AFI's 100 Most Thrilling Movies

Will you just leave the damn cat?!

My favorite Stanley Kubrick movie!

I'm sorry, but this film just doesn't age well. I was bored by the story, and the dialog is incredibly cheesy. Though, to be fair, the problem of the cheesy dialog is not the movie's fault. Rather, it's due to the relentless, unending way that "Casablanca" has been imitated and parodied in every corner of our popular culture since its release. I mean, how is it possible to take lines like "Here's lookin' at you, kid" and "I think this might be the start of a beautiful friendship" seriously when you've grown up hearing all your favorite cartoon characters repeating those lines in any given situation?

I know that the description of 'Dirty' Harry Callahan as a Christ figure seems unlikely, but upon my most recent viewing of this film, it occurred to me that a Christ figure is precisely what Harry is. At one point, he explains to another character that people call him Dirty Harry because he gets "every dirty job that comes along". This is especially true as it pertains to the film's villain, Scorpio. Handicapped by bureaucrats and red tape, the authorities are completely unable to bring Scorpio to justice, while he roams free, terrorizing the populace and killing innocent people. As a result, Harry lays everything - including his career - on the line, and launches a bold, all-out assault against Scorpio, ending the menace once and for all. In this way, Harry is the sacrificial lamb; a reviled rogue who takes upon himself the sins of weak-willed men, and suffers the consequences.

And, on a slightly less philosophical note:

In "Shoot 'Em Up", Clive Owen's character says, "If there's one thing I hate, it's a pussy with a gun in his hand." This is a most apt way to describe Scorpio. He acts like he's all bad-ass whenever he has a weapon or a hostage, but the moment he gets into trouble or gets hurt, he turns into a crying, whimpering piece of shit.

"E.T." is one of those movies that's great when you're a kid, but seems to lose a lot of its appeal once you turn thirteen.