Top 10: 1. 2001: A Space Odyssey 2. Once Upon a Time in America 3. Fanny and Alexander 4. Pan's Labyrinth 5. Psycho 6. Mullholland Drive 7. The Third Man 8. Aguirre, the Wrath of God 9. The Fountain 10. Let the Right One In Favorite Directors: Stanley Kubrick Ingmar Bergman Sergio Leone David Lynch Orson Welles Darren Aronofsky F.W. Murnau Woody Allen Edgar Wright Carl Theodor Dreyer Michael Powell Favorite Actor: Orson Welles Favorite Actress: Ingrid Bergman Favorite Screenwriters: Paul Schrader Francois Truffaut Charlie Kaufman Guy Maddin Discuss.

Top 10: 1. Jurassic Park 2. The Empire Strikes Back 3. Aliens 4. Raiders of the Lost Ark 5. Star Wars 6. The Matrix 7. Toy Story 8. Alien 9. No Country for Old Men 10. Memento Favorite Directors: Steven Spielberg Alfred Hitchcock Joel and Ethan Coen Christopher Nolan Billy Wilder Quentin Tarantino M. Night Shyamalan David Fincher Brad Bird Edgar Wright Terry Gilliam Most hated director: Terrence Malick Favorite actor: Harrison Ford Favorite actress: No idea. Cate Blanchett, maybe? Favorite Screenwriters: Charlie Kaufman Who the else matters? Since we're discussing I'll give you a little of my philosophy on film so you'll know where I'm coming from. A movie can be all kinds of things. Art, social commentary, exploitation, diversion, technical experiment... but at the end of the day the best movie is the most entertaining one. Always. The worst sin a film can commit in my mind is to bore me. I love science fiction and psychological thrillers. I hate westerns, war movies, and historical epics.

[b]Jekkie wrote:[/b] [quote]Top 10: 1. 2001: A Space Odyssey 2. Once Upon a Time in America 3. Fanny and Alexander 4. Pan's Labyrinth 5. Psycho 6. Mullholland Drive 7. The Third Man 8. Aguirre, the Wrath of God 9. The Fountain 10. Let the Right One In Favorite Directors: Stanley Kubrick Ingmar Bergman Sergio Leone David Lynch Orson Welles Darren Aronofsky F.W. Murnau Woody Allen Edgar Wright Carl Theodor Dreyer Michael Powell Favorite Actor: Orson Welles Favorite Actress: Ingrid Bergman Favorite Screenwriters: Paul Schrader Francois Truffaut Charlie Kaufman Guy Maddin Discuss.[/quote] (cracks knuckles and neck) Let's see here. I thought Pan's Labyrinth was okay. 2001 was also okay to me, but I did like the special effects and Hal 9000. The Fountain, to my opinion, was boring. The rest I have never seen. Psycho truly deserves its place in the list. Best. Plot. Twist. Ever! I don't like most of the movies that Stanley Kubrick makes. A Clockwork Orange is a reasonable example of why, after figuring out that there is a big raping scene in there. But I did like the Shinning, and I really want to see Flying Over the Coco's Nest. Orson Wells truly deserves to be on this list. After making Citizen Kane, he has been recognizable as one of the greatest, if not, the greatest director of all time for making the to most critics as the greatest film ever made! Even his broadcast for The War of the Worlds was phenomenal. Edgar Wright is also awesome for making Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and my all time favorite of this year, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. I have heard of David Lynch and Woody Allen, but I never seen any of their movies before. And for everyone else, I have never heard of. Now for my list. I didn't want to give away my favorite movies of all time yet. I was hoping to hold on to that thought for my top 30 favorite movies list. So I'm just going to scramble the order, just so you guys won't see what my favorite movie of all time is. That, and I'm only going to give you guys only 10 of them. Favorite movies: Aliens The Fifth Element The Breakfast Club Stalingrad Back to the Future Batman A Christmas Story Christmas Vacation Samurai X Akira Favorite Directors: Hayao Miyazaki Steven Spielberg John Hughes Edgar Wright Christopher Nolans

You said you wanted judgment, so here goes :) Btw my list of movies are my personal favorites, not necessarily what movies I feel are the best of all time. Your list is less vulnerable to criticism since the inclusion of foreign movies and older ones (both well-known and slightly less well-known) shows that you know about film or have at least seen a lot of movies. It's a reasonably high-brow list without being obscure. You'd be someone with whom I'd feel I could talk seriously about film but we'd probably fight because our preferences are very different. IMO, Jekkie, Pan's Labyrinth is the best of your list, followed by Psycho. I also really liked Let the Right One In. Very pleasant surprise there, and the only vampire movie I've ever seen that wasn't terrible. I, like javie, am not a big fan of Kubrick. I'll acknowledge his importance (and, indeed, 2001 is probably his most important and influential movie) but when I'm watching a movie I don't think "Wow look how important this is" and then have my enjoyment go up. Most people either love or hate 2001 - I'm somewhere in between. I recognize how good it is technically and there's quite the tense segment in the middle with HAL and all that. The problem I have with 2001 is that in order to love it I feel you have to let yourself get lost in it, just soak it in and ponder the questions it poses - which would be fine if I could put my mind in neutral and forget what I know about the world. The movie is essentially about evolution and how man progresses from a lower to a higher form of being or consciousness. To me that isn't worth 2 1/2 hours of very slow movie. The biggest redeeming value of the film is that it allowed other great movies like Star Wars and Alien to be made. The Fountain is a similar kind of movie so I suspect that you're a bit of a sucker for vague, surrealist nonsense (and I mean that in the best possible way). The addition of Mulholland Drive further confirms this. Let's face it, Jek... you like the mind**** genre (as I also do), but you just prefer your mind****s as pretentious as possible. Mulholland Dr. while being technically superior to dreck like Donnie Darko is in the same category plot-wise. The virtue of Mulholland Dr is all in its atmosphere. To me the biggest surprise on your list is Once Upon a Time in America over the usual Leone favorites The Good the Bad and the Ugly or Once Upon a Time in the West. I haven't seen it myself but usually people who favor 2001 also love TGTBATU and usually Paul Thomas Anderson as well. Your list practically cries out for the inclusion of There Will Be Blood. --- Now javie's list on the other hand is pure love. Technical or historical achievements are clearly an afterthought in his process. Not one of his top 10 was released prior to 1985 or after 1997 - that's only a 12 year span. They're all recent, mostly well-loved with a couple of more obscure personal favorites. There's an obvious preference for colorful, exaggerated sci-fi (The Fifth Element, Akira, Back to the Future) and comfort movies (Christmas Story, Batman, Breakfast Club). Plus two Christmas movies! Quite unusual. If I had to guess I'd say you were exposed to 80% of these movies before the age of 12. So nostalgia is playing a huge role. That's not necessarily bad and I probably like most or all of these films. It's just very limiting and shows, probably, a lack of familiarity with older cinema. Now, granted, the oldest movie on my list is Star Wars which almost doesn't count since basically everyone has seen it, so maybe that isn't fair. If you expand my list out to 30 or 40 you'll see a lot more diversity. Maybe, like me, javie simply knows what he likes and isn't afraid to admit it.

Now for my favorite car chase movies: Gone in 60 Seconds Bullet The Great Escape The Fifth Element I almost forgot the two other directors that I admire: Robert Zemeckis Tim Burton If you are trying to guess what my all time favorite movie is, one of those directors will give it away ;) . My favorite actors: Johnny Depp Christopher Lloyd Bruce Willis Bruce Campbell

Pretty much, though I disagree with the 'pretentious' and Donnie Darko comments. =P I think that movies like Mulholland Drive and The Fountain just use surrealistic imagery to help create a point about their respective themes and characters. Whereas Donnie Darko is a pseudo-intellectual's thoughts on God, Mulholland Drive seems like a dreamy throwback to films like Sunset Boulevard and other films that have warned against the Hollywood dream. That, and I do love surrealism in general. As for Kubrick, I'd still love him even if he wasn't considered an important director. I love everything about his style - cinematography, scripting, pacing, etc. I know [i]A Clockwork Orange[/i] has some tough scenes to swallow (teehee), but I appreciate what it has to say and I find it to be a great film. Basically, I'm of the opinion that the best films are the ones that are contemplative and intimate. Anyway, I like your top 10, Reed, and it fits your definition of entertainment being the highest form of cinema. From what I can tell, you seem to like flashy movies that have some substance (I don't mean that in a bad way, either). I'll stop there, though, as I'm not that great at analyzing people's tastes based on their top ten. I will say, however, that Jeff Goldblum is a man's man. As for javie's list, Reed pretty much hit the nail on the head.'Nuff said.

I almost forgot one more to my favorite actors: Christopher Walkins

Aight, Jekkie. So now that we have that covered, I have some followup questions. I feel that those movies you listed which I have seen are at least somewhat open to interpretation (except for Psycho, which hits you over the head with explanation at the end - the only major flaw in the film imo). If you can do so without having to write extensive essays, I'd be interested in hearing your take on them. Specifically Mulholland Dr and 2001. Btw, I'm not putting Mulholland Dr totally on the Darko level - it's a much more complete, mature and interesting movie and made by a much more competent filmmaker. I'd agree it harkens back to those classic noirs and is itself something of neo-noir. It intrigued me but also left me dry in some ways. What do you make of the movie, if indeed you think it means anything? I don't know if you get asked this a lot. For a while it seems like I spent quality time with every other person explaining why I liked No Country for Old Men and why the ending was brilliant instead of stupid. Also, do you see similarities between that movie and Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut? I'd think as a fan of those movies you'd have maybe seen this one as well. [quote]Anyway, I like your top 10, Reed, and it fits your definition of entertainment being the highest form of cinema. From what I can tell, you seem to like flashy movies that have some substance (I don't mean that in a bad way, either).[/quote] Well, it's primarily that I view movies as escapism. I don't want to spend two hours watching a movie only to end up seeing something I could see walking down the street. This is why, though I like plenty of dramas, they don't appeal to me as much as high-concept stuff. I value special effects because they show me those things that are only possible on a movie screen. [quote]I will say, however, that Jeff Goldblum is a man's man.[/quote] Why yes. Yes he is. :p

Jeff Goldblum is a good actor, but he does have his awkward moments too. Not that I'm saying that's a bad thing, because Christopher Walkins is an awkward guy too. Where Christopher Walkins is awkward in a likable way, Goldblum in the other hand does it in a boring manner at times that can also be annoying.

[b]BrotherReed wrote:[/b] [quote]Now javie's list on the other hand is pure love. Technical or historical achievements are clearly an afterthought in his process. Not one of his top 10 was released prior to 1985 or after 1997 - that's only a 12 year span. They're all recent, mostly well-loved with a couple of more obscure personal favorites. There's an obvious preference for colorful, exaggerated sci-fi (The Fifth Element, Akira, Back to the Future) and comfort movies (Christmas Story, Batman, Breakfast Club). Plus two Christmas movies! Quite unusual. If I had to guess I'd say you were exposed to 80% of these movies before the age of 12. So nostalgia is playing a huge role. That's not necessarily bad and I probably like most or all of these films. It's just very limiting and shows, probably, a lack of familiarity with older cinema.[/quote] Like I said, I'm only giving away only a small remnant of my all time favorites. I do love Nostalgia, but my all time favorites are more than just nostalgia. Like I said, I will do a top 30 of my all time favorite movies, and I didn't even come close to giving away my favorite movie off all time. I gave you one hint, and that may help you figure out which movie it is.