77 - Bad Boys
Bad Boys was the film that kick started Will Smith's movie career. It showed the world he was more than the Fresh Prince; he was a charming and witty action star. Michael Bay cleverly subverted audience expectations by having Smith play it straight and have much of the comedy and pratfalling handled by Martin Laurence. The film is classic Bay, but with a small enough budget to reign in his more outlandish tenancies. In fact, this is some of Bay's best work as unlike many of his films, it is tightly plotted and expertly performed.
Best bit: The nail biting drag race with Smith yelling insistence to Laurence that his car is faster. "Now that's how you drive!"
76 - Battle Royale
The Japanese have a reputation for producing dark and weird films. It is actually largely unjust, as while these films certainly exist, they are rarely successful in Japan and generally fare better internationally. Regardless, one of the best examples of Japanese shock-cinema is Battle Royale. The tale of a class of school children who are drugged, kidnapped and taken to a remote island. Why you ask? Well to kill each other until there is only one left standing......of course. This alone would shock people, but add to that the fact that this is a state run programme to tackle youth crime and you get one of the darkest premises ever written. The violence is unrelenting and graphic and as these kids slowly whittle away at each other you come to realise that this is an allegory for the wider world. Battle Royal is nothing more than a 'what if?' and the conclusions it comes to aren't to exploit the horrific subject matter but the most likely outcome of that what if.
Best bit: A group of girls holed up in a lighthouse end up killing each other out of distrust and paranoia.
75 - Avatar
James Cameron is one of the greatest event movie film makers of all time. No doubt. Terminator, Aliens, Titanic. Massive films, massive success. Avatar followed this tradition by being another huge hit, and (for better or worse) making 3D a success. Avatar is basically a remake of Pocahontas. Someone even took the synopsis of Disney's Pocahontas and changed the names and it became a perfect synopsis for Avatar. Whether or not Cameron meant to do this is moot but Avatar isn't really about plot. It is more about adventure and nothing is more adventurous than a whole new world. The planet moon of Pandora is a beautiful landscape full of neon flora and fauna. While some of the animal designs are a little silly (having two sets of front legs is just stupid) the real stars are the Naavi, a race of 9ft tall blue humanoids who play the part of the Native Americans. The motion capture is excellent, using the same techniques that brought Gollum to life. What really makes Avatar great is the scale of the action. The final confrontation has to be seen to be believed.
Best bit: Jake's first flight.