The AFI Has Run Out of Ideas...

So for the past 10 years, the American Film Institute has been shamelessly creating made-for-television specials counting down the 100 best movies, songs, villains, heroes, romances, comedies, etc... Some have been uber-lame (Cheers....way too few sports movies), and others have been pretty cool (quotes). But this year, they've run out of ideas, so they're updating their 100 Best Movies ever.

Jared and I will be going balls-to-the-wall with a liveblog coming at you Wednesday night. We also have a pick'em pool going, so if you are interested, let us know.

In advance, however, we decided to make a list of what we would have voted as the top 25 movies had we voted in the pool. The only rules were that we had to pick from the 400 movies (reg. required) placed on the ballot and that we had to use their criteria (Critical Commendation, Major Award Winner, Popularity Over Time, Historical Signifiance, Cultural Impact) as a guide in making our choices.

So...in alphabetical order, my Top 25:

All the President's Men
Bridge on the River Kwai
Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid
Citizen Kane
Dr. Strangelove
French Connection
Godfather
Godfather II
Goodfellas
Great Escape
LA Confidential
Lawrence of Arabia
LotR: FotR
Manchurian Candidate
North by Northwest
Pulp Fiction
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Rocky
The Right Stuff

Shawshank Redemption
Singin in the Rain
Star Wars
West Side Story
Usual Suspects
Wizard of Oz