Top Ten Movies According to Me

1. Bonnie and Clyde

There is a reason this movie is considered a classic. Not only is the cinematography and direction brilliant you cannot get much better than the likes of Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty. As you watch this movie it's hard to remember that the main characters are actually the bad guys. This movie has it all: strong protaganists, a good love story, and an ending that can't be beat.

2. The Godfather

Once again, it becomes all too easy to forget that the main characters in this story are actually the bad guys. This is the only good "family" movie I think I've ever seen. It is family in the sense that it is about a family, not that it is suitable for the whole family. The relationships and politics of The Godfather are among the most complex I've ever seen. An excellently written screenplay.

3. Schindler's List

A compelling look into the horrors as well as the bravery present during the Holocaust. My favorite scene is after Schindler has compiled his list of Jews to save and he's racked his brain all night long thinking of names to save and in the end when he sees the trains and trains of Jews being shipped away he still believes he could have done more. The raw effort and courage he used in saving as many as he did was not enough for him. The movie truly portrays him as a man of strong character.

4. Memento

Who would have ever thought of making a film completely backwards? Christopher Nolan truly shows his genius as a director in this film. Anyone who has done any study on the making of films or has any involvement in films knows how incredibly difficult conceiving, filming and editing this film must have been. It is a modern day masterpiece.

5. Crash

This movie does a wonderful job of showing the intracacies of human relations. It brings up strong and forceful questions about the role of race and racism in America today. It shows how the way we treat others reflects more upon us than upon them. If you have not seen it, you really must.

6. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

It is rare that a British comedy is able to do supremely well in the United States but this movie certainly pulled it off. It has become a cult classic and cultural references abound. In my opinion it is the best Monty Python movie that has been produced.

7. Citizen Kane

This movie is on my list less for it's storytelling and more for it's cinematic merit. Orson Welles directed, starred, wrote, and produced this movie and he did an excellent job. The moral of the story is a bit too simplistic for me (if you take a child from his family he won't grow up quite right) but the cinematography and the cinematic conventions used are outstanding.

8. American Beauty

A quick look into the dysfunctionality that is the American family of today. This movie was perhaps the precursor of today's hit show Desperate Housewives. This movie shows what can happen when a man is forced to live a life he hates and doesn't believe in.

9. Psycho

This movie changed the way people watched movies. Before this movie people would buy a ticket for a movie at any time regardless of what time the movie actually started. They would come in in the middle and then watch to the end and stay for the first half of the next showing and then leave. Come and go, come and go. With this movie, Hitchcock announced that somebody dies in the first half hour so be there when it starts! This completely changed the way people went to the movies. Apart from the way it changed the way people watched movies, it's a cinematic classic.

10. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Cinematography, make-up, and effects are what make this movie. The acting comes and goes. The story is excellent, although the books are better which is usually the case with movies made from books. I would qualify this movie as an epic and I think many would agree. Other epics would include Ben-Hur and Gone with the Wind. This movie is certainly on par with those.