69. Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Directed by Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino is an odd director for a christian viewer. His films are typically filled with vulgar langauge, odd sexual themes, and explicit violence. A few years ago, before I had seen Pulp Fiction, I was extremely wary of watching Tarantino, despite the great things that I had always heard about the film. The fact that this film is included on this list should tell you what my viewing of the film yielded.

Fresh, inventive, and bold are just a few terms I would use to describe the experience of watching this film. The editing, performances, and dialogue all still feel fresh to me when I watch the film today. Pulp Fiction's influence on countless films of the 90s and 2000s is a testament to just how great this film is. Talking about it's greatness would really just sound like a shopping list of the great scenes and dialogue, so I'll keep my words to a minimum.

I will say this regarding the potential conflict between the content of Tarantino's films and being a Christian viewer. Should a Christian be 'okay' with watching this film? Without getting into any long drawn out discussion, I believe that Pulp Fiction is not only an 'okay' film for a Christian to watch, but that the film actually has a lot to offer the Christian viewer. This is in no way an endorsement of wanton violence, vulgar language, or sexual themes. What I am saying is that althought these things are present to an extent in this film, they are (for the most part) in the service of very mature and adult messages and themes. This is not a film for young children nor is it really for young teens either, but to a mature young adult or older, there is a lot of good stuff present. That it happens to be crisp, creative and entertaining as well, is what makes it truly essential for me.

72. Fist of Legend

Fist of Legend (1994)
Directed by Gordon Chan

Fist of Legend is Jet Li’s greatest film (I've seen over 26 of his films). While featuring several of his best fight sequences of all-time, Fist of Legend also features a serviceable plot (which is all a good martial arts film needs) and an excellent theme (which counts as bonus points). I saw this film for the first time less than a year ago and I wrote a review for it then. CLICK HERE for that review.

So how did this film so quickly make its way into my Top 100? With repeated viewings of Fist of Legend, my fondness for the film has grown. The last year I have been watching martial arts films of all stripes (I’ve watched around 60 or so by now), and Fist of Legend is easily one of the best entries into the martial arts genre, by Jet Li or by anyone.

In creating this list, I ranked each film by asking myself not only how much do I enjoy it, but would I want to live without it. Since I have a special love for action and martial arts films (Hong Kong action flms at that), this film easily made it into the top 100. Put me on a deserted island with just 100 DVDs and I guarantee you that this one will find itself into the DVD player very often.

Here is the trailer for the film

92. Speed

Speed (1994)
Directed by Jan de Bont

I stood with my parents in front of the Oaks Theatre near the Melbourne Square Mall. We had two choices, Speed or The Lion King. We chose Speed as a family (even though I was eleven, I still felt a little old for a cartoon), and we all had a fantastic film experience. Who would’ve thought that fifteen years later I would rank Speed just a bit above The Lion King in my “Films I Can’t Live Without” List? In hindsight, our family made the better decision.

Speed is a classic action film (even if it really is Die Hard On a Bus). From the superb opening elevator situation to the closing subway jump, this is a classic nail biter. I’ve seen a lot of films since and few are able to match the brake neck pace that Speed attains, while still retaining a few interesting characters. The 1990s contained a plethora of “I’ve got a hostage” films, but this is the crème of the crop.

Speed was a star-making film for Keanu “What’re you gonna do” Reeves and Sandra “Wilcat behind the wheel” Bullock. Both actors have great charisma and create (along with Jeff Daniels) interesting enough performances to carry a film without a true blue plot beyond its basic premise.

For such an engaging and suspenseful movie to come out of what amounts to a lot of driving around is a testament to the performances, editing and directing. For a fun, wholesome (outside of some vulgar language), and exciting time at the movies, you can’t get much better than Speed.

Other Essentials: Classic action score, “The airport, I’ve already seen the airport”, “Shoot the hostage”, and the ridiculous bus jump sequences that works for some strange reason