FIRST OFF: These picks are solely my personal opinion of my favorite movies of the movies I've seen, and I am not saying these are the best films ever made, or the best ones I have seen; I am not stating them as fact or based on popular opinion... Basically: The views expressed in this Top Ten List are those of the sole individual(s) writing it and do not reflect the views of ComicBookMovie or any other person reading this (necessarily). Okay? Okay. Let's proceed:
10. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Okay, so, when I first saw this movie at the theater ten years ago, I was kind of a fan of Harry Potter (previously having seen the first film). I didn't read any of the books at that time because I wasn't (and still am not) a big reader. So when I went into this movie, I had no idea what to expect... and I was utterly blown away. In fact, throughout the years and the many sequels, this film still remains my favorite out of the entire series. Definitely one of my favs.
9. Star Trek (2009)
My mom and brother are pretty hardcore trekkies. I am not, I am more of a Star Wars guy. That being said, I do enjoy Star Trek. My favorite series' are
The Next Generation and
Voyager. Happens to be the same as my mother. Anyway, I never favored
The Original Series. I respected it for being iconic and for starting the whole thing, but I never really liked it. So when I heard way back when that ST09 would be rebooting the franchise with the original crew, I was less than thrilled. Then the casting news came and I was even more disappointed. When I left that theater room opening night, I ate all my negative words about it. It truly is one of the most spectacular films I've ever seen. It's a film that even non-trek fans (such as my friend, Mike) absolutely love. JJ Abrams really made a masterpiece here.
8. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
I first saw this movie when I waaaassss.... about 7 I think. Yeah, so, I was young. One of the only rated-R movies my mom would let me watch (other than the Die Hard trilogy and Robocop). When I was younger, the only aspect I really understood and enjoyed was robots fighting each other. As I grew older and continued to watch the film, I understood it more little by little. This is a movie that has really impacted my childhood and has continued to impact me into adulthood. I've spent countless hours thinking and debating and picking apart things in this film and it's franchise... Hell, there was even a point in my life where I dreamed of Terminators for two months straight. I do think that James Cameron is a vastly overrated director, but this is one cinematic masterpiece that has stuck with me (and will continue to) all my life.
7. Spider-Man 2
Okay, many of you are gonna bitch and complain "TASM was betterrrr" or "You suuuuuuck" or whatever, and to tell you the truth: I don't care. You know why? I can delete your comments and you can't say a damn word about it. This is MY opinion and MY article and MY top ten list and Spider-Man 2 is on it and TASM is not. Aaaaaanyway: Yet another case of being completely blown away as a kid at the theater. I had seen the first Spider-Man when I was 9 years old at the theater and it was one of my very first theatrical experiences. Since then, I had greatly anticipated the coming of the inevitable sequel. Here comes 2004. I can still see it in my head, seeing the train fight on the big screen... it was SO AMAZING! Sure the movie has it's problems. Peter losing his powers unexplainably, Kirsten's horrible acting, Tobey's single facial expression throughout the movie, Et cetera... Yes, it has it's problems. But just as the friggin Nolanites defend TDK tooth-and-nail, I will defend this movie... Well, I won't "tooth-and-nail", at least I have the mental capacity to admit the movie has flaws.
6. Iron Man
To be honest here, I don't remember my experience seeing this on the big screen (even though I saw it in theaters twice). Even so, I watch this movie all the time because I find it so great. Robert Downey Jr's performance as Tony Stark is (unanimously decided by everybody ever) awesome. The movie is memorable in every since of the word. The action, the effects, the performances, the dialogue... everything, all of it. It's AMAZING. And I love it so. The movie also features one of my most favorite quotes of all time:
"They say the best weapon is one you never have to fire. I respectfully disagree, I prefer the weapon you only have to fire ONCE." - Tony Stark
5. Batman Begins
Yeah, I'm not such a raving "Marvelite" now, am I? :-P Batman Begins starts my top five because I love the character of Batman a great deal. I don't favor DC comics characters as a whole as much as Marvel, but Batman is one such I hold in very high regard. I do happen to remember my first theatrical experience with this movie, I saw it at a drive-in. The last drive-in around my area, actually. I remember sittin there in the car with my brother and grandma... she fell asleep in the back seat, lol. I also remember the feeling of being SHOCKED when Liam Neeson revealed himself to be actually Ra's Al Ghul. I had actually not seen it coming, I was genuinely surprised.
The movie has great performances, great music, fantastic direction and writing, and an emotional element you can literally feel and experience while watching the movie (a factor I feel is missing from TDK and TDKR). I love this movie and it is one of my top favs.
4. Back To The Future
Okay, those of you who know me know that this is my most favorite movie of all time... "So Saint, why do you have it at #4?" HEY! I'm the one writing the article here, buddy! Not you! 'Aight? 'Aight?! 'Kay... Anyway, so, this is my favorite movie of all time. But I have it at #4 because despite that fact because I do recognize the other movies on my list are better than this one... BUT, it still is my favorite of all time ever.
So, I've been watching BTTF since as loooong as I can remember. You can ask my mom, I've been crazy about this movie since I was like 2. Of course, I didn't really understand most of it at the time, I just knew they had a cool car and went into different times. Which, you have to admit is pretty impressive that a 2 year old understood even THAT MUCH. Yet again, as I grew older, I began to understand more and more of it, and it has still remained an absolute favorite of mine as I grew and continue to grow...
3. The Avengers
Ooooohhhhh, so I'm STILL not a much of a raving "Marvelite" as you have come to think, eh? Avengers is at NUMBER THREEEEEE on my list... interesting, interesting... Yeah, well, don't get your mommy's pantyhose in a bunch, okay? So yes, Avengers is one of my top five favorite movies of any genre, and it is my #1 favorite movie of the CBM genre. "But why, Saint? TDK and TDKR are so much better!" What did I say about runnin' y'alls mouths, huh? Shuttie! The reason I love Avengers so much is because OWVEGEGHEGVGRHNULWEGRHK-LEGHKLWGKLUWVOBUIWVIOYW-4GVTPBWA4GVI9PBAVWGOPWGVAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It takes you RIGHT INTO the action right from the beginning! Within the first ten minutes, we got our first action sequence! Then we proceed to be re-introduced to our favorite heroes one-by-one. Banner, Cap, Iron Man, and then last but not least, Thor! We see Loki bein a badass [frick]in shit up, and we see all this orgasm-inducing action and explosions and amazing quips, one-liners, references, and Shakespearean dialogue and ergowgvophnailsgyhbuiawegnopaoaegioargopapn... Very unique cinematography, great respect to the source material, great performances (although, I did honestly think RDJ's performance was lacking a bit), a goosebump inducing musical score, and a touch of lightheartedness to prove to people a CBM doesn't have to be "dark and gritty" to be spectacularly amazing... Great flick!
2. The Boondock Saints
Now you see where I get the "Saint" in my username, huh? Well, what can I say about The Boondock Saints? Well, not many people are actually familiar with this movie. Two fraternal twin brothers have a shared dream/vision from God telling them to rid the world of evil "so that which is good may flourish". So these guys being very inexperienced go and grab a few guns and rope and decide to take down Boston's mobbies. That's a basic rundown for ya, now go watch the movie. Why I love the movie: Great writing, fantastic score, brilliant acting, powerful message, gratuitous violence, and pretty impressive directing for being the director's very first film. This movie has MANY quotes and ideas that I think would be ideal to live by. If I have to pick one quote, it would be:
"Do not kill, do not rape, do not steal, these are principles which every man of every faith can embrace. These are not polite suggestions, these are codes of behavior and those of you that ignore them will pay the dearest cost." - Connor and Murphy MacManus
1. Serenity
Yeah, so, I may not be a "Marvelite", but there is no way I can deny my raging Whedonism. I'm a HUGE fan of the guy. Why? Because I have been into and have been following his work ever since I was 4 years old. From Toy Story and Buffy to Dr. Horrible and Avengers, I have stuck with this guy through it all. Now, unlike those pesky Nolanites, I am not above admitting Whedon has his faults. Dollhouse didn't really impress me much and the Buffy season 8 and 9 comics sound like shit. But, now that I've got the "Whedonite" shit outta the way, onto the movie:
I first discovered Firefly after watching one of my favorite shows ever, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. My brother developed a major crush on Summer Glau and looked up her previous works. I had not known about Firefly before this point and he immediately picked up the series. I sat and watched and fell in love with the show, and I was so heart-broken to discover it was restricted to it's one season, but then I rejoiced to discover that it had not ended there. It had continued on in this 2-hour superb and awesomesauce film called Serenity. I picked up the film soon after, and popped it in my DVD player... It was perhaps, the most spectacular, astonishing (wink-wink), incredible, amazing 2 hours of my life. Everything about it had me trembling. EVERYTHING. You name it, I got trembles from it. Everything. Hell, I'm even man enough to admit I balled my eyes out at the funeral scene, and still do to this day. :'(
Serenity has forever changed my life, and I am a Browncoat til the end.
Honorable Mentions (in no particular order):
BASEketball
Taken
Shaun of the Dead
Hot Fuzz
TRON Legacy
Die Hard
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
Kick-Ass
Tremors 2: Aftershocks
Captain America: The First Avenger
X-Men: First Class
X-Men 2
Those are my top ten! You like it, sound off below. You don't like it, sound off below. You gotta scratch your ass, sound off below...