One of my favorite online film reviewers, the Angry Videogame Nerd on Cinemassacre.com, recently made his top 30 favorite films list. The internet is notorious for people making top favorite lists or top best films lists. I always enjoy reading them because, although not one person can say what the "best" movie is and have everyone agree with him, someone could suggest their favorites and their reasons why, inspiring others to go out and watch new movies. This always sparks my own personal love for my favorite films and intrigues me to see what the writer see's in their favorites. So I thought I would share my top ten, add a little feedback into what the general story is about and add insight into why it makes my list.
I have a list of my top 50 on Facebook Movies, which is a general ranking of my favorites. Although my top ten could all be considered my favorite, this is the rank I would put them in in terms of how much I enjoy them, appreciate them, and feel they have inspired me.
The ones that almost made the cut:
15. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
14. Good Will Hunting (1997)
13. Taxi Driver (1976)
12. Pulp Fiction (1994)
11. Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)
10. Schindler's List (1993): This film did a doozie on me when I first checked it out back in 2005. I honestly can tell you I have only seen it once in my entire life so this review can be a little dry. I had always heard about it's accolades and I gave it a shot back when I was in my sophomore year of high school and boy did it inspire me. Not only is the true story of Oscar Schindler (played by Liam Neeson), so moving and fascinating, it shows true genious behind the camera done by the great Steven Spielberg. The film is shot in black and white but adds a few shots of color correction seen in candle lights or a little girls coat that I always remember. It's so well done, this film will break your heart.
9. Groundhog Day (1993): The best comedy of all time. Harold Ramis directs the story of a man who's stuck in the same day and must repeat it over and over until he gets it right. Seeing Bill Murray go through the motions of a typical groundhog day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. He is stuck as a weatherman covering the story of Punxsutawney Phil and shows so much disdain for his position in this town. As he repeats his days and meets the people, he goes through the insanity I feel anyone would in his situation. He at one point believes he's a god, tricks a woman into dating him, tries to kill himself repeatidly, and eats as much as he wants, all in different sequences. But after all this, he finds himself learning to love the townspeople and ends up helping everyone and falling in love with his producer. Its a really genuine film that only gets better with repeated viewing and showcases Bill Murrays best comedic performance ever, in my opinion.
8. The Graduate (1967): When I tell you this film is about the story of Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddock, a man who has just graduated college, has everything going for him, feels hes missing something in his life, and then finds himself sleeping with his parents friend named Mrs. Robinson, only to realize he has fallen in love with her daughter who is also his age...you would probably think this is nuts. But the story unfolds brilliantly, with the help of the best soundtrack ever to be showcased in a film by Simon and Garfunkel, and has brilliant direction by Mike Nichols. One scene that always stood out for me is when Benjamin first sleeps with Mrs. Robinson and a montage ensues that goes through the songs "Sound of Silence" and "April Come She Will". The progression shows him going through the affairs he has and shows time passing as he slowly goes through this act secretly and effortlessly. We see him walk out of a pool and into his poollhouse, only to see the next cut he is in a hotel room with Mrs. Robinson. The next show the camera closes up on Benjamins face and zooms out to show him somewhere else. It's a terrific showcasing of editing I would recommend to anyone.
7. Se7en (1995): Se7en, directed by David Fincher, is so dark and twisted it blows my mind everytime. It's an old cop and new cop dynamic shown this time by Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt. We love both these characters, identifying with Morgan Freemans hatred of the violence he's seen in the world due to his seniority as a cop, and Brad Pitt's eagerness to join in on destroying this violence. These two characters work together to find killer, John Doe, who is murdering to the tune of the seven deadly sins shown in Biblical writings. I do not want to spoil anything about this movie but the ending twist still gives me a shiver down my spine. A sidenote also: the film takes place in seven days and the seventh day is the only day not to rain. I always liked that.
6. Its A Wonderful Life (1946): James Stewart was an Oscar winning comedic actor when he volunteered to fight in World War II. When he came back, he was awarded medals for his bravery and service. He returned to acting with his friend, director Frank Capra, in a darker role, in this "wonderful" film we see in syndication every Christmas season. Apparently this film did not due well in the box office and was only a success due to later distribution on television and video tapes in later years. Thank God for this because James Stewart plays a character that I feel is the most worthy of rooting for to succeed in the end in the history of cinema. The entire film, his character George Bailey is given one problem after another, as the angel Clarence (and we as viewers) watch him grow up. His life is a precious thing and when George Bailey finally hits his breaking point and considers suicide, Clarence comes down and shows him a world where he had never been born. Bailey sees how he has effected the world around him and see's how much he has meant to everyone in the town of Bedford Falls. When he finally wishes to live again and sees his old life restored, he is so happy that it radiates off the screen and makes us all happy to be around the people we love in our lives. If you don't shed a tear when George Baileys brother utters the line, "A toast...to my big brother George. The richest man in town!", towards the end of the movie...well I don't know what to say to you.
To be continued in Blog Part 2
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