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My Favorite Movies

Janaki

	janakic's Rating	My Rating
1	Lawrence of Arabia 1962, PG) Perhaps the finest motion picture ever made. The sweeping camera moves revolutionized epic filmmaking. Peter O'Toole is magical and the movie is perfect in every way. David Lean's masterpiece and a clinic on filmmaking.
2	The Graduate 1967, PG) Revolutionary in it's use of Simon & Garfunkel's music for it's soundtrack. A brilliant comedy that demands repeat viewings. This one of those movies that I watch at least once a year. Dustin Hoffman is perfect, Katharine Ross was never better and Anne Bancroft crafted the modern day "Cougar." Trivia: Bancroft the longtime wife of Mel Brooks, never understood why her character was so revered. In fact she was always embarrassed by the role. One word. Are you listening? "Plastics"
3	WALL-E 2008, G) Simply one of the best movies I've ever seen. Just proves that great storytelling trumps flash, every time. Love the fact that the two main characters never utter a word besides each others name. Frakkin genius!! Beauty, high intelligence and amazing CGI makes this my favorite animated feature ever and I don't usually like this type of film. Who needs mindless and instantly dated pop culture jokes? Not me.
4	Dr. Strangelove Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb 1964, PG) A social satire that actually hits the mark. The sheer brilliance of Peter Sellers and the maestro Stanley Kubrick mesh seamlessly. George C. Scott delivers the funniest performance of his career.
5	Once 2007, R) An amazing and very intimate film. The story is told beautifully and the music is some of the best I've heard. See this more than once!
6	A Hard Day's Night 1964, G) The seminal rock film. The Beatles were great in this and the film is still copied to this day. Their charm and charisma just lept off the screen.
7	Sunset Boulevard 1950, Unrated)
8	2001: A Space Odyssey 1968, G) Kubrick reinvented every genre he touched and this is the most beautiful space movie ever. His use of classical music and "look" of space set the standard permanently.
9	Doctor Zhivago 1965, PG-13) David Lean's epic in the snow. Beautiful music, great acting and the beautiful Julie Christie. She was the female Peter O'Toole.
10	Paths of Glory 1957, Unrated) A very different and shocking war film that invented the long one take shot. It ends on a bad note much like life.
11	Lost In Translation 2003, R) Best opening shot ever. Scarlett Johansson just giggles at Bill Murray through the whole film. But their chemistry is palpable and magical.
12	Barry Lyndon 1975, PG) Kubrick shot this like the French painting style of the time. It's absolutely gorgeous and is wryly funny. Kubrick had a special lense built for the famous candle scenes. Masterful.
13	Full Metal Jacket 1987, R) I used to think that this was an amazing half a film but looking back I realize that it's perfect in every way. Still the first half of the film is phenomenal.
14	Lolita 1962, Unrated) To tackle a story like this at the time without showing or saying anything is absoluetly the mark of master craftsman. Kubrick achieved this and more.
15	Yellow Submarine 2012, G) Beutiful and gorgeous. Come on a cartoon of the Beatles?? Classic and very funny.
16	A Clockwork Orange 1971, R) Futuristic. Amazing. Ultra-Violent. A landmark film. See it and experience it.
17	Contact 1997, PG)
18	Help! 1965, G) The Beatles in color! The charisma and charm was still there!
19	The Shining 1980, R) Jack Nicholson at his absolutely scariest. Kubrick redfined horror. He was truly the most amazing filmmaker ever.
20	The Bridge on the River Kwai 1957, PG) A great film that proved that war films can be about much more than fighting. Alec Guiness is genious and Lean brought out the best in him.
21	Ghostbusters 1984, PG) Classic Bill Murray. Great film and extremely funny and endearing.
22	The Godfather 1972, R)
23	The Godfather, Part II 1974, R)
24	Ben-Hur 1959, G)
25	The Ten Commandments 1956, G) Everything I learned about the bible, I learned from this film!! Classic Heston.
26	Citizen Kane 1941, PG)
27	Gone With the Wind 1939, G)
28	Bringing Up Baby 1938, Unrated)
29	Casablanca 1942, PG)
30	The Big Sleep 1946, PG)
31	All About Eve 1950, PG)
32	The Killing 1956, Unrated)
33	A Streetcar Named Desire 1951, PG)
34	The Seventh Seal , Unrated)
35	Day for Night 1973, PG)
36	JFK 1992, R)
37	The Wild Bunch 1969, R)
38	Soylent Green 1973, PG)
39	The Omega Man 1971, PG)
40	Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope 1977, PG)
41	Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back 1980, PG)
42	Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi 1983, PG)
43	Star Trek: The Motion Picture 1979, G)
44	Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan 1982, PG)
45	Star Trek III - The Search for Spock 1984, PG)
46	Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home 1986, PG)
47	Star Trek VI - The Undiscovered Country 1991, PG)
48	Spartacus 1960, PG-13)
49	Taxi Driver 1976, R)
50	Apocalypse Now 1979, R)
51	Chinatown 1974, R)
52	Annie Hall 1977, PG)
53	Sleeper 1973, PG)
54	Dog Day Afternoon 1975, R)
55	The Way We Were 1973, PG)
56	Up Close & Personal 1996, PG-13)
57	Network 1976, R)
58	Patton 1970, PG)
59	All the President's Men 1976, PG)
60	Being There 1979, PG)
61	Close Encounters of the Third Kind 1977, PG)
62	1941 1979, PG)
63	Blazing Saddles 1974, R)
64	Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory 1971, G)
65	Rocky II 1979, PG)
66	Raging Bull 1980, R)
67	Die Hard 1988, R)
68	Ferris Bueller's Day Off 1986, PG)
69	The Terminator 1984, R)
70	Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991, R)
71	Pulp Fiction 1994, R)
72	GoodFellas 1990, R)
73	Casino 1995, R)
74	The Shawshank Redemption 1994, R)
75	American Beauty 1999, R)
76	The Matrix 1999, R)
77	Forrest Gump 1994, PG-13)
78	The Green Mile 1999, R)
79	Groundhog Day 1993, PG)
80	Hard Candy 2005, R)
81	Memento 2000, R)
82	Gone Baby Gone 2007, R) Very good film.
83	The Golden Compass 2007, PG-13) Very cool movie. Nicole is luminous as usual.
84	Ghost Town 2008, PG-13) I'll come right out and say that I love Ricky Gervais. He's a frakkin genius. This was a bold choice to have Ricky be the lead in a rom-com in his first full American film but it works on so many levels. Director/writer David Koepp (you know the guy that ruined Indy 4) tailor wrote the role of dentist turned "Ghostbuster" Bertram Pincus for the incredible talents of Ricky and he doesn't let us down at all. A luminous (as usual) Tea Leoni shines here as the love interest and she really looks and sounds like she's enjoying herself. She can do no wrong so why isn't she a bigger star? Greg Kinnear plays the ghost that has unfinished business and he shows really great chemistry with Gervais. Add all that with a great cameo by Kristin Wiig (why isn't she a star?) and awesomely funny dialog and scenarios and you've turned the typical rom-com on it's head. Again, the real star here is Gervais. He is such a brilliant improv comedian he elevates even the most ordinary situations to laugh out loud levels. Nobody, I mean nobody working today can match the cynicism of his comedy. This is highly recommended for the dinner scene alone. And when have you ever heard a classic original Beatles song over the opening credits? Awesome stuff.
85	Bad Santa 2003, R) One of the all time great Christmas movies. This is simply one of the funniest and foul movies ever made. Billy Bob is perfect as the drunk "Bad" Santa and Tony Cox shows he's got great comedic timing. Lauren Graham plays against type as the girl with the Santa fetish and the "Kid" Brett Kelly is absolutely perfect. It was a little weird to see the scenes between John Ritter and Bernie Mac now that they are both gone but they were both extremely funny nonetheless. If crappy movies can get sequels then why not this one? When Christmas time rolls around, instead of putting on those schmaltzy family flicks put on this film and laugh your ass off.
86	The Dead Girl 2006, R) Director Karen Moncrieff has crafted a modern masterpiece full of amazingly realistic human pain and suffering. The acting here is all top notch with particular standout performances by Toni Collette, Rose Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, Kerry Washington and Brittany Murphy. Yes, that Brittany. I wasn't expecting such powerful performances and I was floored by the simplicity of the storytelling. But somehow it seemed fresh. I'll be watching Karen's future films as I'm sure she will always have something to say. It was that damn good.
87	Tropic Thunder 2008, R) A very funny movie with lots of film in-jokes. The director exploding is a classic. Why is it that the only watchable Ben Stiller films are the ones he directs? Robert Downey Jr. continues his meteoric rise to the "A" List as this film is nearly as good as Zoolander. Very funny stuff.
88	Barefoot in the Park 1967, G)
89	Zoolander 2001, PG-13) Stiller's best role ever. This movie has me rolling every time. Will Ferrell has NEVER been funnier. "I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!!!"
90	The Fifth Element 1997, PG-13)
91	Shallow Hal 2001, PG-13) Jack Black's best role to date. I NEVER liked Gwyneth before this film but she looked amazing and was very good. I'm now a fan of hers. Oh yeah, the film is laugh riot!
92	L.A. Confidential 1997, R)
93	The Crow 1994, R) Modern classic. Nearly perfect in every way. Brandon Lee was a talent.
94	Japanese Story 2003, R) Amazing film with breathtaking performance from Collette.
95	The Doors 1991, R) Great, awesome flick. Val is Jim Morrison. Plus, I'm in this film!!
96	Touch of Evil 1958, PG-13)
97	Once Were Warriors 1994, R) An amazing film that first brought attention to the lives of the native New Zealanders. Great performances all around and a heartbreaking story.