Ash's Favorite Movies (Top 10)
10. Mortal Kombat 2021
Mad Max used to sit in this spot but has been moved over for a new contender. For many years after the 90's versions of this movie, fans were eager for this anthology to get a reboot and all we got was lame fake YouTube teases. For about 24yrs this franchise was left untouched by Hollywood because the fear of another box office bomb was likely to terrifying for anyone to take on...until 2021. This version of MK was better than the original (I adored the 1st original one) and that in itself is a very difficult task to achieve. I find that I can watch this version multiple times and the story felt way more authentic...even for a wildly impossible story. Giving these characters a more realistic feel, bringing us breath-taking fatalities and way better updated visual effects made me add this to my list of tops.
Early warning: You're going to see Quentin Tarantino's name a lot on this list. I've come to embrace he's my favorite director. Inglorious Basterds was #2 of 3 films that I watched with subtitles that I loved so much, I ended up forgetting the movie had subtitles (Pans Labyrinth and Parasite being the other 2 films). Christoph Waltz was just as new to me as an actor as he was to everyone else and little did I know he would end up on my top 10 list again with Django. Brad Pitt (who will also end up on this list again) was at his very best but then again every movie he is in is amazing so I think it became a fate of pulling together the perfect cast as only Tarantino can continuously do. I am very tuned in and interested in World War 2 movies and I feel like this movie gave a different spin on life in those times. I was rooting for Shoshawna the whole movie and loved that even with her fate she came out a victor!
9. Inglorious Basterds
8. Goodfellas
I'm almost positive the first person who made me watch this and Scarface was my brother. He was very big on making sure I watched all the classic mob movies but I must say this movie and Scarface stay close to my favorites. Scarface did not make this list but Goodfellas certainly did. I think what makes this movie one of my top favorites of all time is that not only can I watch it numerous times on end but the stellar cast that makes it the symphony it has become. Like most mob movies it is incredibly long however to date, The Irishman has now taken that crown. The difference is sometimes you don't FEEL like a movie is running 3-4 hours (The Godfather feels like 3 hrs, The Irishman felt like 24 lol). The only other mafia movie outside of Goodfellas that didn't make me feel like I was watching for hours and I wanted to see more of the story was American Gangster.
This movie and it's life lessons still affect me to this day. 2 of the biggest lessons I learned from this movie? 1- Peoples' line of empathy rarely goes past themselves and their loved ones...there are so few people willing to help the next generation or even the one after that. 2- 100% honesty with emotional beings is rarely the most diplomatic or strategic option. To the common moviegoer those 2 concepts are going to go right over their head but for me it was life changing and really changed the way I viewed the world and how I moved in it. I cried so much during this movie and every single time I watch it I learn something new. Christopher Nolan is another great director of my generation who does appear on this list again. Interstellar does wonders for the human mind and makes you question everything and everyone around you.
7. Interstellar
6. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
I told you Tarantino would be back and he's not done yet! I think every person I talked to was not a fan of this movie because they thought it was boring and drawn out (my brother actually fell asleep lol) but I adored it the very first moment I saw it. Hardcore Tarantino fans didn't even like this one but I also have a twist to loving and understanding this movie. I'm very much into murder mystery and I'll admit I would have loved more if this was based off of Charlie Mansons life and played by DiCaprio but it turned out to be a totally different movie entirely. Like Inglorious Basterds, this was how Tarantino put his twist on the terrible Tate murders that took place in the Hollywood Hills. From the artful dialogue to my favorite scenes (Brad Pitt visiting Spawn Ranch and the murders at the end) this movie was pure perfection and one I can watch repeatedly.
5. Oppenheimer
Only a Christopher Nolan film can beat out another Nolan film on this list. The Dark Knight it still the GOAT of a generation but Oppenheimer changed real life and cinematic life past, present and future. The film was so beautifully choreographed in every way and like Interstellar makes you look at life in a new and profound way. One of the scariest things in life is being forced to create a weapon of mass destruction simply because other human beings want superiority over everyone. The Natzis were a force that the world wanted exterminated for obvious reasons but for a man to lose his soul in order to get them to behave is heart breaking. More importantly then that an entire country (a beautiful one at that) had to be intimidated to back down and the entire concept behind the film is too powerful to ignore on many levels. This (to me) was one of the most profound films in at least the last decade and certainly takes a few viewings to feel the effects. The subject matter is heavy and if you pair it with the tv special (showing the after math effects of what it did to the Japanese people) it becomes even harder to watch.
4. Django Unchained
I can't help that Quentin just makes some of the best movies on film so I won't apologize for having him continuously on this list. Django Unchained was another movie that I did not nearly expect to like as much as I did. Yet again an incredible cast as usual, but the chemistry between Foxx and Waltz was so magical to see on screen and had me interested in slave history and how the movie would play out. On top of all that it broke my heart that DiCaprio wasn't nominated for his role in this movie. I'm grateful Waltz yet again won an award for his role but man DiCaprio literally bled for this role. I have never in my life seen him in this kind of element and it is the type of acting that makes you wonder... is that who he is in real life? RDJ has done it with Iron Man and other actors have successfully done it in their careers as well but the role was just masterfully played and Kerry Washington was another stellar standout role in this film.
It was only proper that I allow both of these movies to take the #3 spot because they are both on equal playing fields. When I saw Kill Bill V1 I adored everything about it. I have never really been into Kung-Fu style movies outside of the Matrix (which just missed this list at #11) but this movie changed that entirely. One thing I love about Tarantino is that all his movies have such different concepts and directions (Death Proof also missed this list but is a favorite of mine). Kill Bill V2 was a movie I actually enjoyed more than V1 which is a rare thing to do in Hollywood. I will never forget that scene where B is buried alive and has to use her training and patience to get out of her own grave, I mean reality speaking that would never happen lol. I also enjoyed the Super Man speech Bill compares B to at the end. Both Volumes are cinematic gold that will forever be on my top all time list.
3. Kill Bill V1 & V2
2. The Avengers
Not much needs to be said here as I put it pretty clear in my Marvel all time list as to why this is #2. I will give the quick version without sounding to repetitive but The Avengers movie was un-like anything people had ever seen on screen before. 6 of the biggest hero's all with their own movies, strengths and weaknesses coming together to defeat one of the best villains in movie history. Even though Infinity War was my favorite of all The Avengers movies, this classic will forever live in the top all time list, an accomplishment that Infinity War cannot claim.
1. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
To many this is going to seem very odd. Most of the movies on this list are Oscar winners and special effect masters and here sits this movie at #1. Willy Wonka will forever remain #1 not because of anything outside of the message and hope this movie has given me my entire life. Here is Charlie a boy of extreme poverty and what seems to be no hope of standing out or escaping his circumstances. Charlie believes that he is special and deserves a golden ticket more than any of the kids he's soon to encounter and many he may never meet. Everyone around him tells him if he doesn't find the winning ticket it's no different than anything else that happens in life. Charlie found this ticket not with chunks of money or fame or notoriety but by believing in himself and what he wants for himself and his family. A boy who is kind, humble and down right good ends up getting one of the best prizes of a lifetime. If that doesn't give you hope in humanity I don't know what else will.