Before Sunrise (Richard Linklater 1994)-A witty slacker talk fest transpiring solely between two twenty-something Gen-Ex wayfareres. Ethan Hawke plays Jesse, a heartbroken american vagabond zipping across Austira via Eurorail. He meets Celine (Julie Delpy) twenty minutes before his Vienna stop. Celine in en route to Paris and after terse flirtatious swap Jesse cozens Celine off the train inviting her to embark on an immortal night of self-realization, dreams and young-adulthood discovery. The two sojourners only have one night together before Jesse's flight leaves for the States and the entire film evolves entirely around philosophical dialougue narrowing in on those who are young enough to still dream and not get mired in the brink drudgery of a routine career-oriented existence. Linklater's script is as crystal and ephemeral as his movie--the elusive pot of rhetorical gold momentarily found at the end of the dwindling rainbow. The movie, as well as its recent sequeal (Before Sunset), serves as the best definition of true unalloyed love this writer has ever witnessed.
TRAINSPOTTING (Danny Boyle 1996)
Based on Irvine Welsh's International Bestseller (ten times better than his bleak book) the film adaptation offer a comical take on hardcore heroin abusers as well as hardcore Scotish Brouge. Ewan McGregor offers a superlative perfomance as Mark Renton who has a very operative choice to make. "Choose life. I chose something else." I saw this film six times in the theatre back in 1996. The scenes of London are hard to beat.
Babe 2: Pig in the City ( George Miller 1998)
This was one of Siskle and Ebert's best films of the year. There rationale being, it's the type of movie that inspires young writers to want to write movies. A picaresque, spasmodic romp. Little Pig traverses to the city only to discern that the it's a cruel world indeed. Visually very appeasing.
Sliding Doors ( Peter Howitt 1998)
A cross between Joseph Conrad's "Secret Sharer" and Bill Murphy's adorable GROUNDHOGSDAY. Gwyneth Paltrow misses a London Tube stop (or does she) and her body splits into duals. A soapdish philosophical anglophile gem!
Waiting For Guffman ( Christopher Guest 1997)
A docu-comedy that shines with hilarity when a small town endeavors to take their play "RED, WHITE and Blaine" to the lights of broadway. The narrative of this film takes place solely in "interview" sequences. A superb, portait of rustic american and their unfounded (yet absolutely tear-splintering hilarious) vizionary dreams.
GOOD WILL HUNTING (Damon/affleck 1997)
Unlike our beloved prof, I (to this day) still adore this movie. It captured South Boston and Cambridge academia PERFECTLY. The mathematical chalk board proofs extrapolated by the films protagonist almost persuaded this lil' writer to doff his word processor and don a pocket calculator. Backed by cool Eliot Smith guitar rifts, this is one film that rewards the viewed and somehow lulls them at the same time.
Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson 2001)
Optically, this Indie film looks like it could have been shot in the Vinyl vector of a Salvation Army thrift shop. It ranks with Babe 2 as a movie that compels young film writers into a full-fledged life in the arts. The film is about a lackluster father (Gene Hackman) trying to rectify his familial foibles by pretending he has cancer. Incidentally this was the first movie I saw after my father's swift death (from cancer) and I laughed so fucking hard I cried out all my grief. When a film hits you like this, it's nothing short of a divine aesthetic solace. I'll always be thankful for this film...it served as an emotional sleeve at a time when tears were cumbersome.
LEGENDS OF THE FALL (1994 Edward Zwicks)
I used to have dreamy long dreads just like Tristan. The Montana scenary is stunning. A brawny movie for those boys whose obssesion with Marlboro Men fetishes and horses lasted far beyond Trigger.
FIELD OF DREAMS (Costner 1989)
Purely a film for visionaries.
CAST AWAY (ZEMECKS 2000)
This film is brilliant because Tom Hanks relates to an inanimate volleyball WILSON as a fully sentient human being. I love the absence of dialougue and the lulling rake of the ocean smashing upon an isolated shore. A movie for the loner and lover burrowed in all our skulls.
Barger, Christine
1. Nell
2. Rocky Horror Picture Show
3. Boys Don't Cry
4. The Labyrinth
5. Shakespeare in Love
6. American Beauty
7. Dogma ( the whole Jay and Silent Bob series)
8. The Ring
9. Seven
10. Girl Interupted
McKee, Nicholas M.
1. Fight CLub (had to go there, its help shade my views of life)
2. Life as a House (it touched me in a personal way much like Terms of Endearment, Both people died of cancer, liek someone close to me)
3. Seven (a great film that much like life ends on a down note)
4. The Usual Suspects (greatest frmae story ever PERIOD)
5. Pulp Fitcion (this is actaully one film that inspried me to write and was the first screenplay I ever read)
6. Memento (I think that film speaks for itself)
7. The Godfather (American mafia classic)
8. The Big Labowski (Kind of the oddball of the list but how can you forget "You this LARRY! You see this! This is want happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass!)
9. Resivour Dogs (I got to Fincher's and I didnlt want to put two Tarantino's but that is a cool movie. "Clowns to the left of me jokes to right. Here I am stuck in the middle with you." All while a cop is being multalated. Great stuff)
10. American Beauty (kind of a cop out and I know afer I post this I'm going to think of another movie like Silence of the Lambs or the Ref, but Lester is one of my favorite characters.)Palakeel, Thomas
Thomas Palakeel's latest top 10 favorite movies of all time.
I change this list periodically.
The Godfather. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola (English, US)
No other film feels still so serious and urgent in recollection; characterization, the steady momentum of the story, the stunning visuals.Seven Samurai. Dir. Akira Kurosawa (Japanese)
This is an ensemble movie which is probably the best expression of Kurosawa. I could have picked any of his movies.Fanny and Alexander. Dir. Ingmar Bergman (Swedish)
I have seen most of Bergmann. This is one of his last works. A very large scale film, with deep internal tension. No disrutpion in the flow even for a moment. In fact, I love all Bergman movies, still trying to watch all 44 of them!Andre Rublev. Dir. Andre Tarkovsky (Russian)
A roughly hewn gem I got to see recently. Astounding! Doesn't fit any of the usual categories. It is a true epic on Medieval Russia.Devi. Dir. Satyajit Ray (Bengali)
This is neo-realism at its best. One of the greatest directors of all time. I could have chosen any of his films. This is one is difficult, but very clean, tight, and intense.Elipathazham. Dir. Adoor Gopalakrishnan (in Malaylam)
This is arguably the greatest movie in my language. The director continues the legacy of Ray. His work has the feel of a Visconti or Ozu.Farewell my Concubine. Dir. Chen Keige (Chinese)
Enormously intelligent, multi-layered Chinese opera epic. I still hear the music. It is about everything: love, longing, art, history.That Obscure of Object of Desire. Dir. Louis Bunuel (French). This is a replacement for Birds. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock(English, US)
Birds! Hitchcock haunting story about beauty and horror. I don't like horror genre, but H trascends it. I want to see all Bunel. Such flow
such irreverance, such joy.Caligula. Dir. Tinto Brass (English, Italian)
This is a wild card. I don't know a better movie about sexual anarchy! I see it as a drama of our secret existence which we keep muzzled with social conventions and fear and religion. This is what we will do if there is no accountability, this is what you do if you are a Caesar!The Last Picture Show. Dir. Peter Bogdanovich (English, US.)
Elegant black and white narrative about high school kids in a small Texas town. It has some special personal meaning for me, and I also like Bogdanovich as a consummate cinema artist. You see him play a director in Festival in Cannes.
Asphahani, Joseph A1) Fight Club [this movie changed my life. i walked out of the theatre feeling totally stoned.]
2) Seven [another movie that made me think. is john doe really a bad guy?]
3) Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels [i love the interweving, parallel, interweving storylines of Guy Ritchie. better than snatch, by a little.]
4) Lord of the Rings: FotR [i read the books when i was 13-14. some people say the movie ruins it, but by god, steve jackson couldn't have done a better job of bringing tolkien's world to life, and no one could have done a better job than him. i shit you not! great movie!]
5) Ronin [I could watch the chase scenes in this picture a thousand times and still never blink.]
6) Hard Boiled [Now we get to the guns, baby. Chow Yun Fat, John Woo, 10,000 bullets later, you have a great movie.]
7) Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust [does anime count? well, i hope so. it has characterization, beautiful scenery, and one of the greatest scenes of true love i have ever seen. check it out]
8) Enter the Dragon [bruce lee = god.]
9) Willow [ya know, come to think of it, this movie probably belongs somewhere before #9. absolutely spectacular.]
10) Tron [just because i'm running out of movies here, but this movie was great nonetheless. the metaphor between real life and video games used in the story is unequaled in creativity.]Ecob, Thomas B
1)The Empire Strikes Back - Honestly, this is my favorite movie of all time. Sure its part of a science fiction mellodrama but this one just stands out as different. Its very dark and grim with an amazing twist at the end. I still love it when Vader tells Luke he's his father. Its also a movie where the good guys don't win which is such a rarity now a days. Great movie and easily the best of the Star Wars movies.
2)L.A. Confidential - I think this movie is incredibly well written and has an amazing look to it. The acting was top notch with Kevin Spacey, Guy Pierce and Russel Crow (it pretty much pushed him into the main stream) but I didn't think Basinger did that great a job even though she won an oscar. Its got a complicated plot which boils down well at the end. Its easy to have a complicated plot but its something special when you can keep it from becoming convoluted.
3)Back to the Future - This movie came together so well. With such an odd, yet intriguing plot there was always the possibility of it being to cheezy. Everything works in the movie and has enought tension and humor to make in endearing.
4)Babe - Yeah, sure its about a pig but this has gotta be one of my favorite movies. If you just shrugged it off as a silly kids movie you should go back and watch it. James Cromwell did an amazing job as the farm owner and there were so many intersting and humerous characters. Its your classic tale of the triumph of the underdog.
5)Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb - A great Stanley Kubrik movie that is probably one of the greatest comedies of all time. The screenplay was very well written and the premise of a satire about nuclear holocaust is just plain entertaining.
6)Terminator - Another science fiction movie but one with an incredibly orginal and frightening plot. The Matrix owes a lot to this movie. I also like the idea of the unstoppable, relentless enemy.
7)Raiders of the Lost Ark - Another movie with relentless action. When I first saw this movie it felt like I had only been sitting down for ten mintues. Movies that do that to a person are doing something right. Once again, everything clicked and Harrison Ford did a superb job.
8)Platoon - This is my favorite war movie. I know someone will say it was Saving Private Ryan, or All Quiet on the Western Front but for my money Platoon is the real MaCoy. It not only shows the horror of war but what that can do to a man. It shows soldiers who become animalistic and shadows of men. No other movie I have seen really touches on it.
9)The Godfather - Even though they've been playing it to death on television lately it still is a remarkable movie. Mario Puzo's book was really translated well to the screen and of course the acting and characters are without equal.
10)The Searchers - Yes, a western is one of my favorite movies. I love journey movies, a man seeking the impossible, or chasing the unstoppable. A ex-soldier searches for his niece for years across a vast expanse of land. It is a dark and lonely movie and John Wayne plays an almost mythical hero. It is a great struggle of good and evil and I'm sure most of the students in our screenwriting class have never seen it. I urge you to see it. Directors such as Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Jean-Luc Godard and George Lucas have all listed it as one of their biggest inspirations.
Pierson, Joshua M.
I couldn't possibly name a top ten, so how about I name the first ten that come to mind (in no specific order)
USUAL SUSPECTS-The first time I saw the ending, I all- but soiled myself
GoodFellas- Fantastic in every sense of the word.
CITIZEN KANE- okay, too easy, but there is a reason the AFI holds it in such high regard. In all the films I've ever seen, few have matched the profundity, and brilliance of the Life of Charles Foster Kane.
AU REVOIR LES ENFANTS- A beautiful, and absolutely brilliant French film about jews hiding from Nazi persecution in a French boarding school.
O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU?- I find myself hard-pressed to pick a favorite Cohen Brothers film, but this is nothing short of a masterpiece. A retelling of the story of Oddyseus through the backwater South, with astounding talent, brilliant characters, and an unforgettable soundtrack. This film is as picturesque as it is entertaining! Consequently, I could've just as easily justified Miller's Crossing/Raising Arizona/Huduscker Proxy/ Man Who wasn't There/Barton Fink etc. (Maybe not Blood Simple)
LOCK STOCK & TWO SMOKING BARRELS- While I own both this and SNATCH, this is probably the more clever, well-scripted, and entertaining of the Guy Ritchie films. Though they both follow a similar formula, this one does it better!
THE SIXTH SENSE- M. Knight Shyamalan's films all seem to follow the same formula-- a series of seemingly insignificant points that culminate in a surprise ending and flashback revelation, and in this, his first film, he actually does it effectively. His films are progressively worse, and while I did really enjoy UNBREAKABLE, SIGNS was a complete and utter waste of celluloid!
Consequently, I had a class RUIN the ending for me by the teacher prompting an open discussion of it before I'd seen the film. NOTE: If you really want to see a movie---don't be cheap and wait for the DVD to hit Blockbuster.MEMENTO- An experiment in Screenwriting/Film, and one that, in my opinion, was pulled off with flying colors.
NOTORIOUS- Grant and Bergman are simply amazing in this brilliant Hitchcock masterpiece. One of Variety's all-time box office champions and nominated for Best Original Screenplay in 1974.
THE GREAT ESCAPE- A great film and a lot of fun that was bold enough not to tack on a fluffy, happy ending despite the overwhelming trend---and let's face it Steve McQueen is the man!
Thurkettle, Nicholas
God, how this question haunts me! I never seem to be able to get my list down to just 10. I just love too many movies. And Josh is right - Steve McQueen is the Man. THE GREAT ESCAPE is definitely on my list. Anyway, while I struggle to put a concise list together, here's my top 10 (10-ish, actually 12) recent movies (mid 90's forward), in alphabetical order (I don't have the heart to rank them):
About a Boy - Nick Hornby also wrote the book "High Fidelity" (which nearly made this list) and this is so far my favorite movie of 2002. Touching, honest, unexpected in so many ways, and one of Hugh Grant's sharpest performances (see this and Bridget Jones, he plays such a good bastard!)
Almost Famous - This movie gets me every time I see it. So funny and heartbreaking at the same time, so honest about the awkwardness of adolescence (as well as the prolonged adolescence of rock stars). When Penny Lane asks "what kind of beer?" I damn near tear up.
Amelie - Pure, uplifting magic, and it reminds you just what movies can do. You start to see how lazy so many other movies are.
Best in Show - I've seen this half-a-dozen times, and I still laugh out loud from start to finish every time. Improvisational, character-nuanced humor at its absolute peak.
Boogie Nights - Exhilirating filmmaking (Scorsese cribbing, at least he steals from the best!), brilliantly-realized characters, and the world's worst drug deal, one of the best scenes in any movie of the 90's.
The Iron Giant - This animated movie has gone so far under the radar because it wasn't Disney, please see it and spread the word! Imagine an animated ET, except replace the little alien with a 100-ft-tall robot. If there's a part of you that's not cynical, this movie will get to you!
L.A. Confidential - Classy, classy, classy. Hollywood in the Golden Age used to make this kind of movie look easy. An astonishingly complex plot made comprehensible without seeming dumbed-down, a crackling cast, and one of the best musical scores in years (TITANIC robbed it at the Oscars. ROBBED I tell you!)
Les Miserables (Claude LeLouch) - What impossible genius - parts of Victor Hugo's story, some re-enacted, others reflected in the life of a group of characters struggling to survive the Nazi occupation of France. It not only grows the novel in our minds by showing how universal it truly is, LeLouch manages to create a story that proves to be its equal. I'm just stunned whenever I think of how good this movie is.
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - I've waited half of my life for these movies, ever since I first read the novels. A lot to live up to, and they did. In every way.
Shakespeare in Love - I love Shakespeare, and I love Tom Stoppard, and they're both at their best here. This is the kind of movie that really lifts my spirits - I'm so enraptured by it that I want to cheer at every clever plot turn.
A Simple Plan - I'm a big Sam Raimi fan, but even I was amazed that he pulled this one off. Any Hitchcock fan will love this thriller about the evil a little ill-gotten money can create. Career work from Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton.
Toy Story 2 - I actually like this better than the original. I'm in awe of Pixar, and how they manage to make these perfect little animated gems time after time, and breathe so much humor and life into computer-generated characters! "Zurg, you killed my father!" "No, Buzz, I AM YOUR FATHER!"
Nichols, Ashleigh Ann
my taste in movies is like my taste in everything else: eclectic
and this is not a definate thing, so lets say that my top 10 for the moment, and that I can think of are10:Singing in the Rain - I love musicals, and if you dont and you havent seen this movie I think you should give it a chance
9: Welcome to the dollhouse - what can I say, I have an eclectic taste, if you havent seen this movie be prepared it takes a certain kind
8: Moulin Rouge : once again I like musicals, and I love ewan and john
7: Harry Potter- my roomate and I watch it all the time, I think its more of a love for the book then for the actual movie.
6: the Royal Tennenbaums- the dvd is excellent
5: the Princess Bride
4: Donnie Darko - THis movie makes no sense yet at the same time it makes perfect sense.
3: Amalie- this movie is sooo damn cute. That is all I can say is that it is cute.
2: Run Lola Run- foreign film, set up in 3 very obvious acts
1:Reservoir Dogs- steve Buscemi is my all time favorite actor, throw in harvey Keitel, Tim Roth and Tarrentino, with blood, lots of cussing, guns and a bag full of money you have a great movie
Campen, Ryan M.
10. Casablanca - At my heart, I'm a hopeless romantic.
9. Almost Famous - I don't know... that'd just be fucking awesome if it happened to me.
8. O Brother, Where Art Thou? - There's just something about that movie... I don't know.
7. Citizen Kane - Perfect example of classic cinema at it's finest.
6. The Usual Suspects - Everyone's said why... I don't need to repeat it.
5. Chasing Amy - Melodromatic, certainly, but it's an example of one of those "real" stories that happens. As an ex-girlfriend of mine (who hated the movie) said, "It's a romantic comedy, but they don't get together in the end!" Exactly why it's so good.
4. The Silence of the Lambs - Suspense at it's finest.
3. The Shawshank Redemption - A timeless story. I just can't get enough of it.
2. The Empire Strikes Back - I have a special place in my heart for the original Star Wars trilogy, having grown up with them, but Empire's the best out of the bunch.
1. The Godfather - As I've said in class, and as said by the
script I'm writing for the class, I'm a huge mobster movie fan, and this is certainly the epitome of all mobster films. Enough said.Honorable Mentions (I knew I'd find a way to get more in here somehow): Toy Story 2, Fight Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Godfather, Part II, Star Wars, The Graduate, A Hard Day's Night, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings, American Beauty, Moulin Rouge, Pulp Fiction, Seven, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Young Frankenstein and X-Men
Villalobos, Antonio
I'm responding a little late with my top 10, but I think they are worth it. Thery are really not in any order do to the fact that I could not pick a particular order. Some switch places depending on what mood I'm in.
1. Grease. I wanted to be John Travolta when I first saw this movie. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th ........
2. Tombstone. For an entire year I went around quoting that movie. I'm your huckleberry.
3. Dazed and Confused. It's just fun
4. Shawshank Redemption. The acting is great, the story is fabulous, and the characters are all enjoyable.
5. Moulin Rouge. My goodness. I fell in love with movies all over again.
6. Good Will Hunting. I can relate to this story from start to finish. (I would be Ben Affleck not Matt Damon)
7. Princess Bride. How can you go wrong with Andre the Giant.
8. My Best Friend's Wedding. I fell in love. In love with Julia Roberts.
9. The breakfast club. I simply grew up watching this movie. b. o. o. h. o. o.
10. Anything with Catherine Zeta Jones. She is the most attractive person that has ever lived. (besides my girlfriend of course)
These might not be the best movies ever made, but they are the movies I can watch over and over again.
Teegarden, Brandon Michael
10. A Midnight Clear-a war film that I can actually stand:)
9. Cinema Paradiso-Watch it to Understand!!!
8. It Happened One Night-from 1934, but a great movie!
7. Run Lola Run-German Foreign Film, set in a "Go" 3 series format, but this one is not boring.
6. Requiem For A Dream-Awesome!!! Gives a message on how good your life actually is.
5. Resivior Dogs- All I have to say is, "Tarrentino"
4. Dumb and Dumber- For a laugh, this film is more hellarious each time
3. Anything from Stephen King!!!
2. Good Will Hunting- The reality of knowledge
1. Anything with Mena Suvari!!! Yes, I am addicted (American Beauty, American Pie I and II, American Virgin, The Muskateer, Loser, and in a few months, "Sonny" being Nicholas Cage's (Francis Ford C's nephew) directorial debut, and the list goes on, she is my everything!!!
Dresner, Peter Ivan
I never really think about things like this in an order, but there are always those movies I can't help but rave about.
1.Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - After I saw this movie I went on a six month Hunter Thompsin reading binge
2.Edward Scissorhands-Tim Burton, I love you damnit!
3.The Muppets take Manhattan-The music, the laughs, the wedding...and thank god Bunsun is in it (he's the one that talks in Mee Mee Mee)
4.Raiders of the Lost Ark-Indy's my hero. The melting face scene used to scare me as a kid
5.Pee Wee's Big Adventure-My first favorite movie and my first favorite actor. Would you think me a dork if I told he still was...
6.Goonies-Another favorite from when I was a kid. I used to watch it all the time
7.Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory-Gene Wilder is another of my favorites
8.Pulp Fiction-I can't watch this movie enough. It's Tarentino baby
9.Memento-This is a great movie. Shame on you if you havn't seen it. Its wonderful I tell you!
10.Stand by me-Corey Feldman:not one of my favotites. But once upon a time, a long long time ago, he was talented.