The Thing is an excellent piece of cinema on all levels, concept and execution.

I include Starship Troopers because Verhoeven basically kicked America in the teeth with the truth, and at the time I was too young and foolish to see it. It was only later, after I had learned a great deal, that I could appreciate that under the camp and boobs and flashing white teeth was a serious critique of America's violence and arrogance. In some ways for me it was like one of those buddhist stories that ends with "And then he was enlightened". At one time I didn't understand, and then I did, and it helped me to understand many things about America.

I also include it because I loved the Starship Troopers book, and the movie helped me understand why the book was trash, why it's appealing depictions of military service to a fascist society were nonsense. Verhoeven's Starship Troopers directly challenges and casts down Heinlein's Starship Troopers, and for me that was something I needed.