#23 - THE FOG

Plot: A fog drifts over a coastal town, obscuring the vision of everyone in it. A hapless group of the town's residents must brave the fog before the fog sets its sights on enveloping the globe in a veil of eternal fogginess.
Why is this a contender for Best Movie. Ever?
I like the title. The Fog. The film itself I have some problems with. But the title is my favourite of all time. For this reason, it is one of the best movies ever. It starts off reasonably well; Tom Welling returns to his town and revisits old flames and old memories, both good and bad. Maggie Grace is also quite fine as Welling's second half, but as soon as the titular sea-mist rolls in, the drama and tension of the narrative is lost. The fog's main way of killing people is to make them unable to see past half a meter in front of them. You might think that this horror mechanic could be used to create all sorts of situations and creative ways to dispose of expendable characters. Unfortunately, most of the time it just causes people to walk right into killer ghosts. Not only is that overtly random (why are there killer ghosts in the town in the first place?) but it's also too farfetched for my liking. I like my supernatural horror movies to be a little more believable than The Fog.
Best scene: Even Selma Blair's radio broadcaster character isn't immune from the unspeakable horror of limited ability to see into the distance.

Doesn't live up to the potential of its title. But then, what could?

#22 - THE SCORPION KING

Plot: The Rock wrestles his way across pre-dynastic Egypt in the origin story that made origin stories cool.
Why is this a contender for Best Movie. Ever?
Did you ever get to the end of The Mummy Returns and think, hang on... I want to know more about the secondary villain whom has little to no impact on the plot and is killed relatively quickly? Well then this movie is for you. As a humongous wrestling fan, it's definitely a dream come true when real-life wrestlers make their way into films (my other main love in life). And The Scorpion King was the one, for me, that broke through the barriers and told the world that wrestlers are just as legitimate toward the label of entertainers as singers or actors. Not only does the Rock kick ass in this movie, he actually brings a few well-performed, dare-I-say poignant moments to the character. This isn't just The Rock roleplaying in a swords and sandals epic. The Rock BECOMES The Scorpion King. He takes the character to his own unique and interesting level, bringing to life a charming, ruthless assassin that not only serves the film indubitably well, but it also strikes a chord with both the fanbase of The Rock and The Mummy. Elsewhere in the movie, Michael Clarke Duncan fits the crossdressing barbarian role like a glove, the smoking hot sorceress is played with venom by Kelly Hu and Steven Brand proves his worth as the zealous Alexander the Great wannabe. A fine ensemble to be sure, but with such WWE royalty in their midst, I believe they would have expected some overshadowing. Overall, this is the direction that The Mummy franchise should continue in, without mummies or Brendan Fraser or The Rock being killed. I have a feeling this site hasn't seen the last of this movie series.
Best scene: The Rock vs Vikings. Enough said.

This is not some terrible Conan the Barbarian clone. It's much better.