movies

Directing the Neutrino Project again has started me thinking about movies.
I've been having a lot of movie discussions at work and would like to attempt to post my personal top 10 favorite movies. Let's give it a shot (keep in mind these are all subject to change depending on my opinion at any given time)
10 Requiem for a Dream This is not a feel good movie for anyone. I love the style, creativity and soundtrack to this film so much. The use of color is brilliant. I don't know of any other movie that shows the ups and downs of addiction as clearly as they are shown in this movie. This is Darren Aronofsky at his peak (with some great performances by Ellen Burstyn, Jennifer Connelly and Jerad Leto, to boot).

09 Pan's Labyrinth I am a big fan of dark fairytales and things that seem innocent on the surface but the deeper you get, the creepier they become. Guillermo del Toro used the darkest creativity to create a fantastic (and dark) story. This deep voiced trailer is lame, but the movie is unbelievable.

08 the Diving Bell and the Butterfly Easily one of the most beautiful, feel good movies I've ever seen. Great use of the camera for this movie. Beautiful and French. If you haven't seen it, you must.

07 Jesus' Son Holy crap. What's with me and weird drug addiction movies? This movie began my crush on the beautiful Samantha Morton. It's such a simple collection of stories surrounding one guy with a drug problem. I read the book and wasn't that impressed, but the movie is amazing to me. Like Requiem, it shows a dark side to addictions - through the eyes of a simple guy who doesn't really know what he's supposed to do.

06 Elling Probably one of the sweetest movies I've ever seen. I share this movie with a lot of people because it's not well known. This trailer is terrible, but there is a youtube video of the entire movie you can find by searching Elling there. It's a feel good, great spirited movie that will make you smile.

05 Duck Soup Where would I be today if I hadn't been introduced to the Marx Brothers at such a young age? I probably wouldn't have spent ten years of my life learning and performing improv and sketch comedy in Chicago only to move to Portland to help open and run a comedy theater. How could this not make anyone laugh?

04 Days of Heaven Terrence Malick knows how create some of the most beautiful movies and while, at times the story slows to a snails pace, it is a wonderful movie. Both this and Badlands are favorites of mine, but since they're both wonderful Terrence Malick movies, I'm putting Days of Heaven on the list. When I'm in a Charles Starkweather kind of mood, I'll swap this with Badlands. Either way, you should watch them both.

03 Sexy Beast Ray Winstone is a fantastic counterpart to a bad ass Ben Kingsly. Probably the best use of tension in any movie since Das Boot. If you like British gangster flicks, this is one of the best.

02 Psycho Speaking of tension. This masterpiece is on everyone's top 10, isn't it?

01 the Hudsucker Proxy The Coen Brothers with Sam Raimi? Yes please. So much happening in this wonderful picture. You know, for kids?