My Top 10 Movies

It’s time for a top 10 list because why not. Here you go, in no particular order. Also, yeah I’m grouping franchises together. Sue me.



UHF


Some of my favorite movies are great art. This one is probably not, but I still love it to bits. UHF has too many "I recognize that popular culture reference" jokes to be "Great Comedy" imo. But it also has an incredible sincerity and heart that I've never seen in another goofball comedy movie. And enough quotable lines to choke a camel! And what a shocking structure Mr. Yankovic signed off on for his big shot at a feature length movie. You'd think with a plot about a wacky character who catapults a failing TV station into sudden popularity, that character would be Weird Al. Instead they found a no-name comedian (Michael Richards: later Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld) to be that character. And Weird Al is a ... almost straight man, stepping back and letting Richards steal every scene he's in. Really makes me love Weird Al more.
If you're a fan of wacky comedies like Naked Gun, Airplane, Hot Shots, Top Secret, etc, I highly recommend you give this a try. I think it transcends that sub-genre. Tell me if you agree.



The Princess Bride

Some of my favorite movies are great art. This is one of them and I will fight you if you disagree. I mean physically. I've never been in a physical fight. But it's worth the risk. Is there a more quotable movie in existence? Maaaaybe one. Holy Grail gives it a run for the money. But this movie has more heart that 10 Holy Grails. I don't know of another film that walks this line between satire, absurdity and sincerity without stumbling. The cast is perfect in every way, the chemistry impeccable, the pacing never flags, and there's only one "I recognize that reference to a popular culture thing" joke but you don't actually have to know the popular culture thing for the line to still be funny. Eleven out of ten stars. If you don't love this movie you're dead to me.



Lord of the Rings

If you don’t understand why this film trilogy is on my top 10 list you really don’t understand anything about me. Since it’s release I’m still waiting for a fantasy film to top it. I may be waiting my whole life. I’m also left wondering… How the hell did this happen? Peter Jackson and company have had several chances to recapture the magic, and have fumbled miserably every time. This is a sobering reminder to me how fragile and precious the environment in which good complex art occurs can be.



Labyrinth

Here’s a movie full of whimsical puppets, fart jokes, pratfalls and funny voices, and it’s about girl’s sexual awakening. I didn’t know that last part until fairly recently, and it snapped a lot of things into focus. Hey look, metaphors don’t need to be heavy-handed. Here’s an excellent article about it. Read it and watch the movie again. It’s powerful. https://the-artifice.com/labyrinth-1986-power-sex-coming-of-age/



Holy Grail

Oof. This one kinda hurts. I honestly don’t WANT to include this on the list for reasons that have nothing to do with the intrinsic merit of the work. And this is simply that Monty Python and the Holy Grail is overquoted. (By people in my circles/industry.. ie: nerds) I’ll go out on a limb and say that not a week goes by where I don’t hear a line from it, or slip up and quote it myself. But the historical importance and influence this movie has could fill a book. And I can’t deny that a giant, ridiculous grin never leaves my face when I’m watching it. 

Spirited Away

Listen. I really don’t like anime. I’ve tried. Many times. I even spent 5 formative years growing up in Japan. Still didn’t help. If there are deeper themes at work, they are overwhelmed by my perception that the technical quality is so low. And the ones that are technically higher quality seem to me to be about who has more power, and have bland male protagonists being fought over by 3 hot ladies with baby voices. (Yes, I know there are a billion anime that are different. Geez, anime evangelists are almost as bad as conspiracy theorists when it comes to an overriding NEED to convince you.) Everything about all the anime I’ve seen just screams teenage power fantasy, and appeals to me at about negative 100. But hot dang, everything I hate about anime, Spirited Away is the opposite of. The charm, mystery, artistry and well-paced story make this my favorite animated movie, and certainly deserving of a spot in my top 10.



Pan's Labyrinth

I guess I like labyrinths, because now I have two on my list. (Also I have a weird proportion of little-girls-in-jeopardy on this list...) Pan’s Labyrinth was a total surprise to me. I never saw previews for it (which I’ve heard is really helpful because they were misleading) and just walked into it because of the poster. (I usually never do that) I had no idea it was subtitled either. Anyway, everything about this film is so rich and dense and packed with symbolism that was thought through. And everything is so beautiful as well, even the gore and horror. (minus the torture scene) The performances are amazing, the creature design impeccable, and the tension is palpable.



Harry Potter

If I could wish to grow up with one movie series it would be Harry Potter. It has a perfect tone-range within a spectrum I love from charming and whimsical to dark and brooding. It’s sprawling, epic, beautiful, varied and fun. If the worldbuilding weren’t so slip-shod this might be my number one.



Indiana Jones

Indiana Jones, sadly, introduced me to my love of ruins. The setpieces in these films are so inspirational and endlessly copied in every medium. These movies do not age well from a social perspective. Even as a kid I remember feeling offended on behalf of Indians by the “exotic” meal in Temple of Doom. But man, the creativity, energy, charisma, and action in these movies is still top of the line.



Star Wars

My final movie(s) is Star Wars. Duh. It’s Star Wars. I’m a nerdy white American boy born in 1975. How could this franchise NOT exert tremendous influence on me? Star Wars is historically important for plenty of reasons, but I’ll just talk about how it impacted me. I’m sure the story, mythical framework and characters had something to do with it, but I never really cared about those elements much. For me it was all about the mix of exotic aliens and robots in cool action setpieces. Since the first trilogy we’ve been assaulted with hundreds of movies full of exotic aliens and robots in cool action setpieces. Nothing has come close to capturing the magic spell that Star Wars put on me. I think it hit me at such a young age that my creative and artistic vision for my own work will always be indelibly marked in innumerable ways by these movies.


One of the most interesting things to me about this franchise, as I reflect on it as an adult, is how little respect I have for the talent or artistry of its visionary founding father. MOST of the talent that I stand in awe of is the incredible team of collaborators he managed to cobble together. Ralph McQuarrie's concept art, Joe Johnston’s effects, Stuart Freeborn’s creature designs, John William’s score, etc. I don’t know if it was luck that assembled that team, or George Lucas' talent, or someone else’s talent. But as someone who has similar aspirations, THAT’S the goal I’m shooting for. Assembling incredible talent around a core vision that lets the talent push their own unique skills to the surface. For that reason, Star Wars remains my favorite movie franchise, despite the uneven final results.