MOVIES ALL TIME

Watching movies is a great way of keeping oneself entertained. This is the reason why movies have become the favorite pass time of people, both young and old. Also, there are many movies which cater to people of all ages. Every person has an option and opinion when it comes to movies. These are the greatest films ever to grace the screen. if you do not agree with my list of if you got a favorite movie then share your views by leaving a comment.

10. Fight Club (1999)

“Fight Club” an aggressive, confrontational, often brutal satire that is quite possibly a brilliant masterpiece. Taking the “Choose life,” anti-consumerism rant at the beginning of “Trainspotting,” and carrying it to its logical — albeit extreme — conclusion this is a big budget, mainstream film that takes a lot of risks by biting the hand that feeds it. The film’s narrator (Edward Norton) is an insignificant cog in the drab, corporate machine, dutifully doing his job and what he’s told without question. He’s an insomniac slave to his IKEA possessions and only finds joy in going to as many self-help/dealing with terminal diseases sessions as he can. It provides him with an escape from his sleepless nights. That is, until Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter), a trashy chain-smoking poser, enters his life and upsets his routine. The narrator also meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), a charismatic soap salesman whose straightforward honesty, candor and sleazy lounge-lizard outfits are a breath of fresh air. One night, after the two men have bonded over beers, Tyler asks the narrator to hit him. At first, it seems like an absurd request but after they pound on each other for a bit, a strange feeling overcomes them. They feel a kind of release and satisfaction at inflicting pain on one another. In a world where people are desensitized to everything around them, the physical contact of fighting wakes them up and makes them feel truly alive. Others soon join in and pretty soon Fight Club becomes an underground sensation. However, it becomes readily apparent that Tyler has more elaborate plans than just organizing brawls at the local bar. David Fincher has taken the dark, pessimistic worldview of “Seven” and married it with the clever plot twists and turns of “The Game” and assembled his strongest effort to date. “Fight Club” is a $50+ million studio film that remains true to its anti-consumer, anti-society, anti-everything message — right up to the last, sneaky subliminal frame.

9. The Matrix (1999)

Writing a review of The Matrix is a very hard thing for me to do because this film means a lot to me and therefore I want to do the film justice by writing a good review. To tell the truth the first time I saw the film I was enamored by the effects. I remember thinking to myself that this was one of the most visually stunning films I had ever seen in my life. Also having always been a comic book fan and a fan of films that were larger than life, the transitional element of the story was very appealing to me and this probably heightened my enjoyment of the film very much. It wasn’t until some time later (and after having seen the film a few times more) that I started to think about the film. I recognized the Christian elements quite quickly but it wasn’t until I wrote an actual 15-page essay on the film that I tapped into some of the philosophical and religious elements and that made me appreciate the film even more. I won’t say that I have recognized all elements because the film is quite literally packed with them.

8. Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

My five children were all pre-teens when ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ came to the theater. While there had been other Sci-Fi movies with a theme of conflict in outer space, the ‘Star Wars’ trilogy filled our imaginations like no other movies before them. The fantastic, strange worlds were presented almost like we were there too. Aliens sitting around a tavern, enjoying drinks and speaking in all sorts of languages. Nothing before had approached the sheer size of the space ships depicted here, huge cities traveling all over the galaxy. And how about the jump to hyper speed, then disappearing from the screen as the speed exceeds light speed! And the light sabres of the Jedi Knights. The Jedi Knights, a striking parallel to the Japanese Samurai.

7. Requiem For a Dream (2000)

Often hype about films lead to disappointment and after waiting 14 months after release for my local cinema to show this film, I was done thinking about it. Thank goodness too, rather than challenge my brain (not hard to do unfortunately) this film went straight for the heart, ripped it out and kicked it around the floor for 90 minutes. As the addictions plunged further into the depths of Hell, I felt myself more and more arrested by the film. I’ve never left a film shaking or feeling physically ill- not including Pearl Harbour, of course You want to look away, but cannot. This movie is by no means flawless, but then again I would like to hope that the flaws add to the gritty reality of the film. The ending was truly the most frightening thing I have ever seen in film- forget the cheap scares of The Exorcist, Psycho and the endless bile of the ‘slasher flick’, this stuff is REAL.

6. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

I believe that this film is the best story ever told on film, and I’m about to tell you why. Tim Robbins plays Andy Dufresne, a city banker, wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. He is sent to Shawshank Prison in 1947 and receives a double life sentence for the crime. Andy forms an unlikely friendship with “Red” (Morgan Freeman), the man who knows how to get things. Andy faces many trials in prison, but forms an alliance with the wardens because he is able to use his banking experience to help the corrupt officials amass personal fortunes. The story unfolds…. I was so impressed with how every single subplot was given a great deal of respect and attention from the director. The acting was world-class. I have never seen Tim Robbins act as well since, Morgan Freeman maybe (e.g. Seven). The twists were unexpected, an although this film had a familiar feel, it wasn’t even slightly pretentious or cliched, it was original. The cinematography was grand and expressive. It gave a real impression of the sheer magnitude of this daunting prison. But the one thing which makes THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION stand above all other films, is the attention given to the story. The film depends on the story and the way in which it unravels. It’s a powerful, poignant, thought-provoking, challenging film like no other. If Andy were to comment on this film, I think he might say: “Get busy watching, or get busy dying.” Take his advice.

5. Gladiator (1992)

This movie is proof that a great movie doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. you just have to pick the right elements. a good story, picking the right cast, the right filming places. After seeing Cuba gooding Jr. in this movie i became a big fan of his. it’s to bad thats he does these the rich guy kind of easy parts these days. this was some really good acting of him. It felt real. 1 question though. Why did an actor like James Marshall never make it big time. I like the vibe he brings to the white screen. and Robert Loggia..who doesn’t like his raw, had to much whiskey kind of voice. Jon Seda, a real struggling boy in this movie, through the years he gotten even greater. keep on going the right way Jon !!! My Final conclusion: most boxing film do not have a lot of dept. Thy this one boys…this one is definitely in my personal top 5

4. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

As a movie watcher, I tend to become bored with the constant, overdone, overdrawn, underplayed, overdramatized performance and production quality of most Hollywood films. It’s a trait that in recent years has sadly driven me away from most big budget American films. A decent idea will become mangled by the money making machine that is Hollywood, hoping to pump the most raw cash they can out of it before it drops dead in the street. We all saw the catastophre of a failure that arose from the Matrix Franchise. Such immense hype and professed genius only made the failure all the more poignant for those of us that really wanted and expected more from the franchise. That all being said, I must say that The Lord of the Rings is an amazingly powerful visual experience. Not even just a visual experience. Peter Jackson has crafted one of the finest written pieces of our era into THE quintessential epic. He supplements the brilliant storytelling of JRR Tolkien with one of the most awe-inspiring collection of films ever created.

3. Titanic (1997)

Firstly and foremostly, I did not go see Titanic to see DiCaprio…although I think he can be a great actor. Reading through earlier comments, i grew a bit weary of hearing about lame script and shallow characters. I went to see a ship sink…the plot and the characters were, at least to me, a kind of icing on the Cake. I actually think a lot of the characters were done well; that is, by the time they die in freezing water, you actually felt a tinge of sadness for them. But , by the time Titanic was over, I was sufficiently moved to make me tell people that it was a great movie. Kate Winslet was good, Kathy Bates was perfect, Leo was ok (I’ll give you people that – I’ve seen him shine like I know he can … Basketball Diaries, Romeo & Juliet). But ultimately, the Titanic sinks…and it was absolutely stunning. Bravo to Cameron. He didn’t just show us a large ship sinking, he showed us the back half of it crashing down on a hundred freezing, drowning people; he showed us a third class mother attempting to sing her children to sleep because she knew they were all doomed (broke my heart – i cried the most right there at that point), he showed people who worked extremely hard to get OUT of the bowels of the ship only to be sucked back in when a random window shattered and the water carried them on back in…detail. I like detail in a movie. Very impressive job.

2. Forrest Gump (1994)

I have seen this movie easily a half a dozen times, and I find that the beauty of the film is how Forrest Gump not only shares his innocence and purity with others, including the audience, he also manages to retain that innocence and purity through some very difficult times. As a Viet Nam veteran, and a college graduate of the late Sixties, I could of course personally relate to the various periods that Forrest Gump endures. I would only mention that the skillful and seamless blending of music, action, and period costume was enthralling. And yet it was so perfectly understated that Forrest Gump’s travels through thirty five years of the stormiest and most meaningful years of American history only became clearly defined for the viewer. Even more so than the well known chocolates quote as a metaphor for life, I felt that the remark that stupid is what you do is probably more workable for most of us.

1. The Godfather (1972)

The Godfather is commonly considered to be one of the “greatest films of all time”. Even though I’ve given it a 10, I wouldn’t put that same kind of exalted emphasis on it. I’ve given literally thousands of films 10s over the years, and for me, Godfather just barely made a 10. I think it has a number of flaws, but Coppola also has a knack for transcending the problems with some brilliant move or another. At any rate, it is definitely must-see viewing–even if it’s only because it’s so highly regarded–if you’ve not experienced the film yet. I think it’s a good idea to attain cultural literacy, and films as popularly loved as The Godfather become necessary elements in achieving that literacy.

Shorn of its gangster trappings, The Godfather is sprawling and soap-operatic in tone. The sprawl is appropriate to its origins as a novel by Mario Puzo, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. There is a large cast of characters–maybe too large, as it can be difficult to keep track of just who everyone is. Even after you’ve watched the film a couple times you may find scenes where mobsters seem to spontaneously appear and you catch yourself saying, “Wait, who is that guy supposed to be again?” The soap opera angle can be a positive or negative depending on your tastes. I tend to not like soap-operatic stories, but of course Coppola put yummy gangster topping on this one to make it palatable for guys like me. At root, though, The Godfather is concerned with realistic depictions of a very dysfunctional family as they try to make it through life–including marriages, births, adultery, spats between family members, tiffs with others in their community, and so on. My theory is that the soap opera angle accounts for much of the film’s appeal. For me, it (and the slight lack of focus from the sprawl) accounts for much of the reason that I barely gave the film a 10.

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