"Answers me these questions three..."

Bridgekeeper: "What is your favorite name?"

Gallahad: "Sir Gallahad of Camelot"
Bridgekeeper: "What is your quest?"
Gallahad: "To seek the Holy Grail"
Bridgekeeper: "What...is your favorite color?"
Gallahad: "Blue. NO yel...aaaagh!"

In response to my good friend Al's top ten list, I've included mine below:

1) Singin' in the Rain; I mean, come on: Debbie Reynolds is as cute as a button in this movie, and it's incredible to watch her try to keep her own with such greats as Gene Kelley, Donald O'Connor and Cyd Charisse -- wowsers, great legs on that one! The songs are great, the dancing is great: overall, it's a great piece of film history.

2) Star Wars; speaking of film history, Daa-Daa, da-da-da-DAAAA-da, da-da-da-DAAAA-da, da-da-da-daaaa (that's the opening credits music, by the way...I couldn't get the rights from John Williams ((greedy bastard)). Ironically, my top-two favorites movies of all time feature Reynolds women: Debbie Reynolds and, her daughter, Carrie Fischer.

3) Pulp Fiction; I learned alot from this movie: how to curse; what drugs you should and shouldn't mix together; that people had sex using more than one orifice...thanks Quentin! But beyond these factors, my favorite elements are the non-linear storytelling and mystery of what the hell's in the briefcase? Gotta love the dialogue, which I can't exactly quote here, so I won't bother...

4) CLUE; well this little chestnut is the movie that keeps on giving, literally. Tim Curry provides an absolute tour-de-force, and he's got quite the little cast of characters around him. This movie was my high-school get together go-to: we watched it all the time, including, I think, on multiple New Years Eves, right Sarah?

5) Hunt for Red October; Alec Baldwin in a big-budget movie? Yep, and held his own that's for sure. One of my favorite moments occurs when they push in on the Soviet officer speaking Russian, and as they reach a close-up on his mouth his dialogue switches from Russian to English.

6) Monty Python/Holy Grail; I can still quote whole sections of this movie -- and it's so outlandish a concept that it still seems fresh and original every time I watch; but I absolutely howl when I see the Killer Rabbit -- and my laugh is not your average exhortation, you know?

7) Psycho; Another Perkins, what more needs to be said? Oh, well of course there's the music by Bernard Hermann.

8) West Side Story; Two musicals in the top ten...it's pretty hard to disagree with this choice, though, isn't it?

9) Russian Ark; this 90-minute film was shot entirely in one take throughout the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. Using a cast of thousands, including multiple string orchestras, and set over two different eras, this film grabs you by the scruff of the neck and doesn't let go...rent it immediately! This film was so amazing that my father could sleep through it, almost entirely, and wake up clapping.

10) Jaws; da....dem, da....dem, da-dem, da-dem, da-dem, da-dem, da-da-DEM. Another great score, great story and great one liners ("I think you're gonna need a bigger boat"). To this day, I still get freaked out in the ocean.


Runner ups: Blade Runner; Rear Window; Batman -- the Tim Burton film w/Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson and a soundtrack by Prince!; Amadeus; My Architect, a documentary about the architect Louis Kahn.