My 5 favorite movies

1.  Afterhours -  Martin Scorcese at his most experimental.  This absurdist story of a man trying to get home while haunted by paperweight bagels rings true for me.  Perhaps, having first watched it while altered in college, I still find this movie fascinating--from the story, the acting, and especially the cinematography.  Like they said at the Globes, the Cecil B. DeMille award should be renamed the Scorcese.  This was a close call over his other movies,  Goodfellas and Casino.  The storytelling, violence, tracking shot into the Copa, and especially his musical tie-ins make Marty the best.

2.  Godfather 2 -  Slight edge over G 1, largely due to DeNiro as the young Don.  Possibly the best storytelling and acting ever.

3.  Reservoir Dogs -  Pulp Fiction or Inglorious Basterds probably could have made this list.  But Dogs is the movie where Tarantino bust onto the scene with some raw chutzpah and a unique cinematic style.

4.  Robin Hood -  The classic, no Kevin Costner, Men in Tights or upcoming Russell Crowe.  The story itself is timeless.  But it's the charisma of Errol Flynn that makes this make the list.  George Clooney, Clark Gable, or Clark Griswold are pale imitations.  And you can't beat the swashbuckling.

5.  Gone with the Wind - pure epic.  Before there were miniseries.  Avatar, rising like a bullet -- might knock this off the list with some time.

Honorable mentions:  avatar, swingers, princess bride, my blue heaven, fiddler, big lebowski