I consider myself to be a massive cinephile. I absolutely love movies and I am greatly fascinated by the art of filmmaking. A few days ago, I was asked by someone I know what my favorite movies of all time are. This question threw me for a loop because while I certainly have a plethora of favorite movies, I’d never tried to put them in any sort of order. That was until now. Here is the first part of a two part series on my favorite movies of all time!
10. Seven
Seven is simply a brilliant piece of cinema. David Fincher’s thriller about a serial killer who bases his murders on the seven deadly sins features brilliant acting from a star-studded cast which includes Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Spacey. The crime drama makes the bold move of not revealing the killer on whom the movie is based until the film’s final portion. This withholding of the main antagonist’s identity makes for phenomenal suspense building. The film concludes with a controversial, yet brilliant ending. Anyone who enjoys crime dramas should immediately watch Seven, if they have not already.
9. Shutter Island
In my opinion, Shutter Island is Martin Scorsese’s finest work. This is a relatively bold statement, considering he also directed classics such as Goodfellas, The Departed, Taxi driver, and The Wolf of Wall Street. However, Shutter Island is a strong contender for the title of greatest psychological thriller of all time. Not only does the film feature one of the best plot twists I’ve ever seen, but it also has what I consider to be the greatest ambiguous ending in the history of cinema. Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance as a U.S. Marshall searching for an escaped mental patient is stellar, as is the rest of the cast. The entire movie is spectacular from start to finish.
8. The Dark Knight
Simply put, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is the best superhero movie ever made. I will happily debate anyone who disagrees. Nolan has directed several films that could have easily made this list, but The Dark Knight is just the best. No superhero movie has ever mixed action and storytelling as well as The Dark Knight does. The film also features what I consider to be the greatest movie performance of all time in Heath Ledger’s portrayal of The Joker. I genuinely do not believe that a better superhero movie will ever be made. The Dark Knight is as good as the genre will ever be.
7. Toy Story
I know… Toy Story isn’t exactly a movie you would expect to see on a best of all time list. But please, hear me out. There is not a movie in existence that had a more prolific impact on my childhood. There is not a kid’s movie that I could fathom saying is better than Toy Story. No greater animated characters exist than Buzz Lightyear and Woody. I could watch Toy Story today and enjoy it just as much as I did the first time I saw it 15+ years ago. also worth mentioning is the fact that one of the film’s future sequels, Toy Story 3, is the best sequel in the history of animation. Toy Story is a cultural icon that absolutely deserves to be in the discussion of greatest films of all time.
6.Citizen Kane
Moving on to a much more traditional pick, we have Citizen Kane. The film is the oldest on this list by a country mile. However, that doesn’t take away from its greatness. In fact, I think the age of the film makes it that much better because it is so ahead of its time. Orson Welles’ 1941 epic was his directorial debut. It was also his masterpiece. The film, which was written, produced, directed, and starred in by Welles himself, documents the life, death, and legacy of fictional publishing mogul Charles Foster Kane. Considered by many critics to be the greatest film of all time, Citizen Kane is an example of storytelling at its finest. The film is a must see for any cinephile. I guarantee you wont be disappointed.
That concludes Part I of my two part series on my favorite movies of all time. Next week’s post will feature my top 5, as well as some honorable mentions. Make sure to check it out as well! Feel free to comment some of your favorite movies of all time as well. Thanks for reading.
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Mid-American Culture 