Top 25 Movies

Iceye: Challenge accepted! EDIT: Now with more movies! 21, to be precise!

---

This list of movies is somewhat hastily constructed, I'll be the first to admit. I was initially going for a "Top 25" list, but I couldn't actually think of 25 movies that I like, so in the end I settled for 20. There may be some that should be on the list but that I've forgotten - well then, I still have five more slots! That is the genius of my plan.

Like Iceye's list, mine is not in any particular order - it's just 20 movies I like above other movies. It's based on the following sorting algorithm: Which movies that I have already seen would I like to see again?

Not all of the 20 movies on this list actually meet that criterion - I've just rounded it up a little to make it an even 20, and tossed in a few movies that are special because they've impressed me in other ways even though I wouldn't want to see them again.

Here, then, are my top 20 (with open space for 5 at the end, in case anyone reminds me of a movie I've missed):

1. Casablanca - My number one all-time favourite film.

2. The Matrix - The film I have seen the most times of all, and still wouldn't mind seeing again. It was a real trend-setter and a fantastic picture, that's all I have to say about it.

3. Picassos Äventyr - My number one all-time favourite film when I was a child, this movie still holds a special place in my heart. Which is weird. This movie is weird. No, seriously. It's weird. This movie is in... uh... some languages. Narration is Swedish, but to my knowledge only one actual line is ever uttered in Swedish in the whole film ("Hur fan ska jag kunna veta det?").

4. The Lion King - This is probably the best film ever made for children. 'Nuff said.

5. Labyrinth - The 1986 movie starring David Bowie in tight pants. I don't know what this movie is doing on the list, but I loved it as a kid and it has forever etched a love for Jim Hensons' sense of aesthetics into my heart. I can't deny that it has had a profound impact on me.

6. Yellow Submarine - A movie that can best be summed up as "How many Beatles songs can we stuff into one animated film, while making absolutely no sense whatsoever?", I love this film in part because of the soundtrack and in part because it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. I guess they were successful in that sense.

7. The Fall - The 2006 movie starring Lee Pace. Of all the movies on this list, this would be the one I would recommend the loudest. It's absolutely fantastic, and if you haven't seen it already, do so. It's damn unique, without being best described as "drugs", as is the case with so many other movies on this list.

8. Waking Life - This movie is best described as "drugs".

9. Mulholland Drive - This movie is best described as "drugs and also AAAAAH WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON"

10. Hero - This is a very beautiful, aesthetically pleasing movie with deep themes of nationalism but also, surprisingly, of peace. Also, it's full of kung fu. This movie is in Chinese, making it the first movie to appear in this list which has no English-language dialogue in it.

11. Wall-E - You know why. You should know why.

12. Blues Brothers - Another movie with lots of music in it. It's a pretty film, mostly memorable for the great lines and all the great music.

13. Monty Python and the Holy Grail - Having spent over half my life quoting this movie, I feel it deserves a spot on this list. It may not be absolute genius like many of the other films here, but it's definitely a movie that's had a profound impact on my life.

14. Ronja Rövardotter - Well, something of Astrid Lindgren had to go on this list, and this is a film I've seen rather a lot. It's neat, it's pretty, and I like it. It's the second movie on this list with no English-language dialogue in it.

15. Beetlejuice - Another childhood favourite, and another movie that permanently engraved a love of a certain look in my mind. Much like Jim Henson, Tim Burton has very much affected what I think of as beautiful and interesting to look at.

16. Willow - This is a somewhat obscure fantasy movie I think, but I like it. One of the movies that I probably actually would not see again, but is on the list for having impressed me.

17. Jönssonligan - Okay, so this is technically cheating, given how it's eight movies and not one, but there's not really one of them that stands out above the others and putting all eight on the list would be excessive - I don't like them that much. I just felt they belonged on the list - slapstick comedy is my guilty pleasure, and these movies do it really, really well. This entry contains I think at least one movie with no dialogue in English, making it the third on the list.

18. The Dark Knight - Yep, this is a great film. All the ingredients are there. I would watch this movie again.

19. The Fifth Element - Really just here to announce the fact that I like sci-fi, this was the best sci-fi movie I could think of. There may be others that ought to take its place.

20. Watchmen - Thank you, Watchmen, for being a faithful adaption of a comic book series for once. Because of that, you get to be on the list.

21. The Princess Bride - I don't know how I could forget this movie. I love it. A lot.

22. Vacant

23. Vacant

24. Vacant

25. Vacant

As an overview, this means of my top 20 movies, only four are not entirely in English, and of those, two are in Swedish, one in Chinese, and one in some sort of linguistic potpurri. I will probably think of movies for the 5 vacant slots, but I can't think of any more right now.