Revisiting My Inner Buzzfeed

Hello friends! Welcome back and thank you for joining me again this week. I was having a bit of a hard time deciding what I wanted to write about this week, so I left it up to a poll on my Twitter and the clear winner this week was . . . my Top 10 Favorite Movies! I want to start this off by saying that I am nowhere near anything one would consider to be a “movie buff.” The amount of classic movies that I haven’t seen is pretty crazy. I also don’t consider myself to even be an ‘armchair film critic’ (shoutout to my friends at Time Sensitive Podcast for that area of expertise . . . you should check them out on iTunes or Spotify). Therefore, this list will not be (necessarily) movies that I consider to be the top 10 “best” movies I’ve ever seen. This is simply a list of my top 10 favorite movies. Ones that I am most likely to throw on when I’m having a bad day or just want to be entertained for a bit.

I’m certain there will be quite a bit of disagreement, and, just like my original Top 10 List I posted a few weeks ago, these are the first 10 that come to mind – I’m sure if I really spent a lot of time to think about it, the list may be different, but keeping with my theme of very little to no editing…here we go!

10. School of Rock

Kicking off the top 10 with this Jack Black gem from 2003. I’m not sure exactly what it is about this movie that I like so much, but I think it’s probably a combination of the killer soundtrack, talented kids, and Jack Black’s high energy and crazy antics. It’s not a movie that’s going to hit you with any profound realizations about life or society or anything like that, but it’s a very fun watch (and not a very big commitment, coming in at only a 109 minute run time).

9. The Dark Knight

Just about as diametrically opposed to my #10 spot as can be, comes my #9, The Dark Knight. Batman has always been my favorite superhero, and, despite Christian Bale not being the best Batman in canon that we have seen, the writing in The Dark Knight is outstanding, and is what makes this the best Batman film to date in my opinion. Add in an absolutely fantastic performance of The Joker by Heath Ledger (no disrespect to Jack Nicholson or Joaquin Phoenix, but this is the performance I first think of when I think of The Joker), and it’s a no brainer for this to be in my top 10. The only reason it’s not higher on my list is because, at over 2.5 hours long, it’s more of a time commitment to sit down and watch than most of the others in my top 10.

8. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

It’s hard to come up with anything new to say about one of the greatest comedy classics of all time. From start to finish, this movie is dry, witty British humor and I am completely here for it. It’s part satire and part nonsensical slapstick comedy, and it’s just a perfect movie for when you’re having a bad day and just need some laughs. Again, not a big time commitment either, with only a 92 minute run time.

7. The Prestige

This was one of the first movies that I can recall having been shocked by the ending when I first saw it in theaters. It’s a movie that you’ve got to really pay attention to throughout to keep up (at least I do, anyway), and I find myself catching new things with every new watch. The cast is stellar (Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and Scarlett Johansson, along with a small but critical cameo role from David Bowie), and is visually a very beautiful movie. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, do yourself a favor and check it out, I almost guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

6. Deadpool

I can already hear the eyes rolling in to the backs of the heads of my friends at Time Sensitive for this one. Like I said, I don’t consider this to be one of the best movies ever made, just one of my favorites. I love how Deadpool is a break from the squeaky clean, always-be-a-good-role-model persona that superheroes have. He (mostly) tries to do the right thing and help people, but he’s also a human being who lets his emotions and desires get the better of him sometimes, which, in a weird way (despite his immortality and crazy regenerative powers and superhuman speed, agility, and accuracy with weaponry) makes him more relatable to the average person. Also the fact that he is hilarious, breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience directly, and has off-the-wall insults for people (my favorite is when he calls the main antagonist a “shit-spackled muppet fart”) makes this a very fun watch and another one that’s a good mood-lifter when you just need a laugh.

5. Avengers: Infinity War

According to Martin Scorsese, this shouldn’t be included on any list regarding movies, as it’s “not real cinema”, but I have to disagree. Sure, the Marvel films are a bit formulaic, and it’s never a question of whether or not the good guys will triumph, and instead more a question of how they’ll triumph, but they’re still entertaining, and this movie actually breaks from the Marvel mold of the good guys always thwarting the bad guys. Characters are killed off at the beginning, and the ending feels as though our heroes have failed. Thanos is the most intriguing bad guy in all of the Marvel movies, and it’s not even close. He is more complex and layered than any of the other villains in the movie canon and his motivations are understandable, though not relatable. Our heroes face real adversity for the first time in the series, and are unable to overcome it. In my opinion, this is the best Marvel film to date, and though this has the longest run time of my top 10 (160 minutes), it never feels drawn out to me.

4. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

This movie was a complete shock to me and actually ended up being my favorite movie of 2018. I can’t say that I saw every movie in 2018, or even remotely close to it, but as far as getting more than I expected out of a movie, this was the far-and-away winner for me. I went to see this movie with a friend on a whim. It was one of those, we were hanging out with nothing to do, checked the movie listings, and decided at the last minute to go see this one because nothing else out at the time seemed interesting, type of decisions. This movie would have earned a top-10 spot for me for the artwork alone, but add in the surprising emotion, the humor, the self-awareness, and the interesting family dynamic in play, along with the great voice cast, and it had to make its way in to my top 10. I have watched this movie a few times in the last 6 months, and am still blown away by it with every viewing. The only criticism I have of it is the sound mixing, and the fact that it seems to go from very quiet to very loud rather often. But that is a very minor criticism of an otherwise outstanding movie. Please go check this out if you haven’t seen it already.

3. Zootopia

Admittedly, this movie may be as high on my list for emotional and nostalgic reasons, but even separating myself from those aspects, this movie is still fantastic. On the surface, this may just be viewed as a fun cop-movie-for-kids, but in reality, it’s a clever (albeit a bit on-the-nose) examination of society and its troubles today. The town of Zootopia is supposed to be a utopia (see what I mean about it being a bit on-the-nose at times?) where all different animals – predators, prey, small, large, meek, ferocious – can live together in peace and harmony and all get along. Unfortunately, once our protagonist arrives in Zootopia, she quickly learns that all is not sunshine and rainbows. There’s still crime and prejudice and fear-mongering and politics that get in the way of progress and harmony. By the end of the movie, it’s determined that those in power of the city are the ones intentionally sowing discord in order to keep the city divided and afraid of each other to make them easier to keep in line, which is unfortunately how it seems to be in America today. But by the end of the movie, you’re left feeling hopeful that change is possible if we’re persistent about it and those trying to do the right thing speak up against injustice. It’s a great movie that’s at the same time fun and poignant.

2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

It’s impossible for me to do a top-10 movie list and not include a Harry Potter movie. Between the books and the movies, Harry Potter dominated a large portion of my formative years. I went to every movie premier either at a midnight release, or at least on opening day (I found my ticket stub from The Sorcerer’s Stone while cleaning my room a year or so ago, and Googled the release date, and sure enough, my dad had brought me and my brothers to see it on opening day). I still don’t know exactly why Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite of the Harry Potter movies – it was the first of the movies with Michael Gambon as Dumbledore instead of Richard Harris, which, at the time, I disliked – but it is. If I’m not going to do a full on Harry Potter movie marathon, and can only choose one to watch, 9-out-of-10 times, I’m going to pick Prisoner of Azkaban. It might be because it’s the first time we’re introduced to characters involved in Harry’s parents’ lives and it feels like that helps flesh out Harry’s backstory a bit more. It might be because the danger our characters are facing are from forces outside of Hogwarts for the first time. Maybe it was because of the time-turner (don’t read too much in to the plot holes that little device causes). Maybe it was the introduction of the dementors, which are a truly terrifying monster, and even more terrifying when you realize that Rowling came up with them as a symbol of the depression she was struggling with at the time of writing the book. I’m not sure what it is, but regardless, this is stands out as my favorite movie in the Harry Potter franchise. I’d say to check it out if you haven’t already, but by now, I just assume everyone has seen all of the Harry Potter movies.

1. A Goofy Movie

This is not a surprise to anyone that knows me. I have been very vocal for years about my love for this movie, and it remains my all-time favorite movie. I listen to the soundtrack regularly, and actually own a copy of the soundtrack on vinyl (thanks Hot Topic!). I can quote much of this movie (and do, much to the confusion of everyone involved) having seen it dozens of times. I don’t know why I love this movie as much as I do, as I can’t connect with Max on a personal level. Where he had a single dad raise him and was an only child, I grew up with two siblings and a two-parent household. While he seemed to be an outcast in his school, I was generally well-liked and popular. Despite an inability to relate to the main character, the movie still draws me in and I’m just as mesmerized by it at 31 after dozens and dozens of viewings as I was as a 6-year-old viewing it for the first time. And if you need a couple of songs to jam out to and improve your mood, “I to I” and “Stand Out” are absolute bangers. Give this movie a watch if you haven’t already.

Thank you all for joining me on another fun jaunt in to Buzzfeed land! I’m sure there’s going to be a ton of disagreement, and I’m sure there are many movies deserving of a top-10 list that I’ve left out. Let me hear some of your favorites below!

Stay safe, happy, and healthy, and I’ll see you all next week! 🙂