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I was just turning 11 the summer Toy Story came out, and it was an unforgettable experience; the idea of toys coming to life made so much sense, and with actors as strong as Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as the leads, the movie works from the get-go. What works now is the screenplay, funny without being condescending, filled with more pathos and emotion than most mainstream films, and as conventionally happy as an unconventional film can get. There are real gems of dialogue here ("Wait a minute, I just lit a rocket. Rockets explode!"), but the real surprise may be seeing that cult favorite Joss Whedon, he of Buffy and Dollhouse, is one of the film's co-writers. Who knows how responsible he is for the great dialogue, but the movie is, I'm sure, better for his having been on board. Toy Story was just the beginning for Pixar, but it was a classic from the first instant.

Singin' In The Rain

Here it is, the greatest movie musical ever made. All that's happened since Singin' In The Rain, a 1952 favorite of mine, is just spinning wheels. Sure, there have been good musicals since, but no other movie encapsulates all that's great about Hollywood, all that's great about movies, and all that's wrong with both in 105 minutes. Set at the beginning of the talkie era in Hollywood, the movie is about a charming dancer-turned-actor (Gene Kelly) who falls in love with a dancing girl (Debbie Reynolds) and ends up spearheading an all-new movie format: the musical. What stands out here is the humor. Even in the iconic title number, there's something to smile at, something to chuckle at. Then, there's the show-stopping early number by Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor) called "Make ‘Em Laugh".

Not every second of the film is funny; it's a bit of a risk to stop your movie in the third act for a 14-minute ballet scene that takes place completely in a fevered imagination. Of course, even that has its charms, as we watch Kelly go from dorky hoofer to slick star. Also of note is the Academy Award-nominated performance from Jean Hagen, who plays Lina Lamont, our lead's main foil, his on-screen female lead whose voice is like nails on a chalkboard and whose mentality is just as obnoxious. Frankly, if you haven't seen Singin' In The Rain, I don't know what you're waiting for. Even if you're no fan of musicals, this is the film for you; you'll be grinning within minutes, or else your heart is made of stone.

There Will Be Blood

From singing to milkshakes we go. I surprised myself a bit with this pick, but as time has passed since this film's 2007 release, I've become more and more assured of the belief that There Will Be Blood, which initially stood out for the towering lead performance from Daniel Day-Lewis, is the best film of the 21st century. No other film has felt as thought-provoking, as comfortably imperfect, as epic, as important as this one. When I first saw the film, I remember knowing that I loved it and that it would make a great film to analyze in the future. Rarely does a movie come out these days that you wonder would make a good film to look back on in years. The story, about the rise and fall of an oil tycoon who comes into direct and forceful contact with a shrill preacher, is filled with intriguing parallels between fathers and sons, and siblings, too.

What gets me about the film now isn't so much Day-Lewis' performance; I'm not saying he's not marvelous here, because he most certainly is (the look on his face right after the man posing as his long-lost brother reveals the truth is more frightening than any horror movie's cheap scares). However, the Academy Award-winning cinematography, the haunting music, the supporting performances, the craziness of the final sequence, the solitude of the opening sequence, and all else has stuck out. Yes, most people just remember "I drink your milkshake!", but what of the lead character's mocking the preacher for being some kind of afterbirth after his smarter twin brother was born? What of Daniel's frustration about his own family, about his own life? If I had to be stuck on that desert island, There Will Be Blood would be the movie that I pored over for as much time as I had.

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