Article by Gabe Zia
Yesterday, I started talking about my top 20 favorite movies of all-time, and said I'd be splitting it into two parts (because I'm not going to get you to read a full top 20 list, that's ridiculous). So here is part 2. My pick for #1 may be seen coming a while away depending on how long you've been reading this and how well you know me in real life. However, like that would ever stop me, let's be real here.
#10
My pick for #10 is unlike the rest of the entries on this list, because it's not here due to the films actual quality. I think it's an awesome movie, and would make my top 20 regardless of whether or not I held personal value to the film. However, the fact of the matter is, I have sentimental value to this movie, which is why it makes the #10 spot.
So you may be wondering what sentimental value this movie has to me. Basically, Firefly has been my favorite tv show for a long time now, it's original, it's fun, and it's well written. However, unfortunatley, it was cancelled by Fox after its first season for reasons that are beyond me. So, Joss Whedon answered that by making a movie to give fans some much needed conclusion to the series. With more of the great characters we've come to know and love so well, and more of the awesome action and writing the show gave us, Serenity is the perfect ending to a one of my favorite shows, and is more than everything fans wanted (besides maybe season 2).
#9
Some movies leave you with a warm sense of happiness. Some movies leave you absolutely astonished at the obscure film you just watched. Some movies are so damn depressing, that they leave you in an emotional rut for a week, contemplating pretty much everything. Rarely do movies combine these emotions, but they happen every now and then.
Before Jake Gyllenhaal was filming crime scenes in Nightcrawler or getting blown up again and again in Source Code, he did this underground sci-fi film. Donnie Darko has achieved cult status with its original story, its strange visuals, its quirky sense of humor, and its strong themes connecting to things a lot of people could relate to. This movie is one of the biggest emotional roller coasters, because one scene you'll have the lead going through an emotional crisis, the next he'll be talking about how his class is moronic and needs to be fixed, and the next it'll be a trippy dream sequence without any explanation. These are three completely different tones, and yet his movie blends it all seamlessly.
#8
This is the third and final Tarantino film on the list, and of his movies, this is easily the most insane. This movie is without a doubt one of my favorite action movies of all-time, and one of the best revenge films, easily the most memorable.
Most action films either have way too much action going on for their own good, or not enough making it seem almost boring. Kill Bill is one of the few that is thankfully does neither of these things. While it isn't filled to the brim with action, this movie paces itself well enough that even while there's no action, you're still entertained. This film is a lot of build up, with a huge payoff in the form of a twenty minute action scene. This action scene is the essential reason as to why I love Kill Bill vol. 1 so much, and why it's a movie I can pretty much watch whenever. This movie in a weird way set the tone for what kind of films I would come to love, with it's quirky world, it's over the top violence, and it's style which is a weird combination of a John Woo action film with some western elements in there.
#7
British comedies are some of my favorite comedies, because the term "British humor" can mean so much. It can mean deadpan, it can mean dialogue based, it can mean dark humor, it can even mean a bit of morbid humor. My pick for #7 Is a weird mix of all of these things in one movie.
I've watched this movie countless times. It's another one of those movies with a constant, neverending amount of unique characters. Each of the different characters in this movie has a completely separate personality from the last character, and no two characters ever seem similar. This leads to every single scene in this movie having engaging and often times hilarious dialogue that you can't take your eyes off of. Every character in this movie has great chemistry, and they all have at least one line that you could easily put on a t-shirt. They also often steal any scene they're in, which creates this weird effect where one scene stealer is in a scene with another scene stealer, and you don't know who's better.
#6
High school movies, what a genre. The large majority of these movies are clustered with melodrama, cliches, characters who are arbitrarily good or bad people, and there's no grey area. Everyone in most of those movies would fit into a stereotype or a social circle. As you probably expected, this isn't one of them.
Before he was doing Boyhood, the Before series, or School of Rock, Richard Linklater made this awesome and kind of underrated high school film called Dazed and Confused. It wasn't made in the 80s, but it totally looks like it, with it's visual style and the way the set's been designed to look. And that is what I love about this movie, is that it's not glamourized, it doesn't romanticize high school, and it's not melodramatic. This is an honest look at what normal 80s high school seemed like. I mean, I'm assuming it's honest, I wasn't alive in the 80s, but you get what I'm saying. The dialogue isn't incredibly witty, but it feels like real conversations real people would have. This doesn't feel like a normal hollywood movie, this feels like a film that kind of captures real life in a bottle. Granted, this film is also filled to the brim with alcohol and drugs, even that isn't like normal high school movies. Alcohol in this movie doesn't make people party animals, and drugs don't make people hallucinate and freak out. They just exist, which you could argue is what the characters in this movie do. It's not escapism, but it's impressive nontheless.
#5
This is a movie which has become a big topic of discussion amongst me and my friends, as to whether or not it's a cinematic masterpiece, or just pretentious. For me, as you could guess, I think it's the former.
Drive a movie that, despite it's slow pace and mellow tone, I can watch pretty much whenever. This film is shot amazingly, filled with vibrant colors and intriguing shots, and it's set up perfectly. For the most part, to me, movies are entertainment, and I will rate them based on how much they entertained me. With Drive, it's a totally different kind of movie watching experience, where I'm watching it, and I'm just appreciating all the detail, and all the effort put into this masterpiece. That's a word I don't use all that often, because I don't usually regard films like I would a painting. However, in this films case, I hold this film to high regard, because it's not just a thriller, this is what I would really call a near perfect work of art.
#4
Originality and creativity are key things to have in the mind of a writer and director for a film. The more original the concept is, or the more creative a director is with said concept, the better the film ends up. This is a movie I beleive boasts loads of both originality and creativity, and uses it really well.
Moon follows the story of Sam Bell, a man who works as this miner/engineer working at this mineral farm on the moon. However, what makes this movie original is the fact that while on the moon, he stumbles upon a crashed lunar rover of some sort, and finds a dying and weakened version of himself. Sam Rockwell completely sells this movie, and gives it all in a downright oscar worthy performances. The mystery behind this film is intriguing and creates an interesting discussion. The messages and themes this movie brings up are so many, and really profound themes at that. This is a film that engages you and keeps you intrigued with an insane amount of intelligence behind it. Much like Drive, it's on this list simply due to how much quality and integrity this film has as a form of art, and how much there is to appreciate her.
#3
So, with Drive and Moon being here for their artistic quality, you're probably tired of hearing about my analysis of movies and what the deeper meaning it. Because, sometimes a movie can just be really entertaining, have simplicity, but still retain intelligence and have lots of skill and talent behind it.
Attack the Block is at its core, a simple film. A group of teenage criminals have to fight off an alien invasion localized in their apartment complex. What sells this movie and what amkes it entertaining is a few things. The characters are memorable and extremely well written, the dialogue is witty and delivered really well by the actors, and it's incredibly rewatchable. With it's perfectly balanced pace and shorter running time, Attack the Block is a movie I can watch whenever, and never get tired of it. What I love about this movie is that while it's not an art house drama, and it doesn't have a deeper meaning to look into, it's just an insanely fun movie. This movie makes my #3 because it's such a fun and quick good time, I can't not love it. If it's on, I will watch it. If it's not on, I'll probably watch it later.
#2
Like I said, big fan of the Coen Brothers right here. A lot of their films have made this list, and there's one more. If you know anything about the coen brothers, or any of their movies, you know what movie I'm talking about. A film with no need of an introduction:
Much like Attack the Block, this is a film that thrives on the fact that it isn't filled with extravagance. It's a simpler film. However, what puts this above Attack the Block is the fact that it's a simpler film with the Coen brothers behind it, which makes it incredibly unique and almost philosophical in it's simple nature. The thing about this movies plot is that it isn't really a plot, but more of a series of events, some of which are related to the other. It's more of a look at a set of odd characters put into an odd position, tied together by The Dude. Jeff Bridges is iconic as The Dude, and this film is incredibly quotable. I know of at least a few scenes in this movie that, if someone wanted me to, I could probably remember line for line just off by heart. It's incredibly memorable, incredibly quotable, and just an incredible film.
Honorable Mentions
Being John Malkovich
Iron Giant
Aliens
American Pyscho
In Bruges
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Silence of the Lambs
The Thin Red Line
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Magnolia
Children of Men
Kingsman: The Secret Service
The Dark Knight
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows pt. 2
The Empire Strikes Back
Dredd
Platoon
Taxi Driver
Snowpiercer
Apocalypse Now
The Shining
Inception
Predator
Inglorious Basterds
Kick-Ass
50/50
The Rock
Seven Psychopaths
Her
Mud
My #1 Favorite Movie of All-Time
You might be wondering what makes Fight Club so special, what puts it over the other entries on this list. Fight Club is, to me, all of the things I love in movies wrapped into one movie. The film has a thought provoking and philosophical nature that can create endless amounts of conversation and discussion about the films true meaning. However, it also manages to be something someone can enjoy simply for entertainment purposes. Edward Norton and Brad Pitt are fantastic in this movie, their chemistry is insane, working in completely different ways depending on what part of the movie it is. This film can be looked at in so many ways, and enjoyed for so many reasons. This movie is so many different genres blended seamlessly together into one genre, making this movie truly one of a kind. The dialogue is some of the best dialogue I've seen, and every actor delivers every line perfectly. Now, normally I don't care about spoilers, but seeing as how I know people who still haven't seen this movie, I won't say anything about the plot other than I think this film is a landmark in cinema history, and that everyone should watch it at least once in their life. It's a violent, artistic, entertaining, and memorable masterpeice, and it is without a doubt in my mind my favorite movie of all-time.
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