Top 10 Movies

A good movie is a powerful thing.  It can transport you to another world and make you forget your troubles in the real world for a few hours.  Good movies can make you laugh or make you cry; make you sit on the edge of your seat or make you want to hide behind it.  They can be something that can help you instantly bond with others, quoting lines from your favorite films.

In honor of the wonders of the silver screen, here are my all-time favorite movies:

10. Ferris Bueller's Day Off - It's a hilarious slice of the 1980s and probably still my favorite John Hughes film.  Edie McClurg always cracks me up in her role as Principal Rooney's secretary, Grace.

9. Tombstone - This one is my favorite western.  Val Kilmer is outstanding as Doc Holliday.

8. Animal House - A comedy classic filled with tons of quotable lines.  My favorite of those lines is probably when Bluto mutters "Seven years of college down the drain."

7. The Natural - I love baseball and this is my favorite baseball movie.  "There goes Roy Hobbs, the best there ever was."

6. The Shawshank Redemption- It's probably the best adaptation of a Stephen King book and one of those movies that seems to always be on TV but that you always stop and watch for a while when it is.

5. Good Will Hunting - Another movie that's on TV a lot but that always drags me in and gets me to watch it.  One of the few films that has made me laugh and tugged at my heartstrings in equal measure.  Robin Williams is terrific playing it (mainly) straight as Will's counselor.

4. Hoosiers - This is my all-time favorite sports movie and one of the greatest underdog stories in film history.  Gene Hackman is great as a Bobby Knight-esque basketball coach seeking redemption in a small Indiana town and Dennis Hopper is equally good as the town drunk who is a father of one of Hackman's players and likewise seeking redemption.

3. L.A. Confidential - A stellar cast (Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kevin Spacey, Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito, James Cromwell) and a twisty plot that pulls you in and keeps you guessing.  I always thought that it should have beaten out "Titanic" for Best Picture that year.

2a. The Godfather - I've seen it many times but if it's ever on TV, I cannot stop watching it.  Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, James Caan, Robert Duvall.  An undisputed cinematic classic and the movie by which all other mafia movies are measured.  The part near the end where the baptism of Michael's goddaughter is interspersed with his foot soldiers getting revenge on his enemies is outstanding.

2b. The Godfather, Part II - Ditto....but add Robert DeNiro and Bruno Kirby to the mix.  Two different stories set several decades apart, seamlessly intertwined.  It helps to provide a greater appreciation for it's predecessor, which I why I have to list them both together.

1. The Usual Suspects - Yes, it's violent.  Yes, it has a lot of profanity.  But it also has a terrific, unique story that is capped by one of the best endings in cinema history.  A terrific ensemble cast that includes Kevin Spacey, Benicio Del Toro, Gabriel Byrne and Chazz Palmenteri, among others just adds to it all.  After I saw this movie in college, I kept renting it and making my friends who hadn't seen it watch it.  They all loved it, too.  This one is a little more obscure than the others on this list, so if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it!

Honorable Mention (in no particular order): "Glory", "Major League", "The Departed" and "Good Morning Vietnam"

That's my list.  What movies are on yours?  I'd love to hear your list.

Thanks for reading!