Top 5 Films of All Time!

Warning: I will be overusing gifs....this entire year. 

Asking someone, especially students studying film, what their favorite movie of all time is will almost always never get a direct response. "How can I choose one?" "There are so many masterpieces." yada yada. In reality, I'd say the same thing too, but since I'm pressed for points, I can come up with at least 5 movies that I can always watch and watch and never get bored of.

Be aware that this list is in no particular order.



The very first movie that popped in my head was Back to the Future. Some people don't exactly enjoy the trilogy and regard the first movie as a classic. I'm not one of those people. I agree that they aren't as well polished, nor do they have such a new and exciting concept as the first, I love every single movie in the trilogy. I really hope Hollywood doesn't go ahead and decide to reboot it. If it does, one of the things that needs to remain is the charm of the movie. Today, everyone is going after the Nolan grittiness. Every movie doesn't need to be dark people...The original film has a certain nostalgia factor that still hits you even if you weren't living in the 80s or the 50s. I simply adore the 1950s time period. I'll watch any movie taking place in the 50s if it has that nostalgia attached to it. While not everyone can recall going back in time, we can all relate to the stories from the moral implications during the pursuit of sciences to bullies to forbidden love. Plus it has a simple heart filled message: "If you put your mind to it you can accomplish anything." The best part about the movie is that it still stands today. Marty Mcfly has defined pop culture and for that reason the movie is still relevant today.

It's still cool to have a delorean and rock those future nikes from Back to the Future 2









Kick-Ass is a fairly recent movie. (HEY, recent movies can be good too. Those old directors can't always dwell on the past. There is a whole new generation growing up with movies like this rather than Citizen Kane). This is one of those instances where I believe that the movie improves on the original comic book. I head this from a certain youtuber (Comicbookgirl19) and I'd agree completely. Here we go again, this movie is different from the hundreds of other superhero movies coming out today because it is colorful in terms of story as well as visuals. Comic books are supposed to be full of color (well Batman doesn't count or Punisher or some more but you get the point). Even though it's colorful and seems cheerful at first glance, does that mean this movie isn't realistic? NO. This is the most realistic superhero movie I've ever seen. It seriously looks at what would happen if a normal guy went out and tried to be a superhero. Well, he'd get his "ass kicked" right? (get it? I'm sorry). In fact, the lovable character of Dave, AKA Kick-Ass, is quickly beaten and left for death. With instances like this, this movie explores the dark side of the normal person. Would you just stand and watch someone being mugged or would you do actually get in there and stop it. Most likely than not, we wouldn't do anything. Still, Kick-Ass DOES something which is admirably about the character. He gets beat up over and over again and he realizes he's way out of league, but that doesn't stop him from fighting for the good of society. The action scenes in the movie are crazy good and even Nick Cage brings his A-game.



 You know what, there is a reason everyone is trying to bank off of the success of the Dark Knight trilogy. Christopher Nolan is a genius and his vision of the rebooted Batman has made Batman cool again. No longer is Batman given silly weapons and sidekicks. This movie is looked from the perceptive of what Batman would be like if he existed in the real world (okay given that Nolan's world in Batman isn't EXACTLY the same as ours). Not only is this a great superhero movie, it is a tremendous political drama. The best thing going for this film in my opinion, Heath Ledger's depiction of the Joker. Again, just like Batman, the Joker isn't a silly joke any longer. He has upgraded to a psychotic monster who just want "to watch the world burn." Although Batman Begins isn't the best demo reel for Nolan's action scenes, he improves on cinematography in the Dark Knight as well as with the script. This film is arguably one of the most quoted films of all time. Also, you admire Nolan's decision to use film instead of digital to shoot a superhero film. That is simply non-existent today.





I'm basically a sucker for heart-felt movies. By that I don't really mean romantic comedies (although some can be really good), I mean movies that leave an emotional impact on me long after I'm done watching them. If that movie can include both comedy and serious moments with an interesting story, I'm all in. This is why The Truman Show is one of my all-time favorite movies. I saw it for the first time on Netflix when I had nothing else to watch, but this movie just stuck with me. It takes a look at the issue of privacy as well as the idea of one's control of own destiny. Truman lives in a world that he believes to be real, but every single person is his life is an actor. Every single life decision in his life has made for him. He has a "seemingly perfect life," but it makes you wonder "Do I really want a perfect life like this?" This might possibly be Jim Carrey's best movie.  His performance is brilliant. There is a tragic undertone to the film. Truman can have anything we wants in his life, except the he really can't. All he wants is the love of his life; he just wants a REAL emotional connection because he begins to pick up on everyone being a phony. It's incredibly interesting to see Truman's desperation to discover the truth and he is constantly just being denied and manipulated, and you can't help but feel for the guy.




Even considering that I haven't many of the greatest films ever made, it was still tough coming up with this list, but for my final selection I'll say Forest Gump is among the best movies I've seen. Again, this is one of those movies that I never skip if it is playing on TV. I find movies like this, that tell fictional life stories, very interesting. This include movies like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Shawshank Redemption. I'm not double dipping here. I'm admitting that Forest Gump is my top choice among those films. The most interesting aspect of the film is the main character, Forest. He is likable, caring, honest, and just good human being. As it spans generations, the film covers a multitude of issues on American such as race, bullies, war, and so on. However, the theme of love remains constant throughout the film. I guess the best way I can describe it is by saying the film has heart. Forest Gump is a story of an underdog. We love the underdog. That's why we keep cheering for him and even learn to appreciate his naivete. Because of this it is amazing to see him succeed in the way he does. Not only that, I really do appreciate the amount of complex visual effects they filmmakers used to further the storytelling. They even went as far as to use real footage from Birth of Nation ( click here to learn more about that) and integration Forest's great grandfather. If I start talking about Tom Hank's brilliant performance, I won't stop talking so I'll end it here.
 

What makes a great film?

Ahhhh....the blog posts. So they begin once again...

For me, a film can be considered a good film in many different ways. Realistically speaking, there are no set rules for what makes a good film, there is secret recipe to a good movie; everything is subjective.

I went to see Transformer: Dark of the Moon in an IMAX theater and 20 minutes in, I just wanted to get up and leave. I know for a fact that I'm not alone on this one. Still, this movie raked in over $1.12 billion dollars worldwide. So how can a movie that so many people despised make so much money? Well, that's because there are the same amount of people, if not more, who loved this movie and went to see it 2-3 times (like my cousin who was the one who dragged me with him).  This reinforces the idea that beauty is in the eye of the beholder which can certainly be applied to film.

That being said, there are certain aspects a film could have that could not only keep be interested, but also be an actual good movie. This can be applied to short films as well.

Firstly, the protagonist(s) should be a dynamic character. By that I mean, he/she should have transformed in some way by the end of the story. I'm sorry for doing this, but I have to reference Breaking Bad again. I understand that this isn't a film, but it is has a cinematic tone. Think of it like a movie franchise which comes out with a sequel after sequel, but each sequel only improves on the past movies. Vince Gilligan, the creator and main writer of the show, stated that we went into the show with the intention of taking this character, Walter White, from Mr. Chips to Scarface. This is exactly what the creators have done. Every single character in the show, not just Walter, is evolving in some way. No character is the same or thinks the same way as the time they were introduced in the show. This constant evolution keeps me interesting in the characters. If I'm interesting the characters, then I'm usually willing to let the story slide a little bid. However in the case of Breaking Bad, there is a combination of brilliant story telling with excellent characters all thanks. I believe that if you start with an interesting character, the story will come to you because once you understand your own creation, you can start taking it to places the viewer will find interesting. Last year, this is one aspect, I did not focus on. All the characters in my short films were one-dimensional and unrelatable which made the whole story rather boring to watch. In the case of Walter White, he is relatable because he as redeeming qualities. He's truly most interested in providing for and protecting his family. No matter how far off he goes off-course of being only in the business of cooking crystal meth for his medical bills and future of his family, the viewers thinks back and says that Walt is a good guy. The character is changing for the bad, but the viewer's interest in him always keep him on their side (most of them at least at this point). A character cannot be always good or always bad....he/she must be a combination of both. Being flawed is part of being a human.

"From Mr. Chips to Scarface"




Characters are great and all, but I cannot stress the importance of a good story. The story can be as simple as possible, but it has to be enganing. It has to keep the viewer interested in watching the movie. In the case of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, all it did for me was provide eye candy and big explosions with lots of action which was only fun was a total of 10 minutes. Heck, I can't even remember what the story was about. (something about changing Earth to Cybertron). This is also a feature lacked in my short films last year. The story was always so convoluted that viewers lost interest in everything.

The Black Hole is a great example of a very short film with an idea so simple that it's genius. Not only that, in the little times provided for the story, the filmmakers are able to make us (the viewers) question human morality, abuse of powers, and natural greed. We get all that from a guy who finds a mini black hole in a paper. Not only that, it teaches us a lesson. I suggest you watch it yourself since it's only about 3 minutes long.

Finally, I'd like to add that there should be an emotional investment and connection in the film. The filmmakers, which all the tools available to them such as cinematography, gear, props, music/score etc., should make me feel a certain way at the end. Sometimes, a happy ending isn't always the best way to go for this. For example, (SPOILER ALERT FOR FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS) Every single football movie I've seen revolves around a band of misfits or outcasts from society who join together to stand for themselves and their cause until they finally win at the end. In Friday Night Lights, however, all of the hard work of all of the characters and their losses are not paid off because that's just life. It's based on a real story so it makes it that much more believable that everyone wasn't having the time of their lives at every turn. It's a realistic look at the obsession of football culture from a perspective of a town who lives and breathes high school football.
In the clip above, everything comes together for the team and it seems like that their last chance at a state championship is tangible. Then, quickly it's all brought to an end. Throughout the movie, you are complelety invested in the characters and their lives outside of football that it results in an emotional reaction. Even if you don't ball your eyes out, there is an emotional impact that sticks. All of this is heightened by the tools available to the filmmakers especially the camera movements/shots along with the music.

Again, I'd like to point out that picking "What makes a great film" is highly subjective and there are no specific ways that you could create a perfect film.