The science of cool in movies is a tricky thing. We’re still waiting for a machine powered by the essence of Brad Pitt, Marlon Brando, and Samuel L. Jackson to do the hard work of picking cool films for us. But for now, we’re going at it the old fashioned way.
Titles are tossed out, then discarded based on arbitrary factors: hasn’t proven staying power. Depicts the start of an actor’s downhill slide. Was really good, but just not cool enough. Don’t we already have that director on here? (We could easily do an entire list of cool based entirely from Linklater and Tarantino’s bodies of work.) In the end, we know we’re going to leave out your favorite “coolest” movie of all time. Hell, we might have even forgotten some of our own. But pop one of these ten films in the DVD player, you’re guaranteed at least 120 minutes of cinema at its coolest (more if you choose the director’s cut). Until a better scientific method comes along, we’re cool with it.
Before Sunrise
It all sounds so simple: American wanderer Jesse (Ethan Hawke) meets French student Celine (Julie Delpy) on a train in Europe. He convinces her to get off with him in Vienna instead of continuing on to Paris, and they spend the night getting to know each other before his flight home leaves the next day. That simplicity, however, is exactly what makes this movie so cool - it’s a slice of life. There are no chase scenes, no explosions, but the tension still increases as the time goes by, bringing Jesse and Celine closer to separating even as they‘re still getting to know each other. It’s the character study of two people who, for one night, let their guards down completely and find themselves connecting on every possible level as they voice the thoughts all of us have had at some point. It’s the quintessential twentysomething love story. It’s the night you wish you could steal for your own life, because it’s real, honest, and raw, and even if you try and tell yourself, “This could only happen in the movies,” in the back of your mind, you’re sure it will happen to you if you hop on the Eurail.
The Goonies
Admit it. Your secret childhood dream was to be one of the Goonies. Steven Spielberg’s 1985 classic tale of adolescence had it all - friendship, pirates, buried treasure and Sloth. The Goonies has the captures the spirit of adventure and wonder that only exists in the years before you hit your teens. It helped to launch the careers of Sean Astin (yay!) and Corey Feldman (ugh) and contains some of the most highly quotable lines in history (“Hey, you guuuuuuuuuys!”) But more than that, this is a movie that speaks right to your inner twelve year old. Even when the rest of the town thinks you’re a loser, to your friends, you’ll always be the most awesome guy on the block. Does it get much cooler than that? The answer is no, no, it really doesn’t.
Almost Famous
Arguably the definitive music movie of all time, it seems a little odd to include Cameron Crowe’s ode to 70s rock on a list of cool flicks. After all, to quote Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman), “The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone when you’re uncool”, which is the theme of the movie in a nutshell - well, along with ‘drugs are bad’ and ‘never make friends with rock stars’. William Miller (Patrick Fugit), a high school wannabe rock journalist goes on tour with fictional band Stillwater, where he comes to the realization that being uncool can sometimes make you the coolest guy of all - as long as you don’t try and be someone you’re not.
Dazed and Confused
“Are you cool, man?” Wooderson’s (Matthew McConaghey) southern drawl says it all in this 1994 flick about the last day of school in the 70s. A group of new high school seniors (a fantastic cast, including Parker Posey and a pre-fame Ben Affleck) trolls town, looking for drugs, parties, and freshmen to harass. These seniors are the coolest of the cool, and even the nerds tagging along know it. The soundtrack reads like a who’s who of hip 70s artists, from Foghat to Lynyrd Skynrd. Best of all, the film captures what it’s like to be in high school when summer is on the horizon and a beer promises to solve all your problems. It’s a slice of life picture that’s as cool today as it was in the 70’s – no bellbottoms required.
28 Days Later
Even though it was helmed by semifamous director Danny Boyle, by all rights, 28 Days Later was a movie that never should have come to light. It featured a cast of virtual unknowns, the budget was laughably small, and, well, Boyle shot the whole thing on a mini-DV camera: the preferred choice of amateur film students nationwide. But the small time zombie flick became a big time hit after being picked up by Fox Searchlight. Smart, tightly paced, and packed with genuine psychological scares over cheap gross out gimmicks, 28 Days Later revolutionized the horror movie, and looked damn good while doing it.
Casablanca
“Here’s lookin’ at you, kid." Cooler words were never spoken. As Rick Blaine, the lovesick, sarcastic, and entirely badass bar owner, Humphrey Bogart was the guy who invented cool. Whether he was shooting Nazis or convincing the one woman he loved to stay with her husband, Bogie was a new kind of hero for the movies. He was the guy who had nothing to lose, which made him unflappable. He was the man nothing could get to - until old flame Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) walked into his bar, and it suddenly became clear that Rick had already lost the only thing that ever mattered…but damn if he was going to let it show. Drink some gin, mess with authority, save the girl in the most self sacrificing way possible, and do it all with a flinty, don’t-even-try glare in his eyes - that was Rick, that was Bogie, and that is what on-screen cool should always look like.
Fight Club
We can’t talk about what makes Fight Club so cool. Okay, maybe we can: Ed Norton. Chipped teeth. Brad Pitt’s Tyler Durden, a figment of the imagination so cool that we wish we’d dreamed him up ourselves. A masterful twist ending, back before twists became a complete Hollywood cliché. This ode to splitting knuckles and destroying consumerism plays like the ultimate men’s film, but it’s more than Brad Pitt’s bare chest that pulled women into the theatres. What other movie can combine Zen philosophy with full out bloody brawls to the same effect? Is Fight Club an action movie with a philosopher at its soul, or is it a philosophical journey with a violent bent? Either way, we know it’s one of the coolest things around. But you didn’t hear us say that.
Cool Hand Luke
Perhaps having “cool” in your title helps when you’re vying for coolest movie of all time. Having an actor like Paul Newman playing the titular character certainly doesn’t hurt. It was hard to contest Newman’s coolness in the pre-salad-dressing days of the 60s, when this film was made, and “Cool Hand” Luke was arguably the actor’s crowning achievement. The legendary prisoner who could eat fifty eggs in one sitting and contend with the evil Boss impressed his fellow inmates with the same effortless coolness that impressed moviegoers. Nearly forty years after its initial release, it’s still hanging out at the top of the heap.
Ocean’s 11
When trying to be cool, it helps to have cool source material. It certainly worked for 2001’s Ocean’s 11, a remake of the 1960 Rat Pack flick about the biggest casino heist ever attempted. Then cast a heap of criminally cool actors (Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Brad Pitt and more) playing the slickest thieves known to man. Add in the undeniable allure of Las Vegas, a place that’s hosted as many cool cats as all-you-can-eat buffets. What results is a movie that’s hip, fun, and even cooler than the original. That’s something you can bet on.
Pulp Fiction
Picking just one Quentin Tarantino film to name as one of the coolest pictures of all time is something of a crapshoot. Tarantino, with his distinctive style of combining kickass action with snappy dialogue delivered rapid fire, consistently delivers the coolest offerings in modern cinema. But when all else fails, it’s best to go with this 1994 film about two badass hitmen (John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson). Not only did playing hitman Vincent Vega revive Travolta’s career like a shot of adrenaline to the heart, Pulp Fiction spawned homages and imitations from the get go.
Being cool is a hot commodity. Not everyone gets to accomplish it, but everyone wants to try.
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Written by Guest on 2008-02-29 13:50:02
before sunrise.. is way too cool and real with amazing sountracks and a great story.. totally with u on that! |
Written by Guest on 2008-03-31 09:32:48
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Written by Guest on 2008-06-18 04:45:27
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Written by Guest on 2008-08-02 16:14:04
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alerey
Written by Guest on 2008-10-01 21:07:46
ive seen dazed and confused maybe six times...the best ensemble cast high school nostalgic people-who-became-famous American Grafitti ripoff movie ever! |
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Written by Guest on 2008-12-16 17:05:43
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Written by Guest on 2008-12-28 15:21:06
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Written by Guest on 2008-12-28 15:22:09
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Written by Guest on 2009-05-22 16:49:13
penis. that is all. |
Written by Guest on 2011-06-05 17:36:09
not on where is the breakfast club or standy by me they are cool films? |
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