My Top 10 Movies (and why)

While we may not always agree on which movie to watch, we do always agree that movies are awesome. I watch them all the time, and try to go see as many new ones as I can afford. I also like to watch all different types of movies, from the funniest comedy to the most serious drama. The only genre I'm really not a big fan of is Romance, but sometimes even those movies can be really good. I thoroughly enjoyed writing my top 10 games list, and decided to do a movie addition as well. I suspect that I'll also do one for TV shows, books, and music as well in the future, and there is always room to come back and do genre specific movies.

As before with the game post, this list is based on my experience and opinion. I try to pick movies for more than just "I like it", and really look for a combination of factors. My movie criteria are similar to my game criteria with a combination of like, impact and innovation. Also like games, a movie series can be included for a single spot. So, here we go again!

Pre list Note: Let me say that this was even harder than the games top 10. There are way more movies than there are games, and some movies stay relevant for longer than games do. Plus, I'm relatively young so my movie history is not as strong as my games history. So, other than the criteria below I made a rule that no movie before 1977 can make the list. "Why 1977" you may ask. Star Wars came out in 1977, and it obviously will make the list. While this rule may seem unfair or arbitrary, think about it. How many movies from before then do people still watch? Sure there are a handful, but not many. Plus, how many of those that still get watched are relevant in any way? I've seen Gone With the Wind, and I can tell you it isn't relevant to modern film or culture in any way other than as a historical landmark. I know you may disagree, especially if you are older, but to most people my age or younger these really old movies don't matter. 

Number 10

Primer: Bet you've never heard of this movie. It was written, directed, and produced by two guys with a few friends and budget of less than 5,000$. It is a bit technical and dry at times, but that was the point. It's a deep look into the human psyche, and it's writing and cinematography are incredible. You will be extremely shocked to find out whats really going on, and even if you figure it out early you still won't understand the scope of it. You really do have to watch it twice to understand the depth and brilliant storytelling that went into the production of the short film. These key factors, plus the fact that such a high quality movie can be made on such a short budget, is what squeaks Primer into the number 10 spot. 

Number 9
The Matrix: The Matrix is perhaps the most well known of the Wachowski's films. It's most notable for how it's action sequences are shot, and it's extensive use of Bullet Time. While not new to cinema, the Matrix perfected the technique and made it widespread. So much so, that it's influence can be see in many movies, video games, and tv shows today. On top of that it is also credited as being one of the movies that helped sell DVD players in the late 90's early 2000's. These two things combined with the fact that the first in the trilogy is the best, slide the Matrix into a comfy 9th place. 

Number 8
Alien: The original Alien is by far the best in the series, and set the bar for an entire genre. It had amazing special effects which still hold up fairly well today, and received several awards for them. It had the perfect pacing and atmosphere for any horror film, and has been imitated and copied ever since. On these merits it has received the title culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant, and is included in the top movies list of all time by the National Film Preservation. These awards plus its significance to horror movies earn Alien the 8th spot on my list. 

Number 7
The Day After: Perhaps no movie on this list is as disturbing as the Day After. The Cold War was is probably the scariest time so far in human history with the United States, Russia, and any one else with nuclear missiles pointing them at each other. The day after was a movie made to show what might happen if the whole world went to hell in a nuclear apocalypse. This was a TV movie that was designed to be a simple interpretation of what would happen in the aftermath of a nuclear war. It instead became both a propagandist scare tactics and outcry against nuclear weapons. It appears to be genuinely unbiased, with the movie making no attempts to make Soviet Russia the bad guy, but rather focus on the individuals surviving the disaster. While it was never a major blockbuster hit, it did raise some very important questions at a time when raising these questions was hard to do. It still holds true to this day, but instead of the Russians we only need to replace the opposition with any number of terrorist groups. These facts, plus the growing relevance of the nuclear discussion in a post Cold War era, put this movie at number 7.  

Number 6

The Vow: As far as chick flicks go, most don't belong on anyone's list. They are usually a cheap pander to the female sex like a generic action flick (RED, The Expendables) is to the male sex. Every once in awhile though, someone tries to make a genuinely grand movie from a simple romance story. Based on a true story, the Vow's wonderful acting, deep story, and brilliant writing made this a movie that gripped at my heart strings and dragged a few tears from my eyes. It presented a situation that is honestly a deep fear to anyone whose ever been a real commuted relationship, and is perhaps the worst thing that could ever happen to your loved one. Even if you hate romance movies, this one is worth a watch for the sheer depth of the story and characters alone.

Number 5
Harry Potter series: Making movies over long periods of time is hard. Your actors change, your audience changes, and the culture generally movies on. Harry Potter however is one exception to the rule. While it started as a popular book franchise, it quickly moved on to being a popular and successful movie franchise. It capitalized on all the things that make long term movie problematic by making them part of its story. That and the fact that it stayed overall true to its source material make the Potter movie series almost one of a kind. It is let down by the fact that once you see something done in the movies, it never really carries the same kind of awe. Quidditch, spell duels, the awesomeness of Hogwarts, and other interesting amazing concepts from the books/movies only ever awe you the first time. Whether or not that's because of the material or the way they are presenting themselves is a question I'm not qualified to answer. I can say that movies like the Avengers, Star Wars, or Lord of the Rings are able to awe you time and time again, and that is why Harry Potter is relegated to number 5.

Number 4
Pulp Fiction: This is overall my personal favorite movie of all time, and in my opinion is Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece. This movie combines non linear storytelling with the best dialogue I've ever seen in any move to create one the most well renowned, awarded, and acclaimed films in movie history. It has been called the best example of a postmodern movie that has ever been created, and is also one of the most loved modern Noir style movies. It is full of symbolism, is incredibly realistic, and emulates real culture so perfectly that it is still relevant 20 years later. Other than these things its genuinely a good movie with good acting, writing, effects, and cinematography. There are two reasons however that it isn't number 1. The first is that what is in first place truly deserves it, because it is the masterpiece of this era of movies. The second reason is that this movie can be extremely hard to watch if you don't like long dialogue sequences or much foul language. Overall it's amazing, but the fact that it has a limited audience due to it's grit leaves it at number 4.  

Number 3

The Tolkien Verse: The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies are wonderful pieces of cinematography that border on art. Created almost a decade apart, they share the same universe and director, and so I felt they went together. These movies are the kind of epic tales that are going to stand up to film scrutiny for decades as being amazing adaptations of the original work, while maintaining their own originality. Readers of the books know that in all the movies they deviate from the original works to make them both more streamlined for film and more relevant to the modern audience. They never detract from the original work though, and often enhance with the smart addition of new characters and altered sequences of events. That, plus some of the best usage of conventional special effects (not computer generated) in any movie ever make these movies unique in the world of super powered computer graphics. Those qualities put the Tolkien Movie Series firmly in the number 3 spot.

Number 2
The Star Wars Series: The Star Wars Franchise is a juggernaut in the industry. Sporting movies, tv shows, books, video games, comics, toys, and board games this series is perhaps the most Iconic in the world. Let alone this list. Many fans don't consider the more recent trilogy in the same ball park as the original, but they all are lumped together in the same series. The new movies weren't bad either. They excelled both as movies themselves and as loyal representations to the original. The problems that stemmed from that came from the older generation watching them, and not have their insanely high expectations met because of how much both themselves and the world had changed. However, that may be a topic for another post all together. The sheer weight of this franchise, combined with the state of the art techniques used to shoot these movies (both sets of trilogies), added to the real world lore and myth that became a part of their creation makes this series legendary to both fans and critics alike. All of these factors combined would have made it number 1 on the list, except for the fact that the top spot is going to a modern series that is doing all of this and more. So, sadly for many fans, Star Wars Stays at number 2. 

Number 1

Marvel's The Avengers Series: The Avengers itself, along with most movies from the whole series, have received extremely positive reviews from critics and regular movie goers alike. Why? Well two reasons. The first and most obvious reason is that it's awesome. They are all good movies with good actors, directors, scripts, and producers that all have given a damn about the material they are working with. As such the product they make is good.

The second and less obvious reason to most people is the scope of what they are doing. Comics, books, and television shows have been doing this sort of thing for years, but movies have never tried. Telling one story across just three movies is hard enough, but doing it over dozens? That's even harder. To date there are 12 Movies we know about for sure in the lineup that have either been made already or announced. They all tell the same overall story, and are/have taken years to produce. They have intermingling story plots, and while there is usually just one headline character per movie, really they have about a dozen main characters so far. That level of commitment, complexity, and excellence has never been seen before in film, and, even if it is successful from start to finish, may never be seen again. Why? Because this is hard to do once, let alone two or more times. I know DC comics is trying make the Justice League movies now with the Superman Reboot, Batman Reboot, and announcements about the Wonderwoman movie, but if the rest of them turn out like superman I'm not sure they'll pull it off. (Superman was not a bad movie, but it was not the caliber of the Avengers movies.)

No matter what happens though, the Avengers series has written a big new chapter in the movie making rule book, and that fact is what makes them number one on my list.

Conclusion:
There it is, my top ten movie's list of all time. I hope you enjoyed the show, and feel free to comment below on any movies you think should have been included.

Just like last time I'm answering what I feel are the most common questions I'll get.

Why didn't you put in X movie? - Well there could be a few reasons, but my two most common answers will be either I didn't see it, or it doesn't have any merit outside of being a pretty fun movie to watch. I tried to pick movies with other qualities that distinguish them from the other "good" movies out there.

Why did you put in X movie? - The answer is similar to the above. I thought it was a good movie that had merit in other categories other than just fun to watch. However, this list is tailored to my taste. So sometimes it may just be as simple as I liked the movie that I listed more than another. I'll happily answer any questions more in depth if you really are curious.