101 Favorite Movies for 2008

With the Oscars last weekend and my best picks ever (22 of 24, though the winners were relatively predictable), I thought now would be as good a time as any to post my list of favorite films. It changes from year to year, and here area a few caveats for the list:

• My list is heavily subjective and in many cases is based on personal sentiment more than any critical consensus.
• I must see a film at least twice as a prerequisite. Often my opinion and enjoyment changes significantly on future viewings.
• A film must have been released at least one (1) year prior to the list largely to avoid undue credit stemming from the recent viewing.

The List:

1. The Shawshank Redemption
2. It’s a Wonderful Life
3. Pulp Fiction
4. Jerry Maguire
5. When Harry Met Sally . . .
6. The Silence of the Lambs
7. Amelie
8. Breakfast at Tiffany’s
9. Sense and Sensibility
10. The Fisher King
11. Notting Hill
12. Brazil
13. Fight Club
14. About a Boy
15. The Royal Tenenbaums
16. Trainspotting
17. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
18. The Empire Strikes Back
19. Lord of the Rings
20. Rain Man
21. Heathers
22. Annie Hall
23. The Godfather
24. Say Anything
25. Fargo
26. This Is Spinal Tap
27. Groundhog Day
28. The Freshman
29. Kill Bill
30. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
31. Scent of a Woman
32. Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade
33. The Third Man
34. Finding Nemo
35. Lawrence of Arabia
36. The Muppet Movie
37. Rear Window
38. Mother
39. Spider-Man
40. Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban
41. The 40-Year-Old Virgin
42. Toy Story 2
43. Dr. Strangelove: . . .
44. American Splendor
45. Raiders of the Lost Ark
46. Home Alone
47. Amadeus
48. Die Hard
49. Back to the Future
50. Clueless
51. The Incredibles
52. Millions
53. Office Space
54. Magnolia
55. Almost Famous
56. Beauty and the Beast
57. Ocean’s Eleven
58. Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels
59. Quiz Show
60. Grosse Pointe Blank
61. The Godfather Part II
62. The Truman Show
63. Dave
64. Four Weddings and a Funeral
65. The Last Emperor
66. Searching for Bobby Fischer
67. Aliens
68. Boogie Nights
69. Fried Green Tomatoes
70. The Dinner Party
71. Best in Show
72. M:I:3
73. Swingers
74. Little Miss Sunshine
75. Parenthood
76. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
77. Lost in Translation
78. Before Sunset
79. Rushmore
80. Singles
81. Dead Poets Society
82. Get Shorty
83. Some Kind of Wonderful
84. Major League
85. A Bug’s Life
86. Run Lola Run
87. Frankie & Johnny
88. The War of the Roses
89. Edward Scissorhands
90. Glory
91. The Matrix
92. The Goonies
93. Manhattan
94. Galaxy Quest
95. While You Were Sleeping
96. Shall We Dance? (Japanese Original)
97. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
98. School of Rock
99. High Fidelity
100. The Hunt for Red October
101. Napoleon Dynamite

Top Five Holiday Movies

With the holidays here, many of us will be spending a lot of time with those people who are most important to us. Along those lines, I surveyed some of my family and friends, specifically those with whom I have watched the most movies during my lifetime, and asked for their five (5) favorite holiday movies. Coincidentally, they are the people (excluding the priest) who stood closest to me on the wedding altar. Feel free to discuss or add to you Netflix queue.

My List:
1. It's a Wonderful Life
2. About a Boy
3. Millions
4. Home Alone
5. Die Hard

About a Boy is a subtle Christmas movie, starting and ending with the holiday and relying on the royalties from "Santa's Super Sleigh." If that is too much of a stretch, you can switch it out with Brazil, which takes place completely at Christmastime, even though I do not really consider it to be a Christmas movie.

Jenn, my bride:
1. Love Actually
2. Millions
3. While You Were Sleeping
4. Family Man
5. Muppet Christmas Carol

K.C. (Br. Philip), my brother and best man:
1. It’s a Wonderful Life
2. Home Alone
3. Die Hard
4. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
5. Millions

I guess it makes sense that my brother and I would have so many similar favorite movies. We used to watch Home Alone every year together. We even quoted the Pepsi commercial at the beginning of the VHS tape. Unfortunately, the more current dvd did not retain the commercial.

Jamie, one of the groomsmen:
1. Bad Santa
2. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
3. Christmas Story
4. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
5. Love Actually

Brian, the other groomsmen: (in no particular order)
It's A Wonderful Life
Miracle on 34th Street
Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
Muppet Family Christmas
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

I welcome you to leave your suggestions for overlooked holiday films as a comment here or in an email.