Desert Island Movies - Counterpoint

I liked what George Lucas had to say at the AFI Award dinner, that his whole life is about movies. While my whole life isn't about movies, I certainly see its reflection in the movies I love.

This is my list. That desert island had better have an electric socket for the DVD player, that's all I have to say.

1. Lord of the Rings trilogy - If the entire trilogy isn't “allowed” on this particular desert island, I would go with Part Two, The Two Towers, which really gets into the personalities of the evil and the righteous.

2. Superman - Although this story has been around for more than 50 years, it’s never been told as well, with a super man quite human.

3. Groundhog Day - A great tale of a selfish weatherman who lives the same day over and over, until he gets it right.

4. Starship Troopers - Verhoeven’s violent rendition, without apologies, of Robert Heinlein’s masterpiece, including commercials. It’s a how-to on turning a bunch of individuals into unthinking fighting teams who hate the enemy (and don’t look too closely), made more poignant with young, beautiful talent.

5. Forbidden Planet - The original epic that lassoed me into my love of sci fi movies. This movie creates all the icons used shamelessly by so many later films.

6. Pillow Talk - While I was a Doris Day long before Pillow Talk came out, this one put it all together for this great star. A singer, a dancer, yes, but nobody knew about her incredible comic timing.

7. Alien - Nothing could be more frightening.

8. War and Peace (Voyna i mi) - the 1968 Russian version, the edited one of 6 hours. Tolstoy was all about individuals who could change the world, and zeitgeist, living in a world that could accept the change.

9. Fried Green Tomatoes - An emotional story -- no, two -- about what family is all about, even a family that isn't easily recognizable.

10. Star Wars - The movie that changed the world and changed me. I could finally come out of the closet as a sci fi fan.