My Top 50 movies right now

Since Tweetybird got a lot of crap for his favorite movies of all time - mostly from me - I thought I'd give him the chance to crap all over my list, an opportunity I'm sure he'll relish and use for all it's worth. The following list is valid today and today only - tomorrow I might think of some movie I'd absolutely would like to include, and wonder why I included one of the others. Also, parallel to this list, I really should make a Top 50 Hong Kong movie list, but that's a separate genre in itself, so for now I'll stick to a "general movies" list. So here it is - my Top 50 in no particular order:

• Immortal Beloved (1994). Ludwig Van Beethoven, the greatest composer EVER, left all his belongings to his "immortal beloved". This movie is a journey both through the life of the great composer, and to find this mysterious person. Fantastic job by Gary Oldman.
• Shine (1996). Brilliant portrayal of the pianist David Helfgott, who is driven over the edge trying to master the piano concerto No. 3 in D minor, Opus 30, by Sergei Rachmaninoff.
• Clerks (1994). The first of the Kevin Smith New Jersey "trilogy". The birth of Jay and Silent Bob. Number 37 will have a whole new meaning after seeing this.
• Mallrats (1995). The second of the New Jersey "trilogy". Quatation marks are due to the fact that there are - what - seven movies in this trilogy at present. Ben Affleck's best performance to date.
• This Is Spinal Tap (1984). First mockumentary ever. Brilliant portrayal of the life and times of a slightly over-the-hill rock band. Supposedly Steven Tyler started crying when he saw it, because it was exactly like Aerosmith. If not for this movie, Michael Moore would've worked at some gas station in Columbine. Come to think of it, maybe this movie should've stayed as an idea.....
• It Could Happen To You (1994). Romantic comedy with Nick Cage and Bridget Fonda. Absolutely awesome.
• City Of Angels (1998). You've seen this one, I'm sure. Nick Cage and Meg Ryan in a great romantic drama. And these are so much harder to make than a run-of-the-mill action movie, where the ingredients are explosions, car chase, revenge and a generous serving of guns.
• Sleepless In Seattle (1993). Another romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks.
• Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai (1999). Weird, but absolutely fascinating movie with Forest Whitaker, who portrays an inner city hit man who adopts Bushido.
• The Adventures Of Ford Fairlane (1990). Kojak. Columbo. Dirty Harry. Wimps. Andrew Dice Clay is da man in this flick, and no diggity.
• The Godfather (1972). Like I could make a best of list without this one.
• The Godfather Part II (1974). And that goes double for this.
• Pumping Iron (1977). Semi-documentary about the 1975 Mr. Olympia, where Arnold Schwarzenegger smoked the competition and showed the beginnings of the entity he has grown into. Respect.
• You've Got Mail (1998). Yet another romantic comedy with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. This is murder on my bad-ass credentials, isn't it....
• Rounders (1998). Poker movie with Edward Norton, Matt Damon and John Malkovich. What's not to like.
• There's Something About Mary (1998). Ben Affleck and Matt Dillon rock this comedy in spite of Cameron Diaz.
• Shichinin No Samurai (The Seven Samurai, 1954). Akira Kurosawa CLASSIC.
• The Killer (1989). Violent epic by John Woo, starring the inimitable Chow Yun Fat. Powerful movie.
• Casablanca (1942). Bogart classic numero uno.
• The Big Sleep (1946). Bogart again, this time portraying Raymond Chandler's Hollywood detective prototype, Phillip Marlowe. The cast from which Ford Fairlane was molded, and the inspiration behind the Dire Straits song "Private Investigations".
• Music And Lyrics (2006). Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore - reviewed in an earlier post.
• The Wedding Singer (1998). Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler in a romantic comedy that really works for me. Also to my knowledge the only good movie starring Adam Sandler to date and ever, if past performance is a good indicator to go by.
• Notting Hill (1999). Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. I've got great memories from and around this flick.
• Rocky (1976). THE undercard story, and proof positive that Stallone is capable of acting and screenwriting.
• Rocky III (1982). What? Hulk Hogan AND Mister T. Shuttie!
• 8 Mile (2002). Partly based on and starring Marshall Bruce Mathers (III) aka Eminem. Love him or hate him; he does a great job here, and I've got a tremenduous respect for him as a songwriter/rapper.
• Rock Star (2001). Marky Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston in the story of a wannabe who got to be (yeah; I ripped that one off of the tagline). Reminds me of gigging.
• Die Hard (1988). First time the antihero storyline worked for me. Yippikayeee, ...you know the rest
• Zong Heng Si Hai (Once A Thief, 1991). Not to be confused with the Hollywood version from 1997 - dis here be da real deal with Chow Yun Fat and Leslie Cheung, directed by John Woo. Accept no substitutes.
• Ying Hung Boon Sik (A Better Tomorrow, 1986). The movie that marked the start of the John Woo violent epic.
• Only The Lonely (1991). Romantic comedy with the late, great John Candy and Ally Sheedy. Awesome!!
• Uncle Buck (1989). Another comedy showcasing the incredible talent of John Candy.
• Planes, Trains And Automobiles (1987). John Hughes saga with Steve Martin as the straight man versus the goofball version of John Candy. Teh good stuff.
• The Omen (1976). One of the truly scary movies, and an excellent example of how to use Carmina Burana properly as a soundtrack. Makes the Exorcist look like Caddyshack.
• Phantasm (1979). Another great horror movie, and a cool concept. Dio used something very reminiscent of this in his "Last In Line" video. If this one doesn't scare you, you're already dead. Monster tagline.
• Army Of Darkness (1992). Bruce Campbell. Sam Raimi. Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas. Awesome.
• Twins (1988). Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito in a comedy I seem to be the only one to actually like. In a genetic experiment, the perfect human is made (Arnold), but a twin brother composed of the leftover genetic material (DeVito) also emerges. Probably does not have enough monkeys for some, but I likes it.
• Commando (1985). Only Arnold could have made a box office hit out of this. Much respect.
• Leap Of Faith (1992). Steve Martin as a snake oil salesman posing as a charismatic faith healer.
• Parenthood (1989). So I've got a soft spot for Steve Martin.
• Ronin (1998). Awesome action thriller (whatever that means) starring De Niro, Jean Reno, Sean Bean and Stellan Skarsgård.
• Face/Off (1997). Nick Cage. Travolta. John Woo. Yessssssss!
• So I Married An Axe Murderer (1993). If you're only gonna see one Mike Myers Movie, pick this one. Heed! Pants. Now!
• Wayne's World (1992). The second Mike Myers movie you should see.
• Bloodsport (1988). I know I'm gonna catch hell for this, but I really enjoy this movie.
• The Score (2001). De Niro and Ed Norton. Tweetybird hates this one for reasons unknown. I suspect it's 'cause it ain't based on a french movie or made by some sufficiently "artistic" director, or because they used a subpar gaffer.
• The Big Hit (1998). Mark Wahlberg and Lou Diamond Phillips in the greatest wigger movie ever. Check it out, yo. Dat $hit is off da HOOK!
• Menace II Society (1993). Crash course in street lingo. Also very, very unintentionally funny in places.
• Top Gun (1986). Guilty pleasure, but can you honestly tell me you didn't get even a slight rush when you saw it the first time?
• The Illusionist (2006). Can you believe that Ed Norton has taken on the role as Bruce Banner for the upcoming Hulk movie?

There it is. Let the games begin.