MySpace and Sound - TonyD's Top 25 of All-Time

Over the world of MySpace, FilmArcade reviewers MissMovieFan, Dr. Royce Clemens, The Rub, Jenny Rushing, and Jerry Dennis all wrote about their top ten favorite films. I was also selected to write about mine, which I thought, “How easy could it be?” Quite frankly, it was harder than ever before. Half of these films I saw just last year, and I haven’t been able to get half of them out of my head. If you really wanted to know my top 25, read here. (Also, if anyone else (writers and readers) wants to post their top ten films (or in my case, twenty-five) just post it as a comment or a new post.)


25. Almost Famous – Directed by Cameron Crowe (not the bootleg version)

I can go on and on about how I dislike the works of Cameron Crowe, which I really can do and if you don’t believe me watch “Elizabethtown,” but I can’t speak about this film. Even “Almost Famous,” starring Jason Lee, Kate Hudson, and Frances McDormand, impressed me and I hate his films. “Almost Famous” tells the tale of an aspiring journalist that gets the opportunity to travel with the rock band Stillwater and write about them in the Rolling Stones magazine. I don’t like this movie because it is entertaining (well, that is one of the real reasons that I do), but because “Almost Famous” is the truest rock band film. Instead of being a film about just journalism, it is combined in what rock stars really do – which is do drugs, sing, and fuck the groupies. Plus, nothing can be truer than Cameron Crowe’s very own material in this film, which is based on his real experiences while traveling with other rock bands while writing for the Stones.


24. Magnolia – Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

No matter how many times it happens, I always laugh when people get Paul Thomas Anderson and Paul W. S. Anderson together. This film is definitely not the works of W. S. Anderson. “Magnolia” was one of the first films that I saw that clearly had an influence on my life. Within the first five minutes, a narrator talks about the matter of coincidences by showing footage of such in black and white. After these first few moments, Paul Thomas Anderson introduces us to a cast of characters that revolves around a game show. The matter of coincidences of these characters meeting one another isn’t because Anderson is trying to tell us that it is a small world, but because we need one another. Even by the end of the film, which contains singing of an Aimee Mann song and the use of frogs falling from the sky, is just another reason to show that there is a reason to live on earth other than to use drugs and swim in the fame and fortune.


23. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters – Directed by Seth Gordon

I didn’t want to put this one on the list. I honestly didn’t want to. But I couldn’t help myself. I haven’t been so involved with a movie since 1997’s “Honey I Shrunk Ourselves.” (That was a joke, of course. The real movie was “James and the Giant Peach.”) These real people are the types of characters that we would find in the cinema – the unlikely hero (Steve Wiebe), the favorite that just needs to go down (Billy Mitchell), a guy who has created an empire that is growing to be bigger than himself (Walter Day), and a guy that goes by the name of Mr. Awesome (Roy Schildt). Add that to video-game geeks and Donkey Kong and you have yourself the single best documentary ever made.


22. Se7en – Directed by David Fincher

I went into “Se7en” hearing so much and expecting so little. I was so sure that the hype was going to bring me down. I watched the film on a rainy day with my dad, who never thought that he would enjoy a movie like this. Needless to say, I didn’t think I would either. Two cops, played by Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt, investigate a series of crimes that are devoted to the Seven Deadly Sins. The film was great because the killer (not going to spoil who it is for those who haven’t seen the film) is never known until the end of the film. David Fincher doesn’t play a “Whodunit” kind of game but rather plays “Whereishe.” Also, one of the greatest villains in film is never seen actually killing people, which is just another reason why “Se7en” is so uncomfortable. This isn’t Fincher’s best work (which goes to another film on my list), but it is deserving enough to own a spot on my list.


21. Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz – Directed by Edgar Wright

I put these two films together because they are so alike in so many ways. Both are directed by Edgar Wright and are written by Simon Pegg and Wright. These films aren’t the kind of spoof films that mimic pop-culture but instead these films are a homage to the films that we love by making pure fun out of them. “Shaun of the Dead” is a homage to the great George A. Romero zombie flicks and “Hot Fuzz” is a homage to all of those buddy cop movies. Both films contain moments that mimic those films but aren’t just comedies. “Shaun” is part comedy and zombie film at the same time. “Hot Fuzz” begins as a one hour spoof of action flicks, but in the second hour, it becomes an action flick itself (which includes an ass-kicking finale which I advise that no one misses). “Hot Fuzz” may be the better one of the two, but they both display the true talent of these two comedic geniuses.


20. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Directed by Milos Forman

“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is such a weird film that I can’t begin to explain how arbitrary and hilarious is. Director Milos Forman wants us to be friends with a nut-case that is friends with bigger nut-cases. In the end result, we get a bunch of nut-cased rebels trying to bring down Nurse Ratched. Even if you haven’t seen the film, I’m sure that you’ve already SEEN the film. Whether it was from a movie where people scream at the other saying, “Nurse Ratched,” or a “Rugrats” cartoon, I guarantee that once you watch it, you will understand where they all came from. I hear a lot that the concept in the film is flawed that Nurse Ratched is only doing her job, but remember, you are dealing with people who aren’t normal. Plus, McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) just really wants to get out of the nut house.


19. Across the Universe – Directed by Julie Taymor

I listed “Across the Universe” as number two on my top films of 2007, but it may as well just be the best film of 2007. I have memorized bits and pieces of dialogue. I’ve learned the words to all of the Beatle songs and the way that the characters sing them. I understand where the film is coming from. It isn’t the anti-war film that all of those damn film scholars seem to think it is, but it is a musical about how to follow the music. The way that “August Rush” also handled this subject was to say that the music was all around you, but in all reality, the only thing that is around you nowadays is corruption, money, and love. It seems to have been this way in the 60s, but how should I know? I wasn’t alive in that time period. All of those elements come into play while watching “Across the Universe,” but only one of them survive – love. If you have love, it is all you need. This film is enough for film and Beatles geeks to have their head spinning for ages, but if you can get that to happen, then you can probably rule the world.


18. Back to the Future – Directed by Robert Zemeckis

Oh, let me take you back to another time period where I wasn’t alive. It was called the Raging 80s. Everything that we knew and loved from the 60s and 70s were changing – clothes from that time period were out of date, the Beatles and the Beach Boys were extinct, and people were coming up with new inventions everyday. In 1985, the world was introduced to Marty McFly and Doc Brown, a high school boy and his older buddy who comes up with weird-ass inventions. One of his inventions is the time machine… which is built into a DeLorean. Yet, out of the millions of the films that I’ve seen with cars, I think that the only car that I still want is a DeLorean.


17. Lola rennt – Directed by Tom Tykwer

“Lola rennt,” or “Run Lola Run,” is one fast ride through the streets of Berlin, Germany, and if you stay with the film, you will never be able to catch up. The film tells the tale of Lola (Franka Potente) and her desperate attempt to get her boyfriend one hundred thousand Deutschemarks in twenty minutes. It shows three possible ways she can get the money, each with a different outcome than the others. The movie has very little dialogue, but when it does, you must make sure that you aren’t watching the dubbed English track version. It is easily the worst dubbed track in the history of DVD. Other than that, it is a fast-paced ride that is so much fun that I couldn’t get my eyes off of the screen.


16. Clerks – Directed by Kevin Smith

The first Jay and Silent Bob film I saw was… well… “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.” I never knew of the films before it, although I did see the duo in “Scream 3” some time back. After watching the movie and watching the trailers on the DVD, I went out and rented “Chasing Amy,” “Dogma,” and “Clerks.” I wasn’t really impressed with “Chasing Amy,” and I’m still not, but I really did like “Dogma.” I never watched “Clerks,” and I left that one for about two years. After I decided to visit it again, I watched it… and I can’t believe that I didn’t watch that movie first. It sets up all of the other films that comes after it and is just so much better than them. It crushes them all in the competition. The characters are some characters that we can all relate to, and their feelings about work are our feelings as well. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, what the hell are you waiting for?


15. American History X – Directed by Tony Kaye

It seems like it has been ages since I’ve seen this movie. I remember knowing nothing about it other than the fact that it starred Edward Norton and was about Nazis, but that wasn’t enough. Actually, after watching it for the first time two years ago, I watched it twice after that the same exact day. It was such a fantastic movie driven by believable emotion that kept me interested throughout the film. Edward Norton was the ultimate badass in this movie, and I don’t understand why in the hell Tony Kaye would want his name disassociated with this movie. He created one of the greatest Neo-Nazi movies of our time, and “American History X” makes me want to curb-stomp a son of a bitch.


14. Fargo – Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

I want to admit before I get on with the review that the first time that I watched “Fargo,” I didn’t like it as much as I wanted to. That being said, after the next few showings and after I watched a few more Coen brothers movies, I came to the conclusion that it is nearly perfect. It is a great blend of comedy, drama, suspense, action, and thrills. Steve Buscemi does his best work in a Coen film that I think I ever will see, and he has starred in a great number of them. (His role in this film was the reason why his role in “The Big Lebowski” is a classic.) Though this isn’t the best movie from the duo, this is certainly the second best.


13. Donnie Darko – Directed by Richard Kelly

Like “Fargo,” the first time I saw “Donnie Darko,” I hated it. I thought it was boring, stupid, and made no sense whatsoever. Then I decided to buy the director’s cut, which was really stupid on my move when I first thought about it. I watched it once more and I found that I liked it. Eventually, I kept watching it until I started to understand it more and more and before I knew it, I loved it. It was, at one time, my favorite movie, but as you can see, twelve other films bumped it down on the list. It is a great cult classic that is sure to be remembered for many years.


12. Welcome to the Dollhouse – Directed by Todd Solondz

A while back, FilmArcade’s very own writer dASH recommended this flick to me. Before a few months ago, I don’t believe that I hadn’t seen it. While I watched it, it felt very “Napoleon Dynamite” to me, but then I began thinking about it and as I kept thinking, it seemed much more different than “Napoleon Dynamite.” On one hand, “Napoleon Dynamite” hated everything and everyone in the film. In this film, the only character that hates herself is the main character Dot (played by Heather Matarazzo, and quite frankly, I don’t blame her). The only way you can really understand “Welcome to the Dollhouse” is when you look at it from a child’s point of view, but that shouldn’t be too hard for some of you.


11. Requiem for a Dream – Directed by Darren Aronofsky

Want to know the scariest film ever? Look no farther than Darren Aronofsky’s “Requiem for a Dream.” It is the most different drug film that I’ve ever seen, compiling itself with so much dark and trippy sequences. We watch four characters deal with their drug addictions. Their stories alone guaranteed that I stay straight-edge throughout my life. One character deals with being addicted to pills that make her lose weight. She eventually starts to hallucinate to the point where they have to use shock therapy on her. The scene alone is the single scariest scene in all film. You don’t only have to take it from me, but you can take it from everyone who was in the room the night that I first watched it. I wished I had the balls to watch this more.


10. American Beauty – Directed by Sam Mendes

Every time Sam Mendes’s “American Beauty” is on the television screen, I stop what I’m doing and I put it on. It’s not many movies that I do this for, not even for my favorite movie. It is because I live my life by the way these characters do. The character of Ricky Fitts, played by Wes Bentley, goes on a speech about how there is so much beauty in the world and in order to see it, you just have to look. By this speech, it’s clear that there is nothing in the world that is better than watching a plastic bag being taken away by the wind. Some of these characters can realize all of the beauty in the world, whereas others, such as Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), cannot. It is really one of the best films of all-time, and truly deserving of its Best Picture win.


9. Funny Games (1997) – Directed by Michael Haneke

After watching the original and remake of “Funny Games,” I’ll admit that I haven’t checked out anything of Michael Haneke afterwards. That is not because I don’t have time, but because I’m still disturbed by watching the other two films two and a half months ago. When I saw the remake of “Funny Games,” I had no idea that there was an original film. I didn’t even know who Michael Haneke was. After watching both films (and believe me, they are exactly the same, aside from one being Austrian and one being English), all I can say is that this will keep many film goers away from cinemas – because of the ass whipping that Michael Haneke gave ‘em.


8. Kill Bill – Directed by Quentin Tarantino

I have a confession – I love Quentin Tarantino. It’s no secret actually. I devoted all of my life to his films. Aside from “Jackie Brown” (which I eventually learned to love), I didn’t have a single bad thing to say about his films. The fact that he is such a big film geek as me makes his films so much better. Some people can say that he steals ideas from other movies, but I say that he makes those movies better. Case in point, the “Kill Bill” series. I included the two films together because the only way that you should watch “Kill Bill Vol. 1” and “2” is back to back. Both films make an awesome double feature. If they were ever to release the films back in theaters, it will be great to see how the audience reacts to them. Unless if you watch the two films back to back before, you will never notice the differences aside that one is more dialogue driven and the other is more action driven. But the differences range from inspiration to the genre of the two movies. Both films are fantastic revenge flicks, but one film is a homage to old school kung-fu flicks while the other one is a homage to westerns.


7. Leon – Directed by Luc Besson

“Leon” made me twisted. It made me sick. There has never been a better villain since Gary Oldman’s Stansfield. I don’t care what you say. No villain will beat him – not Billy Mitchell, not Nurse Ratched, not even the villain from “Se7en.” “Leon” tells the story of a hitman who takes in a young girl and teaches her how to do the “cleaning,” if you catch my drift. The young girl is a young Natalie Portman in her breakout role. I was eleven when I first saw the film, so imagine the crush that I had on this girl. The only way you can watch the film is when it is the director’s cut though. I’ve seen both versions and the director’s cut is so much more complex and better than the original.


6. Reservoir Dogs – Directed by Quentin Tarantino

Like I said at number eight, I love Quentin Tarantino. But if you don’t realize, while both “Kill Bill” films homage different kinds of films, he sticks with one type of film to homage – the bank robbery films. A group of heist-men find themselves arguing about who messed up their chances at robbing a bank, which shot and wounded one of their members. At the end of the film, it ends with one of the greatest shoot-outs of all-time, but it isn’t without the help of some great ol’ Mexican Western films. “Reservoir Dogs” is great and Tarantino’s best film, which paved the way for what almost everyone but I consider his best film – “Pulp Fiction.” (I can’t blame them. It’s not on the list, but the movie is excellent.)


5. Fight Club – Directed by David Fincher

This, however, is David Fincher’s best film. Like “American Beauty,” I live by this film. Tyler Durden is my hero. I always wanted that red jacket that he carries around on him, and, well, I just always wanted to be the guy. “Fight Club” is so good because we are so enthralled with the story that we are paying too much attention to the story to watch every little bit of hint that the director gives with the final twist in the film. After you watch it a second time, “Fight Club” makes you want to slap yourself in the face. And if you haven’t seen the film yet, you should slap yourself right now.


4. Psycho – Directed to Alfred Hitchcock

No, not that “classic” Gus Van Sant remake of this 1960s film. This was my original introduction to Alfred Hitchcock. I remember watching this film for the first time, then rushing out to see “Rear Window,” “Rope,” “Vertigo,” “North by Northwest,” “The Birds,” and “Rich and Strange.” None of them can compete with this film. Alfred Hitchcock fucks with his audience so much by killing off the main character forty-five minutes into the film. This film made history with the infamous shower scene. Every time I take a shower now, I leave the curtains open so no one can see me. “Psycho” made me that paranoid. Only Alfred Hitchcock can do that.


3. The Big Lebowski – Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

Yes, it is weird, and yes, it is different, but it is so funny and stupid that it deserves a mention on the list of my top twenty-five films of all-time, especially at number three. The Coen brothers return to their usual roots (by usual roots, I mean kidnapping and conspiracies) and throw in a little twist with an unlikely hero. Actually, he’s not a hero at all. The dude just wants his rug fixed. “The Big Lebowski” is silly, funny, and has enough memorable moments that you and your friends can mimic lines to every day of the week. It makes you want to go to In and Out Burger and go bowling. It made me want to stand up and cheer. I love “The Big Lebowski!”


2. The Boondock Saints – Directed by Troy Duffy

It would only be a matter of time until I bring up the ultimate cult classic “The Boondock Saints.” Yes, this film is on my list for one reason and one reason only – it rocks. I don’t care how much of an asshole you think that Troy Duffy is and I don’t give a shit if you think getting vengeance from a bunch of killers doesn’t constitute you to kill them, but if you think that it is a bad idea, don’t watch it. For the rest of us, “The Boondock Saints” is for all of us. I’m not Irish and I love this movie. I fell in love with the characters and the lines that they were given. I laughed so hard that I paused the movie a few times. “The Boondock Saints” was released at a bad time, especially after the Columbine massacre, but it’s out on DVD and adored by millions, including me.


And my number one is…


1. Sin City – Directed by Robert Rodriguez

I’ll never forget the day that I watched “Sin City.” I went into it expecting nothing and came out saying, “Holy shit.” It is a visual masterpiece. It is an exciting thrill ride. The cast is amazing. There is literally nothing else that you can say about it. I summed it up in all of those sentences. And after all of these times watching it, I still don’t know what to say about it. “Sin City” is my all-time favorite movie.