My Top Ten Movies.
The How:
Not In Any Particular Order.
The Why:
Because That's How I Roll.
UPDATE: I've decided due to the amount of content and work gone into this project, I'm going to split the list into two separate blogs. 1-5 in the first blog, followed by 6-10 in the second.
(For your convenience, each movie title is linked to the trailer for the film,
and the information in the parentheses next to it is linked to even more info about the film!)
( Also anytime you see a highlighted word or sentence, it's a link to some bonus stuff! :] )
Alright here we go...
Take this, AFI!
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, 2004)
This movie instantly transported itself to the front of my brain when I sat down and thought of my top ten movies of all time. Ever since I first saw it back in 2004, I was mesmerized by the story and concept.
Directed by Michel Gondry, this quirky movie redefined what a romantic comedy had the ability to be. The film is told from the perspective of Joel Barrish, a quiet mild-mannered man who has just found out that his former girlfriend has had their relationship erased from her memory (via a "revolutionary new brain procedure"). Unable to cope with this knowledge, Joel immediately opts to get the procedure done as well. The majority of the film takes place within Joel's mind, as the audience experinces each memory of the former couple together, but only before these memories are erased forever. It takes their erasure for Joel to realize how important these memories really are and...well, if you haven't seen it, I won't spoil it for you.
Let me just reiterate that this is a great movie and an amazing experience.
If you haven't seen it:
Step One: Get up.
Step Two: Watch it right now (It's even on Netflix Instant Streaming!).
Final Comments: Everyone Should See It.
2. The Time Machine (Guy Pearce, Jeremy Irons, 2002)
Alright so I should expressly state that you will see some movies on this list that I don't fully expect you to want to see right away, or enjoy nearly as much as I did. Some movies just hit you on a personal level, and have all the right elements going on. For me, The Time Machine is one of those movies. It's actually my favorite movie. But like previously stated, I don't expect it to be yours. The Time Machine just celebrated its 10th Anniversary this month, and it has had a solid place on my "All-Time" List since the day I saw it.
The Time Machine tells the story of Alexander Hartedgen, a brilliant young professor in New York at the turn of the 20th Century. In love with the girl of his dreams, Alexander proposes to Emma, only moments later to have her shot in front of his eyes by a crazed mugger. Alexander spends the next four lonely years building The Time Machine, an amazing machine that he utilizes to desperately try and save Emma from her dark fate.
As I hate spoilers in any form, I won't go any further in my description. But The Time Machine is a combination of many great factors, including its script, performances, special effects, and score. Actually The Time Machine has one of my favorite movie scores of all-time. I'm sure I'll do a Movie Score Blog sometime in the future, but the score to The Time Machine actually got me into scores in
the first place (which is now my favorite genre of music). Suffice it to say, it's simply amazing.
Final Comments: Not For Everyone, But Hopefully You Find Some Value In It.
3. American Beauty (Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, 1999)
American Beauty is an amazing experience. This is how I define an incredible experience. I don't really know what else to say really. It is the only movie that makes me feel happy and sad at the exact same time.
This movie changed my life. I can't tell you how, because I don't want to give away the experience.
But I can tell you that it's just incredibly well done.
Winner of Best Picture in 1999, American Beauty is the story of Lester Burnham, a seemingly average middle-aged man, with a seemingly ordinary wife who loves him and an ordinary daughter who hates him. But of course, they're not ordinary. And as the tag line suggests, we must Look Closer.
It's where this movie goes that's brilliant. And it's how it makes you feel. Now I can't go into too much detail, because if you haven't seen this, I want you to go into it as fresh as I did. I also don't want to hype it up too much (although that's hard for me to do), because this film needs to come at you as natural and organically as it can.
Buy it.
Rent it.
Whatever.
Put it on the shelf for a rainy day.
But when you do watch it, give it your full attention;
You won't regret it.
"You have no idea what I'm talking about I'm sure,
But don't worry...
...You Will Someday."
Final Comments: Heavy and Light. Hilarious and Heart-Wrenching. See It.
4. TRON: Legacy (Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, 2010)
So you might be wondering: "what the hell is TRON doing on a top ten movie list?" And there's nothing wrong with thinking that. On a previous blog, I commented on the difference between movies and films, and TRON: Legacy is a perfect example of a movie all the way. Taken in the right context and mood, it's actually an incredibly well-done movie.
TRON: Legacy continues the journey of Kevin Flynn, a character which first appeared in the groundbreaking 1982 film TRON. This time, his son Sam is sucked into the virtual world of The Grid, a sci-fi world unlike any other, with disc battles fought in arenas, and incredible cycles that race on ribbons of light. Young Sam is sucked into this world where his Dad has been trapped for 20 years, hoping to finally find him and take him safely out of this world that has become his prison.
This relativity simple story takes every possible avenue of cool that you can think of and makes it an incredible visual journey unlike any other. This is a perfect example of a movie that works because of its execution. Where it's not necessarily the destination, but the journey itself that makes it amazing (although the destination is pretty awesome as well). The film's visual flair, groundbreaking technology, amazing score, and state-of-the-art 3D cameras, made this movie an experience.
Not to mention the use of D-BOX in TRON: Legacy was absolutely amazing (Motion seats that move and vibrate in perfect sync to the action of the movie, available in less than 90 theatres in the world, the theatre I work at is one of them, check out the website HERE).
Overall, every aspect of this movie added up to an incredible experience for me, and I eagerly anticipate a third installment in the TRON universe.
If you haven't seen it, I recommend you at least give it a try.
TRON: Legacy is also available on Netflix Instant Streaming, but I highly recommend that you see it on Blu-ray...
...on the biggest possible TV that you can find.
Final Comments: Not For Everyone, But I Believe It Should Be Experienced.
5. Batman Begins (Christian Bale, Michael Caine, 2005)
I'm sure that most of the people reading this list have seen Christopher Nolan's reinvention of the Batman franchise, so there's no point in talking about it, right?
Wrong.
This is a movie that demands to be talked about.
Batman Begins no doubt rescued the Batman franchise from the eternal hell pit that was Batman and Robin. But It not only rescued the Batman franchise, it made it better than ever. Now I know that a lot of you would probably say: "Ryan, I think The Dark Knight was better". Which is a totally valid point of view! I have a close friend who tells me this every single time we talk about the Batman franchise. For me, they're virtually the same, but I usually always find myself enjoying Batman Begins like 1% more than The Dark Knight. But it's okay, because they're both two amazing films.
For the small percentage of you that don't know the film, Batman Begins was the brainchild of Christopher Nolan, a brilliant filmmaker who specializes in dwelling into the dark and psychological (a perfect fit to take on Batman, wouldn't you say?).
The film deals with the origins of billionaire Bruce Wayne, who in the beginning of the film is just a young boy who lives in the fictitious Gotham City. Bruce is the son of Thomas Wayne, who is the one of the most powerful and richest men in Gotham. One night, Bruce watches in horror as both of his parents are gunned down in front of him.
These events will live in infamy as being the catalyst that will plant the seeds that will ultimately blossom into The Batman, the crime-fighting, fear-inducing, alter-ego of Bruce Wayne.
What Batman Begins does is communicate the origins of Batman to the audience.
It shows us why this crusade is so vitally important to Bruce and shows the audience what's really at stake. The film does a fantastic job of pinning the story in reality and makes the character of Bruce relatable in a very human way, laying down the roots for a spellbinding mythology and a captivating character study.
Christopher Nolan is my favorite director, but his genius could be the topic of an entire blog on its own. Admittedly, I can only rant about Batman for so long before I start to lose my audience in a sea of nerdiness.
Let's just say that without a doubt, the third and final act of Nolan's Batman Trilogy,
The Dark Knight Rises is my most anticipated film of the year... By a long shot.
Final Comments: Gritty. Dark. Realistic. Resonant. Powerful.
No comments:
Post a Comment