Top Ten Movie Countdown Blogfest

It's time for a blog fest - the first one of the year for me, and good preparation for the forthcoming Bogging A to Z Challenge beginning this April! Hosted by legendary Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh, today's blogging festival is all about one of my favorite things . . . movies. For this challenge we're supposed to list our top ten favorite movies, something I've found incredibly difficult as I love approximately twenty billion of them. But if you're interested in joining, check the it out.

Okay, so over the weeks I had leading up to this blogfest I spent a lot of time making lists of my favorite movies and trying to narrow it down to just ten. And I found that it absolutely could not be done. I could make a list of my top five absolute favorites, or my top fifteen favorites, but not my top ten. I simply could not weed five of them out. Soooo, I decided that instead of a "top ten", I'd do blog about my top ten movies leading down to my TOP FIVE ALL TIME FAVORITE FILMS.

So here we go . . .

10. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - Yes, technically these are three different movies, but since I've already cheated once today, I figured I might as well break all the rules and think of trilogies as one larger, three-part film. Plus, they're too amazing to pick just one. 

9. Zombieland - My all time favorite zombie flick, it makes me laugh, it makes me cry, it makes me hope to god that if the zombie apocalypse happens, no one mistakes Bill Murray for one of the walking dead. 

8. Star Wars (the original trilogy) - See #10. 

7. The Italian Job - I love a good heist film, and this one in particular has always been a favorite. I love the characters, I love the byplay between Lyle (aka. the Napster) and Handsome Rob, and I looove the cars. Who wouldn't want to have a high speed car chase in a Mini Cooper?

6. Stranger Than Fiction - I love how unusual this movie is. As a writer, I love the idea that the characters I create could in fact be walking around somewhere, their lives narrated by my words. And the scene in which Dustin Hoffman gives Will Ferrell's character the test to identify what type of story he's in is one of the wittiest scenes ever written. 

5. The Harry Potter Series - Like the Lord of the Rings, these movies are some of the best adaptations from novel to screen I've ever seen (apart from Goblet of Fire, which I felt didn't live up to its full potential). 

4. Ocean's Eleven - Another heist film, this is perhaps one of the best ensemble casts ever put together. And one of the most hilarious scripts written to date. 

3. Serenity - Joss Whedon. Enough said. 

2. Penelope - This movie can only be described as a modern day fairy tale. It's one of those stories that reminds us of childhood and child-like belief in magic. It's a love story, a transformation story, and a journey of self-discovery, but managed to be unitedly original. 

1. Blade Runner - A sci-fi masterpiece, Blade Runner is one of those movies I remember watching with my parents as a kid that stayed with me through adulthood. Of the many different versions that exist today, I prefer the the Director's Cut above all others. 

And now that I've completed my Top Ten Movie Countdown, it's time for my TOP FIVE ALL TIME FAVORITE FILMS: 

The Terminator -

Though many would say that Terminator 2: Judgement Day is better, I've always believed that the first Terminator film was the best one. It's not only stunningly terrifying with amazing action sequences, but is also arguably the most beautiful love story ever written. 

The Fifth Element -
#1 it has Bruce Willis.
#2 it has has an amazing female bad-ass in Milla Jovovich.
#3 it has a terrific story full of action, adventure and romance.
#4 it has a blue opera singer.
And #5 it has Christ Tucker in his funniest role ever. Bzzzzz.

The Princess Bride -

This is one of those movies that defined childhood in the 80's. Everyone who's ever seen The Princess Bride loves it, whether its because they love Inigo Montoya, think "inconceivable" is a terrific word, like to rhyme "mean it" with "peanut", enjoy a lisping priest, laugh hysterically at Miracle Max and is bickering wife, or think Wesley and Buttercup are this generations' (much less tragic) Romeo and Juliet. 

Aliens -

Yet another movie with a female bad-ass at it's helm, watching Ellen Ripley go to town and massacre a hoard of aliens which protecting a spunky little girl named Newt may be one of the defining moments of my childhood. 

Die Hard -

The is without a doubt the best action film ever made. And the reason Bruce Willis is my hero. I'd argue that it's a Christmas Classic - and I certainly watch it every year for the Yuletide holiday.