With Five Feet Apart coming out this weekend, we decided to issue a Best Ever Challenge for movies with distance in the title. This really pushed us to find the pop culture gold because there aren’t as many titles meeting this qualification as most topics. What do you think of our picks below? Tweet your picks and thoughts at us!
A simplistic, yet riveting picture that is frightening to behold. 47 Metres Down is an effective thriller that pays homage to shark genre films. Its enthralling, disturbing and intense. My heart was pounding and dazzled by how an insignificant B- movie managed to intensify the stakes. Writer/director Johannes Roberts captures scenes of horror, brutality and agony effortlessly. The rendering of the CGI sharks was immaculate and flawless. Prepare for a gory, alarming, bone-chilling experience as you watch this movie pack a much bigger punch than its $5.3 million budget should be able too. (Zack Stephens)
There were a few times Matthew Perry moonlighted on the big screen during the run of Friends. This was his funniest. It also fit neatly into Bruce Willis’ narrower comedy groove. Ultimately their chemistry is pretty amazing. A mild-mannered dentist, (Perry) and his hateful wife (Rosanna Arquette) have their lives turned upside down when a famous gangster (Willis) moves in next door. Tonally, this movie is near perfect. It’s a hair on the dark side of comedy, but not so dark that you need a shower afterwards. (Joshua Childs)
The best sports films are the ones that present the audience with a group of players who they really wish were players so that they can cheer them on. Watching Major League always made me want to be an Indians fan…until I remembered that they definitely didn’t have this crazy band of misfits on their team. Full of laughs and great feel good moments, Major League is a great example of capturing the magic and energy of a real sporting event. Also, who is going to say no to this stacked cast of memorable characters? Voodoo man himself, Pedro Cerrano, is memorable as is baseball’s next big thing (whom no one knows about), Willie May Hayes (a funny role for Wesley Snipes who really excels). Prima donna, Roger Dorn, is lovingly dislikeable. The heart of the team on wounded knees and the film itself, Jake Taylor, who Tom Berenger plays earnestly. And of course, “Wild Thing” Rick Vaughn! “Wild Thing”…you make everything groovy. (Shane Conto)
My dad loved Burt Reynolds. If you’re my age, chances are your dad did too. He was one of the biggest box office draws of the 1970s. The Longest Yard is one of his most memorable films. So memorable, Adam Sandler had to remake it so everyone would have something to forget (too far?). When a former pro quarterback finds himself in prison, the warden “encourages” him to put together a prison football team to play (and lose) to the guards. The movie has that edgy 70’s grit (and lack of political correctness), but it’s also light enough for some of Reynold’s patented winks and grins. (Joshua Childs)
My arms are heavy, these lines I hope I’m not forgetting. I’m nervous. But I’m ready to drop praise on this movie thats got me reeling. This has a bit of a slow build but it more than makes up for this with the storytelling and excellent character building. What is truly unique and shocking is just how amazing Eminem is. There are very few times a movies casts a real life person to play themselves and it works out. Have you seen 15:17 to Paris? However, Eminem pulls the emotional weight and shows he is more than just a rapper and his artistic abilities are even better than being one of the best rappers of a generation. However, I still haven’t even mentioned the best part. There isn’t much I can say without spoilers, but I’ll just say there is a three minute segment of this movie that would make it worth watching even if you didn’t like anything else. (Blake Hodges)
In some food movies, the emphasis is no the food, and in some the emphasis is on the movie, and in some beautiful rare cases, they manage to do both. The Hundred-Foot Journey takes a great Helen Mirren performance and centers it in a fascinating tale of culture shock, greed, competition, and humor. What really cooks though is this movies ability to not only interest you in these deep and meaningful characters, but also how the food they are creating plays into a story of what it means to stop fearing change, and recognizing that success doesn’t have to be a zero sum game. (Aaron Dicer)
Can girls play baseball? You’re dagum right they can! A League of Their Own is not only an all time sports classic, but an inspiring film to many women over the years. Its charm and wit make it infinitely re-watchable and infectious. Tom Hanks is the stand out here as Jimmy Dugan. His hilarious performance as the foul mouthed quick tempered Jimmy brings so many quotable lines it would be impossible for me to write them all. What makes this film truly special though is at its heart it’s about these two sisters and their sibling rivalry. One who has all the talent in the world but doesn’t care to have it, and one who has all the heart in the world but not as much talent. It’s their relationship that truly gives this classic a beating heart. (Ben Davis)
There’s a reason this piece of brilliant film making from Morgan Neville won an Academy Award for Best Documentary. It’s really, really good. Like, the kind of good that takes something you hadn’t really thought that much about and turns into something you can’t stop thinking about. In this case, the incredible talents who have dedicated their life to singing backup for some of the greatest singers of all time. Doing the same work, with the same (and sometimes better) skill, with almost zero recognition, until now. If you loved Neville’s Mr. Rogers documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor”, that same joy, tenderness, and human storytelling is here for you whenever you’re ready. (Aaron Dicer)
Richard Attenborough directed this epic war film, all about the real life failed mission; Operation Market Garden in 1944. Allies attempted (unsuccessfully) to secure a series of strategic bridges in The Netherlands. Now, since it’s history, it isn’t really a spoiler. When I first watched this, however, I was not a history buff, and I had been trained to expect Americans (and allies) to win, so when the movie ended and no one had succeeded in their goal, I was dumbfounded. It also sticks out that there is no lead actor per say, but it was full of stars. It can be more likened to an episodic, each movement showcasing a different star. In fact the cast is what turned me onto the film initially. If I tried to list them, that would be my whole blurb. Seriously, look it up. (Joshua Childs)
Frank Darabont has a great handle on the impressive works of Stephen King and The Green Mile is no different. The three plus hours of film can seem intimidating but the emotional journey that this film takes you on is well worth this investment. Like most films before it and after, Tom Hanks walks on screen and owns you from start to finish. Michael Clarke Duncan brings a towering and affecting performance to the screen. This does not feel like a film that clocks in at three hours plus and brings the same magic to the silver screen as Darabont’s previous work of The Shawshank Redemption. If you haven’t seen it, take the time…this is a mystical experience. (Shane Conto)
Honorable Mentions
THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BONZAI (ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION)
For me ’84 and ’85 was the most influential movie period in my life because of movies like this. I first watched Buckaroo Bonsai (as well as Krull and The Last Starfighter) at a birthday party sleepover. It was instantly the best movie I didn’t understand (that title has since gone on to the likes of Donnie Darko, and Primer, to name a couple). At 11 years old, the fact that the title character was a rock star/physicist/neurosurgeon/test pilot who defeated inter-dimensional aliens was enough… who needed to understand what was going on?! Watching it as an adult, I actually love it more. It’s not nearly as complicated as I once believed, and it manages to wink a tight-rope that other movies of the 80’s could never pull off. It didn’t do well at the box office, but I think that’s because it was just literally too good for it’s own good. (Joshua Childs)
20 Million Miles to Earth
I love stop motion! And, anyone working in special effects today admittedly owes their career to stop motion effects titan Ray Harryhausen. He transcended an industry where we only assign movies to famous directors or actors. 20 Million Miles to Earth features one of his greatest characters, the Venusian alien the Ymir. If you must know, the film’s story is simple; a gelatinous mass is brought 20 million miles to earth, gelatinous mass hatches an alien, alien grows large and aggressive, alien wreaks havoc and ultimately destroys the Roman Coliseum. But, like most of Harryhausen’s movies, it’s not really about the story. It’s about watching the master craftsman’s handiwork. (Joshua Childs)
Also See:
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Happy Feet, Footloose, From Here to Eternity