I’ve recently been asked quite often what my favorite movie is. What’s difficult about that answer is that many films are so different and yet very good, and it’s difficult to compare them together. For instance, Good Will Hunting was an excellent movie, but so was The Matrix. They don’t compare. When one answers the question definitively, it normally is because they usually enjoy a specific style of film to another style. Personally, dramas move me. But we all love movies that move us, whether it be based on a sad theme or a very exciting theme.
Without much ado, here is my Top Ten. There is no particular order (i.e. the first listed isn’t my favorite above the last listed), just a group.
- Good Will Hunting : : Moving characters, superb acting, awesome writing.
- Forrest Gump : : Excellent storytelling, and could Tom Hanks get any better!?
- Fight Club : : If there’s any movie that is so rich with depth of meaning, it’s this one; every time I watch it I learn something new.
- Lord of the Rings Trilogy : : Duh!
- American Beauty : : A perfectly told story about the lives of people who have no hope, no redemption, no self perception of value.
- Schindler’s List : : One of Spielberg’s best films; I sat in the theater after watching just silenced.
- Pirates of the Caribbean : : It’s just a feel-good movie with a pretty good plot, superb special effects, and of course, Johnny Depp’s Oscar-nominated performance. Savvy?
- Eternal Subshine of the Spotless Mind : : An excellently written piece with all of the following wrapped into one: romance, comedy, drama, and sci-fi; all written by the wonderful Charlie Kaufman
- The Matrix Trilogy : : For an action movie to thrill me is rare; The Matrix WOWed me, especially Reloaded.
- Catch Me If You Can : : Another feel-good movie that was not only well-directed, but it had great actors and a fun feel to it.
This list is not a list of the only movies I recommend, nor the ones I only like. In fact, it’s quite incomplete. Maybe one day I’ll review all of these and more. But for now, that’s all.
