Kim Gentes

Asking someone what their top 16 movies are is a bit like asking what is the best food in the world. Answers will vary greatly. I do watch a lot of movies, but certainly not more than one a week, and often not that many. In my list of top movies you won't find me opining over the classics or reminiscing about nostalgic figures that pioneered the genre.

Admittedly, my list is obviously not derived from the heart and study of a true film buff in the classical sense. I do not watch a lot of older movies and don't appreciate the classical feel-good, moral lesson films such as "It's a Wonderful Life".  But I have noticed a common theme in movies I end up loving- almost all of the movies on my list attend to the human experience of pain, fear and loss (perhaps Star Wars being the one exception). Some of the films come to powerful, yet believable reconciliation (such as Five Minutes of Heaven), some in triumph (such as The Kings Speech), some in freedom (such as The Game, Schindlers List and Shawshank Redemption), and some languish in their pain (No Country for Old Men and The Return). But all are ultimately about the human confrontation of pain or suffering, whatever the outcome. Movies that press into the classic (ancient) understanding of Aristotelian virtue (and its Christian cousin in character development as taught by Jesus and Paul- thank you NT Wright) and the results of lives equipped with or without such qualities- that is what I love about stories and what I look for in movies. End of preach.

Very important note: many of these films are rated PG or R. This list is not meant as an endorsement of the content for children. In fact, many of the movies deal with topics and themes that are definitely not recommended for children, either by me or the movie ratings.  This is a list of great art in filmmaking, not just a family friendly list for your tribe. Parents should always review and preview movies before allowing their children to watch them and my list comes with that same cavaet.

Top 16 Movies in the Modern Era (60's to current) / in chronological order

1. The Virgin Spring (1960) / Ingmar Gergman
2. Star Wars (1977) / George Lucas
3. Schindlers List (1993) / Steven Speilberg
4. The Shawshank Remption (1994) / Frank Darabont
5. The Game (1997) / David Fincher
6. Life Is Beautiful (1997) / Roberto Benigni
7. The Passion of the Christ (2004) / Mel Gibson
8. The Return (2004) / Andrey Zvyagintsev
9. United 93 (2006) / Paul Greengrass
10. No Country for Old Men (2007) / Joel & Ethan Coen
11. Cloverfield (2007) / Matt Reeves
12. Lovely, Still (2008) / Nik Fackler
13. Five Minutes of Heaven (2009) / Oliver Hirschbiegel
14. The Kings Speech (2010) / Tom Hooper
15. Chronicle (2012) / Josh Trank
16. Lincoln (2012) / Steven Speilberg

Additions past 2012:

1. Nebraska (2013) / Alexander Payne

I hope you enjoy finding something in this list that challenges you, encourages you and inspires you.

What is missing?

After writing my list, I realized that a number of movies are missing that I love and they deserve your attention as well. As I mentioned above, I do consider those the best movies to see, yet they are all grouped into a catagory of films that deal with the human struggle against difficulty and triumph over pain.  But many movies don't have that agenda and are still worthwhile.  Here are a few that are good for other reasons, which I state.

• The Bourne Identity - best action movie, and action series (Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum are also excellent). No moral lessons, just great spy/action films!
• Zero Dark Thirty - intense, politico-military drama that plays lightly on the docu portion of docu-drama, but provides a great film for what really happened in the hunt for Usama Bin Laden.
• The Impossible - another true story, but about a family that survives one of the worst natural disasters in recorded history.
• The Princess Bride - just plain fun. One of the best, most quotable, family films.
• Star Trek (2009) - thrill ride reboot of one of the most enduring SCIFI franchises.
• Disconnect - this modern movie is a multi-threaded quadrilogy of age-old stories of fathers and sons, husbands and wives, and the exploited and exploiters.  This film is realistic and covers intense topics like sex-trade and suicide and bullying.
• Cinderella Man - 30's era film about a down-and-out boxing legend, James Braddock, who comes from poverty and obscurity to win the championship.

Be sure to leave your legendary recommendations for folks below!