Favorite Movies (Open Thread)

What are your Top 5 Favorite Movies? Please post in the comment section below.

Mine are:

5. Taxi Driver (1976)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Robert De Niro, Cybill Shepard, Harvey Keitel, and Jodie Foster

Why it's a favorite: Taxi Driver forged the best director-actor duo ever with Scorsese and De Niro. It's dark, hard-hitting, and always compelling. It's also very funny, iconic, and has many great musical moments (courtesy of the late Bernard Herrmann). Never has there been a better independent film. De Niro gives one of the best screen performances of all time as the disturbed taxi driver. "You talkin' to me?"

4. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)  

Director: Sergio Leone

Stars: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach  

Why it's a favorite: This movie is the godfather of westerns. It's old and long but don't let that turn you off. It's extremely entertaining, and epic. It has one of the best soundtracks ever. The backdrop is the civil war which makes for a compelling setting. Clint Eastwood became a global star and an instant legend thanks to the kickstarter that was the Dollars Trilogy. This is a classic film that should be viewed by everyone at least once.   

3. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)  

Director: George Miller  

Stars: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, and Nicolas Hoult  

Why it's a favorite: This is the craziest, most exhilarating, and most rewatchable action movie I have ever seen. As far as action sequences go: nothing comes close to it. This movie won 6 Oscars and deservedly so. It's the quickest movie I have ever seen. It's 2 hours long but when I saw it in theaters it felt like 20 minutes had gone by. If you want an adrenaline rush, watch this movie in 3D in an IMAX theater.  

2. The Dark Knight (2008)  

Director: Christopher Nolan  

Stars: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman

Why it's a favorite: The Dark Knight remains the best superhero movie ever. What makes it so great is how realistic and grounded it is compared to most superhero flicks. It's also very intelligent for a comic book movie. Heath Ledger gave such an amazing performance it sadly costed him his life. The line in this movie that sums up why it's so special is when the Joker says to Batman, "You didn't think I'd risk losing the battle for Gotham's soul in a fist-fight with you?" This line shows that The Dark Knight is far from a cheesy movie with grown men dressed in spandex punching each other. It leans more towards ideas, while also retaining its cinematic spectacle. 

1. Saving Private Ryan (1998)  

Director: Steven Spielberg  

Stars: Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, and Matt Damon  

Why it's number 1: Saving Private Ryan is so realistic that every time I watch it I forget I'm watching a movie. It feels like Steven Spielberg went into a time machine, traveled back to World War II, started filming, and then traveled back. It does an incredible job of unapologetically showing what a war experience was like, and rendering that on the screen. Films exist for this reason: to manifest something by showing, not telling. Saving Private Ryan personifies that reason perfectly. It's gritty, compelling, visually and technically perfect, without a dull moment. It never lets up on the action or drama. Girls cry when they watch Titanic. Men cry when they watch Saving Private Ryan.