I think I am going to do a couple top ten lists of favorite things eg. movies, books, games, etc.  because I have way too much free time on my hands.  First up is movies, and in no particular order:

1. Casablanca

Even though the list isn’t in order, Casablanca is easily my number 1 favorite movie of all time.   The movie takes place in 1941, in the Nazi occupied French Morocco… in Casablanca.  Rick, an American expat running his own saloon, runs into his lost love Ilsa whom he hasn’t seen since she abandoned him in Paris.  She is married to a resistance leader, and the plot centers around her and Victor Lazlo trying to secure means of travel  out of Casablanca, and the unfinished story between her and Rick.

Casablanca is such a timeless classic and it’s influence as a film can be seen resonating within many modern movies.   It’s a great love story with an unconventional ending, a movie that relies on the richness of its complex characters rather than cliche dialog, action scenes or cheap effects like we see plaguing the cinema today.

If you’ve managed to make it this far in life without having seen this film… make it a priority.

2. Taking Woodstock

Taking Woodstock is a very unique biopic.  As the title would suggest, it is about the famous Woodstock music festival.  However, not once in the film do we see the usual suspects: Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead, The Who, etc.  Instead of a Woodstock movie focusing on what happened on and behind stage, this movie centers around the young man, Elliot, who accidentally brought the biggest, most generation-defining music event to his small town in Bethel, New York.

Taking Woodstock is funny, heartwarming, and true to the times.  In a lot of ways, it’s a coming of age film for Elliot even though he is a young man, as the festival helps him to discover and define himself.

3. Clue

Clue is a movie that is both based off the classic board game and a spoof of other Hollywood party murder mysteries.  Like the game (and the books) the movie finds itself at the whodunit murder of Mr. Boddy early on, and the rest of the film is set in the mansion as the characters try to figure out who is the murderer.

I love this movie because it doesn’t take itself seriously.  It has slapstick, ridiculous dialog, and alternate endings.  The characters are memorable  and the lines quotable.

4. Dirty Dancing

Does one need a reason to love this movie?  The love story of a young girl who falls in love with a handsome man over summer holiday.  Baby and Johnny are another one of the greatest romances to ever come out of Hollywood.  The ending dance scene is iconic.  Although I’ve always wondered: after that dance, do Baby and Johnny go their separate ways or is it a lasting love?

5. Pan’s Labyrinth

I love Pan’s Labyrinth because it’s a very dark, adult fairy tale.  It’s a foreign film about a young girl forced to live with her evil stepfather in fascist Spain in the 1940s.  It shows how children use escapism and how adults have forgotten this ability.   The story strikes you as one you’ve heard before, yet done in a completely different light.

6.Star Wars Original Trilogy

Yeah yeah, technically three movies, so sue me.  I’m not going to even elaborate on this pick… the epicness speaks for itself.

7. O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Love this comedy from the Cohen brothers.  It is genius the way the movie is a mirror of Homer’s The Odyssey only set in the south during the Great Depression.  The characters and dialog are so memorable, and the music is worth going out and buying the soundtrack.

8. To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar

Admittingly, I just saw this movie recently and loved it so much it went straight to the top ten.   Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, and John Leguizamo are not only drag queens… they are really good at it!  Again, it’s another movie that relies heavily on the interaction between characters and not so much on plot.

9.  Grandma’s Boy

Hands down the best stoner movie ever.  No convoluted, unbelievable plots (like The Big Lebowski, Pineapple Express and Half Baked, just to name a few) just memorable, funny characters sitting around, smoking, and playing video games.  And truthfully that’s all you want in a stoner comedy.   Grandma’s Boy is not a movie for everyone as it appeals to such a niche audience (specifically the gamer / stoner audiences) but if you do fall into those two groups it is hilarious.

10. Clerks

No other movie, in my opinion, better captures the quiet desperation of the lowly customer service position.  I love the juxtaposition of Randall against Dante and the strengths and weaknesses of both characters.

Honorable mentions and other films I love:

Sin City, Donnie Darko, Lady in the Water, Dark City, Fight Club, Ghostbusters, Mall Rats, Dogma, Office Space, Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, Lord of the Rings, Almost Famous, Pitch Black, Watchmen,  Back to the Future, Oceans 11.

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