15 Movies in 15 Minutes

Okay, so it's a Facebook meme, but I felt like posting it here too. And now that you've read it, you must post it on your own blog. Go. Now. Wait, read mine first, then go.

Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen movies you've seen that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.

Mine are fairly evenly split between those that rocked and those that sucked. Some stuck with me because I loved them so hard...others because the crappiness reached Biblical proportions.

1. The Usual Suspects - Because the ending just kicked so much ass. One of the few movies I'll actually watch over and over and over. Storytelling WIN.

2. Walk The Line - Impure thoughts about pre-batshit Joaquin Phoenix aside, I loved this movie.

3. feardotcom - Rarely have I witnessed such an astonishing achievement of EPIC FAIL.

4. Cabin Fever - See #3.

5. Alexander - Similar to #3 and #4...how is it possible to make a film about one of the greatest military commanders in history and make it fail SO BADLY? Even the eyecandy in that film (Angelina Jolie, Colin Farrell, Jared Leto, and Jonathon Rhys Meyers) couldn't make this film rise from the ashes of piss poor storytelling, painfully bad dialogue, and its own squeamishness about manlove. Not to mention the Golden Orbs of Blond Wiggery. Oliver Stone, you are off my Christmas card list.

6. Gladiator - I'm willing to forgive some of the historical liberties that were taken because this film was just too fucking cool. And it wasn't just pre-batshit crazy Joaquin Phoenix (though this was the film that put him on my radar) or a fit, half-naked Russell Crowe...the cinematography was gorgeous, the story was engaging, and...oh who am I kidding? Evil, sneering Joaquin Phoenix. End of story.

7. The X-Files, I Want To Believe This Movie Doesn't Suck - Also similar to #5. As a card-carrying X-Phile from the very beginning, I have yet to come to terms with just how bad this movie really was and on how many levels. Chris Carter, you are also off my Christmas card list.

8. American Beauty - Loved it. Always have. Always will.

9. Boys Don't Cry - This movie followed me around for WEEKS afterward.

10. Crash (the one by Cronenberg...this one) - Total mindfuck. The kind of weirdness one would expect from Cronenberg.

11. Atonement - If you've seen it, you get it.

12. 1984 - For obvious reasons. That, and I have never seen any other film that followed a book that closely. I had just read 1984 that morning (cover to cover), so it was fresh in my mind, and the film was strikingly true to the book.

13. The Others - Not the world's greatest film, but I loved it. Mostly stuck with me as a writer, though, not a viewer. I walked away thinking "I HAVE to learn how to add a twist LIKE THAT to one of my stories".

14. The Bucket List - Any movie that emphasizes the philosophy of "life is short, live like there's no tomorrow" is a winner in my book. Throw in some Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, and the win just never ceases.

15. The Shawshank Redemption - Will probably always be among my top 10 favorite movies ever. It just is. So there.

Okay, now you've read mine. Go post your own. NOW! GO!