4.10.2012

Movies I Feel I've, Honestly, Watched the Most

There is no way to accurately account for the number of times I've watched a film, so this list was compiled by going through the films that I know that I watch constantly, good and bad, and placing them in an order that "feels right" to me. These are movies that I watch when I just want to watch something, anything, because there's nothing on TV. The ones that constantly play on TV, and every single time I have to stop and watch. The ones I go to for solace, comfort, or escape. The ones that have been with me the longest, because I discovered them at a young age and, to date, have never let go. There aren't going to be a lot of great films on this list, because most great films aren't easily watched, consecutively that is. This list has nothing to do with how much I like the movie, but just the sheer amount of entertainment I get out of it again and again and again. I know all the dialogue (or most of it, anyway), where and when I first saw it, and each has memory upon memory and story upon story evoked when just the title is mentioned. So... without any further ado... here's the list of films I've watched the most in my life thus far.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  1. The Crow
  2. The Lost Boys
  3. Batman
  4. Ghostbusters
  5. Big Trouble In Little China
  6. The Princess Bride
  7. Moulin Rouge!
  8. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
  9. Transylvania 6-5000
  10. Labyrinth
  11. The Monster Squad
  12. Clue
  13. Aladdin
  14. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
  15. The Goonies
  16. Die Hard
  17. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
  18. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
  19. Aliens
  20. Beetlejuice
  21. Back to the Future
  22. Bram Stoker's Dracula
  23. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
  24. Conan: The Barbarian
  25. Teen Wolf
  26. Dazed and Confused
  27. National Lampoon's Vacation
  28. The Last Starfighter
  29. Ghostbusters II
  30. Willow
  31. The Matrix
  32. Stripes
  33. Howard the Duck
  34. Revenge of the Nerds
  35. An American Werewolf in London
  36. Real Genius
  37. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
  38. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
  39. Jurassic Park
  40. 12 Monkeys
  41. Stand By Me
  42. Predator
  43. Darkman
  44. The Neverending Story
  45. Se7en
  46. Spaceballs
  47. True Romance
  48. The Fugitive
  49. Top Secret!
  50. The Thing
  51. Hackers
  52. Total Recall
  53. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
  54. Fight Club
  55. The Frighteners
  56. Trading Places
  57. Jaws
  58. Tombstone
  59. Time Bandits
  60. Airplane!
  61. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
  62. A Christmas Story
  63. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
  64. UHF
  65. The Big Lebowski
  66. Meatballs
  67. The Shining
  68. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
  69. Legend
  70. The Three Amigos
  71. Forrest Gump
  72. Gremlins
  73. The Blues Brothers
  74. Rambo: First Blood Part II
  75. Dirty Rotten Soundrels
  76. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
  77. Mallrats
  78. Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn
  79. Clash of the Titans (1981)
  80. Tommy Boy
  81. The Fifth Element
  82. Heavy Metal
  83. Superman II
  84. Independence Day
  85. Hook
  86. Dick Tracy
  87. Parenthood
  88. Troll 2
  89. My Cousin Vinny
  90. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
  91. Demolition Man
  92. Major League
  93. Tank Girl
  94. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  95. Shrek 2
  96. Waxwork
  97. Home Alone
  98. Monsters, Inc.
  99. Explorers
  100. The 'Burbs

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

- Honorable Mention:

  1. Dark City
  2. Good Will Hunting
  3. High Fidelity
  4. JFK
  5. The Muppet Movie
  6. Pulp Fiction
  7. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut
  8. Snatch
  9. Trainspotting
  10. The Usual Suspects

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

- Movies That Will Be On the List Soon Enough:

  1. The Brothers Bloom
  2. The Departed
  3. Grindhouse
  4. King Kong
  5. Lucky Number Slevin
  6. Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World
  7. Sherlock Holmes
  8. Sin City
  9. Speed Racer
  10. Zombieland

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

If any of you feel like trying this list, my advice is to be honest with yourself. I mean, there are plenty of movies that I'd claim as an absolute favorite, but as I started the list I realized to my dismay that I don't watch them often enough to warrant a place on this list. Most of the time, it was because I purposefully don't watch certain movies a lot so that I won't get tired of them. That's why there aren't a lot of Nolan or Tarantino movies on the list, why "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Silence of the Lambs" are absent, and why Fincher's films aren't in my Top 10. Just be honest with yourself, and don't be afraid to include those embarrassing ones (like "Home Alone") that you know you've seen more times than you care to admit, whether you wanted to or not. It's about finding that balance of films you used to watch as a kid all the time and the ones that you've never outgrown and still watch. Or ones you've grown attached to as you've gotten older, or revisited and kept going back. Ask yourself, especially when it comes to films of the last decade, if you've really watched this newer film more than films from your childhood (it's harder the older you are). It's a hard list to attempt, but it's a lot of fun and worth the trip down memory lane you'll have once you can get it going.

This list is, in my opinion, one of the most personal lists I've come up with. It has nothing to do with how good the films are, in your eyes or anyone else's. It has nothing to do with anything other than your viewing habits, but those habits can tell a lot about a person. For instance, comedy is the genre that I don't tend to think of as a genre that is "me." I prefer darker, weirder, psychologically challenging films. Oddly enough, though, I realized that almost half of my list was comedies, so even though they aren't my all-time favorites I sure do watch them a lot. So in doing this list, I found out that I do, in fact, like watching comedies, despite what I previously had thought about my own viewing habits.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. I'm currently finishing up a mammoth list right now with my brother Trey, so stay tuned for that one.

- gARTh -

2 comments:

  1. I'm pretty sure you've watched Velvet Goldmine enough to put it square at number 84, at least :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've actually only watched Velvet Goldmine about 6 times. Partly because I didn't own it until recently (I always held out for a special edition, hoping the world would come to its sense and realize how awesome it is). I finally gave up and bought it, and then like 6 months later the blu ray came out. Se la vie.

    ReplyDelete