TOP TEN TOPICS: MOVIES!

author=Isrieri
10. Hunchback of Notre Dame- I don't think this is the best disney movie but its definitely my favorite. Meant a lot to me as a child.

9. Evil Dead 2 - Where most might put Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory on their list, I put Evil Dead 2 because to me it is just as magical.

8. Gladiator - Also include here any other historical film. Gladiator is probably the film that got me into learning and loving history. I feel like there's a better example of such a film that I love way more, but its not coming to me.

7. Mad Max: Fury Road - Top tier. Years ago when someone posted a status that mad max was getting a new movie I despaired and feared the worst, thinking it was going to be yet another reboot by a cynical hollywood that was remaking everything (BEN HUR?!) only to be utterly blown away by the fact that not only was this done by the same director, but it was going to be another set in the series. It is by far the best of the lot, just ahead of the original (you might think I'm nuts but seriously the original is CRAZY good)

6. My Neighbor Tototro - Picking a favorite Ghibli movie is totes impossible. Although my real favorites are Princess Mononoke and Kiki's Delivery Service, if all their film catalogue was going to suddenly vanish from the earth tomorrow and I could only pick one film to save, I think it would be Totoro. I watched this religiously as a kid: It was equal parts fascinating (in that the story was so utterly bare bones yet I was totally engrossed) and heartwarming (I had never seen a film that was this unabashedly happy without being saccharine). I don't think I want to live in the timeline where My Neighbor Totoro doesn't exist.

5. Lord of the Rings Trilogy - The LOTR series might be the best goddamn book-to-screen adaptations in the history of cinema. I like it better than Star Wars.

4. There Will Be Blood - I don't know if this is a truly great film that will be remembered in the decades to come, but it has a place in my heart for the cinematography and the central tenet: That of a horrible man who is granted an opportunity for happiness, and chooses to squander it chasing after the wrong thing, because he can't really escape his evil nature. Most look at Plainview as a monster but I see him as a tragic figure. The first 20 minutes are amazing.

3. Twelve Angry Men - Its a beautiful movie, in both senses of the word. Beautiful to watch in motion, and restores to you the wonderful warm feelings that is your faith in humanity.

2. The Seven Samurai - Also include here any other work Kurosawa has ever made; I've only seen a few of his films. The Seven Samurai is, I think I'm not too far off in saying, one the best experiences you can have watching black & white cinema. If you haven't seen it, find it, watch it. If you're going to have a cozy date night with your crush this month, FIND IT, WATCH IT. Its a long movie, but I guarantee the hours will fly by.

1. Amadeus - I envy the person who's never seen Amadeus. Its not a movie for everyone, but its definitely in the top 20 of all time for me.



I like a lot of other movies too. Honorable mention to Dark City, which is very underrated.