#247. My Neighbor Totoro

"To-to-ro? You're Totoro!... I bet you're Totoro..."

I don't know what I'm more surprised by; me being able to find My Neighbor Totoro online, or the fact that I actually watched it. I don't even know if there is an English version of this movie, but I watched it in Japanese with English subtitles.

I'll be honest, I really really really don't like anime. I love kiddy movies, but no; anime is not for me. At best, I would call it "cute", but that still gives it no right to be on the Top 250, let alone have a better rating than two Cary Grant movies and Glory.

I didn't really have a favorite character in this film, considering they were all very annoying. If I had to choose though, I would pick Totoro because he looked soft and cuddly.

Overall, the characters just irritated me more than anything. The plot was kind of pointless, but eh. I'm probably way off. This is probably critically acclaimed, and most people that watch this movie probably love it to pieces.

I probably don't care.

This is just not my kind of movie. I'll give it a 4/10.

Characters: 3.4/10

Acting: 4/10

Storyline: 2.1/10

Entertainment Value: 7/10

Immediate rating: 4/10

Total Score: 20.5/50

#248. Glory

"If you men will take no pay, then none of us will."

When I first looked this movie up online before watching it, I couldn't help but sigh and roll my eyes; a war movie. I've never been a big fan of them honestly, because I usually find them boring and difficult to sit through. 

Well, have I ever been so wrong! Glory was packed full of emotions and epic moments, along with some of the most incredible music I've ever heard in a movie. Not even close to being boring in the slightest!

 In a nutshell, the movie was about Col. Robert Gould Shaw (played by Matthew Broderick), who was chosen to lead the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer group.

I was very impressed by the accuracy captured. I wasn't alive during the Civil War, obviously, but from what I've read, this movie appeared to stay true to actual history. Col. Shaw was a real person in the 54th Massachusetts, and the events in the movie were based on the letters sent to his parents.

Though I liked a lot of the characters from this movie, my favorite was Sgt. Maj. Rawlins, played by Morgan Freeman. His performance was fantastic, and he stole the show in every scene he was in with his noble and wise persona.

My immediate rating of this movie is an 8.3.

Characters: 7.5/10

Acting: 8.5/10

Storyline: 8.3/10

Entertainment Value: 8.4/10

Immediate rating: 8.3/10

Total Score: 41/50

#249. The Philadelphia Story

"I'm going crazy. I'm standing here solidly on my own two hands and going crazy!"

I find it ironic that I not only just watched Arsenic and Old Lace, another movie from the 1940's, but also another movie with Cary Grant! I've never seen many classic old movies before, so I suppose I'm getting my fill now.

I thought The Philadelphia Story was very well acted, and close to brilliance. The plot was interesting, and I loved how unpredictable the ending was! I feel that even with the limited technology that producers had in this time period, this film was miles better than most of the crap that's played in movie theaters today.

My favorite character was Tracy Lord, played by Katharine Hepburn. I've never seen a movie with Hepburn before, and I thought she was so elegant in this movie! I also loved the freshness of her look and personality, and she was very believable as an actress.

Though I felt that some characters in this movie were undeveloped, Tracy, Dexter, and Connor had great chemistry and fit the movie perfectly.

My immediate rating is a 7.6.

Characters: 6.9/10

Acting: 7.4/10

Storyline: 7/10
Entertainment Value: 7.3/10

Immediate Rating: 7.6/10

Total Score: 36.2/50

#250. Arsenic And Old Lace

"Certainly there are thirteen bodies in the cellar and there are hundreds more in the attic!"

Oh, how I love old movies! Really, that's not sarcasm. Though the plot consisted of two crazy aunts who had murdered twelve men and had them buried in the cellar, this movie has such an innocence about it that I absolutely adore. I guess it's because it was produced in the 1940's and doesn't contain so much vulgarity and violence that most current movies possess. The storyline was also very different than most movies that I usually see, which I greatly appreciated.

My favorite character of this particular film was definitely Mortimer Brewster (played by Cary Grant). I've read that he didn't like his performance in this film, but I thought he was fantastic! I usually don't find corny jokes very amusing, but so many of his lines had me laughing out loud!

Overall, I thought the movie was definitely worth watching and entertaining. My immediate rating is a 7.5/10.

Characters: 7.8/10

Acting: 7/10

Storyline: 7.5/10

Entertainment Value: 7.6/10 

Immediate rating: 7.4/10

Total Score: 37.3/50

The Top 250 List

To start things off, I'll go ahead and post the Top 250 list. It may change over time due to new movies coming out and what not, but the list that I am posting now will be the list that I stick to.

1.		The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
2.		The Godfather (1972)
3.		The Godfather: Part II (1974)
4.		The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
5.		Pulp Fiction (1994)
6.		Schindler's List (1993)
7.		Toy Story 3 (2010)
8.		12 Angry Men (1957)
9.		One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
10.		Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back(1980)
11.		The Dark Knight (2008)
12.		The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King(2003)
13.		Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
14.		Seven Samurai (1954)
15.		Casablanca (1942)
16.		Goodfellas (1990)
17.		Fight Club (1999)
18.		City of God (2002)
19.		The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring(2001)
20.		Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
21.		Rear Window (1954)
22.		Psycho (1960)
23.		The Usual Suspects (1995)
24.		Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
25.		The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
26.		The Matrix (1999)
27.		Se7en (1995)
28.		Memento (2000)
29.		It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
30.		The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
31.		Sunset Blvd. (1950)
32.		Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
33.		Citizen Kane (1941)
34.		North by Northwest (1959)
35.		The Professional (1994)
36.		Apocalypse Now (1979)
37.		Forrest Gump (1994)
38.		American Beauty (1999)
39.		American History X (1998)
40.		Taxi Driver (1976)
41.		Vertigo (1958)
42.		Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
43.		Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
44.		Alien (1979)
45.		Amélie (2001)
46.		Saving Private Ryan (1998)
47.		WALL·E (2008)
48.		The Shining (1980)
49.		A Clockwork Orange (1971)
50.		Paths of Glory (1957)
51.		The Departed (2006)
52.		The Pianist (2002)
53.		To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
54.		Aliens (1986)
55.		Spirited Away (2001)
56.		M (1931)
57.		The Lives of Others (2006)
58.		Double Indemnity (1944)
59.		Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
60.		Chinatown (1974)
61.		Requiem for a Dream (2000)
62.		L.A. Confidential (1997)
63.		Reservoir Dogs (1992)
64.		The Third Man (1949)
65.		Das Boot (1981)
66.		The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
67.		Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
68.		City Lights (1931)
69.		Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
70.		The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
71.		Raging Bull (1980)
72.		The Prestige (2006)
73.		Back to the Future (1985)
74.		Inglourious Basterds (2009)
75.		2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
76.		Life Is Beautiful (1997)
77.		Modern Times (1936)
78.		Singin' in the Rain (1952)
79.		Some Like It Hot (1959)
80.		Downfall (2004)
81.		Amadeus (1984)
82.		Full Metal Jacket (1987)
83.		Up (2009)
84.		Braveheart (1995)
85.		Cinema Paradiso (1988)
86.		The Maltese Falcon (1941)
87.		Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
88.		All About Eve (1950)
89.		Rashômon (1950)
90.		Metropolis (1927)
91.		The Green Mile (1999)
92.		Gran Torino (2008)
93.		The Elephant Man (1980)
94.		The Great Dictator (1940)
95.		Sin City (2005)
96.		Rebecca (1940)
97.		The Apartment (1960)
98.		Gladiator (2000)
99.		The Sting (1973)
100.		Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
101.		The Great Escape (1963)
102.		Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
103.		Avatar (2009)
104.		Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
105.		Unforgiven (1992)
106.		Bicycle Thieves (1948)
107.		Jaws (1975)
108.		Batman Begins (2005)
109.		Die Hard (1988)
110.		Blade Runner (1982)
111.		On the Waterfront (1954)
112.		Oldboy (2003)
113.		Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
114.		Hotel Rwanda (2004)
115.		No Country for Old Men (2007)
116.		Touch of Evil (1958)
117.		The Seventh Seal (1957)
118.		Fargo (1996)
119.		Princess Mononoke (1997)
120.		For a Few Dollars More (1965)
121.		The Wizard of Oz (1939)
122.		District 9 (2009)
123.		Heat (1995)
124.		Strangers on a Train (1951)
125.		Cool Hand Luke (1967)
126.		Donnie Darko (2001)
127.		High Noon (1952)
128.		The Sixth Sense (1999)
129.		Notorious (1946)
130.		The Deer Hunter (1978)
131.		There Will Be Blood (2007)
132.		Snatch. (2000)
133.		Annie Hall (1977)
134.		Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
135.		The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
136.		The General (1926)
137.		The Big Lebowski (1998)
138.		Platoon (1986)
139.		Yojimbo (1961)
140.		Ran (1985)
141.		Into the Wild (2007)
142.		The Wrestler (2008)
143.		Ben-Hur (1959)
144.		The Big Sleep (1946)
145.		Million Dollar Baby (2004)
146.		The Lion King (1994)
147.		It Happened One Night (1934)
148.		Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
149.		Life of Brian (1979)
150.		Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
151.		The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
152.		Toy Story (1995)
153.		Wild Strawberries (1957)
154.		Finding Nemo (2003)
155.		Trainspotting (1996)
156.		Kick-Ass (2010)
157.		Gone with the Wind (1939)
158.		Stand by Me (1986)
159.		The Terminator (1984)
160.		Groundhog Day (1993)
161.		Scarface (1983)
162.		The Graduate (1967)
163.		The Thing (1982)
164.		Star Trek (2009)
165.		Amores Perros (2000)
166.		Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
167.		Ratatouille (2007)
168.		Gandhi (1982)
169.		V for Vendetta (2005)
170.		Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
171.		The Wages of Fear (1953)
172.		How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
173.		Twelve Monkeys (1995)
174.		The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
175.		8½ (1963)
176.		The Gold Rush (1925)
177.		Casino (1995)
178.		The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)
179.		Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
180.		Diabolique (1955)
181.		The Night of the Hunter (1955)
182.		Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
183.		The Incredibles (2004)
184.		The Princess Bride (1987)
185.		The Killing (1956)
186.		The Wild Bunch (1969)
187.		Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
188.		Children of Men (2006)
189.		The Exorcist (1973)
190.		In Bruges (2008)
191.		Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
192.		The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
193.		The Kid (1921)
194.		Nights of Cabiria (1957)
195.		The Hustler (1961)
196.		Dial M for Murder (1954)
197.		Good Will Hunting (1997)
198.		Rosemary's Baby (1968)
199.		Ed Wood (1994)
200.		Harvey (1950)
201.		Big Fish (2003)
202.		King Kong (1933)
203.		A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
204.		The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
205.		Let the Right One In (2008)
206.		Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
207.		Magnolia (1999)
208.		Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
209.		Rocky (1976)
210.		Sleuth (1972)
211.		Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
212.		Mystic River (2003)
213.		Stalag 17 (1953)
214.		Network (1976)
215.		Brief Encounter (1945)
216.		The African Queen (1951)
217.		Rope (1948)
218.		Crash (2004/I)
219.		Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
220.		Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
221.		The Battle of Algiers (1966)
222.		Duck Soup (1933)
223.		Manhattan (1979)
224.		Planet of the Apes (1968)
225.		La strada (1954)
226.		Patton (1970)
227.		The 400 Blows (1959)
228.		The Conversation (1974)
229.		Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
230.		Changeling (2008)
231.		The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
232.		Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
233.		Barry Lyndon (1975)
234.		All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
235.		The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
236.		The Truman Show (1998)
237.		Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
238.		Mulholland Dr. (2001)
239.		The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
240.		Toy Story 2 (1999)
241.		Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
242.		Spartacus (1960)
243.		Shaun of the Dead (2004)
244.		Ikiru (1952)
245.		Monsters, Inc. (2001)
246.		Shutter Island (2010)
247.		My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
248.		Glory (1989)
249.		The Philadelphia Story (1940)
250.		Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

The way I'm going to do this is by watching the movies from number 250 and down, so the best of the best can be saved for last.

That means the first movie I'm going to watch is Arsenic and Old Lace tomorrow.

I'm definitely going to need some luck and endurance during some of the long and boring movies, but I'll try my best to get through them all and mark this off my bucket list! Cheers!

Sara