My All-Time Favorite Films: #20-11

#20: It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
I think like a lot of people, It's a Wonderful Life ranks up there with their major Christmas memories. It's a classic American film always shown at the holidays, but that alone should prove it's timelessness. 61 years later and I still have to see it at least once a year.

#19: Green Street Hooligans (2005)
This movie ranks way up on my list because of how it grabbed me. I actually saw this movie while living in England, and it's the story of an American who moves to England and gets swept up in the soccer hooligan culture. I didn't beat up people, though.

#18: Glory (1989)
If you watched this in history class, raise your hand. If you'd watch it right now if it were on TV, raise your hand. For a history nut, and specifically a Civil War nut like me, I could watch it over and over. The story is gripping, the acting is fantastic, and the experience is heartfelt.

#17: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
When I first saw this movie in junior high, I laughed until I cried (can't remember with who, though). Now I watch it and I still laugh uncontrollably, so apparently my sense of humor hasn't matured. Or had it matured already by junior high? So ni!

#16: The Matrix (1999)
Considering that I walked into this movie ONLY because Star Wars was sold out, I can't believe I got what I paid for and more. I was an instant fan of the bullet-time technology and the mind-f*ck of a storyline, it's just too bad the sequels couldn't live up to the hype.

#15: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
I have been a fan of this movie for a decade, and I will always be a fan. I own the entire collection on widescreen DVD. But who can think of any other movie that makes being something as inocuous as an archaeologist seem so cool? Now, if only I had studied history...

#14: Master and Commander (2003)
I was a huge fan of the Aubrey/Maturin series before the movie came out, so getting to see "Lucky Jack" come alive on the screen was a real thrill. The movie, like the book, didn't lean on action, rather, it immersed you in life aboard a war vessel in the early 1800's.

#13: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Possibly the only way to make the Indiana Jones series any better is to add a badass actor like Sean Connery to the mix. Having Indy's dad as a character in the movie brought an element of humanity to an otherwise seemingly flawless character.

#12: Jurassic Park (1993)
Like every boy who grew up playing with dinosaurs, I remember how cool it felt to watch them come alive on the screen. They seemed so realistic to my young mind, and the story seemed plausible. Now that I'm grown up, I still hope that they really do walk the earth some day.

#11: GoldenEye (1995)
Well, this is the movie that set off the phenomenon for me. I didn't see this movie until it was out on video, but from then on, it's been all about Bond for me. It's still my favorite modern Bond movie, and who doesn't love playing GoldenEye on the Nintendo 64?