twenty-five
2004-10-21, 8:02 p.m.

Okay, Jason, here's my final (for now) Top 25. My rules were: I need to want to watch it again and again (so lots of very well-made films didn't make the list, like Welcome To The Dollhouse), and I tried not to have two of anything by one director or of anything too similar.

All About Eve
Bill: Remind me to tell Eve about the time I looked into the wrong end of a camera.
Margo: Remind me to tell YOU about the time I looked into the hearrrrt of an artichoke.

Bob Roberts
These times they are a-changin' back.

Cabaret
Even the orchestra is beautiful.

Casablanca
This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Casino
In Vegas, everybody's gotta watch everybody else. Since the players are looking to beat the casino, the dealers are watching the players. The box men are watching the dealers. The floor men are watching the box men. The pit-bosses are watching the floor men. The shift-bosses are watching the pit-bosses. The casino manager is watching the shift-bosses. I'm watching the casino manager. And the eye-in-the-sky is watching us all.

Chung King Express
This is the only Wong Kar Wai film I've ever seen.

Crimes & Misdemeanors
In which we learn it might be scarier to get away with murder than not.

Crooklyn
I really like pretty much everything Spike Lee does, but this one grabs my heart.

Empire Strikes Back
Speak backwards why always Yoda does?

Eyes Wide Shut
I could talk to you for hours about this film. Plus it made me realize I don't hate Nicole Kidman.

Fight Club
do. you. know. tyler. durden.

Ice Storm, The
Who knew a Japanese man (Ang Lee) could capture America in the Seventies so well?

Jackie Brown
Louuuuis, where'd ya park the car Louuuuis?

Lost in Translation
Next to "Where Is My Mind" at the end of Fight Club, my favorite use of a song at the end of a movie ever: "Just Like Honey" by the Jesus & Mary Chain.

Magnolia
Cats and dogs out there.

Mulholland Drive
Wait. Mulholland Drive? We don't stop here.

Morvern Callar
I never ever want to go to Ibeza. But I do love this film.

People vs. Larry Flynt
Woody Harrelson was more than bearable, Courtney Love got a nomination. And hellooo Ed Norton.

Player, The
It was hard choosing which Altman film. This won by a nose over Nashville

Pretty In Pink
Though I think Breakfast Club is superior, I have seen it so many times it fell off the list.

Rules of the Game
Although I generally don't like farce, this is a very good one. It's sort of the European equivalent of Citizen Kane. Audiences hated it when it was first released, but now it's considered a groundbreaking classic.

Run, Lola, Run
Mannnniiiieeeeeee!

Sex, Lies & Videotape
Just re-watched this recently. It holds up surprisingly well with time. I love you, James Spader. And Peter Gallagher.

Trainspotting
I chose not to choose life. I chose something else.

X-Files, Fight the Future
My Mulder. My Scully. When are they making that follow-up movie? PLEASE, 1013, please.