Sorry I’ve been something of a tease with this whole movie-list thing. Inexcusable of me, I know; it’s just that it’s been one of those kinds of weeks, the only kind I ever seem to have anymore. But the task must be completed, so, without further delay, here is the rest of my personal Top Fifty:

[And if you don’t know what all this list-talk is all about, read Part 1 and Part 2 before proceeding.]

26. Almost Famous (2000)
    I love a good coming-of-age story, and they don’t get much better than Cameron Crowe‘s semi-autobiographical tale about a boy who talks his way into a job writing for Rolling Stone and ends up on tour with an up-and-coming rock band. There is so much I like about this movie: the nostalgic late-summer-afternoon lighting, the spot-on re-creations of the arena-rock concert atmosphere, the bittersweet tone, the luminous Kate Hudson as “Penny Lane,” Philip Seymore Hoffman as legendary writer Lester Bangs, and a charmingly vulnerable performance from Patrick Fugit in the lead. The scene in which his character loses his virginity to three bored groupies and reacts by going out into the hotel corridor and collapsing into sobs is so desperately natural, and so unlike the average teen sex flick — which would cast something like participating in an orgy for your first time as a kid’s dream come true — that it breaks my heart, and I love this movie for doing that.
27. National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)
    The quintessential ’80s-vintage comedy, a disjointed but generally effective collection of skits, silliness, one-liners, and sex. This film never fails to make me smile, especially when Chevy Chase spots that red Ferrari coming up in the rear-view…
28. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
    I debated over how best to represent Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy on this list, whether to count all three films as a single title or allow them to take up three individual spots in an already limited space. I finally decided that you can make a case for each of the three being very different in tone, and I realized that of the three, the first is my favorite, so that’s the one that makes the All-Time Fave list. Why do I like Fellowship best? I don’t know… maybe because the beginning is usually the most exciting time of a great journey. Maybe because this one blew away all us geeks with the tantalizing possibility that, “hey, this might really work!” (The other two films, by comparison, seemed less ground-breaking.) Maybe it’s just because the sequence when the fellowship sees the Argonath statues is so damn cool; it captures so much of what I love about traveling, the awe you feel when you encounter something that’s always seemed like a legend and behold it with your own eyes… it’s magical.
29. Jaws (1975)
    The film that made Steven Spielberg a household name and hooked Hollywood on summer-blockbuster heroin. My parents saw it in a theater when it first came out and built it up in my head for years about how scary it was. Obviously, it didn’t have the same effect on me when I finally watched it on home video as it would’ve if I’d seen it on the big screen, but I nevertheless thought it was a great combination of suspense and ocean adventure. And it’s got a great signature quote, too: “We’re gonna need a bigger boat…”
30. The Rocketeer (1990)
    I think many people dismissed this adaptation of Dave Stevens’ detail-rich comic book as some kind of Indiana Jones rip-off — I can see the similarity, since it’s set in the 1930s and features a leather-jacket-wearing hero who battles Nazis — but The Rocketeer actually springs from very different roots than the Lucas-Spielberg takes on 1930s adventure serials. While Indy is essentially a modern reinterpretation of jungle-adventure stories like King Solomon’s Mines, The Rocketeer is a direct descendent of King of the Rocketmen and “super-scientific” crime-fighting pulp heroes such as Doc Savage. (Trivia note: In the original comic, the rocket pack was actually designed and built by Savage; the rocket’s inventor became Howard Hughes in the movie, probably because of licensing issues.) In any event, I thought it was a rollicking good time at the movies, with an appealing lead, a reasonably accurate re-creation of the period, an old-fashioned sense of heroism and derring-do, and a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor about itself. And Jennifer Connelly has never looked prettier.
31. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
    Speaking of Indy Jones, the conclusion of the Indy trilogy is in many ways a remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark, only played for laughs. The tone is so different from the first film, in fact, that I think you can argue that the Indy in Last Crusade isn’t the same character as the one in Raiders. Normally, I would rail against this kind of watering-down of character and concept, but the inspired casting of Sean Connery as Indy’s dad as well as a couple of great set pieces (love the wooden speedboats!) make Last Crusade a lot of fun. And it doesn’t hurt that I associate this film with one of the best summers of my life. Star Wars reminds me of what I felt like when I was seven; Last Crusade reminds me of nineteen.
32. Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
    Another pairing of John Carpenter and Kurt Russell, and arguably the last good film Carpenter has thus far directed. It’s a goofy fantasy/action/comedy that made no sense on its initial release because no one outside of a few major U.S. cities had seen the Hong Kong martial-arts films that Carpenter was aping. Nowadays, thanks to the mid-90s mainstreaming of Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and others, Big Trouble is a lot more accessible. Like the other Carpenter/Russell flick on my list, Escape from New York, Big Trouble has no agenda except entertainment, and it’s a perfect way to kill a rainy Saturday afternoon.
33. Sneakers (1992)
    Another heist picture, a close relative The Sting and Ocean’s 11, with Bobby Redford heading a crew of misfit “security experts” out to steal the ultimate electronic decryption gadget. Although it’s basically lightweight in tone, the story has some serious underpinnings about friendship, betrayal, what happens when you run from your past, and the implications of unfettered access to any information system in the world. (The film was a good ten years ahead of its time in its consideration of privacy and security issues.) And it was one of the final movies to feature a young actor I greatly admired, the late River Phoenix. Thoughtful but not dreary, a rare combination.
34. Predator (1987)
    I know, I know: it’s gory, loud, and dumb. I can’t justify this choice in any intellectual way, so I’ll just say the monster’s cool, Ah-nald was in his prime before he started taking himself too seriously, and the adrenaline level runs high.
35. The Fifth Element (1997)
    There was something familiar about this odd, frenetic sci-fi actioner written and directed by the Frenchman Luc Besson, and it took me days after I saw it before I figured it out: it’s like a live-action version of Heavy Metal, the mildly disreputable (i.e., semi-pornographic) magazine of “illustrated adult fantasy” that I surreptitiously browsed a few times in my adolescent years. (Don’t worry, the link doesn’t go to the magazine’s not-safe-for-work site, but rather to a wikipedia entry on the mag’s history.) The movie tones down the gore and boobies for a PG-13 rating, but keeps the eye-popping futuristic visuals, constant action, and juvenile (in the best sense of that word) sensibilities to create a yummy little summertime cream-puff of a movie. It’s silly and ultimately pretty sentimental, but I find it satisfying.
36. Ghostbusters (1984)
    You gotta love the sight of a 200-foot-tall marshmallow man rampaging through Manhattan. You just gotta. Seriously, a lot of movies have tried to mix horror, science fiction, and comedy; this is one of the few that makes it work. As with Superman, I went through a phase when I was totally burned out on and dismissive of this huge hit from my childhood, but I saw it recently and it made me laugh as I rarely laugh at more recent comedies. I can only wonder what this movie would’ve been like with the late, great John Belushi in the Bill Murray part (that’s who writers and co-stars Dan Ackroyd and Harold Ramis had in mind to play Venkman, you know).
37. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
    Anyone who was in high school in the ’80s knows Ferris Bueller. He’s the guy we all wanted to be, or at least wanted to know, the supremely self-confident schmoozer that drove adults mad with that damn smirk and his tendency to always come out on top, no matter what. I like many of John Hughes’ teen-oriented films, but this is the one that perfectly combines all the elements. It’s funny, it’s touching, it’s honest. And I still wouldn’t mind being Ferris Bueller. Or at least knowing his girlfriend, Mia Sara. (I have a story about one of my family members and her that I may tell one of these days…)
38. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
    The movie that made Bogart a star is a shade too optimistic to be a true film noir — the male lead lives and succeeds, after all — but it’s definitely the prototype of that genre, as well as the template for a certain kind of detective movie that I generally enjoy. Watching Bogie spar with Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet is a film-lover’s joy: three confident actors at the peak of their abilities, perfectly cast and making dialogue that no one would ever actually say sound perfectly natural.
39. Some Like It Hot (1959)
    One of the funniest comedies ever made. Some critics try to make a case about what the film reveals about repressed 1950s sexual mores or build it up as some kind of proto-feminist manifesto about the slipperiness of gender identity. Whatever. As far as I’m concerned, it’s just really damn funny. It’s probably Marilyn’s best role, too; she doesn’t show any of the breathy self-consciousness that detract from her other films.
40. Gotcha! (1985)
    A sentimental favorite, for several reasons. A bit obscure, this comedy-thriller starred Anthony Edwards of E.R. fame (back when he still had hair!) as a college student who goes off to Europe on spring break. He meets a mysterious girl, gets into all kinds of trouble, and survives by using his skills at a faddish campus paintball game that was popular at the time. The night I saw this movie was the first time my parents let me go somewhere with my driver-licensed friends in a car, without an adult present. In addition, it’s a competently entertaining film, if somewhat dated now, and it inspired me to seriously consider travelling outside the U.S. for the first time. As I said, a sentimental fave.
41. Stand by Me (1986)
    Another coming-of-age story, but one that recognizes there’s more to the process than losing one’s virginity. A warm-hearted film based on a wonderful story by Stephen King, and featuring a whole raft of good performances from talented, non-irritating young actors.
42. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
    Like Highlander, this is one that folks either get or they don’t. Buckaroo is sort of another take on the Doc Savage character I mentioned earlier, a multi-talented genius who surrounds himself with eccentric sidekicks to battle evil. And play rock music. Ha! Doc Savage never had his own band! Take that, Doc! Of course, Doc never had to deal with evil Red Lectroids escaping from the 8th Dimension to wreak havoc, or with the Black Lectroids from Planet 10 threatening to start World War III if Team Banzai doesn’t stop the Reds from escaping. But hey, at least Buckaroo’s got Ellen Barkin on his arm, playing the long-lost identical twin of his dead wife… (I am, of course, well aware of how ridiculous all this sounds, but I’ve always admired this cult classic for daring to be ridiculous, and also for trusting that the audience is bright enough to figure everything out.)
43. Aliens (1986)
    A rare sequel that I admire just as much as the original, largely because the sequel doesn’t try to be the same movie. Oh, sure, I know the last 40 minutes follow essentially the same outline as the first Alien film, but the tone and ultimate goal of the movie is vastly different. Alien was gothic horror in space; Aliens is a suspenseful action flick. I think the change of approach actually deepens the Alien universe and its main character, Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley.
44. The Right Stuff (1983)
    An exciting and pleasing film about the early days of America’s manned space program. This movie is what I always imagined NASA to be about: brave human beings pushing the envelope to see what was possible and learn what was out there. I wish the real-world space program was more like the one in this movie.
45. Diner (1982)
    More coming-of-age. What can I say, I like this stuff. Barry Levinson’s semi-autobiographical period-piece about young men who meet at their favorite diner to discuss their woes and dreams is both realistic and charming. And the movie features a lot of young guys who became somebody, and that’s always fun to see.
46. A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
    A clever melding of British and American comedy styles that derives its humor from the best and worst qualities of the two cultures — American brashness vs. British reserve, for example. The end result is very funny. And sexy. Oh, and it’s a heist picture, too, so double points for that.
47. Blaze (1989)
    An off-beat romance between two real-life eccentrics, the infamous stripper Blaze Starr and the equally infamous (and possibly crazy) governor of Louisiana, Earl K. Long, this movie scandalized my straight-laced coworkers when it premiered at my old multiplex, so naturally, I had to see it a half-dozen times. Beyond its value as a rebellious statement, though, Blaze came along at just the right moment in my life. I was having trouble in the romance department, you see, and I needed to believe that you could be exactly what you wanted to be and still find someone that could appreciate and love you for it. Blaze comforted me like an old flannel shirt that’s been washed a hundred times. It still does.
48. An Officer and a Gentleman (1981)
    It’s hard to believe now in this age of cookie-cutter rom-coms (romantic comedies), but there was a time when Hollywood knew how to make serious romantic movies that could appeal to both genders. An Officer and a Gentleman was one such title, with manly military activities for the guys, mushy stuff between Richard Gere and Debra Winger for the ladies, and a crowd-pleasing conclusion for everyone. I wish they still made shows like this one.
49. Dirty Dancing (1987)
    Oh, sure, laugh if you must, but this is a much better movie than most people ever gave it credit for. There’s more going on here than just the musical sequences. Each major character has a genuine arc and grows in some way, the plot is bittersweet coming-of-age stuff (which, in case you haven’t figured out by now, I love), and the final scene leaves me feeling good at the end. I never change the channel when I find this one on TV.
50. Wonder Boys (2000)
    And finally, a movie for every artistic person who has ever struggled with creative frustrations, for everyone who has ever worried that they peaked too soon, or for people who just have a hard time figuring it all out. Michael Douglas plays against his usual suave image to portray Grady Tripp, a burned-out, over-the-hill, pot-head novelist who is having one very weird weekend. This movie could’ve been an incredible downer, but screenwriter Steve Kloves and director Curtis Hanson both have light touches, and everything turns out satisfyingly alright in the end. I take great comfort in the fact that Grady manages to sort out his life; maybe there’s hope for me, too.

And that, my friends, is that. I apologize for rambling on so much. Look at the bright side, though: I could’ve gone for my All-Time Top 100!