My 150 Favorite Movies - #71

The Killing (1956)

Stanley Kubrick directed this pretty early on in his career, and it has proved hugely influential to filmmakers as diverse as Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs) and Sidney Lumet (Dog Day Afternoon). Basically a heist caper (have I mentioned that's my favorite genre?), taking place at the racetrack, The Killing features such notorious film noir actors as Sterling Hayden and Elisha Cook Jr. This is the film that put Kubrick  on the map, after viewing it, Kirk Douglas hired him to direct Paths of Glory.

My 150 Favorite Movies - #72

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Michel Gondry directed this futuristic romantic drama about two people so destructively in love that they each pay money to have the other erased from their mind. Starring erstwhile comedic actor Jim Carrey, and frequently awarded leading lady Kate Winslet, also starring indie stalwarts Mark Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst, Tom Wilkinson, and Elijah Wood. The film won an Oscar for Best Screenplay for groundbreaking screenwriter Charlie Kaufman. Ranked as #82 on IMDB's ranking of the top 250 favorite films.

My 150 Favorite Movies - #73

Sideways (2004)

Another  delicious Alexander Payne comedy, this one a bromance between two delightfully flawed gentlemen on a wine-tasting tour before one of their number gets wed. A career resurgence for Wings' Thomas Haden Church, and a step up to stardom for unlikely leading man Paul Giamatti. Also starring Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh, as two of the not so lucky ladies in their lives.

My 150 Favorite Movies - #74

The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

Remade several times, including In the Good Old Summertime (1949), with Van Johnson and Judy Garland, and You've Got Mail (1998), starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, (also as a Broadway musical called She Loves Me, from 1963), this 1940 version is by far the best. Starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan, at the absolute peak of their winsomeness, the story unfolds as a couple of coworkers who dislike each other, pursue romance on paper with mystery pen pals. Reportedly, this was director Ernst Lubitsch's personal favorite of all his films. The final scenes of the film are among the most romantic moments ever captured on celluloid.

My 150 Favorite Movies - #75

Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
Following her appearance as a dangerous femme fatale in Double Indemnity, Barbara Stanwyck starred in this romantic comedy, about a woman whose domestic goddess credentials only exists on paper. When called upon to act the part for her boss, she panics, and accepts a proposal from a longtime suitor she really doesn't much care for. The whole thing takes place over the Christmas holidays (hence the title), and Stanwyck receives an able assist from an all-star supporting cast, including S.Z. Sakall, Sydney Greenstreet, Dennis Morgan, and Reginald Gardiner. One of the most charming movies ever.

My 150 Favorite Movies - #76

Diner (1982)

To an astounding degree, did the young actors appearing in Diner go on to have major Hollywood careers, including Kevin Bacon, Ellen Barkin, Mickey Rourke, Tim Daly, and Paul Reiser. A coming-of-age plot centered around a group of post-college friends trying to figure out what to do with their lives in 1959 Baltimore. A script packed with memorable one-liners, very memorable characters, and a solid story makes Diner one of the best movies of the 1980's.

My 150 Favorite Movies - #77

Hopscotch (1980)

A classy, romantic comedy starring two of my favorites, Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson, which somehow involves the CIA and spying hijinx. Thoroughly enjoyable, in a way that most movies are not, in other words, you can laugh without guilt or remorse. Everyone involved here is a-list: directed by Ronald Neame, with a screenplay by Bryan Forbes and Brian Garfield, from Garfield's novel. The supporting cast is made up of such top-of-the-line character actors as Sam Waterston, Herbert Lom and Ned Beatty.

My 150 Favorite Movies - #78

Atlantic City (1980)

The decaying of Atlantic City here mirrors the decaying of the main character, played by Burt Lancaster, a small-time gangster, who has seen better days. Susan Sarandon plays a waitress, looking to break out. Together, they hatch a plan to better their lives.A quietly devastating film, directed by French film master, Louis Malle.

My 150 Favorite Movies - #79

Election (1999)

Alexander Payne directed this political parody on a micro scale (the plot concerns a High School Presidential campaign), and although it didn't have the ending I wanted it to have, the absurdist dialogue and delicious performances, particularly from Reese Witherspoon as an overly ambitious teenager, put this film in the must-see category. Based on the novel by Tom Perrotta.

My 150 Favorite Movies - #80

Rushmore (1998)

Director Wes Anderson, the grandmaster of quirk (see his latest, The Grand Budapest Hotel, the trailer alone is chock full of "eccentric"), featured Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman and Olivia Williams in this tale of unrequited love, and prep school hinjinx. Co-written by frequently cast leading man Owen Wilson, this was the first Anderson movie I saw and it was a revelation, both exhilarating and heartbreakingly funny.

My 150 Favorite Movies - #81

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Butch Cassidy may not have single-handedly created the "bromance" genre, however, it did breathe new life into that which may have been dormant to that point. Paul Newman and Robert Redford exude so much masculine sex appeal alone, that together they make dynamite. With Newman and Redford playing rebel outlaws of the Old West in what is presumably a fact-based account, the screen almost literally becomes combustible. The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Song ("Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head"), and in 2003 was selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."