Happy Halloween! Here's my top 10 favorite scary movies of all time

The Exorcist

There are lots of people who won't even go near a scary movie and I used to be one of them. I remember as a kid I didn't even like to walk near the horror section of the video store. Every once and while when heading towards comedy or action-adventure I would take a wrong turn and catch a glimpse of a cover with a gnarled face or a rabid werewolf and I would be terrified beyond belief.

Somehow, between high school and college, I started to overcome my fear. Certain films I'd always been wary of were actually not all that horrifying and in other cases I came to appreciate the unique charge that a good scare can give you.

Now, I call myself a fan of horror movies, with the caveat that most of them are terrible. Hollywood has, for the last twenty years or so, made an enormous number of "scary movies" because they are cheap to produce, usually don't require big name stars and almost always turn a profit.

Teens are rarely discerning and what was true fifty years ago is true now, taking a date to a scary movie will almost always guarantee some quality cuddling.

Still, the genre is wildly inconsistent. This is probably because it's never been considered worthy of prestige. Our more celebrated filmmakers might dip a toe in fantasy, sci-fi or thrillers, but horror has a reputation for cheapness and exploitation. When a truly visionary filmmaker, like say Stanley Kubrick, has attempted to make a scary movie the results have been phenomenal and hopefully that will inspire other unique voices to tackle this unique kind of film. I would be curious to see a Quentin Tarantino horror film or a Christopher Nolan horror film. But as long as terrible teen-centric remakes of good scary movies from the past dominate the market that may never happen.

But I digress. For Halloween I wanted to pick my top 10 favorite scary movies. As usual there are caveats. For instance, I wanted to stick with pure horror -- so there are some movies that I wasn't sure exactly qualified. There are a pair of perfectly creepy Donald Sutherland vehicles from the 1970s that I love -- Don't Look Now and Invasion of the Body Snatchers -- but the first feels more like a mystery-thriller and the second is more sci-fi, so although they are both phenomenal they didn't make the cut.

I also didn't include Misery, even though I think that movie is terrific, because it's almost as much a black comedy as it is a traditional horror film. Still, it's one of the most underrated films of its kind and I wish Rob Reiner had stuck to films like that instead of the aging baby boomer romantic comedies that appear to be his current stock and trade. And as much as I love Evil Dead 2, it's also more of a comedy than a traditional horror movie. But I digress again.

Nightmare on Elm Street

10) Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) - The movie's premise is scarier than the film itself (child molester goes free, gets burned alive by neighborhood parents, and now he haunts those adults' kids in their dreams). Still, I have a sentimental attachment to this movie. When I was 5, my brother told me it was based on our home town and I believed him. Whenever the commercials would come on and Freddy Krueger would come creeping around some corner I ran out of the room in terror. I later saw the film for the first time in college and got a real kick out of it. Steer clear of the sequels, they get sillier and more dated. The first, for all its occasional camp, has some truly disturbing sequences and it's Wes Craven at his least ironic best.

9) The Conjuring (2013) - The best horror movie of the last twenty years or so. I'll never forget my experience watching it in the theater. My girlfriend and I saw it in the daytime and I was never more relieved to exit a theater during the light of day. In an era where so many horror films rely on gore it was refreshing to see this well-acted ghost story play out with no grotesque bits of business. It uses it's "based on a true story" conceit well and just has a wonderful sense of dread about it. Let Me In was also terrific for some of the same reasons, two of the only truly great horror films of late.

8) The Thing (1982) - John Carpenter had an incredible hot streak in the late '70s and early '80s. This stark look at a group of men stranded at a snowboard outpost, as a mutant creature starts possessing them one by one. Kurt Russell is a consummate bad ass and it has the kind of bleak ambivalent ending that I love -- but of course the movie was a flop when it was initially released because it was competing with far more audience friendly movies like E.T. Some of the best pre-CGI special effects of its era and a transformation that is still jaw-droppingly insane. This one just keeps growing in stature over the years.

7) Dawn of the Dead (1978) - I'm a big fan of the zombie genre and it's original masterpiece Night of the Living Dead, yet it's the Dawn of the Dead sequel that remains the greatest ever made because of its subtle social commentary and audacious effects. The Walking Dead has now desensitized us to elaborate zombie kills, but the deaths in this cult classic were really shocking for their time. Director George Romero had more on his mind than cheap thrills, he was also making a spoof of crass commercialism (the movie is largely set in a shopping mall) that still holds up today. Call me old fashioned, but I like my zombies slow and relentless.

Suspiria

6) Suspiria (1977) - I first became aware of this hyper-stylized classic by legendary Italian filmmaker Dario Argento in high school and I wasn't sure what to make of its intensely graphic violence mixed with breathtaking visuals. I've come to appreciate it as a brilliant example of style over substance. The story is very thin and arguably incomprehensible. Someone or something is killing off women at an elite dance school, the people who run the place are either in on it or indifferent and the girls who attend are too vapid to really do anything about it. Still, I've never seen sound or color used more affectively in a horror film. Argento elevates the trashy slasher film into a piece of art.

5) Rosemary's Baby (1968) - Perhaps the greatest psychological horror film from a man, Roman Polanski, who made his fair share of terrific ones. Mia Farrow is sensational as a sweet young girl whose self-serving husband essentially sells out her womb to the devil. The brilliance of this film is how banal the evil is at first and how insidious seemingly innocent people become. The film takes its time so that when the truly absurd plot begins to unfold it feels totally plausible and profoundly scary. It's haunting theme music still gives me chills when I think about it. An unsettling movie on many levels.

4) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) - One of the few horror movie premises that genuinely freaks me out. A group of youths go on a road trip and get targeted by some cannibalistic hillbillies who hang out with a particularly imposing monster figure called Leatherface. From the opening shot this movie is a grabber and its breakneck pace and intensity never let up. A rare case where mediocre acting works in a film's favor -- it almost feels like a warped documentary at times. It too is supposedly loosely based on a true story -- although I certainly hope not.

3) Halloween (1978) - Boasting the best theme music in horror history, the first Michael Myers movie is the definitive slasher film. John Carpenter's bravura opening one-take shot is just one of the pleasures of this holiday staple. Donald Pleasance is perfect as the hyperbolic Dr. Sam Loomis (whose name is a knowing homage to a character from Alfred Hitchcock's classic Psycho) and Jamie Lee Curtis is adorable as the virginal leading lady (only Sissy Spacek's Carrie is more naive and sweet). Some of the greatest jump scares ever compliment a truly witty script full of visual humor as well as truly creepy moments. This is mainstream horror at its best.

2) The Exorcist (1973) - This blockbuster has been so imitated and parodied that you'd think its power would be diminished by now, but then you view it again and it is still genuinely shocking and terrifying. The film could never have been made the way it was then today -- [SPOILER ALERT] I mean, the masturbation with the crucifix? A wildly inventive and expertly structured film made by a talented filmmaker, William Friedkin, at the peak of his powers. The  movie works because it treats possession seriously and it has a truly committed cast that sells the material as authentic. We have seen a million demon movies in its wake, but nothing can compare to the images this film presents us with. I don't even know where to begin so I just mention two of the scariest: when the words 'help me' appear on the possessed girl's stomach -- written from the inside and that 360 degree head turn -- getting scared just writing about it.

1) The Shining (1980) - One of my favorite movies of all time happens to be this complex, deliriously entertaining, flawlessly photographed masterpiece from Stanley Kubrick. It plays out almost like a dream, with off line readers and even stranger visual cues. It works on so many levels -- as a brain teaser, as a crowd pleaser and as a piece of pure cinema. Jack Nicholson gives one of his greatest performances here, he's never used his physicality better for a role. Kubrick's camera work is unparalleled and he generates fear through stillness and intensity. The movie confuses a lot people who approach it for the first time but I love it because its meaning is open to so much interpretation. It taps into real life fears of how the mind can disintegrate, how the family unit can be a source of terror as much as love and how our past haunts both our present and our future. It is not just the best horror movie ever made, it is one of the greatest movies ever made because it keeps us off balance and raises real eternal questions about good vs. evil.

Boo! I'm done.

B-movie badass! Keanu Reeves kicks serious butt in 'John Wick'

I have been a Keanu Reeves defender in the past and now that I've seen his terrific new action movie John Wick, I am even more confident in my appraisal of his talents.

Is he a great actor? No. But he's a terrific movie star and a very appealing presence in this type of film. What kind of film is John Wick? It's an unabashedly ultraviolent piece of largely mindless pulp -- and I loved nearly every minute of it.

This is the movie I wish The Equalizer had the balls to be, but unfortunately director Antoine Fuqua (or the screenwriters) tacked on a maudlin subplot about a hooker with a heart of gold (improbably played by Chloe Grace Moretz) and spent the first third of the movie trying to be dour.

There are no love interests in John Wick. No tiresome exposition. The villain is funny instead of just some faceless thug and the movie itself has a healthy sense of humor, which has been missing from the action genre a lot these days.

The basic premise is that Reeves' Wick was once the most feared assassin in the criminal underworld but he gave all that up to live happily ever after in domestic bliss with his wife. But she dies of a sudden, unnamed illness and events conspire to drag this killing machine back into his old life.

That's it, that's all. And while this is hardly an original premise, it resonates because it also works as something of a meta commentary on Reeves' career. After resurrecting his image with The Matrix films, Reeves has largely faded back into obscurity. This film finds its ageless star back in fine fighting form with a director who knows how to play to his strengths,

One of many badass action scenes in John Wick

Reeves' Achilles heel, in my opinion, has always been his voice. He has that surfer accent. It works for comedy and when the material doesn't call for him to be especially sophisticated (I'm thinking Speed), it's not a distraction.

In John Wick, he wisely opts for less dialogue and this allows him to be a cool and imposing presence.

The action in this movie is relentless and invigorating -- Wick has a hilarious penchant for shooting people in the head -- and there is something powerful about the movie's lack of pretension.

There are some real laughs here, some due to Keanu's deadpan timing and in other cases just the sheer audacity of its absurdity. This isn't art. It's a little overlong and full of plot holes. There's also that classic cliche of action films where the hero is inexplicably kept alive when it would be incredibly easy to kill them. Still, these are minor quibbles, I had a lot of fun at John Wick. I might even have applauded after one expertly crafted killing spree.

A lot of folks are stunned by the good reviews the movie has received but if you give it a chance you'll understand why it has the makings of a hit. When B-movies are done well they give the A-listers a real run for their money.

Why sad movies make my world go round

Judy Garland in A Star Is Born

I've been on a real sad movie kick lately, and I can't even explain why. I am pretty content in my real life and I usually look to films as a form of escapism. So why on earth would I want to spend two hours with a story that will inevitably leave me feeling blue? I guess it's because, for me, those movies often have a bigger impact on me.

Don't get me wrong. I love happy endings too, especially when they are well-earned. In fact, many of my favorite movies come to a close with the good guys triumphing or the two leads falling madly in love. Still, it's the downbeat tales that stick with me

For instance, I recently saw Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece Ikiru for the first time. It's about a mild mannered bureaucrat who learns at the beginning of the film that he has terminal stomach cancer and after wallowing in bit of self pity he goes about making his last days on Earth matter by trying construct a park for impoverished children.

Burt Lancaster in The Leopard

And then there's The Leopard, the gorgeous Italian film by Luchino Visconti. It's an elegant and subtle ode to a generation of aristocrats whose time is coming to an end.

It's a film about death but it's so beautifully rendered that I fell in love with its grandeur.

Even the 1954 version of A Star Is Born, which at first glance is a big bright Technicolor musical is actually a devastatingly dark backstage drama, where James Mason's hopeless drunk character threatens to destroy not just his life but the woman he loves, played brilliantly by Judy Garland.

What's my favorite sad movie? I don't even know where to begin. Last Tango in Paris has always left me somewhat emotionally pulverized, it's just that raw. Carlito's Way remains one of my favorite gangster films of all time because of it's epically tragic scenario -- a man desperately trying to go straight but whose underworld connections keep coming back to haunt him.

Marlon Brando in Last Tango In Paris

I suppose when I am looking for a good cry the 1984 film Paris, Texas comes to mind. There's just something about the fragility of Harry Dean Stanton in that film, how honest and true his performance is. There is nothing tear-jerky about that movie, it just feels like a real slice of life that actual people live.

I enjoy venturing into alternative realities that still resonate with the life I'm actually leading. I learn something from these stories, even if it's to appreciate the life I have more because at least I'm not Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice.

Sometimes I hear people saying they don't want to see a movie because they know it'll make them sad and it makes me roll my eyes the same way the "I hear it's long" refrain does. If a movie is great, it doesn't matter if it's happy or depressing, you'll get something out of it.

I might also be a total weirdo, because I do enjoy having my emotions moved to tears, and I also liked to be scared by a movie, which is why my favorite scary movies post is just around the corner.

Burt Reynolds wasn't bad, in fact he was quite good

Burt Reynolds

Burt Reynolds name is normally met with snickering among film snobs who largely view him as a dated relic of 1970s.

While he has made his fair share of mediocre movies over the several decades he's been in the business, he's also starred in a handful of excellent ones, before he got lazy and started resting on his laurels.

Although his reputation hasn't held up the way say Robert Redford or Warren Beatty's has, he was just as much an icon of cool in my favorite era of movie history.

In fact, for several years -- he was the bigger star.

For an unprecedented five years, from 1978 to 1982, he was ranked as the biggest box office draw in Hollywood and yet now he remains largely unappreciated, the victim of bad plastic surgery and far too many forgettable direct-to-DVD movies.

Still, I've recently been reveling in Reynolds' early '70s heyday. He was a winning combination of the likes of Steve McQueen (he did his own stunts, too) and Cary Grant (he had crackerjack comic timing). In later years he was upstaged by his iconic mustache, but for me, I prefer the earlier, clean shaven Reynolds who was just on the cusp of superstardom.

He made his first and best impression in the blockbuster 1972 film Deliverance. This powerful meditation on manhood and violence is too often remembered for its infamous "squeal like a pig" scene, but it's also a terrific character piece. And in an ensemble that features harrowing work from Jon Voight and Ned Beatty, it's Reynolds who gives the standout performance as the alpha male who's pride and aggression cost him dearly.

He followed that film up with the best of his many good 'ole boy car chase pictures, the ridiculously entertaining 1973 exploitation picture, White Lightning. This movie, which is a favorite of Quentin Tarantino's, features Reynolds as the perfectly named Gator McKlusky -- an outlaw sprung from prison so he can help bring down the corrupt sheriff who brutally murdered his peace activist brother.

Reynolds is all sinewy sex appeal as the taciturn McKlusky -- for those who roll their eyes at his legendary Cosmopolitan centerfold and his later piss-poor toupees this movie is a wake-up call. He's the kind of character who can shamelessly sleep with his sidekick's wife and make no apologies for it.

In my opinion, the end of Reynolds' golden age came with his blockbuster sports film The Longest Yard, which is still a prototypical "guy's movie." Forget the Adam Sandler remake, I never saw it. There's no way it could have the grit and mayhem of director Robert Aldrich's football film. The movie has an irresistible premise: washed up NFL star winds up behind bars and is tasked with spearheading a game between guards and inmates.

To say this movie is politically incorrect would be a vast understatement, but like Reynolds it has a sort of meat and potatoes charm. It's not sophisticated, it's just a fast and furious romp. Unfortunately, the majority of the rest of this giggling star's oeuvre has been fluff. Smokey and the Bandit is amusing but most of his late car chase pictures are not.

It look several years and a number of flops before the big guy redeemed himself with a phenomenal performance in Boogie Nights as an adult film director who really takes his craft seriously. Reynolds was heavily favored to win the Oscar that year, and in my opinion should have, but he was upset by sentimental favorite Robin Williams for Good Will Hunting.

That performance, in a dark and complex film from a truly original filmmaker, should have been a sign of a late career renaissance for Reynolds but instead he lapsed back into paycheck roles, including the aforementioned Longest Yard remake.

Reynolds is now pushing 80, and I only see him popping up on the occasional DVD special feature. But I will always maintain that he once was and could have continued to be a great actor, if only that pesky mustache hadn't gotten in the way.

Michael Keaton gives the performance of the year in 'Birdman'

Michael Keaton

I have previously hailed Boyhood as my favorite movie of the year so far, and it may still be. Yet, I can accept that it may not be for everyone's tastes. Birdman is another story. If you don't like this movie I might have to fight you -- it's that good.

Michael Keaton has the role of a lifetime, in a meta, yet moving performance as a middle-aged, washed-up actor desperately trying to prove that he's more multifaceted than the superhero role he's most famous for. The movie also has a gallery of other great turns from a fantastic cast, including Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis, Amy Ryan and Emma Stone.

But make no mistake, this is Keaton's movie. He owns it and he gives such an incredibly entertaining and heartfelt performance that I will boycott the Oscars this year if he isn't nominated for best actor. I can't remember the last time I've seen a part so tailor-made for an actor, maybe Bill Murray with Lost In Translation.

This feels like the part that Keaton fans have always wanted to see him play.

The film itself is powered by its phenomenal performances, but also its audacious visual conceit -- the entire film in constructed to appear like one long continuous take. And while in less talented or clever hands this gimmick could grow exhausting and stylish for style's sake, director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu uses it artfully to accentuate the story and the acting.

This compelling backstage comedy drama brilliantly parodies the current state of Hollywood (and multimedia). It's not just taking potshots at the current obsession of with superhero movies (although no genre has dominated movies quite like them since the western), it's touching on our cultural need to "matter" even if that means have the most views on YouTube.

It's also a wonderful examination of the art and craft of acting, both in terms of a pure viewing experience but also from a psychological standpoint. We all sometimes think we know what being a "star" means or is, but it's another thing entirely to have lived it -- and then to see that stardom slip or fade away.

Michael Keaton in Birdman

It's so hard to compare some movies. Boyhood was an bold cinematic experiment but also a knowingly naturalistic piece of cinema. Birdman is much more inherently theatrical (much of it literally takes place on the stage) and so performances and the ambitions of the story are inherently "bigger." That doesn't mean one film is necessarily better than the other. For me, right now, they're in a tie for the best films I've seen so far this year.

Each film benefits from the element of surprise. I never knew what was coming next or how if was going to effect me. Birdman is such a strange, glorious original that I am still remembering scenes that stuck out as my favorite. Above all though, the movie is a showcase for Michael Keaton's incredible range and charisma.

The reason he was and remains the best Batman is that he infused the performance with an innate sense of joy. He was playing Bruce Wayne as a man-child, a socially awkward guy who coped with the brutal death of his parents the only way he knew how, by playing dress up to get out his aggression.  But he was not oppressed by his need to be Batman, he enjoyed it and he got a kick out of the fact that no one would suspect that it was him.

In the best Keaton performances, you get a sense of a man who enjoys performing. Not in an entirely self-serving way either. He comes across as someone with a lot of coiled energy who might just burst if he doesn't have material to attack. In Birdman he gets the chance to reveal a side of himself we've never seen before and also all the notes of manic energy fans have grown to love.

There are still several highly anticipated films I've yet to see but for me this will likely go down as the performance of the year.

The 10 awards season movies I can't wait to see

After a so-so summer season for movies, award season seems to be kicking in early this year with the critical and commercial success of Gone Girl. I am hoping to catch Dear White People and Birdman this weekend and we're not even out of October yet.

Of course, every year there's some film that comes out of nowhere and surprises everyone (I am kind of thinking this could be A Most Violent Year). There is also, inevitably, that movie which arrives with a great awards pedigree, and yet, for whatever reason, it's a total dud.

Still, as of right now, these are 10 films I'm most psyched to see in the next few months.

Intersellar - For the last six years or so, Christopher Nolan has become the most interesting mainstream commercial filmmaker in Hollywood, with perhaps J.J. Abrams and Brad Bird being a distant second and third. I have come to expect a certain level of expert craftsmanship and creativity from his productions, and if the early trailers for this sci-fi epic are any indication, he has another blockbuster mind-bender on his hands.

Birdman - My Michael Keaton obsession is well documented. For any fan of his, this movie is the one we've been waiting for -- a project that was up to his unique set of skills. The Oscar buzz has already begun for this visually inventive character study, which features Keaton in a very meta role as aging actor who's been pigeonholed by a legendary superhero role. It looks funny and unpredictable, not unlike the great Keaton himself.

Foxcatcher - This creepy looking thriller features an almost unrecognizable Steve Carrell playing against type to chilling effect as the real life murderer John du Pont. This film looks like one of the most haunting dramas of the year and I'm excited to see Channing Tatum, an actor I've really warmed up to recently, play a role that asks him to flex some real dramatic acting muscles. So far, director Bennett Miller has yet to make a bad feature film in my opinion.

Steve Carrell and Channing Tatum in Foxcatcher

Selma - Martin Luther King has rarely, if ever, been personified on the big screen. Unfortunately his estate has torpedoed past attempts by directors Oliver Stone and Lee Daniels to bring more nuanced (or in other words, flawed) portrayals of the legendary civil rights leader to the big screen. I have high hopes for Ava DuVernary's film though, which will hopefully be more interesting than The Butler was.

Inherent Vice - One of my favorite directors working today, Paul Thomas Anderson, is back with what looks like a return to the more comic style of Boogie Nights and Punch-Drunk Love. He has assembled a dream cast of eclectic actors, including Joaquin Phoenix in the lead, to adapt Thomas Pynchon's mercurial detective story set in 1970. I hear this one gets better with repeat viewings, and I believe it -- but I still can't wait to experience it for the first time. I just need to read the book first.

American Sniper - Clint Eastwood hasn't exactly been on a roll lately. I didn't bother to see Jersey Boys and some of his more recent films, like J. Edgar, were really wasted opportunities. Still, the trailer for this one was a grabber and the early buzz seems to suggest a return to Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby form. The movie's star, Bradley Cooper, is rapidly maturing into a sensational actor and if the reviews are strong I'd be there.

A Most Violent Year - I admired J.C. Chandor's debut film Margin Call, although I thought it was slightly overrated. But I definitely fell hard for his Robert Redford tour-de-force All Is Lost. Now, for his third major film he's assembled a terrific cast (Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, and one of my favorite performers, Albert Brooks) for this period piece set in 1980s New York during its most crime ridden period. I have seen no trailer and heard little buzz, but I'm still intrigued.

The Imitation Game - This film is already behind heavily hyped as the frontrunner in this year's Oscar race, which means it will probably lose. That said, I love a good World War II movie and this looks like a fairly original one. Benedict Cumberbatch plays an expert codebreaker whose personal life and secrets threaten a top secret operation. The trailers have smartly kept enough withheld to make me feel like I haven't seen the entire story already.

The Skeleton Twins - Despite good reviews, this little indie hasn't done much business but I'm still excited to see it because I think Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig are two of the most talented performers Saturday Night Live has ever produced and I'm impressed that this early in their film careers they've shown a willingness to play "against-type" roles in a movie that isn't just an overblown situation comedy.

Top Five - Speaking of Saturday Night Live alums, this project, which is written by, directed by and starring comedian Chris Rock, also has my hopes up. Rock has long been one of my favorite comic minds, but his brilliant stand-up has rarely translated to good films. After years of slumming in awful Adam Sandler movies, I'm pleased to see this semi-autobiographical film about a comic actor trying to be taken more seriously is getting very strong early reviews.

'La di da': The 11 musicals I can't deny loving

Cabaret

Musicals are far from my favorite film genre.

It's not that I'm some sort of snob, I just think they work better on the stage than the screen.

I can always appreciate the craftsmanship of the elaborate sets and the catchiness of a lovely song, but there's something very inauthentic about most musicals to me, and it's not just because they feature people randomly bursting into song.

That said, there are a few films of this kind that have punctured my psyche. Typically, the musicals that work for me are the ones that have a little darkness or at least edge to them.

It's almost embarrassing to admit to liking these kinds of movies because their reputation is so incredibly cheesy, and unless you're a musical theater nerd who is comfortable belting out show tunes at the drop of a dime, they can be alienating.

My list is by no means expansive -- I've never seen all of Fiddler on the Roof, or dozens of other beloved musicals. But these are the few I can say I really like:

The Wizard of Oz (1939) - This feels more like a fantasy film than a musical and yet it's packed wall-to-wall with very endearing numbers. I find it to be an almost trippy visual delight. The colors are so vibrant and the tone is so note-perfect. It never seems corny or dated, even though it's an outright fairy tale. Judy Garland is probably most responsible for making it all work so well.

The Blues Brothers

An American In Paris (1951) - A beautifully shot travelogue as well as a sophisticated backstage drama. Gene Kelly is terrific and incredibly charismatic as an artist who gets sucked into an unhealthy relationship with an older, wealthy woman who seeks to control him. The dynamite dance numbers here are some of the best ever committed to film.

Singin' In the Rain (1952) - Arguably the greatest movie musical ever made, this Gene Kelly vehicle is also a very funny satire of behind-the-scenes Hollywood. The film is helped by the fact that it's wholly original (not a Broadway show transferred to a movie set), so it feels fresher and less old-fashioned than some of the other musicals of its era. While it's light-hearted, it does have something to say about the film industry.

West Side Story (1961) - This highly stylized ethnic update of the Romeo and Juliet tragedy may be the most influential movie musical ever made. It's certainly one of the fiercest, and its soundtrack was definitely a staple of my childhood. The movie won't win any awards for a subtle depiction of race relations, but it definitely has a heavy dose of "cool" -- which is uncommon for the genre.

Cabaret (1972) - Bob Fosse's brilliantly edited look at Germany during the rise of Nazism really changed the game as far as this genre was concerned. Liza Minnelli gives her most iconic performance in this sophisticated story which touches on bisexuality and a lot of other themes that movie musicals didn't dare touch in the past. When people talk about Fosse's signature style of choreography, they are most likely thinking of this exciting movie.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) - I enjoy this movie on its own terms, although having had the midnight movie experience I can attest to the power of seeing it with a rowdy audience of revelers too. Tim Curry gives one of the most magnetic performances in movie history is this utterly bizarre mash-up of monster movies and pure campy comedy. And Susan Sarandon has never looked sexier.

Pennies From Heaven

All That Jazz (1979)/Pennies From Heaven (1981) - I'm counting these two as one because they're both remarkably similar. Both films are dark, unconventional musicals that contrast a death and depravity themed real world with bright, flashy and terrifically staged dance numbers. They are very emblematic of the Hollywood era in which they were released (although neither did the business of the mainstream Grease). Both films take a creative approach with risky material and succeed wildly.

The Blues Brothers (1980) - A comedy classic featuring the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd partnership at its peak. Unfortunately the movie has been sullied by the unnecessary latter day sequel, but viewed on its own terms it's a wonderfully quirky madcap riot, as well as a sincere homage to the culture of the blues. For all their goofy posturing Belushi and Aykroyd were in awe of the black performers featured here and Ray Charles, James Brown, and Aretha Franklin (just to name a few) don't disappoint.

Chicago (2002) - It's sort of unhip to like this movie now, but people forget what a revelation it was when it first came out. This movie jumpstarted a brief musical renaissance by casting stars with surprising musical talent (Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere for example) and tweaking the traditional musical structure (the numbers take place in the characters' imagination). Did it deserve to win best picture? Maybe not. But it was a hell of a lot of fun to see.

Dreamgirls (2006) - I'm a sucker for all things Motown and this gaudy throwback musical brilliantly recreates that label's heyday. While the story is pretty simple -- it's got virtually every backstage melodrama cliche you can imagine -- the music is anything but. Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson in particular rise above the material with sensational performances that are lively and lived in. I still think Murphy was robbed of the Academy Award.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) - Of all the Johnny Depp-Tim Burton collaborations since Ed Wood, this is the only one that's really worked for me. Burton has the perfect eye for this kind of material and Depp gives a less winking performance than usual here. The material is very bizarre for the genre, we're asked to root for a murderer and laugh at cannibalism, but the movie works as a visual and aural whole.

Seeing 'St. Vincent': Bill Murray's top 10 best movie roles

The one, the only...Bill Murray

Is there any comedic figure in America more beloved than Bill Murray? I can't think of one.

And yet, he's also proven, especially in recent years, that he can carry a dramatic scene too. Murray is an icon now, as much for his off-screen antics, as his memorable 30+ year career as a movie star.

Tonight, I plan to go see his latest movie, the sentimental indie comedy St. Vincent. He's getting strong reviews, but the movie -- not so much. It looks a little predictable for my tastes, but then again, it'll be fun to see Murray return to his broad comedy roots, albeit in a less-than-risky role.

Ironically, this movie looks like a callback to his first leading role as a camp counselor who helps a socially awkward kid come out of his shell in Meatballs. In some of his best parts Murray seems like the cool older brother of our dreams -- sly and one step ahead of all the squares.

His career has endured into his early 60s because, unlike a lot of his counterparts, he has largely avoided any embarrassing missteps, and when he has (the Garfield movies), he's made fun of them. Right when his career seemed to be going off the rails in the late 90s, he wisely hooked up with Wes Anderson and forged a fruitful partnership that added nuance to his persona and longevity to his appeal.

In honor of St. Vincent, which I'm hoping is more than just a cute coming-of-age movie. Here are my personal favorite Bill Murray performances.

I love Bill.

Honorable mention: This was a really hard list to winnow down. For instance, I am a big fan of Quick Change (the only movie he has ever directed) and also a number of his smaller supporting roles in movies like Tootsie, Mad Dog and Glory, Moonrise Kingdom and of course, The Royal Tenenbaums. But a top 10 list is a top 10 list so...

10) Kingpin (1996) - According to the Farrelly brothers (who directed this underrated bowling comedy), Murray improvised every single one of his lines at the unapologetically conniving and egotistical Ernie McCracken. Murray's outrageous hair pieces and costumes are just part of the fun here. Murray is one of the few actors who makes utterly repulsive behavior so appealing.

9) The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) - A polarizing Wes Anderson film, this one left a lot of people cold when it came out 10 years ago, but I loved it. Murray plays a sophisticated Jacques Cousteau-inspired underwater adventurer who is out to kill a shark that devoured his best friend. This whimsical character piece shows Murray can be both hilarious and heartbreaking. He is a standout among a dream ensemble of actors including Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe and Cate Blanchett.

8) Stripes (1981) - Bill Murray's first real star vehicle was a huge hit and put his own unique stamp of the military comedy genre. His performance as John Winger clearly served as an inspiration for future lovable louts played by the likes of Jason Segal, Seth Rogen and Vince Vaughn. His sarcastic slacker has a real character arch here. His scenes alongside Warren Oates as a drill instructor have real dramatic potency. A real showcase for Murray's chemistry with the late Harold Ramis.

7) Rushmore (1998) - Murray was unjustly overlooked for an Academy Award nomination for his iconic performance as Herman Bloome, a miserable, aging millionaire who strikes up an unlikely friendship with Max Fischer, an iconoclastic jack of all trades played by Jason Schwartzman. This movie marked the beginning of a real critical re-evaluation of his talents, but for longtime Murray fans it was just the culmination of many of his prior roles. No one does exasperated funnier than him.

6) What About Bob? (1991) - An usual, high energy role for Murray that he knocks out of the park. He takes a whiny, neurotic character who should be annoying on paper and makes him an infectious, adorable delight. This incredibly subversive "family comedy" could be  interpreted as a horror film if you think about it long enough. Patient tracks down his therapist while on vacation with his family and proceeds to insert himself into their lives. The performance works only because of the very real tension he creates with Richard Dreyfuss, who seems ready to explode in rage at the sight of him.

Lost In Translation

5) Broken Flowers (2005) - Bill Murray gives one of his most powerful dramatic performances in this little seen Jim Jarmusch film. In it, Murray plays an faded Don Juan who learns of an illegitimate son he's got out there somewhere. Goaded on by his best friend (a wonderful Jeffrey Wright) he goes on a search to find him, and ends up learning a lot more about himself along the way. A quiet, subtle performance that achieves real depth by the time this moving film reaches its offbeat conclusion.

4) Groundhog Day (1992) - This may be the perfect Murray film, and it's certainly one of the two or three he'll always be remembered for. It's got a perfect premise -- conceited weatherman wakes up in the same place at the same time every day until he learns to become selfless. It's got a great leading lady foil for him, the lovely Andie McDowell. But it also has a heart in addition to the laughs -- the powerful scene where Murray tries to keep a homeless man from dying is remarkable.

3) Caddyshack (1980) - One of my all-time favorite movies features Murray in one of his most unhinged performances as the manic groundskeeper Carl. According to Ramis, who directed the film, Murray was on such an improvisational hot streak at the time that they often just placed a camera in front of him and just let him riff. His character doesn't really have a plot function, he's just pure absurd comedy gold. And the scene between him and Chevy Chase is one of the most quotable ever.

2) Lost In Translation (2003) - Murray was finally given an Oscar nomination for a role that beautifully both pays homage to and enhances his established persona. His Bob Harris is a bit of a sad clown, an actor reduced to making cheesy commercials in Japan. There he meets a sweet and neglected young woman played by Scarlett Johansson and they strike up a friendship that almost becomes romantic and winds up deeply affecting them both. I'll always have a soft spot for this film.

1) Ghostbusters (1984) - As I've written before, Murray creates one of the coolest characters of all time in this perfect comedy film. His Peter Venkman made being a "geek", as he puts it, super suave and badass. The movie is chock-full of brilliance but none of it works without Murray at the center, his quips and comebacks are the stuff of legend. Every time I see this movie I can't walk away without a smile on my face, or more appropriately for Murray, a smirk.

All hail the Steve Martin-Carl Reiner comedy collaborations

Steve Martin in The Jerk

One of the most underrated comedy collaborations of all time is the four-film partnership of the legendary Carl Reiner and Steve Martin.

From 1979 to 1984, they made some truly inspired and incredibly silly movies, some of which stand out as some the best work of Martin's beloved career as a film actor.

Martin has always been one of my personal favorite comedic actors and a major inspiration to me when I started performed improv myself.

Like most people my age, I first became aware of him through his movie roles in cult classics like Three Amigos, but that helped me discover his stand-up albums, which I adore.

Despite several great, hit movies -- Steve Martin, in my opinion, has never topped his first, the Carl Reiner-directed The Jerk. The movie, which was reportedly a huge favorite of Stanley Kubrick's, is a madcap melding of some infamous bits from Martin's stand-up ("I was born a poor black child") and Reiner's classic comedy gag sensibility.

This unity of old school comedy (Reiner made his name as a writer for 1950s television variety shows) and what was new (Steve Martin's brand of sly satire of that same traditional material) created an irresistible mix. The Jerk is brimming with ideas -- some ridiculously silly, others wonderfully subversive. It remains one of my favorite comedies of all time because it's Martin's most unbridled performance and the movie is politically incorrect and proud of it.

Reiner and Martin followed up The Jerk with their inventive gag movie Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, this goofy 1982 confection can probably best be enjoyed only by film noir buffs, since the movie employs a bevy of archival footage from old cinematic treasures for comedic effect. Martin gets to play off the likes of Bogart and Cagney, and he has a ball.

In 1983, Reiner and Martin collaborated on the loving spoof of B-movie horror films with The Man With Two Brains, which serves as sort of precursor to Her. Martin plays the absurdly named Dr. Hfuhrhufurr who falls in love with an inanimate object, a human brain (voiced by Sissy Spacek). Martin plays brilliantly off a deadpan Kathleen Turner and shows off his incredible gift for physical comedy.

Their final film together was 1984's critical acclaimed All of Me, which had Martin playing an attorney possessed by the ghost of an out-of-touch heiress (played by the great Lily Tomlin). This film, which won Martin the best reviews of his career at the time, was his first commercial hit following The Jerk and it sparked a terrific run of successes that stretched into the 1990s.

While All of Me isn't as well-known as say, Father of the Bride, it's a better film because it lacks the later film's sentimental streak, something that diminished much of Steve Martin's late career work. He found himself stuck in the same "family movie" ghetto that more or less destroyed the comedy chops of his peers, like Eddie Murphy and Chevy Chase. In fact, of that era's comedy stars, only Bill Murray has managed to remain "hip" because he didn't sully himself with the sickly cute stuff.

Still, I remain an enormous Steve Martin fan, and I always will be, but I personally prefer his earlier work because it possesses an anarchic spirit that is largely missing from today's mainstream comedies.

'Gone Girl' is the first great movie of the good movie season

It's that time of year again, when Hollywood stops its endless stream of horror movie remakes and romantic comedies no one wants to see. It's the season of quality films for adults -- which sadly gets shorter and sparser each year.

We've already had two bonafide masterpieces this year, Under the Skin and Boyhood, and I think I can safely say that David Fincher's adaptation of the page-turner Gone Girl is the third.

I sped-read the novel over the past week to prep for the film and while I found it endlessly entertaining, I fully expected Fincher to elevate the material (he did with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) into more than just a trashy potboiler.

Fincher has been on a huge role lately. He's always been a terrific filmmaker -- but ever since The Social Network he seems to have found his aesthetic groove. His films have a distinct, cool look where everything seems to be made of sharp corners and icy glass. His collaboration with composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have yielded some of the best scores of the decade. Most importantly though, he's found a niche for edgy, dark films that are not stocked with CGI superheros and aren't tarnished by forced sentimentality.

He has stumbled. I have never been as big a fan of Fight Club as others, and I thought The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was little more than a Forrest Gump remake, but the man's talent is undeniable. Gone Girl is a remarkable testament to Fincher's skills as a filmmaker, a riveting piece of mainstream entertainment.

It's the rare movie I actually enjoyed more as it went along, the second half is even stronger than the first and everything Fincher excises from the book will not be missed. The movie, despite its heightened circumstances (missing woman, husband suspected) has some darkly savage things to say about the nature of marriage and the mind of a sociopath.

Rosamund Pike

The movie and the book's brilliant conceit is a real role reversal of stereotypical gender roles. And I suspect that some men will leave this film never looking at their partner or spouse the same way ever again. Still, this is not necessarily a deep movie -- it's just an enormously well-crafted one.

What the film gets right is what the book largely lacked, a very strong sense of humor. Gone Girl, the movie, doesn't take its salacious material too seriously. It is also, like most great films, perfectly cast. Ben Affleck has never had a role more tailor-made for him. He plays a man whose wife goes missing and for reasons I won't spoil for the uninitiated, he is not as sad about it as he should be.

Affleck is a strange case - I can't remember another actor who has seen their stock fall so far with audiences to only spike back up. He largely deserves the credit. After becoming somewhat of a punchline after making forgettable films and being ubiquitous in the tabloids, he directed three straight strong films. In both The Town and Argo he reminded us that he could act, but also ceded the showier roles to his co-stars. By humbling himself, he's endeared himself to us. And not unlike say Michael Douglas, he can play characters that may turn us off at times, but we still can't help rooting for.

Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry acquit themselves well by playing against type, but the real find here -- and in my opinion what should be a lock for a best actress Academy Award nomination -- is Rosamund Pike as the "girl" in question. I had seen her in other films, most prominently as a Bond girl in Die Another Day, but she is a phenomenon here -- pulling off an incredibly difficult role as a neglected housewife who's enormously "complicated."

Pike's performance in particular sold me on a story that was frankly ludicrous on the page, and could have been ridiculous on screen. This is very over-the-top stuff, but Fincher keeps it grounded and fun, so you never feel like you're getting ahead of the movie or being manipulated by glossy trash.

It's too early to say if Gone Girl will still be in the conversation by the time the Oscars roll around. There are still several highly anticipated films that have yet to be seen by a wide audience. I will say that with Gone Girl, whether you read the book or not, you will get your money's worth.