10 movies to see before you die!

Hi, all.

I’ve always wanted to do a ’50 movies to watch before you die’ list. 50 is a rather large number so I decided to limit it to 10. It was super hard because I love so many movies, but here we go (in no particular order):

Spirited Away- Everything Studio Ghibli puts out is phenomenal, but this is by far my favorite of the bunch. This Japanese animated film follows a girl who gets lost and finds herself in a bathhouse for spirits. Yes, it sounds creepy, but it’s so charming and beautifully animated. There’s a [small] chance you may not enjoy it, but at least you can say that you’ve seen an authentic anime.

Kill Bill- Quentin Tarantino is my favorite director but I limited myself to one of his movies because if I didn’t, half of this list would be his movies. Kill Bill is definitely my favorite, though. It’s about a woman (unnamed in Vol. 1) who sets out to exact revenge on her former boss and colleagues who murder everyone at her wedding rehearsal, including her fiancé. Action, gore, and awesome directing make this a classic.

The Matrix- The film responsible for bullet time is also one of the most original, complex, and innovative films of the last twenty years. Years after humans have lost a battle against intelligent machines, a group of humans attempt to free others from the captivity of the robots, which use them as batteries and have them plugged into a digital reality known as the Matrix. While it may be difficult to understand, it’s impossible to hate.

A Clockwork Orange- Based on the novel of the same name, it follows delinquent Alex DeLarge as the government puts him through an experimental procedure to cure him of badness. Stanley Kubrick has so many great movies (and it was hard to choose this over 2001: A Space Odyssey), but this one always makes me feel so uncomfortable. Kubrick further explores the power of sound in film, and it totally pays off here.

Star Wars: A New Hope- I don’t think there’s a person alive who doesn’t know about Star Wars. A New Hope takes it back to the franchise’s origins and reminds us that science fiction movies can have characters that we care about. This movie broke so many barriers and has a legacy that I can’t imagine ever being matched.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring- The plot is literally too intense to summarize, but it’s a must watch for anyone who has ever liked adventure. The adventure is on an epic scale; seriously, the only thing I can compare it to is an epic like The Odyssey. Everything is wonderful about this one, guys; the scenery, plot, score, characters, and script. It’s. Just. AWESOME.

Black Swan- Darren Aronofsky once again explores psychological illness in a drama/thriller. Nina becomes obsessed with landing the role of the Swan Queen in Swan Lake. Her paranoia of losing the role to another ballerina haunts her incessantly. It’s beautiful, twisted, and uncomfortable to watch.

Doubt- This movie has the best ensemble acting that I know. It’s about a nun (Meryl Streep) who attempts to expose her priest of child molestation. Drama ensues and the ending keeps the audience guessing. It’s so well acted that it earned four acting nominations at the Academy Awards.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind- A tragic love story of a couple who gets a procedure to erase each other from their minds. The movie follows their fading memories as the procedure is completed. It was refreshing to see such an original idea on screen.  The screenplay is especially great.

The Wizard of Oz- A classic about a girl whose house crash lands in the wonderful world of Oz. She makes friends as she treks to Oz in hopes of finding a wizard who will help her return home. It’s iconic, it’s fun and scary, and Judy Garland sings one of the most recognizable songs of all time. And there are munchkins.

Chances are you've seen most of these, but definitely try to find any ones you haven’t seen. Let me know what you think of my list what's in your '10 movies to see before you die.' Thanks for reading.