My Top 10 favorite movies!!!

Right from my childhood, I have been a movie buff. Movies have been my only pastime at several points of time in my life. When I was in India, I confined myself to regional movies. Only after coming to US, I started watching English movies. Thanks to our free public library, I would have seen at least half of Top 250 movies on IMDB amongst others. I thought it would be fun to list my top 10 movies of all time with the reason why I like them. As it turned out, there was a big fight in my mind as to which one will get a spot and which one will not.

These are not listed in any specific order of greatness, it is just the order these movies came to my mind.

12 Angry men - Sidney Lumet

One can understand the greatness of this movie by the simplicity of the story line. A jury decides on the guilt or innocence of the defendant. Simple, isn't it? But, how this is developed into an intriguing 100 min movie by using 12 different facets of human mind. None of these 12 characters could be called similar, hence none of them could be done away with. Each one contributes to the movie in equal proportions, crisp writing and masterful direction takes the movie to a great height. My favorite juror is juror #4. I never think twice to see it once again. Even the Russian remake of this movie, called '12' was good, but in its own right.

Following - Christopher Nolan

This is a less known movie from the well known director. Can a movie with a running length of just 70 minutes have all the elements of a thriller and be made so much interesting? Oh my god!! The non-linear narration creates a feel that the movie is longer than what it is. With just three characters, the director keeps everyone in suspense till the mind blowing climax. The non-linear narration is something that you will definitely associate with the director on seeing Memento and The Prestige. Just WoW!! You may not see it in your library collection, the only place I was able to get it was Netflix!

The Usual suspects - Bryan Singer

I fell in love with Kevin Spacey's acting after seeing this movie. He plays it very cool, subtle, low voiced like a real criminal caught by the police. There is no clue shown in the movie anywhere to indicate that twist in the climax. Once you see that last minute collage of scenes where we get the hints, you feel you have been fooled along with Agent Kujan. The other actors contribute to a good effect as well. The only twist in the movie comes in the fag end, Kevin's narration of incidents is so good that it keeps us glued till the end.

Shawshank Redemption - Frank Darabont

This movie is long, slow paced with not so many twists but still it shines bright among all. Right from scene 1, you become empathetic with Andy Dufresne. The film gives a great message 'Never lose hope!' to everyone. Freeman's voice-over through out the movie is excellent and engrossing. One of those rare films where lines linger on your mind when you are done watching the movie. Lines like 'Andy Dufresne who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side' and 'I was honest through out my life, I had to come to jail to became crooked' are just simply wonderful.

Ocean's Eleven - Steven Soderbergh

Cool!! The only word that comes to my mind when I want to talk about this movie. Cast, pace, music and dialogues are all so apt in this movie and they make you love this movie instantly. I never get bored watching this movie, anyplace, anywhere, anytime. They made this movie so good that even the crew themselves weren't able to better it with sequels. A great time-pass movie!!

Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (Spirited away) - Hayao Miyazaki

I am not a great lover of animation movies but this one just blew me away. This movie is very thrilling and has some innovative story telling. You just start liking the movie in a few minutes into it and it shows that you can even do these kind of movies in animation. There are a couple of other good animation movies from the same director. He is the master of animation. Hats off!! Don't miss it!!

Godfather II - Francis Ford Coppola

On seeing this movie at this place, you would have completely believed that these movies aren't in any order. I mean, who doesn't like Godfather. Now I don't want to combine them both and say Godfather trilogy, each has its own driving points. But my pick is Godfather II, it has the best acting from two greats, De Niro and Al Pacino and excellent editing. Robert Duvall, an excellent actor of our times, is overshadowed by Al Pacino, but he needs special credit for playing that subdued role so well in the first 2 parts. Anytime, I scroll past the channels and see Godfather I or II, I stop and watch it for some time. Don't you?

Silence of the lambs - Jonathan Demme

Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins - Two best artists competing to steal the show, both deservingly got Oscar for their roles in this movie. There is not much of killing shown, not much of action, but the thrill element and the interaction scenes involving the lead characters are unforgettable. The editing in the scene where Jodie enters the killer's house is one of the best of all times. You won't be left with too many fingernails at the end of this movie.

Duel - Steven Spielberg

This movie produced for TV has all elements of a blockbuster. A man is pushed to the limits by a truck that is chasing him on the highway. The entire movie is on the road, focuses on th chase, how could one make that interesting? Well, if you are Steven Spielberg, you could. Given that he could make such an interesting movie with just two vehicles and one human character at his disposal, no wonder he made Jurassic Park, Schindler's list, Saving Private Ryan among other great works.

The Shining - Stanley Kubrick

No collection is complete without a movie from Stanley Kubrick. One of my favorite directors, I have seen 9 of his 16 movies and I have liked each one of them. This movie just raised the bar for horror movies that only a very few can achieve. It is genuinely scary and thrilling and has an eerie feeling to it. The setting is perfect for such a movie and Stanley doesn't miss the chance to make the most out of it. A must watch for horror lovers!!