Originals

[Continued] Page 3

56. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Peter Jackson, 2003)

While not the best of the three Lord of the Rings films, Return of the King probably has the hardest job.  It has to wrap up a MASSIVE story in a way that feels satisfactory, and it needs to be the Most Epic Thing Ever in order to do so effectively.  While many people complained about the numerous, numerous endings, it’s understandable in a film with so much going on.  Peter Jackson manages to create some of the largest and most exhilarating battle sequences ever, while never losing sight of the story of Frodo and Sam, in over their heads.  It takes a special movie to make the Academy recognize epic Fantasy, and this was the one that pulled it off.

55. Juno (Jason Reitman, 2007)

Juno is a love-it or hate-it film, with nobody-talks-like-that dialogue, and a strange whimsical world all it’s own.  The story of a pregnant, precocious sixteen-year-old and the yuppie couple she decides to giver her baby to, Juno is certainly not for everyobody.

However, if you are willing to buy into the character and the dialogue here, there’s an extremely moving story of love, commitment, and growing up contained within.  In addition to all that, it’s also super adorable, which has to count for something.

Tags: Top 100, Movies