#4 Greatest Movie of All Time

Here we are…#4 greatest movie of all time on our Top 10 Movies of All Time list! We’re getting into the good ones now, the ones that mean the most. The title may be a little misleading…these aren’t necessarily the greatest movies of all time, but they’re the ones our Braintrust loves the most. Each braintrustee has their own criteria, it may have to do with the characters, storyline, soundtracks, acclaim, and/or nostalgia. A little late to our movie countdown? Have no fear. If you missed the others, here are #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, and #10.

Kai – “Interstellar”

I’ve never watched a Christopher Nolan movie that I didn’t like.  Between the epic soundtracks, the beautiful and varied cinematography, great characters and casting, and innovative plot structures, Nolan really hits a lot of the notes that I love about movies.  Interstellar is no different, except on top of all that, it’s an epic space movie, my favorite genre.

Interstellar is set in a distant, dystopian future where the Earth is dying, along with any chance of survival for humanity.  Our last chance is a small ship led by “Coop”, played by Matthew McConaughey.  The ship is instructed to find and colonize a habitable planet while the survivors on Earth, led by Coop’s daughter (Jessica Chastain) attempt to build a “gravitational drive” to evacuate the rest of the populace.  Needless to say, things don’t go according to plan, with many surprises along the way.

The movie was definitely worth seeing in a big screen, as the visuals are absolutely stunning.  In the end, like most Nolan films, the best part of Interstellar is the relationship between the characters.  The emotional resonance of Coop and his daughter’s relationship carry the movie through to its powerful ending.

Andrew – “Titanic”

I have a love story thing and a James Cameron thing. 

Sophie – “Inside Out” (2015)

This lovable, animated movie takes a look inside the brain of 11-year-old Railey as she moves across the country and is forced to start over in a new city. While the movie is full of fun characters and very interesting ideas about the brain, it also looks at the inevitable point in any human’s life when sadness turns from something we feel, to a part of who we are.

Po – “Kill Bill Vol.1″

My favorite Tarantino. I could watch it a million times in a row — it’s a great deal better than the sequel (which I also love), and I’d say it still contains my favorite ending of any movie. Uma Thurman rules. Quick sidetone — when you watch it, you’ll agree that there’s nothing better than Hattori Hanzo writing “BILL” on the window.

Randy – “The Graduate”

Simon and Garfunkel wrote songs for my generation and most of the iconic songs they wrote are on the soundtrack of The Graduate: “The Sound of Silence” “Mrs. Robinson” “Scarborough Fair/Canticle“. Dustin Hoffman plays Benjamin Braddock, just graduated from an Ivy League college and totally lost about what to do next in life. None of his parents’ generation pay any attention to his angst until Mrs. Robinson, his father’s partner’s wife seduces him. She doesn’t care about Ben either. Hoffman’s eloquent inability to express his angst represented what many of us felt about what to do with our lives in a capitalist society whose goals didn’t interest us. (Sound familiar?) Anne Bancroft is chilling as Mrs. Robinson, and beautiful Katherine Ross plays her daughter, Elaine Robinson, who Ben falls for and that drives the rest of the movie. Buck Henry (who wrote the screenplay with Calder Willingham) has a hilarious bit part as the hotel clerk that Ben must face to get a room for him and Mrs. Robinson. Above all Mike Nichol’s direction illuminates the humor in the humanity of people disconnected from their feelings. 

Scott – “Ex Machina”

Hungry – “Blade”

It’s hard to believe there are only three more movies after this, and like Blade, two of them are part of a series. Similar to one of the others left, Blade is the first movie in the series and, in my opinion, the best. Even if the other two Blade movies didn’t exist, this would still sit at #4.

It’s always funny when people talk about the new wave of Marvel superhero movies. It’s even funnier when they make it a racial conversation and talk about how revolutionary it is having Black Panther come out, since he represents the first black-lead in a superhero movie. I guess no one ever watched Blade. Wolverine and Deadpool were among my favorite superheroes growing up because they had tempers and weren’t all good… they had some evil in them. Deadpool was even a pure villain at one point before he went grey. Blade was in that same group, similar to Punisher… a vigilante character that flew solo and made his own rules.

This movie came out when I was 10 and as someone who was exposed to violence at a young age, I loved this stuff. Castlevania was one of my favorite video-game series and I couldn’t get enough of vampire hunting. Besides the amazing action scenes that were pulled out beautifully by Wesley Snipes, who is a martial artist himself, the soundtrack and settings created the perfect dark world that you don’t always see in modern superhero movies.

With quality acting, solid effects for the time and a very reasonable storyline, Blade remains one of my favorite, most-quotable movies. “There are worse things out tonight than vampires. Like what? Like me.”

Fit – “Pride & Prejudice” (2005)

A beautiful film throughout. A classic tale of a love story caught between the thorny web of classism of late 18th century England, this one brings me back every time. Keira Knightley as Elizabeth (Liz )Bennet, Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy, and Brenda Blethyn as Liz’s mother all do stand-out performances. Knightley and Macfadyen make you yearn for them to get together despite their stubborn rebuffs of each other with heartstring-pulling acting and fantastic chemistry. The entire Bennet family performs somewhat as a comedy as a lower-class family with a manic mother trying to marry off her five daughters. 

This love story is set on a backdrop of awe-inspiring and beautiful cinematography and an all-the-feels soundtrack. Some of what I remember best are the beautiful shots of Liz travelling through the English countryside with a gorgeous piece of piano and violin playing in the background. There’s a quiet, subtle beauty to the entirety of the film.

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That wraps up another week of movies. No duplicates on this one, but I’m sure as we get to the Top 3, we will see some more heavy-hitters! Do you like any of the movies on this list? Please share in the comments. And as always, stay hungry and fit!