The Top 10, at least today

Continuing yesterday's one-year anniversary celebration, I give you my Top 10 favorite movies. But this list is hardly fixed in stone. Call me fickle. I've been called worse.

True, the No. 1 has been at the top for some time, and I feel good about others on the list. But hey, moods change, and who's to say "The Cable Guy" won't someday take its rightful place on this vaunted roster?

Enough chatter. Since you're dying to know whether "Showgirls" or "Starship Troopers" is No. 1, let's begin.

10. Alien (1979): Perhaps a surprise, but if this movie didn't invent the "monster picks off people one by one," it gave us a creepy entry and a truly unique dinner-table scene. Plus, I've got a soft spot for sci-fi. Why else would I pay money for "Event Horizon" and "Supernova?"

9. Die Hard (1988): I think my post not long ago said it all: No movie to date screams at me from the DVD collection more when it comes to answering the question of "What's a great action movie to zone out to late at night?" With his average build, receding hairline and wisecracking attitude, Bruce Willis became a different kind of action hero in an era of dull muscleheads.

8. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964): You just saw this post, and sure, I'll admit my recent re-watching of this Kubrick comedy may have influenced this list. But few movies are as clever and outright hilarious, and it's all the more amazing given the year it was made.

7. Silence of the Lambs (1991): It's funny ... Hannibal Lecter is such a parody now. But before that happened, someone had to make him a character everyone would know. For proper Brit Anthony Hopkins to so thoroughly embrace the role is amazing, and this is an excellent thriller, best viewed while enjoying some fava beans and a nice Chianti.

6. Fargo (1996): It's been too long since I've seen this, but every time I do I find myself rolling at so many scenes -- all the more impressive given the characters are so deadpan and/or oblivious. When you think about it, it's really an odd movie, but that also makes it stand out. Bonus points for pegging Steve Buscemi as "funny-looking ... just in a general kind of way."

5. The Empire Strikes Back (1980): You saw my "Star Wars" listing yesterday, and it may seem weird to have a sequel out-rank the first of a series. But I'm with Dante from "Clerks": This movie rises above others because it's such a downer and added great depth to the various story arcs. I mean, everyone was f*cked up at the end of this one.

4. The Godfather (1972): Some people will do the same thing with these movies as the "Star Wars" ones and say the second is better than the first. And while I maybe should have put "Part II" on the honorable mention list, I've always gravitated to the first installment. To me, the final collection of scenes makes it all worthwhile, and I prefer watching how Marlon Brando gives way to Al Pacino than the dual Pacino-Robert De Niro storylines (good as they are).

3. Raising Arizona (1987): Quite simply, this still is the funniest movie I've ever seen, and even if the Coen Brothers have done more complex movies that also are funny (see No. 6), I will always, always, always laugh my ass off at the adventures of H.I. and Ed McDunnough. Bonus: Sam McMurray in the funniest small role in history. "Mind you don't cut yourself, Mordecai!"

2. Pulp Fiction (1994): I've got a "Reservoir Dogs" poster hanging in my home office -- which my wife just loves -- and some will say that's the edgier, cooler Tarantino movie to like. But "Pulp Fiction" is a more masterful story told with such brilliance that so many hack directors have tried to copy it in the short time since the movie came out. True, this did lead to Travolta getting more work. But he and everyone bought into Tarantino's story here, and it's a hell of a ride. I cried when it lost the Best Picture Oscar to "Forrest Gump," and in fact have refused to watch "Gump" ever since. I'm a small man, I know.

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): A surprise? Probably not, given my age and fawning over this movie after seeing it again not long ago. For me, it's the perfect mix of adventure, humor, romance and fantasy/occult -- not an easy thing. Also not easy is to take the standard 1930s adventure story and make it readily accessible for modern audiences. Not only did Spielberg and Lucas do that for the early '80s, but this movie still looks great and is highly enjoyable today. Let's put it this way: Does anybody not like this movie? Even if it's not THE BEST MOVIE EVER MADE (i.e. "Citizen Kane"), isn't it a great movie that's a hell of a lot of fun to watch and doesn't feel like homework (i.e. "Citizen Kane")?

In the end, of course, I don't have to defend my list, but just enjoy it. Let the dissection and debate begin. I'll be in front of the TV.