A Ranking of my 172 Favorite Films

1. Unforgiven ~ proselytizing for two hours how inglorious the old west really was before finishing with the most glorious ending ever.


2. Gone With The Wind ~ Scarlett O'Hara was my first love. Hard to believe this film was made 70 years ago. Gorgeous soundtrack.

3. Life is Beautiful ~ The miraculously perfect fusion of comedy with sadness. Soundtrack is must-have.

4. Forrest Gump ~ Intellectually challenged character who becomes a football star, ping pong champion, war hero, chivalrous lover, and noble father leaving me with no excuse for dreams unrealized.

5. There Will Be Blood ~ Daniel Day Lewis in one of the greatest performances ever. Lost Best Picture Award to a movie appearing on this list at #142.

6. Cinderella Man ~My favorite sports movie.

7. Star Trek II, III, and IV ~ When I was a child, I'm afraid my reverence for Spock eclipsed my reverence for anything else.

8. Blade Runner ~ My favorite Sci-Fi movie. Rich with symbolism. What if you could meet your maker? Vangelis soundtrack makes it unforgettable.

9. The Book of Eli ~ Dystopian ambience at its best… stark cruel future… Denzel is bad in a good way and the girl is utterly gorgeous.

10. Unbreakable ~ My favorite super hero movie. Bruce Willis must be convinced of his unique abilities and destiny.

11. True Romance ~ Watch it for the showdown between Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper, but the rest of the movie is superb too.

12. Gladiator ~ Gripping story of revenge waged in ancient times against a twisted tyrant.

13. Godfather Trilogy ~ Notice the way the appearance of fruit consistently precedes death. The music will linger with you long after the closing credits ascend the screen.

14. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly ~ Saw it on VHS when I was about 12 and the phone rang just before final showdown. While movie was on pause my brothers and I argued for nearly an hour about who would kill who. Incredible music by Morricone.

15. To Kill a Mockingbird ~ The inspiring integrity of Atticus. A movie unlike any other for the mood it creates and sustains.

16. Casablanca ~ Replete with majestic dialogue and beautiful musical score.

17. Truman Show ~ Another parable on what you might say if you ever bumped into your maker.

18. Enchanted ~ Fairytale Princess reminds us it's okay to have faith.... in people, in dreams, in love, in life.

19. Sideways ~ Made me feel smart just watching it. Working at several levels and ultimately suggesting you should be true to yourself and while you're at it, go ahead and conquer your fear.

20. Appaloosa ~ My second favorite western. Great chemistry and writing.

21. Rounders ~ The movie about Texas Holdem. Matt Damon's character is a card playing genius.

22. Groundhog Day ~ Lesson to be learned on how sweet life can be when you stop being an impatient self~centered jerk.

23. Far and Away ~ My favorite Tom Cruise movie. A great adventure transcending continents and feelings.

24. Goodwill Hunting ~ Matt Damon's character is a genius (again). This time he's tough as nails too and doesn't give a shit about anything or anyone. He's simply unimpressed.

25. Life of Brian ~ Easily the funniest movie ever made. And it scores a few points too about how ridiculous religion can be.

26. Princess Bride ~ When you're a kid you love stories and this is the best one.

27. Love Actually ~ Tons of laughs that leave you appreciating how boring life would be without that warm mushy stuff we tend to classify as love.

28. Braveheart ~ Beautiful how he humiliates the bad guys for killing his sweetheart. They pay with blood. Lots of it.

29. Equilibrium ~ This guy can (and, more to the point, does) kick ass.

30. Rocky I, II, III, V, VI ~ Had to omit the fourth installment because of the goofy speech Rocky makes to the Russian audience after defeating their champion.

31. Avatar ~ A big beautiful movie!

32. Blood of Heroes ~ Little known but perfectly produced dystopian portrayal of underdog athletes who won't quit.

33. Sling Blade ~ Carl?

34. Long Hot Summer ~ Don Johnson, Cybill Sheperd, Jason Robards. This 1980’s made for TV movie still hasn't been released on DVD.

35. Napoleon Dynamite ~ One of a handful of comedies on this list. Utterly unique. Makes you thank God you're not in high school anymore. Makes you sad that some people never outgrow those years.

36. Ivanhoe ~ Referring to the 1982 TV movie starring Sam Neil as the primary villain. A gorgeous depiction of heraldry and chivalry.

37. Yes Man ~ In which we are playfully reminded that we’re not doing quite enough living with our lives.

38. Year One ~ Funnier every time you watch it and it will make you more knowledgeably.

39. Girl in a Cafe ~ In which life is too damned precious to keep your mouth shut.

40. Troy ~ Very cool battle scenes and an inspired translation of Homer's Iliad to film without too much silliness with the pantheon of gods. Unfortunately there is a scene early in the movie in which Brad Pitt seems to have borrowed an outfit from the women’s wardrobe.

41. Untamed Heart ~ Illustrating how it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved.

42. Pulp Fiction ~ Not one unquotable line in the entire script.

43. Desperado ~ Full throttle entertainment greatly accentuated with Salma Hayek's personal contribution to global warming.

44. Scarface ~ Al Pacino is riveting as the bad ass Cuban. Wicked soundtrack.

45. Last Samurai ~ My second favorite Tom Cruise movie. There's a great great great action sequence in which the hero replays what he just did in his head... killing three assassins in about three seconds without a weapon.

46. Dodge Ball ~ Clever and creative comedy. Ben Stiller wants so much to be tough and somehow fails to realize that he is consistently the precise antithesis of coolness.

47. The Black Stallion ~ Inspiring and artistic. The main character, Alex, seems so quiet and introverted as though at his young age, he's learned already to live on a more enlightened plane where articulation is rendered primitive.

48. Shenandoah ~ Watch it for the advice James Steward gives his future son-in-law about how sometimes women will cry and you won't know why they're crying but it doesn't matter. Just hold them.

49. Malena

50. Leon - The Professional ~ This hero is tough as nails, but somehow a little girl finds a place in his heart.

51. At Play in the Fields of the Lord ~ Not yet on DVD. Sweeping South American epic in which pretty much every pretension is stripped naked.

52. It's a Wonderful Life ~ James Stewart at his best. Nothing wrong with movies that make you strive to be a better person.

53. Arsenic and Old Lace ~ Cary Grant at his unrivaled best. The look on his face will crack you up several moments before he opens his mouth to say something.

54. Harvey ~ Watch this movie every New Year's Eve with a couple of your dearest friends and plenty of White Russians. Takes a few years but eventually you'll find out how it ends.

55. Regarding Henry ~ Warms your heart to see an asshole accidentally learning how to be a person again.

56. Scent of a Woman ~ Should be watched on Thanksgiving Day. Pacino's character is blind in a couple of ways. Doesn't stop him from smacking people down... and sometimes they deserve it.

57. Lord of the Rings Trilogy ~ Well done adaptation of the classic fantasy series. Could do without all the hobbit frolicking toward the end.

58. Philadelphia Story ~ Watch if for the dialogue between Cary Grant and a drunk James Stewart.

59. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington ~ A showdown between one good man and an entire government of greed and corruption. Not based on a true story, but who knows... maybe someday.

60. Mask ~ Exciting and hilarious. The first movie I ever saw Cameron Diaz in and it was love at first sight.

61. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance ~ The sixth film on this list featuring James Stewart. Also John Wayne.

62. High Noon ~ The most classic of all westerns. Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, and an Academy Award winning soundtrack.

63. Underworld Trilogy ~ Sexy gothic vampire movies with irresistible dark wet sinister ambience and thrilling action. The third and best is set in medieval times.

64. The Graduate ~ I know it's not a comedy, but sometimes I have to laugh at the way the characters are so incapable of connecting with each other. Soundtrack = Greatest Hits by Simon and Garfunkel.

65. Apocalypto ~ This is the kind of movie that grabs you and takes you for a ride at an accelerated velocity and never sets you down until you see the end credits.

66. Shane ~ Pretty deep story in which a gun slinger tries to retire while the bad guys won't let him. It doesn't hurt my appreciation for this movie that I was named after the main character.

67. Planet of the Apes ~ Perhaps the greatest cinematic surprise ending of all time. Watch for thunder in the sky when the astronauts are first exploring the planet... I swear you can see the face of an angry ape illuminated in the clouds.

68. True Grit ~ (2010) Amazing dialogue.

69. The Crucible ~ A cautionary tale against hysteria based on my favorite play.

70. Moonstruck ~ I watch the scene over and over again where Nicholas Cage demands of Cher "What am I, a monument to justice? I lost my hand! I lost my hand!" Riveting hilarity.

71. Pride and Prejudice ~ One of Hollywood's most successful adaptations of a classic.

72. Searching for Bobby Fischer ~ As you support this little boy's quest to dominate the chess world, he's busy cultivating something far more important, his soul.

73. A Knight's Tale ~ A fun movie with some surprisingly touching moments.

74. A Few Good Men ~ You know how sometimes you're flipping through channels and you come to a movie and you just can't flip to another channel no matter how many times you've seen it?

75. Lean on Me ~ In which Morgan Freeman endears himself to movie audiences forever.

76. Batman Begins ~ Better than the more highly acclaimed sequel Dark Knight which is poorly written. Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman all in one film!

77. Immortals

78. Cousins ~ Unforgettable moment as an altercation escalates in the movie's climax when Ted Danson explains "I'm trying to make some chicken salad out of some chicken shit."

79. Training Day ~ Possibly Denzel Washington's greatest performance. As close as you can get to L.A. without actually going to L.A.

80. Count of Monte Cristo ~ Hollywood took this immense classic and said Alexandre Dumas wrote a good story, but we can do better.

81. Somewhere in Time ~ A little silly... a little sappy... but when I first saw it more than twenty years ago... I didn't want it to ever end. Did I fall for Jane Seymour? Of course. Heart melting soundtrack.

82. Frankie and Johnny ~ In which a cook and a waitress remind us that you don't have to be a prince and a princess to create your own hot steamy passionate romance.

83. Titanic ~ No one compares it to Gone With the Wind anymore, thank God, but still a good movie.

84. Patriot ~ During which I realized I had already seen every facial expression Mel Gibson is capable of (and there are only two), but still a gripping story and well produced.

85. Legends of the Fall ~ In which Brad Pitt superbly portrays a man with a wild savage restlessness raging inside.

86. Superman Returns ~ In which I realized that I myself have what it takes to be a superhero minus the looks and the physique and the ability to fly and the incredible strength and the dedication to all that is good, but at least I know how to lose the girl I love. I can do that.

87. Independence Day ~ Exciting fun and patriotic!

88. Last of the Mohicans ~ I like the very old black and white version too, but this one is perfect and beautiful.

89. Never Let Me Go ~ An alternate reality in which we depend on exploited clones for our extended life expectancy.

90. Bambi ~ Sweetest animation ever made. Watch it for Thumper's charming perspective on life. Outstanding music.

91. Up

92. El Cid ~ In which I fell in love with Sophia Loren at the moment when her character relinquishes her quest for vengeance against the man who killed her father. An epic film.

93. The Ten Commandments ~ In which every line is delivered as though it were going to be the final line in the movie, and yet somehow it works. Majestic soundtrack.

94. Ben Hur ~ Apparently this is the Charlton Heston part of my list.

95. A Time to Kill ~ Not sure how realistic it was to have KKK in hand to hand combat with good guys outside the courthouse, but otherwise a great movie with great performances.

96. Gettysburg ~ A movie about one battle. You'll feel like you were there except you won't have three hundred bullets in you.

97. Davy Crockett ~ This movie instilled in me a dream of ending my life gloriously while killing incredible numbers of enemy soldiers with a couple of pistols and a Bowie knife.

98. The Jack Bull ~ Where unwavering principle meets a tragic fate.

99. Bourne Trilogy ~ Exceptional fighting sequences. Bourne is about as cool as an action figure can get.

100. Masada ~ Epic showdown between zealots and the entire Roman empire. Peter O'Toole is amazing.

101. I, Robot ~ One of those rare instances in which the film is at least twenty times better than the book.

102. Taken ~ Liam Neeson is the wrong vigilante to provoke.

103. Karate Kid I & II ~ The first film features one of the greatest kicks to the head in all of film history. The second takes us to Japan where Daniel falls in love with an unforgettably sweet innocent beautiful girl. Third and fourth installments were painfully stupid.

104. Saving Private Ryan ~ Opening assault on D-Day brought to life... giving my generation a glimpse of why their generation is so revered.

105. All the King’s Men

106. Children of Men ~ Has a tendency to make you jump out of your seat at the least expected moments.

107. District 9 ~ Amazingly realistic style of sci~fi

108. The Invention of Lying

109. Thor

110. A Simple Plan ~ The lady in the seat in front of me got up and left the theater in disgust. But I like movies that make you ask yourself what you would do.

111. 10,000 B.C. ~ Similar to Apocalypto, but with magic and fantastic beasts.

112. Matrix ~ Could have been so much better, but Laurence Fishburn's corny speech meant to inspire the good guys before the climactic battle made me gag. And the plot got so convoluted... no one can honestly say they knew what was going on.

113. King Kong ~ Newest version seems like three different movies. First they find Kong. Then there's the Jurassic Park adventure with Kong versus Dinosaurs. Then there's Kong in NY.

114. Idiocracy

115. Liar, Liar ~ Jim Carey's best comedy.

116. My Cousin Vinny ~ Marisa Tomei is delectable and the scene in the cell when Vinny is mistaken for a horny inmate will slay you with laughter.

117. Dream a Little Dream ~ Almost forgotten movie from the 80's with Jason Robards, an adorable Meredith Salinger, and the two Cory's. Winning soundtrack.

118. Kick Ass ~ Extremely R-rated action film. Don’t miss Nicholas Cage’s tribute to Adam West.

119. Edge of Darkness ~ The grimmest Mel Gibson performance to date.

120. Proof ~ Sophisticated and complex exploration of genius and the fragility of our emotions.

121. The Fighter

122. The Town

123. The Straight Story

124. Hurt Locker ~ Igniting as nothing has before my sympathy for soldiers who risk their lives every day.

125. 300 ~ Enjoy the action and the story, but not the silliness of everyone growling every time they speak.

126. Maltese Falcon

127. Hancock

128. Daybreakers

129. And Justice For All

130. Incredible Hulk ~ In which a helicopter crashes to Earth without bothering to blow up.

131. Centurion

132. Battle of the Bulge

133. Crash

134. Mongol ~ The Rise of Genghis Khan

135. Revolution

136. Finding Forrester ~ Farfetched how the student faces off against the frustrated professor in front of the class… every pupil’s fantasy.

137. Talladega Nights ~ The Ballad of Ricky Bobby ~ I could watch this just for the prayer at the dinner table.

138. Moneyball

139. The Reading Room ~ An inspiration for the fine art of being kind and good to the human race.

140. Chariots of Fire ~ Listed more for the Vangelis soundtrack than for great performances or scenery or plot.

141. Excalibur ~ The best Arthurian movie so far, but one day they’ll make one with a decent budget.

142. Pathfinder

143. Sin City

144. American History X

145. Dream Team

146. Monsters Ball

147. Phantom of the Opera

148. Absolute Power

149. Kill Bill I&II

150. Tristan and Isolde

151. Fargo

152. No Country for Old Men

153. Cowboys

154. The Departed

155. Anonymous ~ Entertaining treatment of the conspiracy theory that the works of Shakespeare belong to someone else.

156. Kingdom of Heaven ~ Disappointing how every chapter of his life begins with him meeting someone new and ends with that someone disappearing.

157. The Day the Earth Stood Still (Keanu Reeves)

158. Gangs of New York ~ The main reason to see this movie is the brilliance of Daniel Day Lewis.

159. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

160. Tombstone

161. Vanity Fair

162. Oliver Twist

163. Click

164. Rio Bravo

165. Pale Rider

166. Ride the High Country

167. Donnie Darko

168. Harry Potter

169. Double Indemnity

170. Miracle

171. Memento

172. The Contender