Over the past few years I’ve made a concerted effort to watch lots of movies considered to be among the best of all time. Now, for the first time, I’ve made my own list of favorite movies of all time. Every other Wednesday throughout 2022, I will be revealing ten movies in my list of 250 Favorite Movies of All Time.
| 250-241 | 200-190 | |||
| 240-231 | 190-181 | |||
| 230-221 | 180-171 | |||
| 220-211 | 170-161 | |||
| 210-201 | 160-151 |
150
Title: Cléo from 5 to 7
Director: Agnès Varda
Cast: Corinne Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dominique Davray, Dorothée Blanc, Michel Legrand
Year: 1962
When did I first watch this movie?: February 2020
Why is this one of my all time favorites?: The New Wave style reaches its apotheosis when a female director uses its techniques to tell a story about women and their relationships. Varda demonstrates that she’s a director deeply in touch with what it means to be human.
149
Title: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Director: Nicholas Meyer
Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Bibi Besch, Merritt Butrick, Paul Winfield, Kirstie Alley, Ricardo Montalbán
Year: 1982
When did I first watch this movie?: 1984
Why is this one of my all time favorites?: I’d watched a few episodes of Star Trek in reruns but this movie was essentially my introduction to Star Trek when I saw it on cable as a child. And what a great introduction since this is Star Trek at its peak!
148
Title: Dead Poets Society
Director: Peter Weir
Cast: Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, Josh Charles, Gale Hansen, Norman Lloyd
Year: 1989
When did I first watch this movie?: 1989
Why is this one of my all time favorites?: Robin Williams plays a teacher who inspires wealthy white boys to embrace life and somehow it’s brilliant. One of Williams’ top performances.
147
Title: Next Stop Wonderland
Director: Brad Anderson
Cast: Hope Davis, Alan Gelfant, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Cara Buono, José Zúñiga
Year: 1998
When did I first watch this movie?: 1998
Why is this one of my all time favorites?: Hollywood sees Boston as the endless source for uber-violent Irish mobster crime stories, but this independent film sees the possibilities of Boston for romantic comedy. The clever plot tells the parallels stories of two young adults seeking an honest companionship.
146
Title: Stand by Me
Director: Rob Reiner
Cast: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell, Kiefer Sutherland
Year: 1986
When did I first watch this movie?: 1986
Why is this one of my all time favorites?: Maybe one of the best movies about childhood friendship and probably the best adaptation of a Stephen King story to film.
145
Title: Rocky
Director: John G. Avildsen
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith
Year: 1976
When did I first watch this movie?: 1991
Why is this one of my all time favorites?: Not a movie about boxing, but a very human story about a boxer. This movie is also personal for me in that it reminds me of my father.
144
Title: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Director: Mel Stuart
Cast: Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum, Roy Kinnear, Denise Nickerson, Leonard Stone, Julie Dawn Cole, Paris Themmen, Dodo Denney
Year: 1971
When did I first watch this movie?: 1985
Why is this one of my all time favorites?: A creepy capitalist allows children to die in his OSHA-noncompliant factory and then has his employees perform moralistic song and dance numbers about them. What’s not to love?
143
Title: When Harry Met Sally…
Director: Rob Reiner
Cast: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby
Year: 1989
When did I first watch this movie?: 1990
Why is this one of my all time favorites?: A genre-defining romcom with quotable dialogue and topnotch performances from its four lead actors.
142
Title: Some Like It Hot
Director: Billy Wilder
Cast: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, Joe E. Brown, Pat O’Brien
Year: 1959
When did I first watch this movie?: mid-80s
Why is this one of my all time favorites?: Classic cornball comedy with Monroe, Curtis, and Lemmon in their most memorable roles.
141
Title: The Madness of King George
Director: Nicholas Hytner
Cast: Nigel Hawthorne, Helen Mirren, Ian Holm, Amanda Donohoe, Rupert Graves, Rupert Everett
Year: 1994
When did I first watch this movie?: 1995
Why is this one of my all time favorites?: This movie takes the piss out of the monarchy and British history but nevertheless allows its protagonist to retain his dignity.
Panorama of the Mountains 