There's one thing I love talking about, and that's movies. There was even a time when I wanted to be an actress! I eventually let this thought go though, because I had horrible stage fright. When I was living in Vegas, I actually took acting classes for a while, with a director who had worked in Hollywood. He wasn't the most famous guy there but he was good at teaching. I LOVED the lessons but hated getting up in front of others and act. I have evolved since, and I think I'd be better at it now but at the time I was quite shy and insecure. So yeah, that was my short experience with acting. If one can call it that. Later in life, I've come to realize that it was probably a good thing that I never got any real acting off the ground, because that world is filled with evil, and fakery, so I guess the universe wanted me more with my feet on the ground. It's all good.

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There was also a time (a very long time actually) where I wanted to be a script writer. I'd watch movies, and sometimes these movies were missing something, or just not quite cutting it for me. I would think: I could have written it better.
Especially some book adaptions. If I read the book, and then the movie was a bit of a dud, I'd be convinced I would have done a better job at it. Writing, rather than acting has always been in my blood. Or at least from the moment I could hold a pen.
I've (co-) written school plays, I wrote the script for a short movie we did in college, I've written scripts for a few productions during that time, and I was a writer for a popular Magazine and documentary TV channel. First as an intern, and after that I ended up staying with them for a while. Working for them was confronting, eye opening, and weird at times but I learned quite a lot in that time. Especially that even those documentaries don't really tell the truth but rather show us stuff that increases viewer rating. Let's just say that people tend to tune into shows that show explosions and people getting hurt or dying more than those documentaries that actually are telling the truth, which can be boring.

My most proud moment regarding script writing was when Dutch director Paul Verhoeven, who directed the infamous Starship Troopers and Robocop, held a crowd sourced contest for the movie "Tricked". Crowd sourced, meaning the movie was produced, from the script writing, directing, acting, filming, etc. by a crowd of people. So you could sign up as a writer, director, actor, etc...
Then the production went through different stages, after which some of the crowd would be elected to continue, and others would have to leave the production.
I didn't make it through all of the rounds, all the way till the end, but my write ups still got pretty far. I was glad to make it through the first round, with hundreds of people participating, so when I made it through several rounds, it was a very proud moment!

My perfect movie

After the lengthy intro above, let's dive into why I'm actually here: my favorite movie classics. I didn't have to think very long about this one.
But it's hard to choose just one so I made it into my top 5, and even that was quite hard to do because let's face it: there are so many amazing movies out there!
I could easily turn this into a top 10 or a top 20 even but that would just be too much, so a top 5 will have to do.

What do I look for when I choose a great movie?
To me, a great movie is a symphony of all elements involved.
You can have a great script and director but when the actors suck, a movie can quickly turn into a mess. Likewise, when the script and actors are amazing, but the cinematography is just...meh, well then the movie will be meh too. Sometimes it can be the lighting, or just one of the actors that's not convincing, and it ruins everything for me. Yup, I'm picky and perfectionist. Movies don't often impress me. But when they do...well, then we have something.

Now, without further ado, I present my top 5 best movie classics of all times. I had a bit of a hard time defining 'classic', but I think it's safe to say that movies that are 20 years old or older, can be called a classic these days.

I like movies in all different genres but tend to lean more towards the darkness in humanity when it comes to the subject, as you will be able to see soon. I hope you enjoy my choices.

5. The Crow

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This may not be everyone's cup of tea, and maybe we can't exactly call this a 'classic' in the purest sense, but for me, this was one of my favorite teen movies of its time. It still is. I believed that Brandon Lee (Bruce Lee's son) was just fantastic in this movie. And when you know that he died while filming the movie, but that they managed to finish filming it, with CGI and snippets of the real man, still alive and kicking, it makes this flick one of the darkest in its time. Its storyline was original, the acting superb, and after you finished watching, you didn't know whether to be happy or sad, not just for the character of the crow, but also Brandon himself. I know his father would be proud. It's another Lee gone way too soon...
The good news? They're doing a remake, this time with Jason Momoa as the crow. Yummmm....

4. Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho"

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I mean: come on... who doesn't know this dark tale of a man who seemingly was just a nice, and helpful guy but turned out to be a crazy killer?
The movie still gives me chills when I see it. Anthony Perkins does an excellent job at making the viewers see him as a victim for a while. Well, that is, until he makes his first victim...or shall I say second?
I'm not sure if this movie made or broke his career, because who could see him anyway else than Norman Bates after this?

I think I was equally impressed by Christian Bale later in American Psycho, but the list would have been far too long to fit it in.

3. The Godfather

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I adore Al Pacino. He has always been one of my very favorite actors. I love how he owns every single role he plays, and he delivers every single time.
Of course, the story of the Godfather is one everyone who's seen the movie remembers. Who would ever forget the horse's head huh? Michael Corleone was truly the gangster that you loved to hate. The rest of the cast wasn't too shabby either, with many familiar faces, like Marlon Brando and James Caan.
Part II was also interesting when Robert de Niro joined the crew. And of course Andy Garcia in the Godfather III. However, the first one will always be the most impressive to me.

Another great movie starring Al Pacino is Scarface. But unfortunately, we didn't have time to say hello to his little friend...

2. Interview with the Vampire

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What can I say? I love vampire movies, and books. In fact, this is the movie that got me hooked on Anne Rice's work. Unfortunately, the author recently passed away, leaving family, friends, and many fans mourning her death. She was an amazing talent, and has been an inspiration to me for a long time.

The movie? Well, I loved Brad Pitt at the time (still do) so watching this movie was a no-brainer. I didn't really care much for Tom Cruise but I have to say that his work in this piece of art wasn't too bad at all. He made for a believable Lestat, although I personally would have casted David Bowie for the role. Much later I learned that he would have been Anne's first choice as well, but the producers of the movie decided otherwise. Ah well. As long as Anne and I agreed.
Every single actor brought something of their own, and something unique. Antonio Banderas as Armand...Oh MY!!! Irish actor, the late Steven Rae also performed as expected. But in the midst of all these experienced actors, little Kirsten Dunst, who played Claudia, was truly the most impressive. And let's not forget that her first kiss was Brad Pitt... Not a lot of women can say that :)

But now, even my beloved Anne Rice vampires will have to move over for one very special movie. My all time favorite.

1. One flew over the Cuckoo's nest

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This piece of art will get me completely every single time. The movie made me laugh, it made me cry, everything in between, and then the same over again.
Jack Nicholson, who does an amazing job at playing Randle McMartin, grips from the very beginning, till the very end. I think that this movie was as controversial as it was eye opening in its time. Personally, I identified with the character of Randle at times, because I felt he was a free spirit, throughout all of the movie (and book). I read the book after watching the movie, and it moved me just as much, maybe even more. But the movie? Well, if you haven't seen it, and you can watch one on my list: this should be the one. There isn't one bad actor in this flick, with supporting acts by Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd, and many other great actors, this movie will have you laughing, crying, and crying of laughter, all within minutes.

Other movies that almost made the list

Matrix
Dr. Zhivago
Gone with the wind
Pulp Fiction
Rebel without a cause
Basketball diaries
Wherever the wind may take us
Grease

and quite a few more. Not all can be in my top 5. And number 1, well, there can only be one...

How about you? What are your favorite movies?