My Top 20 Favorite Movies

#20 - Baby Driver (2017)

This movie is such a blast to watch. It's soundtrack is like a slightly less-known version of the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack and the way they line the music up with the action makes everything so stylish. During a shootout, they even synced the gunshots to a remix of "Tequila" by The Champs. Does Citizen Kane do that? Speak up, film majors.

#19 - Wind River (2016)

Director Taylor Sheridan is one of the most underrated writer/directors in the game. He made Sicario, Hell or High Water, and is the creator behind the show Yellowstone. He makes gritty, tightly-paced epics about America's backyards. This isn't a movie I'll make jokes about or lightly recommend, because it's a tragic, yet important must-watch. In Wind River, we follow a professional hunter and an FBI agent as they team up to investigate the murder of a young girl on the Wind River Native Reservation in Northern Wyoming. At the end of the movie, a statistic fades onto the screen that says, "While missing person statistics are compiled for every other demographic, none exist for Native American women. No one knows how many are missing." Though it can be a real tear-jerker, it also has some heartfelt and badass moments. I think about this film more often then most.

#18 - Margin Call (2001)

I was trying to decide between this movie and The Big Short. Both are star-studded films about the collapse of the housing market but Margin Call is about what was happening from the banks' point of view. I was a business major in college, and people often think our homework consisted of easy coloring books for toddlers. That's false, because those coloring books were not for toddlers, they were very hard and I kept breaking my crayons. We lived a tough life, us business majors, but if there was one thing I thoroughly enjoyed learning about, it was the Housing Crisis of 2008. Not only does this film deliver the events that created this event in a believable and understandable way, but it does so while simultaneously grounding it with very human characters. Some of the best performances by some of the best actors. It's even got the dude from YOU that everyone is simping over.

#17 - The Green Mile (1999)

Still, one of the most thoughtful and beautiful movies I have ever seen. The late, great Michael Clarke Duncan delivers one of the greatest performances of the past two decades as John Coffey, a man put on death row for the murder of two little girls. Tom Hanks plays the head guard who starts to realize that there is something special about John and that he may be innocent. The scenes between Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan are *chef's kiss* and really make you wonder if you're even a good person or not. Prepare to shed some tears at the end, because it gets emotional.

#16 - Spotlight (2015)

When I think of journalism now, I think of article headlines in the Wall Street Journal or The New York Times saying stuff like, "The Politician You Hate Just Ate at Outback Steakhouse and Why This Means America is Doomed." It's crazy to think that there are still journalists out there who work their asses off for years to chase a story that makes a difference. Spotlight deals with difficult material, it's about the team of journalists who uncovered the mass cover-up of Catholic priests molesting children by the Catholic Church. Despite being relatively slow-paced with no action, it is a nail-biter through and through and really makes you respect what some journalists do. Also, this film has a 2016 Best Picture Oscar under its belt, so there's that.

#15 - Three Billboards Outside Ebbings, Missouri (2017)

I rewatched this because I forgot how much I loved this movie. It secretly racked up several Oscar nominations and a few wins back in 2018 and nobody remembers it. The movie follows Frances McDormand in her Oscar-winning performance as a distraught mother who challenges the local authorities to solve her daughter's murder. It's got humor, drama, insanely-good writing, some tear-jerking moments, and an all-star cast. It's like a Coen Brothers movie but...better? Coen fanboys, stay away from me.

#14 - Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Ah yes, baby's first real war movie. We all remember when we were first shown this movie (probably by our dad) and how incredibly disturbing that opening D-Day scene was. A scene so realistic it caused thousands of WWII veterans to leave the theater because it was too realistic. I very much enjoy war movies, and while I enjoy my heroes shooting faceless bad guys in the face as much as the next guy, I enjoy the character dynamics of the soldiers themselves. While I could drone on about how gorgeous this movie was and how well it was filmed and written, let's just talk about how cool it was when the sniper dude shot the Nazi sniper through the scope. My god, that was so sick.

#13 - Argo (2012)

One of my go-to recommendations if you love historical dramas, CIA stuff, Geopolitical events, and Alan Arkin. For me, it was Alan Arkin, because that man steals every scene he's in. The film follows the events of the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis and how America and Canada got the hostages out. How did they do it? Show business, baby. They literally created a fake movie with real Hollywood heavy-weights and pretended to be Hollywood Producers scouting locations in Iran, basically didn't tell anyone what they were doing, and smuggled the hostages on an airliner posing as their camera crew. God damn it, I love this country. Only we would pull some bullshit like that and it actually work. The movie is tight, suspenseful, surprisingly funny because Alan Arkin is on screen, and has a Best Picture Oscar to back it up. Simply, one of the most enjoyable movies out there.

#12 - Casino Royale (2006)

This still is, to this very day, the best Bond movie of all time and it's not even close. The best Bond villain, the best Bond girl, and most importantly, the best Bond. Yeah, Sean Connery is the classic Bond, but don't fall into the pitfall that is retro-favoritism. Craig is the superior Bond, and I will miss him dearly. This movie is just so cool. Bond being suave, badass, and even vulnerable (which was something nobody had really seen with James Bond before). It had incredible action, while having a poker scene that was more suspenseful then the life-threatening stunts. And yet, the most unbelievable thing in the entire film is the fact that Bond won a high-stakes poker game by beating the villain's full house with a straight flush after going all in.

#11 - Inglorious Bastards (2009)

I love Quentin Tarantino as much as the next guy. Am I head-over-heels in love with him like his die-hard fans? Nah. His story-telling rivals few and his dialogue is on another level. It's a style that I very much enjoy, but only one of his films cracked my top 20. The most unapologetically over-the-top, pseudo-historical, fever dream about WWII that will most likely ever exist in our lifetime. Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine? By far the funniest character. Hans Landa? One of the greatest villains of all time. And the Bar scene. OOOooohhhh baby, the bar scene. One of the most unsettling and suspenseful moments I've ever seen in a movie that ended not how I expected, but definitely how I would have wanted. Out of all the memorable and quotable lines from this movie, the one I find myself saying out loud the most is Brad Pitt saying, "Gracie," in a hillbilly-moonshiner Tennessee accent. The bastards aren't heroes by any means, because they have zero empathy with viciously murdering hundreds of Nazis...but I remember reading a reviewer sum it up pretty good by saying, "they have no shame or honor in killing all those Nazis, and yet we root for them because we know the only thing evil men fear is having their own sadism paid back with interest."

#10 - The Truman Show (1998)

It's really hard to describe this movie, other than it's meta filmmaking at its peak. Jim Carrey, in what is his greatest performance, plays Truman Burbank, a man who was adopted by a television studio and raised by a fake family in a fake town filled with hired actors and product placements. His entire life is filmed by hidden cameras and is broadcasted to the world, except he doesn't know that. He thinks his normal life is real, when it has been a carefully constructed series of manufactured events and memories that were built to entertain the world and keep him from trying to leave. The movie picks up right as Truman begins to experience the fabric of his reality fall apart. It's a movie that plays with very interesting ideas, because the concept as a whole was interesting enough for me to watch it, but it's the genius of its execution that really drives it home. Carrey is the heart of the film, able to balance his natural comedic chops with some very emotional performances. Each time I watch this movie, I feel like I unravel a new layer that I didn't notice before, and I like it more and more each time.

#9 - Inception (2010)

Everyone remembers the first time they watched Inception, where they exited the theater and said, "wow, that was incredible what even happened?" Then we would all watch it again, whether that was with friends at a sleepover or with our parents...to which we said, "okay, I think I get it now but also I don't." I feel like everyone has at least given this movie a try, and your opinion on it depends entirely on whether you liked being confused or you hated being confused. To me, this movie is the very best of what giant Hollywood blockbusters could be. No pre-existing IP, a completely original idea and story, an all-star cast, and a director with complete creative and narrative control. Imagine Christopher Nolan pitching this movie to studio executives. I bet they just threw $160 million at him and said, "Go wild, baby."

#8 - The Social Network (2010)

Only Aaron Sorkin could make young millionaires suing each other for even more money feel like a Shakespearean drama with Earth-shattering stakes. I think it's Sorkin's best work in terms of writing dialogue. It's funny how this movie becomes more and more relevant to current times as Facebook continues to garner public scrutiny. It really is an interesting story that would be pretty boring if simply told through a documentary narrator, but when in the hands of Hollywood's best screenplay writer, it turns into a masterpiece. I know most of you can quote Edwardo's rant to Mark. "You better lawyer up, asshole." It's just so rewatchable, and maybe I'm more biased right now because I am currently fiending for workplace dramas and business-related movies because my office is so deprived of drama. Everyone gets along and there's not even money laundering or lawsuits going on...so boring.

#7 - Ocean's Eleven (2001)

Here it is...the coolest movie of all time. I'd call this, arguably, the most rewatchable movie on this list. George Clooney and Brad Pitt's on-screen chemistry makes for incredible dialogue that was mostly improvised. The retro-jazz playing to the backdrop of Las Vegas while impeccably well-dressed dudes who say the coolest things at all times pull off a massive heist...that's my kind of movie. This movie is the most fun you'll have watching a movie. It's hilarious, but not in a ridiculous way that takes away from it's style. It's smart, but easy to follow. You're able to relax and have a good laugh, while also wondering what will happen next. Bring back all-star cast movies where the director just lets charismatic actors have fun and banter with each other for 2 hours straight.

#6 - Good Will Hunting (1997)

This has been in my top 10 for years now, and I feel like it's one of those movies you just can't go wrong with. I think it's the first time I heard a movie monologue and legitimately thought it changed my life. I think the life lessons you can learn from this movie are what makes it stick with everyone for so long. While many of these movies have some kind of stakes, this movie doesn't really have any. It's about a misunderstood guy and with his therapist building an unlikely relationship while working through ideas of trauma, love, and grief. We all know the reason we come back, it's America's favorite fun uncle, the late-great Robin Williams. The scenes between him and Will make for some of the most profound, yet grounded life lessons I've heard in a movie. Every time I hear his stories about his wife, I feel like true love does exist. Then, I snap out of it and remember my vicious cycle of deleting and redownloading Hinge.

#5 - 1917 (2019)

My favorite war movie of all time, which also happens to be one of my favorite movie theater experiences of all time. Filmed to appear as one continuous shot, you get to feel like you're one of the soldiers on the ground with the protagonists. Every time they stop to take a break, you find yourself looking over their shoulders for enemies. You find yourself mirroring their emotions because of how real the mission felt. It's a simple story with simple characters, about two soldiers trekking their way across a war-torn countryside to stop an Allied attack that will lead to the death of thousands. Music is a big thing for me in movies, and Thomas Newman delivers what should have won him the Oscar. I remember the music being the thing that stuck with me the longest, and when I left the theater, I immediately searched the soundtrack and started playing it in the car while I just sat there and soaked it in. It hits every emotional note for me, and it will forever have a place in my heart.

#4 - The Dark Knight (2008)

I feel like this shouldn't be a surprise. This movie is one of the most beloved films of all time for many different reasons, but I feel like people have been losing their love for this movie because of how oversaturated the superhero genre has gotten. I sympathize with that sentiment, because I am absolutely sick of them at this point. However, before Nolan's batman trilogy, Superhero movies were known as cheesy fun at best, and unfathomable crap at worst (which was most of the time in the early 2000s). Christopher Nolan made an incredibly well-made movie first, then put on a comic-book coating afterwards, instead of the usual fan-service first, make a competent movie last. The soundtrack by Hans Zimmer? Incredible. The plot structure? Better then some Oscar-winning movies. The villain? Arguably, the most iconic movie villain in the past 30 years. That may sound like something only a comic-book fan would say, but if you ask most people under the age of 30 who the greatest movie villain is...9 out of 10 times they will say Heath Ledger's Joker. The remaining 1/10 probably said Hans Landa and the argument is definitely there, but c'mon. Health Ledger. Rest in peace, king.

#3 - The Prestige (2006)

I'll set the stage...two Nolan fanboys are debating which Christopher Nolan movie is the best...The Dark Knight or Inception. I scoff from the corner of the room where my face is hidden by shadows. As I approach, the fanboys puff their chests out. Simultaneously, they ask, "which one do you think is better?" I chuckle. "Neither. The Prestige is the best Nolan film." I immediately disappear in a puff of smoke.

The Prestige stars Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale as London magicians in the mid 1800s. As bitter rivals, the two of them obsessively try to one-up the other to an obsessive degree, desperate to learn each other's secrets to their tricks. This film is a masterpiece. It has an incredible plot twist that it legitimately spoils to your face several times throughout the movie, but you don't notice. The film's three acts are written to perfectly mirror the three acts of a magic trick. The Pledge, where the magician shows you something ordinary. The Turn, where the magician takes the ordinary thing and makes it do something extraordinary. Then, there's the Prestige, where you make the big reveal. This movie is on another level with how intricately-woven it is, and it's something you just don't see anymore.

#2 - Arrival (2016)

One of the only movies where my outlook on life changed after I left the theater. As a single film, Arrival is perfect in every way. A movie about aliens coming to Earth, and the race against time to communicate with them before shit hits the fan, and yet, the aliens seem to take a backseat in the story. This alien movie is about humanity, grief, time, and how each one affects the other. Sounds pretty melodramatic, right? After watching this film, you're going to be thrown into an existential crisis so fast, you'll get whiplash. With one of the best executed plot twists of all time, this movie is as mind-boggling as it is breathtakingly beautiful. The way it opens with "On the Nature of Daylight," by Max Richter, one of the most beautiful and sad pieces of music I have ever heard, perfectly sets the tone and atmosphere for how morbidly awe-inspiring this film is. Amy Adams delivers a performance that should have won her an Oscar, and she does not get enough credit for it. It's a movie that has everything I've ever looked for in a film, but the thing that separates it from the other movies on this list is the fact that it took a worn-down premise like an alien invasion and caused me to experience feelings I have never felt before after watching a movie, and may have even made me feel like I could be a better person because of it. Damn, that was melodramatic, I need to watch Ocean's Eleven again to make myself feel cool again.

#1 - The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

To me, this is ONE movie - the perfect trilogy. Each one seamlessly blends into the next and are, what I consider to be, the perfect movies. Some bias may play into this. My dad showed these to me (probably too early) around age 5 and it took me to another world. Before these movies, I was on some boo boo baby bullshit like Power Rangers and Sesame Street (no offense to the Street). After the LOTR trilogy, I was an insufferable movie snob, even before I could spell the word "movie". Every year, I re-watch the entire trilogy in their extended cuts at Christmas time. Yes, all 11 hours and 22 minutes. Everything is *chef's kiss*. With what still is the greatest soundtrack of all time guiding the story along, these movies fill me the same kind of awe-inspired wonder every...single...year. Without fail, the same scenes make me tear up, the same scenes make me cheer, and the same scenes make me sit at the edge of my seat even though I've seen these over one hundred times. The writing is some of the most beautiful and I'm NEVER above spontaneously quoting Sam's monologue from the end of Two Towers.