Top Ten Mike Movies of All Time

I really like movies. I like seeing them in the theater... I like watching them on DVD. I don't see nearly as many as I would like to see and sometimes I have a hard time staying awake on the couch at the end of a long week. But there are certain types of movies that just strike a chord with me.

I have put together a list of my top ten movies of all time. There are certainly many other movies that I really enjoyed that didn't make the list. . I realized as I made the list that all of the movies on the list have some things in common. None were humongous box office hits, but some did pretty well. Most are a little quirky. Most have a good heart at their essence. Many will be enjoyed just as much 20 years after their release as they were the day they opened. I still quote lines from most of them throughout my daily life. All of them have touched a part of me in one way or another. They are all too great to rank so they are being listed alphabetically.

If there are any on the list that you have not seen, please go break out the Blockbuster card. If you don't like it after my recommendation, let me know and I'll send you a bag of microwave popcorn...

Best in Show - This is the best of several enjoyable, mostly improvisational movies by Christopher Guest & company. It is a set as a documentary following the entrants of a dog show.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Trippy visuals, heart touching and breaking love story. Very unique.

The Natural - Timeless baseball story. Touches the little kid in me. It's a baseball fairytale and the oldest movie on this list.

The Princess Bride - Speaking of fairy tales... Now, I know you all have seen and loved this movie. It has it all - humor, adventure, romance, catchphrases. "Inconceivable!"

Pulp Fiction - I am on record as being an anti-gun/anti-violence guy, but this movie is more about the dialogue than the action when you really watch it. I've never laughed so much in a movie where people were getting killed. Another movie chock full of quotable quotes. Jules is the coolest MFer is movie history. "Check out the big brain on Brett" among a hundred cool lines.

Raising Arizona - The Coen brothers vacillate between "awesome" and "I don't get it". I am rarely indifferent about their movies. This was a homerun. It was funny and had a heart. There are many quotable lines here to. "They got more than they can handle."

Rushmore - Max is my hero. There are great conflicts in this movie. First Max against the school. Then Max against Bill Murray. He tries so hard. This is a Wes Anderson movie and he is always great! "Tell that Mick he just made my list of things to do today"

Shaun of the Dead - I love this movie! Best horror movie ever. Another movie with a lot of blood that makes me laugh and laugh. But the movie somehow has a heart as well. Simon Pegg and the other writer also made Hot Fuzz. Mike's movie of 2007!

Singles - Best soundtrack in movie history! It still rocks the house. Great intertwining story of friends and lovers in their 20's. I think I was still in my 20's when it came out.

Stranger Than Fiction - This is the most recent movie on the list. Will Ferrell in a straight role. The movie is odd and touching and inspiring.

Ok. Fine. I'll rank the top 5...

5. Raising Arizona

4. The Princess Bride

3. Pulp Fiction

2. Shaun of the Dead

1. Rushmore