My Top 5 Movies of All Time

I will eventually try to rate (1 to 10 scale) and comment on every movie I watch, but I wanted to start off with the best of the best...

1. Braveheart:
Rating: 10
Genre: Action

This epic movie captures my love for medieval Europe and served to further boost my passion for the strategy of historic military battles. The swordplay and era-specific costumes are phenomenal. The struggle of the social classes appeals to my humanitarian side and the love story gets me every time (I'll never look at a thistle flower the same!). Longshanks (Patrick McGoohan) is so evil that you begin to feel evil (he makes you want to throw him out a window). Also, the movie is full of timeless and deep lines that give you chills, such as:

• "Every man dies, not every man really lives."
• "Not the archers.... Arrows cost money. Use up the Irish. The dead cost nothing."
• "I know you can fight. But it's our wits that make us men. "
• "Your heart is free. Have the courage to follow it."
• "It's all for nothing if you don't have freedom."
• "I am William Wallace!.... fight and you may die. Run, and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!"

Bloody historical battles reenacted, passion, compassion, good vs. evil, poor vs. rich, sweeping scenery, foreign accents, unpredictability, men who talk to and rely on God... Yep, this movie has all of the necessary elements that make for the ultimate movie.

2. O Brother, Where Art Thou:
Rating: 10
Genre: Adventure / Comedy

A re-telling of The Odyssey set in midwestern America during the Great Depression of the 1930's, this movie is part comedy, part drama, and part social commentary. It is one of those movies that raises the bar for all movies to come. Everett's (George Clooney) intellectual meanderings are hilarious and smack soundly against the southern drawl of the two men who share his shackles. All of the actors and actresses, and especially the 3 main characters, were cast perfectly. The Cohen Brothers script is matchless in wit, the only negative being that they needlessly use the Lord's name in vain. The southern bluegrass/gospel/blues soundtrack parralels the movie in quality.

Some of my favorite quotes:

• "You two're just dumber'n a bag of hammers."
• "We're in a tight spot!"
• "It's a fool that looks for logic in the chambers of the human heart."
• "Them syreens did this to Pete. They loved him up and turned him into a horny toad."
• "Well, ain't this place a geographical oddity. Two weeks from everywhere!"
• "You ain't no kind of man if you ain't got land."
• "Mrs. Hogwallop up and R-U-N-N-O-F-T."
• "Care for some gopher?... No thank you, Delmar, one third of a gopher would only arouse my appetite without bedding it down.... Oh, you can have the whole thing. Me and Pete already had one apiece. We ran across a whole gopher village."
• "What'd the devil give you for your soul, Tommy?... Well, he taught me to play this here guitar real good.... Oh son, for that you sold your everlasting soul?... Well, I wasn't usin' it."
• "C'mon in boys, the water is fine."

3. Lord of The Rings Trilogy:
Rating: 10
Genre: Action / Adventure

This is technically 3 movies but they go hand-in-hand so I am lumping them all together for my list. A journey through a fantastic world with characters both likeable and relateable. The books are better of course, but the essence of the books are portrayed so well by director Peter Jackson that none can fault the final product. The scenery and CGI in this movie are tops.

The struggle between good and evil shows in a large and an individual scale. Tolkien's storytelling puts you in the soul of the adventurers and sweep you away from this world into that one, all the while revealing to us the subtle truths and contradictions we all experience in life.

The battles are amazing and the hugeness of the landscape and flurry of emotions of the is off the charts. The depth of the charcters and the attention to detail make this the ultimate fantasy epic.

In my opinion, this is the ultimate epic movie series. As for those who would argue for Star Wars instead... I say Star Wars is shallow and trite in comparison. Tolkien stories are the best. Period. Can't wait for the Hobbit!

4. The Usual Suspects:
Rating: 10
Genre: Mystery / Thriller

No other movie keeps you guessing like this one. There are others movies, like Memento and Pulp Fiction, that use a similar style of editing to keep you in suspense, but the actors and script of Usual Suspects are superior. Kevin Spacey, Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio Del Toro, and Kevin Pollack all play mercenaries in search of a huge pay-off... but at what cost? This is one of those movies that blows you away at the very end of the movie so much that you have to watch it again immediately.


5. The Shawshank Redemption:
Rating: 10
Genre: Drama

Since I have been redeemed myself, I am a sucker for the whole concept of redemption. This movie is a classic tale of righting wrongs. Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins deliver this gripping story of empathy and conviction in gritty realism. The suspense and cleverness, along with the yearning for freedom this movie creates makes this an all-time great.

Rounding out my top 10 are: Holes, Office Space, Top Secret, Naked Gun, Passion of the Christ