The Sandlot

As most of you know, I have a DVD collection that numbers several hundred large. The thing you might not know, is that my obsession with movies began at a fairly late stage in my life. It wasn't until I went to the Lockport Mall Cinema with Moose, Jake and Milhouse to see Gladiator that I fell in love with movies. Gladiator happens to be on HBO at the moment and even though I've seen it countless times, its a film that never gets old but rather improves with subsequent views.


Despite my massive collection of DVD's, there are several movies I have not seen that I probably should have, like the Godfathers, Scar Face and several other "classics."


I've done countless entries dealing with music but have never dedicated one to film, though I've wanted to. Since my music taste is somewhat obscure, most people aren't familiar with what I often write about but movies are a different story so I'm going to list my favorite movies, per genre, with a runner up or 2.


Comedy

The Big Lebowski- I probably watched this 1998 gem of a film at least twice a week during high school. It has an all star cast featuring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi and Philip Seymour Hoffman among others. There's rarely an unfunny scene in the whole movie and the characters have some of the most amazing chemistry ever caught on camera.

Runners Up: Baseketball, Southpark: Bigger Longer & Uncut, Dirty Work, Van Wilder, too many others to list.



Horror

The Exorcist- Its extremely difficult to make a good horror film, but this one did it so well that I use it as a basis of comparison for every scary movie I watch. It wasn't overly gory and didn't use cheap scare tactics like sudden loud noises in darkened scenes. Its pure psychological terror at its finest.

Runners Up: Event Horizon, The Exorcist: The Beginning, The Amityville Horror (2005 edition)



War

Blackhawk Down- It was tough to put this above other classics like Full Metal Jacket, Platoon or Saving Private Ryan but in the end its easier and more realistic to make a film based on an event that lasted a few days versus wars that last years. Blackhawk Down is pretty much a flawless work showing how Marines and Delta operate in an urban warfare scenario. The cast was stellar from top to bottom as well, not relying on one actor to carry the film.

Runners Up: Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Enemy at the Gates, We Were Soldiers



Comic Book

The Dark Knight- So awesome was this movie I nearly forgot it was in fact based on a comic. The obvious choice most people would lean to would be either one of the Spiderman or X-men movies but Dark Knight simply blows them all away.

Runners Up: X-2, The Punisher, Spiderman



Sports

Rudy- Anyone who says they don't like this movie has no heart. Its as much of a sports movie as it is a movie about life. I feel the cast gets overlooked outside of Sean Astin. Vince Vaughn and John Favreau turn in stellar performances

Runners Up: The Sandlot, Friday Night Lights, The Greatest Game Ever Played, Varsity Blues



Historical Epic

Gladiator- After the intro how could I pick another film.

Runners Up: Troy, King Author, The Kingdom of Heaven, 300




Martial Arts

Ong-Bak- The first time I saw this movie my mind was blown. Tony Jaa is an animal. He does all his own stunts, and the movies have surprisingly good plots to them for martial arts films. It is a foreign joint so its all subtitled

Runners Up: Kung Fu Hustle, Hero, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Kill Bills



Action

The Bourne Ultimatum- The whole movie is fraught with tension and excellent fight/chase scenes. In fact all 3 movies in the trilogy are like this, but this one gets the edge for the bathroom book-beating scene alone. Unlike other mindless action movies, these had an interesting back story and the entire cast pulls its weight.

Runners Up: The Kingdom, Bad Boys 2, Way of the Gun

Drama

Requiem for a Dream- This is one of those films that may haunt your dreams for awhile after you watch it. Its disturbing, completely fucked up and really illustrates the despair and trauma people can go through when they're addicted to drugs or weight loss pills. The stellar score of the movie only heightens these feelings.

Runners Up: Into the Wild, There Will be Blood, Sleepers