Favorite Movies

That is a lot of Cameron. PhantomKnight is gonna be so upset

It's a dark day indeed.   Although I won't argue with Titanic so much.

70. This Is Spinal Tap



Spinal Tap is the precursor to the "awkward humour" made popular by The Office. Its got a unique documentary style which works well with the subtle humour. The things these guys say is so ridiculous, you always manage to find new idiotic comments every time you watch.



69. Kill Bill Volume 1



This film surprised me when I saw it, because frankly I expected to hate it. But it was just so much fun! Full of style and flash. I do expect however, that this may go down over time, because I think that perhaps Tarantino's overindulgence may begin to get grating over time.



68. Kill Bill Volume 2



Just like my last set of ten was Cameron heavy, this post is going to be Tarantino heavy. I always seem to flip flop between which of the Kill Bill movies I like the most, and at the present moment it is #2. It just seems to allow itself more room to breath, if that makes any sense.



67. Paths of Glory



Paths of Glory; the war film where we only see one side. But its really cool. The trench camera shots are awesome, and the battle progressions are thrilling. Its an oddly structured film, as the action is all in the first half, and then its a courtroom drama. But it has a lot to say about abuse of power during wartime, and is an important film in Kubrick's repertoire.



66. M*A*S*H*



When I talked about American Graffiti I mentioned those types of movies when dont really have a plot but just let you hang with the characters. MASH is one of the best examples of that. And what characters they are! This is a hilarious movie just in the sense that the people who are here are just funny in and of themselves. And the ludicrous hings they do, like setting up an audience to spy on the girls showering and staging a fake funeral because someone has gone impotent, are hilarious. One of the best comedies ever made.



65. The Godfather Part II



Hollywood's most celebrated sequel. The second part to this grand story sees Michael taking the reigns as don. But it also shows the rise of Vito in a series of flashbacks. In the hands of a less skilled team, this would be a mess, but it works wonderfully well here. With great direction and music this movie is dripping with atmosphere. I know it was you Fredo!



64. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid



I'm not big into Westerns, so you wont see many on this list, but I love Butch and Sundance. Its been said countless times, but the reason this movie is so great is the chemistry between the leads. The reason its said so much is because its simply true. The jumping scene is iconic and great, as is the train robbery and the challenge to Butch's power. Just awesome.



63. Pulp Fiction



Pulp Fiction was a gamechanger. Its a movie that is just cool. It has gangsters talking about McDonalds and footrubs. It has Samuel L. Jackson at his most Samuel L. Jacksony. If you have not yet seen Pulp Fiction, pick it up on blu-ray. Its the one that says "bad mother fucker" on it.



62. Inglourious Basterds



And yet, somehow Tarantino ended up making a film that managed to be better than his signature Pulp Fiction. That film is Inglourious Basterds. Its a movie with a strong vision of what it wants to be and how to get there. It is full of both suspense and humour in equal measure. And it has introduced us to a great villain in Hans Landa. As Tarantino says right there through his screenplay at the end of the film, they may just well be his masterpiece



61. Up



Call me a softy, but I love Up. I mean, look at all the colours! Okay, while it is a visual feast, it has a very strong emotional core with a strong character arc for Carl. Pixar is very good at dealing with themes, and often that theme is dealing with loss. This is the most obvious storyline which fits that, and perhaps the strongest. It also manages to bat out a great love story in five minutes.

Pulp is king, but both are great. Awesome selection of films. Particularly excited to see the underseen Paths of Glory.

60. Psycho



Hitchcock's most notorious film, I can see why it would have caused waves in 1960. Not only because of the graphic murder scenes, but also because of the non-traditional story structure, particularly with the main character. Psycho is a masterpiece of horror; it looks great, it has incredibly creepy moments, an incredibly creepy villain, and suspense tailored by the best.



59.Pan's Labyrinth



An excellent fantasy film inserted into a reality-based history, Pan's Labyrinth tells the story of a young girl who is pulled into a world of magic during the Spanish civil war. The special effects are outstanding and feel very organic in this world. The fantasy elements are used just sparingly enough to be their most effective. Meanwhile the ending, while open to interpretation, is oddly satisfying.



58. Close Encounters of the Third Kind


This is one of those movies which gets better with each watch. At first glance, it is an odd film. There's no villain or even threat, other than Roy's own obsession. There's no real conflict-based climax. Its just story of mystery and wonder, all culminating with that grand ship rising above Devil's Tower. There are some great moments in Close Encounters, starting with the Railway stop scene in the truck, moving on to the mashed potatoes, the UFO chase, and pretty much the entire last 15 or 20 minutes.



57. The African Queen



Two screen legends share the screen for the first (and only?) time in this excellent adventure film by John Huston. Bogie and Hepburn are two unlikely companions caught together in a river boat in Africa at the start of the first world war. They are attempting to escape the Germans as well as avoid dangers like rapids, marshes, leeches, etc. The crew actually filmed in Africa, so there is a strong feeling of authenticity in the photography. And the two performances really make us care for these two characters. Great film, don't pass it over.



56. The Sixth Sense



M. Night Shyamalan has become a joke now, but back in 1999 he was being praised for his directorial debut The Sixth Sense. And for good reason. This is a meticulous thriller with a strong vision of how to build suspense which goes deeper than jump scares and scary masks. Its a ghost story which unfortunately has been reduced in the mainstream consciousness to just its ending. And while the ending is outstanding and wraps up the movie almost perfectly, there is a lot more to the movie than that.



55. Citizen Kane



Often hailed as the best movie of all time, Citizen Kane is a great study of cinematography, story structure, and symbolism. I don't profess to be a cinematography expert by any stretch, but I know what I like, and this movie looks great. From the falling snow globe to the massive fireplace, this is such a well-constructed private world. It also has some outstanding dialogue. New viewers may find it a little on the slow side, but its a movie which appreciates with age.



54. The Bridge on the River Kwai


David Lean is one of those classic film-makers who focused on naturalism and authenticity in his pictures. In Bridge on the River Kwai he takes we the audience to the jungles of Burma. The jungle feels real, the bridge they build feels real. Why? Because they were. The train on the bridge sequence feels real. Why? Because it was. And the human drama feels real. This is an awesome war film and a great motion picture epic.



53. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington



Sometimes straight up sentimentalism and idealism on film works. Mr. Smith is one of the best examples of that. In this movie we see a humble, honest man try yo make his way as a politician in Washington. We cheer for him because he is the every man working against corruption. He love watching him because Jimmy Stewart and the screenplay create such a likable character.



52. Dark City



This film noir science fiction made little fanfare when it was released, but over time it has developed a cult following. I still remember the first time I watched it not knowing a damn thing about it. I didn't know the plot or even the main concept. When Murdock woke up in that tub not knowing what was going on, neither did I. And unraveling the mystery was a great movie watching experience.



51. The Passion of the Christ



This is a polarizing film, as any film with this much of a religious base would be by its very nature. Some people have derided it for Mel Gibson's overuse of violence. Others have claimed that it doesn't have enough of a Christian message in it. But for myself, I find it to be a powerful look at the most important figure in our history on the most important day of our history. The sets, costumes, even the choice to film it entirely in the ancient languages of Jerusalem all help to make it feel as real as possible behind a camera. The story really only deals with the trial and crucifixion of Jesus rather than his whole life, and its important to recognize that, but well-timed flashbacks do give us a sense of his past and the final moment of the film really drives it home.

I know it wont work for everyone, but many people have appreciated what this film set out to do, and I am one of them.

Emphasis on erotic.

Why would I need a gun rack?

How the heck is Sixth Sense better than Psycho? Is this real-life or am I still asleep?

I'm with you all the way on Forrest Gump, especially about the Forrest-Jenny relationship. The end to their arc gets me every. Damn. Time.

^ My fave Wayne's World quote.

40. Gravity



When I chose to make this list I debated with myself to have a certain cut off date for recent movies, for example not including any movies within the last year. The reasoning behind that being that usually films need a little reflection before declaring them as one of your favourites. But with Gravity I need no time buffer. I haven't fallen in love with a movie like I have with Gravity for years. And to be honest, I was a little worried that I had become too critical and that I couldn't be surprised by a movie anymore. But Gravity proved to me that I could.

This movie looks and sounds so good that you feel you are right there in space with the characters. The unerlying themes of the script work amazingly well, providing a lot of power behind this story. I love Gravity, and to be honest the only reason it is as low as 40 is because of that time buffer issue. but I have a strong feeling that this film will only go up the list as the years go by.



39. Inception



Inception is the cure to the "turn-your-brain-off" blockbuster. It proves that you can have a great, exciting ride at the movies without having to lower your IQ. Christopher Nolan and company have put together a wonderful movie filled with imagination, great action, and great characters. They build the rules of the dream world so well that you can rely on them to all come together and make sense, without the plot getting too ludicrous. There's a hallway fight in zero gravity, a James Bond-esque mission to break into a winter compound, and a really great mystery at its emotional core.



38. Dances With Wolves



A grand, sweeping epic telling the tale of a soldier who comes to live with the Sioux people during Civil War times. It is paced just right and has many great moments like the buffalo hunt scene. I love historical epics and Dances with Wolves is one of my favourites to be sure.



37. The Shawshank Redemption



I think that this movie would be on a lot of people's lists. It just has that charm that draws people in, along with a great story of the human spirit. It verges on sentimentalism but never tips over the edge. It has some really great feel-good moments like when he plays the music for the prison or when he manages to score some beers for his buddies on the roof. And the last 20 or so minutes is just the perfect way to end this great movie.



36. The Dark Knight



A masterfully crafted superhero film and the best of its genre. Nolan's Dark Knight became a phenomenon and for good reason. The acting is awesome,, especially Heath Ledger's Joker, the action scenes are spectacular, like the opening heist and the prisoner transport scene, and the plot is full-bodied. I know some will think its too dour, asking "why so serious?", but I like the tone established here and the lack of goofiness. This is Batman to his full potential. This is a superhero movie to its full potential.



35. The Social Network



Yes, the Facebook movie is one of my top 40 films of all time. The combination of David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin, one of my favourite directors and one of my favourite writers, is genius. And Jesse Eisenberg's performance really brings the script to life. He is an asshole, but an asshole who is fun to follow through this whole story. But what really makes Social Network great is that it is truly a film for our time. Its about the new generation making success in their own way and shaping their own world. Its a great film.



34. Platoon



Platoon used to be my favourite war movie, and though I've reassessed that thinking, I do still think its a powerful, tactile look at war and the loss of innocence it brings. The counteracting characters of Barnes and Elias provides some great conflict with Charlie Sheen's Taylor in the middle.



33. Bringing Up Baby



This is flat-out one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. Screwball comedy at its finest. Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn play great off each other; he a straight-laced scientist representing order, she an off-the-cuff socialite representing chaos. Oh, and there's a funny dog. And a leopard. And scene after scene of ludicrous situations and witty quips. Damn I love this flick. One of the best comedies ever made.



32. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King



Peter Jackson's epic trilogy based off of J.R.R. Tolkien's incredible novels changed the movie landscape. And by the time the phenomenon reached the third film, the hype and excitement was palpable. The stakes were raised incredibly high in the final installment as Frodo reached Mordor and the pother characters prepared for war in Gondor. And incredible spectacle follows. The battle of the Pellanor fields was outstanding, especially with the large Oliphants and the witch-king on his winged beast. But the Mount doom scenes with Frodo, Sam, and Gollum were my favourite parts. I felt like I was there with them, and it truly lived up to being an amazing climax.

Now I must admit that this third movie has some flaws, including an ending that wont end (though that doesn't bother me as much as it does other people) and the ridiculous ghost army. But otherwise, an amazing epic fantasy which raises the bar and reaches it.



31. It's a Wonderful Life



Yeah yeah, call me a sap. I don't care. I love this movie. And its not because I used to watch it every Christmas and there's a nostalgia with that, because I honestly didn't see this until I got out of high school Its just a genuinely great movie. Its not gritty or hard-edged perhaps, but its just clean, heartfelt goodness. And sometimes that can be really refreshing.

1. Jungle 2 Jungle