My Top Ten Favorite Movies of Recent Times Nov 30 '04    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Movies 1776 From $8 Alias - The Complete Fifth Season From $20 The Bottom Line The movies listed are, in my opinion, of the highest quality level of cinema, and highly reccommend them to those whom have found their descriptions interesting. Introduction- The following is a comprehensive list of my favorite movies created within the last thirty years. The list progresses in decreasing numerical order, starting from ten, ending with one. The main point of writing this review was more as a self-evaluation to discover how I scale movies, and for future notification, I will update this page frequently as my criteria for scaling movies changes. Number 10: Jurassic Park I chose Jurassic Park to be placed in the number ten spot because of my admiration of a classic Spielberg-made film. I think this film best exemplifies the boldness and creativity of one of the greatest filmmakers of our time. Its foundation laid out new grounds for the motion picture industry, I think. Partly because of its ingenious storyline. From the DNA of fossilized amber scientist were able to recreate the dinosaur race, upon which a theme park was built, following a non-stable idea of having a remote island house these creatures, some dangerous, some not, for the public amusement and worldwide appraise. During a "test-run" of what the experience would be like, paleontologists are brought to the site to test it out. The test-run goes horribly awry in a massive display of special-effects, bringing to life one of the most memorable movies ever created, and as its tagline would convincingly suggest, "An adventure 65 million years in the making." Number 9: Home Alone Home Alone is a perfect movie in suit for the holidays for children and adults alike. One of my personal favorites due to its unmatched charm amongst among all who’ve seen it, leaving a lasting impression as one of the greatest Christmas based movies of all time, next to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. The story is familiar. A boy accidentally left at home at fault of the parents, who must bear the laborious task of keeping track of their many children. This leads us into the humorous exploits of the young child, played fantastically by McCauley Caulking, whom you may know of as also playing in The Good Son. Meanwhile, we come to learn of two devious criminals, which wouldn't exactly be classified as masterminds. It is through this plot that sends the story into an eventful last half-hour in which the boy must fend off the criminals and realize his potential at the same time. The ending is heartfelt and sincere, which brings me to why I chose this to represent the number 8 spot. The foremost sequel was, in my opinion, equal to its predescor. Number 8: Catch Me If You Can Catch Me If You Can is another example of Steven Spielberg’s mastery level of producing a quality piece of entertainment. This movie is stylized dramedy mostly taking place in the years 1967-1970. It delivers an outstanding blend of unique directing and still manages to show the core of its sentimental value. Although it seems it could become confusing with its script that often jumps back and forth on a long-spanning timeline, with a bit of effort from the watcher it is a highly enjoyable movie centering on well-developed characters. Loosely based on a true story, it continues to fascinate me how watchable this film is. I've seen it many times within only a few days. Frank Abagnale Jr. since his youth could not help but engage in foolish antics, many of which his father (played by Christopher Walken), who served as a role model to him, approved of. As an adult, he keeps the same foolish lifestyle, yet is fascinating to witness as he gains money, girls, expensive clothing, priceless cars, and federal attention, due to check fraud. Tom Hanks role comes into play when he willingly takes up the case again after having failed to catch him. Good chemistry is created as Frank continues to elude the governments grasp, and dramatic tension builds as Frank's father dies, Carl (Tom Hanks) tracks him down and eventually, after some misunderstanding with another agency, puts in maximum security prison only later to be inadvertently taken out and assigned to work for the U.S. government in none other than the check fraud department. What otherwise would be a useless piece of cinematic garbage instantly becomes a modern classic when placed in the hands of Spielberg. Number 7: Apollo 13 There are only a few space-based movies ever to have been worth any value whatsoever. And besides 2001: A Space Odyssey, which I've never seen, this is definitely one of them. Another Tom Hanks film, this one also stars Kevin Bacon, who joins him in his failed mission to land on the moon. This movie consists of a main plot and a subplot, one of which is edge of your seat excitement; the other provides a sturdy background check. I will begin to elaborate on both. First, beginning during the middle sequences, three astronauts, having been selected after enduring multiple error-prone flight test sequences, leaving Gary Sinises's character to remain earthbound, are selected, and soon thereafter sent into space. Under unexplained circumstances, at the mid-point between the Earth and the moon, the ship begins to leak precious oxygen into the empty space surrounding them. Now, Houston must now come up with a way of preserving the spacemen's lives, with the painful knowledge that they will never reach the moon as planned. Through an everlasting string of human perseverance, the astronauts are able to return to earth safely, living to tell their magnificent story. It is automatically expected that a factually based film will, because of the knowing of what the outcome of the movie is before seeing the movie, be stale and extremely boring. On the contrary, this incredible film lodges within our minds the realities of what occurred, and is entertaining in doing so. Number6: Jaws No other but Jaws brought such terror and suspense to the big screen the way it did. The year is 1975. After two years of treacherous work, toiling over one of his earliest projects that brought him to the top, Spielberg unleashes the biggest blockbuster of that time. Inspiring terror for all who've seen it, this film deserves its recognition it’s received over the past 30 years. Police chief Martin Brody, a rather uptight man with dignity to spare, becomes involved with a cruel shark chase once a shark attack hits the shore of Amity, a town resting in present-day New England. Amity mayor Larry Vaughn seems not to care the least bit, by pushing for the "motorboat accident" not to become mangled in with the popular July 4th event, which is just around the corner. Enter Matt Hooper (played by Richard Dreyfuss) shark expert out to let the truth be told, when diagnosing the mutilated corpse of Chrissie Watkins, announces that the shark attack was by one of the most dangerous sharks alive to date, the Great White. This causes Chief Brody a great amount of responsibility when ensuring the tourist's safety at best. During a suspenseful scene, Alex Kinter is unmistakably killed during a second attack, right in the middle of the big event. Thus brings forth an unforgettable role rightful portrayed by Robert Shaw. His character requests a sum $10,000 for his fishermen services, for he is an experienced boatman who's up for the job, if he is accompanied by Hooper and Brody. They soon embark on their expedition in order eliminate the shark through a succession of brilliant, cleverly executed tactics that lead to the downfall of the beast, at the regretted cost of fisherman Quint (Shaw). I particularly enjoyed the 25th anniversary commemorative DVD, where I was surprised to learn the movie was based on a best-selling novel. Number 5: What About Bob Yes, I like a good comedy every now and then too, but this probably the only one you'll be finding on this list. Richard Dreyfuss does an outstanding job here, complementing his good chemistry with Bill Murray, who plays a schizophrenic named Bob. Dreyfuss is his psychiatrist who is driven insane by Bob' strong attachment to him, as he is n a well-deserved vacation, where he will publicly present his new book, Baby Steps. In a gradually occurring spectacle of antics, Bob unknowingly persuades him to plant him in a forest, in a final attempt to kill him, after trying to force him to leave. Bob ends up staying over his house for a couple of memorable days, resulting in an on-camera nervous breakdown, his family coming to love Bob more than himself, and the full transformation from a respected man with self-pride, to exactly the opposite, in an hour and a half of cinema conveniently fit for family viewing purposes. Number 4: The Matrix Closing in on number one, The Matrix earns its top spot on one major occasion: special effects. If you've ever rented the DVD (I own it), you'd know what I mean by this. The complex and intricate processes by which the gravity-defying effects are produced and effectively included within the movie is mind-boggling to merely ponder. There is more than just one factor that comes into play, however. The scripting must be elaborated on to understand the meaning of this landmark movie. The story begins with high action hunt down with Trinity and the cops, in her desperate pursuit to locate a telephone. This telephone connection establishes a link between the so-called Matrix and the actual, none of which we could ever live in. But there is one man who can is offered the monumental task of sustaining the role of "the One". According to "real-world" folklore, the One is said to possess ultimate power beyond any other and has the ability to agents and the war they’ve reigned over for many centuries. He pays a visit to the Oracle in one of the movie's sequences to discover his true power. It is he we become faintly acquainted the much complicated and evolved plot, and become familiarized with other characters. Agents, the mysterious, "connected" agents whom cannot be defeated until Neo's (Keanu Reeves) much awaited arrival, make up for much of the action that takes place, included an intense rooftop battle in which Morphius (Laurence Fishbourne) is unwontedly captured. This and other factors build up for a spectacular finale, in Neo learns his true powers. Number 3: Alien Quadrilogy Personally regarded as one of finest series of movies ever created, and by that I highlight the first two movies, I feel as though it contains the criteria to be placed as number 3 on my list. James Cameron and Ridley Scott were the creators of the first two films of this popular series, showing their potential for future projects they may choose to pursue. Why is it then, this is film is entertaining? I would not say they are as entertaining as they are exhausting, especially when watched back to back. Ripley, the central character here leaves Earth on the expedition that nearly took her life, and eventually did, spawning a fourth film, Alien Resurrection, is to spend the next twenty horrible years floating about the infinite frontier of space, restlessly battling aliens with her crew for the sake of human existence, sacrificing her own life before others as shown in the second film, when she musters all in herself to save the life of a little girl who kept everything from falling apart. Of course, there are also such terms as facehugger, deadly acid, and unbearable suction onboard a spaceship, which was one of the final sequences of the fourth alien film, before they finally returned to Earth, which makes this an instant cult classic. This why it has earned the right to be number 3 among other top contenders. Number 2: Die Hard Die Hard. What does this film bring to your mind? To my mind it brings the definition of action to its justice. Bruce Willis stars as wisecracking average guy cop John McLaine, a man everyday troubles. He has troubles with his wife, the core reasoning for his traveling cross-country to Los Angeles to visit her, only to be bombarded by a bunch of evil terrorists, looking to steal $600 million from the vault in the 40 story Nakatomi tower, where his wife, played by Bonnie Bedelia, works for a living to support her two kids. After an argument takes place between the divorced couple, she goes downstairs to deliver a business related speech. It is at this point the terrorist group, headed by Hans Gruber, take control of the building at which time they immediately begin running the people who head it for information to unlock the vault. They are unsuccessful in doing so, and end up killing the president of the corporation for lack of cooperation. McLaine, hiding somewhere nearby, witnesses the entire event, after he narrowly escaped the terrorists' grasp. We follow the story of intriguing conflict and hardcore action to a final fistfight where Gruber is thrown from the uppermost floors of the building where he lays dead at its foot. This to me is the defining film of action and a fine example of what this list represents as a whole. Number 1: Pulp Fiction You are most likely surprised by my choice for the number one position. Let me explain why this is my choice assuming that you've never seen this film. Pulp Fiction is one of those milestones of 20th century filmmaking that permanently redefined cinema for all of its audience, though small. Despite its well-respected cast, which includes, but is not limited to, John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken, Harvey Keitel, and Quentin Taratino, who directed as well as produced. Some of this list has been previously mentioned, and, despite the initial thought this film was a major blockbuster because of the cast, is nothing but a myth. Neverthelesss this film was probably my favorite experience of cinema ever witnessed. The story is intricate, jumping from time to time within a few day period, and ranges from three different viewpoints. The central viewpoint is concerned about two hit men, Oscar nominees Jackson and Travolta, who become deeply entangled with business of defending a Mr. Marcellus Wallace, a virtuous individual who asks upon Travolta's character to spend time with his girlfriend (Uma Thurman). Over the same transpiring amount of time, he eventually comes across Bruce Willis, shortly before being killed by that same man. Willis plays a slightly more independent role, where we come to grow accustomed to the movie's overall theme of being a unique crime drama. While Willis partners with former enemy Wallace after he hits him with a car and they are engaged with other crime-doers, Travolta's day steadily progresses, not without the absence of cleverly placed happenings on his part. Until the two eventually meet, where, much to my shock and disbelief, Travolta is shot and killed. The situation, not to worry, is handled in a way, where no evidence is left behind. This fantastic film comes to a conclusion when Jackson, resurfaces in his role to stop a restaurant from becoming robbed all their money. The director's style is flawless, as well as the acting and script, making this my number 1 choice on my list of my top ten favorite movies.

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