Top 100: #1

Over the last little while, I’ve been compiling a list of my top 100 movies, in no real particular order outside of my top four, and I wanted to bring them all to you, to show my love of them, as well as give the opportunity to discuss why. I won’t be releasing the list in its entirety as I want people to be come back and have discussions. I’ll also be doing random movies in the series, to add to some fun.

Number 1 on my list should come as no real surprise to anyone who knows me, although this may very well be the first time I’ve ever written about it, the John Carpenter classic, 1986’s Big Trouble in Little China, starring Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, James Hong and 1980’s staple back up guy, Al Leong - look him up, I bet you’ve seen forty movies he’s been in.

It’s a western movie that was made in 1980’s San Francisco. Russell plays Jack Burton, the lone gunman who drifts into town, not on a horse, but in a sweet sweet Mack Semi-Truck named “The Pork Chop Express”, to meet his longtime friend Wang Chi, played by Dennis Dun, a pseudo nobody who was in a few Carpenter movies. The movie spirals out of control when Chi’s girlfriend is kidnapped by a gang, then we find out there’s an ancient Chinese Demigod who wants to use her to come back into the mortal plain and rule the earth.

All of that doesn’t do it for you? How about the fact that John Carpenter did the entirety of the soundtrack himself? He does for almost every movie he makes. No? Well, what if I told you that…. Well, I dunno, if that doesn’t sound like your jam, then don’t watch it. But, you’re missing out.

So let’s dive into it all for me and why this movie does it for me:

The story, to me, is amazing. It’s a classic tale with a fun twist or two thrown in. I actively chose to not get into the ins and outs of the story because there are so many little things to notice about the characters within it. I’m sure there are plot holes in the movie and I know it wouldn’t be for everyone, but I have glazed over them so much, and blocked any negativity of them out of my mind. It takes a lot for a movie to get a 10 for me, maybe only one or two ever and this, isn’t one of them. I would give this a solid 9/10 for myself overall.

The acting is sublime to me. Russell plays the cocky hero so well, Cattrall the catty/bossy/powerful lead lady exceptionally, James Hong is a hilariously over the top villain. A severely high 8 for me.

The sound, including the music, is amazing. Having John Carpenter make his own music, because he could see it fitting better than anyone else is a feat that just doesn’t happen anymore. 9/10 without a question.

Rewatchability is an impossible 11/10 for me. This is my comfort movie, above any and every other movie, in existence. I have seen it probably 250 times in my time of watching movies, which is only (roughly) 33 years. There will never be a movie to rank higher, in the past, present, or future of cinema for me. I will always defend this movie and discuss how people need to see it and experience the super amount of fun in it. It’s my favourite actor and director at the same time, in my favourite movie.

If you have seen it, talk to me about it. I’ll always be down. If you haven’t seen it and you want to see me at my absolute most giddy, watch it with me. Read the comics that follow Burton afterwards too, they’re a blast as well.

I hope this expresses my absolute, never ending love for this movie and hope you can experience it too.