The best movies evoke tears, laughter, terror, reminiscence, and/or
mystery in a truly personal way. Anything less (AKA, around 98% of all
movies) serves no purpose other than to shove mindless, forgettable
fodder in our face and line Hollywood’s pockets (Be afraid Michael Bay,
be VERY afraid). This is that
other, sacred 2%—the Holy Grail of cinema.
10. Once Upon a Time in the West (1969)
Logline: A southern belle, Mrs. McBain, moves to the
far West Frontier to join her family. Upon arrival, though, she finds
discovers all were ruthlessly murdered; she has to rely on perfect
strangers (outlaws and nomads) to protect her and find her family’s
killer.
Memorable Moments: Frank (a ruthless outlaw)
sexually harasses Jill (Claudia Cardinale). He tells her that she can’t
even the resist the advances (having been informed that she was
previously a hooker in New Orleans) of the very man who murdered her
husband.
Why People Love It: Once Upon a Time isn’t just your
de facto Western flick: Rather, a Western thoroughly blended with
metaphor, style, and—perhaps—poetic justice that could be easily deemed A
Hot Mess.
Best Quote: Frank (Henry Fonda): “How can you trust a man who wears both a belt and suspenders? The man can’t even trust his own pants”
9. Goodfellas (1990)
Logline: Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) enters the Italian
mob and, as he grows older, rises through the ranks with Jimmy Conway
(Robert De Niro) and Tommy De Vito (Joe Pesci) until one day, the whole
criminal enterprise (as well as Henry’s life) starts to crumble.
Memorable Moments: With Henry Hill narrating, the
corpses of several mafia figures (mostly linked to the Lufthansa heist)
are paraded in a musical montage.
Why People Love It: An epic film, especially among
mob-movie fanatics, that digs deep into the rise and fall of gangster
Henry Hill, Goodfellas is the quintessential mafia movie that makes
absolutely no excuses for itself and glorifies nothing about the seedy,
brutal underworld of the Italian mob.
Best Quote: Jimmy Conway (De Niro): “I’m not mad,
I’m proud of you. You took your first pinch like a man and you learn two
great things in your life. Look at me, never rat on your friends and
always keep your mouth shut.”
8. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
Logline: A sort of “prequel and sequel” hybrid, The
Godfather II chronicles Vito’s early life in the fledgling 20th-century,
as well as his son Michael’s (Al Pacino) assumption of power and
attempts at expanding the family enterprise in the 50′s.
Memorable Moments: At the club, Michael grabs Fredo,
“kisses” him and spills the beans: “I knew it was you, Fredo…you broke
my heart…..you broke my heart!” Some time later, Fredo is faithfully
executed by an assassin, hired by Michael.
Why People Love It: Very few sequels enjoy the
luxury of being deemed just as good as the first. The Godfather II is
almost universally considered one of those.
Best Quote: Michael Corleone (Al Pacino): “Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.”
7. Seven Samurai (1954)
Logline: When a poor farming community is terrorized
by bandits, seven former samurai take up arms to defend it. In exchange
for defending it and teaching the locals self defense, the village
people feed the samurai.
Memorable Moments: Rice, which a farmer had
harvested for the samurai, was stolen from under the farmer responsible
for it; sobbing as he picks up leftover grains, Kikuchiyo (Toshiro
Mifune) throws him money to purchase more.
Why People Love It: You don’t even need an interest
in martial arts to appreciate this masterpiece. Seven Samurai is laden
with phenomenal action sequences, unforgettable characters, and a
timeless story.
Best Quote: Kanbe Shimada (Takashi Shimura): “Danger always strikes when everything seems fine.”
6. Inception (2010)
Logline: Cobb (Leo Dicaprio) is one of the most
specialized thieves in the world; that is, he enters others’ minds
through their subconscious (dreams) and sells their secrets to the
highest bidder. But soon, Cobb and his team must carry out one of the
most unfathomable missions ever, Inception.
Memorable Moments: From the scene pictured above,
Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) fights others in a gravity-defying,
spinning hallway—’falling’ to the ceiling, walking on walls, and kicking
a** mid-air.
Why People Love It: Inception’s premise—intruding
into the unconscious mind, which seemingly allows all rules of reality
and logic to disappear—is refreshingly original and its plot, nothing
short of brilliant.
Best Quote: Yusuf (Dileep Rao): “That many dreams within dreams is too unstable!”
5. The Dark Knight (2008)
Logline: Batman (Christian Bale) collaborates with
Harvey Dent and Lieutenant Gordan to rid Gotham’s streets of organized
crime. While initially successful, the trio must now face their most
formidable opponent yet: The Joker (Heath Ledger) and minions.
Memorable Moments: Either the phenomenal explosion
scene (where The Joker merrily skips off), the jailhouse interrogation
scene, or the hospital scene when he visits the horribly-burned Harvey
Dent, who subsequently becomes Two-Face.
Why People Love It: The lion’s share of Batman
enthusiasts agree that The Dark Knight is the best Batman film to-date
(and probably ever), thanks in large to an unquestionably great
performance by the late (RIP) Heath Ledger.
Best Quote: Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart): “The night
is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming.”
|Or| The Joker: “Why so serious?”
4. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Logline: Three men—Blondie/’The Good’ (Clint
Eastwood), Tuco/’The Ugly’, and Angel Eyes/’The Bad’—learn of a
mysterious grave, rumored to be full of gold, in a remote cemetery. It
soon becomes apparent, though, that it will be every man for himself in
the quest to find this grave.
Memorable Moments: Near the end when Blondie, Tuco,
and Angel Eyes find themselves in a three-way duel, and Tuco realizes
that Blondie had secretly unloaded his revolver the prior night.
Why People Love It: Maybe it’s one of the most
memorable Western titles ever, or the utter irony of the title itself?
Or perhaps because it stars gun-slingin’ Clint Eastwood in one of his
best roles ever?
Best Quote: Blondie: “You see, in this world there’s two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.”
3. Schindler’s List (1993)
Logline: Nazi-occupied Poland: Businessman Oskar
Schindler wasn’t initially the loving, humanitarian-type—instead, a
savvy profiteer. But witnessing the systematic brutalization of fellow
Jews, Schindler (perhaps the most unlikely candidate for ‘hero’) opens
his heart and factory to provide over a thousand Jews refuge from
Nazis.
Memorable Moments: Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes)—a
merciless, wicked Nazi commandant—”falls for” his Jewish maid. After
almost raping her, he realizes that even kissing her would be high
treason, Goeth delivers a savage beating to her for “seducing” him.
Why People Love It: Schindler’s List
symbolizes the love and humanity that each and every one of us is
capable of having, despite all of our (possibly) innate/instinctual
tendencies toward self-interest, greed, and even having the capacity for
murder.
Best Quote: Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley): “It’s Hebrew, it’s from the Talmud. It says, Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.”
2. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Logline: The Shawshank Redemption, possibly the
greatest movie of both Freeman’s (“Red”) and Robbin’s (Andy) careers
(make that one of the best movies overall, ever), is an epic tale of two
gentlemanly, intellectual prisoners who show remarkable courage and
sustain hope against almost all odds of ever getting out of the joint
for their old crimes.
Memorable Moments: The epic scene where a
just-released, elderly man (James Whitmore)—isolated in his humble New
York apartment and missing his ‘home’ in prison (basically, the only
life he’d known for decades) —kicks the chair from underneath his feet
and hangs himself.
Why People Love It: Directed by Frank
Darabont/written by Stephen King, it symbolizes our struggle between the
demons that imprison us (quite literally here) and the hope for
better-days-to-come—which is all we really have to cling to in the end.
Best Quote: Andy Dufresne (Robbins): “Get busy living, or get busy dying”
1. The Godfather (1972)
Logline: Vito Corleone, Don of the Corleone crime
empire, assumed the helm of the fledgling family ‘business’ in the
1920′s and for almost forty years, built it into a dynasty of wiseguys
and ruthless henchmen that would make Al Capone’s gang look like
clergymen. Decades later, though, he must pass the reigns of his empire
to a reluctant Son, Michael Corleone.
Memorable Moments: One of the biggest turning points
is when Michael Corleone, whose hands are free of anyone’s blood,
murders the corrupt policeman (McCluskey) and wiseguy Sollozzo from a
rival family.
Why People Love It: People and critics generally
swear by Godfather franchise whenever one of these lists pops up. Plus,
how can you dismiss a flick that’s received Oscar after Oscar after
Oscar? Performances are second to none (ever), the riveting score is
perfect in all senses, there’s nearly flawless editing, and the scenery
is fantasticly well-suited.
Best Quote:Vito Corleone (Brando): “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
