TOP 10: MUST WATCH MOVIES BEFORE YOU DIE

“What is your all time favourite movie?”

This question always stumps my “ever ready with an answer” self. Having watched over 1500 movies in my short life, how can I name just one?

And I’m sure you must have faced a similar dilemma somewhere in your life. So for sake of all of the movie buffs in the world, I present to you, MY TOP 20: MUST WATCH MOVIES OF POST MODERN ERA.

Now I will not bore you with the plot, story etc, you can always find that out by yourself. But what I “will” tell you is, what pleased me (I’m a hard man to please.). Counting down from NO. 10.

10.Pirates of the Caribbean: The curse of the black pearl: An entertaining and thrilling ride through the world of pirates, this moviewill take you places where you always wanted to go. Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow puts in an out of the world performance. From the swagger, to his dialogues to his eccentricity, you will love him, loathe him but certainly will not ignore him.

Why should you watch this movie? Because of Johnny Depp and the fact not one second is boring .

9. V for vendetta: If you ever doubted that the actors don’t need to act, just run as the director says, then watch V for Vendetta. The protagonist named “V”, has a fetish for words starting with the alphabet ‘v’. And Natalie Portman as Evy is endearing.

Why should you watch the movie? For the dialogues. It is an absolute treat.

8. The Matrix: A movie as path breaking as Terminator 2: Judgement Day. In terms of action this movie transformed the world of movie making but that is not all. The plot of the story begs the question, “What if you had a dream, a dream so vivid that it seems real, how would you know in the dream if it was real, or you are dreaming”. Even if you forget the underlying existential theory theme, the movie is a treat on the eyes.

Why should you watch the movie? For its action scenes.

7. Terminator 2:Judgement Day: I’ve got only four words, “Hasta la vista , baby”. This is what you call a cult movie. And made Arnold Schwarzenegger the star he is today. Thrilling from the start to the end, I would go on and call this the greatest action movie ever made.
Why should you watch this movie? Because this movie is a legend.

6.Pulp Fiction: No movie list should be complete without Pulp Fiction. It transformed the way movies were made. Although I’m sure it didn’t invent the non-linear timeline, but it certainly made it popular.

Uma Thurman, she was fascinating, intriguing, mystifying and many other –“ings” as the mobster’s wife. When she said, “‘They’ talk a lot, don’t ‘they’.” I just wanted her to keep speaking. She was definitely worth being thrown out of the third floor for.

And then there was Quentin Tarantino, the man is Leonardo the Vinci of movies, the attention to detail that he puts in, is absolutely amazing. Don’t forget the witty dialogues.

Why should you watch the movie? Because of the sterling performances by Bruce Willis, John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson and dialogues by Quentin Tarantino .

5. Sin City: Adapted from Frank Miller’s graphic novels, it manages to keep the look and feel of a graphic novel even on the screen and that, is not as easy as it sounds. Hilariously comic but it falls into one of that neo-noir genre, hilarious nevertheless, one thing is sure not one moment is boring.
Director Robert Rodriguez takes a step up from Spy Kids and Once Upon A Time in Mexico movies to make a classic.

Why should you watch the movie? 1. For the sheer brilliance of the story and plot. 2. The cinematography and direction.

4. Se7en: Once again, the climax. If you are an ardent movie-goer, you would probably know what is coming, but still, will pray and scream in your heart, “No, this can’t be happening.”

Although it doesn’t fit into the classic horror genre but most of you will agree when I say it was one of the most horrifying endings that I’ve ever seen.
Brad Pitt once again turns up with an amazing performance and Morgan Freeman is , well, Morgan Freeman. Another masterclass by David Fincher.

Why should you watch this movie? Sheer brilliance of David Fincher and the concept, which gae rise to many copycats but they have never ever even come close to this thing. Genius.

3. The Dark Knight: The story of a town so bent that a circle will be ashamed and a story so dark that the color white would seem dark.
Director Christopher Nolan manages to encapsulate the original dark nature of the Batman Comics. After seeing this movie you will forget the Batman Forever series and the funny joker played by Jack Nicholson. His joker is no match for Heath Ledger’s joker.
There is nothing funny about this joker, to him, the world is inverted, to him hurting people has the same meaning as we have for compassion, he feels no remorse, no empathy, nothing. A pure psychopath.

Why should you watch this movie? To watch Heath Ledger play “The Joker”. Why so serious?

2. Memento: This is the “Waterfall by MC Escher” of the movies. Stunningly simple yet seemingly so complex. If you can understand this movie in one go, you are a genius. Another one of those movies which were not appreciated because it was too complex to understood by ordinary mind. Yet, if you appreciate art, I would recommend you to watch this movie. A work of art by Christopher Nolan.

Why should you watch this movie? Because it ends at the start and starts at the end of the movie. Go figure.

1. Fight Club: The climax. And everything before. If you can get past the first 20 minutes, you will not leave until the end. Great acting performances by both Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. I would go so far as to suggest that this was the best performance that Edward Norton has ever put in or would possibly give in the future. But what made the movie a killer was the direction, David Fincher knows what he’s doing.
But is it worth putting at the top of the list? Definitely, in my view, the movie was one generation ahead of its time and not for ordinary movie-goer as the whole movie is difficult to comprehend for the first time, you would need at least the third time to watch it if you want to fully enjoy it.
Is it worth watching three time? All I would say is, the first three times will never feel as if you’ve already seen it.

Why Should you see this movie? For the Climax.

Honorable mentions: City of god, Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Avatar, WALL-E, The UsualSuspects etc. There are just so many good movies. Enjoy.