"That's part of your problem: you haven't seen enough movies. All of life's riddles are answered in the movies." Grand Canyon - Lawrence & Meg Kasdan
My favorite book ever, Illusions by Richard Bach, depicts movies as a metaphor for the meaning of Life: a means to both entertainment and education. The best films combine great story and spectacle. Anything a good film or TV show offers beyond entertainment make it worthwhile; if it integrates story, character and edification, then everybody wins.
With 2200+ titles in my collection (as of November 2022), this was a hard list to pick. Some were favorites my youth (like Billy Jack and Kung-Fu) or because I like an actor or a director. As a screenwriter sometimes I add a film to study why a film doesn't work. And sometimes because it's a guilty pleasure: 70s Exploitation, Showgirls or, my favorite, Zombie Strippers (sorry, Mom).
I used to denigrate television until its renaissance that began on cable with The Sopranos. Now there are so many good, new "Peak TV" shows, that list took some serious consideration.
|
Top Ten Films: 1. The Matrix (Wachowskis, 1999) 2. L.A. Confidential (Hansen, 1997) 3. Network (Lumet, 1976) 4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Gondry, 2004) 5. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968) 6. The Princess Bride (R. Reiner, 1987) 7. Groundhog Day (Ramis, 1993) 8. Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) 9. Titanic (Cameron, 1997) 10. The Breakfast Club (Hughes, 1985) Honorable Mention: Taxi Driver (Scorsese, 1976) Bound (Wachowskis, 1997) Mulholland Dr. (Lynch, 2001) Double Indemnity (Wilder, 1942) Thelma & Louise (R. Scott, 1994) Cinderella Liberty (Rydell, 1972) American Beauty (Mendes, 1999) Devil's Advocate (Hackford, 1997) Almost Famous (Crowe, 2000) Postcards from the Edge (Nichols, 1990) Coming Home, They Shoot Horses Don't They, ... |
Top Ten Shows: 1. E.R. 2. Southland 3. Better Call Saul 4. Westworld 5. Kung-Fu 6. Black Mirror 7. House of Cards (USA) 8. American Horror Story 9. Law & Order (original) 10. Dexter Honorable Mention: Star Trek (original) Monty Python's Flying Circus The Twilight Zone (original) Kolchak: The Nightstalker Hill Street Blues Twin Peaks Breaking Bad The Avengers L.A. Law Saturday Night Live (1975-91) |