Top 20 Movies Everyone Must See

I absolutely love movies. In fact, I would consider it a passion of mine. It's such a passion that I want everyone around me to love movies just as much as I do. I want everyone to quote movie quotations with me. I want everyone to laugh at the parts I laugh at. I want everyone to analyze movies with me. However, movies are just as subjective as any other entertainment genre out there. I have my opinions, you have yours. Still, it is still an absolute blast conversing with other people about your favorite movies.

Have you ever asked someone 'Have you seen 'such-and-such' movie yet?' Of course you have, everyone has. If their answer is 'Yes', then you can analyze and quote it all you want. If their answer is 'No', a typical response from me is 'What!?'. My top 20 movies everyone must see is the list in which the response 'What!?' would come after someone saying 'No' to the question above. This is not my 'Top 20 Movies of all Time' list (we'll get to that later). This is simply a list of 20 movies I believe everyone must see in their lifetime. By the way, this is in no particular order either.

• The Wizard of Oz - Everything about this movie screams 'Classic'. Seriously, if you haven't seen this movie yet, rent it, buy it, do something...just see this movie!
• The Godfather - 'I'll make him an offer he can't refuse'. This quotation has been welded into every movie-goer's head. This, to me, is the best movie ever made.
  
• Caddyshack - Not only is this an amazing sports movie, it's also one of the greatest comedies ever made. It has become a cult classic among the younger generations for a reason. Nanananannana.
• Dr. Strangelove - Eddie Murphy's got nothing on Peter Sellers. This movie defines 'black comedy'. With Peter Sellers playing three roles (Dr. Strangelove being the funniest), the war room scenes, and the infamous Major Kong riding the nuclear bomb, this became an instant classic.
• The Matrix - 'Do you know, what, the Matrix is?' I still don't know EXACTLY what the Matrix is, but who cares?? This is one of the coolest movies ever made. This movie revolutionized action scenes with bullet-time.
• It's a Wonderful Life - No other movie has captured the human heart quite like this one. The Feel-Good-Movie-Of-The-Century may turn into the Feel-Good-Movie-Of-All-Time.
• Forrest Gump - Ok, so this is another movie that captures the human heart, but in a different way. I have never watched an actor 'become' their character quite like the way Tom Hanks does with Forrest Gump. I watch this movie and see Forrest Gump, not Tom Hanks.
• Requiem for a Dream - Anybody that is thinking about doing hard drugs, watch this movie. It is a graphic tale of people caught in the world of hard drugs. It starts out bright and happy, but ends in sorrow. The movie is a downhill emotional ride for the audience, so be warned.
• 2001: A Space Odyssey - Capturing the imagination of a typical person is one thing, but doing so with only 25 minutes of dialogue in a 150 minute movie is another. The visuals in this movie are the most realistic I've seen, and yet, it was made over 40 years ago. Unless you've read the book, the ending will dazzle and confuse the hell out of you. But, therein lies the magic of the movie...the ability to stimulate a thought process I once thought was lost in movies.
• Jaws - One word has haunted millions after watching this movie...Shark! Who needs a villain with a 20 minute monologue at the end of the movie when you have a 20 foot shark with razor sharp teeth terrorizing a small Rhode Island town?
  
• Star Wars - Coming in a close second for my favorite Science Fiction movie is Star Wars. Light sabers, the force, Jedis, the Dark Side...enough said.
• The Big Lebowski - How do you combine a mystery with a black comedy? Well, throw in an unemployed bowler, a rich pornography producer, a millionaire, and a case of mistaken identity and you have a recipe for success. The Dude definitely abides.
• Toy Story - You can thank this movie for all of the animated movies that have come out in the past 10 years.
  
• Schindler's List - Do I even have to explain why this movie must be seen? I have never loved and hated a movie as much as this one. I loved it for Steven Spielberg's vision and guts to make such a horrifyingly accurate portrayal of one of the worst events in this world's history. I hated it for the very same reasons. It's difficult to watch, but it must be seen.
  
• Memento - One of the very few on my list that most people probably have not seen. However, it is one of the most unique thrillers I have ever seen. Who would have known that seeing the beginning of the story instead of the end could be so satisfying. Wait, where am I again?
• The Terminator - 'I'll be back'. Three words that will haunt Arnold Schwarzenegger for the rest of his life. Can you get any better than the biggest action star playing a killer cyborg sent back in time to kill the mother of a revolutionary hero in the future? I think not.
• The Shining - 'Here's Johnny!' My God, this movie still scares the shit out of me every time I watch it. Stanley Kubrick had a way of sucking the audience into his movies like no other director. Slow moving, wide-angle cameras in long narrow hallways. Page after page after page of the same line written over and over. The camera following the axe ever so gracefully, yet so hauntingly. And the music. This, to me, is the scariest movie ever made.
• Hoosiers - A movie about a very small high school basketball team from Indiana that goes on to win the championship. Sure, every single sports movie you see now revolves around this very same concept (I call it the 'sports-slasher movie virus', which I will also get into later), but this movie does not scream cliche, it screams classic!
• Rudy - Yes, another sports movie about a small boy with a very large dream...to play for the Notre Dame fighting Irish football team. If you don't shed a tear for Rudy every time they carry him off of the field at the end of the movie, you have no soul.
• Bullitt - If not for the movie, at least for the best car chase of all time put onto film. A 1968 Mustang Fastback vs. a 1968 Dodge Charger...it's almost too much 'awesomeness' to handle.