late and realizes he left his drumsticks at the car rental office. After an argument with Fletcher, Andrew drives back to retrieve the drumsticks. As he speeds back, his car is hit by a truck. He crawls from the wreckage and arrives on stage badly injured. When he struggles to play "Caravan" due to his injuries, Fletcher stops the band mid-performance to tell Andrew he is "done". Andrew attacks Fletcher in front of the audience, and subsequently is expelled from Shaffer Conservatory.

Andrew meets with a lawyer representing the parents of Sean Casey. The lawyer explains that Sean actually hanged himself, having suffered anxiety and depression after being part of Fletcher's class and band; Sean's parents want to prevent Fletcher from teaching. Andrew agrees to testify anonymously and Fletcher is later fired.

Months later, Andrew has abandoned music and is working in a restaurant while applying to different colleges. While walking down a street, he notices a jazz club and the exterior sign saying the name Terrence Fletcher on it, he enters the jazz club and sees Fletcher playing a piano on stage. Fletcher invites him for drinks in the club, and explains that he pushed his students hard so they might achieve greatness. He invites Andrew to perform at a soon approaching jazz festival concert with his band. Andrew agrees, and later calls to invite Nicole, but discovers she is in a new relationship and she declines.

On stage at the jazz festival, moments before the performance, Fletcher reveals that he knows Andrew testified against him. He leads the band in a new piece Andrew has never heard or rehearsed, and he finds no sheet music for it in his folder. Unable to follow the cues without sheet music, Andrew struggles through it and leaves the stage humiliated. As Fletcher addresses the audience, Andrew returns to the stage and interrupts with the "Caravan" drum intro, leading the rest of the band. Infuriated, Fletcher reluctantly follows.

However, when Andrew ends the performance with an extravagant Buddy Rich style drum solo, Fletcher appears to be very proud and he and Andrew exchange smiles. Andrew and the band proceed into the intro to a jazz peice.

Read more »

IMDB TOP 100,

43. The Departed (2006)

An undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.

Director: Martin Scorsese

Writers: William Monahan (screenplay), Alan Mak |1 more credit »

Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson

Story:
As a child, Colin Sullivan (Damon) had been introduced to organized crime by Irish-American mobster Frank Costello (Nicholson) in the Irish neighborhood of South Boston. Over the years, Costello grooms him to become a mole inside the Massachusetts State Police, until Sullivan is accepted into the Special Investigations Unit, which focuses on organized crime.

Before graduating from the police academy, Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) is recruited by Captain Queenan (Sheen) and Staff Sergeant Dignam (Wahlberg) to go undercover, as his family ties to organized crime make him a perfect infiltrator. He drops out of the academy and does time in prison on a fake assault charge to increase his credibility.

Each man infiltrates his respective organization, and Sullivan begins a romance with police psychiatrist Madolyn Madden (Farmiga). Costigan is seeing her under the terms of his probation, and they begin a relationship, too. After Costello escapes a sting operation, each mole becomes aware of the other's existence. Sullivan is told to find the "rat" and asks Costello for information to identify the informer.

Costigan follows Costello into a porn theater, where Costello gives Sullivan an envelope containing personal information on his crew members. Costigan chases Sullivan through Chinatown. When it is over, neither man knows the other's identity. Sullivan has Queenan tailed to a meeting with Costigan on the roof of a building. Queenan orders Costigan to flee while he confronts Costello's men alone. The men then throw Queenan off the building to his death. When they exit, Costigan pretends he has come to join them. Television news reveals that crew member Delahunt (Rolston) has been an undercover cop, working for the Boston Police Department. Dignam resigns rather than work with Sullivan, who he suspects is the mole after he is asked why he had Queenan followed.

Using Queenan's phone, Sullivan reaches Costigan, who refuses to abort his mission. Sullivan learns from Queenan's diary of Costello's role as an informant for the FBI, causing him to worry about his own identity being revealed. With Costigan's help, Costello is traced to a cocaine drop-off, where a gunfight erupts between Costello's crew and the police, which results in most of the crew being killed. Costello, confronted by Sullivan, admits he is an FBI informant. Costello tries to shoot Sullivan, but Sullivan shoots him multiple times. With Costello dead, Sullivan is applauded the next day by everyone on the force. In good faith, Costigan comes to Sullivan for shoots him multiple times. With Costello dead, Sullivan is applauded the next day by everyone on the force. In good faith, Costigan comes to Sullivan for restoration of his true identity and to be paid for his work, but notices the envelope from Costello on Sullivan's desk and flees, finally realizing Sullivan is the enemy. Fearing retaliation, Sullivan erases Costigan's records from the police computer system.

Sullivan is unaware that Madolyn had an affair with Costigan when she tells Sullivan that she is pregnant. Later, Sullivan finds her listening to a CD from Costigan containing incriminating recorded conversations between Costello and Sullivan. Sullivan unsuccessfully attempts to assuage her suspicions. He then contacts Costigan, who reveals that Costello recorded every one of their conversations, that Costello's attorney left Costigan in possession of the recordings, and that Costigan intends to implicate Sullivan. The two agree to meet at the building where Queenan died.

On the roof, Costigan catches Sullivan off-guard and handcuffs him. As Costigan had secretly arranged, Trooper Brown (Anderson) appears on the roof as well. Shocked, Brown draws his gun on Costigan, who attempts to justify his actions by exposing Sullivan as Costello's mole. Costigan asks Brown why Dignam did not accompany him as Costigan had requested, but Brown does not answer. Costigan leads Sullivan, his hostage, to the elevator. When it reaches the ground floor, Trooper Barrigan (Dale) shoots Costigan in the head, then shoots Brown, and afterward reveals to Sullivan that Costello had more than one mole in the police. Sullivan then shoots and kills Barrigan. At state police headquarters, Sullivan identifies Barrigan as the mole and recommends Costigan for the Medal of Merit.

At Costigan's funeral, Sullivan notices that Madolyn is tearful. As they leave the gravesite, Sullivan attempts to talk to her, but she ignores him. When Sullivan returns to his apartment, he is ambushed by Dignam, who shoots and kills him as he enters.

Read more »

IMDB TOP 100,

42. The Pianist (2002)

A Polish Jewish musician struggles to survive the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto of World War II.

Director: Roman Polanski

Writers: Ronald Harwood (screenplay), Wladyslaw Szpilman(book)

Stars: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay |

Story:
In September 1939, Władysław Szpilman (Adrien Brody), a Polish-Jewish pianist, is playing live on the radio in Warsaw when the station is bombed during Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland. Hoping for a quick victory, Szpilman rejoices with his family at home when learning that Britain and France have declared war on Germany. But the promised aid does not come. Fighting lasts for just over a month, with both the German and Russian armies invading Poland at the same time on different fronts. Warsaw becomes part of the Nazi-controlled General Government. Jews are soon prevented them from working or owning businesses, they are also made to wear blue Star of David armbands.

Photograph ofWładysław Szpilman

By November 1940, Szpilman and his family are forced from their home into the overcrowded Warsaw Ghetto, where conditions only get worse. People starve, the guards are brutal, and starving children are abandoned in the streets. On one occasion, the Szpilmans witness the SS kill an entire family in an apartment across the street during a round-up.

On 16 August 1942, Szpilman and his family are to transported to Treblinka extermination camp as part of Operation Reinhard. But a friend in the Jewish Ghetto Police recognises Władysław at theUmschlagplatz and separates him from his family. He becomes a slave labourer and learns of a coming Jewish revolt. He helps the resistance by smuggling weapons into the ghetto, on one occasion narrowly avoiding a suspicious guard. Szpilman eventually manages to escape and goes into hiding with help from a non-Jewish friend, Andrzej Bogucki, and his wife Janina.

In April 1943, Szpilman watches from his window as the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which he aided, unfold and then ultimately fail. After a neighbor discovers Szpilman in the flat, he is forced to flee to a second hiding place. The new room has a piano in it but he is compelled to keep quiet while beginning to suffer from jaundice.

In August 1944, during the Warsaw Uprising, the Polish resistance attacks a German building across the street from Szpilman's hideout. A tank shells his apartment forcing him to flee. Over the course of the following months, Warsaw is destroyed and abandoned. Szpilman is left alone to search desperately for shelter and supplies among the ruins. He eventually makes his way to an abandoned house where he finds a can of pickles. While trying to open it he is discovered by Wehrmacht officer Wilm Hosenfeld who learns that Szpilman is a pianist. He asks Szpilman to play on a grand piano in the house. The decrepit Szpilman manages to play Chopin's Ballade in G minor. Hosenfeld lets Szpilman hide in the attic of the empty house. From here, he was regularly supplied with food by the German officer.

In January 1945, the Germans are retreating from the advance of the Red Army. Hosenfeld meets Szpilman for the final time promising he will listen to him on Polish Radio after the war. He gives Szpilman his German Army greatcoat to keep warm and leaves. However, this has almost fatal consequences for Szpilman because he is mistakenly thought to be a German and is shot at by Polish troops liberating Warsaw. In Spring 1945, former inmates of a Nazi concentration camp pass a Soviet prisoner-of-war camp holding captured German soldiers and verbally abuse them. Hosenfeld, who is among those captured, overhears a released inmate lament over his former career as a violinist. He asks the violinist if he knows Szpilman, which he confirms. Hosenfeld wishes for Szpilman to return the favor and help release him. Sometime later, the violinist is able to bring Szpilman back to the site but they find it has been long abandoned.

Later, Szpilman works for Polish Radio and performs Chopin's Grand Polonaise brillante to a large and prestigious audience. An epilogue states that Szpilman died at the age of 88 in the year 2000 while Hosenfeld died in Soviet captivity in 1952.

Read more »

IMDB TOP 100,