Top Movies for Cool People

Here are the Top 10 movies for cool people.  These were chosen by a cool person.  The selection criteria are simple…these movies are cool!  Yes, there are cool movies that didn’t make the list and it was tough to narrow it down to ten movies.  I feel these ten movies are diverse and represent what defines coolness.

This movie is a classic and introduced us all to Sean Penn (Spicoli) and Mr. Hand.  This movie also introduced us to Pheobe Kates – yousa!.  This was one of Cameron Crowe’s first big hits.  He went on to do Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous, and Vanilla Sky.  One of the great things about this movie, and every movie that Cameron Crowe does, is the music.  Cameron has a great way of mixing music into his movies to paint vivid, memorable scenes, such as Phoebe Cates Moving In Stereo by The Cars!

This is one of the funniest movies of all time. Miles (Paul Giamatti) and his friend Jack are awesome in this movie. Thomas Haden Church, who plays Jack, is awesome in this movie. This movie also turns us on to Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh. I stopped drinking Merlot after this movie, because it just isn’t cool, according to Miles!

Yeah, this is kind of a mainstream movie, but this movie was way ahead of its time and who can forget Iceman (Val Kilmer) and Maverick (Tom Cruise). This movie was a great influence on me and one of the main reasons I joined the military. The military was nothing like Top Gun though, unfortunately! Kenny Loggins even rocks on this movie with Highway to the Danger Zone. Plus, even Meg Ryan and future ER star, Anthony Edwards, were in this movie. I even became a fan of Berlin (Take My Breath Away) after this movie.

This is one of the best movies of all time. Full of skydiving, surfing, beach parties, and lots of action! Plus, this movie has cool actors in it – Gary Busey, Keanu Reeves, Lori Petty, and Patrick Swayze. Even Anthony Kiedis from the Red Hot Chili Peppers guest stars as the guy that shoots his foot! This movie fueled my desire to skydive and surf.

Francis Ford Coppola directed this classic about the Vietnam war. Marlon Brando (Colonel Kurtz) and Martin Sheen (Capt Willard) star in this movie. This movie had great cinematography and had great music (Rolling Stones, The Doors, etc.). There are many memorable scenes, such as all the helicopters playing Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries on their way to shoot the hell out of a VC beach. Robert Duvall (LTC Kilgore) is also featured in this movie and is famous for the line “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”

This movie features Leonardo DiCaprio and is based on the book by Alex Garland.  This movie is great and has one of the best mixes of cinematography and music of any movie I have every seen.  I used to watch this movie over and over, just for the music and scenes.  The entire concept of this movie is cool too.

Sofia Coppola (Francis Ford Coppola’s daughter) directs this movie featuring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. Like The Beach, this is a movie that I love because of the music, cinematography, and storyline. Bill Murray (Bob Harris) is awesome in this movie and he is very funny. This movie also leaves you wondering what was said at the very end. The karaoke scene is great in this movie too!

This movie is just plain awesome. It is a bit disturbing, but great! It is based on the book by Bret Easton Ellis and features Christian Bale. Christian Bale does an awesome job in this movie. This movie epitomizes the 80s, wallstreet, and excess. The music is great in this movie as well. Patrick Bateman’s (Christian Bale) review of Huey Lewis and the New’s new CD is great. The business card scene in this movie is the best.

This movie is sort of a love story, but still very cool. Richard Linklater directed this movie that features Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy (with her cool French accent). This movie reminded me of my travels in Europe and captures a great chance meeting of two strangers and their interactions.

This movie came out of left field and was a nice change to the dull movies of the time. Quentin Tarantino directed this movie that revitalized John Travolta. This movie also featured Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman. The music in this movie is awesome and the out of time sequencing (nonlinear) is great too. This movie has many memorable scenes that are disturbing, yet funny – like when Marvin gets shot. Bruce Willis is great in this movie too.