My Top 10 Favorite Movies of All-Time

I love movies, and one of the reasons I started this blog was to even further integrate myself with the staples of the industry.  But I've still seen many films in my time, and some of them have actually deeply impacted me growing up.  Here's a list of my ten favorite films of all-time, movies for which I tend to say to others "I can't believe you haven't seen that!"

Honorable Mentions:
The Dark Knight
The Empire Strikes Back
The Natural
The Sting
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Inception
Finding Nemo
Good Will Hunting
The Avengers
Jerry Maguire




10. Ocean's Eleven
This movie had all around great performances by a really fun cast, it was smart, funny and just a great heist movie.  I believe it is the best film in it's subsequent trilogy, and it's my favorite George Clooney performance by far.












9. Toy Story 3
This movie came out the year I left for college.  In fact, I watched it for the first time about 2 weeks before I moved out of my childhood home, and I think I wept for a solid hour after watching.  This movie has an incredible emotional impact, I do believe it is the best in its trilogy, although the other two are amazing as well.





8. Django Unchained
This movie is not as widely loved as other Tarantino movies, but personally I love westerns, I thought the dialogue was incredibly smart, and Christophe Waltz's character King Schultz is one of the most well written personas of the 21st century.  This movie also stirred a lot of controversy and discussion, which no matter what side of the debate you're on (regarding the film's use of the N-word), it is good to see movies causing a dialogue in our country.







7. Iron Man
The one that started it all.  This film is fun, action-packed, smart, and gave Robert Downey Jr. (my favorite actor) the opportunity to play the role he was born to own.  It was so different from other superhero movies that had been released to that point, not to mention the effect it is still having on the entertainment business with it's founding of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.







6. Top Gun
Tom Cruise is a movie star, man.  Talk about a movie that defined a decade, this film screams 80's.  It has emotional stakes, high-speed action, romance, great music and oiled-up men pounding some volleyballs. Because of this movie I refused to buy sunglasses that weren't aviators until I was 25 years old, which is true because I'm only 21 and I still only plan on wearing aviators for at least that long. Fun Fact: I have a poster of that picture of Tom Cruise having on my wall as if to look at me and say "go get 'em today Evan, you can do it." Danger Zooone!





5. Gladiator
It's has violence, it's has politics, it is a thrilling story about love and revenge.  Russell Crowe gives an Oscar winning performance playing off one of the most treacherous movie villains of all time in Joaquin Phoenix's Commodus.  Ancient Rome is such a fascinating setting for a film, Ridley Scott knocked it out of the park with this adaptation of the Spaniard Maximus.








4. Casino Royale
The name's Bond. James Bond. But not just any James Bond, it's Daniel Craig's James Bond, also known as the greatest James Bond to ever grace the silver screen.  Sorry Sean Connery, and suck it George Lazenby, because Daniel Craig brings a brutality to this role that is unmatched.  This film is dark, smooth, excellently paced and contains smart, believable dialogue from start to finish.  It is currently the best in its subsequent trilogy, although Skyfall was fantastic and I'm very much looking forward to Spectre coming out next month.












3. The Shawshank Redemption
What a beautiful film. The greatest story ever put to film portraying the persistence of the human spirit. Perfectly executed roles from both Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman put this movie over the top, not to mention the brutal truths that are revealed about many corrupt penitentiaries within our own borders. The way the music plays into this film is also masterful, the representations of water and color only add to the depth of this film's meaning. This is not just one of my favorite movies, it is one of the greatest of all time.





2. Jurassic Park
No movie has scared me so much, but also left me with so much joy.  I thought Jeff Goldblum was the coolest person on the planet for about a decade after watching this movie (who am I kidding, he still is), and Steven Spielberg's use of practical effects to bring these dinosaurs to life was incredible.  This is by far the best film in the series that followed, and I'm happy they have revived the franchise, but nothing will ever top the original. And the music? Keep your Star Wars Main Theme, I'll take the Jurassic Park Theme Song any day.





1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
I know, this is kind of cheating.  But this trilogy tells a story as a cohesive unit, while all three films can subsequently stand on their own if needed. I've read these books countless times, and I think the film adaptations could not have been done any better.  They are beautiful, dark, accurate and exciting.  The emotion injected is all thanks to Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyen's respectful transition of J.R.R. Tolkien's incredible characters from page to film.  There's Aragorn, the warrior who is reluctant to becoming too powerful.  Gandalf, the teacher who is fierce but loving.  Frodo, the hero who offers himself as a sacrifice to to the salvation of his homeland.  And the greatest character in the series, Sam, the protector, who has no business being a player in the war of wizards and warriors, but enters bravely nonetheless.






As a Christian I value this movie's integration of Tolkien's faith, which he drew inspiration from while writing the epic.  While maintaining it's spirit of fantasy these films are able to tell a much larger story that goes beyond goblins and magic.  More so they are a story about a person's need for adventure, and that no matter how far one is pushed to the edge, you must always have hope.  It's like Sam says: "There's good in this world Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for."

Remember, these are my favorite films, not necessarily what I believe to be the best films! I have emotional connections to these movies which is why I value Top Gun over Citizen Kane, these are just my opinions. Thanks for reading!