My TOP 10 Favorite Films of All Time (2009 Edition)

What I’d like to do for you all is write up a list of my favorite films effective every year. Now, this being my first year of this blog, obviously that’s a lofty promise to keep. However, I think it’s necessary to know where I come from in terms of my taste of movies so that you know a little about where I’m coming from. What follows are my favorite films of all time along with brief explanations as to why for each. The reason it’s good to visit this every year is because tastes change. Had you approached me two years ago, two films that would have been on this list would include,  ”The Last Samurai” and “Garden State”. You will notice that neither of these appear. As I get older, my tastes change. Last time I watched “Garden State” it didn’t hit me as hard as it did back when I first saw it five years ago. A movie like, “Away We Go” is more telling of where I am now in my life.

I also tried my hardest to avoid comedies and Disney films. Movies like “Wedding Crashers” are films that I could literally watch one billion times either on TV (even though I own it…) or on sick days. Most Disney movies, like “Aladdin” and “The Lion King” are obvious classics, but not really my favorite movies ever.  That being said, and without further to do, my top ten fave films are as follows:

1) “The Godfather” (5 Stars out of 5): 

Is it cheating to include trilogies? Sure, but I really don’t care. “The Godfather”,  is more like one movie and a bad sequel. The first two films, (as we’ve seen on AMC,) can be effortless spliced together to make one classic movie. The third film is one I don’t think I’ve seen all the way through, and much like Die Hard 4,  (rated PG-13????) we fans don’t like to talk about it much. A fantastic book by Mario Puzo was turned into two perfect movies by director Francis Ford Coppola. The first Godfather film incorporates a lot of the book, and the second film incorporates even more.  Performances from Brando, Pacino, De Niro, Caan and Duval speak for themselves. If you’ve ever found that you don’t like, or can’t follow the movie- read the book!  True character development for the secondary characters is about the only thing lacking from Coppola’s classics. After reading the book, I couldn’t wait to watch the movies again and they all made perfect sense! The best, most untouchable book adaptations ever.

2) “The Lord of the Rings” (4.5 Stars out of 5):

My favorite books of all time, written by J.R.R. Tolkien. When the preview to the first film, “Fellowship of the Ring” came out I remember tears almost welling up in my eyes. I remember the vivid red background on the movie screen and the single ring flipping down diagonally from left to right. The three films as a whole are near perfect. Watch them one by one, and you can see their flaws.  A lot has been said that “The Two Towers” is three hours of nothing happening, and even more have said that “Return of the King” did not deserve to win Best Picture. True, out of the three, the best is probably “Fellowship of the Ring” but that’s because we’d never seen anything like it before! Director Peter Jackson’s trilogy changed the Fantasy Movie genre forever and his body of work as a whole deserved to win. Best viewed as a 12-hour marathon, the three movies following the quest of Frodo Baggins are great adaptations- though not as perfectly crafted, nor as re-watchable as “The Godfather”.

3) “Good Will Hunting” (4 Stars out of 5):

Say what you will, but this movie does something for me. The relationship between Will Hunting (Matt Damon) and Sean (Robin Williams), his psychiatrist, is something that has yet to be repeated. A seemingly simple plot about a kid growing up rough,  and too tough to admit that he just happens to be a genius. It takes the rougher, tougher, character played by Robin Williams to break Will Hunting down.  Every actor (yes, including Ben Affleck) is pure perfection. Minnie Driver disappeared from Earth since it came out, and it’s a great place to view a young Casey Affleck if you happen to be a fan of his. The film’s accolades speak for themselves- Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor 1997. Don’t forget that it was nominated for seven more: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Best Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, and Best Original Song. All those nominations were for a reason. If you have never seen it- you’re missing out.

 

4) “Fight Club” (4 Stars out of 5): 

This will forever be the movie that made me a fan of movies. David Fincher’s movie based on Chuck Palahniuk’s original novel is dark, funny, tense and mind-blowing. The first time I saw it- the ending blew me away! Unlike other movies with twist endings (see: “The Sixth Sense)- it’s re-watchable! One of Brad Pitts best performances, (I happen to believe his best acting was in “12 Monkeys”…you may debate me in the comments section,) and definitely Ed Norton’s best work aside from “American History X”. I love seeing Meat Loaf with fake breasts every time I watch it- and Helena Bonham Carter’s only better role might be as Bellatrix LeStrange in the Harry Potter movies. This is just a great a film! ‘Nuff said!

 

 

 5) “Reservoir Dogs” (4 Stars out of 5):

If you want the full review to this movie you can read it on my blog page from back in September. Director Quentin Tarantino’s first big feature film features unforgettable performances and unforgettable movie moments like; Steve Buscemi’s table talk about tipping, Tim Roth bleeding to death in the back seat of a car, and of course Michael Madsen dancing around to Stealer’s Wheel’s ’Stuck in the Middle With You’ while torturing a cop. A beautiful bloody mess of a film that’s already almost two decades old! Where does the time go? Tarantino basically gambled his career to make this movie and won. Other instant classics like “Pulp Fiction”, “Kill Bill” and “Inglourious Basterds” followed suit.

 

 

 

6) “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (4 Stars out of 5): 

I love Charlie Kaufman’s originality. The screenwriter’s best work is here in a film directed by Michael Gondry and starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. I would argue that Jim Carrey’s best ’serious’ work is shown in “The Truman Show” but if that weren’t the case, “Eternal Sunshine..” is certainly the movie he could have and should have won some kind of award for. Kate Winslet is good in whatever she’s done, and this might be her most charismatic of roles. The plot features a doctor who has created away to erase memories from people’s minds. Winslet’s Clementine has erased Carrey’s Joel from her mind and he’s so upset about it that he’s going to do it to her too. Once the process starts however, Joel realizes he still loves Clementine he doesn’t want her memory to fade just yet. A great cast and great visual effects, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” is the type of film that I’m surprised more people haven’t seen.

 

 7) ”The Matrix” (3.5 Stars out of 5):

There’s no need for me to write a full review for a movie that everybody on the planet has seen 100 times. Perhaps someday my wife and I will watch it again and you’ll get a longer rant from me. There are so many reasons it’s in my favorites, none of them the acting. (Come on, a Keanu Reeves film??If Keanu Reeves was every going to win an Oscar, he should have for this film- this was the perfect part for him!) First of all, the Wachowski brothers reinvented the action movie franchise with their ’bullet time’ slow motion fight sequences. Not even they themselves could copy their own success in the two lame sequels.  Second, the  lobby scene is one of my favorite movie moments of all time. Finally, this movie made sunglasses and long leather duster jackets cool again. And then as soon as it lost relevance, those type of jackets were only cool for fans of Rob Zombie and Static X.

 

 8 ) “The Big Lebowski” (4 out of 5):

One of my more favorite movies to quote. It also features the single best television dub of all time. John Goodman’s character in the original films says, ‘this is what happens when you f**k a stranger in the a$$.’  And when the movie’s on television his character instead says, ‘this is what happens when you meet a stranger in the alps’. The dub is possibly even funnier than the original line. This Cohen brothers movie is an odd comedy featuring Jeff Bridges in one of his best roles as The Dude. The plot is simple, The Dude likes to go bowling and he falls into some bad luck and a case of mistaken identity when two thugs come looking for money. It’s not a movie for everybody, but for those that ‘get it’- it’s true cinema gold!

 

 

 

9) “Tombstone” (3.5 Stars out of 5):

This one is really more of an inside-joke between me and my dad. In the story of Wyatt Earp and the gun fight at the O.K. Corral, we just love Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday. For all of Val Kilmer’s misses, this was the part he was born to play. This is that my ultimate guilty pleasure movie, that when it’s on TV, I can turn it on and before even doing so- know exactly what part it’s at. It might be a little too long but it also might be one of the cooler Westerns to have been made after the movie era when Westerns were at their peak. Kurt Russell is pretty badass as Earp and Sam Elliot is the perfect cowboy as always (Coniger). Powers Booth and Michael Biehn are the classic Western baddies. Look for the early cameo of Billy Bob Thornton, and Terry O’ Quinn (Locke from ‘Lost’) as the town mayor.

 

 

 10) “The Adventures of Indiana Jones” (4.5 Stars out of 5):

I love them all. All four of them. Yes I said it! Did the recent fourth installment feature Harrison Ford as an old man and an ending with computer generated aliens? Yes. But I’ll see your age and aliens and raise you with the girl and Short Round from “The Temple of Doom”. Every Indiana Jones movie is fun it its own right, and all of them are not without flaws.  My favorite of them all is “The Last Crusade” just because Sean Connery is so good. My favorite line of the entire series comes in the third one, ‘we named the dog Indiana!’.  Super cool and super action packed- “The Adventures of Indiana Jones” will stand the test of time, and they are the reason we yearn so bad for more books from Dan Brown. Robert Langdon is alive today because of Indiana Jones and Robert Langdon ain’t got NOTHING on Dr. Jones.  Plus, Steven Speilberg directed all four of them!! What other director has stuck with a film franchise for that long? Oh yea- Indiana Jones 5 is rumored for 2012! Eat that, ‘Lost Symbol’!!!!