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I think movies are the best way to waste time.  For $9 a person can be transported into a new world, a world of adventure, a world of laughter, a world in which al the problems belong to someone else.  Granted, the majority of my movie collection represents 1980's teen and sci-fi movies.  But I do love a good drama or thriller too.  I usually buy movies that I consider a "favorite," but based on that list I have way too many.  Anyway, if I had to narrow my list of favorite movies to, I don't know, six, I'd say the following:

The Empire Strikes Back -- Why?  It's easily the best of the original Star Wars trilogy.  It has the most character development, the best interaction, the darkest plot, and you're in a state of near betrayal at the conclusion.  How the hell are they going to end the movie like this?  I remember asking myself that very question when I was in second grade.  Of course, at that time I didn't know that Return of the Jedi would be out three years later.  But Empire still strikes me as the best.

Goonies -- Why?  Goonies has it all.  Action, adventure, romance, comedy...it's an "everyman" film.  Every time I watch it I'm a kid again, and I can watch it repeatedly.  Granted, it's not the "best" film ever, but it's one of my favorites.  And it's a modern classic.     Fast Times At Ridgmont High --  Most of my friends will be in awe that I didn't list a Hughes film here.  That's because Fast Times is the original, as far as I'm concerned.  If it weren't for Fast Times, no other 80's teen comedy

would have been made.  The Brat Pack would have been nonexistent.  Sure, in turn one could argue that Fast Times couldn't have existed if not for an earlier film of the same genre (possible American Graffitti?), but Fast Times is still the best.  Consider it... Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club, St. Elmo's Fire, Can't Buy Me Love, Pretty In Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful, and even more recently, Clueless, American Pie, She's All That, Drive Me Crazy, and Can't Hardly Wait.  All of these are great movies, and all stand on their own merits.  But knowing that Fast Time was first, and Fast Time is still just as, if not, great makes Fast Time that much better.      Halloween -- Why a horror film?  And why this one?  Maybe I have a soft spot for this film, I don't know.  But I consider Halloween my favorite film in the horror genre.  The acting in Halloween, and in

most of the sequels, was significantly better than the other films in this category.  Sure, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Hellraiser are all fun and scary movies.  But Halloween is better.  It's believable.  Michael Myers is a psychotic, murdering, lunatic, yes, but he's not a dream demon.  He doesn't have pins growing out of his head.  He's not magical.  He has never come back to life.  "But we saw Michael Myers die in (enter sequel here)."  No, you didn't.  Not really.  Everything in the Halloween series is explainable.  It doesn't all necessarily make sense (read Thorn), but it is

explainable, and it is definitely enjoyable.      X2: X-Men United -- IMO the best comic book movie ever.  Famke Jansen was perfect as Jean Grey; the adaptaption of Chris Claremon'ts God Loves, Man Kills was commendable.  The action sequences, particularly the openining Nightcrawler attack, were brilliant.  The only bad thing about this film was the anticipation for a third X-Men movie.

The Royal Tenenbaums From the creators behind Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums is my newest favorite movie.  I can watch this endlessly and love it more and more each time.  Gene Hackman is brilliant; a national treasure.  IMO the best living actor.  Angelica Huston is subtle

and beautiful.  Ben Stiller and Bill Murray are endearing.  And Gwyneth Paltrow has never acted better.  Also a brilliant soundtrack.

You're lucky to get six favorites out of me.  Just look throuigh the list of films I've included in my collection, and you'll get an idea of my tastes.

Movie Links Coming Attractions Disney Films -- Official Site The 80's Server E.T.: The ExtraTerrestrial Fandango Fox Studios The Goonies Homepage Harry Potter -- Official Site Indiana Jones -- Official Site The Internet Movie Database Lord of the Rings -- Official Site Movies.Com Spider-Man -- Official Site Star Trek -- Official Site Star Wars -- Official Site UniversalStudios.com Warner Brothers X2: X-Men United