by Jeanna

Created on: February 27, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

"The top ten movies of all time"-I know we've all got our mental lists. My top ten will probably not align completely with yours, but that's the beauty of the subjective nature of experiencing art of any kind-your tastes are defined by who you are and your own unique experience.

1. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Please do not confuse this with the recent update starring Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac. The original, starring a young Sidney Poitier, as well as James Stewart and Katharine Hepburn, was simply incredible. It delicately blends humor and tragedy and disappointment and joy-it's like a little slice of real life on the screen. It closely examines racism from both sides while proving beyond a shadow of a doubt the ridiculousness of judgment based on race. Plus, Katharine Hepburn firing her obnoxious, insensitive, bigoted employee is one of the best scenes I have ever seen in a film.

2. The Third Man. This one makes nearly every film buff's top ten list, and for good reason. The story is compelling, the characters are engaging, it's beautifully shot, and it's Welles' best film, in my humble opinion. Enough said.

3. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I am a huge fan of Tolkien's work, and Peter Jackson and his group really did an incredible job of bringing such an intricate story and complex characters successfully to the screen. These books were adapted with great respect for the author and sincere love for the stories, and it shows.

4. The Royal Tenenbaums. What incredible talent is required to do what Wes Anderson does; to bring his eccentric characters to life onscreen. This film is his best so far, in my opinion, although I've enjoyed his other work tremendously. There's not a performance in this film that is short of brilliant.

5. Sunset Boulevard. What I love most about this film is the timeless depiction of the disposable nature of celebrity. This is not something that was unique to the time period-just ask the people on the Surreal Life. Gloria Swanson's depiction of a falling star descending into madness is absolutely unparalleled.

6. The Big Lebowski. The Dude. This is a really fun, entertaining, surreal movie. Jeff Bridges nails this performance as the aging, laid-back, stoner Lebowski, not to be confused with the titular Big Lebowski. The plot centers around a rug, which happens to pull the room together, and features rich people, nihilists, bowling, a lot of chaos and confusion, and a crazy Vietnam vet portrayed by John Goodman. This is my very favorite

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