Friday, May 20, 2005

Kathy's Top Fifty

My top fifty movies. Yes, I know it's supposed to be 100. I was sweating bullets just trying to get to fifty. I just can't dilute it any more than this. I already have two or three on this list that I could take or leave.
  1. The Empire Strikes Back
  2. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
  3. Blade Runner
  4. Woman of the Year
  5. Star Wars
  6. Some notes on the top five:

    Empire will always reign supreme. I'll never have another moment in my life when I realize I have to wait three long years to find out what will happen to Han Solo. Star Wars held the number two for a long time, but I honestly think the other three movies are more important to me now, and it's not just prequel bitterness or anything.

  7. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (for the cinematography, and for Ron and Hermione)
  8. Love, Actually (strength of characters...I actually cared what happened)
  9. The Dark Knight
  10. Return of the Jedi
  11. Clerks
  12. Alien
  13. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
  14. Stranger Than Fiction
  15. The Triplets of Belleville
  16. Chasing Amy
  17. The Cutting Edge
  18. Okay, okay. I realize no one has seen this. But I love it and for reasons known only to me, it got me through my senior recital in college.

  19. Field of Dreams (game of catch gets me every time)
  20. Tron
  21. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
  22. Ghost in the Shell
  23. Raiders of the Lost Ark
  24. Spirited Away
  25. Desk Set
  26. Pride and Prejudice
  27. Adam's Rib
  28. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
  29. Princess Mononoke
  30. Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
  31. Bull Durham
  32. Shrek
  33. Pat and Mike
  34. Bend it Like Beckham (and I don't even like soccer)
  35. Spanglish
  36. Sabrina (original)
  37. Remains of the Day
  38. Emma
  39. The Princess Bride (hello, my name is...)
  40. The Sixth Sense (because M. Night fooled me)
  41. Singin' in the Rain (make 'em laugh)
  42. Bicentennial Man (because it made me cry, dammit)
  43. This is Spinal Tap
  44. Memento
  45. The Usual Suspects
  46. Rush Hour (had to have Jackie)
  47. Dead Poets Society
  48. Young Frankenstein (Puttin' on the Ritz)
  49. Bringing Up Baby
  50. Holiday Inn (pretty much just for the music)
  51. Dead Again (modern day homage to film noir)
  52. What Dreams May Come (again, because it made me cry, dammit)

7 comments:

Shocho said...

Great list! I have 19 of those films on my list too. I'm glad to see you're not immune to the charm of movies made before 1977 that might be in black and white. :)

DrHeimlich said...

You're a little more in synch with Chuck than with me, it looks like. Only 12 of your 50 were in my top 100. But, that said, many of the movies on your list that didn't make mine are still movies I thought were "pretty good" -- I can get how they'd end up on a person's list. That is, the ones I've seen. You have a fair number I haven't, too.

I found it interesting that The Two Towers ranked highest of the LotR trilogy for you -- it was the one of the three that didn't even make my list.

And the Star Wars trilogy, all in the top 10 -- Jedi didn't make my 100 at all. Empire was my best showing, at number 12. I guess your disappointment over the prequel trilogy must have been even more intense than mine.

Good list. I need to undertake a new analysis of mine here and repost it. I haven't seriously evaluated the list in months -- haven't seen a movie yet that would make it, except for Serenity. And I'm not sure I should officially put Serenity on the list until I've seen the final cut.

Kathy said...

I should note that, when a movie series has three movies, I usually like the middle one best. Beginnings are structural, endings are too final. Middles are uncertain, exciting.

And thank god that Love Actually is on CK's list. Now if one of you really loved me, you'd put 10 Things I Hate About You on your list so I don't feel so cold and alone.

Tom said...

Er, you should look in my profile ...you won't feel so cold and alone (and it has always been there).

DrHeimlich said...

Love Actually is on my list too --#43. No shame in getting a little emotional. :-)

TheGirard said...

I think I counted that we have 12 in common. Where you have field of dreams, I think I have Major League. I caught part of Blade Runner on network TV this past weekend and I found myself watching it. I can't believe that's not on my list, that may end up bumping off The Big Lebowski.

Anonymous said...

Well, I've seen 23 of those, so we have that many or fewer in common. I suppose I'll work on a list...someday.